Piermont Branch (Orig Erie Main) aka Suffern Industrial

[airman00]

As I understand it, there was supposed to be 4 passing sidings on the PVL. 3 got built and the fourth was done in by local pressure from oradell. They were complaining about freight. Which would not be an issue because the peirmont branch doesn't connect like it used to. Now if it were re-connected then maybe some freight could move through?

[Steve F45]

yea, wouldn't it be nice having mile and half long double stacks rolling thru the quaint towns or Oradell, Westwood, Hillsdale? LOL

[airman00]

Nothing wrong with that!

[cruiser939]

I would love that. Extra Money for NJT and a little f-u to all the NIMBY's.

[sullivan1985]

Don't forget about that new intermodal facility in spring valley!

[Jeff Smith]

<ADMIN USE>

Doing some "Clean Up" on multiple topics. Not to be confused with NJ & NY Railroad NJ&NY RR Spring Valley, New City, Haverstraw (aka NJT PV)](see here) or Northern Branch Northern Branch (Northern Railroad of NJ). Cross-posting to Erie Fallen Flag topic for visibility.

See here for Railtrail news: Metro-North Leases Part of Piermont Branch Line for Trail

[Passaic River Rat]

I perused the line around Monsey about a week ago. The ROW between Robert Pitt Drive and Main street is paved. The rest is still forlorn and weed-covered.

[Jeff Smith]

Thanks PRR; any rail left?

[eriebt]

Russ,

Just joined RR.net and saw your post with the maps. I grew up in Nanuet, NY and remember walking the old right of way to New City, NY. I believe the old Erie railroad station is or was located in the lumber yard there. I remember the Erie commuters turning around at the Nanuet wye so they could run engine forward to Spring Valley. I don't know when they stopped this. Also there was a freight line that ran south off the wye heading to what I remember being called Rockland State. I believe that line ran to and through Sparkill. If I'm not mistaken, there was a wye there also. This is where the Erie connected to the line that ran to Nyack. Is this correct? I'm trying to reconstruct the Erie operations before October 1960 as I am in the process of building my O scale Erie empire with some accuracy. Do you know if there was a turntable at the engine facility in Woodbine?

Bob

[RussNelson]

I perused the line around Monsey about a week ago. The ROW between Robert Pitt Drive and Main street is paved. The rest is still forlorn and weed-covered.

Were the tracks between Harriet Tubman Way and Main Street pulled up? Last I knew, there were three tracks still on the ground crossing South Myrtle Avenue.

[RichM]

Bob, I'm not sure but I think there's a lot of what you're looking for if you scroll back to the beginning on this thread.

Yes, the Nauet wye fed the original Erie ROW that ran just north of Rockland State Hospital, crossed Western Highway and over the West Shore in Blauvelt, through the north side of Orangeburg Pipe and the south side of the drive-in movie on 303 to Sparkill, Piermont and north along the Hudson to Grandview and Nyack. The wye in Sparkill's southern leg was the Northern Railroad of NJ. I'm not sure how ownership was administered, the Piermont leg was originally the Erie main line but I believe service from Nyack south through NJ was all Northern Railroad of NJ, an Erie owned company.

Rich

[Tommy Meehan]

Hello everybody, first post here.

Welcome to RR.Net.

Forty years ago would be in the 1970s and probably -- or possibly -- while the line was still operated by Erie Lackawanna. It's possible a train derailed at W. Central Avenue. It would have been a local freight or switching move. It might not have been widely reported on except in the local paper and then only a brief item.

I think you're asking how recently was the line between Spring Valley and Suffern in operation? As far back as 2000, someone I know walked the line from Suffern east. The line was still active then from Suffern to Airmont Road. Not very active but still surviving. To the east of Airmont Road the line was obviously out-of-service, with sections of track missing. There was also the washout that you noted. Part of the line in Monsey has been converted to a recreational trail.

At Spring Valley there was one customer left on the Piermont Branch, Beckerle Lumber on Chestnut Street. As recently as fifteen years ago I saw flat cars of lumber there being unloaded. I do not believe they are still an active rail user. The line west from there is also obviously out of service.

People at Metro-North say the line is not legally abandoned though. Metro-North owns it and though they have no intention of using it they are not abandoning it.

You might not know this, but the Piermont Branch is not only one of the oldest original rail lines in New York State, it was once a very important rail line. When it was opened in 1841 it served as the main line of the Erie Railroad, then called the New York & Erie. It stretched from Piermont Landing to Suffern. By 1851 the Erie was open to Dunkirk NY and Lake Erie. The Piermont line was very busy. In 1861 the Erie began operating passenger service and some freight to a new terminal at Jersey City using what is today the NJ Transit line via Ridgewood and Paterson NJ. In 1869 all main line freight was shifted away from Piermont Landing and the line between Suffern and Piermont became a branch. Piermont-Spring Valley-Suffern local passenger service remained, however, and lasted until the late 1930s.

[Tommy Meehan]

Although I'm listed as the thread starter I'm not. For one thing, I know how to spell "question." For another, as you can see by the quote in the post above, my first post in this thread was in answer to a question (or queation) posted by someone else and that someone else was the person who started the thread. The OP posted several messages in the thread but they're gone and so is he. {I thought I posted more than one message, too?)

As Paul Blair once said to Reggie Jackson, "Don't ask me, 'cause I don't know nuthin'!"

[NRGeep]

Was there a spur for Rockland State Hospital?

[Jeff Smith]

Some resources I came across whilst waiting on my next appointment:

http://docs.unh.edu/NY/nyak43sw.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template: ... ont_Branch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The above template I could not convert to a jpg; anyone want to try?