Falls Road Railroad
The Falls Road Railroad is a Class III short line railroad owned by Genesee Valley Transportation. The railroad operates in Niagara, Orleans, and Monroe counties in New York.
Operations
The railroad's right-of-way consists of of track, known as the Falls Road Branch, originally part of the New York Central Railroad linking Niagara Falls and Rochester. The line passed to the Penn Central and then to Conrail ownership before being acquired on October 15, 1996. Dispatching is handled by Genesee Valley's operations center in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A yard and engine house are maintained in Lockport, NY, where the railroad interchanges with CSX. The railroad is known for its use of Alco locomotives.The name Falls Road originates from the Niagara Falls Railroad, and was adopted by New York Central. In 1994, Conrail abandoned of track between Rochester and Brockport, New York; the Falls Road Branch now terminates in Brockport, west of Owens Road at Mile Post 16.60. The Falls Road provides rail service to several fertilizer, transload, and produce customers in the area, as well as the Western New York Energy, LLC ethanol plant near Medina, New York. In June 2024, the Falls Road entered into a new contract with Tropicana shipping orange juice to Brockport for distribution by truck into southern Canada. An engine house will be built and maintained in Brockport to assist the railroad in handling the added traffic.
Niagara & Western New York
The Niagara & Western New York Railroad was a short-lived company that operated a heritage railroad and excursion train service over the tracks of the Falls Road Railroad. Trains operated between Lockport and Medina, New York for a single season in 2002. Three locomotives were leased from Guilford Rail System: two GE U18Bs and one EMD GP7, all of Maine Central Railroad heritage. The railroad operated three passenger cars.As of 2025 the Falls Road operates occasional excursion service for the Medina Railroad Museum utilizing the museum's passenger cars.