I Ride The Harlem Line

Tagged: streetcar

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Happy 184th Birthday to the New York & Harlem Railroad! History

A very happy 184th birthday to the New York & Harlem Railroad, New York City’s very first railroad, chartered on this day in 1831. Started as a humble street railroad using horses for motive power, it eventually grew to reach Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, and Columbia counties, and is the origin of today’s Harlem Line. We’ve posted many things about the history of the Harlem Railroad over the years, so if you’re interested in taking a walk down memory lane, be sure to check some of these old favorites out: • The Streetcars of the New York & Harlem Railroad •...

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

Although Grand Central Terminal may be the obvious gem of the Metro-North system, interspersed along all three of the main lines are many other beautiful stations. On the New Haven Line, I can’t help but think of New Haven Union Station, and of course Mamaroneck. On the Harlem, I’ve always loved both Brewster and Chappaqua. By now I’ve explored much of the Hudson Line, and it seems that the standout stations there are definitely Poughkeepsie and Yonkers. Both are well-restored examples of brick stations built by the New York Central in the early 1900’s. Though smaller than Poughkeepsie, Yonkers makes...

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Riding the TTC: Toronto’s Streetcars Photos

Across the country there were once many streetcar systems, even in New York. Many of those have over the years been removed, in a few cases because the streetcars added to the difficult traffic conditions in the cities. Though Manhattan’s trains were moved underground, the streetcar systems in San Francisco and New Orleans have still survived. New Orleans’ system has been forever written into the public consciousness by Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, and is one of the two North American streetcar systems that has operated with little changes in route. The other is Toronto Transit Commission’s streetcar...

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Canadian Adventures: Toronto’s Union Station & Skywalk Trains Photos

While I was in Toronto I had the chance to visit the busiest train station in Canada, Union Station. It is a great example of the Beaux-arts style (like Grand Central) in Canada. Via Rail, Amtrak, Ontario Northland, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) all operate trains out of the station (and in the case of the TTC, Streetcars as well). Construction on Union Station was completed in 1920. It was designed by Ross and Macdonald, HG Jones and JM Lyle, and opened in 1927. The central area of the station is called the Great Hall, and is quite beautiful. I...

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New York & Harlem Railroad’s Pigeon-handling strategies Humor Photos

If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve become pretty engrossed in this whole researching and finding old railroad related stuff. I’ve apparently been referred to as a “closeted railfan” (and the “mascot of the Harlem Line”, but that is a different story). Honestly I have never thought of myself as a railfan. Railfans seem to have all this information tucked away in their brains about types of trains and how they function, and could probably tell you the model of whatever locomotive they’re looking at and a good portion of information about it too. I don’t know much about trains...

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