ironman1 posted:I have lived in Yonkers my whole life, 61 years. I ride Metro North every day from Greystone in Yonkers, past Glenwood and the power station, along the Hudson. I love the ride, and always ride on the river side to admire and enjoy the Hudson & the Palisades. It relaxes me before work each day, as a graphic artist at a large advertising agency in Manhattan, 3 blocks from Grand Central.
I grew up within walking distance of the Hudson. Played along the rocks, skipped stones, fished & crabbed there my whole life, with my Grandfather, since I was six. I fish whenever I have the time, for years with my 3 kids, and now with my Grandson, Hudson, his dad and uncle. Mostly for fun these days, we always catch fish, stripers, catfish, perch, tommy cods, eels, and even a few sturgeon over the years. I bet I've caught close to a dozen different species from the Hudson. It's been many years, close to 30, I guess, but my largest catch was a 35" striper, I'm sure well over 15 lbs. Fond memories all!
Oh yeah, back to trains. I witnessed, unfortunately only diesel and electric, the NYC transition from lightning stripe, to cigar band paint schemes, Penn Central black, and Conrail blue to the present Amtrak red, white & blue passenger service & Metro North commuter trains. Some of my favorites have been RS-1 & RS-3 diesels, P-2 & T-3 electrics, all in 2 tone lightning stripe. I remember many 120+ freight trains rumble past Ludlow train station, day and night. If I only cared about photography in those days. I was too busy playing baseball and football at the Ludlow train station plaza... If I only had a time machine!
This all started because of the power station. It's an awesome structure and really a beautiful, well built piece of architecture and history. This past summer, on my way to work, I'd see workers cleaning up the years of accumulated debris around the building. Glad to hear it will live on, looking forward to the facelift!
Joe
Joe,
Hello neighbor. If you've been around long enough (like it sounds like you have, like me), adding to your list of locomotives, I think you would have also seen a few S-motors and the FL9's and FL9AC's (while they were briefly working...maybe working should be in quotes!). As far as MU equipment, the 1100-series had a pretty long life in service. When Metro-North painted the FL9's in New York Central lightning stripes, I'm sure you picked up your camera for that!
I think the day they rolled out the FL9's in NYC colors (I had to check...it was 1999), it was a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of railroad service along the Hudson. I was up in Dobbs Ferry taking pictures as the FL9's went up and down the Hudson for a good chunk of the day. I was standing near a bridge and a Dobbs Ferry police sergeant stopped to make sure a fellow railfan and myself were not going to jump off the bridge. He asked what we were doing, seemed to be a bit of a railfan/history lover himself and ended up staying with us for a while.
Regarding the fishing, I was wondering if you eat any of your fish that you catch?
Tom
(not my picture but found it online to show the paint comparison of Metro-North with the New York Central's paint scheme).
