New York City - 1

Hi, I'll begin my coverage of the New York City Metropolitan area with images taken on former New York Central lines.

This caboose hop was lead by an oil/electric/battery switcher.  It was crossing Spuyten Duyvil, which is the connection between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, from Manhattan into the Bronx.  The mainline from Grand Central to Chicago was behind me.  This trackage is now part of Amtrak's Empire Corridor route to Penn Station.  The photo was taken in the mid 1950s.

Also taken in that time frame is this westbound long distance train at Marble Hill in the Bronx.  The Putnam Division split away just beyond the tower and headed north on its east side.

In June of 1957 I spent the afternoon at the Woodlawn commuter station on the Harlem Division.  At one time this went all the way north to a connection with the Boston and Albany at Chatham, NY.  Today it ends at Wassaic, NY with the the electrification ending about a mile north of Brewster.  The Electrification extension was completed in 1984.

The train below was bound for Grand Central Terminal behind, I believe, a New Haven EP-3.

Another Grand Central bound train was behind an EP-4.

I am not sure of the locomotive class leading this train headed to GCT.

This New York Central train with an ex Cleveland Union Terminal (P motor) electric on the point was passing under the southbound New Haven track.  On the far right is the northbound New Haven track.  Heading north on the New York Central tracks leads to Brewster and beyond.

A 3 car set of New York Central's most modern MUs was northbound.

An ABA set of E8s waited to take over for electric power on a long distance train at Harmon, NY.  Again, the photo was taken in the late 1950s.

Here is the south end of the above power set.

Back at Woodlawn during rush hour in the late 1960s or early 1970s a train powered by a pair of FL9s on the express track was passing MUs making a station stop.  Penn Central replaced the New Haven's orange, white and black scheme with this one of yellow and blue.

On another occasion a single FL9 lead a train into North White Plains, NY.

This was the first train photo I took with my new Nikkormat in 1971.  The station is Mount St. Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.  The Hudson River is on the left and the train was inbound to GCT.

This long distance train was approaching Spuyten Duyvil station behind a former CUT electric on its way to GCT in the early 1970s.  The track to bridge across Spuyten Duyvil is to the left of the motor and the bridge is out of the photo to the left.

Finally, another train behind a P motor was passing Mount St. Vincents headed for GCT on a much nicer day.

Thanks for looking.

Scans of some old slides

Hi, I got to thinking about how to share some of my older slides, and there only a few, when I remembered scans made by good friend Dave Oroszi. Here are the New Haven and New York Central photos I like best.

The first 4 photos were taken in June 1957 at the New Central's Woodlawn Station in the Bronx on NYC's Harlem Division. The photo below was taken north of the station and shows an EP-4 passenger locomotive inbound to Grand Central Terminal.

The next 2 photos also are of inbound trains. I believe the locomotives are EP-3s, the first being in a scheme introduced during the McGinnis era. About a 1/2 mile north of this location New Haven trackage begins as it heads east to New Rochelle to join up with their route out of Penn Station.


The New York Central commuter train is running express on its way to North White Plains, NY. This was very new equipment at this time.

A couple of black & white photos scanned from prints will finish the material taken in the Bronx. The photo below shows an oil electric box cab on the New York Central freight line that served the west side of Manhattan. The caboose hop is crossing Spuyten Duyvil which connects the Harlem River on the left with the Hudson River on the right. This is now part of Amtrak's Empire Route into Penn Station.

About a mile east of the previous photograph is the Marble Hill section of the Bronx. The train, behind a former Cleveland Union Terminal Electric, is on the Hudson Division headed for Harmon, NY and an engine change. The former Putnam Division runs along the wall in the background.

Exiting the tunnel under the Detroit River, this CP train is approaching Michigan Central Station in Detroit. The photo was taken in June, probably 1959, when I was a student at the University of Michigan.

The following three slides had developed a magenta cast when I sent them to Dave. I was amazed at his ability to restore them to as shot condition.

On the same day passenger power awaited assignment out side the station. Below is an E8A/E7B combo.

Behind the E units was a pair of Fairbanks-Morse C-Liners. I believe these are the only example of these locomotives I have ever seen.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.