Arriving at Erie Beach

Arriving at Erie Beach. . If you arrived at Buffalo's Main St. dock early enough, you had your choice of spots on the ferry to Erie Beach. The upper deck railing always filled up quickly. It was exciting to get that first glimpse of the park once the ferry cleared the harbour wall. , It was a bit of a game to search out the plume of smoke that traced the route of the Santfly Express west along the Canadian shore, after leaving the Bertie St. dock. The passengers of that little train, whether they were from Fort Erie north or had crossed over the Niagara River from Buffalo's Ferry St. dock, were just as anxious to buy park tickets as you were. No cash was accepted in the park, was always a race to be first in line. No one wanted to spend their day waiting to buy tickets. , Steaming closer to the long concrete pier, you could see that the park was busy long before the first train or ferry arrived. Local children were playing in the shallows of the rocky shore, while park staff worked quickly to open up their concession booths. Groups of adults hung large banners between shade trees. Whether this was a day featuring a company picnic or one honouring farmers or teachers, that didn't matter. With even more special events happening that day, it was all the more difficult to choose how to spend those tickets. , "I liked to be up right near the engines and the old soot would fly and blow right in our faces. But we were kids and we didn't care. We liked the noise and the action from the train that chugged its way up the lake shore." Maxwell Jacobs