Passenger Trains > Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil on the Hudson Line

Closed the work laptop, biked to Grand Central, and took a train up the Hudson line on Friday afternoon to grab some shots at Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. Great scenery at both stations, both still within city limits despite their looks. Saw plenty of EMUs, but I always have more interest in the diesels (although the 1980s Budd cars look nice). Here are some quick highlights with a focus on two heritage units

1 - A Poughkeepsie to Grand Central train heads south at Riverdale
2 - Another inbound had one of the New Haven heritage units as the power, heading in reverse. These aren't too hard to find.
3 - The Penn Central unit under the bridge at Spuyten Duyvil



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/25 09:24 by eastpenn23.

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So  nice.  RAILFAN and  RAILROAD  has  great  coverage  of  the  Hudson Valley  this  month issue.

Thanks for posting. A very interesting area with the old transmission line towers still standing. 

Tom

Why don't we see the power line in both pics?

eastpenn23 Wrote:
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> 2 - One of the New Haven heritage units was the
> power, heading in reverse. These aren't too hard
> to find.

Thanks for sharing your pictures. This second one was of particular interest to me. About what time did you take this one? I may have seen the same train. I am curious how many engines are painted in the fifties retro scheme.

I was visiting the NYC area for the first time in the past thirteen years. I was not actively rail fanning, but I was at a point further north on the Hudson in the early afternoon. The amount of Metro North and Amtrak activity is amazing.

timz Wrote:
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> Why don't we see the power line in both pics?

I THINK they end there and/or go/went underground.

I'm not even sure if they are being used. Those lines would have been for telegraph/signals etc. in the day. Maybe someone else here knows for sure.

Didn't they carry third-rail power?

timz Wrote:
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> Didn't they carry third-rail power?

I don't know. I do find it curious that the poles are steel and not wood.

I'd like to know the full story behind these.

The steel poles were used to carry AC power to the substations which transformed current into DC traction power for the third rail.  The steel poles ran on the river side.  Telegraph and communication lines were carried on wood poles on the other side.

Very nice..!!

Posted from Android

CR900945 Wrote:
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> The steel poles were used to carry AC power to the
> substations which transformed current into DC
> traction power for the third rail.  The steel
> poles ran on the river side.  Telegraph and
> communication lines were carried on wood poles on the other side.

Interesting. Do you know why the line ends at Riverdale?

It's still curious to me why the poles are made of steel.

ts1457 Wrote:
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> eastpenn23 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 2 - One of the New Haven heritage units was the
> > power, heading in reverse. These aren't too
> hard
> > to find.
>
> Thanks for sharing your pictures. This second one
> was of particular interest to me. About what time
> did you take this one? I may have seen the same
> train. I am curious how many engines are painted
> in the fifties retro scheme.
>
> I was visiting the NYC area for the first time in
> the past thirteen years. I was not actively rail
> fanning, but I was at a point further north on the
> Hudson in the early afternoon. The amount of Metro
> North and Amtrak activity is amazing.

4:45 PM

eastpenn23 Wrote:
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> 4:45 PM

Thanks. What I saw was more around 2 pm, so it was obviously a different run and I cannot recall the direction for sure. Quite a pleasant surprise for me though.