Why Troy?

Why did the B&M and its predecessors decide to send the passenger trains to Troy NY instead of Albany? As I understand it, passengers except on the through train to Chicago had to change trains both at Troy and again at Albany to make NYCentral connections to the west.

From all the stuff I've read about 19th century railroad building, it wasn't the B&M that wanted to route passengers via Troy, it was the Trojans that wanted to route traffic eastward to Boston, bypassing Albany. It was Troy that drove construction of the Troy and Boston Railroad eastward to take advantage of the Hoosac Tunnel. At that time, Troy and Albany were seriously competitive. A second factor would have been the Vanderbilt family's determination to prevent the B&M from entering Albany and competing with the Boston and Albany line of their New York Central. The whole story has been the subject of several books, but this is the condensed version.

PBM

The Erie Canal ran from Albany through Watervliet and then turned west. The Troy and Boston tried to tap some of that traffic off the Erie Canal to head to Boston and overseas. In Fitchburg Railroad and Boston & Maine days, up until the USRA took control of the railroads during World War I, the Boston & Maine offered a variety of routings to Buffalo, Chicago and St. Louis bypassing Albany entirely. The route was to Rotterdam Jct. then the West Shore, probably all the way through to Buffalo, but as the West Shore diminished in importance and 3rd rail electrics dominated the Utica to Syracuse West Shore route, the trains with through cars off the B & M were routed ontothe Water Level Route at Utica. West of Buffalo, the through cars were conveyed to their destinations via the Wabash, Nickel Plate, probably the Grand Trunk, secondary passenger routes. Most the the through services were tourist sleepers and some did not run daily. They appealed largely to tour groups rather than business travel. They were deemed unecessary during WWI so except for a Buffalo car, were discontinued by the USRA. Also, since the only serious choice at either Rotterdam Jct. or Albany was the Central, I think the NYC called the shots. The through cars at Rotterdam Jct. were coupled into West Shore trains that had originated in Weehawken, NJ.

Around the 1840s/1850s the Albany Northern built north from Albany, crossing the Hudson in Waterford, and continuing north on the east side of the river. It turned eastwards in Schaghticoke towards Eagle Bridge where it connected with what became the Delaware & Hudson to move marble from Rutland to Albany. It's my understanding that the AN was also banking on the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel, but went bankrupt owing to the long construction time of the tunnel. The Troy & Boston picked up the right of way after its abandonment to prevent a competing railroad from utilizing it. Between Schaghticoke and Eagle Bridge I believe much of the B&M is built on the right of way but I don't know of the specifics.

I was looking on Google Earth, and I see what looks like the R.O.W. of what I think is the AN. It appears to head southwest from the area of Reynolds, on the B&M. If you follow the B&M, where it curves east, after crossing Rte. 67, where the line starts eastward.


My present run on the D&H involves the Colonie main. I have been looking for evidence of the AN connection. I have also taken rides on Rte. 32. Someone said that the AN crossed the Hudson near the lock just south of Jack Byrne Ford, close to where Upper Newtown Rd. intersects Rte. 32.


Am I correct?

The AN turned eastwards here. You can see where it splitting off to the south away from the Boston Hoosac Tunnel & Western trackage.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.879109,- ... 6&t=h&z=15

It crossed the Hudson River about 3/4 of a mile north of the lock. In this map you can see the AN running along the eastern edge of the fields parallel to River Rd, crossing the river between Riley Rd and Calhoun Dr.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.837143,- ... 8&t=h&z=16

I don't know where it joined the Colonie main, but there appears to be a faint ROW running parallel to the D&H here, that bears east, in line with what would be their bridge over the hudson.