A Chautauqua County native knows of Jamestown, NY as a capital for comedy. Lucille Ball was born in nearby Celeron. But, in its early years, Jamestown was an industrial catalyst. It was once the furniture capital of the world.
You drive on Route 60 and roll down under a bridge. “Erie Railroad” is inscribed on the center of a concrete bridge - with New York and Chicago on the bridge as well.
The Erie Railroad had passed through Jamestown as early as 1909. Passenger and freight trains passed through on the daily.
In October 1960, the Erie merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western to form the Erie-Lackawanna. The EL eventually merged into Conrail in 1976.
Meanwhile, the Jamestown, Westfield, and Northwestern served as an electric interurban railroad between the largest city in Chautauqua County and Westfield, a point on the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Water Level Route of the New York Central. The line went north from Jamestown and went all the way to Westfield, with stops in small communities such as Bemus Point and present-day county seat Mayville, as a connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The JW&NW began operations in 1914 and ran passenger service until 1947, and eventually shut down completely in 1950. The track no longer exists, but the roadbed and several bridges still operate on bicycle paths.
As for the city, the only relic of the Erie-Lackawanna that’s left is the former EL station, known as the Jamestown Gateway Station. The final passenger train passed in January 1970, the Lake Cities route between Jersey City, NJ and Chicago, IL.
Today the station stands and will be used partially by the new National Comedy Center, which is set to be a major tourist attraction in Jamestown.
As for the railroad, today the track between Meadville and Olean, rather, Hornell, still stands. It serves as the mainline of the Western New York & Pennsylvania, who is controlled by the Livonia, Avon, and Lakeville Railroad (LAL, LA&L). Up until the early 2010s, the line served daily Norfolk Southern coal trains. Nowadays, the line serves two WNYP trains a week - both on Thursday. One goes from Olean to Meadville, the other is Meadville to Olean. The WNYP has an impressive collection of ALCO Century Series units, which are still getting it done today.
You can view my video shot in December 2015 of the WNYP here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY02BSiepns
Today, Jamestown’s industry is a mere shell of its former self. With retail skyrocketing, it’s not likely industry will make a huge comeback in Chautauqua County. One can only hope that one day, maybe an industry will pop up that will develop Jamestown back into the industrial city it once was.
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