I Ride The Harlem Line

Tagged: tunnel

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A visit to Whittier, and a ride through North America’s longest rail/highway tunnel History Photos Videos

In 1923 President Warren G. Harding drove a golden spike just north of Nenana, completing the Alaska Railroad’s main line. The line extended 470 miles from Seward to Fairbanks, and is still the major backbone of the Alaska Railroad today. Over the years since there have been various additions and branches added, from the 28 mile Eilson Branch extending from Fairbanks to the Eilson Air Force Base, to the short Anchorage International Airport Branch which connects the railroad to the airport and is used occasionally for cruise ship passengers. Today, however, we turn our focus onto one of the railroad’s...

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Back from Alaska, and the NRHS Convention Trains Photos Videos

If you enjoyed our series on Alaska posted earlier this year, you will undoubtedly love our upcoming series on the Alaska Railroad. I’ve just returned from the absolutely awesome National Railway Historical Society convention, which was held in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, and have some great features lined up for the blog… many of which include video. My trusty GoPro camera was mounted on several locomotives throughout the trip, recording well over a hundred gigabytes of footage. So if you happened to miss the convention, or have always wanted to go to Alaska, you can pretend like you were there...

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Grand Central Terminal’s Companion – The New York Central Building History Photos

When the New York Central Railroad’s chief engineer William Wilgus came up with the concept of Grand Central Terminal, there were most likely a few people out there that felt he was completely nuts. Despite the fact that at the time the NYC was one of the mightiest railroads in not only the United States, but the world, the price tag for the project was incredibly high. Without the concept of “air rights” it is likely that the project would never have moved forward. Covering the Terminal’s tracks and allowing buildings to be constructed in the “air” above turned out...

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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: Breakneck Ridge Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

Penn Central locomotive passes by Breakneck Ridge in 1971. Though Metro-North is primarily a commuter railroad, there are a few station stops throughout the system that break that mold. Mount Pleasant is a limited-service station on the Harlem Line, adjacent to several cemeteries. In addition, there are three other limited-service stations that are primarily for hikers: Appalachian Trail, Manitou, and the subject of today’s tour – Breakneck Ridge. Located 55 miles from Grand Central, Breakneck Ridge lies in the un-electrified territory of the Hudson Line. Similar to Appalachian Trail, no weekday trains stop here – but on weekends and holidays...

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Tuesday Tour of the Hudson Line: New Hamburg Trains Photos Tuesday Tours

Postcard view of the original station at New Hamburg. [image credit] Today our Tuesday Tour takes us to the northern portion of Metro-North’s Hudson Line, as we visit New Hamburg. The station is about 65 miles from Grand Central in the un-electrified territory north of Croton-Harmon, and sandwiched in between Beacon station and Metro-North’s terminus at Poughkeepsie. The railroad bisects the hamlet of New Hamburg, notable mostly for its marina on the Hudson. Along the railroad, however, New Hamburg was likely notable for its tunnel. As I mentioned in my introduction to the Hudson Line, eight tunnels needed to be...

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Welcome to the Hudson Line Trains History

As riders of Metro-North, we are quite familiar with the Hudson River. It serves as an important dividing line of the system – west-of-Hudson service, operated by New Jersey Transit, and the more familiar east-of-Hudson service which is comprised of the Harlem, New Haven and Hudson Lines. For those that still use Metro-North’s website for scheduling, acknowledging on which side of the river you fall is still a necessity. Besides providing a dividing line for Metro-North, the river has always been an important part of the landscape of New York. Boats on the river have been commonplace for hundreds of...

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