Pagoda Style depots of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.






 The Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad built its mainline across New York State to Buffalo in the early 1880's. Many new towns were now on the expanded DL&W mainline, and each new town needed a depot. The Lackawanna designed a new style of depot for many of these New York state towns, a style which would become a DL&W icon. The "Pagoda Style" depot was first built around 1883 for the new  expansion to Buffalo, (and the style was also then used for some Pennsylvania and New Jersey depots as well.) but it is most strongly associated with the DL&W of the Southern Tier and Western NY. These were "combination" depots, which acted as both passenger stations and freight stations, and had facilities for both under one roof.

A total of 31 of these depots were built by the DL&W, and at least 5 more were on the Erie! This makes a total of 36 known Pagoda depots. Of those 36, Ten still survive in the year 2010, half a century after "The Route of Phoebe Snow" ceased to exist. Nine DL&W pagodas still exist, plus one of the Erie depots. (more on the Erie depots is below.)

(Update 2017 - The Perkinsville depot was demolished in March 2017, making Eight surviving DL&W depots now, plus the Erie Wimmers depot.)

There is also one modern full-size Pagoda depot replica! In Arizona.

Two-Thirds of the DL&W Pagodas, 20 out of 31, were in New York State, on the mainline extension to Buffalo that was built in 1880, 1881 and 1882.

It is believed most, if not all, of the New York state pagoda depots were built in 1883. More details on that at the bottom of the page.

Most of these depots were in use by the DL&W from the early 1880's through the late 1950's, Eighty years of service with the railroad. In 1960 the DL&W merged with the Erie railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna, and much of DL&W mainline was abandoned and ripped up across New York State. Today, only one (Atlanta, NY) of the surviving Pagoda depots is next to active rails, but for the rest, its been 50 years since they have seen a train pass by. Several of the survivors are in excellent condition, 130 years after they were built! but sadly a few others, while still standing, are clearly near the end of the line..conditions and status of all the depots will be discussed below.

I have always been interested in these depots. I'm from Waverly, NY, which was right on the DL&W mainline, and I was familiar with the Vestal and Painted Post depots. It had been in the back of my mind to someday look into their history some more..two things led to finally getting around to it in 2010!

First, a post appeared on railroad.net from Tom Morin, who along with his father saved and moved the Wallace NY depot in 1969. Tom was interested in learning more about the style, so he posted a question on the forum. Thanks Tom!

Second, I am finally getting around to building my garden railroad! I have been considering scratch building a 1/29 scale depot for my railroad..I considering basing it on a SR&RL depot, (im a huge fan of the Maine 2-footers)..or I would love to build a model of the Sayre LV station! my hometown train station, (where I spent many happy hours as a teenage railfan and museum member back in the 80's) but that would be FAR too huge..how about a DL&W pagoda depot? thats perfect! its unique, interesting, and local..so im going to attempt to build one! out of concrete..more on that later.

So one day in the summer of 2010 I was driving home to Rochester, NY after visiting family in Waverly. I stopped by Cohocton to check out the Alcos on the Bath & Hammondsport railroad, and then I took the backroads out of Cohocton, rather than get back on the expressway, so I could drive over to Atlanta NY to look for a pagoda depot I had never seen before..I drove into town, and there she was!..the DL&W's Atlanta depot, looking a bit rough, but still standing proud in fair condition, naturally I had to stop for much photographing! ;)

Those are the various factors that led to this webpage.

I only knew personally of maybe three or four pagoda depots..but obviously there must have been more than that..So I posted threads on the railfan forums (links below) and the DL&W fans out in the railfan community came through, as always, with a ton of great information, thanks everyone!

So here is a look at the DL&W Pagoda depots, from East to West down the DL&W mainline. 50 years after the end of The Lackawanna.

~ Scot Lawrence, October 2010.



DL&W Pagoda Depots:











 Patterson, NJ.

Barkley street in Patterson, on the Boonton branch.
Year Built -
Replaced by a new depot by 1927.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.








Bloomfield, NJ.

Watsessing Ave in Bloomfield, Montclair branch.
Year Built -
Replaced by a new depot in 1912.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.








Stirling, NJ.

Gladstone Branch.
Year Built -
Torn down in 1972.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.







Bernardsville, NJ.

Gladstone Branch.
Year Built -
Replaced by a new depot 1900, moved to a nearby location in Bernardsville in 1900.
Status in 2010 - Exists, in use as a business.


Photo by Joseph N. Scherbenco, used with permission.


Photo by Joseph N. Scherbenco, used with permission.

The Bernardsville depot is unusual, in that it is the only Pagoda depot replaced by another DL&W depot,
that still survives today! And was moved very early (about 1900). All other pagodas that were replaced by a second DL&W station, were either torn down, or replaced because they burned down, etc.. And all the other surviving Pagoda's were used by the railroad up until the end of the railroad in 1960, and were never replaced by a second depot.

Clearly Sterling and Bernardsville are the "non-standard" pattern, Sterling appears larger in width than the standard design, and both have different end windows, and different roof brackets. But they still have the distinctive pagoda roofline, so I am counting them as pagodas for this list.









Washington, NJ.

Year Built -
Replaced (when?) by 2nd depot, which is also now gone.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.









Oxford Furnace, NJ.

Year Built -
Still stood in 19611
On the "old main"
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.




Oxford Furnace, NJ - 1909










Portland, PA

Year Built -
Replaced (when?) by current station.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.







Old Forge PA

Year Built -
Sunbury branch.
Replaced about 1910-1915 by the current station.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.



photo








Luzerne, PA

Sunbury branch.
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.








Hunlock Creek, PA

Sunbury branch.
Year Built - 18831
Status in 2010 - Exists, turned 90 degrees, but at original location.
Condition - Fair, but getting worse, appears abandoned.

Hunlock Creek is the Easternmost surviving Pagoda depot. It appears someone attempted to turn it into a house at one point, (new windows were added on the roof, presumably for new rooms in the "attic" area, and it seems a new basement/foundation was also built.) but whoever was doing this, apparently gave up on the project for reasons unknown, and today the depot appears abandoned and is being allowed to deteriorate.

If anyone knows any details about the future plans for this depot, please let me know and I will
post it here! This depot is not yet too far gone, it looks like it could still be saved.

Historic photo:


Greg Robbins collection, used with permission.


Current photos:


� Bender Photography - Photo by John Bender, used with permission.



Photo by Joseph N. Scherbenco, from Pennsylvania Railroad Stations, Past and Present, used with permission.




Photo by Joseph N. Scherbenco, from Pennsylvania Railroad Stations, Past and Present, used with permission.



