ex-NYC ROW along the Saw Mill Parkway

That row is the old NYC Putnam division. It started out just below marble hill interchanging with MN. Now it is a bike trail.

The Putnam Division did not interchange with MN.

The Putnam Division was originally built as a new independent railroad in the 1880s, and was formally leased by the NYC in the early 1900s. It ran from a terminal adjacent to High Bridge in the Bronx called Sedgwick Ave.- originally it crossed the river on a swingbridge to terminate at 155th Street on Manhattan island. The line diverged from the Hudson Division right of way at BN tower, ran through central Westchester County, and connected with the Harlem Division at Putnam Junction, and terminated at Brewster. Traffic was local freight, some through traffic, some commuter traffic. Commuter trains ended in 1958, the line was tore up from East View to Lake Mahopac in 1962. The north end was largely abandoned by 1970, the lower half was slowly abandoned in 1975 (closing of the A&P warehouse in Elmsford), 1977 (no more service to Satuffer Chemical at Chauncey), and 1980 (no more service to Stella D'oro at Kingsbridge in the Bronx).

Check the New York Central forum for more info.

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote: the lower half was slowly abandoned in 1975 (closing of the A&P warehouse in Elmsford), 1977 (no more service to Satuffer Chemical at Chauncey), and 1980 (no more service to Stella D'oro at Kingsbridge in the Bronx).

-otto-

Otto, I gotta disagree with you on one thing. Yes, Put service was pretty much kaput by 1980. But Conrail was still servicing Stella D'oro until at least the mid 1980's. I think Conrail refered to the track as the "Putnam Industrial Spur" and only allowed crews to go as far as the southern edge of Van Cortlandt Park. I remember when I was around 12 years old riding in my parents car on the Major Deegan a few times and seeing covered hoppers parked on the tracks next to Stella D'oro. This was around 1985-86. One of the times I also spotted a Conrail switcher moving southbound from Stella D'oro about 100 feet from one of the hoppers. They must have just dropped it off. I still consider that to be the closest thing to actual Put operations I ever got to see.

To answer a question from the original posting: The remaining tracks from the Bronx north up to East View were finally torn up in early spring of 1994. Some small sections of intact trackage still exist in a few places if you know where to look.

Jon

You are probably right about Stella D'oro, I dont think that 1980 date is right either. But I think by the 1990s the service was done for. I remember the tracks being intact (more or less) all the way to East View, too. Always wanted to take a speeder (and a chainsaw) for a ride along those tracks...

-otto-

does anyone know the current status of the tracks on the stubby end of the put? i know Butler lumber is gone now, and there were scrap gondolas that were there while the mall was being built. i only know it from the Deegan and have never checked it out before.

are the tracks still there? and what's happened to the property where Butler was?