Late summer flashback in western NY

[steveiez]

These are great shots of an area that was once so strong in manufacturing. I remember very clearly when Bethlehem Steel was like a city and Republic also. These pictures taken on a grey day matches the demise of this once powerful place. I even find it hard to believe there are any trains running except for those import stack ones.

[Matt L]

I hear ya- Buffalo's manufacturing base is a shadow of its former glory days. Even so, there are still a couple steel mills in the greater Buffalo area plus an assortment of small factories. The NS local at Buffalo Creek Junction probably took some of those boxcars to a couple of industries in Hamburg. The B&P services one of the steel mills and a Ford plant (that makes trucks) on the former South Buffalo. Buffalo Southern has a really wild mix of customers- everything from an ethanol plant to a tire compay to a natural gas dealer... plus interchange traffic with the New York & Lake Erie south of town. CSX has a couple clusters of customers on the north side of the metro area. Thankfully, some folks in/near Buffalo  carry on. They have my utmost respect.

[Matt L]

P.S. Thanks for the kind words about my photos!