Eastern Railroad Discussion > New York help?

If all goes as it should I hope to hit New York this spring? I saw these tracks near a town
I can't even pronounce but the location is here... 41.732199,-73.935568.... It looks to be
tripled tracked? I'd like to know what line it is and does it see a decent amount of
traffic? This is way out of my comfort zone. Thanks for any help!


Jay

The NY Central main line from NY to Albany
and the west... what's it get, one or two freights
a day each way? Look at the Amtrak
timetable for the rest.

I have no interest in  Amtrak at all. One or two freights a day isn't
worth the time. I appreciate the info, thank you!


timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The NY Central main line from NY to Albany
> and the west... what's it get, one or
> two freights
> a day each way? Look at the Amtrak
> timetable for the rest.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/16 10:27 by Benched_it.

There's more freight on the freight-only CSX line across the Hudson from Poughkeepsie, but on the ex-NYC main you'll rarely see daytime freight - just Amtrak and Metro North.
 

Poughkeepsie  Poe-kip-see 
Like Toledopatch said the west side has the freight only CSX main from Selkirk(outside Albany) to North Jersey.  Should see between 10-15 daylight frieghts.  Aslo of note from the town of Highland on the west shore is now a park (Highland Park) that is the old New Haven Maybrook line bridge over the Hudson giving you pretty good vistas of the river and the CSX line.  You can see trains coming for several minutes, its worth a visit if thats where you going to be. 

Or "Puh'-kip-see."

That's near the north end of the triple-track through Poughkeepsie (no more difficult to pronounce than, oh, Cheyenne or Butte) and it does only see Amtrak trains, except the southbound freight very early in the morning, before rush hour, and a northbound freight returning to Selkirk late at night, after the rush hour, but there are lots and lots of Metro North trains just a little south of here at the Poughkeepsie station.

And, as others have said, there are lots of freights on the west side of the river.  And, I agree heartily, that the Poughkeepsie bridge walkway is a great place to get photos. They did an excellent job of converting that bridge to a walkway.  I've crossed it at least a dozen times, and I enjoy the views and trains every time I do it.  Lots of good photo opportunties up there.  

The CSX river line is busier than it's been in years. All flavors of CSX with BNSF CP RCPE occasional KCS NS etc.

Mine Dock park in the town of Highland is a fine place to watch and listen to trains, as is Bear Mountain.

Posted from Android

The West Shore can be hit or miss at times.  Some (most) days it will be one after the other, but there are some days where you wont see a single train for 12 hours.. 

sixaxlecentury Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The West Shore can be hit or miss at times.  Some
> (most) days it will be one after the other, but
> there are some days where you wont see a single
> train for 12 hours.. 

Yes. Later in the week tends to be better for daylight trains

Posted from Android

It will be in the Poughkeepsie area. I swear I'm having a time
trying to pronouce that word. LOL I'm all about some freights, I
rarely give passanger trains a look. This is all great info, I really
appreciate it!


Jay

Here's an "on the ground" view of the CSX line at Highland Landing, across the river from "p' kip see."  That's the former New Haven bridge ("Walkway Over the Hudson") in the background.

Ray

Edit: I should mention that there are as many different ways of pronouncing the name of Poughkeepsie as the NYC had conductors: "Next Stop - Poooooooooough Kip See" 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/16 04:22 by Ray_Murphy.

---

The main thing with Poughkeepsie is to not pronounce the first syllable "pow" and to pronounce the second one "kip". The first can be either "Po" or just a clipped "P" and nobody from around there will look at you funny either way. But say "Pow-keep-see" and you'll get that "You're not from around here, are you?" look.

There's a nearby, smaller town called Poughquag that has similar pronunciation quirks and I remember hearing Phil Rizzuto absolutely butcher it during a baseball broadcast many years ago. The other suburban New York town that drives outsiders nuts is Mamaroneck -- the emphasis is on the second syllable but if you don't know that you might try to place it on the third (or less commonly, the first).

toledopatch Wrote:
The other suburban New York town that drives outsiders
> nuts is Mamaroneck -- the emphasis is on the
> second syllable but if you don't know that you
> might try to place it on the third (or less
> commonly, the first).

Excellent example!  Or the third version is the Metro North Conductor's version: "Mare'-uh-neck."  It used to be much louder and harsher in pre-PA days, with the trainman flinging the end door open, shouting "Mare-uh-neck" a couple of times, and then the door slamming so he could yell it in the adjacent car.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The main thing with Poughkeepsie is to not
> pronounce the first syllable "pow" and to
> pronounce the second one "kip". The first can be
> either "Po" or just a clipped "P" and nobody from
> around there will look at you funny either way.
> But say "Pow-keep-see" and you'll get that "You're
> not from around here, are you?" look.
>
> There's a nearby, smaller town called Poughquag
> that has similar pronunciation quirks and I
> remember hearing Phil Rizzuto absolutely butcher
> it during a baseball broadcast many years ago. The
> other suburban New York town that drives outsiders
> nuts is Mamaroneck -- the emphasis is on the
> second syllable but if you don't know that you
> might try to place it on the third (or less
> commonly, the first).

Another seemingly simple one from that area I've heard some have trouble with is Croton. Most out of staters either pronounce the first syllable with a short "O" sound, or they over enunciate by using a hard "T". It's pronounced with a long "O" and very soft, almost silent "T" by natives: CRO-uhnn



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/16 09:58 by NYC_L4a.

NYC_L4a Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another seemingly simple one from that area I've
> heard some have trouble with is Croton. Most out
> of staters either pronounce the first syllable
> with a short "O" sound, or they over enunciate by
> using a hard "T". It's pronounced with a long "O"
> and very soft, almost silent "T" by natives:
> CRO-uhnn

Having grown up in Westchester (can you tell?) I never had that issue, but I suspect pronouncing Croton with a short O is inspired by the common pronunciation for a town name that exists in quite a few places: Groton. Perhaps because I grew up in Westchester, I thought that was pronounced GROH-ton, rather than GRAH-ton, before I learned otherwise.

On the other hand, it's Westchester County that pronounces Somers as SOH-merz rather than the more common SUM-merz, so you never know when you'll hit an anomaly.
 

NYC_L4a Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> toledopatch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The main thing with Poughkeepsie is to not
> > pronounce the first syllable "pow" and to
> > pronounce the second one "kip". The first can
> be
> > either "Po" or just a clipped "P" and nobody
> from
> > around there will look at you funny either way.
> > But say "Pow-keep-see" and you'll get that
> "You're
> > not from around here, are you?" look.
> >
> > There's a nearby, smaller town called Poughquag
> > that has similar pronunciation quirks and I
> > remember hearing Phil Rizzuto absolutely
> butcher
> > it during a baseball broadcast many years ago.
> The
> > other suburban New York town that drives
> outsiders
> > nuts is Mamaroneck -- the emphasis is on the
> > second syllable but if you don't know that you
> > might try to place it on the third (or less
> > commonly, the first).
>
> Another seemingly simple one from that area I've
> heard some have trouble with is Croton. Most out
> of staters either pronounce the first syllable
> with a short "O" sound, or they over enunciate by
> using a hard "T". It's pronounced with a long "O"
> and very soft, almost silent "T" by natives:
> CRO-uhnn

Yes. Some MetroNorth conductors say KRO-n as in crow

Posted from Android

I love that shot near the P town Ray, very nice!


Jay