After posting on the original vision for Buffalo’s Metro Rail, a friend sent me an email inquiring about the Buffalo Belt Line, a transit system that formed a belt around the city at the turn of the century, with nineteen stops in various parts of town:
Just saw your Metro Rail Post. I forgot about the whole Main Street as an indoor mall concept! Thanks for sharing that. I am also fascinated by the Belt Line RR that serviced Buffalo until the late 1920’s. See this link. It seems that the tracks are still there, look at the Google map I did adding the stations that used to exist. They are all gone except the one on Amherst Street. It runs next to FWS on Elmwood, Tri Main, Central Terminal, Larkinville, Exchange Street (waterfront), La Salle Park and so on. What an amazing tourist vehicle this could be. -JI
The question is, would it be possible to recreate the Belt Line in Buffalo at this point in time, and if so, would it be practical?
Lead image: A belt line car: www.buffaloah.com and The History Museum