Links to further information on the Hunlock Creek Depot:

http://www.west2k.com/pastations/luzerne.shtml

http://www.railfan.net/lists/erielackphoto.cgi?erielack-02-06-03/Chuck_Bob02-2-2.jpg

http://bender-photo.com/wordpress/








Factoryville, PA

Year Built -
Burned in May 1988, torn down soon after.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.






Photo by Rich Tubbs, used with permission.



Photo by Rich Tubbs, used with permission. Photo taken May 7, 1988, a few days after the fire.








Vestal, NY

Year Built - 18831
Depot type W-1021
Moved in December 1972, to its current location on the Vestal Parkway,
about 1 mile from its original location.

Status in 2010 - Owned by the Town of Vestal and home of the Vestal Museum, well preserved and in excellent condition.

The Vestal depot is the Easternmost Pagoda depot in New York State, and is probably the best known example of the style. The depot saw its last passenger trains in 1959, and was abandoned in 1960 after the EL merger. The depot sat unused and un-cared for through the 1960's, until it was finally saved, and moved, in 1972.

It could possibly be the "prototype" pagoda depot! the first built, of all the pagoda depots, since it is the first pagoda depot west of Binghamton, and was likely the first built as the DL&W Buffalo extension built westward. Another interesting detail that suggests the Vestal depot may have been the "prototype" depot..notice the roof brackets..on the Vestal depot they have a circle in the center:

Vestal, Apalachin and Nichols, are the only three (known so far) depots with this style of roof bracket.

Every other depot (that we have photos of so far) has a second, different bracket style!


This suggests that Vestal (and perhaps Apalachin and Nichols), the first three depots on the new Buffalo extension, were possibly the first built, the prototypes, and had some details that were not used on the rest of the series.

Below are six historic photos taken in July 1971, a year before the depot was moved. these are from the Library of Congress collection.


Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.



Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.

Its interesting to note that in 1971 there were still active tracks in this area! Probably still serving some local industry. The former DL&W mainline was converted into a spur into Vestal from Binghamton after 1960.
Today the DL&W ROW is a rail trail through this area, and the active spur has been cut back and ends further East.
Today the spur ends in the industrial area to the East of where Prentice Road meets Old Vestal Road.



Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.



Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.



Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.



Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, July 1971.


The Vestal Depot today:







Vestal Links:

Moving the Vestal station, 1972

ELHS offers a HO scale model of the Vestal depot! photo

Photos of the Vestal station from the Library of Congress.

Vestal Museum - Inside the Vestal depot today.








Apalachin, NY

Year Built -
Replaced in 1912 by the current station.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.


Chuck Yungkirth collection.

The photo above is looking East down the DL&W mainline.
The Apalachin pagoda depot was replaced by the 2nd Apalachin depot in 1912, the brick depot which still exists today. The current brick depot is on the same site as the original pagoda depot, and today the tracks in the photo above are now the eastbound lanes of Route 17. (soon to be I-86)

The Apalachin pagoda depot, along with the Atlanta, NY depot, were the only two "long" style depots in New York State. The Atlanta depot still stands today.







Nichols, NY

Year Built -
Replaced in 1907 by the current station.
Pagoda depot was then moved, in 1907, only a few hundred feet.
The depot still existed in 1979, and was destroyed in the early 1980's1
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.



There is one known photo of the Nichols depot, in the book:
"Lackawanna Facilities in Color, Volume 3, Scranton to Buffalo" by Chuck Yungkurth.
(Morning Sun Books, 2009)

This photos shows the Nichols depot had the same roof brackets as the Vestal and Apalachin depots, the only three depots known (so far) with this style of bracket.







Elmira, NY

Year Built -
Replaced by 2nd Elmira station, which also no longer exists.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.









Horseheads, NY

Year Built -
Replaced by 2nd Horseheads station, which also no longer exists.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.









Big Flats, NY

Year Built - 18831
Depot type W-102A1
Status in 2010 - Uncertain.

The Big Flats depot is very interesting..because it *might* still exists somewhere! in a disassembled state, and it *might* be put back together someday, but all of this is quite uncertain, and few specific details are known.

We know the depot stood, in its original location, until at least the year 2000. And it was reported gone by 2003. It is known that someone bought the depot, dismantled it, has it currently in storage either in Big Flats, or in Pennsylvania, and plans to re-build it in Pennsylvania! :) It is unknown at this time if the depot has in fact been rebuilt yet, or if it still remains in storage, disassembled. If anyone knows any details about this project, please let me know! We would all love to see the Big Flats depot restored someday.


Photo from the 1958 DL&W photographic survey, by railfans Ed Weber and Tom Taber III.
Greg Robbins collection, used with permission.

The Big Flats depot was photographed in 1998 and 2000 by John Dahl and Gary LaPointe,
click here: Great Railroad Stations, Big Flats, NY, for the photos.

Gary LaPointe sent me his photos from 1998 and 2000 for this page, thanks Gary!
the depot clearly stood for 40 years, abandoned, before it was dismantled around the year 2000.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.

By the year 2000, it appears the depot has begun to be dismantled by its new owner.
the roof is gone!


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.


Photo by Gary LaPointe, used with permission.

If anyone knows the current status of the Big Flats depot, please let me know!

Big Flats Links:

Great Railroad Stations, Big Flats, NY, by John C. Dahl.

Discussion about the Big Flats depot, on railroad.net.












Gibson, NY

Year Built -
Was still standing, and still in use, in 1950.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.

Gibson is just east of Corning, NY, the depot was located right below the "Christ is the Answer" sign that has been up on the hillside since 1960, as you drive into Corning from the east.


Eastbound DL&W freight, Gibson, NY - 1950.
Bridge to the left is over the Chemung river, heading into Corning.
Today this scene is very different! The bridge, water tank, water plug, depot, and all the siding tracks are gone. All that remains is a single track of the once double track DL&W mainline, today in use by Norfolk Southern as part of their "Southern Tier Main"...Today this is a small stretch of existing DL&W row, only a few miles long, and to the east of west of here, the current ST main is all ex-Erie trackage.  (then the DL&W tracks are in use from Painted Post to Wayland, by the B&H-LAL)


Notice the depot has a different end pattern! the windows are moved over to the side, and a door has been added! I dont know if the depot was built this way, or if that was a later modification.


Looking West.


Looking East.

(I dont remember where I got these photos! I found them online many years ago, and saved them..When I made this page I went searching for the original location, with no luck..if anyone knows the photographer, or the original site these photos were hosted on, please let me know so I can give proper credit.)
.









