Comments on: Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Croton-Harmon

By: Hank

Hank — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 02:01:30 +0000

Croton-on-Hudson station was about 2 miles north of Harmon, notable because the electrified service continued past Harmon to that station. Harmon could not serve commuters due to the high long distance passenger traffic and engine exchange requirement. So the Central used Croton-on-Hudson to serve the commuters in the area. I assume this service was stopped when long distance passenger traffic waned during the 1950s, lessening the traffic load on the Harmon station, which allowed the two stations to be combined. Perhaps Emily has information of the history and demise of the Croton-on-Hudson station.

By: Hank

Hank — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 01:31:02 +0000

My mother and I often stood on the bluff above and just north of the station and watched for hours as engines were changed. Not only did we see Super Hudsons, but also the new Niagaras, and once we saw the beautiful Dreyfuss designed 20th Century Limited Hudson. Those were exciting days years for the New York Central right after WW-II.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:33:35 +0000

In reply to Emily. Or maybe they'd let a transit journalist who's already interviewed the company president visit the shops and post beautiful panoramas of it on her blog... Hey, it's worth a try!

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:59:52 +0000

In reply to Heather.

All of this is true – it costs quite a bit to do the open house. However, with all the bragging they’re doing about these new award winning Croton Harmon shops, you would think that they’d want to hold at least one more open house so everybody could see it.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:38:01 +0000

In reply to Keith.

Oh believe me, I know – I’ve read the threads and I know how much of a pipedream it is.

If I’m ever out that way though, I’ll have to keep that in mind.

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:34:44 +0000

In reply to Heather. There has been a long ongoing discussion about the MN open houses at the shops there at Croton-Harmon. Basically it costs MN a fortune in OT and in lost man hours straightening up the place as well as the inability to really repair or work on anything while the tours are happening. If you wish to take a tour of a working railroad shop - although it's not Metro North, The Strasburg Railroad in PA offers a daily guided shop tour at 12:30 every day. I have done this tour myself and found it to be quite interesting.

By: Al Cyone

Al Cyone — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:01:45 +0000

In reply to Emily. I was curious about the name and, failing to find anything with Google, I contacted the Croton Free Library. Clifford B. Harmon was a real estate developer who acquired land from the Van Cortlandts in 1903. His 1932 sale of property to the railroad not only stipulated that the station would always bear his name but that all trains, express and local, would always stop there. You can find out more by Googling his full name.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:08:34 +0000

WTB revival of annual shop tours, since I missed the boat on those way back when :P

By: Stephen Karlson

Stephen Karlson — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:58:45 +0000

The pictures suggest that all the infrastructure associated with the engine change has been removed. Imagine a Super Hudson backing along the jumpover track from the roundhouse to the westbound main to take over the Twentieth Century Limited.

By: Backshophoss

Backshophoss — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Back in the days when NYC still lived,Most if not all long distance trains
stopped at Harmon to swap electric for diesel power before heading north/
west to Chicago,Buffalo,Toronto,etc. The same process was done for GCT
bound trains as well.The only exceptions were Mail/Express
trains heading to/from the West 30th st Branch at DV.
The engine swap was done in about 15-20 mins(per the rules).
This continued to the Amtrak era untill 6 FL-9’s were rebuilt to make the run to Albany/Rensselaer and Amtrak’s shop there.
The orignal station building at Harmon was lost to fire,but not sure of the
year that happened.