[Home]  | 8/10/09 - Severe Flooding has hit the Gowanda Area. Massive amounts of rain over a short period have created hazardous conditions in and around the southern tip of the BSOR as well as along the NYLE. Several wash outs are present and the extent of the damage is still being surveyed. All traffic is embargoed south of Mile Post 23 until further notice. 8/9/09 - Strates Show Train is in and unloaded for the 2009 Erie County Fair. The train will reload on August 24th for the trip to the NY State Fair at Syracuse. For more information about the fair, visit the Erie County Fair on the web. For Strates Train schedules later in the year, visit Strates.com. 7/09 - Shop Report - Engine 5010 has received several new lower liner seats to correct minor water leaks and is expected to return to full service in time for the Fair Train. 10/19/08 - The web site was moved to a new domain. Please update all of your links to the new site: www.buffalosouthernrr.com. 8/08 - The BSOR announces that a new switching contract has been started with Buffalo Lake Port. This new company purchased the Lake & Rail Elevator (formerly ConAgra) to store and handle wheat shipments. See the Buffalo News Article for more info on the company. The BSOR will operate the yard for the elevator as needed. 11/07 - 2010 suffered wheel damage in transport and then was vanadalized to steal copper cabling from under the locomotive. Repairs are being considered. 5/1/07 - Locomotive 2010 has returned to Gateway Metroport for another summer of transfer service. 1847 is undergoing turbo repairs. 5/1/07 - The BSOR announces that relationships with the Croton Transfer facility have ended. Many factors aided in this decision, no customers of the BSOR will be affected. 1/1/07 - The Riefler Concrete Site has been purchased and is now being operated under the name Great Lakes Concrete Products. The BSOR utilized this new company to pour a remaining portion of the shop floor. This new enterprise makes a welcome addition to the BSOR Customer List. Great Lakes operations include ready mix concrete and cinder block production with potential for future rail shipments. 5/17/06 - The BSOR is offering common carrier transportation services at its transload facility in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, serving Westchester County and New York City Markets. The BSOR's services include complete loading and unloading for most commodity and car types; switching, storing and repair of rail cars; and track inspection services. The commodity types transloaded at the BSOR Croton facility include, among other things, aggregates, lumber, metals and concrete construction products. Featured on site are electronic scales for rail and truck, an enclosed structure for transload of dusty materials and other loading equipment. The site is located on the Metro North line along the Hudson River, a short distance from major interstate highways and New York City. Rail car switching is being provided on site by the BSOR and interchanged to the national rail network via CSX. 5/1/06 - Locomotive 2010 was delivered to Gateway Metroport in place of locomotive 93. Loading operations have commenced for the shipping season. Once repairs are completed on 93, 2010 will return to Hamburg and 93 will assume her normal duties. 3/19/06 - The BSOR announces intention to sell surplus equipment. Listings have been placed on the Railswap.Org website. Items up for sale include Fairmont Tie Shear Parts, Natural Gas Shop Heaters and Miscellaneous EMD Locomotive Parts. Contact Pat Connors for more details. 3/17/06 - BSOR Shop Report - 423 was placed back into storage. Internal block inspection found minor rust damage inside of the block. It is felt that repairs can be made at a later date and attempts made to fire the block. No time frame is given. Engine 93 (S4) is in the shop for water system repairs and routine maintenance to prepare it for the up coming loading season. Once it is completed it is planned to return 93 to Gateway Metroport. A slide table was constructed over the winter months to aid in wheel and traction motor work. The concrete work was completed in the fall with the steel table and track replaced over the last couple of months. The first engine rolled over the new construction this week. Engine 2010 is slated for wheel replacement with the use of the new table some time in the near future. 3/8/06 - RIEFLER CONCRETE CLOSES - As has been reported by several local news sources Riefler Concrete Products has closed it's doors, laying off hundreds of workers. This unfortunate news comes as a surprise to many, including the BSOR. Nothing outside of what has been reported is known by the BSOR. This will no doubt mean a minor drop in car counts. It is hoped that Riefler's is able to either reorganize or be sold to another producer that will utilize Riefler's many assets. The Hamburg Plant has a DOT approved transload and storage facility as well as multiple other rail unloading facilities on site. The BSOR Enginehouse remains unaffected by this closure at this time. NOTE HOWEVER THAT ALL VISITORS AND DELIVERIES will now need to call ahead for access onto the property. 1/1/06 - Locomotive 423 is in the shop for evaluation of possible return to service. This locomotive has been in storage since it's arrival from Omaha in 1998. Work to be performed include air updates, main generator cleaning and reassembly, prelubing and internal block inspection and water system inspection. An assessment will be made for feasibility to return this C415 to service. It was learned recently that the two ex-Spokane, Portland and Seattle C415s (#4010 and 4011) used by the Ohio River Terminal in Huntington, West Virginia have been cut up for scrap. The BSOR's 415 is now one of only 7 remaining in the US. 3/19/04 - Engine 4241 arrived safely in Cleveland on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Best of luck to their maintenance department with restoration. 12/17/03 - The BSOR has sold ex Q&G #4241 to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Crews from the CVSR have prepared the locomotive for shipping. The unit will be shipped early in 2004. It is hoped that the unit can be restored to operating condition and we look forward to seeing the unit return to service. 12/15/03 - Contractors are to begin work on installing 5000 ties to upgrade the mainline between Hamburg and North Collins. 8/31/03 - The BSOR anticipates additional new business this fall. BSOR crews continue construction of a siding for Crescent Manufacturing at North Collins. The ex-Agway Fertilizer plant is undergoing repairs to be utilized as a bulk feed storage and transload facility. 8/21/03 - Niagara Energy LLC (Renaldo's) unloaded their first two tank cars at the new facility in North Collins. All 5 storage tanks were purged. Construction at the plant is on going and should be completed in the early fall. The BSOR crews worked hard to complete construction of two new tracks at the facility. Hazmat Training, Firemen Response and Handling Classes will be on going through the fall. 
8/19/03 - Many thanks to the BSOR Employees,
Strates Employees, NS and CSX. The train was loaded before dark
and was on it's way to Syracuse at around 5 a.m. on the 19th!
See you all next year. For more information about the fair, visit
the Erie County Fair on the
web. AVAILABLE SITES - The BSOR's Blasdell site is currently available for development and gives the BSOR added storage space for potential new customers. The site is available for transloading, car storage, car repair or many other uses. The BSOR is conveniently located with direct rail connections to all Class 1 railroads that access Buffalo, NY. The site is cleared with ample storage space and has electrical power readily available. It is located in the Village of Blasdell only a 1/2 mile from US Route 5 and 1 mile from Interstate 90. Interested parties are encouraged to call for more information. Further development on site is available. Contact Buffalo Southern Railroad
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