Painted Post, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - In use by the Corning Painted Post Historical Society's Erwin Museum at the Depot,
well preserved and in excellent condition.

The Painted Post depot, like the Vestal depot, is also in use as a museum. These two depots (Painted Post and Vestal) are in the best original condition of the nine surviving depots.

The Painted Post depot has not been moved, it's in its original location, however no trace of the DL&W ROW can be seen near the depot today.






















The tracks were on the left in the photo above, North side of the depot. Today the road in the background has been built up and over the old ROW, and a highway fill also exists on the other side, making the old ROW difficult to determine in this area, although a rail-trail exists to the east and west of the depot.








The museum's webpage contains a very interesting note about their depot:
"The pre-fabricated building was delivered on rail and erected on its current site in Painted Post in 1881-1882." I would have assumed all the depots were built on-site, from scratch, but from the same plan. But this reference implies that perhaps the depots were built somewhere else, then shipped by rail (probably in sub-assemblies) to their locations, and then placed on the site, and finished.
interesting! I will have to dig into this some more.

Painted Post Links:

Painted Post Historical Society, Erwin Museum at the Depot







Coopers, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.









Campbell, NY

Year Built -
Still existed in 1988, burned, now gone.
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.


Photo by Rich Tubbs, 1980's, used with permission.







Savona, NY

Year Built - 18831
Depot type W-102A1
Status in 2010 - Exists, moved to Bath, NY.

The Savona depot today is not at its original site, it was moved about 5 miles to its current location on the East side of Bath, NY. (6747 State Route 415) (anyone know when it was moved?)
Today the depot is being used by "Ground Control" a Satellite TV business.

At first I thought the Savona depot might have been shortened when it was moved, because most of the other Pagoda depots are much longer than this, but historic photos show it was in fact originally this short.

Historic photos:


Postcard, Tom Morin collection, used with permision.


Current photos:









Anyone know what this cool little structure is?
it looks like an outhouse!
and clearly it was styled to match the depot..Is it a historic DL&W structure that was moved along with the depot? or was it built later? (If you look at the small postcard at the top of this Savona section, there appears to be a small structure at the back of the depot! could that be this little building?)

Unfortunately the store was closed when I stopped by (it was about 8am and I was on my through to Waverly) so I wasnt able to ask then..next time I drive through I will try to stop by and talk to someone at the shop..they probably know the answers to these questions! ;)




There are also two pieces of rolling stock at the depot!
This is a wood LVRR caboose, one of only seven known surviving LV wooden cabooses.
the wheels have "Sayre PA" cast into them!


And also this Erie coach, stencils can still be read on the trucks that say "RPKD EL 3-16-68" (repacked) So the coach was still in use by EL (probably in mow service) up to at least 1968.









Bath, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.









Kanona, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.


John Stewart collection, used with permission.













Wallace, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - Exists, moved to Victor NY in 1969, now a private home.



The Wallace depot is one of three surviving DL&W Pagoda depots in Western NY that have been moved and converted into private homes! The Wallace depot was moved in 1969 from its original location in Wallace, to Victor NY, then fully restored in 1970-1971.

Thanks to Tom Morin, who along with his father purchased, moved and restored this depot, we have
a lot of interesting information about how its preservation came about..thanks Tom! Here is Tom to share the story:

Below is the text from forthcoming book by Tom Morin about his life as a graphic designer in Rochester, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and New York City:
"Threads of Influence: A Visual History of My Life in Graphic Design." includes the architectural collaborations between father and son, including the Wallace Depot, Wallace, NY, Edward Steichen Barn, West Redding, CT, Morin Residence in New Canaan, CT and Jack Hough Associates (office building), Norwalk, CT.
"DL&W Depot, Wallace and Victor, New York"

It was while driving with my parents to Elmira, New York, for a wedding that we passed the old DL&W train depot in Wallace. It was a gorgeous but haunting shell of a structure, with a pagoda roof line formed by a steeply sloping roof that curved back upward above overreaching, decorative supports. The resulting deep eaves created a covered walkway along each side of the station, a feature more beautiful than it was practical, especially in winter.

    My father always kept a 100-foot tape measure in the car, so we planned to take pictures and measurements of the depot as we returned to Rochester. The depot turned out to be 19-1⁄2 feet wide by 50 feet long; its roof was crumbling slate and its exterior walls, peeling batten and board. The structure had been built around the late 1800s and sat on the ground with no foundation. Only half the interior had been finished for use by waiting passengers, stationmaster, and ticket seller. The other half was raw space used for cargo.

    In the next few days, I began thinking about moving the depot building to Rochester and turning it into a design studio, or perhaps making it our home. I called DL&W's headquarters in Cleveland to see if they would sell it. I sent a registered letter with an offer to pay $400. Much to my surprise, they accepted. We contracted to have it taken apart, numbered, and moved 65 miles.
   
    My father began visualizing it on top of the 10-acre parcel of farmland we owned south of Rochester in Victor, New York. It arrived on site in the dead of winter, six flatbed truckloads of the worst-Oooking junk pile you ever saw. The thought of torching it crossed my mind more than once.
 
    In between teaching and designing, we spent considerable time scraping and burning the paint from every exterior board in the pile. Two Austrian carpenters and my grand-father's lumberyard and mill were pressed into service. I believed it to be a tremendous project, and although it came early, maybe too early, in my lifetime, it remains an important and memorable achievement. We saved a beautiful piece of Americana history that undoubtedly would have been razed, if it hadn't just fallen down of its own accord.

    Sitting on a full basement, the house was very compact and efficient. The ground floor had a galley-style, Pullman-dining-car kitchen with exactly three feet of space between counters. Next to the kitchen, a small den and half bath were squeezed into a space that had once been the baggage storeroom. The rest of the ground floor accommodated a living room with 35-foot cathedral ceilings and a dining area where the ticket office's bay window had been. A spiral staircase allowed access from the basement to the building's other two floors. Off a second-floor interior balcony were a master bedroom and bath, and small child's bedroom.

    I have since learned that this depot was one of at least eight similar structures built by DL&W in neighboring towns, along a line stretching from Wallace southeastward to Kanona, Savona, and Painted Post. Surprisingly, in Tucson, Arizona, there is an exact replica of the Wallace depot at Trail Dust Town, an Old-West attraction in the heart of downtown.

~ Tom Morin, 2010.


Tom's photos and photo captions:


Wallace Depot taken in 1968 before being moved to Victor, NY



Wallace Depot painting. Date and artist are unknown, but I would love to have this info!
Purchased the print on Ebay and the seller knew nothing about it.



