The Great Bridge at Poughkeepsie

2009 Walkway on the Bridge is making progress.

Poughkeepsie Bridge Walkway at Night

It is years later. Trains no longer run over the bridge; instead it is a walkway. Bernie Rudberg took a great nighttime picture from the walkway. See more about the great Poughkeepsie Bridge.

See our poster and brochure about a fan trip on the New Haven RR in 1937. It ran from NY City to Bridgeport, Danbury, Poughkeepsie, Maybrook, and Campbell Hall to Warwick NY. The brochure contains a description of the route including the big bridge in Pok plus a map. The fare was $3.50 round trip.

How much would you pay to ride that trip today ?

Muralist Seth Nadel has painted a 5' by 10' wall mural in the 5th floor lobby at One Civic Center Plaza in Poughkeepsie, NY. The mural, entitled "Hudson Valley's Bridge to the Future," is a scene of the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge spanning the Hudson River. Walkway Over the Hudson, in cooperation with the Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce and the building's owner, Eagle-Riverview Group, Inc, sponsored a reception at the official unveiling of the mural on Thursday, February 9th, 2006. In addition to providing food and refreshments, Walkway had a display of information on the history of the Poughkeepsie Highland-Railroad Bridge and on the project to turn it into a walkway and bike path, as well as information on the rail trail connection the bridge will make between Hopewell Junction and New Paltz. There was a good turnout of public officials and business leaders including Assemblyman Joel Miller and Senator Steve Saland. Former Westchester County District attorney Pirro was a special guest. The event was well attended to the point of being crowded and everyone got a 13" X 19" signed color print of the mural.

	Central New England Railway Home Page This page is an overview of the entire railway in Connecticut and New York.
Central New England Railway in New York State This page is an overview of the railway as it existed in New York State.
Central New England Railway in Hopewell Junction This page is about the CNE in the Hopewell Junction area.
Central New England Railway's Great Bridge at Poughkeepsie This page is about the CNE' bridge at Poughkeepsie.
The Rhinebeck & Connecticut This page is about the Rhinebeck & Connecticut which became part of the Central New England Railway.
The Railroads of Pine Plains Pine Plains was the intersection of three railroads, all of which became part of the Central New England Railway.
Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad One of the railroads that formed the Central New England Railway was the Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut. The CNE / ND&C from Dutchess Jct to Matteawan. The CNE / ND&C Glenham to Hopewell Jct. The CNE / ND&C from Hopewell Jct to Millbrook. The CNE / ND&C from Bangall to Pine Plains. The CNE / ND&C from Pine Plains to Millerton.
Connecticut Connection A trip along the Central New England Railway (CNE) from Canaan, Connecticut to the New York State Line.
Maybrook Yard The major freight yard where the CNE connected with other railroads was at Maybrook.
The Maybrook Line across Dutchess County The "Maybrook Line" was important to New England before the advent of Penn Central and before the Poughkeepsie Bridge burned.
The Poughkeepsie Bridge after the 1974 Fire The "Maybrook Line" lost its importance with Penn Central. See the effects of this fire on Eastern Railroading.
P&E in the Poughkeepsie Area Part of the The Central New England Railway (CNE) was the Poughkeepsie & Eastern (P&E)
P&E North of Poughkeepsie Area Part of the The Central New England Railway (CNE) was the Poughkeepsie & Eastern (P&E)
Poughkeepsie & Connecticut One of the railroads that formed the Central New England Railway was the Poughkeepsie & Connecticut.
The Central New England in Connecticut A great WebSite from Tim Dowd on the remains of the CNE in Connecticut
Fishkill Landing The Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad became part of the CNE. The New York Central ran from New York City to Albany and beyond through the Hudson Valley. The two roads met at Fishkill Landing. The first phase of the NYC rebuilding at Fishkill Landing starting in 1913. The second phase of the NYC rebuilding in 1914 and 1915. New York Central in the Fishkill Landing Area.

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Restoration of Hopewell Junction Railroad Station

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Bernie Rudberg's
Poughkeepsie Bridge

Artist sketch of the proposed bridge across the Hudson River.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

When the bridge was finally completed in 1888 it was a bit different than the one in this drawing.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

There were many different versions of what the Poughkeepsie RR bridge would look like. When the bridge was finally built it was not a suspension bridge and the rails were 212 feet above the river to allow large ships to pass under it.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee.

The finished bridge did not look anything like this artist version.

See an excellent picture of the bridge piers on our CNE in New York State page.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

A project the size of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge required a lot of labor and material. The above photo was taken from the Highland side of the river looking northeast. This structure is called falsework. It supports the work of building the actual bridge on top. When the bridge is completed ,the falsework is removed.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

The photographer was standing on the east shore of the Hudson in the south side of Poughkeepsie looking northwest. You can see the falsework between the bridge piers and the highland end of the bridge at left.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

The view is looking north along the west shore of the Hudson River at Highland. The west shore line normally had two tracks but a third track was added to carry construction material for the Poughkeepsie RR bridge. The third track was later removed.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

This view of bridge construction is from atop the cliff on the Highland side of the river. The City of Poughkeepsie is in the background. Note the men standing in the open on top of the construction more than 200 feet over the river. There were no safety nets.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

Here is the first section of the Poughkeepsie RR bridge in place and the falsework removed from under it. The view is from the Poughkeepsie shoreline looking northwest. The west shore railroad station is on the far shore in the center just above the empty bridge pier.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee This section of the bridge is being built over the waterfront of Poughkeepsie. If you look closely you can just make out the hand made ladder used to get up to the small crane platform on the right end. The sloping section in the middle seems to be a ramp to slide parts up to the top level.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

As construction progressed on the Poughkeepsie RR bridge, sections were fastened together in a high wire circus act 200 feet over the waters of the Hudson River. This view is looking north along the Highland shoreline.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

The Poughkeepsie waterfront was used to store much of the material for the big RR bridge. There is a steep cliff on the Highland side which left little room for storage.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

These sections of the bridge are about to be joined over the waterfront of Poughkeepsie.

