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| Sharing the “Water Level Route” with the New York Central was the West Shore; first as a competitor; later a subsidiary. |
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Welcome to our NY Central West Shore WebSite
Here's a preview of some of the exciting projects we have put together for you: Our feature article is about the River Division (from Conrail days) Yes, you can Fly Along the West Shore (on Google Earth) Some of our articles you should not miss are when was the West Shore abandoned ; all about West Shore interurbans (Yes, that's what I said!); the West Shore's Wallkill Valley branch ; and West Shore Ferry from Weehawken to NY City Want to find out even more about the West Shore then keep reading. We have articles on detour movements on the West Shore (and on detour movements All Along the Central) . See our West Shore Reference Section and take a look at "Did You Know?" Interesting facts on the West Shore . Another "must see" is Impact of the West Shore on Central New York An example was the growth of Utica from Italian immigrants who helped build the West Shore. WOW! Even more for you! See our section on tunnels and bridges on the New York Central . Read about head end equipment (such as baggage, mail, Railway Express) on the New York Central . See some great pictures of snow and railroads and of the New York Central Railroad . Find out about bike trails along railroads . What kind of Passenger Service Did the West Shore Have? . Richard Palmer's West Shore Abandonment Lists . West Shore Stations in Utica . Chenango Branch went from the West Shore in Syracuse, through Manlius, Cazenovia and other small towns, even through a tunnel to Earlville, New York. In Earlville, it met the Ontario & Western. It was abandoned in stages until nothing was left. Overview of the West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was chartered December 5, 1885, as successor to the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railway, and was leased for 475 years to the New York Central. On that same date, the Middletown Branch was transferred to the Ontario & Western and that road given trackage rights Cornwall to Weehawken Trackage of West Shore Railroad was Weehawken, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York, 425 miles; and branches - Rockland Lake to Congers, 1.15 miles; Athens Dock to Coxsavkie, N.Y. 6.16 miles; Coeymans Jct. to Kenwood Jct., N.Y. 11.04 miles; Fullers to Athens Jct., 5.07 miles; Syracuse to Earlville, N.Y., 45.49 miles; Buffalo to Buffalo Creek, N.Y., 1.29 miles - total lines 495.20 miles. The Syracuse, Ontario & New York Railway, Syracuse to Earlville, was absorbed by consolidation on July 2, 1891. The New Jersey Junction Railroad was organized in 1886 to provide connections and facilities for interchange of traffic between several railway systems terminating at Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken. It was leased in 1886 to the New York Central. We hope you enjoy your visit to our WebSite. We offer a wide range of great sites. We have a great "Portal to the World", excellent weather, reference, golf and tourist sites. As well as great WebSites on trains run for the President of the United States (and for Royalty too). We are not "FLASHy" like many WebSites, but we offer you, among other things authentic railroad history material. Much of this material is not available elsewhere on the Internet. It was painstakingly collected over many years from such sources as Yale University. We never knowingly link you to any WebSites that contain a virus, collect your personal information, or are those machine-generated sites rampant with "Ads by Google". For some of our material, there is a small nominal charge. You can talk back to us on our BLOG and see our eBay Store too. |
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Ask K.C. your railroad questions Click on a question to answer; or ask your own, then hit "ASK K.C." 
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Other Sites You Might Like: * Croton-Harmon * Castleton Cutoff * Catskill Mountain Branch * New York Central Lines history * Milk trains * Railroading Changes since 1950 * Railroads Around New York State * Complete Railroad Index * Travel Reservations |
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| The River Division" |
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Running from Selkirk, NY to Weehawken, NJ is a heavy-duty freight railroad owned by
CONRAIL
and commonly referred to as the River Division.
It truly earns its name by hugging the river bank from across the Hudson River at
Poughkeepsie to cross the river from Peekskill at Haverstraw.
In this area are many, many small bridges crossing the inlets and tributaries.