Wallace Depot dismantled, numbered and on truck ready for delivery to Victor, NY. It took six trips.
Do not know who the contractor was...but he did a great job. I have to say, upon arrival at its future home site, it looked like the makings for a nice bonfire, not a home.



Wallace Depot bay window on truck.



Wallace Depot taken in 1969/70 during re-construction in Victor.



Wallace Depot taken in 1970 before we moved in. Primed but not painted.



Wallace Depot taken in 1970, before final completion.



Wallace Depot taken in 1970. We have moved in at this point.



Wallace Depot taken in spring of 1970 in Victor, NY. painted and moved in.



Wallace Depot taken in spring of 1970 in Victor, NY. painted and moved in.


Thanks for sharing that great story Tom! :) You and your family did a beautiful job!

Tom and his family purposely restored the depot in its original configuration, making no major alterations to the building, preserving its original design as much as possible. Today the depot is no longer owned by him or his family, they only lived in the Depot for one year after it was completed, (1970-'71) before having to move out of town for business/career reasons. Tom's family then sold the depot to it's second owner, who began some alterations to the building, and today the depot is owned by its 3rd or 4th owner since 1970. Over the past decades, the structure's interior and exterior have been altered quite dramatically by several different owners. It looks like the building was raised, probably for a new second floor, several of the original windows were removed, replaced and restyled, and new windows have been added in places where there were not windows originally.


below is a recent photo of the depot:

Photo by Carlos Ortiz, Democrat & Chronicle newspaper, 2009.
An article about the depot was written in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspaper, on October 24, 2009.


Wallace Links:

Democrat & Chronicle newspaper article, October 24, 2009.









Cohocton, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - Exists, moved to Springwater NY, (when?) now a private home.

The Cohocton depot is the second of three surviving DL&W Pagoda depots that have been moved and converted into a private homes in Western, NY. (The Hunlock Creek PA depot has also been converted into a home..although it looks like that project has been abandoned)  The Cohocton depot was moved (when?) to Springwater, NY, and is now a private home. It is possibly for sale!

Historic photos:


John Stewart collection, used with permission.


John Stewart collection, used with permission.  Notice the freight door at the end of the building! rather than the side.

Current photos:
(coming soon, hopefully)

This is a depot I hope to visit and photograph in the future..I will try to find out more about its history, and if it is in fact still for sale.


Cohocton Links:

Cohocton depot on ny.existingstations.com








Atlanta, NY

Year Built - 18831
Status in 2010 - Exists, original location, fair condition, exact status uncertain.

The Atlanta depot is the only surviving pagoda depot that still stands next to active rails!
There is one track still in place, of the once double-track DL&W mainline, and its a line that runs out of Cohocton and ends over in Wayland. The line is currently owned and operated by the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad, a division of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad. The B&H's main facility and enginehouse is in Cohocton, and B&H trains generally run from Cohocton eastward, towards Bath and ending at Painted Post, where the B&H interchanges with Norfolk Southern. This line from Cohocton eastward is quite active, and sees at least one train a day Mon-Friday. However over here at the Atlanta depot, west of Cohocton, trains are much less common. The B&H does not often run between Cohocton and Wayland. (anyone have any details on the activity of the line through Atlanta?)

The Atlanta depot is one of the unusual "Long" designs.

Historic Photos:





Aerial view, looking North West, Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, 1971.



Aerial view, looking East, Photo from The Library of Congress. Photo by Jack Boucher, 1971.



Current Photos:



































In 2010 the Atlanta depot appears to be in decent condition, although it could use some TLC so it doesnt deteriorate further. It does not appear to be used for anything at the present time, the building is empty. anyone know who owns the depot? and any future plans?

Update! March 2017 - With the demolition of the Perkinsville depot (see next section below) the Atlanta NY depot is now the westernmost surviving DL&W Pagoda depot.

Update! 2021 - The Atlanta depot has a new owner who has been actively working on it, doing repairs, replacing windows, and painting the entire exterior. The building is being stabilized, great news!

Atlanta Links:

Two aerial photos from The Library of Congress.collection, 1971.









Perkinsville, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - Derelict, abandoned, in danger of total collapse.

Update - The Perkinsville depot was torn down in March 2017.

(Text below was written when the depot still survived, in 2010)

The Perkinsville depot is today the Westernmost surviving pagoda depot that is still in its original location, this is also the saddest of the surviving depots.

I dont know if anyone used the depot for anything after 1960, but its been several decades at least since it has recieved care or maintenance of any kind. (It's quite possible the depot has actually been unused and has had no maintenance since 1959! 50 years!) Ten years ago (photos below) it was looking very rough, but was still basically intact, (the slate roof tiles probably bought the depot a lot of time)..but now, in 2010, it has finally started to collapse, and probably only has a few more years to stand if nothing is done.

It's probably too late to save this depot, in 10 more years it will probably be a large pile of kindling. :(  although..the ends are still intact, the roof has half-collapsed, but the other half is still in place. Several of these pagoda depots have been dismantled and moved, why not this one too? The salavagble parts could perhaps be rebuilt into a "short" depot like the Savona/Bath depot. Its a long-shot I know, but its still technically possible..its almost too late, but perhaps not totally
too late.

Historic photos:


Undated photo.

Perkinsville, NY was originally named "Portway", (you can see Portway written on the station
sign in the photo above) The town was officially renamed Perkinsville in 1935.


Undated postcard, probably early 20th Century.  John Stewart collection, used with permission.



Photo from the 1958 DL&W photographic survey, by railfans Ed Weber and Tom Taber III.

Notice at some point the DL&W shaved off the curved overhangs of the roof, probably due to rain/snow concerns. This is the only depot I have seen that recieved this particular modification.

In 1998 and 1999 Gary LaPointe and Jon Rothenmeyer photographed the depot, and it was still in mostly intact condition then, although clearly hadnt been touched in many years. You can see these photos on the Great Railroad Stations website, and here is Gary's photo from
1998:


Photo by Gary Lapointe, used with permission.

Current photos:
Now another decade has passed, since the photo above, and Nature has not been kind. Clearly no one is paying any attention to this old depot, she is quietly returning to the land.




The east end of the roof has collapsed.








West end of the depot, looking east down the DL&W mainline.








Peeking through the open bay window.








East end of the depot, looking West down the DL&W mainline.
(tracks were on the south side of the depot)




Update! 2017 - Sadly, as predicted, the Perkinsville depot has met its end. It was torn down in March 2017. The Perkinsville NY community Facebook group says multiple attempts were made to purchase the depot, to move it off the site and restore it, but the owner always refused, or quoted such an unrealistic price that it was clear he simply didn't want to be bothered. So, the last owner of the depot let it fall into such a state of disrepair that it was demolished. Sad, it could have been saved.

