Port Morris on the NYWB/NH

Questions on the RDC's: I know the SPV's were much reviled, as evidenced by the substitution of the acronym for "seldom-propelled-vehicles" (I rode them from the then Brewster N to Patterson in the 90's). But almost everything I've read over the last few years on here seems to indicate that the older RDC's were quite useful.

Now, MNRR would not have much of a need for them as their diesel fleet, with the addition of the BL's and WOH fleet has proven adequate. But what's to prevent a railroad these days (I'm thinking new starts or additional service) from resurrecting this design? It's like the over-under shoes on the FL9's; why is the wheel being recreated when there's perfectly acceptable designs from long ago? Think of an RDC on the proposed New-Milford extension, or on the proposed run from New Britain/Bristol to Hartford? They'd be perfect for building up services that may start out wit low passenger counts. Or they could replace over-powered mini-bombs on the existing branches. I think they'd be perfect for short shuttle runs.

The Budd built RDC's were a wonderful piece of equipment provided they had proper maintenance. I ran some that were good and some that were not so good. They could go almost anywhere that there were tracks, they rode reasonably well
although they sometimes had a tendency to rock a little bit, the interior noise was present but no worse than some of the
standard coaches, heat, AC and other stuff usually worked well too.
From an operating standpoint I liked them except when rail conditions were bad. On slippery rail especially on the Danbury
Branch they could be a bit touchy to run but other than that they generally ran well.
I remember one period when I had an extended stay on the afternoon Budd Car in Danbury and one trip south we lost an
engine. I kept going to South Norwalk as I knew I could make the running time or come close and I would start it up there.
I reported it to the tower/dispatcher and they were all set to kill the return trip and substitute a bus but I talked them out of
that, got the engine going again and we had no more trouble with it at least that particular trip. Next time the engine died
I simply restarted it and said nothing, it was easier that way.
The reduced operating costs that these cars provided for probably kept some trains on much longer than they would have
otherwise with standard equipment.
Unfortunately the SPV's were bought to replace the RDC's but the SPV's were pretty much a total failure as a self
propelled car, I think they could have gotten much more out of them by salvaging the well built car bodies as coaches but
the MTA decided to just let them rot away until they were not fit for anything except the scrap heap which is where most
of them ended up.
I rode RDC's in Canada in 1988 and these particular cars were in splended condition and ran all over the Maritimes, I rode
several different lines in these cars and enjoyed everything about these trains.
Noel Weaver

Statkowski

I have some photos of the stations that you requested. They are not of the best quality.
First photos are from east to west, Baychester.

Second is Eastchester, showing the old station house and the bridge over Eastchester Road in the background. I haven often seen early references to this station as being designated Westchester Station, since the yard of the same name was close by.I think a medical center building is currently located where the station house was situated.

Thirdly is Van Nest. The first photo shows the station in the late 1930’s. Somebody decided to torch it (is this a Bronx tradition?). The second shows it in the background, next to the yard in the Teens.

Geez, what a difference between then and now. Simply amazing.

Here is a shot apparently of one the towers at Oak Point. Which tower was this and what was its purpose? I assume this structure predates the Bungay tower.

The tower in question was S.S. 4, Oak Point. It was situated at the east end of Oak Point Yard and controlled the yard leads (Along The Wall, Four Bridge East & One Yard), also the crossovers to tracks 6, 5, 4 & 3. It had a 44-lever Improved Saxby & Farmer (US&S licensee) mechanical interlocking machine. Put in service June 9, 1909.