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The Central New England Railway (CNE) was a railroad across northern Connecticut and west across the Hudson River in New York. It eventually became part of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Route (an alliance between railroads for a passenger route from Washington to Boston) and later a line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

In this view from the Poughkeepsie waterfront, the bridge is nearing completion. The falsework has been removed from the western section and the center has been connected. Only the section over Poughkeepsie is incomplete.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

The Hudson River looks a bit chilly in this photo of the finished bridge. The first train trip across the completed Poughkeepsie RR bridge was in December 1888. The steel work looks to be rather flimsy in this view considering the weight of train traffic on the double tracks on top. As trains got heavier and traffic increased, additional steel was added. Still later the double tracks on top of the bridge were modified to a “gauntlet” configuration to keep train weight in the center. The disadvantage then was that only one train could cross the bridge at any one time.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

Here is a portrait of the completed bridge with the City of Poughkeepsie in the background.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

This view of the deck on top of the finished bridge shows the City of Poughkeepsie in the background.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

Here is a view from the deck of the bridge looking north along the Poughkeepsie waterfront. The New York Central main line runs north along the shore of the Hudson River. In the upper right corner you can see the rail connection which was called the Hospital Branch. It went up the hill and used a switchback to deliver coal to the Hudson River State Hospital. There was also a connection to the Smith Street yard in Poughkeepsie providing access to the P&E and the P&C which connected to the line on top of the bridge. The rails on top of the bridge later became know as the Maybrook Line.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

A view looking south from the center of the bridge shows the waterfront of Poughkeepsie and the wake of the Highland ferry crossing the river. Today this view would include the highway suspension bridge that connects Poughkeepsie and Highland.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

This view looks over the bridge railing to the southeast over the Poughkeepsie waterfront. The large white building at left was the Vassar Brewery. Matthew Vassar used his beer making fortune to found Vassar College and Vassar Hospital. The dark buildings in the center are the Foster Lumber Yard. Right of center, at the foot of Main Street you can see the Poughkeepsie Highland ferry in the ferry slip. The larger white boat at the right side is the night freight boat.

The Central New England Railway (CNE) and later the New Haven Railroad, ran through Hopewell Junction, New York. The abandoned station is being restored. Follow its progress. Better yet, contribute to its progress. Find more about the restoration, volunteer, or make a gift

The Hopewell Junction station restoration is moving right along. Many thanks to ABC Awards for signs. See a Hopewell Junction Station site about the station restoration, volunteering, or make a gift.

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

This is where Main Street in Poughkeepsie reaches the Hudson River. The buildings are for the Hudson River steamboats and the Highland Ferry. At right is the Foster lumber yard. Horse drawn cars served Poughkeepsie and Arlington as far east as Vassar College. There was also a connection north to the Hudson River State Hospital. The big railroad bridge is to the right of this scene. Today this spot is a city park.

Bridge story by Al Alexander who was a conductor on the Maybrook line

From the collection of the late Austin McEntee

Fast forward the scene to May 1974 and the Poughkeepsie waterfront looks very different. Traffic on highway US 9 is diverted onto Main Street to avoid debris falling from the burning bridge. Fire fighters had a difficult time getting water onto the fire. It was too high to work from the ground and the bridge approach had burned. They finally stretched hoses across the bridge from Highland and stopped the advancing fire. Creosote soaked railroad ties make a very hot fire.

After the Penn Central era, CONRAIL had taken over the bridge and the Maybrook Line. They did not really want it. They wanted to route all the rail traffic on their own rails through Selkirk yard and a bridge near Albany New York. The Poughkeepsie bridge had a reputation for having small fires from train wheels but they were quickly put out by the bridge fire watch personnel. As a cost saving measure the fire watch was canceled. They also allowed the bridge sand barrels and water pipes to run empty. It was only a matter of time until the bridge burned.

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Greenland's ice caps are melting! Find out more about Global Warming at our Ominous Ecology WebSite.

A very frozen Hudson River at Poughkeepsie about 1900. Notice that this was before the Mid- Hudson highway bridge was built.
From the collection of the Beacon Historical Society.

Postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR bridge dated 1904. Note what looks like a steam powered single passenger car train on the bridge. It is probably the New Paltz/Poughkeepsie commuter shuttle.

Undated postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge from the Poughkeepsie shore. Note the last few cars of an eastbound freight train on the bridge.

The Poughkeepsie RR Bridge from high over the west end with the City of Poughkeepsie in the background.

Postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge.

Begin Postcard Poughkeepsie Bridge Boat Under It

Postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge.

View of the Poughkeepsie RR bridge from the deck of a ferry boat with the City of Poughkeepsie in the background.
From the Art Church collection.

Postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge.

Poughkeepsie Bridge and steamer Hendrick Hudson

Postcard view of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge with the Day Line steamer Hendrick Hudson leaving the wharf heading south.

Poughkeepsie Bridge with view of Hudson Line

View of the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge from the NYC Hudson Line just north of the Poughkeepsie RR station.
Photo by the late Austin McEntee.

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The Central New England Railway
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