More Facts on “This Day in New York Central History”

Pictured above is the Chicago Union Stockyard Gate.

May 18, 1922 The New York Central Railroad gains control of the Chicago Stockyards District by the purchase of the Chicago River & Indiana Railroad and the Lease of the Chicago Junction Railway. Read more on the Chicago River & Indiana Railroad

May 20, 1926 The Railway Labor Act becomes law.

May 20, 1964 The presidents of the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads sign an agreement in anticipation of the Penn Central merger that will provide job protection in the new company for Union employees. In turn the unions drop their opposition to the merger. Penn Central will be saddled with unnecessary employees throughout its life. Read more on the Penn Central Railroad

May 12, 1846 The Hudson River Railroad is incorporated with the goal of building a line from New York City to Albany. Read more about the West Side Freight Line where the Hudson River Rail started its journey to Albany. Read a great story about train travel between New York City and Albany.

May 11, 1932 The New York Central announces it will not pay a dividend in 1932. NYC will not pay a dividend again until 1942.

May 11, 1951 Due to dieselization, the New York Central lays off 1,230 workers at its West Albany Shops.

West Albany in 1909

Thank you very much to Mark Tomlonson for publishing this report every day.

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NY Central Railroad Accident 1960 at “BN”

Only 55 years ago, but things on a railroad are so different now! They do not use wreckers (steam cranes) anymore. Now contractors with tractors. No more cabooses! The big electric locomotive (“motor”) is only in museums. How many of those automobiles are still around?

Even the New York Central Railroad is gone!

The wreck happened when a moving freight train rammed a stopped one on the Hudson Division.  The Hudson Division was blocked through the morning rush hour

No, I don’t know what happened to the engineer and fireman of the train that did the “ramming”.

The collision occured about dawn on the bank of the Harlem River about a quarter of a mile below the Marble Hill Station. The conductor of the stopped train was killed. Inbound commuters were diverted to the IRT subway at Marble Hill.

Evening rush hour began at 3pm when the “Ohio State Limited” headed from New York City to Cleveland.

You can see the news article here:

http://www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/BN+Collision.100760.pdf

Adirondack Ore Run on the New York Central Called For High Class Railroading

Been a lot of recent discussions in New York Central Forums on Benson Mines. It is in the Adirondacks but on the New York Central it was connected to the St. Lawrence Division between Watertown and Syracuse.

Pictures (FANTASTIC) above are from the old NY Central Headlights magazine and REALLY tell a story.

There was a daily train BP-1 from Benson Mines to Youngstown, Ohio. It was blocked
1. Cleveland ore
2. P&LE (except ore)
3. LaBelle ore (south of Youngstown somewhere)
4. Aliquippa ore
5. Pittsburgh ore.

It picked up at Deferiets which was a paper mill. It also handled P&LE traffic from Watertown, Rochester, Batavia, Buffalo and Ashtabula.

Car supply was from the normal flow of hoppers through Dewitt yard. That was a bit of a problem. Many hoppers were inspected at DeWitt to find enough with the tight doors needed for ore service. Many cars suitable for coal were not tight enough for iron ore.

Benson Mines in the early 1940’s was leased to J & L Steel Co. In 1950 it became the New York Ore Divison of J & L Steel Co, the mine was in Clifton N Y,they shiped about one million tons of ore that had to be sintered before use in the mill at Cleveland Oh and Aliquippa Pa mills and the mine closed in August,1978.

Castleton Cutoff and Hudson River Connecting Railroad

In the 1920’s, one of the biggest projects of the NY Central of this era was the Castleton Cutoff which would replace the grades and drawbridge at Albany with a high-level river crossing several miles south of Albany. The Castleton Cutoff was not only a bridge (later named the A.H. Smith Memorial Bridge) but included the new yard at Selkirk which eventually replaced West Albany in importance. In 1924, A.H. Smith, the president of the New York Central, predicted a greater Albany. He expected Albany to grow to the Castleton Bridge. The bridge cost $25,000,000 and is 135 feet above the river. It consists of a 600 foot span and a 400 foot span. The bridge contains 23,000 tons of steel and 52,000 yards of concrete. The bridge, and 28 miles of track owned by affiliate Hudson River Connecting Railroad, connected the Boston & Albany, Hudson Division and West Shore (River Division) with the Mohawk Division. The new yard at Selkirk had 250 miles of track connected by 430 switches and served by 2 roundhouses. The opening ceremonies were attended by a large crowd including the Van Sweringen brothers who owned the Nickel Plate, W.H. Truesdale of the Lackawanna. William K. and Harold Vanderbilt, Mayor Hackett of Albany and New York Lt. Governor Lunn. Two bridges then served Albany. One bridge to the passenger station (now a bank computer center) lasted until the late 1960’s. The northern of the two bridges is the present Conrail bridge used mostly by Amtrak. At that time it was considered the “freight” bridge but also was used by those few passenger trains that didn’t stop at Albany (some sections of the 20th Century Limited and a couple of limiteds to the midwest).

Other articles we have  about the Castleton Cutoff

We have other interesting articles about the Hudson River Connecting Railroad , the White Elephant Line , and Railway Express Agency .

We have maps of the Castleton Bridge area and Selkirk Yard . You can fly around the Albany area on Google Earth.

Starting with our Selkirk Photo Gallery , we have lots of interesting pictures. There is a collection of New York Central Railroad pictures , tunnels and bridges on the New York Central , the Hudson Line south of Beacon and a link to Albany County Historical Pictures .

There is a special section on The Hudson River , another on the Port of Albany , one on the Capital District .

, and a story on Transportation in Albany .

Other sections you shouldn’t miss are rumors about Selkirk , railroads East of the Hudson key to Castleton Cutoff , some questions answered , and our reference section .

Grand Central Terminal is 100 Years Old

The centennial celebration of New York City’s Grand Central Terminal will kick off Feb. 1.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and MTA Metro-North Railroad will open the terminal to the public for a full day of celebration activities, including a morning rededication ceremony and musical performances “that will keep visitors entertained into the evening,” said Metro-North officials said in a prepared statement.

The day’s events will include the opening of “Grand by Design,” a six-week exhibit that will chronicle the train terminal’s history.

To commemorate the terminal’s past, present and future, the Feb. 1 events and others planned for the next year will be guided by four themes: “Happy Birthday to Grand Central,” marking its historic debut; “Preserving a Landmark; Creating a Legacy,” which focuses on renovation of the terminal’s 42nd Street entrance and other improvements; “Grand Centennial Parade of Trains,” anchored by a rare public display of historic train cars; and “Grand Central: The Next 100 Years.”

The celebration’s opening ceremony will include many public officials and celebrities, including Caroline Kennedy, the centennial committee’s honorary co-chairwoman. Kennedy’s mother, the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is widely credited with saving Grand Central Terminal from destruction in the 1970s, MTA and Metro-North officials said.

We’re celebrating with events, exhibits and more. Join us for a year to remember.

See what else is in Grand Central

The photo was posted on the NYC Transit Museum’s Facebook page. It has alot of other cool historical photos from all the other agencies too.A description of the above photo from the Facebook page:

New York Transit Museum Facebook page wrote:Although February 2nd, 2013 marks the centennial of the opening of the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, the lower level, which was dedicated to suburban lines, opened a couple of months earlier. Both the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad each had 10 ticket offices on the suburban level. There was also a baggage room, telegraph office, parcel room, newsstand, and information booth.

Yes! Grand Central Terminal will be 100 years old!