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Welcome to our New York Central Railroad Stations WebSite
This WebSite shows many of the stations that belonged to the old New York Central System. The station pictured here is in Utica, New York. The station was built between 1912 and May 1914, replacing an older structure dating from 1869. The building was designed by New York architects Stem and Fellheimer. The Boehlert Center at Union Station is a train station served by Amtrak and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Utica, New York. It is owned by Oneida County, and named for retired U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford. |
You will enjoy our New York Central Railroad Stations WebSite
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Here's a preview of some of the exciting projects we have put together for you:
Our starting point is New York City's Grand Central Terminal . Leaving Grand Central Terminal we pass 125th Street Station in Harlem and cross into the Bronx at Mott Haven. Hudson Division trains turn out here while Harlem Division trains and "Yankee Trains" continue straight through the multi-track interlocking. Further on, the old Putnam Division branches out. Check out Harlem Division, Putnam Division and New Haven Railroad stations. As we reach the mighty Hudson River and head North, a swing bridge carrys a rail line South to Penn Station, today's destination for Amtrak. This line used to extend even further South and was known as the West Side Freight Line. Following the Hudson River 33 miles North we come to Croton-Harmon. This used to be two separate stations with Harmon being the larger of the two and also the site of the maintenance shops for the electric locomotives that entered New York City. Take a look at Croton and Harmon stations . After Croton-Harmon, we roll through many stations including Peekskill, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. On the other side of the Hudson River we notice another railroad. It is the West Shore. Meeting the West Shore at Kingston are the Wallkill Valley Branch heading through New Paltz to a meeting with the Erie Railroad; and the Catskill Mountain Branch to Oneonta. Our next stations are Rhinecliff and Hudson before arriving at Albany At Schenectady, there was an interlocking that controlled access to the Troy & Schenectady Railroad. After going through Schenectady (home of the General Electric Company), Amsterdam and several other towns until we stop at Utica. Utica was the base for the Adirondack and St Lawrence Divisions. The Utica Union Station connected to the Lackawanna, Ontario & Western, and NY Central-owned West Shore. The Adirondack Division went to Saranac Lake, with a branch to Lake Placid, then to Malone and finally to Montreal. The St Lawrence Division went from both Utica and Syracuse to Watertown, Ogdensburg and Massena. A line went West to Oswego and on to Niagara Falls alongside Lake Ontario; stopping at many small towns like Wolcott. Opened in 1999 the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center is the long-distance ground travel (rail and bus) terminal serving the Syracuse, New York area. It is served by Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, and Trailways, and is located in the north of the city. But the older stations that served Syracuse both before and after the tracks were elevated to preclude street running. Syracuse was important for freight because of the huge Dewitt Yard. Rochester had many important industries including Kodak. Their magnificant station disappeared before anybody could do anything about it. At least Albany and Syracuse converted to other uses while Utica is still active. Buffalo Central Terminal was an important connection to many railroads. It is also a rail history preservation project, a great urban redevelopment project, a railfan favorite, and IMPORTANTLY something that could help the economic recovery of Buffalo. Tower City Center (formerly known as Cleveland Union Terminal) is a large mixed-use facility located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including the landmark Terminal Tower, a shopping mall, two hotels, and the main hub of Cleveland's three rapid transit lines. Detroit had a really great station because it was the headquarters of the Michigan Central Railroad. Too bad it cannot be restored. Chicago was the rail capital of the United States. The "Great Steel Fleet" from Grand Central landed at Lasalle Street Station. Along the way, the fleet went through Elkhart, South Bend, Gary and Englewood. Big Four trains went to Central Station. Yes, Chicago was the rail capital, but much traffic needed to go West to East and escape Chicago. New York Central had several answers on a Chicago Bypass. One was the Peoria & Eastern Railroad. Trains from the West evaded delays in Chicago and went through Indianapolis |
| Grand Central Terminal and the New York City Subway |
This page is our gateway to New York City. Find out about the
New York Central Railroad's
Grand Central Terminal.
Explore the fabulous
New York City Subway System. Learn who
Robert Moses. was and his impact on New York City.
Understand
New York City transit planning,
West Side Freight Line (the "High Line") and
St Johns terminal. The
New Haven Railroad and the
Long Island Railroad reached into New York City. Did you know the
Lehigh Valley Railroad even went into New York City (by ferry).
Learn about the
Jenney Plan to bring commuters into New York City and finally explore
mysterious track 61 at Grand Central Terminal
with its relationship to
Presidents of the United States.