Perkinsville Links:
Great Railroad Stations - Perkinsville, NY








Dansville, NY

Year Built -
Destroyed before 19003
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.







Groveland, NY

Year Built - 18831
 Still stood (in Groveland) in 19741
Status in 2010 - Exists, moved to Honeoye Falls, NY (when?) now a private home.



Current photo of the Groveland depot on Existing Railroad stations in NY state.








Mount Morris, NY

Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.



And that brings us to Mount Morris, the 31st and Westernmost (known) DL&W Pagoda Depot.
The Erie Depots.

There were at least FIVE more pagoda depots! (one still exisitng today!) Centered in North East Pennsylvania, all within 20 miles, or less, of Scranton. and oddly, belonging to the DL&W's arch rival, the Erie Railroad!

These Erie depots are a bit of a mystery, because no one really knows (yet) how the Erie could have wound up with pagoda depots that are so clearly identical clones of the DL&W pagodas! There are a few possibilities, none proven yet..just speculation:

1. Perhaps the DL&W didnt "own" the blueprints..perhaps the railroad didnt actually design the depots themselves in-house..If an outside architecture firm designed them, this firm might have been free to sell the plans to anyone. I doubt this is true, but its possible. (we need to find out who actually designed the pagoda depots) It also seems unlikely that the Erie would delibrately choose to build a style more associated with the DL&W, just because of corporate pride and rivarly.
I doubt this is the answer.

2. If the DL&W did design the depots themselves, and the railroad owned the blueprints, perhaps they were still willing to sell the design to the Erie (also seems unlikely, given the rivarly of the era.)

3. This one is my favorite theory, and one I plan to look into:
There is an interesting reference on the Painted Post Historical Society's
 Erwin Museum at the Depot webpage:

"The pre-fabricated building was delivered on rail and erected on its current site in Painted Post in 1881-1882."

I would have assumed all the depots were built on-site, from scratch, but from the same plan. But this reference implies that the depots were built somewhere else, then shipped by rail (probably in sub-assemblies) to their locations, and then placed on the site, and finished. Assuming this is true (and I have no reason to doubt it!) then its likely the DL&W, being based in Scanton, PA, built these depots somewhere near Scranton..perhaps even at their own Scranton shops, then shipped them out by rail from there.

Suppose the  DL&W had some extra depot "kits" that they didnt need, and the Erie needed some depots, and had ready cash, so the DL&W simply sold their surplus depots to the Erie, who then erected them nearby..the location of the of Erie depots actually helps support this theory, because the five known Erie depots were all on the Erie's Wyoming division, (which runs very close to Scranton!) and all are quite close together:

Gravity PA
Maplewood PA
Elmhurst PA
Wimmers PA
Avoca PA





Here is another Erie map, showing the entire Erie system..
I drew in a tiny blue oval just below Scranton..
*all* the Erie pagoda depots are clustered within that oval:



These are the *only* known Erie railroad pagoda depots! look how amazingly close they are to Scranton..coincidence? I think not! ;)

So given that unique clustering of the only known Erie pagoda depots, all within 10-20 miles of Scranton, and Scranton being the DL&W's main shops and headquarters, and its likely that the DL&W's "central pagoda depot building location" was probably Scranton, then the logical conclusion is that the Erie could have bought the depots from the DL&W in Scranton and used them in that local area. This would explain everything! the location of the Erie's "pagoda cluster"..and it would explain why the Erie depots look *Identical* to the DL&W pagodas..they look like DL&W pagodas because they ARE DL&W pagodas! built by the DL&W, but never used by them..used by the Erie instead..
I will look into this more! and if anyone has any details on this, please let me know and I will post it here! :)  (email link at the bottom of the page)


Gravity PA
Erie Railroad pagoda depot
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No Longer Exists.

Maplewood PA
Erie Railroad pagoda depot
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No Longer Exists.


Elmhurst PA
Erie Railroad pagoda depot
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No Longer Exists.

Edward Gardner Collection.


Wimmers PA
Erie Railroad pagoda depot
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - Exists, moved to nearby Hamlin PA.
Today the depot is owned and used by St. John's Episcopal Church, Hamlin PA.

Historic photo:




I came across some great photos on-Oine of the Wimmers depot, by M. Smith,
who let me post them here..thanks!

Notice how *every* detail of this depot matches the DL&W standard design!
It seems highly likely this depot was in fact built by the DL&W, and sold to the Erie.

Current Photos:


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.


Photo by M. Smith, used with permission.





Avoca, PA
Erie Railroad pagoda depot
Year Built -
Status in 2010 - No longer exists.

Photos of another known Erie railroad pagoda depot, Avoca, PA
also virtually identical to the DL&W pagoda's, with only some minor door/window
variation (which we also see on the DL&W depots themselves)





Two photos from the Erie Railroad's 1909 survey.








DL&W Pagoda depot replica.

At "Trail Dust Town" theme park, Tucson, Arizona.
Year Built - about 1996.
Status in 2010 - exists, in use as a theme park railroad depot.

This depot was custom-built for the theme park. It is believed to be based on the Wallace, NY depot, and was probably built from the Wallace depot drawings that appeared in the "Railroad Station Planbook" in 1977.

Although clearly the builders did not follow the drawings exactly! ;) the depot is a bit of a caricature, which was probably intentional. It appears to be full size in terms of length and width (using the "short" pattern) however the windows are shorter and squatter, and the roof appears to hunker down
lower on the building, with a wider overhang, which results in much larger roof brackets than on the "real" pagoda depots. An interersting take on the design!

Tom Morin (who originally purchased and moved the Wallace depot) sent me these photos of the Trail Dust Town depot..thanks Tom!












More photos of the Trail Dust Town depot and its 2-foot gauge railroad:
http://www.arizonaandpacificrr.com/spot/traildust/traildust.html








More In-depth DL&W Pagoda Depot research and theorys:

These depots were designed to be "dual-purpose" depots, a passenger station, and a freight station, all in one building. (in many/most instances, railroads would have seperate structures for passenger and freight station use.)

All the depots have a "passenger end" and a "freight end".
the "passenger end" has the two windows on the east or west end, looking down the tracks.
the "freight end" has no ground level windows, probably for security purposes.

There seems to be no uniformity as to which end faced which direction. In some cases the passenger end, with the windows, faces east, in other cases it faces west. Some depots are also "mirror images" of the others, with a reversed floor plan. Some depots were on the north side of the tracks, others on the south, whatever fitted the local landscape (and railroad-owned property) the best.

