NYC in the Albany area

[Otto Vondrak]

What was the line called that paralelled the Mohawk River between Troy and Schenectady?

The West Shore between Albany and Weehawken was the River Division. What was the West Shore called between Albany and Buffalo?

Thanks in advance!

-otto-

[Noel Weaver]

I believe the line between Troy and Schenectady was know as the Troy
and Schenectady. The last of this line was abandoned around the start up
of Conrail in 1976.
The West Shore west of Ravena was simply known as the "West Shore".
The line between Ravena and Kenwood was part of the River Division.
West Shore passenger trains actually used the Delaware and Hudson to
get from Kenwood to the Albany passenger station under a trackage rights
agreement.
Noel Weaver

[Otto Vondrak]

Thanks, Noel!

-otto-

[ChiefTroll]

I have never seen a real New York, West Shore and Buffalo employes' time-table, but I had understood that the River Division between Weehawken and Kenwood (Albany) was a single division of the West Shore that remained the same through the time of NYC ownership.

Sometime shortly after the NYC leased the West Shore, the West Shore west of Ravena was incorporated into the then-existing New York Central divisions, so the segment from Ravena (and later, Selkirk) to Syracuse (later, Kirkville) was in the NYC Mohawk Division, and from Syracuse to Buffalo was Syracuse Division, with the western part (west of Churchville?) of that combined into the Buffalo Division when it was created.

Some parts of the River Division were never owned by the West Shore, including the Catskill Mountain Branch (U&D), the Wallkill Valley Branch, and the New Jersey Jct. RR.

Gordon Davids

[Otto Vondrak]

Mr. Davids' post jives with the basic impression I've gotten from other railroaders...

-otto-

[bergenfield43]

ETT's that I have from the early 1900's through the demise of the WS show that it was referred to either as "West Shore R.R." or the name of the division with a subhead of the endpoints.

[urrengr2003]

Line was called T&S by employees. As late as 1972 we had a TS (Traveling Switcher) Job out of the Sand Bank that went up the T&S. It was an outlying job for crews and an engine. Engine was serviced in the field by a working foreman in the M of E Dept; came to Selkirk for shop maintenance & inspections.

[Engineer Spike]

Senior co-workers told me that the D&H ran the T&S, near the end. They had an unusual crossing of an interstate highway at grade. This was on I87, the Adirondack Northway, just south of the twin bridges (over Mohawk River).

[Railjunkie]

Lived in the area my whole life and dont ever remember a crossing at grade on I-87. If there was one Id be very interested in knowing were it was. I can only think of one abandoned right of way that is near the Northway and that was a D&H or B&M line that came down from Saratoga Lake.

[Ocala Mike]

I'm with Railjunkie on this one. Traveled I-87 and I-787 extensively between 1978-1995, and certainly don't remember a grade crossing. Maybe on 9N.

[RussNelson]

What was the West Shore called between Albany and Buffalo?

Errrr, the South Shore? Just call me Mr. Obvious!

[ChiefTroll]

The Troy and Schenectady Branch did cross Interstate 87 at grade at the crest of the hill south of the twin arches of I-87 over the Mohawk River. I-87 opened to traffic between US 20 and Clifton Park in September, 1959 while the T&S Branch was still intact between Schenectady and Green Island. Rather than go to considerable expense of building a grade separation, NY State got a waiver from the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads to permit the crossing under severe restrictions. I believe they had to station a State Trooper there whenever a train was about to cross, and that did not happen more than about once per week.

I was on a field trip to the ribbon cutting with my civil engineering class from RPI when that first segment was opened, and we got the story of the crossing from the NYSDPW project engineer. I think it remained in service until early in 1963, when the T&S was severed. After that, NYC served the Cohoes end using old trackage rights on the D&H from Albany to Green Island.

The D&H operated the east end of the T&S after Conrail was created on April 1, 1976, as a state-subsidized light density line. I think the title to the property remained with the Penn Central Estate.

Gordon Davids

[RussNelson]

Interesting. Yes, you can see where it crossed on this line:
http://rutlandtrail.org/list.cgi?DnH-ro ... d.ny.track

[Noel Weaver]

I did not live in the Albany area when the "Northway" was first opened but
I do remember the grade crossing not far south of the twin bridges.
Noel Weaver

[Railjunkie]

A little before my time, thanks for the info.