4 Responses

  1. William Hays says:

    This post is really neat, methinks. I passed thru Mount Vernon daily, in my Fleetwood, White Plains, or NWP commutes, but never detrained there. Back in “my day”, the Harlem went from 4- to 2-tracks just north (RR west) of the station. There was a stub track to the Fleetwood station, which originated/terminated a few trains each weekday. The west side tracks were for MU staging/storage for the locals to GCT. Mount Vernon was a transfer point for express and local passengers to GCT. The freight house, on the east side, was also a REA depot, from which I sent/received my trunk when I was in college, destination: Canton, NY. The freight yard was de-electrified by 1953, but they had a neat hand-cranked crane there that, with help, you could hoist yourself on your ‘own petard’ (read belt). I sure never imagined MacQuesten Parkway was a former ROW. I have pictures of a 4100-series MU derailment there. If I ever plug in my scanner… Happy New Year! It can be better than 2013! Bill

  2. Dan says:

    Anybody know when the original station along the old alignment was built?

  3. tommy meehan says:

    There are some great photos here and some great information. I think it’s terrific that Emily put this up. She mentions there were once three major New York Central passenger station buildings in Westchester — at Yonkers, Mt. Vernon and White Plains — and the first two still exist. Yonkers has been magnificently restored while Mt. Vernon West has been ignored. That can change.

    One fact I’m curious about is, the Central began using the new four-track elevated right-of-way through Mt. Vernon in March 1910. The new station did not open until five or six years later. What did the ridership use in the interim?

    Old news articles from the period say they used the old station, located two blocks away. I saw something similar at White Plains in the 1970s when the old station remained in use but the new high-level platforms were two city blocks away.

  4. tommytrains says:

    Emily,
    Thanks for covering this station, which brings back some family memories. My dad commuted out of Mount Vernon West for 10-15 years. My second car (1970 Chevelle convertible) was bought at the adjacent Rapetti gas station (now out of business). My first attempt at railfanning happened slightly north on MacQuesten Parkway where the potato packing company was.
    Tom

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