Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, nomis, FL9AC, Jeff Smith

 #1497984  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
dgvrengineer wrote:What does Gov. Cuomo have over Amtrak that they suddenly give up all their demands for bridge rehab and access fees for a stinking study on Long Island service?
Apparently the same pull he has over the MTA ramming through an alternate L train plan. Oh wait, he claims he doesn't control the MTA... /eyeroll
 #1497990  by Jeff Smith
 
checkthedoorlight wrote:A nagging question I keep having on this New Haven service to Penn.....right now, the regulations on ticketing are that New Haven line trains can not be used for inner-city travel. No riding between Grand Central and 125/Fordham. Are they going to modify this regulation so that customers can ride between Penn Station and the Bronx, or are these Bronx stations going to be for Westchester/CT commuting only? If they do modify it, are they going to completely do away with the regulation on the Grand Central trains as well?
Different animal; it’s not a historic dinosaur from legacy railroads that may or may not be valid post New York Central. It’s a new service that as Tommy notes has a stated intent of serving the East Bronx, wherever they might be bound, be it Penn or the burb’s. And CtDOT has wanted it for a long time, going so far as to equip their new fleet accordingly.

There’s a good discussion here on the Fordham issue: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=163459" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1498019  by Jeff Smith
 
I’m separating out posts on the Hudson Line Penn Access here, so it doesn’t get lost in the sauce: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=169110" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This topic still has plenty of info on the early stages of the study in the older pages... I’ll leave that there as it would be difficult to separate.

This topic will be for the actual service that’s now moving forward.

Thanks!
 #1498023  by Ridgefielder
 
Jeff Smith wrote:The ROW once accommodated 4 tracks the entire length (save Pelham Bay Bridge I think), and 6 south of 180th St (the defunct NYW&B). So there’s room for four. But I’d expect them to be to one side or the other to simplify station design, perhaps with Island platforms. I question if the frequencies would require four tracks... a third with occasional passing sidings and meets may be sufficient.

South of Hunts Point, on the Hell Gate Bridge and through Astoria, adding a track may be problematic. The Hell Gate currently only has three tracks, one of which is the Bay Ridge(?) freight track, which runs up to Pelham Bay if IIRC. Jaap do I have that right? So you have to account for CSX and P&W runs along the Branch, too. So you’re only going to get three in most places.
The line was 6 tracks all the way from the Bronx end of the Hell Gate to New Rochelle, Jeff. When it was built out in its current form between 1905-1915 the New Haven had a huge amount of local freight business in the East Bronx, and the Board, controlled by Pierpont Morgan, was determined to future-proof in the expectation that volumes would continue to grow. It was the same mentality that led them to build the Conn River drawbridge with room on the piers and abutments for a 4-track span, and to construct South Station with a lower-level loop for electric suburban service.

2 tracks were removed in the late '30s, two more in the '70's.
 #1498062  by Jeff Smith
 
To confirm what Ridgefielder states, here’s some historical confirmation on the former Harlem River Branch service that ended in the early 30’s, followed shortly after by the NYW&B:

http://gothamist.com/2019/01/23/metro_n ... ations.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MTA To Add Four New Stations In The East Bronx (At Metro-North Prices)

Some slight inaccuracies: the track south of New Rochelle terminated at the Harlem River terminal. In a non-quoted passage, alluding to CheckTheDoorLight’s earlier question on Fordham, they say the NH shares track in the Bronx with the Hudson Line but “makes no stops”; it’s the Harlem. They then mention the discharge stop at Fordham, with a follow up that MNRR is discussing the issue with CT.
...
However, transit buffs know that these "new" stations are really a restoration of local access to a line that last saw local railroad service in the early 1930s. And the success of the new stations could depend on whether the MTA offers discounted fares for travel within city limits, something the authority has resisted in the past.

The New Haven Line, which will include the new Bronx stations, originated as the New York and New Haven Railroad in 1849. By the early 1900s the line had expanded and was known as the New York, New Haven and Hartford; it expanded to six electrified tracks, and terminated at the second Grand Central Terminal at Park Avenue and East 42nd Street that opened in 1913.

The NY & NH opened several stations in the Bronx around this time, all of which were active from approximately 1906 through 1931; they were designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert, designer of the Woolworth Building. Some of these stations are still standing: The southernmost, the Hunts Point station, is a handsome dormered building on the north side of Hunts Point Avenue at the Bruckner Expressway, currently occupied by stores and scheduled for rehabilitation. The Westchester Avenue station is a Beaux Arts classic, now abandoned, stretching over the tracks at Westchester and Whitlock Avenues at the Sheridan Expressway, featuring the NY, NH and H's winged staff of Hermes with its two entwined snakes.

The former Morris Park stationhouse ruin can be seen along the north side of the railroad at Sacket and Paulding Avenues; in recent years, someone has festooned it in an American flag motif, with stars at the entrance and bars on the sides. A final station ruin that served the long-gone trolley line to City Island stands in the woods a short distance south of City Island Road from the Hutchinson River Parkway to the City Island circle. Other stops along the line, at Casanova Street, West Farms, Van Nest, and Baychester, have completely disappeared.
 #1498067  by SRich
 
So a long 4 track portion is possible. MNRR should do that. No interference with Amtrak for piece and a good reliable connection to penn and new haven
Last edited by SRich on Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #1498071  by Arlington
 
Was there ever a stop on the viaduct in Queens?
 #1498075  by Jeff Smith
 
To my knowledge, no. NH passenger service ended at either the Harlem River Terminal, with a connection to the 2nd (and 3rd?) Avenue el, or at Pennsylvania Station for some intercity service they shared with the PRR. Unsure if the Bay Ridge Branch ever had passenger service; it was electrified, but I think it was just frei.
 #1498548  by amtrakowitz
 
SRich wrote:So a long 4 track portion is possible. MNRR should do that. No interference with Amtrak for piece and a good reliable connection to Penn and New Haven
Big gulf between "should" and "will". Is such an investment politically justifiable for a maximum of what, six trains per hour?
 #1498737  by Jeff Smith
 
I was just thinking that although the M8’s are equipped for the run (once third rail is extended) what about other equipment such as locomotive pulled coaches which could theoretically run through to New Jersey? It would unfortunately be captive to the NEC though, unless dual mode.
 #1498768  by EuroStar
 
Union Tpke wrote:They could run via the Morris and Essex Lines, but platforms would have to be converted to high-levels.
Good luck with that. If NJT was interested in high level platforms they would have done that long ago. The MTA converted all platforms to high levels decades ago (with minor exceptions on the diesel ends).
 #1498781  by 35dtmrs92
 
Conversion of the remaining 25 Hz portions of the NEC to 60 Hz AC would enable M8s to access all the wired network, and not having to provide a transformer big enough to handle 25 Hz nor the equipment to switch between 25 Hz and 60 Hz would pay dividends in lower rolling stock costs. What actually has to be done to achieve this? Replace/re-gear turbines and generators at Safe Harbor?
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