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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Riverdale Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

Welcome to Riverdale, the site of today’s Tuesday Tour, and a lovely example of a Hudson Line station. Though Riverdale is in the Bronx, the area around the station looks more like the suburbs than the city. Beautiful views of the Hudson River and the Palisades surround you here – and not to offend anyone from the Bronx, the view here at Riverdale is probably not what comes to your mind when you think of “the Bronx.” Metro-North’s station at Riverdale is located 13 miles from Grand Central. The facilities consist of an overpass with a few ticket vending machines,...

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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Ossining Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

Artifacts from Ossining: Postcard, a 1984 ticket stamped at Ossining, and an 1851 Hudson River Railroad timetable that lists the station as “Sing Sing.” Welcome to Ossining – probably one of the most widely known locales on the Hudson Line. Unfortunately, it is one of the most well known for a particular landmark located here: Everybody knows Sing Sing – Late 1800’s stereoview of the railroad tracks running through the prison. Yes, Ossining is the home of Sing Sing prison, or as it is known now, the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Dating back to the early 1800’s, the prison has...

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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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Buy your train tickets at the Union Ticket Office, 1861 Trains Humor Advertisements History

Today as a graphic designer, I have various different methods for catching your attention in an advertisement. Attractive imagery, and most importantly, color, are major ways a designer can catch your eye. But what if we’re talking about design well over a hundred years ago, when color printing and photography wasn’t around? Although using various typefaces is certainly an option, my personal favorite tactic of yesteryear is the pointing finger. You know things are serious when that finger comes out! The Hudson River Railroad schedule above, printed in 1852, makes use of the pointer finger in a very small way...

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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Dobbs Ferry Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

A postcard of Dobbs Ferry station, and a portion of a Hudson River Railroad timetable from 1851, listing Dobbs Ferry station Welcome to Dobbs Ferry, one of the lovely Hudson Line stations with a great view of the mighty Hudson River. On the fourth of July, I spent the day exploring the Hudson Line, but ended up spending most of my time here. The waterfront view is quite lovely, and adjacent to the station is the aptly named Waterfront Park – reason enough for you to come and visit this place. Though the station used by Metro-North particularly noteworthy (besides...

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Even more Riding in Style on the New York Central – a tour of The Empire State Express Trains Museums History

Imagine the year is 1894. You are about to embark on a journey to Buffalo on the finest railcars of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Your seat is of the softest plush, the curtains are of silk, and the car’s wood paneling is made of the finest oak and mahogany. At the front of your train is the legendary locomotive 999, the fastest on wheels. Though she once was clocked at speed of 112.5 miles per hour, she’ll likely average around 60 miles per hour on your journey to Buffalo. This is the Empire State Express, and...

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