At the time Penn Central fixed up the Beacon Branch between Beacon and Hopewell Junction there was still a reasonable amount of freight business in, around and through Cedar Hill (New Haven area). They wanted a easier, shorter and more direct route between Selkirk and Cedar Hill.
Up to the time that this line was fixed up, freight between Selkirk and Cedar Hill was operating over one or both of the following routes.
No. 1, Selkirk-Springfield-Cedar Hill, this route involved either turning the entire train on the wye in order to head south on the former NHRR Springfield Line or making a runaround move which was even worse.
No. 2, Selkirk-Mott Haven-Cedar Hill, this route via the Bronx was almost as bad although the entire train could make the trip without having to runaround the train or turn the entire train on a wye. The problem with this route was the long distance through heavy commuter territory between Poughkeepsie and Mott Haven and between Mott Haven. To make it worse, the crews could not make the trip within twelve hours so the train had to either stop on the south wye at MO or go through the Port Morris Branch and into Oak Point to change crews, neither was a very good move although they did it both ways from time to time.
If the train was to stop at MO, the railroad had to have an "army" of police to watch and guard it in the area.
The Beacon Branch presented a different set of problems but they were not as severe as the problems in Springfield and in New York City (MO). The branch was not in very good shape, had relatively light rail and there were major grades which required much motive power to negiotate the hills especially going from Selkirk to Cedar Hill and this was the direction
where the tonnage was heaviest. The railroad made the decision that the Beacon Branch offered the best of the three different routes available to them.
In my opinion, the Beacon Branch was the best route between Selkirk and Cedar hill.
Noel Weaver
