Railroad Forums 

  • Third Avenue Bridge over NYNH&H in Mount Vernon NY

  • Discussion relating to the NH and its subsidiaries (NYW&B, Union Freight Railroad, Connecticut Company, steamship lines, etc.). up until its 1969 inclusion into the Penn Central merger. This forum is also for the discussion of efforts to preserve former New Haven equipment, artifacts and its history. You may also wish to visit www.nhrhta.org for more information.
Discussion relating to the NH and its subsidiaries (NYW&B, Union Freight Railroad, Connecticut Company, steamship lines, etc.). up until its 1969 inclusion into the Penn Central merger. This forum is also for the discussion of efforts to preserve former New Haven equipment, artifacts and its history. You may also wish to visit www.nhrhta.org for more information.
 #1541196  by bellstbarn
 
The Journal News of Westchester County reports the complete closure and replacement of the Third Avenue bridge in Mount Vernon over the four tracks of the former New Haven RR. It was constructed 120 years ago! Five questions:
1) If the cut there dates to 1900, how far towards Grand Central did steam haul the trains?
2) Was the cut electrified in 1912?
3) I know that Mount Vernon East station was moved east. How close was the previous location to this Third Street Bridge?
4) Where did the B cars of Yonkers Railway reverse?
5) I rode the #7 Yonkers Avenue line over Scotts Bridge. Did any bridge in downtown Mount Vernon have streetcars?
Thank you.

Link https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/ ... 045423001/
 #1541240  by TomNelligan
 
I can answer two of those questions.
1) If the cut there dates to 1900, how far towards Grand Central did steam haul the trains?
All the way. Electric operations at GCT didn't begin until 1906, and the terminal wasn't all-electric until July 1907.
2) Was the cut electrified in 1912?

Yes, the NH electrification went on line west of Stamford in 1907.
 #1541373  by Jeff Smith
 
The pedestrian portion of the 3rd Avenue bridge near the Mount Vernon train station will be closed starting Wednesday so the $10.4 million reconstruction project can begin.

The vehicle section of the 120-year-old bridge, which carries traffic and pedestrians over the New Haven Line between 1st Street and Fiske Place in downtown Mount Vernon, has been closed for some time.

Demolition of the existing bridge is scheduled to start the first week of May. Complete removal of the bridge is expected July 2020.
...
Can you imagine how complicated this project would be if the catenary were still there?

As for the location of the old station, I do believe it was fairly close to the bridge. As a single digit midget, I remember a long flight of stairs down to the then low-level platforms. I remember our family going to visit my grandmother in the Bronx just off White Plains Rd and doing this. This was in the late(r) 60's, so it may still have been a NH operation (before PC).

The station platforms moved to a straighter stretch of track with the M-2's and high level platforms around 1971. As for the old station building, I believe it burned down at some point around that time. The Woodlawn station building also burned...

Mt. Vernon also had a pretty good sized freight yard, now mostly parking and a sub-station for the extended third rail or catenary. Had a problem a few years ago that hurt the whole line as far as Rye (Pike) I think.