Harlem River Line – Casanova Station

[chnhrr]

I have photos of the stations along this line except the one noted above. Attached is a photo taken in the late 1930’s showing the street level adjacent to the station. I can’t say that the smaller structures pictured had anything to do with the NH/NYW&B facility. The Bromley Map of 1921 depicts a small station house long the track and possibly a shelter on the opposite side. Does anyone have any photos of this facility they can share? Any suggestions where I could locate one?

[Statkowski]

The I.C.C. Valuation Map for the area (http://images.lib.uconn.edu/cdm/singlei ... ps/id/2446) shows nothing at street level. It does show stairs coming off of Leggett Avenue, which would have been one set for each platform (originally on the north side of Track 1 and on the south side of Track 4, post-1918, it would have been on the north side of Track 1 and the south side of Track 2).

Perhaps the City of New York's site might have, with a lot of digging (http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/ph ... otos.shtml). They started taking tax photographs of every building in the city, but they didn't start until 1939, by which time Casanova's depot would have been either derelict or gone.

[chnhrr]

Thanks Statkowski!

The link to valuation map is very informative. It appears that the station only had a NYC Subway style exit gate. I don’t know how ticketing was done from this station by both the NH and the NYW&B, if this was done at all. The designation ‘FP’ on this map represents what type of structure? Will try the NYC site as suggested.

[Statkowski]

Ticketing at this and other NYNH&H/NYW&B stations would have been handled by one agent handling both railroads' tickets. After 1931, anything west of Hunt's Point would have been NYW&B only.

F.P.? That's a good question, and we'll probably smack ourselves when we find out the answer.

[Kilgore Trout]

FP on the valuation maps is generally shorthand for "passenger station - frame construction." That designation was applied to pretty much any wood-construction building, from an outhouse-sized shelter to a multi-room station with full amenities.

The 1915 maps don't show a shelter on the opposite platform. AFAIK, in 1921, the platforms would have still been the original configuration with one adjacent to track 3 and another between 2 and 4 (see this track map).

[Statkowski]

For what it's worth, the street access to S.S. 4, Oak Point was off of Lafayette Avenue.

Additionally, with the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad and the interlocking at S.S. 8 (West Farms Junction) being rebuilt, the platform that sat between what was then Track 2 and Track 4 would have been removed, the new Track 3 realigned, and the platform would now have sat between Track 2 (eastward from Harlem River) and Track 3 (westward to Hell Gate Bridge). [The original alignment was 3-1-2-4-5-6; realignment was 1-2-3-4-5-6].

Note that no stairway is shown for the eastward platform, so one can assume that a pedestrian crosswalk was installed across the tracks. These were, after all, low-level platforms, and one can be reasonably certain that the station didn't see a lot of passenger traffic.

[Ridgefielder]

For what it's worth, the street access to S.S. 4, Oak Point was off of Lafayette Avenue.

Additionally, with the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad and the interlocking at S.S. 8 (West Farms Junction) being rebuilt, the platform that sat between what was then Track 2 and Track 4 would have been removed, the new Track 3 realigned, and the platform would now have sat between Track 2 (eastward from Harlem River) and Track 3 (westward to Hell Gate Bridge). [The original alignment was 3-1-2-4-5-6; realignment was 1-2-3-4-5-6].

Note that no stairway is shown for the eastward platform, so one can assume that a pedestrian crosswalk was installed across the tracks. These were, after all, low-level platforms, and one can be reasonably certain that the station didn't see a lot of passenger traffic.

But I thought the NYW&B was 100% high level? Or did the Boston-Westchester not stop at Casanova?

[Statkowski]

The NYW&B was indeed all high-level, on the NYW&B right-of-way. From S.S. 8 down to Harlem River, however, it was NYNH&H right-of-way, over which the NYW&B operated via trackage rights. Even after 1931, when the NYNH&H ceased its local passenger service, it was still NYNH&H right-of-way. In 1927, when the NYNH&H cut back Harlem River service to Hunt's Point, and the NYW&B installed high-level platforms and "HR" interlocking at Harlem River, all the stations between there and West Farms Junction (Port Morris, Cassanova, Hunt's Point & Westchester Avenue) remained low-level platforms.