John Springer recalls his trips to Maybrook as a fireman for Penn Central in the 1970s. It is a fascinating and detailed "insider" look at railroading made vivid by a collection of period photographs.

http://thetracksidephotographer.com/202 ... -maybrook/

Edd Fuller, Editor
The Trackside Photographer
http://thetracksidephotographer.com/

An amazing story. I liked the part where the crew rosters were still divided according to the predecessor railroads. The CNE (Central New England Railway) was merged into NYNH&H in 1927.

PC did not want the New Haven and really did not want to use the Maybrook Gateway, preferring to send everything through Selkirk regardless of how long it took. To other roads Maybrook was the shortcut to New England, the southernmost freight rail crossing of the Hudson River. Erie (EL) reached it directly; RDG, CNJ and previously PRR reached it via the Lehigh and Hudson River.

In May 1974 the Poughkeepsie Bridge burned, ending rail traffic forever. The bridge was repaired and is open to foot traffic as the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park.

Rail traffic? Much of it moved to a LV-D&H-B&M routing, avoiding PC.

Phil Mulligan

Note: the current Central New England Railroad operates part of the East end of the Central New England Railway near Hartford.

It is interesting to compare the scenes in the article with Morris Abbott's photos taken 25+ years earlier during a cab ride on the same line in the short-lived Alco "Black Maria" experimental locomotives in Classic Trains Fall 2009 issue page 70.

PC