All appear to have been built from the same general blueprints, but with differences in length/size, probably due to the needs of the particular community. All appear to have the same ornamentation, except for the Vestal & Nichols depots, which have some features unique to them. (discussed in the section for Vestal above.)

All were clearly "small town" depots, meant for the smaller communities along the line. None were built in larger cities, with the one unusual exception of Elmira, NY.

There is an interesting reference, on the Painted Post Historical Society, Erwin Museum at the Depot
website, which says "The pre-fabricated building was delivered on rail and erected on its current site in Painted Post in 1881-1882." I would have assumed all the depots were built on-site, from scratch, but from the same plan. But this reference implies that perhaps the depots were all built somewhere else, then shipped by rail (probably in sub-assemblies) to their locations, and then placed on the site, and finished. interesting! I will have to dig into this some more. Next time I drive through the area, I will stop in and ask them about this! (they were closed when I stopped by to take the photos above, it was quite early in the morning.)

Rusty Recordon compiled a list a few years ago, and it was posted on railfan.net. Rusty's list discusses different build styles for the depots, the three main styles being "short" "standard" and "long"..plus some other variations on the theme. I havent yet added those specific descriptors to the main list above.

The three main designs differed only in length, amount of windows, and doors.
but overall details are the same for each..The three different lengths were used in different communities depending upon local business and need. and not all depots are exactly alike within a class..windows and doors could be different, or changed over time.



The "Short" design has 6 roof brackets, is 18' wide at the ends by 45' 3" long and is known used in:
 - Savona NY (now in Bath)
 - Wallace NY (now in Victor)

The "Standard" design was the most common, 9 roof brackets, 18' wide at the ends by xx long,
and known used in:
 - Portland PA
 - Hunlock Creek PA
 - Old Forge PA
 - Factoryville PA
 - Vestal NY
 - Nichols NY
 - Big Flats NY
 - Painted Post NY
 - Campbell NY
 - Kanona NY
 - Perkinsville NY
 - Groveland NY

The "Long" design has 12 roof brackets, 18' wide at the ends by xx long and known used in:
 - Apalachin NY
 - Atlanta NY (I will measure Atlanta next time im down that way)

"Non Standard" depots:
In addition to the three main patterns above, there were also several Pagoda depots that dont
fit those molds..

Cohocton NY had 10 brackets, somewhat inbetween the "standard" and "long" designs, and the freight door was at the end! a custom design.

The two Erie depots (that we have photos of) have seven roof brackets!
more minor variations on the theme.

And several of the New Jersey pagodas do not exactly match their New York sister's patterns.
Sterling and Bernardsville have different window arrangments and roof bracket designs.
Stirling appears noticably wider than the standard pattern, and Oxford Furnace appears to be a
"long" pattern, but is noticably taller! with a full second story.


(The list above is incomplete, since we dont yet have any photos or descriptions for several depots.)








When exactly where the Pagoda depots built?

At first glance, the answer seems obvious.."1881 and 1882".. Since those are the years the DL&W mainline was built across New York state to Buffalo. But it might not be that simple!

As I mentioned above, the New Jersey depots have different details than their New York state sisters..And there is some uncertainty concerning the build dates of the NJ depots..the mere fact that they have different details than the NY depots would suggest the NJ and NY depots were built at different times..but which came first?? Was the Pagoda pattern first developed for the New York state mainline extension to Buffalo, making the first Pagoda depot perhaps Vestal, in 1883, then the PA and NJ depots came later...or were the NJ depots built first? then the design was "standardized" for the Buffalo extension? This is all currently unknown.

The Vestal, Apalachin and Nichols, NY depots, the three easternmost depots in NY, have some design features that are unique to them! and appear on no other Pagoda depots..the main detail difference being the shape of the roof brackets:

Vestal, Apalachin and Nichols depots:


Every other New York Pagoda depot has a second, different bracket style!


This suggests, to me, that perhaps Vestal was the "prototype" pagoda depot, built first, with some details that were not used on the "final" design for the rest of the depots. Also Vestal, being the Easternmost Pagoda depot in NY state, would have have had active rails earlier than any other New York state pagoda location, and would have been "ready" for a depot first. DL&W rails were in service to Vestal by the spring of 1881.

But were Pagoda depots being constructed as the mainline reached the individual communities in 1881 and 1882? I would naturally assume so..but perhaps not..

I found some details on the build dates for the DL&W across the Southern Tier of New York, and some interesting details concerning the Waverly, NY (non-pagoda) depot construction. This information is from the book "Twenty Five Years at the Junction, 1865-1889" by Frank Evans of Sayre, Pa. The book was published around the year 2000, and is a detailed account of the Erie, LV and DL&W activity in and around Waverly NY and Sayre PA during those formative years.

September 1880 - DL&W surveying crews first reach Waverly.

July 29, 1881 - DL&W rails are active to Owego.
August 16, 1881 - DL&W rails reach Nichols.
October 14, 1881 - DL&W rails reach Waverly.
November 25, 1881 - a DL&W depot exists in Waverly. (this is the "first depot".)

April 7, 1882 - Trains are running to Elmira.
August 10, 1882 - DL&W is open to Bath.
September 14, 1882 - The DL&W mainline is complete to Buffalo, trains are running over the whole
                                system. (freight only to Buffalo, Passenger service as far as Mount Morris)

February 25, 1883 - Passenger service now also open to Buffalo.

So thats essentially two years of construction to build the DL&W mainline between Binghamton
and Buffalo, 1881 and 1882.

The webpage for the museum in Painted Post says their depot was built "1881-1882"..
which seems perfectly logical given the dates the railroad was built! and assuming the pagoda depots were built along with the railroad, since the communities would have the need for a functioning depot as soon as trains were running...but..

Looking through the book "Lackawanna Facilities in Color, Volume 3, Scranton to Buffalo" by Chuck Yungkurth (Morning Sun Books, 2009) throws a wrench in the 1881-1882 pagoda build date theory! ;)
Because Mr. Yungkurth has a source that indicates nearly all of the NY Pagoda depots were built in..1883! One to two years after the railroad was complete..
What is the source?..its the DL&W railroad itself!

There is a "1918 Valuation Report" that lists details on several of the pagoda depots..this report has the following information:

Vestal depot - built 1883, cost $6,198. station type W-102. (note the different catagory for Vestal!)
Big Flats      - built 1883, cost $6,506, station type W-102A.
Savona        - built 1883, cost $3,723, station type W-102A. (Savona is a "short" depot)

Yungkurth also says, presumably based on the same report:
Groveland   - built 1883
Atlanta        - built 1883
Hunlocks Creek PA - built 1883.

