national register of historic places

November 21, 2014

The Harlem Division’s Cemeteries: The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery

To me, some of the most interesting stuff about railroad history is not about the trains or the railroads themselves, but how they affected the places in which they operated. The oft-cited cliche is that the railroads built this country, and although they certainly had an effect on the movement of people westward, some of the strongest effects can be witnessed around cities. Today’s Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven Lines played an immense part in the growth of New York City’s suburbs, and other railroads played a similar part in other major cities. Trains provided easy access to the city’s...

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September 26, 2014

H.H. Richardson’s Last Station – New London Union Station

When it comes to great American architects, one must certainly mention the name Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson’s name may not be as widely mentioned as some others – likely because he unfortunately passed in his prime at the age of 47 – but his influence in American architecture is obvious. The architectural style he popularized bears his name – Richardsonian Romanesque – and is certainly one of my favorite architectural styles. The style features attractive arches and rusticated stonework – and is familiar to fans of the Boston and Albany Railroad, the style in which many of that railroad’s main...

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March 28, 2013

Remembering the Upper Harlem Division, Part 3

As we complete our journey along the abandoned Upper Harlem Division, it is worth taking a moment to look at the timetables printed for the line. The Upper Harlem’s timetables were New York Central’s Form 112 – and its size changed drastically over the years, reflecting the railroad’s slow death. The ever changing timetable design for the Upper Harlem ((All timetables from the author’s collection)) A 1909 timetable, which was actually a foldout booklet that contained descriptions of the stations and schedules for connecting railroads, was actually 32 pages. The tall size seen in a later 1939 timetable was standard...

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July 15, 2012

Checking out the old Milwaukee Road depot in Minneapolis

Print of the Milwaukee Road depot by Mark Herman, from his wonderful Minnesota Landmarks series. Continuing with my series of photos from my trip to Minnesota, today we visit the old Milwaukee Road depot. It is a lovely building, wonderfully restored, dating from 1899. There haven’t been trains running past here since the 70’s, but the place has been given a new life as a hotel complex. A former train shed on the property has also been remade into an ice skating rink (awesome!). The depot was designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost, who also designed stations in Green Bay,...

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May 24, 2012

A last look at Port Jervis…

Bird’s eye view of Port Jervis, circa 1900. The railroad tracks and roundhouses are visible in the lower right. From the New York State Archives. As promised, before moving onto the Pascack Valley Line I said we would take one more look at Port Jervis. While the Metro-North station at Port Jervis is pretty boring, there are a few more interesting railroad-related things going on in this town. When arriving by car, you’ll likely notice signs not only directing you to the train station, but also to the historical turntable. This turntable is the only existing remnant of one of...

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April 10, 2012

Tuesday Tour of the Port Jervis Line: Tuxedo

Postcard views of Tuxedo, from the collection of Steve Swirsky. While taking a ride on the Port Jervis Line, you will travel through Metro-North’s most rural territory. Although the trees and greenery along the route can be quite scenic, the stations along the line are rather rudimentary, bare-bones facilities. The only exception to that is Tuxedo – today’s stop on our tour of the Port Jervis Line. Tuxedo is the only station on the line that has its historical station building still standing, and at the same site of the current station (Metro-North’s Port Jervis station was relocated, about...