It is basically single-tracked, heavily signaled and has some long passing sidings. The usual mode of operation seems to be several trains running one after the other northbound then several running southbound. Sometimes headway is only a few minutes apart. Many trains are solid trailers on flat cars without a caboose, others are conventional freights with sometimes over 100 cars. REGISTER to see full story. |
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VISIT OUR GOLF PRO SHOP We have the largest selection of clubs and other golf accessories. |
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Fly Along the West Shore! If you have "GOOGLE EARTH" installed on your computer, you can "fly" along the West Shore from Selkirk to Kirkville Junction (Syracuse) with the "PLACEMARK" below: (Click to get GOOGLE EARTH) Talk to us about help using Google Earth© for your business presentations! | |
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Take a trip on the West Shore (Selkirk to Syracuse) Haverstraw Train Station | |
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We will be adding more routes Because many of the locations on our tour have varying "resolutions" of the pictures, you may need to stop the tour and adjust the height you are viewing. On several locations, you may also stop the tour and click on the placemark icon for more information. Tell us where you want to fly and give us any of your comments |
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When was the West Shore Abandoned? This 2003 picture by Gino DiCarlo shows the end of the West Shore at South Amsterdam |
To see some excellent West Shore pictures, visit Gino's Railfan Page |
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Head End Railway Express and Railway Post Office 
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On passenger trains, railroads operated lots of equipment other than
sleepers, coaches, dining cars, etc. This equipment was generally
called
'head-end' equipment, these 'freight' cars were at one time
plentiful and highly profitable for the railroads.
In the heyday of passenger service, these industries were a big part
of the railroad's operations, and got serious attention. We have text and pictures not found elsewhere on the Web. |
Cheese Pound Cake Bread Pudding Cake |
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About Our President About Our Company About Small Business |
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Shipping Information Terms of Sale |
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| What ever happened to my Penn Central stock? |
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Penn Central gobbled up the stock of New York Central, Pennsylvania and New Haven Railroads.
But what ever happened to the company and the stock? Is it worth anything?
Ever hear of American Premier Underwriters? REGISTER to see full story. |
| The never-magnificant, and now all cut-up West Shore Railroad was closely aligned with a series of interurban lines called the New York State Railways. |
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The never-magnificent, and now all cut-up West Shore Railroad which was leased and later
absorbed into the New York Central was closely aligned with a series of interurban lines
called the New York State Railways.
The West Shore ran 425 miles from Weehawken, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York. It was a double track line running north along the west bank of the Hudson to Albany, through the fertile Mohawk Valley, and across Central New York touching Utica, Syracuse, Rochester to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Its grades were easy and its curves were light. The stations built along the route were architectural gems and blended in with the beautiful and picturesque scenery of the road. Many remain to this day. An excellent example can be found in Catskill, NY. It is now used as a tire store. REGISTER to see full story. |
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| The Wallkill Valley Branch | ||||||||||||
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In researching
some railroads that ran into the Maybrook area,
I came across the Wallkill
Valley. I knew it eventually became the Wallkill Valley Branch of the
New York
Central so I went after some of the easier sources of information I had. From
Employee Timetable No. 73 (effective September 28, 1952), I found out the
following information: ....................... NYC operated the Wallkill Valley Railroad Co. as part of the River Division, but the WVRR Co. was never owned by the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad, or the West Shore Railroad Company. The WVRR Co. was leased directly by the New York Central after it leased the West Shore, as was the New Jersey Jct. RR Co. All three were finally merged into the NYCRR Co. in 1952. The Wallkill Valley was the second railroad in Kingston, the first being the Rondout and Oswego, later becoming the Ulster and Delaware. The WVRR was controlled by Thomas Cornell and the Coykendalls, of the U&D, before the West Shore arrived in Kingston. It was originally built to 6-foot gauge to connect with the Erie at Montgomery. |
| Miles from Kingston | Station | Office Call |
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| 0.00 | Kingston | KI |
Employees
warned of overhead clearances at D&S Oil Company siding and Phelan &
Cahill siding Station open day and night |
| 6.12 | Red Rock Siding |
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13 car
siding here REGISTER to see full story. |
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Bike Trails Along Railroads
Throughout the United States and Canada, there are numerous bicycle trails that either run alongside existing railroads or run on the abandoned right-of-way of a railroad. In Québec, the longest one, the "P'tit Train du Nord" runs for 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Saint-Jérôme to Mount-Laurier on an abandoned Canadian Pacific route. South of Saint-Jérôme, this route continues to Blainville alongside what will become a busy rail commuter line. Photo above shows its route past the new intermodal terminal at Saint-Jérôme. In Central New York State, a great trail runs on the former Troy & Schenectady branch of the New York Central Railroad. Further downstate, abandoned portions of the New York Central's Putnam Division and Harlem Division are now bike trails. Part of the Wallkill Valley branch of the West Shore is a bike trail. Cape Cod has a scenic trail on what was once the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Along Lake Ontario shore, a portion of the old Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad is a trail now. This is only a small sample. There are LOTS MORE! Photo Copyright © 2006 Ken Kinlock |
| VISIT OUR TICKET BOOTH We can find you tickets for all the great music, sports and cultural events. We have the best prices and most availability of any ticket seller. |
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Harvard Professor John R. Stilgoe states that: ‘Train travel will supplant highway and air travel in the next few decades.