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Several views of GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. |
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Here is a picture of Track 61. See what is so mysterious about Track 61 at Grand Central Terminal.. |
| Interesting Stuff - Ecology and railroads | January 7, 1929 The New York Central Railroad's "20th Century Limited" runs a record seven identical sections. Eight hundred twenty two people pay the extra $10 fare to ride The Century. An automobile show in New York City gets the credit for this sudden increase in traffic. Combined with other special trains arriving for the show, a record 266 sleeping cars arrive at Grand Central Terminal between 5:00 am and 9:50 am. This is very interesting. It was a harbinger of things to come: the impact of the auto on passenger train travel. I bet Al Gore understands what a high speed rail system (plus good commuter rail systems) would do for the "fuel bill"! DO YOU? |
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Grand Central was owned by the
New York Central Railroad Do you know who owns Grand Central now? If you said Metro North Railroad, or its parent company, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, then you are wrong. Nor is it Donald Trump, Disney or WalMart. Find the answer and find out a lot of interesting facts. February 2, 1913 New York's partially completed palatial passenger station, Grand Central Terminal, opens in the center of Manhattan at 12:01 am. About 150,000 people will visit the new terminal today. |
| St Johns Freight House | |
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Photo at left is of the St Johns Park Freight House. This is from a brochure published by
the New York Central in 1934 and re-issued by the West Side Rail Line Development
Foundation (author was a former member and supporter of this foundation).
St. John's Park was abandoned when some of the High Line ROW below Bank St. was sold for housing. But had traffic there dried up by then? Was there any debate over it at the time? The line was only about 20 years old at that time. When St. John's was in service, there were about 8 tracks running into it-- how was it switched? And what kind of stuff was shipped to St. John's. Also, the line served Nabisco, Armour--when did they stop using the line? And did the RR serve Bell Labs (now Westbeth) whose building it ran through? For answers to these questions, click here or on picture above. |
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| Croton-Harmon Station of Metro North | Croton-On-Hudson Station (gone) |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! Services we provide are: Transportation to your site. Site preparation for your portable shelter. Assembly of your portable shelter. Subsequent enhancements or moving of your portable shelter. |
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| Brewster North, NY on the Harlem Division (station is now "Southeast") | New York Central Putnam Division station at Yorktown Heights | New York Central Harlem Division station at White Plains |
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Beacon station in 1915 The CNE tracks and platform are completed. Beacon Historical Society collection, courtesy of Bernie Rudberg The new station complex looks to be completed but there are no people in the picture. See more about the reconstruction of the Beacon station |
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Beacon station in the 1980's Jim Moseman collection In this photo there is no sign of the stations and platforms built in 1915. In the background is the outline of the Beacon Newburgh bridge which drove the ferry out of business in 1963. See more about the New York Central in Beacon |
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Beacon station today. B Rudberg photo In 2005 the passenger ferry service has been revived and seems to be doing well with commuters who take the Metro North trains to New York City. See more about the New York Central in Beacon |
At top: Old New York Central Station in Oneonta I'm told it is a warehouse now. At right: Post card view of Big Indian on the Catskill Mountain Branch. Balsam Mountain is in the distance. |
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| Surprise! There is no longer an Albany Station. Lake Shore Limited at Rensselaer (photo by the author). Find out more about Albany, New York As well as pictures of Albany and Rensselaer stations, the Maiden Lane Bridge across the Hudson was important as a connection, plus the steam roundhouse for Albany was in Rensselaer. | ||
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Interested in Penn Central? New York Central? Pennsylvania Railroad? New Haven Railroad? or in the smaller Eastern US railroads? Then you will be interested in "What if the Penn Central Merger Did Not Happen". You will also enjoy "Could George Alpert have saved the New Haven?" as well as "What if the New Haven never merged with Penn Central?" |
Although abandoned now, this line was part of the original New York Central Railroad. |
Welcome to the T&S Branch. A group devoted to the discussion and history of the Troy and Schenectady Branch\Railroad between Schenectady and Troy New York. |
Niskayuna Station9.8 miles from Schenectady |
Green Island 20.8 miles from Schenectady |
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| Utica Station was a trolley terminal too. | Utica Station columns reportedly came from the old Grand Central Terminal. | Utica Station top floor held offices for the entire NY Central System payroll. |
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Once upon a time, milk trains were important New York Central Milk Business Creamery in South Columbia, New York There were two basic types of milk trains – the very slow all-stops local that picked up milk cans from rural platforms and delivered them to a local creamery, and those that moved consolidated carloads from these creameries to big city bottling plants. Individual cars sometimes moved on lesser trains. These were dedicated trains of purpose-built cars carrying milk. Early on, all milk was shipped in cans, which lead to specialized "can cars" with larger side doors to facilitate loading and unloading (some roads just used baggage cars). In later years, bulk carriers with glass-lined tanks were used. Speed was the key to preventing spoilage, so milk cars were set up for high speed service, featuring the same types of trucks, brakes, communication & steam lines as found on passenger cars. |
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At top: Big Moose Station is renowned for the roll it played in the famous murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in 1906.
