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Miscellaneous Freight Railroad Images in New York City

INDUSTRIAL, OFFLINE TERMINAL RAILROADS & RAIL-MARINE OPERATIONS
OF BROOKLYN, QUEENS, STATEN ISLAND, BRONX & MANHATTAN:


MISCELLANEOUS FREIGHT RAILROAD IMAGES
IN NEW YORK CITY

(historical & present day)

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(photo album only)

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Historical Era Modern Era


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updated:
Saturday, 13 February 2010 - 19:10


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   This page, for the most part, is an album of images pertaining to freight operations in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx, and Manhattan.

   Where possible, I have tried to provide locomotive data.

   The first section, is a compilation of historical images I have encountered while researching the topics and locations on my website.

   The second section are images that I took of modern era operations that now occupy the sites of the former railroads and operations that I research.


Historical Era

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New York Central
Street Operations
Manhattan, NY

New York, New Haven & Hartford
Harlem Yard Float Bridges

Bronx, NY

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New York Central Railroad - Street Operations (pre-Highline)
Manhattan, NY


New York Central Lines - Hudson Street & Vestry Street - ca. 1900
(looking northeast at 188, 190, 192 Hudson Street.
train is heading  (pushing) towards New York Central & Hudson River Freight Depot one block right (south).

Vestry Street streetcar left edge of photo)

NYPL Digital Archives

New York Central Railroad #6

builder:
c/n:
built:
wheel arrangement:
cylinders:
driver diameter:
retired:

Schenectady
2954
1/1890
0-4-0 Dummy
15" x 22"
46"
1913

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New York Central Lines - West Street between King & Charlton Streets - March 6, 1929
Looking north-northeast.

NYPL Digital Archives
13 February 2010

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New York Central West 30th Street Yard - Eleventh Avenue & West 30th Street - ca. 1906
Looking northeast.

NYPL Digital Archives

New York Central Railroad #1906

builder:
c/n:
built:
wheel arrangement:
cylinders:
driver diameter:
weight:




0-6-0 Dummy
18" x 24"
55"

63 Ton

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New York Central Railroad - Eleventh Avenue* & West 26th Street - ca. 1911
Man on horse is a NYCRR Watchman / RR Policeman a/k/a "West Side Cowboy" escorting the locomotive as required by NY City law.
Bain News Service
George Grantham Bain collection

Shorpy photo archives

New York Central Railroad #11

builder:
c/n:
built:
wheel arrangement:
cylinders:
driver diameter:
renumbered:
retired:

Schenectady
2480
2/1888
0-4-0 Dummy
15" x 22"
46"
#4
1909

* According to Tim Zukas, this is Tenth Avenue, not Eleventh Avenue. Why the discrepancy in negative marking?

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New York Central Railroad - Meat Packing District - Eleventh* Avenue & West 12th Street - ca. 1911
Man on horse is a NYCRR Watchman / RR Policeman a/k/a "West Side Cowboy" escorting the locomotive as required by NY City law.
Bain News Service
George Grantham Bain collection

Shorpy photo archives

New York Central Railroad #11

builder:
c/n:
built:
wheel arrangement:
cylinders:
driver diameter:
renumbered:
retired:

Schenectady
2480
2/1888
0-4-0 Dummy
15" x 22"
46"
#4
1909

* According to Tim Zukas, this is Tenth Avenue, not Eleventh Avenue. Why the discrepancy in negative marking?

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New York Central Railroad - Eleventh Avenue* & ? Street - ca. 1911
Man on horse is a NYCRR Watchman / RR Policeman a/k/a "West Side Cowboy" escorting the locomotive as required by NY City law.\
Bain News Service
George Grantham Bain collection

Shorpy photo archives

New York Central Railroad #11

builder:
c/n:
built:
wheel arrangement:
cylinders:
driver diameter:
renumbered:
retired:

Schenectady
2480
2/1888
0-4-0 Dummy
15" x 22"
46"
#4
1909

* According to Tim Zukas, this is Tenth Avenue, not Eleventh Avenue. Why the discrepancy in negative marking?

