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ALL ABOARD FOR HISTORY OF RAILROADS IN NIAGARA COUNTY

By Bob Kostoff

The development of rail transportation in Niagara County began in the 19th century with the Strap Railroad between Lockport and Niagara Falls and led to one famous but dubious story about a woman who once beat the train.

The current revival of interest in relocating the Niagara Falls Railroad Station to the old Customs House in the North End emphasizes the importance of rail transportation in the county and conjures up many of these old railroad stories.

While the old Strap Railroad was the first in operation, it was not the first planned. A group of businessmen sought a charter from the state legislature in 1833 to build the Lockport and Kempville (now Olcott) railroad along Eighteenmile Creek. However, that charter was never granted.

The next year, a group of Lockport and Niagara Falls businessmen petitioned for a charter for the Lockport and Niagara Falls railroad and they were successful. This soon became the Strap Railroad because a strap of iron topped the wooden rails.

The cars at first were drawn along the rails by horses when the line opened in April of 1837. But before years end, steam locomotives had replaced the horses.

The late County Historian Clarence O. Lewis liked to retell this rather incomplete story about the railroad and an energetic woman named Mrs. Storrs. Lewis was retelling the story from old news accounts of talks by one Mr. S. Suit, who had been superintendent of the Strap Railroad in the 1840s.

It seems Mr. Suit, in his later years, was fond of telling this story at speaking engagements. While rail travel was faster than packet boats on the canal or horse-drawn carriages, it couldn't approach the speeds of today.

This Mrs. Storrs, in the 1840s, according to Mr. Suit, claimed she could beat a train to the Falls with a little head start. Suit related, "She bet she could walk to Niagara Falls and get there ahead of the train if they would give her an hour's start. Mrs. Storrs was pretty spry and a good deal of a walker, but the train folks were kind of surprised when they got to the end of the 24 mile run and found Mrs. Storrs sitting on the steps of the Cataract Hotel as cool as a cucumber."

The old newspapers did not give an accounting of how many people might have believed this story.

The chief mechanic of the old Strap Railroad also distinguished himself in the annals of railroad history. He is credited with making the one and only steam engine ever manufactured in Lockport.

William E. Cooper, the chief mechanic, teamed up with one of the railroad directors, Asher Torrance, and founded the Torrance Foundry in a building on Market Street. In the winter of 1843-44, Cooper built the engine and named it "Independence."

This engine was used on the railroad line for many years, but apparently the task of building an engine was too formidable, and another was never attempted.

The initial railroad craze brought many proposals for new lines, most of them not approved. Among proposals which failed to secure state charters were lines from Lockport to Batavia, Lewiston to Black Rock and one from Lockport to Youngstown. Niagara Falls however was successful in obtaining a charter in 1843 for a line to Buffalo.

Some persistent businessmen began asking for a charter in 1841 for the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad. The legislature finally granted the charter in 1847 after the request had been submitted and rejected several times previously.

This railroad was most successful. The businessmen bought out the old Strap Railroad and built new iron rails. They also changed the route, moving the station from Lockport's Lowertown to the upper portion of the city.

Many Lowertown businessmen actually rejoiced because the noisy, belching, dirty engines would not be passing through their area, frightening horses and causing noise and smoke pollution. When the last train passed through Lowertown in August, 1851, bells were rung, a large bonfire lit and people celebrated.

The celebration was short-lived, however. The businessmen soon learned that relocating the railroad also meant relocating a lot of their businesses. The upper portion of Lockport then became the main commerce center and Lowertown withered.


Bob Kostoff has been reporting on the Niagara Frontier for four decades and is the author of three books. E-mail him at RKost1@aol.com.

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com January 7 2003