The man behind Buffalo’s iconic DL&W train shed.
Lincoln Bush’s innovative contribution to rail travel.
When Buffalo’s DL&W opens to the public, visitors will find themselves in one of the oldest surviving reinforced concrete train sheds in the United States. The structure’s distinctive vaulted design, with skylights arching above and vents running over the tracks, and ample natural light was the work of Lincoln Bush, an engineer who helped reshape American rail architecture at a pivotal moment in its history.
Who was Lincoln Bush?
Abraham Lincoln Bush was born in 1860 in Palos Township, Illinois, just weeks after his namesake was elected president. He came of age in the post–Civil War period and taught in public schools before studying civil engineering at the University of Illinois. There, he led the Engineers’ Club and earned his degree in 1888, preparing for a career that would place him at the forefront of railroad infrastructure.
Bush’s early engineering work included roles with the Union Pacific Railroad and a bridge company. In 1900, he joined the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). Just three years later, he became DL&W’s Chief Engineer. Bush helped the railroad adapt to shifting technologies and the evolving needs of American travelers.
A smarter way to build a train shed
Bush is best known for designing a modular train shed that now bears his name. Unlike the massive balloon-style roofs common at the time, Bush’s sheds were constructed from cast iron, steel, and concrete using repeated modular forms. His design allowed steam and smoke to vent directly above the tracks while natural light filtered down through skylights over the platforms. The combination of ventilation, visibility, and cost-efficiency significantly improved the wide-span iron domes used in earlier stations.
The DL&W terminal in Buffalo, built between 1915 and 1917, includes one of Bush’s most distinctive sheds. Designed in tandem with architect Kenneth Murchison — who contributed the terminal’s Beaux-Arts Headhouse — the train shed sits on the building’s second floor, an unusual configuration even at the time. Bush’s use of reinforced concrete — still relatively new in large-scale construction — created a durable and fire-resistant structure that stands strong today.
At the time of its construction, the DL&W terminal served both freight and passenger trains and lake ships docking along the Buffalo River. Passengers entered through a grand waiting room, passed newsstands and telegraph counters, and boarded trains beneath a roof designed for movement, visibility, and airflow. Bush’s design made the experience safer and more efficient at a time when rail travel was dominant.
A legacy beyond Buffalo
Buffalo wasn’t the only city shaped by Bush’s approach. Major terminals across North America adopted his train sheds, including Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey (1906), Union Station in Winnipeg (1911), and Union Station in Toronto (1929–1930). Each structure brought his modular system to new passenger networks.
Bush’s contributions weren’t limited to stations. He also oversaw the construction of the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Pennsylvania, completed in 1915. At the time, it was the largest concrete structure in the world and remains a landmark of early 20th-century civil engineering.
Bush’s vision, sustained
Lincoln Bush retired from the DL&W in the early 1920s and passed in 1940. But his influence remains visible today in the graceful curves of skylit train sheds, like that of the DL&W terminal, where a century-old structure is once again finding purpose.
The revived DL&W public venue will occupy the space Bush helped engineer. By adapting it for public life in a different era, yet still shaped by the values he brought to his work: function, durability, public service, and thoughtful design.
In 2024, the National Park Service added the Bush Train Shed at the former DL&W terminal in Buffalo to the National Register of Historic Places.
