The
Niagara
Frontier's
Rail History Source
A non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and education of railroad history in Western New York State, the Province of Ontario, and neighboring regions.
The Niagara Frontier Chapter NRHS is one of the oldest chapters of the National Railway Historical Society. Originally named the NRHS Buffalo Chapter, we received our charter on February 1, 1942. Charter members were listed as Russell H. Shapley, John M. Prophet III, Charles A. Erler, and Albert D. Kerr. Beginning in 1938 and up until 1942, we were the Buffalo Division of the Railroad Enthusiasts.
To better reflect our mission, the Chapter's name was changed on February 29, 1988 to Niagara Frontier Chapter NRHS, Inc.
On June 1, 2003 the long anticipated opening of our Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier was celebrated. Housed in the historic Erie Railroad Freight Depot in North Tonawanda, New York, our museum contains various railroad artifacts which celebrate the rich heritage of railroading in the Niagara Frontier Region.
Next Monthly Meeting
Friday,
October 9, 2026
7:00pm
Wheatfield Community Center
2900 Church Road, North Tonawanda, NY
Devan Lawton presents a look at railroading from the early 1970s through the colorful US Bicentennial years and on into the 1980s and beyond to around the year 2000. This slide show will be focused mostly on Western New York but we will also venture to places like the East Broad Top in Pennsylvania and even a few shots taken on the
Northeast Corridor, Florida, Chicago and California. Steam, diesel and transit will be seen. These years featured lots of really cool locomotive paint schemes and classic locations, many which have now vanished from the railroad scene.
Don't miss this great program! All are welcome!
June 19, 1988 Tioga Central RR, Owego, NY, RS-1’s #59 and 62 at the former Lehigh Valley RR station on the branch that ran from Owego north thru Auburn to North Fair Haven on Lake Ontario.
May 13, 1975 – Penn Central (ex NYCRR) between Silver Creek and Dunkirk, NY.
American Freedom Train with Reading Company steam #2101 westbound on track #2.
The Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier
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NOW OPEN EVERY SATURDAY
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
111 Oliver Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Admission to the Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier is FREE, but donations are always welcome and greatly appreciated!
Your generous support helps us restore and preserve the historic railroad equipment throughout our museum campus. Donations also help provide the equipment and resources needed to catalog, care for, and digitize our extensive archival collection, with the goal of making these materials more accessible for research, education, and public use.
Every donation, large or small, helps us preserve and share the rich railroad heritage of the Western New York region.
The Museum is Family-Friendly, Fully Accessible, and Free Parking is available!