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New York Central Railroad West 35th Street Yard - Twelfth Avenue & West 35th Street - March 17, 1929

(looking north)

P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives

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New York Central Railroad West 35th Street Yard - Eleventh Avenue & West 34th Street - May 12, 1930
P. L. Sperr photo

NYPL Digital Archives

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New York Central West 30th Street Yard - Eleventh Avenue & West 31th Street - June 2, 1931
(looking northeast)

P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives

New York Central Railroad #1536

c/n:
built:
# units built:
renumbered:
body:
motor:
weight:
retired:
scrapped:
notes:

ALCo c/n 68369 - GE c/n 11121
8/1930
35 (#1526 - #1560)
#536
T3-2
1 - 300 hp
126 tons
7/1953
10/1955

"Tri Power"

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New York Central West 30th Street Yard - Eleventh Avenue & West 30th Street - February 7, 1932
(looking northwest)

P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives

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New York Central Railroad West 35th Street Yard - Twelfth Avenue & West 35th Street - May 30, 1934

(looking east)

P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives

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New York Central - Eleventh Avenue & West 49th Street -1936
unknown photographer
A. LaBianca collection
via S. Berliner

New York Central Railroad #1542

c/n:
built:
# units built:
renumbered:
body:
motor:
weight:
retired:
rebuilt:
retired:
notes:

ALCo c/n 68735 - GE c/n 11127
11/1930
35 (#1526 - #1560)
#542
T3-2
1 - 300 hp
129 tons (possibly an error - all others in this series weighed 126 tons)
11/1949
11/1950 to slug #473
5/1962

"Tri Power"

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New York Central Railroad West 39th Street Yard - Twelfth Avenue & West 39th Street - March 4, 1937
(looking east)
P. L. Sperr photo
(this location by the way, is still a railroad yard, albeit the Long Island Rail Road Penn Station storage yard)

NYPL Digital Archives

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New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Hell Gate Yard Float Bridges
Bronx, NY


New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad "Harlem River Yard" - April 21, 1931
(looking north)
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives

added 03 February 2010


Unfortunately, this images location has been mis-attributed (including here) to the Hell Gate Yard to the east.
The Hell Gate Yard did not have float bridges. It was located at Stoney Point, east of the Hell Gate Bridge abutments.
The Harlem River Yard did have float bridges, and was located west of the Hell Gate Bridge at the confluence of the Bronx Kill and Harlem River.
Also, the stone abutment of the Willis Avenue swingbridge can be seen on the extreme left edge.

The following map section is taken from a New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Lighterage Map issued ca. 1918:.
The tip of the pencil is pointing at the locatrion of the float brdiges in the image above. 

(north is up)
authors collection

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New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad "Hell Gate" Yard - unknown date
(looking north)
unknown photographer

added 03 February 2010

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unknown - East River - Queens, NY

(looking north)
unknown photographer

added 18 February 2014


This image previoulsy misidentified as a location of Goodwin-Gallagher - Long Island City. Correspondance with a descendent revealed the following:

"I am a son of Joseph V. Gallagher, one of the four Gallagher brothers that ran the company from the early twenties to sometime in the thirties. Your question about the company operating in either Jersey or LI City would be no, expect that the company was sold to Colonial Concrete, headquartered in Jersey, sometime in the thirties.

The photos of scows were mostly likely taken at the terminals of customers where sand was delivered."

   The structures across the river and to the left of the barge are the "Alm's Houses" located on Welfare Island (now known as Roosevelt Island and formerly Blackwell's Island). Many thanks to Judith Berdy of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society for identifying those structures for me! The steepled structure to the right of the Alm's Houses is the Chapel of the Good Shepard and the four smokestacks behind that is the Manhattan Power Plant  located at York Avenue and East 75th Street.

   If this is indeed the case, and by rough triangulation of the field of view, then it is believed that Goodwin - Gallagher had their bulkhead location immediately north of the Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge. (That being ascertained by the photographer being in LIC, and on the east shore of the East River on the right and Blackwells Island on the left or west). Also, Ms. Berdy recalled images in her research of a sand dealer just north of the Queensboro Bridge, where the current Queensbridge Park is located.

   She also goes on to state, there was extensive excavation work in the same vicinity for the 59th Street Subway tunnels (current "N" & "R" train). However, other images reviewed of the actual Contract 61 (N & R line) excavation work, show towering steel cranes on a turntable, that go down into very large (at least 40' x 40') vertical shafts excavated into the ground where the excavated material was unloaded into dump cars. The image above fails to show this type of vertical shaft and crane, and instead shows a silo type structure with dump chute. It is this structure that leads the author to believe this was a aggregate dealer not a construction/excavation site.

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Modern Era

Please note:
The photographs in the following section were taken by myself (the author)
and not for reproduction or use without my express consent.
Please contact me at bedt14@aol.com for consent.

* * * SUPPORT RAILROAD BASED INDUSTRIES! They are ECONOMICAL - ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY - EXPEDITIOUS * * *

New York Container Terminal CSX / NYCT Arlington Yard CSX Arthur Kill Lift Bridge

New York New Jersey Rail

Port Jersey


New York Container Terminal
Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY

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Please note:
General photography / videography is prohibited at the New York Container Terminal facility.