1883? that seems to make no sense..but it's highly likely the DL&W would know when their own depots were built, and the report is from 1918, only 35 years after the fact.. so its quite likely the 1883 date is correct. could it be a clerical error? possibly! but for now, I have no reason to question the DL&W's own information about their depots.

But the communities must have had an operating depot as soon as trains were running in 1881 and 1882..they wouldnt wait a full two years to build a depot! how to explain this? By going back to Frank Evan's book "Twenty Five Years at the Junction", this book contains details for depot construction at Waverly, NY.

The DL&W Waverly depot is well known:




This was a brick depot which stood until the end of the railroad in 1960, at the Fulton street crossing, the site of which is currently buried under Route 17! But this is the third DL&W depot for Waverly! (Technically the Waverly depots were located in South Waverly, PA! not Waverly, NY..the DL&W mainline made a short jog across the border into Pennsylvania at Waverly..but the DL&W always referred to the station as "Waverly, NY"..even though it was in reality a few hundred feet into Pennsylvania!)

Notice in the photo above there are Two depots..
The main passenger station in the foreground is the THIRD depot..
in the background is the second depot, built in..1883! This depot was originally over at Pennsylvania avenue, near the John H. Murray & Sons coal facility. The 1883 wood depot was moved over next to the modern brick depot when it was built ..the wood depot then became the freight depot.

What of the first Waverly depot then?
There are no known photos or descriptions of it..only some newspaper records from Frank's book:

From the "Wavery Advocate" newspaper:

October 14, 1881.
The double track of the new DL&W has been laid, ballasted and in all respects prefected to this village. Everything is made complete as soon as track is laid, including fences, telegraph poles and wires.

November 25, 1881.
The NYL&W (DL&W) started its trains on Monday last. Trains leaves Waverly for the east as follows: 5:30am, 12:30 and 4pm. They arrive in (South) Waverly at 11:15am, 5:30 and 10:25pm.
(this does not specifically mention a passenger depot..but if trains are running in November, clearly they must have had some kind of building in service)

August 31, 1883.
Plans for new DL&W South Waverty Depot.
The new, renamed DL&W RR will commence building a new depot in South Waverly soon.
Three plans have been made and estimates and advantages of each are being made.
It has not been deceided as of yet whether to build on Fulton street or the site of the present station on Pennsylvania avenue. We hope that the will settle on Fulton street as it is near the center of town and only a few rods from the Erie depot. This would make the transfer of freight and passengers much more adventageous for all.

(This is the 2nd DL&W Waverly depot..built only two years after the first, in 1883. This depot was in fact built at Pennsylvania ave, not Fulton street, At the time, the DL&W had a bridge carrying Fulton street over the tracks.
Clearly this is *not* a pagoda depot..photos of it are known. but it was designed and built in 1883! the same year
as the Pagoda depots, based on the dates given in the 1918 valuation report.)

December 14, 1883.
The new DL&W passenger depot was opened to the public last Monday. A new freight depot is soon to be erected by them. Architects are now at work on the plans.

January 14, 1884.
The new DL&W depot is finished and has been accepted by the company and will be opened, as soon as the seats which are being made in the Company's shops at Scranton arrive. Supt. Wm. F. Halstead and Division engineer C.C. Rose have inspected it, marking that it was the best piece of contract work that he ever had anything to do with. A decided compliment to the builder, Mr. J. Secord. Mr. Rose being the architect of the building, and it is very credible to him being a model of beauty and convience.


Then the 3rd and final depot, the brick passenger station that stood until 1960, was later built, and the 2nd passenger depot, the one discussed above, was then moved over alongside of it and converted into the freight station.

So! three Waverly depots..
the first only existed for 2 years..built in the Autumn of 1881 as the tracks were built through Waverly, and was an operating depot when trains began to run.

Then! a second depot! built a very short time later, in 1883. this was *not* a pagoda depot, and several photos of it are known..it later stood next to the third, and final, Waverly depot until both depots were demolished about 1960.

Why would the DL&W replace its original depot with a second depot after only 2 years or less?
Probably not because it needed to be replaced..but because this was the plan all along!

My working theory:
The first Waverly depot was probably a very basic, simple and temporary structure, and it seems possible *all* the buffalo extension depots were probably built this way in 1881 and 1882! simple temporary structures meant only to get service up and running..then the railroad had plans to build the "real" depots in 1883..this is where the Pagoda depots come in, and it explains a second depot for Waverly in 1883 as well..This Waverly information, plus the build dates of 1883 for the Pagoda's listed in the 1918 report, all fit together nicely to explain this theory.

There is also a known newspaper article, in the collection of the Vestal, NY Town Historian office, from the "Broome  Republican" newspaper, dated September 1881, that states completion of the
Vestal and Apalachin depots (first two depots on the Buffalo extension) was being rushed to completion...but..it doesnt specifically say these were the pagoda depots! could these have also been temporary structures opened in 1881 just to get service up and running? based on the 1883 build date from the DL&W's 1918 report, it seems likely that is the case.

So now it seems all the New York state pagoda depots were likely built in 1883, one to two years after the railroad was completed. And I think I might be able to prove it! :)
Here: DL&W records at Syracuse University is the holy grail.

"A. Correspondence 
Incoming letters are all arranged chronologically during the period 1850-1876 and 1879-1889. While many files are continued on this arrangement for the period 1890-1912, there are also many subject files relating to individuals, company offices, paymasters, superintendents, coal, lake freights, auditors, banks, company agents, express, counsel, president's office, and stations. 
 Incoming Correspondence 1879-1912 (524 boxes)"

"F. Negative Photograph Files.
 Included in the collection are some fifteen thousand Eastman glass negatives of railroad scenes, especially roadway, rolling stock, stations, locomotives, right of way, and other subjects. The inclusive dates are 1865 to 1925. Only a small portion of this negative photograph collection has been catalogued."

wow! I plan to visit Syracuse soon to research this further.
Perhaps this information will also shed some light on the theory that the pagoda depots were all built
at a central location (Scranton?) and then shipped out by rail to their final locations..







Links:
(some of these links are repeated in the individual depot sections above.)

