NFTA Rail Maintenance Yard

NFTA Rail Maintenance Yard
Car Barn, Maintenance Facility and Administration
1971 view of DL&W Terminal, before its main building was demolished.
General information
Location	29 South Park Avenue Buffalo, New York
Coordinates	42°52′22″N 78°52′27″W / 42.87278°N 78.87417°W / 42.87278; -78.87417
Owned by	Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Buffalo Metro Rail
Tracks	5
Construction
Platform levels	2
Parking	Employees only
History
Opened	1917 (DL&W) 1985 (NFTA)
Rebuilt	1982
Electrified	Yes
Previous names	Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Terminal
Former services Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Lackawanna toward Pittsburgh Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Terminus Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station Terminus Main Line Leicester toward Hoboken East Buffalo toward Hoboken Preceding station Nickel Plate Road Following station Dunkirk toward Chicago Main Line Terminus Preceding station Wabash Railroad Following station North Tonawanda toward Chicago Chicago – Buffalo Terminus

The Metro Rail Maintenance Yard or "South Park Terminal" houses Buffalo Metro Rail's cars in a train shed at the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal in the Cobblestone District of Buffalo, New York. The property is located at the southernmost fringe of the Central Business District. The station was built in 1917, and was designed to handle both steam trains and steamships.^[1] The storage and maintenance facility was converted to its present condition in 1982, following the demolition of the former main terminal concourse building "headhouse" of the DL&W Terminal in 1979.

The lower level of the sheds are used to store the rail cars when they are not in use. The upper level is mostly empty space, consisting of the concrete troughs where tracks once stood and their platforms. However, some of it is used for offices, a train operators' lounge and storage.

Numerous proposals for adaptive reuse of the unused portion of the upper level of the terminal sheds have been floated publicly by various parties, including: a casino, a farmers market and loft apartments,^[2] while the lower floor is currently undergoing reconstruction to accommodate a new Metro Rail station.

In 1982, an addition was built on the east end of the terminal building, which has a modern rail maintenance shop for servicing the rail fleet. This addition also contains some administrative offices.