New York, Westchester & Boston NYW&B Main Thread

[Otto Vondrak]

Guys, as I recall at the beginning of this forum there was talk of possibly marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of the NYW&B with a meeting, or some such. Has anything ever come of that idea? I cannot recall seeing any mention about this in quite some time in these pages. If there is something actually brewing, I'd certainly like to hear about it and attend.

CNJ999

I'm trying to put something together, but it is slow going. Sign up for my mailing list at nywbry.com to stay in the loop!

[Otto Vondrak]

Thank you, Otto, please let me make it clear, my remarks take nothing away from these well researched and well produced books about a railroad that has been gone for a long time. I highly recommend all three of them and also the Harwood book as well.

Thanks, Noel! Harwood's book really completes the story.

[Jeff Smith]

Our friends at the Loop: http://theloopny.com/blog/nywb-rail-cou ... in-pelham/

A Pelham section of the old NY Westchester & Boston Rail line, north of Harmon Avenue, between Young and Storer Avenues may return to life as green space.

Organic landscaping company Greener by Design is working with the Village of Pelham to prepare this closed off public land for possible return to public use.

The community is invited to help plant Saturday April 21 from 9 a.m. to noon; and learn about native plants and sustainable land care.

[nyw&br]

Hi Folks -

Great article and pics on the NYW&BR...courtesy of The Loop and Eliot Goldfinger...

http://theloopny.com/blog/tracing-westc ... -railroad/

[Jeff Smith]

and on Forgotten NY: http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/04/new-yor ... ad-part-1/

[Otto Vondrak]

I am planning a 100th Anniversary Celebration to be held at the New Rochelle Public Library on July 14. More details to follow!

Check http://www.nywbry.com and our facebook page for more details.

https://www.facebook.com/nywbry

-otto-

[RealLivingFiveCorners]

We will be holding an event on Memorial Day

https://www.facebook.com/events/433169666694907/

[Otto Vondrak]

On May 29, 1912, the New York, Westchester & Boston opened to the public, initially running service between East 180th Street in The Bronx and North Avenue station in New Rochelle. The full system from Harlem River to White Plains would be in service by the end of the summer. Today only a small portion remains between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street as part of the No. 5 Lexington Avenue Express of the New York City Subway.

-- Read the full history of the line here:

http://nywbry.com/history.php


-- Join us for a Centennial Celebration on July 14:

http://nywbry.com/nywb100.php

-otto m. vondrak

[mp15ac]

By a strange coincidence Otto has had publish in the July 2012 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine a terrific article on the Westchester. Photos, maps, and excellent test makes it a great story.

Stuart

[Jeff Smith]

Otto, I want an autographed copy next time I'm up.

[CNJ999]

I've just returned home from attending the NYW&B Centennial meeting in New Rochelle and I offer kudos to Otto for his efforts in putting this thing together, providing a number of interesting speakers, and keeping everything running smoothly and on time (always a tough situation when the venue has its own special strict time constraints). I would say that a true highlight of the meeting was the presence of a woman, seated almost directly behind me, who spoke of having ridden the NYW&B when it was still in full operation! The memories she briefly related likely represented the final actual firsthand account of riding the NYW&B any of the meeting attendees is ever likely to hear.

On a personal note, right after the meeting I took a quick trip on my own to have a look at the old NYW&B station on East Third Street in Mount Vernon. I hadn't been by there in at least 40 years, and although empty and abandoned for many years in the past, the station currently seems to be at least partly occupied by a commercial establishment. Surprisingly it also physically looked better than when I had last seen it around 1970.

Further on in my trip I noted that I could find almost no visible evidence remaining of the NYW&B's "Great Cut" that formerly ran from south of Sandford Blvd. to beyond the East Third Street Station, an engineering feat of the NYW&B I recall trekking through multiple times back in the 1950's. Only the fact that I knew exactly where it had been and a visible subsidence in the roadway on East 4th Street offered any evidence it had ever existed.

I trust those who took the bus tour of NYW&B sites will have additional stories to offer later today. And again, good job Otto!

CNJ999

[Jeff Smith]

Not sure if I read it in one of the older books or not, but I know that cut was filled in. I remember reading some kind of FF restaurant was put in somewhere along it. My brother worked not too far from there; I've been by a few times. Pity that they at least could not have used it the way they did the WP branch ROW and cut as they have north of Heathcote.

[CNJ999]

Actually, the "Great Cut" began being filled-in from its south end (well below Sixth Street) northward around 1950, mainly with Mount Vernon's daily garbage. And believe me, that job took a lot (years and years worth) of garbage! As I recall, the project extended only as far as East Fifth Street, being terminated once Nabisco Corp built a large facility near (partly over?) that part of the cut, the rest pretty much remained open from there up to the East Third Street station at least until I moved out of the city in 1970.

The fast food joint you mention is a MacDonalds built long after I left the city and is located more-or-less where the old NYW&B's Sixth Street (later re-named Sandford Blvd) station was. That station remained in very good shape for many years, at one time being a carpet outlet and later put to other uses. I don't know when it was taken down.

CNJ999

[Otto Vondrak]

Thanks J.B. and everyone else who attended! It was quite a day and it was so nice to meet that young woman (now in her 80s). She was first in line for the bus tour, and she was the first to run up the embankment to visit the ruins of Ridgeway Station. She was awesome.

If you missed the bus tour, you pretty much missed my running commentary that went something like this:

"Next station stop will be Heathcote. No wait, Quaker Ridge. We just came from Heathcote. Next station stop will be Quaker Ridge. Quaker Ridge. Not Heathcote."

and also:

Rolling down Route 22 towards Mount Vernon:
Tour Participant: "Where in relation to our bus was the NYW&B right of way?"
Me: "Over there..." gestures to the left "...and over there..." gestures to the right

A good time had by all. I think.

-otto-

[Otto Vondrak]

The fast food joint you mention is a MacDonalds built long after I left the city and is located more-or-less where the old NYW&B's Sixth Street (later re-named Sandford Blvd) station was. That station remained in very good shape for many years, at one time being a carpet outlet and later put to other uses. I don't know when it was taken down.

I am told 1972.

-otto-