Discussions about these depots:

NY forum on Railroad.net
DL&W-Erie-EL forum on Railroad.net
DL&W forum on Railfan.net


More photos and webpages with local railroad history information:

DL&W and Erie station photos - Rich Tubb's EL page on ancestry.com
Existing Railroad Stations in New York state - by Charles Woolever
Database of Pennsylvania RR Stations Past & Present - By Dan West.
www.s363.com - by John Stewart, also has local railroad history information.
Western NY Railroad Archive, DL&W
Historic photos of the Vestal and Atlanta, NY depots - From the Library of Congress.
Ron Dukarm's Erie Lackawanna Photos - A treasure trove of over 1,000 DL&W, Erie and EL photos!
Scot's railroad webages. (my own collection of pages.)
DL&W records at Syracuse University.
Rusty Recordon compiled a list a few years ago, and it was posted on railfan.net.
DL&W in South Waverly, PA
DL&W stations between Binghamton & Buffalo - from wnyrails


Local Historic Societies and Museums, with a DL&W connection:

Vestal Museum - In the Vestal depot.
Corning Painted Post Historical Society - Uses the Painted Post depot.
Steamtown, Scranton, PA - the largest museum with DL&W ties, located in the Lackawanna's
                                         Scranton, PA yard and shop complex.

(I only know of the NY state societies, (and steamtown of course) if there are any other RR historical societies in PA and NJ that have a DL&W connection, please let me know and I will add them to the list!)


Trail Dust Town, a "wild west" theme park in Tuscon, Arizona,
has a replica (somewhat freelanced) DL&W pagoda depot!








Modeling information

Two known sets of drawings have been done of the DL&W Pagoda depots!

1. The first appeared in the July 1960 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Drawing by Chuck Youngkurth of the Vestal depot.

2. The second drawing is in the book: "Railroad Station Planbook" [Paperback] by Harold A.     Edmonson and Richard V. Francaviglia. published in 1977. This book contains a drawing of the Wallace, NY depot, drawn by Harold W. Russell Jr.

I was able to locate copies of the magazine and the book! Both drawings are very good, however I believe the Wallace drawing is better detailed and more accurate. (and it has dimensions, while the Vestal drawing does not.) I plan to use the Wallace drawing as the basis for my G-gauge model, and it is believed this drawing was used to build the full-size replica depot in Arizona.

In addition to the two sets of drawings, two HO scale models also exist!

3. The first HO scale model dates from the 1970's, Originally produced by AHM/IHC. It is a decent model, but is somewhat crude by today's standards, especially when compared to the modern ELHS model (below), and it is lacking the most distinctive pagoda feature! the pagoda roofline!  It would appear the original designers of the kit probably based the roof on the Perkinsville depot, which had its "swooped" roof ends removed by the DL&W sometime in the first half of the 20th century. (although other features of the model dont match Perkinsville. Its probably intended to be a somewhat "generic" depot based loosly on the DL&W Pagoda's) And back in the 70's obviously the "flat" roof was much easier to make into a mass-produced plastic model, given the technology of the time..This kit was out of production for many years, but has now been re-released by Atlas. 

   
     AHM/IHC model from the 1970's, re-released by Atlas. (2010)
   
4.  This AHM model was used as the basis of a Pagoda depot model that appeared in the April 1989 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman: "RMC/Dremel Kitbashing Award: DL&W's Campbell N.Y. station." The AHM model was kitbashed and altered, and the proper pagoda style roof was added. That model of the Campbell station is now in the collection of the Buffalo Model Railroad club, and is on their club layout:

      
         Photo by J. Henry Priebe Jr., of the Campbell depot model at the Buffalo Model Railroad Club, 2001.


5. The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society offers a HO scale model of the Vestal depot! a highly detailed and accurate laser-cut kit made by Branchline Trains, only available from the ELHS:

    
    ELHS HO scale model of the Vestal depot, ELHS photo, used with permission.


6. And another magazine article about the Pagoda depots appeared in the July 2008 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman: "Modeling the DL&W's Vestal, NY Depot." by Rusty Recordon. This article uses the ELHS laser model as the basis for the article. It also gives some historic information on the Pagoda depots.


That makes three magazine articles:
July 1960 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman - Drawing by Chuck Youngkurth of the Vestal depot.

 April 1989 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman - Model of DL&W's Campbell N.Y. station, using the AHM kit.

 July 2008 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman - Model of the Vestal depot, by Rusty Recordon, using the ELHS kit. An in-depth and detailed construction article.

One book:
"Railroad Station Planbook" 1977 - Drawing of the Wallace, NY depot by Harold W. Russell Jr.

And two commercial models:
1970's plastic model by AHM, no pagoda roofline, re-released by Atlas. ELHS laser cut wood model of the Vestal depot.
   
And sometime in the next year or two I plan to begin scratchbuilding a Large Scale (1/29 scale, generically called "G-scale") model of a pagoda depot for my garden railroad. I will post more details on that when I begin working on it.







Footnotes

1. "Lackawanna Facilities in Color, Volume 3, Scranton to Buffalo" by Chuck Yungkurth. (Morning Sun Books, 2009)

This book contains information from the DL&W's "1918 Valuation Report" that lists details on  several of the pagoda depots..this report has the following information:
    Vestal depot - built 1883, cost $6,198. station type W-102. (note the different catagory for Vestal!)
    Big Flats      - built 1883, cost $6,506, station type W-102A.
    Savona        - built 1883, cost $3,723, station type W-102A. (Savona is a "short" depot)
    Yungkurth also says, presumably based on the same report:
    Groveland   - built 1883
    Atlanta        - built 1883
    Hunlocks Creek PA - built 1883.

 This is the primary source for the theory that "The NY Pagoda depots were built in 1883" The source is the DL&W railroad itself, in 1918. I have no reason to question this data.


2. "Twenty Five Years at the Junction, 1865-1889" by Frank Evans, Sayre, Pa. Published around the year 2000.

3. Rusty Recordon's pagoda depot list, posted on railfan.net.

4. Newspaper article in the collection of the Vestal, NY Town Historian office, from the "Broome  Republican" newspaper, dated September 1881, that states completion of the Vestal and Apalachin depots (the first two depots on the Buffalo extension) was being rushed.

Assuming that "Source #1" is correct, (the DL&W's 1918 Valuation Report), then this 1881 newspaper article must be referring to temporary Vestal and Apalachin depots, not the pagoda depots themselves. More infomation on this theory is in the "When were the pagoda depots built?" section above.












And finally, you have reached the end of this page!

This will be an on-going project..there is much more research to be done! If you have any photos, stories, observations, comments corrections, etc..anything at all! about these depots or this webpage, please feel free to email me at:

sscotsman@yahoo.com

Or join-in on one of the discussion forums! (links above) The railfan community, and DL&W fans, would love to hear anything you have to share. And thanks to everyone who HAS shared tons of great information so far! it is much appreciated by me, and all the other DL&W fans. keep up the good work! :)

Scot Lawrence, Page started October 2010.
Last updated February 26, 2022.


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