6524 is on a morning westbound just above the bridge near Fort Montgomery,
NY. October 2, 1991.CONRAIL
This page will continue the trip along the former West Shore line of what was once the New York Central.
If you missed the previous page from New Jersey to Bear Mountain, click here.
This page will begin in the area of the famous Bear Mountain bridge.
6524 is on a morning westbound just above the bridge near Fort Montgomery,
NY. October 2, 1991.
The beautiful depot at West Point. It is within the grounds of the U.S.
Military Academy. The railroad tunnels underneath several buildings on the
Academy. Note the small freight depot in the distance. May 30, 1983.
As viewed from across the river at the Garrison station. The grounds at
West Point are no longer openly accessible.
This rather uninteresting location is Cornwall, NY. At his point the
former New York, Ontario and Western mainline joined the West Shore. The
NYO&W passenger trains used trackage rights down to Weehawkin to reach the
New York City area. The area between the West Shore track and the river
was once occupied by a modest freight yard with a boat landing for freight
transfer. A tower once stood here to control trains off the O&W.
You can barely discern the old right-of-way through the trees.
Photos taken April 22, 1989. As of October 2010, not much has changed here
other than the fact that there are now two tracks instead of the one.
An interesting find hidden in the brush was this milepost marker. This was
at Cornwall. 1989. Is it still there ? Didn't see it in 2010.
I was hoping to get some Conrail freights along here prior to the CSX-NS
takeover, but just my luck a SECS train with only CSX units is southbound at the
siding just north of Cornwall. 5-17-97.
A fairly decent size town along the line is Newburgh. Located across the
river from Beacon. The station had seen better days in 1983.
Thankfully, the station was fixed up and now houses a theatre group.
Some other interesting things to be found here include
this very old chain hoist once used to transfer cargo from rail cars to
trucks. Newburgh also serves as a junction with the branch that once ran
to __________
A bit north of Newburgh is Marlboro, NY. The May 30, 1983 fantrip to
Selkirk rolls through.
This very old freight house was located at Milton, NY. 5-30-1983.
The depot is still with us in 2010. October 17, 2010.
Highland, NY. The old New haven Poughkeepsie Bridge crosses over
everything. 1983.
No, this view of the station in Highland is not from a helicopter. It
is from the recently (2010) re-opened Poughkeepsie Bridge. It was
converted to a
walking/biking trail. Access is from either end and is free. It is
not for the faint of heart or for acrophobics.
Looking south from the bridge. October 17, 2010. Freights can be
elusive during the middle of the day.
Here is a view from on top. The walkway is about 15-20 feet wide and is
made of concrete. All-in-all a nice job.
This small depot was used by the local model railroad club. Kingston, NY
1989. Kingston was at the end of a branch of the NYO&W. A
small interchange yard was once here. At one time several old engines and
miscellaneous cars were stored here.
A classic old freight house at Saugerties, NY. May 30, 1983.
Catskill, NY. 1983.
The 1983 fantrip crosses the large trestle near Catskill.
A gloomy early morning brings a westbound train of empty autoracks climbing away
from the river at New Baltimore, NY. 1987.
Located south of Albany is the very large rail yard near the town of Selkirk, NY. It is one of the largest yards in the northeast US. Located at the junction of the mainline to New York City (the West Shore Route above) and the main to Boston, Mass.
SD50 6705 heads out of the yard enroute to Northern New Jersey. October 7,
1990.
Former PRR SD45 6200 and an ex-Erie Lackawanna U33C lead other GE units ready
to depart Selkirk. 9-11-1977.
Penn Central bought a group of GE U23C's to work in yard duty, including the
hump yard at Selkirk. Photo taken in July 1974 by Gary Madden (GM).
In 1986, this was a brand new GE C-39-8 bringing a train around the yard.
NS still uses a few of these units in 2006.
6917 is working in hump service this October 19, 1986.
Out in the yard was this GP20. July 1974. (GM)
The engine serving area at Selkirk yard is a sea of 3D black (oops, I mean
Brunswick green) in 1974. (GM)
This old switcher may have been serving a the shop unit. August 1974.
Surrounded in a sea of black and blue.
A pair of GE U-boats needing some attention. Normally visitors stay up on
the bridge that luckily crosses directly over the engine facility, but I had a
goal in mind for sneaking down to the ground.
Usually not seen this far east by this date, a three unit set of F-units sits at
the terminal. 8-1974.
U25B 2569 of former NYC origin (white stripe) in the terminal on May 25, 1975.
A couple of big GE's and an Alco RS3.
Selkirk was home to a large fleet of General Electric U-Boats. By the way,
for those not knowing the origin of the nickname 'U-boat', it comes from the GE
model designation for their units at the time. All were considered the
Universal series engines and the model number began with a "U".
For example, the U25B, U28B, U30B, etc. for those units with four axles.
Six axle units carried the "C" suffix, i.e. U25C, U33C, etc. The
number signified the horsepower of the unit, such as U25B was a four axle unit
rated at 2,500 horsepower.
By October 1976 little had changed even though it has been Conrail since April
1. A former Lehigh Valley unit is hiding under the sanding towers to the
right. Some early Canadian National SD40's have come in from Toronto.
By September of 1977 some Conrail blue has made its way in. Many of the
GE's remain in service.
A view from the other side of the overpass in 1977.
A EMD re-engined Alco RS3 sits outside the shop building in 1978. (GM)
A rather interesting mix of early second generation diesels in 1978. (GM)
As the newer SD40's began arriving the GE's began to disappear. Unlike the
newer GE's of today, the U-Boats didn't hold up very well. Many were
retired within 15 years of service. A short time frame for railroad
locomotives.
GP40 3239 and others at the service area on June 30, 1978.
A SD40 sits along side a slug unit that was originally an Alco RSD-12.
1985. (GM)
In the late afternoon light, 5023 rushes a TV train around Selkirk yard on the
by-pass track. October 19, 1986.
Shortly thereafter came this TV train with a trio of GP40's.
A new generation of diesels has arrived at Selkirk by 1997.
Very late in the day (sorry its a blurry picture), a long dead line of early
Geeps awaits a trip to the scrap yard. 10-20-86.
A short distance west of Selkirk is the small town of Voorheesville,
NY. Her the freight main crosses the old Delaware & Hudson Albany
line.
An early morning westbound TV train hits the diamonds at 'VO'
interlocking. 1997
For a while Conrail and Guilford conducted interchange business at the small
yard located here at Rotterdam Junction. In a sequence of shots, both
railroads have trains here to swap cars. October 20, 1986.