West Falls Depot

West Falls Depot Former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway Passenger and Freight Station in West Falls, New York By the time Mr. Mr. Sprague began undoing Mr.

The West Falls Depot was built in 1917 by the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway Company and remained open as a passenger station until October 1955. Miscommunication between two railroad offices in 1959 resulted in one ordering its demolition, and another authorizing its sale to Christian Nagel. Nagel had discovered the error, a significant amount of demolition had been completed on the inte

rior of the building. Nagel eventually acquired title to the building in 1961 and began converting the depot into a home in which he lived in until 1988 when it was sold to Terry Sprague of West Falls. Nagel's modifications by restoring the depot's original appearance. Sprague continued restoring and maintaining the depot until 2022 when he sold it to Conor Schneider, also a resident of West Falls. The building currently remains under restoration.

06/16/2026

Follow-up to yesterday’s post: here’s a video by Stan Carlson of Milwaukee Road No. 261 passing through West Falls 30 years ago, on June 15, 1996.

This was the last steam engine to roll through West Falls on the former BR&P, part of Terry Sprague’s effort to promote Toronto-to-Ellicottville passenger rail service.

Near the end, you can hear the engineer switch from the steam whistle to the air horn. I believe someone may have been standing too close to the tracks.

While it would’ve been neat to see something like Union Pacific No. 4014 “Big Boy” roll past the West Falls Depot, 30 ye...
06/16/2026

While it would’ve been neat to see something like Union Pacific No. 4014 “Big Boy” roll past the West Falls Depot, 30 years ago today, another ALCO-built steam locomotive actually did.

On June 15, 1996, Milwaukee Road No. 261, also built by ALCO in Schenectady, New York, passed the depot, becoming the last steam engine to roll through West Falls on the former BR&P. The run was part of Terry Sprague’s effort to promote Toronto-to-Ellicottville passenger rail service (which would’ve been a great way to connect to the bills stadium… js)

Sadly, that service never materialized, but this photo is a great record of Terry’s work and a pretty cool piece of West Falls Depot history. Too bad I wasn’t around yet to see it in person!

Photo by Jack Schmidt, courtesy of Terry Sprague.

04/01/2026

I think it’s fair to say the railroad drainage pipe is overdue for replacement

The tide is high… but there is no ocean here.Just a temporary spring pond courtesy of an undersized railroad drain
03/07/2026

The tide is high… but there is no ocean here.

Just a temporary spring pond courtesy of an undersized railroad drain

Address

397 Old Glenwood Road
West Falls, NY
14170

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when West Falls Depot posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to West Falls Depot:

Shortcuts

Share

Category