VINTAGE NY CENTRAL

Hi Ben

 

I am thinking that there might be a meat packer down on the Hoboken shores system. This Train is heading North and its possible that it is an empty heading back to Swifts.

 

There were meat packers on North 6th street in Brooklyn served by the BEDT. These cars were floated over and they were normally in an order to match the packers facilities on the siding. There were three tracks in a row and cars on the third track were lined up with cars on tracks 1 and 2. The overhead trolleys were setup so that the full carcass could be wheeled through cars on tracks 1 and 2 from track 3 into the packing facility of the car owner. Swifts, Armour, Wilson were all on North 6th street.

 

If you check that Hoboken shore photo on the siding in the right side is an Atlantic Coast single sheet box car. It has a 1940 paint job on the car.

Nope that train is not heading North.  Its pointed east and heading to the floats by Maxwell House.  The building in the background on the right was just demolished,  You can see the Jersey City heights in the background

perhaps that Swift car was going or coming from one of the shipping warehouses or ship lines that the rr served. It would be a rather indirect route for a loaded car going to a Manhattan meat packer in my opinion

Just looked it up   Here is the route it took   Loaded in Kansas City   Santa Fe to Chicago.  Erie from Chicago to Weehawken   Transfer to NYC was hampered because of broken float bridges  Transferred to Hoboken shore at Weehawken   Floated from Hoboken to NYC float on upper West side   Down the high line to Swift.  LOL   Just kidding Larry  

Ben

 

Sounds plausible, but I would expect to see multiple cars if this was actual. I think its interesting that this reefer was on the Hoboken Shore to begin with and heading for the float bridge. I wonder what customer might have taken a carload like this. Maybe the Holland American line?

Many railroads had pier stations in New York City. Tugs would bring the cars on floats to the piers and they were loaded and unloaded at the piers. Here is a New York Central Pier station at piers 72 and 73 at West 32nd and 33rd st. The Central had a car float operation with a freight station on land at this point. Carload and LCL shipments were handled here. Some Pier stations also handled produce as well.

 

 

In New York City, The New York Central crossed the Harlem River in two locations, Spuyten Duyvil on the West side Line where the Harlem River meets the Hudson River and at Park avenue. The park avenue crossing is interesting in that the present bridge is probably the 4th bridge built by the railroad in that location. It is a 4 track lift bridge constructed in 1954 replacing a4 track swing bridge which was built in the 1890s. The swing bridge replaced a draw bridge built earlier which replaced a trestle which was the original span across the river for the railroad.

 

Here is a newsclipping showing the construction of the present lift bridge located just west of the original swing bridge. Imagine that in 1954, the railroad made the switch to the new bridge with very little disruption in service.

 

 

 

Here is the Lift Bridge as it exists today, about 60 years and four railroads (NYC, PC, Amtrak and Metro North) later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over on the West side line is the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge. It is a swing Bridge design and its low to the water. Originally used for the West side freight line which we know as the High Line, the tracks and bridge are used today by Amtrak to route Empire service and Long distance services into New York's Penn station. Amtrak trains discontinued use of Grand central in the 1990's.

 

From Metro Norths spuyten Deyvil station.

 

 

 

Looking from the Harlem River side

 

 

 

And from the Hudson River side

 

 

 

The New york central was not the only railroad to cross the harlem River over a bridge. The Long Gone third ave and Ninth ave Els had spans and today. The Broadway No 1 train still crosses on a lift bridge. This bridge was replaced in the 1960's and was slipped in place of the old bridge with the removal and replacement being completed over a weekend.

 

 

 

The Harlem River Bridges can open for almost any kind of a boat shipment. Here we have the Replacement Willis ave vehicle bridge making its way to its new home. I think this is probably a most unusual river movement. We have a Bridge crossing under a Bridge.

 

 

All good still LIRR STEAMER.. Great pictures Thx for sharing Fat jack "... Yes, it is that big!...."

I WANNA B SEDATED,LOL

 

At Rockaway Beach with Sheena

GABBA GABBA HEY !

I would guess that the pic is at the Bdwy Lafayette station.   Conductor must have been going crazy with DeeDee and Johnny holding the doors open

The Northernmost point on the Hudson line for Commuter service today is Poughkeepsie NY. That wasn't always the case and there were several long distance trains that stopped there in the earlier days. There was a connection South of here to the New Haven's Maybrook line which crossed the Hudson on a high bridge, just North of Poughkeepsie. Today there is Metro North and Amtrak service to this station.

 

Here is what the station building looks like today. Its been worked on as you can see

 

 

 

There are High level platforms here but that is an addition. Here are a couple of trains with FL-9s laying over , probably from the Penn Central or Conrail ERA. Platforms are at Grade. Commuter service at Right in the Photo and the Long Distance trains on the River side. Nice View of the Poughkeepsie Bridge . Its a bicycle path now I think

 

 

 

Couple of trains in the station. A little later in time . Still FL-9s handling the work. They were working for both Metro North and Amtrak Nice to still have this New York Central gem with us.

