New Year s Day, 1999. Jon Rothenmeyer photo. The Portageville trestle and beautiful gorge attracted special trains from Buffalo for passenger summer picnic specials in those early years when a day s outing by rail was a novel experience. About 1910, the Erie constructed a new station in Silver Springs, replacing a wooden one of similar size. The present station is really only a portion of this 1910 era replacement.
Old photos show a depot of almost twice the size, with an additional passenger canopy as well.
Five passenger trains per day in east and west directions provided service at the turn of the century. Never a strong presence in passenger service, the railroad excelled in merchandise freight, often handling high or wide loadings other routes could not accommodate. For once, an earlier mistake with the wide gauge came to the Erie s aid. In the years before World War II and until the merger with the Lackawanna in 1960, the Erie maintained a top notch freight service. By now the railroad extended all the way from New York tidewater to Chicago.