Final Boarding Call: The Last 25 Years (1955-1979)

In the 1950s, with railroad travel in sharp decline, New York Central Railroad drastically reduced passenger service. Like others in the industry, it stopped investing in equipment, services, and stations. Facing declining revenues, the railroad put over 400 stations up for sale in 1956. It tried to sell the Central Terminal for $1 million— less than seven percent of its original cost—but failed to find a buyer. Three years later, New York State allowed New York Central to abandon rail service between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

As the operating costs outran profits, New York Central tried to reduce taxes and cut maintenance costs by demolishing several of the structures that contributed to the Central Terminal’s success as a railroad hub. In 1966, the Pullman Service Building, Coach Shop, Ice House, and the three-story power plant were demolished.

In 1968, New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads merged to form the Penn Central System, the Central Terminal’s second owner. Two years later, with Penn Central -- the largest railroad in the northeast -- on the verge of bankruptcy, Congress stepped in, fearing the collapse of the entire industry. In 1971, Amtrak, a newly created quasi-public corporation, took over most intercity passenger service. Amtrak made the Central Terminal its Buffalo hub, assuming responsibility for passenger operations, heating, and lighting. However, the station, like many others, faced ongoing funding shortfalls for maintenance and improvements.

In 1976, Penn Central, Lehigh Valley, Erie-Lackawanna, and Lehigh & Hudson River railroads merged to form Conrail, the Central Terminal’s third owner. By 1979, this beloved Central Terminal and the surrounding area showed signs of long-term economic disinvestment.

By October 1979, only eight trains per day pulled in and out of the New York Central Terminal, down from about 200 at its peak. On Oct. 28, Amtrak abandoned the Buffalo Central Terminal. The last train left the station that morning at 4:10. It should be noted that, in an ironic twist, the first train to ever leave the station was traveling eastward, while the last train to leave, Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, was traveling westward.

Fifty years, 4 months and 6 days after it opened, the once magnificent Central Terminal closed its doors.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.