harlem river

Bridges of Metro-North: The Harlem River Lift Bridge

Throughout the entire Metro-North system there are an array of movable bridges – bridges which as of recently seem to be a thorn in the rail system’s side. Much of the infrastructure on these bridges are old and prone to issues. Thankfully, updates are going on to get these bridges in better working order, and we’ll be taking visits to some of the more prominent bridges in the system in the next few weeks. Today we feature the busiest bridge on the entire system, the Harlem River Lift Bridge. At sixty years old the bridge is not nearly as old...

History / Photos / Train Stories / Tuesday Tours

Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Marble Hill

The old station at Marble Hill, pictured in 1927, and in 1946. As we’ve toured the Hudson Line, we’ve encountered several stations with fairly confusing backgrounds. There are stations that nobody seems to be able to spell correctly, like “Spitendivel” and “Pokipse.” And there’s also Ardsley-on-Hudson, which isn’t in Ardsley, and shouldn’t be confused with the former Putnam Division station of Ardsley (despite the fact that the New York Central printed Ardsley-on-Hudson timetables as just Ardsley). Today’s tour takes us back to the Bronx, to another station also surrounded in a bit of confusion – Marble Hill. Views...

Photos / Train Stories / Tuesday Tours

Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: University Heights

Today’s Hudson Line tour takes us back to the Bronx for a quick visit to University Heights station. Located just less than 9 miles from Grand Central, the station is situated between Morris Heights and Marble Hill stations. The station is named after the section of the Bronx in which it is located – a name that dates back to 1894 when New York University built its Bronx campus here. Though the university is now called the Bronx Community College, after having been sold in 1973, the name University Heights stuck. The attractive campus is just a short walk away...

Photos / Train Stories / Tuesday Tours

Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Morris Heights

Today our Tuesday Tour takes us southward on the Hudson Line to Morris Heights station in the Bronx. The station is sandwiched in between the Major Deegan Expressway and Roberto Clemente State Park, which itself borders the Harlem River. Morris Heights station consists of an island platform, with a set of stairs that connect it to street level. Enclosed in a bus station style shelter at street level is a single ticket vending machine. It is a relatively low-traffic station – excluding limited-service stations, Morris Heights gets the second fewest number of daily passengers on the Hudson Line. New York...

History / Train Stories

Melrose Station, in the late 1800’s

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to talk to some really interesting railroad people recently, one of whom is Joe Schiavone, better known in the area as the “Old Put Guy.” He’s just completed his third book on the New York Central’s Putnam Division, but has been a railfan ever since he was very young. When I met him for the first time several weeks ago, he told me that as a young boy taking photographs, getting an invite into the engine happened somewhat frequently. I told him that Metro-North does the same thing for me – except the invite is...

History / Photos

Friday’s from the historical archive: 1800’s photos from “The Road of the Century”

If any of my readers are insomniacs, I highly recommend the book called “The Road of the Century: The Story of the New York Central.” I noticed that one of the libraries in the state owned it, and so I requested my local library to acquire it for me. The copy of the book looks remarkably ancient, though it was only published in 1947. Old enough, I suppose. Upon checking the book out, the librarian said to me, “So… You must like railroads?” I wonder if she were to work at a supermarket, and a customer was to purchase toilet...