Putnam Division & Branches: Getty Square, Mohansic, Saw Mill

[Ed Byrnes]

Hello Anthony, Hoharald et al; it has been 9 months since we discussed the old stone structure on the ROW across from Lake Geneida in Carmel. Has anyone checked it out yet? I haven't had the opportunity. Btw, I hope we can get the Putnam thread going again. Unfortunatly the old one is lost to the ages just as the Putnam Divison is.
Ride (or walk) the Put
PUTNUT

[hoharold]

Hi PUTNUT, yup, here we are again on the shores of trout filled Glenida staring into that mystical Stonehenge of the PUT. Since I don't drive I'll have to rely on some hardy intrepid soul to peek in there and see if there are any electrical boxes or motor and pump mounts as I think that was the pumphouse for the old seminary/school. It was taken over by Guide Posts and I'm sure when the building expanded they hooked up to the municipal supply or drilled their own well... In the old days I'll bet that lake had just about the purest water around being nearly 100% spring fed.

Still time to look in the door of Stonehenge a'for the snakes are about :D!!!

[Ed Byrnes]

Hello HoH, I go by there every day, but I'm always on my way somewhere (as usual running late). I have to pick a specific day to explore the ruins before things start growing up around it again. My gut feeling tells me you're probably right about it being a pumphouse for the "old" seminary or the finishing school up on the hill.

[Tom Curtin]

RE your signoff "Ride ( or walk ) the Put," you might add "or bike," as it is a wonderful ride. But God, is it hilly!!! Croton Lake up to Yorktown is a lot of work, uphill all the way

[Ed Byrnes]

Actually Tom, the Ride portion of the signoff was meant to include the biking part. It was sort of a play on words with the original "Ride the Put" phrase. Anyway you go tho', do the Put. Unfortunately it can't be the original way.

[Otto Vondrak]

Does anyone know how Putnam County is doing with their portion of the trail? I heard the section through Carmel is all buggered up (ROW removed and blocked in many places), but at least the high trestle at Crafts is being replaced in some form!

-otto-

[Ed Byrnes]

Otto,
From Baldwin Place to the crossing at Mt. Hope Road the trail follows the ROW and it is paved. Then it's out on Rt 6 past the nursery and firehouse. The original ROW went through and behind them. After crossing Croton Falls Road, it picks up the ROW again at Mud Pond Road. From there to Crafts it's paved. The trestle at Crafts isn't finished yet as far as I can tell. I haven't seen the trail north of Crafts, but I believe the sub-roadbed is finished but not paved up to Willow Road crossing. The last section up to Seminary Hill Road is paved, more or less on the old ROW with the section past the old Lloyds Lumber out on RT 6, instead of through it. I have no idea how they're going to go past Seminary Hill with the condo and Guidepost in the way or how they plan to cross Rt 6 where the old bridge used to be.

[Dieter]

If you like getting stoned on the Putnam, how about that old stone station at Lincolndale? You can hardly tell where the track was on one side of it anymore.

Dieter.

[Ed Byrnes]

Dieter, when I was a youngster, I spent my summers at my Grandfather's house in Shenorock, I walked the ROW between there and Lincolndale to get the Sunday papers. The station was still in use then (1955). When I moved up to Somers in 1966 the station had become one of the many businesses there since then. Yes, it is a treasure, and if I still had the ability to scratchbuild, I'd surely make it a centerpiece on my layout. Technically though, Lincolndale wasn't on the Put, but on the Harlem - Putnam connection between Goldens Bridge and Mahopac.

[russp]

Does anyone know when the last freight service on the south end of the Put was abandoned, or the line shut down? I suspect it was under ConRail

[Otto Vondrak]

The A&P warehouse in Elmsford shut down in 1975. The line above Chauncey to East View was abandoned in 1977. I think Chauncey Chemical stopped getting cars in 1980. I think Stella D'Oro along the Major Deegan there stopped getting cars in 1983. The remaining stubs are used by Metro-North to store work cars.

-otto-

[Anthony]

I was surprised to find that the Tilly Foster Station House still stands. I thought it had been gone for years.
I got some pics of it today from the exact same angle at which it was pictured in Gallos' book on one of the first few pages.

Anthony

And, PS, no Ed, I haven't been back to check out that stone structure across from lake Gleneida yet!

[Otto Vondrak]

Tilly Foster station!! Really? I assumed it was removed as well. Is it on private property?

-otto-

[Anthony]

Yes, Otto, believe it or not, it's still there...

It may be on private property but is very accessible and visible from the road. It's actually in the middle of a dirt parking lot for what appears to be an auto/truck repair facility.

Is there a way to post pics to this thread? I have the disc with the picture on it right here on my desk. I'd be happy to share it...

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH:
I grew up literally across Rt9A in Elmsford from Warehouse Lane, where the A&P Warehouse was. I can positively say that in the summer of 1981 or 82, a loco pulling only a gondola/caboose car showed up at Warehouse Lane, blew its whistle in what seemed to be a very ceremonious way, then left heading back south. Upon learning now that Chauncey (Stauffer) stopped receiving loads at that time, I can only surmise that the engineers in that locomotive knew that maybe this would be the last time a train ever touched those rails. I have a feeling they travelled that far north, and gave the line a final "last run". On the return trip, they must have picked up the tank car at Stauffer and continued south. It was a few weeks after this Warehouse Lane incident that I noticed that the tanker at Stauffer was gone. Before this train showed up, I did notice not hearing the train come into A&P in about 1979. I believe that infrequent runs were made to that area well after the closing of the warehouse in 1975. I wonder if UPS (the warehouse's next and current tennant) used the rail line to bring supplies (shelving, etc.) to them when they first moved in?

Anthony

[Anthony]

Can anyone confirm this, as mentioned in my previous post?

Thanks,
Anthony