Opened in 1909 as the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway, the route followed the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad's Falls Road branch for most of its length.

[2][page needed] The first section of the BL&R opened on September 3, 1908, from Rochester to a point just west of Albion, and by November 17 had reached Lockport.

The new railway could not reach downtown Rochester because it was unable to secure permission to install a diamond to cross the New York Central Railroad's Charlotte Branch at Lyell Avenue.

[2][page needed] Thousands of passengers were attracted to the BL&R's swift local service and cheaper fares that competed directly with the nearby "steam roads" serving the same areas.

[2][page needed] In 1914, arrangements were made for the operation of BL&R cars from Lockport directly into downtown Buffalo over International Railway Co. tracks.

Constructed in the bed of the old Erie Canal, the Subway was designed to help funnel interurban traffic and speed local passengers through the city.

Passenger and freight levels dropped through the 1920s as connecting lines were closed and the railroad met increasing competition from improved highways and the proliferation of affordable automobiles.

The body of car 206 was located at Knowlesville for many years and acquired by the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in 1998.

In 1995, a former unmanned RL&B station (believed to have come from Adam's Basin) building was purchased at auction and brought to the R&GVRRM for preservation.

In 2006 the building was acquired by the Village of Spencerport, moved to a site alongside the southern bank of the Erie Canal close to where the station once stood during service.