Trip Report: First time on the Hudson Line

I finally got around to riding on the Hudson Line yesterday. I only went as far as Croton-Harmon. I'm gonna split up my post with the northbound and southbound trips.

I got to GCT and my 6 car M-7A set was waiting on track 28 for the 12:20pm local to Croton-Harmon. I got on the 3rd car (4239) because they closed to first two cars much to my disappointment. I sat in the middle of the car in the last forward facing 3 seater (left side). The female conductor punched my round tripper and we were off.

The first thing I noticed was an inconsistency with the automated announcements. Some sounded like re-recordings that were noticeably lower in volume, while others sounded louder and clearer like the "This is the train to" recording. Can anyone confirm if some stations were re-recorded? The only analogous example I can provide to show the difference is between Mets - Willets Point and the other announcements on the LIRR. The automated announcement also did not announce Yankees - E. 153rd Street. I was looking forward to hearing that as a Yankees fan, but it was just silent when it was supposed to announce it. This was probably my only gripe on the trip, which says many good things about Metro-North. After Spuyten Duyvil, we passed by a northbound Amtrak train headed to Albany coming up from the Empire Connection. It eventually met up with us at Yonkers, and then blew by us a short while later.

As for the operation of the train, those conductors were as precise as a Swiss watch. I counted the time between opening and closing of the door and some were as quick as 5 seconds. In all cases, the door started opening a split second before the train came to a full stop. Obviously the small amount of passengers helped, but Metro-North conductors really know how to make a full local train quick and enjoyable. Our conductor also had a little fun when announcing the stops. One that stood out in particular was Irrrrrrrrrvington.

We happened to have a bit of a unique trip as well. After Greystone, the train came to a stop and the conductor said we had to switch tracks due to track work. We waited about 10 minutes for a southbound Bomb set to pass and we switched over to track 4. We rode on track 4 all the way up to Croton-Harmon. As you can imagine, there were a couple of confused looks on passengers' faces but the conductor announced the train as a northbound local to Croton-Harmon at every stop.

As for the stations themselves, I have to say they look gorgeous. Not including the upper electric stations that are currently getting rebuilt, they all look very handsome in that dark green paint. I haven't been on the Harlem line to compare, but the stations seem distinctively Hudson.

And I can't forget to mention the view of the Hudson River. I can see why the Hudson Line is considered the premier line on Metro-North. Going up on line 4 gave me a beautiful view of the river the whole way up. I'm definitely looking forward to doing the upper Hudson one day, probably in the fall.

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We got to Croton-Harmon and I bid farewell to my conductor. I walked about ten minutes to Route 9A to grab lunch. I went to Harmon Deli, but they were out of ciabatta bread, which meant no paninis. I left in disappointment and walked over to the Shop Rite shopping complex and settled on a Subway sandwich. Not that a couple of blocks is much to base an opinion, but what I saw of Croton-Harmon is pretty lifeless. Anyway, I started walking back in order to catch the 2:34pm semi-express to GCT.

I'm waiting for the train to arrive on track 1 and they announce over the PA that the train is 10 minutes late due to track work. So I sat on the platform and watched a northbound M-7A set finish its journey on track 2 as well as a Bomb set going north to Poughkeepsie.

My train finally arrived and it ended up being a 6 car Bomb set. I got on cab car 6131 and had a rather uneventful ride back down train-wise. Some teenage girls got on at Ossining, sat behind me, and were being loud and obnoxious the whole way down. When we got to Harlem - 125th Street, there were two wiggers on the platform recording a rap music video. They were wearing a bunch of ridiculous clothes and chains, which gave everyone in my car a good laugh. While we were in the Park Ave. tunnel, three conductors cornered two young guys who tried to evade the fare. One of the conductors accused them of lying to him about where they got on the train and they were hit with the on-board fare. The two guys didn't seem remorseful about it and gave him an attitude.

I didn't bother to check the number of the Gennie when we got to GCT, but by then, I was pretty tired and just wanted to go home and take a nap. Kudos to Metro-North for a great train ride.

The conductor on the first train is a good guy worked with him on that train a few times before. "Irvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv-ington" haha. The Hudson line is definetly the most scenic of all the lines IMO.

I have a question I am just wondering is there any MTA Police offcers at the Croton Harmon Station?

Train2009 wrote:I have a question I am just wondering is there any MTA Police offcers at the Croton Harmon Station?

Hmm, I don't recall seeing any on Saturday. I usually notice if there's a security presence but I didn't see any officers.

tun wrote:I'm definitely looking forward to doing the upper Harlem one day, probably in the fall.

I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you in expecting nice scenery. There is no comparison what so ever to the Hudson Line.

truck6018 wrote:

tun wrote:I'm definitely looking forward to doing the upper Harlem one day, probably in the fall.

I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you in expecting nice scenery. There is no comparison what so ever to the Hudson Line.

Oh my mistake, I meant the Hudson. Let me go edit that.

I went up to Croton Harmon for a little bit this afternoon and there was no problem, I saw a Croton Harmon Police Car
as it was entering the station's parking lot and then again on the Croton Point Ave Bridge heading to the park and coming
from the park. I was lucky I did not got stopped by the police as I took pics of trains.

The scenery on the Hudson is great any time of the year, but the fall is certainly the best.
While the Harlem Line is no comparison, it's still halfway decent in the fall, especially the upper section of the line, beyond Southeast.

As for eating at Croton-Harmon, or technically in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson (only the station is Croton-Harmon, not the town), no, it's really not a "pedestrian" area. Most people who use the station are coming by car from surrounding towns and villages, because they know it has more frequent service and a lot more parking than other nearby stations. There are other options, but you really need to be able to drive to find them.

Anytime you hear station names being announced at a different volume from the rest of the announcements, it's a safe bet they were re-recorded. There's no reason they would be at different levels coming from the same recording session.

If/when you get to the Upper Hudson, definitely sit on the river side of the car. You'll see things like West Point, the Bear Mountain Bridge, Bannerman's Island, the not-as-picturesque Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and in Poughkeepsie, you'll have the Mid-Hudson Bridge and the old railroad bridge. Not to mention, the top level of the parking garage in Poughkeepsie affords some decent overhead views of the station, as well as part of the yard to the north.

It can be fun to stopover at any of the other stations along the way. My other favorite is New Hamburg (mostly because I used to live there), which has two bridges running over the tracks. The bridge closest to the station is within reasonable walking distance, offering views like this (looking at the station) and this (looking north). Beacon also has a bridge just south of the station (seen in this shot) but I've never gone up there. Seems like it could be a good place to watch the station though, assuming there's a sidewalk or enough of a shoulder to safely stand. (Unfortunately, neither has eats within walking distance, unless the coffee shop on the Beacon platform is open... FYI.)

Train2009 wrote:I have a question I am just wondering is there any MTA Police offcers at the Croton Harmon Station?

Why? What did you do?

Otto Vondrak wrote:

Train2009 wrote:I have a question I am just wondering is there any MTA Police offcers at the Croton Harmon Station?

Why? What did you do?

Well, so that I can take pics without having a problem

Its perfectly legal to take pictures as long as your on public property, getting weaselly will only attract the MNPD

my first time on the Hudson was going to the open house.. way better scenery then the New Haven line.

I agree, the ride was almost as great as the open house. The scenery made it worth it to get up at 5AM.