Hi folks. Can anyone point me towards more information regarding this iconic freight terminal? I'm currently researching its operations, the unique enclosed locomotives, and the actual structure itself for a large museum diorama project.

Do any interior photos exist, and where would one look for contemporary accounts of the facility? Was this building worthy of a blueprint that is accessible?

Thanks

Chris

So cool!

Those covered locomotives where Shays. The enclosure was to keep the horses (mammal type) from bolting when the locomotive approached. At one time there used to be a real cowboy on a horse leading the trains up the street to keep the other vehicles out of the way.

After the elevated West Side freight line went into service (1930's ?) the NYCRR removed the enclosure's from the locomotives and used one or two of them around Auburn NY where there was some very lightly build tracks serving a lumber mill IIRC.

They clearly weren't all shays under the hood. The one in the bottom photo has a centerline boiler which definitely isn't a shay feature (its smokebox front suggests it's a Alco product). #6 has a brass capped stack, which isn't a feature I've ever seen on a shay, and said cap also appears to be on centerline. 6's engineer is also very much to the rear of the unit and would be further forward, ahead of a shay's tender section, if it were a shay. My guess is these two are probably 0-6-0Ts. There also are no motor vehicles in the first pics and the last shot I don't see any motor vehicles newer than about 1920-1922 - the NYC shays in the Staufer books were 1923 built and had slope-backed covers over their tender sections, not fully squared bodies.
And there is a uniformed mounted guard just ahead of the freight wagon in the colorized pic.
Wish I could add to Chris's request on the building - it is impressive. Too bad it's gone -would make for a handsome adaptive re-use structure today. Imagine as an upscale apartment building with the cobblestone streets around it and a wood-sheathed boxcar sticking out of your parking garage entrance....

Well, I was just providing some "general interest" additions to the post. Not trying to nail down every single rivet on every locomotive in the multiple photo's. I do believe that the NYCRR had some Shay type locomotives "encased" to calm the nerves of nearby horses in the urban environs of Manhattan. If all the loco's in those photos are Shay's is kinda unimportant. I have seen other photo's from that area/era that are definitely Shay type locomotives with an exterior enclosure. (Staufer, et. al.).

The enclosure was meant to make the loco "blend in" with the neighborhood. And the enclosures (on some loco's) where most definitely removed when the loco's were "re-purposed" to other locations where scaring horses was not an immediate concern.

Imagine the NYCRR, amongst the very largest of US railroads (In terms route mileage, freight tonnage and passenger miles) would have locomotives on the roster that are usually associated with small logging railroads with routes that rarely exceed a few dozen miles ?

Do you know about this resource, I haven't checked it but might be worth a look, warning you will get sucked in for hours:
https://1940s.nyc/map?fbclid=IwAR0qXVzE ... /-73.92449

Also the locomotives in the pictures posted above are not Shays. These pre date the Shays. Lima built 5 Shays for the NYC west side operation in 1923. One returned to Lima as a shop switcher.

Paul(also a NYCRR son!)

Hi Chris
Have you checked with the New York City Historical society? for the photo that you are looking for, the interior of the building?
Also, have you checked with the New York Central System Historical Society, they might have some photos in there, collection, this is just a suggestion, good luck, Pat.

Good ideas. Thanks!

C.

Also check the New York Public Library. They have extensive archival collections (including images) with a lot of railroad material.

-Philip Marshall

What was the address location of this terminal, years in use, etc? What is on the site now?

Wesley

The terminal was in use from 1867 to 1927 and was located on Hudson Street between Laight and Beech Streets. The site is now occupied by a city park (St. John's Park) as well as the eastbound exit ramps of the Holland Tunnel. (There was a park there before the terminal was built, and now it's a park once again.)

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Park#Freight_terminal

Location was roughly here: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7217421,-74.0082837,3a,75y,140.73h,94.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sf4-rEgMmszNK-5BagqRL_w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

-Philip Marshall

The "new" St. Johns Park terminal a few blocks north (which replaced the 1867 facility) was mostly intact until recently, much of it operating as a high-profile venue for events like New York Fashion Week. The north block between W. Houston and Clarkson was taken down in 2019, and the southern portion is being redeveloped as we speak into a new 12-story Google campus, making adaptive reuse of the surviving structure. Developers are branding the project "St. Johns Terminal" and making a conscious effort to incorporate rail elements—the High Line aesthetic is a hot commodity.