Closer to home but in a similar vein, Metro-North’s rail train has recently been spotted cruising the system. Delivered via CSX about two weeks ago, the train is loaded with long strings of CWR, which it is unloading and dropping off at points along the right-of-way to be installed at a future date. Metro-North is utilizing the services of A&K Railroad Materials, Inc., whose equipment is capable of carrying 1,600 foot strings of CWR. The equipment is marked as belonging to V&S Railway, a shortline in Kansas, which A&K is affiliated with.

Sighted last weekend at Riverdale, it was captivating to watch the machine slowly pull out one of the stored pieces of rail which untethered to any ties seemed to bend like a long strand of spaghetti. The stored rails were pulled forward and then maneuvered by the machine to the side, then lowered. After the front of the rail was placed in position on the ground, the train slowly reversed to unload the entire length of the rail. Two workers ensured the deposited rail was properly positioned in between the tracks and then they too departed, returning the picturesque locale to its former quietude—at least until the next local arrived at the station some minutes later.

The rail train will be continuing its journeys after Memorial Day, and is expected to be operating on the Harlem Line shortly.

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, and two side platforms. Today, Riverdale is the northernmost station in the Bronx on the Hudson Line (Mount St. Vincent station was located north of Riverdale, but was closed many years ago). Although the station has some parking, a good amount of people use the Hudson Rail Link to get to the station.

According to architects Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge’s archives, they designed a station for the Hudson River Railroad here in 1889, though I can’t seem to find any photos or mentions of it later on.

Passing through Riverdale, 1971. [image source]

Right alongside Riverdale station is a small park that parallels both the tracks and the Hudson River. Although dedicated by Michael Bloomberg in 2005, and featured in the New York Times a year after, the park seems largely forgotten. The official name of the place is the “Riverdale Waterfront Promenade and Fishing Access Site”, but you might as well call it a big stinky mess. Access to the small park is gained on the southbound platform, where you descend a set of stairs and cross over a rail siding to reach the riverfront. It would likely be a nice place, if not for the stinky fish guts strewn about the sidewalk, and the overfilled trash bins that probably hadn’t been emptied in weeks. Without the trash, the park really would be a nice place to just sit and watch the river.

Arts for Transit at Riverdale – when it wasn’t covered up with weeds. [image source]

Also at Riverdale station is one of the most unphotogenic Arts for Transit pieces – and it’s certainly not the fault of the artwork. Rising and Setting, by Dennis Oppenheim is a colorful steel sculpture, unfortunately overtaken with weeds. Metro-North desperately needs to send someone over there with a weedwhacker. As much as I love the Arts for Transit program, I wonder at times if everybody fully thinks these things through. Putting art in locked stations is pointless, and although pretty horrible, North White Plains‘ art has been desperate for a paint job for years. All of these wonderful installations certainly need to be maintained – and at places like Riverdale (and Wassaic, where the art is also being obscured by growth) sending somebody to trim some plants seems like a pretty easy fix!

Though the area doesn’t get any bonus points for the stinky park, and few for the art, I really don’t mean to be insulting to Riverdale. The station is quite nice, and from the overpass, the view of the river and the Palisades is quite wonderful. Even from the platforms you can see large ships and tiny pleasure-crafts moving up and down the river. Wave Hill, the 28-acre public garden, is a worthwhile attraction not far from the station. They even operate a free shuttle to public transit riders, so it is definitely worth checking out if you’re ever in the area.