Eastern Railroad Discussion > "Past & Present" - Copake Falls, NY

New York Central's Harlem Division ran from New York City to Chatham, NY (Junction with Boston & Albany Division). In 1958, there was one passenger and one freight train in each direction daily through Copake Falls, 105 rail miles north of New York City. A trackside feed mill supplied grain for the Holstein dairy cows grazing up and down the Harlem Valley. The 1958 black and white image shows a young railfan in the making, pretending to be a brakeman hopping off a stationary box car at the feed mill.

The second image was taken 50 years later (2008). Gone is the Harlem division....rails have been replaced by trails, but the memories of "trains in the teens" is indelible. A portion of the old feed mill is to the right in the second picture.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/09 21:44 by cinder.

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The kid reminds me of myself going to North East, Pennsylvania and sitting in the cab of the NYC U25B on display there pretending to be the engineer on the Chicago Line. To be a kid again...

Chris Tokarcik
Morgantown, WV

Thanks for posting, Roger. I spent many hours there doing the same thing, starting in 1958. Got my first locomotive ride when the Chatham switcher was in the hole for #14 (morning train to NYC) to go by. Is that you, or your brother? Here is a old pix of #5 arriving "CK," circa 1958.
rrChuck/Las Vegas

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I believe the "kid is my twin brother. Thanks for the picture of the passenger train. I can hear that old Alco "burbling" right now.....oh wait...that was my stomach!