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

Hi Otto,

In the new book there is a picture of the tressel that carries the Yonkers Branch Line over Nepperhan Ave and down Morgan Street. The photo shows the double track main converging into a gauntlet track. The caption says that this was the arrangement because of the narrow width of Morgan Street.

I just wanted to add that originally this elevated section was all double tracked. I have an early picture to support this. It appears to me that the installation of the 3rd rail at the time of electrification created the problem. The structure wasn't wide enough to support two tracks with third rails and the gauntlet arrangement was opted for because it allowed for smoother operation without the need for switches.

Came across the following amazing photo taken around 1940.

Check out the first photo!

http://bronxboard.com/pgal.php?p=7

Skip- thanks for the info!

enwhycentral - That picture looks like the Yonkers Switcher heading for the Nepperhan Branch. The 7000-class locos were too heavy to go north of Ardsley, so most likely that is the local heading to switch the Nepperhan.

-otto-

Otto,

I thought the 0-8-0's could go as far north as Ketchewan. Ketchewan had a water plug, and being on the south side of the Croton Lake Bridge I figured it was for the heavy locomotives to replenish and return southward without crossing the bridge. Otherwise, they had a watering facility right in Yorktown Heights.

Was what you say because of the little bridge just south of Woodlands lake? That means the 0-8-0's couldn't go as far as the Eastview yards!

Wow, learn something everyday!

Skip

As it turns out, 0-8-0's were allowed as far up as Kitchawan. In fact, several former Put employees were at a gathering in Mahopac and one remembered 0-8-0's dropping cars in Millwood. A little more research yeilded this from the regs:



The referrence to U class engines not being permitted west of Kitchawan by timetable, I take to mean they couldn't go north of Kitchawan and cross the Croton Lake Bridge. This is why there was a water tank in Kitchawan, as the 0-8-0's had to replenish for the return trip south.

Thanks to Joe Schiavone for the regs.

And thank you Skip for providing this interesting piece of info! What's the date on this one?

-otto-

Otto,

According to Joe Schiavone, that scan was from an employees timetable from 1949. Joe says that he spoke to Jim Morgia who remembers during war time flat cars carrying army tanks came down the Put from Put Junction. The train was pulled by a ten wheeler, and had a ten wheeler pushing as well to get it over Till Foster/Carmel Hill and past the tough grade south of Crafts. The train was manuvered across the Croton Lake Bridge and was picked up in Kitchawan by the 0-8-0 for the remainder of the trip from Kitchawan through hilly Yonkers and into BN.

Skip

Tom Curtin wrote:And ironically, despite all its limitations stated above, and its general 1900-era air, it was also recognized as a useful overdimension route. This, because it had no tunnels and, overall, considerably better clearances than the Harlem or Hudson.

Sadly, I never did get to ride it --- at least on any means other than a bike! Which reminds me --- when you are out there on a bike you get reminded how hilly some of it is.

With the dearth of freight traffic in lower NY and clogged highways and river crossings you can see how much this line would be useful as an EOH freight alternative to CSX West Shore.

Of course that will never happen today with EIS and parkland rules. Can you imagine putting a freight line today over NYC watershed?

I picked up a dvd on ebay from Railtapes on Put and NYWB (I have a parallel post over on NH forum regarding Westchester).

The Put portion was very brief and had a good mix of action. Lots of shots of Yonkers Av overpass and 119 / Tarrytown Rd xing which were meaningful to me as I remeber seeing the freights in both places.

Easy to see why pssgr svc was doomed after WW2 with a middle portion through property that is restricted from development.

In Otto's book there is a photo of the ROW looking north from Lawrence Street. It shows that the tracks sat atop an "earthen" mound from the Lawrence Street Bridge, Across the Radford Street Bridge and on up to the McLean Avenue Bridge. There is an old newspaper photo of the first steam locomotive crossing the McLean Ave Bridge back in the New York and Northern RR days. It appears that the southern end of the McLean Avenue Bridge leads the track onto what appears to be a timber tressel, similar to the Drewville Road tressel on the Put, and similar to the tressel that once spanned the Tarrytown reservoir area back in 1880-81.

My question is, was the ROW between Lawrence Street and McLean Ave at one time a timber tressel? Just as the Drewville Road tressel was filled in with cinders, perhaps this portion of the Getty Square branch was also filled in.

Anyone know?

I guess this somewhat Put related so I feel that I have to mention it.

I was passing through Ardsley today and made the discovery that the former Stauffer Chemical Company building had very recently been torn down. It appears to have been done in the past week or two. The wall alongside the Put ROW is still partially standing. The Trailway is closed off alongside the site.

As you already know the Put served Stauffer Chemical basically till the very end of service under Conrail.

Jon

Here's some good news regarding the Yorktown Heights station...

http://yorktowndepot.org/

-otto-

Tom Curtin wrote:My wife and I were recently biking in the East View-Briarcliff area, which thankfully is more or less flat (by contrast to Croton Lake-Yorktown which is a steady uphill haul all the way)! A fair amount of archeological remains can be seen, such as some telegraph poles, and even one stone milepost.

Yup, and tons and tons of concrete fenceposts. Rode it last April: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1208706870.html

Otto Vondrak wrote:Errors are inevitable in any project, we're only human.

Speak for yorself!

Hello,Im new to Railroad.net and just found out about the Mahopac Mines extension from the Putnam Division(Baldwin Road Station). I live in the area(Mahopac,N.Y.) and could not not find any existing trackbed even though member ncvab mentioned in a past reply trackbed is visible on Myrtle Avenue. Somewhere else is mentioned visible trackbed near bullet hole road where the Mahopac Mines were. I searched near Slocum Avenue where the last stop is mentioned to have been(turntable area) but see no evidence at all. I drove back to route 6n/Hill Street and I did find ruins of Mahopac Falls station/bridge hidden behind the Highway department building. But can't see where tracks left in either direction. Google satelite image didn't help either.
Does anyone have any information on this two station extension from the Putnam division(aside from what's in Wikipedia). Was the trackbed on any existing roads or was it on what is now private property/backyards and inaccesable? F-12's used on this stretch? I'll faint if there's any photos.-Robert

OldPut wrote:Hello,Im new to Railroad.net and just found out about the Mahopac Mines extension...Does anyone have any information on this two station extension from the Putnam division(aside from what's in Wikipedia). Was the trackbed on any existing roads or was it on what is now private property/backyards and inaccesable? F-12's used on this stretch? I'll faint if there's any photos.-Robert

Robert, Welcome aboard! Forget Wikipedia. May I kindly suggest my new book? Has lots of Put info you'll be interested in. I talk about the branch in there. It had passenger service into the 1930s!

http://nywbry.com/forgotten/index.htm

This topo map from 1892 shows the branch:

http://docs.unh.edu/NY/west92se.jpg

Otto,thank you very much. I was leaving the Post Office at Potter Rd/Myrtle(quarter mile from Mahopac Falls Station ruins) today and as I was going to my car I looked at the hill separating Myrtle from Potter and saw 2 square pieces of old concrete almost 3 ft tall deep in the hill among the trees. I looked right and then saw an 8 ft wide base further right. I started to smile and went back across the street and looked. I then saw a grade in the hill that was the trackbed. 15 years and I only saw it because I was conscious of it now and looking. Tomorrow I'll go back and follow it as best as I could before it snows. The winter is the best season to hunt for trackbed with no shrubs growing. Actually the snow helps with shadowing. I'll take photos and try to record as much as is left before time erases everything. Otto thank you again.