I submitted a written request and was granted permission by officials of Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and New York Container Terminal
to photograph the locomotive operations. If you do not have permission, you will be stopped and detained - security is tight!

Special thanks are due to:

Frank Rose
Gary L. Smith
Arie Van Tol

Supervisor of Rail Operations, NYCT,
Maintenance Unit Supervisor, NY Marine Terminals, PANYNJ 
Manager of Marine Terminals, PANYNJ

   You may view the New York Container Terminal website here: New York Container Terminal


February 26, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
Morristown & Erie Railroad (leased power) #20 - SW1500

NYCT locomotive #2109 (GP38-2) was temporarily out of service with a cracked gear pan.
NYCT leased this locomotive from Morristown & Erie while NYCT #2109 was awaiting receipt of the new gear pan.

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February 26, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
Morristown & Erie Railroad (leased power) #20 - SW1500
just east of Western Avenue crossing
Arlington Yard in background

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February 26, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
Morristown & Erie Railroad (leased power) #20 - SW1500
Western Avenue crossing

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February 26, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
Morristown & Erie Railroad (leased power) #20 - SW1500
Western Avenue crossing
(taken from Arlington Yard)

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Returning to the New York Container Terminal in May 2009 for my exploration of the Procter & Gamble property,
I caught #2109 back in service:


May 1, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
New York Container Terminal #2109 - GP38-2
Western Avenue crossing

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May 1, 2009 - New York Container Terminal, Howland Hook, Staten Island, NY
New York Container Terminal #2109 - GP38-2
Western Avenue crossing


CSX  / NYCT Arlington Yard
Staten Island, NY

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February 26, 2009 - CSX municipal waste container train PN-08 pulling into the AK Bridge approach from the Travis Branch Loop (west).
CSX #5277 and #5327 (ES44DC)

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February 26, 2009 - After clearing the turnout from the Travis Branch into the AK Bridge Approach (left track),
the train pulls clear of the crossover in the Arlington Yard throat tracks.
The train then reverses direction and backs the municipal waste containers down (east) into Arlington Yard.
That's James the of the CSX train crew hitching a ride into the yard.

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February 26, 2009 - The  CSX locomotives on the Arlington Yard throat track crossover backing (east) into the yard.

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February 26, 2009 - Trackman of the New York Container Terminal throwing the turnout,
after the CSX crew dropped of the municipal waste cars, and pulled back forward (west).
Now it will back down (east) on the intermodal container stack train to couple up.

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While the CSX crew is moving forward to pick up the container stack train already assembled in Arlington Yard,
the NYCT crew is already bringing up more containers from the NYCT into the Arlington Yard.


NYCT locomotive (leased M&E #20) moving back down the incline to the NYCT facility.

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February 26, 2009 - CSX crew backing down (east) on the intermodal container stack train.

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February 26, 2009 - CSX locomotives coupled up to intermodal container stack train and preparing to pull train forward (west)
clear of turnout, and back down on municipal waste containers with the intermodal container stacks.
Once the intermodal container cars are coupled up to the municipal waster container cars, the CSX crew
will wait for the AK (Arthur Kill) Bridge to drop, and will then proceed west to Cranston Junction, NJ.
The CSX crew on this trick was particularly friendly and informative! Thats JJ in the cab (engineer) and
James (conductor / brakeman) on the ground.


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CSX - PANYNJ Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
Elizabeth, NJ  / Staten Island, NY

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   One of, if not my favorite railway bridge, is the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge " AK Bridge" connecting Cranston Junction, in Elizabeth, New Jersey; with Arlington Yard and the North Branch, Staten Island, NY.

   This bridge is the longest vertical lift bridge in the world, and was built by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009 - CSX # 5393 (ES44DC) & #504 (CW44AH)

(according to Gary Smith of the NYCT, that bridge approach grade is approximately 2½ %!)

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009

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May 1, 2009


New York New Jersey Rail
Brooklyn, NY & Greenville, NJ

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  This active railroad has been moved to its own page. Please click here:

New York New Jersey Rail


Port Jersey
Jersey City, NJ

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   The Port Jersey Railroad is a small shortline, but don't let that fool you. They move a substantial about of freight in Jersey City from various modes of shipping.

   As of December 2010, New York New Jersey Rail purchased the Port Jersey Railroad. Information is now placed withing the Port Jersey RR chapter of New York New Jersey Rail.

New York New Jersey Rail


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