Theodore Dreiser wrote “An American Tragedy” a novel about the murder and in 1951 that novel was the basis for the Motion Picture “A Place in the Sun”
starring Elizabeth Taylor, Shelly Winters and Raymond Burr which earned 6 Oscars.
At left: Boonville in the "snow belt" is the theme picture for our "Ominous Weather" WebSite |
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In Montreal, New York Central trains came in to Windsor Station. This massive station was the headquarters of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. It is no longer an active station, but is well-preserved as offices. The former waiting room is used for exhibitions. As well as long distance trains, the Central ran commuter trains into Windsor too. |
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Syracuse Station opened in 1936 |
Old Syracuse Station |
Street running went out when the new station was built |
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REFERENCE SECTION
Railway Age talks about Grand Central Terminal, New York City |
The Global Highway: Interchange to Everywhere A portal to the World. The Global Highway leads everywhere! Follow it to wherever you might want to go. We have something for everyone! |
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Rochester Station
The Rochester NYC depot was an architectural beaux arts gem that was allowed to deteriorate and was finally torn down. It was replaced by a pathetic station building that serves AMTRAK, replete with characters and panhandlers hanging out hitting on patrons. |
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| Buffalo Central Terminal |
Central Terminal in Buffalo NY. Once bustling and thriving, it fell into horrible disrepair in the 1970s. It's still a popular discussion subject among diehard rail fans. See some more pictures of Buffalo Central Terminal. |
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| Tied into the terminal is a history of Buffalo. There is more on the Buffalo Central Terminal too; plus some great links to Buffalo Central Terminal. Something very interesting to me was that the entire terminal used 25-cycle electric power. This type of power was not unusual when industrial locations where nearby. The General Electric plant in Schenectady had it's own power plant which made 25-cycle DC as well as 110V AC. In my time there, plant switchers were diesel, but understand they used DC electrics at one time, especially inside manufacturing buildings. (New York Central RR content: The General Electric Company Main Plant/Schenectady Works was probably the largest on-line customer between North Tarrytown and Rochester/Buffalo) |
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Cleveland Union Terminal
The Cleveland Union Terminal was built by the Van Sweringen brothers as a terminal for all trains coming into Cleveland via the various railroad lines in a concept similar to New York City's Grand Central Terminal. From its completion until 1964, the Terminal Tower was the tallest building in North America outside of New York City. |
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Railroads On The Rebound |
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Over the last 50+ years, railroads have changed a lot. Now they are about to change again.
It is all about a combination of economic factors and climate factors. Since 1950 , railroads have consolidated. Freight moved from a "box car mentality" to a "unit train,mentality". Passenger went from a robust business to a "caretaker" arrangement called AMTRAK. This happened as everybody could drive for free on the Interstate Highway System or fly on an airline system where the government subsidized both airlines and airports. In the meantime, railroad express and railroad post offices went "down the tubes". The old Post Office Department and the Railway Express Agency could not adjust to the new way. UPS and Fex Ex could. |
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Carbon Calculator
What's the most environmentally-friendly way to transport goods? The answer is freight rail. The EPA estimates that every ton-mile of freight that moves by rail instead of by highway reduces greenhouse emissions by two-thirds. But what does that really mean? Our easy-to-use carbon calculator will estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be prevented from entering our environment just by using freight rail instead of trucks. We'll even tell you how many seedlings you'd need to plant to have the same effect. |
| Detroit Station | |
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What's a "Chicago Bypass"?
Why do we need a "Chicago Bypass"? YOU WILL BE SURPRISED! Click on any doctor above to see why. |
Indianapolis Station
NY Central's Peoria & Eastern could neatly bypass the delay in Chicago. |
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There is always a chance of storms in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Ominous Weather is about more than weather. Its about our environment. Its about our social issues that need to be surfaced if we want to save our environment. See Champions of our Environment like Al Gore SAS le Prince Albert II de Monaco John R. Stilgoe Ralph Nader. We have other environmental sites on garbage trucks and Rapid response temporary shelters / portable housing. We have addressed several railroad-related projects that will conserve fuel and lessen pollution. Our Window on Europe spotlights projects that can help the rest of the World. See projects that will conserve fuel and lessen pollution. |
“We cannot go back in time. However, we can consider economic development in a different light, and put the notion of “protecting the planet” at the heart of each development project. It is essential to rise above political divisions and ask ourselves what measures we can take today for a development that is sustainable and respectful of nature.” H.S.H. Prince Albert II, North Pole Expedition Diary, April 2006 |
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