 

GO YANKEES!

Actually, it is part of a New York State Historic Park known as Walkway Over the Hudson.

Hi

Love all the info on this post, together with the photos.

CNJ3676 you have an incredible knowledge of photos etc.

 

Great Pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Great pics Steamer, this is my favorite RR as my father, grandfather and uncles all worked for the NYCRR and it just has a place on my layout.Ill never forget the stories my dad used to tell me when we were in the basement playing with the Lionels about the Harmon yards and how he got his finger caught in a frozen coupler it was great seeing these pics  Thanks

Up along the Hudson on the Water Level route was a spectacular place called Breakneck Ridge. The rock outcropping came out to the Rivers edge and the central had to tunnel through it . So here are some photos of the location with and without trains.

 

 

 The Ridge from the West Shore

 

 

Metro North Train peeaking out of the tunnel South Bound

 

 

 

This time a real New York Central Hotshot with a pair of E-7s Lightning stripers at the point

 

 

 

How about a little steam ? An L4 class Mohawk on a Northbound train

 

 

 

Heres that Metro Morth a little further south this time

That is indeed a Shay in the first picture. Note the coal bin on the front of it. I've seen other pictures of the shrouded Shays on the West Side of Manhattan.

I was browsing my collection of memorabilia and thought this might be a nice addition to the New York Central thread. This is a Form 110 timetable for the Adirondack Division from 1901. Note the prominent illustration of Grand Central Station on the cover.

 

Railroad issued documents like this are a great resource for historical research and offer much in terms of wonderfully relaxing reading which takes you back to another time.

 

Bob

 

I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY METRO NORTH WOULD USE THESE TO PULL METRO NORTH PASSENGER CARS AT TIMES,WHEN THEY CLEARLY DONT SAY METRO NORTH ON THEM.

 

My Guess is that these are part of the Connecticut contribution to the fleet.

Old NYC bridge in North Buffalo NY, photographed this past weekend.

 

This is going over Delaware Avenue. It was called the Belt Line and was influential as a commuter line in its early days.

 

I love the crispness of the NYC lettering after so many years!

 

 

 

Peter

 

Not NYC but definitely vintage New York Central.

 

 

Washington Street, Syracuse, during the Mercury's inaugural tour.

 

Crank

Great Photo "Crank". Presenting the future with the past on the stage of the present when this photo was captured. How strange it must have seemed to onlookers.!

Putnam

 

Great photos. I do note the respect Graffitti writers have for the New York Central, writing arround the bname on the Bridge but not defacing it.

Weehawken- 42nd street ferry her. This is the "Niagara" on  the way to 42nd street .

The New York Central had been looking for some time to close its Hudson River Ferry Operation with the ICC. I think this line was almost the oldest of the trans Hudson routes. In 1959, the New York Central received the ICC ok to discontinue the ferry operation and it was dome so on the day following receipt of the ICC order. " Weehawken" made the last Westbound trip from 42nd street to close down operations. Here she is in the slip on the New Jersey Side .

When the NY Central closed down operations on the Hudson River Ferry, The two routes were operating Weehawken- 42nd st and Weehawken - Cortland st. "Weehawken" made the final trip for the NYC on the 42nd st route and "Stony Point" made the final trip for the NYC from Cortlandt street. I believe this is a photo of "Stony Point " on the river .

 

 

 

When these boats arrived at Weehawken that day, the captain telegraphed to the engine room "Finished with Engines" for the last time.

SORTA LOOKS LIKE  A UFO.I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS IN O SCALE.

       
       


MTH already did them. aero trains.

OPPS I MENT TO SAY G SCALE 

WOW THIS WAS ALSO ON THE LOOT? I NEVER KNEW

 

Stock certificate...

 

I love these stock certificates . The art in the certificate captures the thinking and business of the day. The New York Central Certificate is dated from 1914 so 100 years. At that time . the greatest achievement of the New York Central company was the completion of the Grand Central Terminal and the electrification of the railroad that allowed this terminal project . The certificate shows one of their new electric trains heading up the Hudson in the Highbridge area. 

 

The Hudson and Manhattan Tunnels certificate is even more interesting . It shows the Pennsylvania Train Shed and the new H&M office towers at 30 and 50 church street in New York City. You can see the PRR ferries and a lot of river traffic with lots of smoke. Notice the line of what looks like US Naval warships. This whole scene conveys a sense of great power. Its also interesting that the artist has chosen to place the H&M train on the New Jersey side of the tunnel . When I was a kid, we thought of this line as a "jersey company"

         

A close-up and variance of the above certificate...