Furthermore,
electric railroads
will increasingly be used to distribute freight items as well as mail and express packages.’
According to Stilgoe the three prime factors driving railroad development are population growth, rising gas prices, and advanced technology. “In the 1930s it was possible to order a fridge in the morning and have it delivered by train later the same day,” says Stilgoe. “Americans forgot about this, but we’re starting to put it back together.” Stilgoe slso wrote an excellent yet overlooked book on railroads and the built environment shaped by them called Metropolitan Corridor:Railroads and the American Scene that I highly recommend. Whats most interesting is that the book is 6 months old and already much has changed in that brief time to further move us toward a new era of the train and seemingly away from our old era of the highway and sprawl, particularly with respect to the financial crisis, foreclosure mess, high gas prices, politics of "change" and global warming awareness. |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! Services we provide are: Transportation to your site. Site preparation for your portable shelter. Assembly of your portable shelter. Subsequent enhancements or moving of your portable shelter. |
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| The West Shore got as close to New York City as across the river in New Jersey. Passengers took a ferry while freight went across the river on car floats. Click on the picture to see more on ferries and car floats. |
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Above picture shows the Strates Carnival Train crossing the Iona Trestle CSX River Line (former New York Central) on June 7, 2005. Copyright © 2005 Lewis Bogaty. More trains at www.wislew.com Click on picture to enlarge |
| More on the West Shore |
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Sharing the "Water-Level Route" with the New York Central was the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad.
At first it was a competitor, later a subsidiary. The first try at this line was the New York, West Shore & Chicago which didn't get off the ground and went belly up in the Panic of 1877. Since the idea was good, it was tried again.
In the 1870's, the New York & Oswego Midland was built over the most rural pieces of New York State between Middletown in the Southern Tier and Oswego on Lake Ontario. It failed because it was poorly built and poorly located. The Oswego Midland was reorganized into the Ontario & Western. This new road sought a better entrance into New York City than the rambling New Jersey Midland (now New York, Susquehanna & Western). A shorter route would be to strike across the country to the east of Middletown and reach the Hudson and follow that south to Jersey City. The first freight carried on the West Shore was a dairy train over the O&W connection at Cornwall and into Jersey City. Building the West Shore was a huge project for its day. Constructing a double-track trunk line over four hundred miles through a densely populated state was no small job. As well as providing terminals and shops and equipment, there were several tunnels and many bridges to be built. The West Shore purchased all new equipment and only the best. They had 175 anthracite-burning locomotives. The rail was 67 lb., excellent for that era. The double track sets were laid two feet further apart than on the New York Central. Thirty feet to the mile was the maximum ascending grade. There were shops at New Durham, NJ; Frankfort, NY; and Newark, NY. The shops at Frankfort were located there because the property was a gift of the surrounding towns. Construction began in 1881. At the same time, the O&W began building between Middletown and Cornwall-on-Hudson. The biggest projects were the three main tunnels: Bergen Hill outside Weehawken; south of Haverstraw; and underneath the parade ground of the US Military Academy at West Point. Also required were smaller tunnels at Bear Mountain, Newburgh (under the Erie Railroad), Kingston and Danskammer. The steep banks of the river made construction difficult. Several places required basically inverted bridges while others required huge amounts of filling (even including old canal boats). The entire road was designed as double track. Some of the money behind this project came from George M. Pullman, who wanted to strike a blow against William H. Vanderbilt for banishing Pullman cars in favor of Wagner Palace cars. REGISTER to see full story. |
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| Garbage Trucks |
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The "River Division" was
published in July, 1986 in the CALLBOARD of the Mohawk and Hudson Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Also in the CALLBOARD was the "West Shore Interurbans" which appeared in May of 1987, "More on the West Shore" in the October 1988 issue, "The Catskill Mountain Branch" from the June 1987 issue. The "Wallkill Valley" was published January 1999 in the BRIDGE LINE BULLETIN of the Bridge Line Historical Society. Some segments published (various dates) in TOWER TOPICS of the Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. |
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Take a few moments to visit our
E-STORE We have a huge collection of railroad literature and postcards plus many other items that will interest you. |
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Which One of These People Hurt New York City Public Transit the Most? Click on the picture to find the correct answer. If you get the wrong answer, you will still see a good story! |
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See
Antibes, plus Biot, Juan-les-pins, Golfe-Juan, and the Vauban Fort
Antibes was a Greek fortified town named Antipolis in the 5th century BC, and later a Roman town, and always an active port for trading along the Mediterranean. Today it's an attractive and active town, popular with "foreigners" from Paris and the north of France, with non-French, and with the local population. |
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See Menton and it's surrounding area
Thanks to a beneficial subtropical microclimate (316 cloudless days a year), winter is practically unknown in Menton. Therefore, you can enjoy a beautiful sea and the nearby sunny mountains all year round. Menton is on the borders of Italy, the Principality of Monaco and the Comté de Nice. |
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See
Beausoleil.
