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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Spuyten Duyvil Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

View of the railroad tracks near Spuyten Duyvil in 1890. When coming up with superlatives for the Hudson Line, people generally cite it as Metro-North’s most attractive line. I, on the other hand, like to think of it as the most frequently misspelled. It is the Hudson Line that has stations like “Phillip’s Manor” and “Pokipse,” and, of course, the one that takes the cake – “Spitendivel.” Today’s tour takes us to the (correctly spelled) Spuyten Duyvil, a station about 10 miles north of Grand Central Terminal in the Bronx. Considering that it is a station that is frequently misspelled,...

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A 1918 Guide to New York City, and Hudson River Steamboats Trains History

By now, you readers are all well aware of my problem. I love old printed (and usually railroad-related) materials. Timetables, brochures, posters… you name it. Although I love having the real thing in-hand, most times I’m quite content to have just digital copies – which is part of the reason SmartCat came about. Somehow, I came across a website this weekend that I had never been to before – it is called the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. The site pretty much operates in the same vein as SmartCat – historical artifacts, digitized and available to everyone for free over...

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Photos of Bannerman Castle: the crumbling castle in the Hudson River History Photos

Despite my professed love for the Harlem Line, I do in fact visit quite a few other locations and post photos… and today’s collection is no exception. Unfortunately for my dear Harlem, this time I cheated on him with his little brother, the Hudson. If you’ve ever been on the upper portion of Metro North’s Hudson Line you may have noticed a castle on an island in the Hudson. In fact you may have seen the collapse of the castle on your train ride past the island… Metro-North workers were the first to report the collapse of the castle last...

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Nature along the Harlem Line: The Muscoot Reservoir & Bridge L-158 Photos Tuesday Tours

I thought it might be fun to do something different this Friday… Tuesdays I visit train stations, but I don’t talk much about what else is around the station. The Harlem Line has plenty of intriguing spots along the route, and many for the nature lover. I do get emails every once and a while asking me questions about doing things – people wondering what is within walking distance of the stations, and what they can get away and do. And for those who, like me, do not drive, or don’t feel like driving, you can definitely take Metro-North to...

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Tunnel Under the Tracks Photos

Obviously if you’ve ever been on the Harlem Line you know that the tracks run alongside various bodies of water. An astute observer can see the Kensico Dam in Valhalla… And around the stations of Purdy’s through Katonah if you look out you will notice the Muscoot Reservoir. Over the summer I purchased a small row boat in order to go out on the reservoir. The DEP is actually rather strict what varieties of boat can go out, and where the boats must be kept. My boat was assigned a spot up in Purdy’s, and it is named the Brazilian...

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