Tuesday Tour of the Harlem Line: Goldens Bridge

Of all the places I’ve been on this little tour of the Harlem Line, it is funny that I have not yet featured the one station I spend the majority of my time at. As of the first of this month, I have been living in and commuting from Goldens Bridge for two years (I’ve been commuting regularly on the Harlem Line slightly longer, though from Brewster station). Besides some of my crazy neighbors, it is a fairly nice area, albeit a little quiet. Goldens Bridge station in the 1920’s Over the years that the railroad has been servicing the...

Tuesday Tour of the Harlem Line: Purdy’s (and bonus Copake Falls)

Tuesday Tour of the Harlem Line: Purdy’s (and bonus Copake Falls)

Several months ago I wrote about some of the names of the towns located along the Harlem Line, and how they have evolved over the years. Many of the names were taken from the families that owned the land, or perhaps donated it for the railroad to use, and the name had a possessive. For example, Brewster was known as Brewster’s after former land owners James and Walter Brewster. “Golden’s Bridge” was always a particular enigma, as the majority of use has evolved beyond the apostrophe (town signage does not use it, and the railroad stopped using it in 2003...

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

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

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...

Conversations With My Neighbor: Fireman for the New York Central

Conversations With My Neighbor: Fireman for the New York Central

It has been my opinion for quite a while that my house ought to be a reality TV show. Not far from Goldens Bridge train station, we roommates met via Craigslist. We currently have three people in the house, but in the past have had four. And one dog. Her name is Kaylee, and she weighs almost as much as me. Correction, she weighs nearly what I weighed before I got a job that provided me enough money for my junk food and Coca-cola addiction. The fourth roommate, and there have been two, has always been the smelly one –...

Watch the Gap in Goldens Bridge, a story of David the “drunk” & a Free Ride Sweepstakes

Watch the Gap in Goldens Bridge, a story of David the “drunk” & a Free Ride Sweepstakes

Hey, Metro-North? Did somebody fall off the platform in Goldens Bridge recently? I was surprised to notice when I got off the train this evening the platform was covered in new, yellow paint. Atop the paint, stenciled in black, were the words “Watch the gap.” There were just… so many of them! I don’t think I’ve seen a station with this many, that close together. In Japan the train platforms have markings where the train’s door will open. Wouldn’t that have been cooler to paint on the platform? Really though, did someone fall off? I bet it was Sleeper Kid....

Passengers: I love to see your feet, & You Parked Like a Jackass

Passengers: I love to see your feet, & You Parked Like a Jackass

Dear all passengers: I love seeing your feet. I couldn’t even work on my Japanese adventure photos, I had to stop and take pictures of your feet, so everyone can see how wonderful they are! The woman on my train last night really took the cake. Feet way up in the air on the back of the train seat all the way up to Mount Kisco. Not long after I snapped the photo, she took her feet down and put her boots back on in order to leave the train. When she stood up, she just looked like the picture...