Beausoleil is a neighboring town of the Principality of Monaco. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea just above Monaco and has a beautiful year-round climate. Beausoleil is situated between the beaches and the winter sports area of the Alps. |
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Ominous Weather on the Mediterranean Sea.
The sea is always beautiful at Nice, France - even when a storm is approaching. |
| Coal on the River Division was a big source of revenue...PSEG must have averaged 5 trains a week, the tariff called for a train to consist of at least 7000 tons (l00 70 ton cars or 70 100 ton). Next going West was Tompkins Cove (Orange and Rockland) they got about 1 a week from the West, Roseton (Central Hudson) was a real good customer about 3 trains a Week from the West (long haul). They had their own engine (radio controlled), Kingston (Hudson Cement) about 2-3 a month from the West, Alsen (Alpha Portland ) at least 1 a week and the Lehigh and Marquette shared a train about every two weeks. Ravena ( Atlantic Cement ) received a train each Friday and on the Albany Branch, Niagara Mohawk did well when they were on good terms, they burnt 40 cars a day but after they got hit them with a demurrage bill they favored the D&H..then on the Hudson Universal Atlas got a train about 2-3 weeks came up from CNJ.. This was right up to merger. A lot of these trains ran using the RS-3s on the district over the weekend, working closely with power control. |
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Passenger Train Detours over the West Shore From NYC-RR Forum: Gordon Davids Feb 20, 2005 I never saw an actual detour move on the West Shore, but I heard a few on the Mohawk train dispatcher's wire when I was "studying" at Tower 2 in Troy, 1959-61. They all involved movements from Schuyler Jct to Harbor to WH (South Schenectady) over the Carman Connection to Tower 7, then into Albany. They called out operators and opened temporary train order offices and block stations, sometimes in a closed office and sometimes from the operator's automobile. In that era, the West Shore was still manual block territory, so the detoured trains would get running orders, usually at Utica and Tower 7, and train orders listing the offices that were open outside their normal hours. The only regular day train order offices were Canajoharie and Frankfort. Those detours could make for an interesting day on the train wire. I don't recall any detours between Harbor and Canastota, which would have been possible but not practical because that track was down to 10 mph by that time. The limit was 35 between Harbor and Rotterdam Jct. Added by editor: That had to be about the limit of detours since the line was cut beyond Fort Plain early 70's. Detours were not possible in 1967 as the line from Harbor to Kirkville had already been cut. The Rome Daily Sentinal from May 3, 1964 announced: "The New York Central Railroad is seeking permission to abandon a 12.3-mile section of its West Shore line from New York Mills to near Vernon." December 1983 "Call Board" (M&H Chapter-NRHS) front page shows a Jim Shaughnessy photo of the "Empire State Express" detouring over the West Shore at Pattersonville, NY, on November 30, 1967. Detour Movements All Along the Central |
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Syracuse Division (from Employee Timetable) Click on map to enlarge |
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Where do Trains Go on the River Division (West Shore)?? South Kearny is the big intermodal facility. The River Line manifests go to/from many different places on the south end; most if not all originate or terminate at Selkirk on the north end. Southerly terminals include Oak Island NJ, various yards in Philadelphia, Brunswick or Cumberland MD, Rocky Mount or Hamlet NC, and Waycross GA -- with the actual destinations varying sometimes depending on CSX. One way to find out where the trains go to or from is bullsheet.com's schedule pages. |
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Did You Know? Before the West Shore was acquired by the New York Central it had already had a big set-back when William H. Vanderbilt acquired the Nickel Plate. NKP was to have been West Shore's prime western connection. Without the NKP the WS never really a chance. They tried to make do with Grand Trunk, but.... Lackawanna opened their Buffalo extension around the same time too, more bad news for the NYWS&B. |
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Troop Train Photo Album
Cost is $9.99 Photos of a trip from Texas to New York City (World War II) as an armored division brings its equipment and troops to the port. |
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Stories on the New York Central Railroad |
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