Avon station (Erie Railroad)

Coordinates: 42°54′51″N 77°44′53″W / 42.914109°N 77.748003°W / 42.914109; -77.748003
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Avon Station
The former Avon station in January 2015
General information
Location100 West Main Street (US 20), Avon, New York 14414
Coordinates42°54′51″N 77°44′53″W / 42.914109°N 77.748003°W / 42.914109; -77.748003
Line(s)Rochester Division
Rochester Branch
Mount Morris Branch
Attica Branch
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Other information
Station code3943
History
OpenedJuly 25, 1853
ClosedApril 30, 1933 - Attica Branch
January 20, 1940 -Mount Morris Branch
September 30, 1941 -Rochester Branch
September 28, 1947 - Rochester Division
Rebuilt1879
ElectrifiedJune 8, 1907–December 1, 1934
Former services
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
McQueens Rochester Division Terminus
Wiards
toward Rochester
Rochester Branch
Terminus Mount Morris Branch Spring Street
Caledonia
toward Attica
Attica Branch Terminus

Avon Station is a former railroad station 3943 for the Erie Railroad, located at 100 West Main Street, Avon, Livingston County, New York.[1][2]

History[edit]

Railroad service in the village of Avon began on July 25, 1853, with the extension of the Buffalo, Corning and New York Railroad (a division of what was eventually known as the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad) from Wayland to Caledonia.[1][2][3]

Avon Station prior to 1907
Aerial view of Avon Station, July 1971

The current station depot was built in 1879 for the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad (later known as the Erie Railroad).[1] Designed by railroad company staff architect Bradford Gilbert, the Avon Station is a basic wooden frame structure with a stone foundation that was is 80 by 24 feet (24.4 m × 7.3 m).[1][4] Basic on photographs, the station building also has timbering and wooden support brackets, as well as ornamental cutwork above its entrance.[1]

On June 18, 1907, the Avon Station was one of the few stops on the Erie Railroad to be electrified when service to Rochester became an electric service.[2] The electric service ended on December 1, 1934, when the Erie switched to gas motorcars for passenger service to reduce costs.[5]

One of the more active hubs of the Erie Railroad, Avon Station served as the terminus of four different Erie lines: the Rochester Division (Painted PostAvon), the Rochester Branch (Rochester–Avon), the Mount Morris Branch (Mount Morris–Avon), and the Attica Branch (Avon–Attica, where connections were made to the Buffalo Division).

Closing[edit]

Passenger service in Avon began to discontinue before and after electric service ended. Service between Attica and Avon ended on April 30, 1933.[6][7] The branch to Mount Morris followed on January 20, 1940.[8] Service to Rochester ended on September 30, 1941.[9] The Rochester Division passenger service ended on September 28, 1947.[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Gilbert, Bradford Lee (1885). Sketch Portfolio of Railroad Stations and Kindred Structures: From Original Designs. New York, New York: Railroad Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Smith, W N (1907). "Electrification of the Rochester Division of the Erie Railroad". Electric Railway Review. 18 (15): 428. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Erie Railroad Rochester Division: Chapter Three". Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  4. ^ White, James Terry (1910). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. ′Google Books
  5. ^ "Erie Trains to Run on Gasoline Power". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. November 30, 1934. p. 15. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Erie Railroad Time Tables - Effective January 15, 1933" (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: Erie Railroad. January 15, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Erie Railroad Time Tables - Effective April 30, 1933" (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: Erie Railroad. April 30, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Contract Let for Mail Line to Mt. Morris". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. January 24, 1940. p. 22. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Last Passenger Train Runs on Erie Railroad Avon Line". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. October 1, 1941. pp. 13, 16. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Erie Railroad Time Tables - Effective June 27, 1947" (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: Erie Railroad. June 27, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "Erie Railroad Time Tables - Effective September 28, 1947" (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: Erie Railroad. September 28, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved June 7, 2020.