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  • Walkway Over the Hudson - Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge

  • General discussion related to Rail Trails nationwide, including proposed rail trail routes. The official site of the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy can be found here: www.railstotrails.org.
General discussion related to Rail Trails nationwide, including proposed rail trail routes. The official site of the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy can be found here: www.railstotrails.org.

Moderator: railtrailbiker

 #72927  by Bernard Rudberg
 
Rails on the Poughkeepsie RR Bridge would be great but there are problems. There are no rail connections surviving on the west end of the bridge. The old roadbed has been sold off and built over.

Near the east end there are tracks in Poughkeepsie however about 700 feet of the bridge structure has been damaged by the heat of the fire. To put new track on would involve significant rebuilding of the top part of the bridge steel work and track supports in addition to the pedestrian deck.

It sounds like a great idea but it could be expensive.

Bernie Rudberg

 #78307  by va3ori
 
Good news, Bernie. I look forward to a)a bridge to walk across and b)the guts to do it myself!! How goes the Hopewell Jct. depot project, btw?

cheers,
Ori
VA3ORI - VA3XW

 #78360  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Once this bridge opens to foot traffic, it will be a neath bridge to railfan from. For those coming by train, it will be convienient.

 #79434  by Pacobell73
 
Thank God! This poor, decrepit structure has been crying for a trail to be built on it.
Last edited by Pacobell73 on Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 #79450  by sodusbay
 
Can you clarify why federal tax dollars should be spent for a local rail trail?

Not to pick on you -- there is an epidemic of the earmarking; but it's robbing Peter to pay Paul. If the improvement is for interstate commerce or of truly national importance then I have no problem. But many people see federal money as "other people's" money -- what they really mean is they are taking it from poor schmucks whose congressmen are not powerful enough to grab it for their own district.

 #79754  by Pacobell73
 
sodusbay wrote:Can you clarify why federal tax dollars should be spent for a local rail trail?
Because the tax dollars are not being spent on saving our country's railroads. So they spend it on smoothing over long-dead rails so they can be used for walking trails. Great way to get cars off the congested-choked roads.

I'm moving to Europe.
Last edited by Pacobell73 on Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 #80311  by newkirk
 
Did the 1974 fire weaken the structure so trains can never use it again ?

 #80383  by Ken W2KB
 
Probalby not. The wooden ties, etc. at the top burned, and since except for some radient energy, the heat would rise, not fall, thus spareing the steelwork isignificant harm.

 #80449  by Noel Weaver
 
Ken W2KB wrote:Probalby not. The wooden ties, etc. at the top burned, and since except for some radient energy, the heat would rise, not fall, thus spareing the steelwork isignificant harm.
Maybe not from the fire but definately from the lack of maintenance and
use over the past thirty years. To attempt any operation of trains over
this bridge today would require massive steel work, structure work, ties
and rail and much, much more.
Many miles of track have been abandoned and torn up on both sides of
this bridge as well. It would cost massive millions to restore the bridge to
rail operation and it is not needed, decent alternatives exist.
The chances of ever seeing this bridge back in rail operation are much
less than one in a million.
Noel Weaver
 #80486  by b&m617
 
The bridge did suffer structural damage from the intense heat of the fire; stand on Water street under the bridge in Pok, look straight up and you will see the damage. Certainly nothing that couldn't have been fixed and restored to service. But the commies got their way; what better way of getting rid of a railroad nobody wants than to take 700 feet out of the middle of it. At the time of the fire in 1974 PC had the west shore back up to snuff and was taking the traffic off the bridge and sending it to Selkirk. IMHO the fire was set for this reason. Penn central didn't want the NH but was forced to take it under the terms of the merger.

As far as the walkway goes- it will be interesting to see what happens under the new regime. the old regime didn't give a rats patoot about railroads and history; I gave them a slide show about the bridge and it was the most hostile group I ever talked to. IHMO, there isn't enough money in the world to do the walkway and maintain it. The president of the walkway group is an attorney; can't imagine anyone taking on the liability. They recently got a grant for a feasibility study, they better look at the coast guard study that looked the underwater piers; friend of mine worked on this, lots up scouring and undercutting down there. Remember Kinzua Viaduct- not sure that could happen here, but who thought the Kinzua would blow down.... Should be interesting!!!

work safe

Derail :-D :-) :( :P
 #80591  by Noel Weaver
 
b&m617 wrote:The bridge did suffer structural damage from the intense heat of the fire; stand on Water street under the bridge in Pok, look straight up and you will see the damage. Certainly nothing that couldn't have been fixed and restored to service. But the commies got their way; what better way of getting rid of a railroad nobody wants than to take 700 feet out of the middle of it. At the time of the fire in 1974 PC had the west shore back up to snuff and was taking the traffic off the bridge and sending it to Selkirk. IMHO the fire was set for this reason. Penn central didn't want the NH but was forced to take it under the terms of the merger.

As far as the walkway goes- it will be interesting to see what happens under the new regime. the old regime didn't give a rats patoot about railroads and history; I gave them a slide show about the bridge and it was the most hostile group I ever talked to. IHMO, there isn't enough money in the world to do the walkway and maintain it. The president of the walkway group is an attorney; can't imagine anyone taking on the liability. They recently got a grant for a feasibility study, they better look at the coast guard study that looked the underwater piers; friend of mine worked on this, lots up scouring and undercutting down there. Remember Kinzua Viaduct- not sure that could happen here, but who thought the Kinzua would blow down.... Should be interesting!!!

work safe

Derail :-D :-) :( :P
Without further comment concerning the Poughkeepsie Bridge, the West
Shore was NEVER up to snuff with Penn Central. It took a massive
amount of work by Conrail in the first two or three years to get that line
back up to decent condition where it could operate at capacity and with
fullest function.
Every slow order cuts down on the capacity of a rail line and the West
Shore (River Line) had its share.
After the remaining stick rail (plenty of it at the time) was fully replaced
with welded rail and the tie and surfacing work taken care of, then the
line could fulfil its mission fairly well.
Noel Weaver
 #81237  by Penn Central
 
b&m617 wrote:At the time of the fire in 1974 PC had the west shore back up to snuff and was taking the traffic off the bridge and sending it to Selkirk.
Sorry to take this out of context, but I worked on the West Shore in 1974 and it was not in good shape. There were many slow orders. Signal problems were a constant and crews outlawed on almost every trip. It wasn't until the Conrail era that the track was brought back to good condition. CSX has improved that situation even more with higher speeds on the sidings and additional track ( 3 tracks at West Englewood and longer siding at West Nyack).
 #85116  by Cosmo
 
I had a chance to drive past the bridge going from Poughkeepsie to Highland via rt. 9, over the river, and down 9-w back to 81 west. The view from that route was fantastic, particularly from the on ramp from rt. 9 to the hwy. bridge. I could see evidence of recent construction on top of the bridge. Looks like the trail people are/were taking advantage of the relatively mild Dec. weather this year. GBood luck, I'd love to walk it someday soon! :-D

 #119077  by Avro Arrow
 
Pacobell73 wrote:
sodusbay wrote:Can you clarify why federal tax dollars should be spent for a local rail trail?
Great way to get cars off the congested-choked roads.
Ha ha what a joke

 #137058  by Pacobell73
 
Yes, I must agree with you on that one.

Here's a great shot of a New Haven RR train crossing the ill-fated bridge five years before the 1974 fire (exact date 10/5/69).

Image

And now...

Image
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