[?]

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

High Line West Side Line Improvement Meatpacking District National Biscuit Nabisco cold storage Hells Kitchen Chelsea Village Tribeca upper horse escort manhattan cowboy Eleventh 11 Avenue Tenth 10
Washington Street St. John's Park Freight Terminal street running trackage steam dummy Baldwin American Locomotive ALCO Schenectady 0-4-0 0-6-0 B-B tripower tri-power Lima Shay geared 30th Street Branch 

NEW YORK CENTRAL & HUDSON RIVER RAILROAD / NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD  (1846 - 1968) PENN CENTRAL RAILROAD  (1968 -1976) CONRAIL  (1976- 1980) West Side, Manhattan - Freight Operations 30th Street Branch - New York Terminal District West Side Improvement Project High Line Street Operations:  1846 - 1941 High Line (& Tunnel) Operations:  1933 (1937) - 1968  High Line & Tunnel Operations:  1968 - 1976 (Penn Central) High Line & Tunnel Operations:  1976 - 1980 (Conrail) . Page 1: History and Operations, Maps .

.

.

.

New York Central & Hudson River / New York Central Railroad

Street & High Line Operations
West Side - Manhattan, NY

.

Page 1: History & Operations, Maps

.

.

A Brief History (ok, maybe not so brief...)

   So much has been written on the history of the New York Central Railroad, that I was not going to expound any effort to even publish it here. But, on second thought, as this page is solely dedicated to one small aspect of the huge operational history of the 'Central, and so much misinformation abounded in modern blogs and Facebook groups; a basic synopsis should be outlined.

   Freight operations on the West Side in Manhattan began with the Hudson River Railroad, which was owned by Erastus Corning. The Hudson River Railroad was granted a charter from the city of New York to operate freight and passenger trains south to Chambers Street.

The company's freight traffic grew to such an extent that the company was forced to find a site inland from the waterfront for a downtown terminal. On this site, at Beach and Varick Streets, was built the St. Johns Park Terminal, after which, in 1868, the tracks south to Chambers Street were removed. In 1871, the same year the first Grand Central Station was completed at Fourth Avenue and Forty-Second Street, the Spuyten Duyvil & Port Morris Railroad, connecting what had then become the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad with the New York & Harlem Railroad, was opened, and the Central transferred its passenger trains to the new route. Since that time the West Side line has been used almost exclusively for freight, express and milk business."    So, there was both joint freight / passenger handling at the Chambers Street Station as well as freight handling along the piers until 1868. Therefore, the St. Johns Park Freight Terminal was not the first freight station on the West side, but the dual purpose Chambers Street Station was.  024 Atlases of New York City - Manhattan - 1857 Plate 8 William Perris Civil Engineer and Surveyor Third Edition  Publisher: Perris & Browne Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division New York Public Library Digital Collection annotated version © 2024~ freightrrofnyc.info added 20 May 2024 . .   Hudson River Railroad Station Passenger Station - 1863 Looking south-southwest. I firmly believe this image is misattributed as West Broadway & "Liberty Street"; the reason being West Broadway and Liberty Street do not intersect. Furthermore, the buildings and geography shown in the image perfectly align with the Perris Street Atlas above at the intersection of Chambers Street and West Broadway. The triangle where the horsedrawn drayage carts are lined up is present day Bogardus Plaza. Nevertheless, the presence of numerous open two wheel horsedrawn carts queued after the hacks and carriages exemplifies freight transport at this station. H. N. Tiemann photo New York Historical Society Digital Archives image id: NYHS PR129 b-07 327-01 annotated version © 2024~ freightrrofnyc.info . .    It is imperative to bear in mind at this point in time; the present day passenger line down Fourth Avenue was owned by the New York & Harlem River Railroad, (and was owned by the great Cornelius Vanderbilt), and of which the New York & Harlem was a competitor to the Hudson River Railroad. It is the Hudson River Railroad route shown above and here.    Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, NY; on May 27, 1794, to Cornelius van der Bilt and Phebe Hand. (van der Bilt being the original spelling which was anglicized to Vanderbilt.)    He began working on his father's ferry in New York Harbor as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. At the age of 16, Vanderbilt decided to start his own ferry service.       Vanderbilt was nothing less than a mover and a shaker. He made a name for himself in commercial shipping and earned the nickname "the Commodore". After coming to dominate the shipping business, he further built his wealth in railroads, and through his guidance, shaped the railroad industry of the Northeast.    It has been said Vanderbilt lacked finesse or couth, and was prone to be vulgar (what was considered vulgar in the 1800's, might be tame for the 21st Century): "Contemporaries, too, often hated or feared Vanderbilt or at least considered him an unmannered brute. While Vanderbilt could be a rascal, combative and cunning, he was much more a builder than a wrecker... being honorable, shrewd, and hard-working." H. Roger Grant, historian Cornelius Vanderbilt May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877       Backing up in history just a tad, Cornelius Vanderbilt obtained control of the Hudson River Railroad in 1867.    And for clarity; let us re-iterate:    The terminal at Chambers Street was overwhelmed, and it was decided in 1867 that a new dedicated freight terminal be constructed away (but not too far away) from the Chambers Street Station. This freight terminal would be constructed at Beach & Varick Streets - and of which would come to be the widely recognized St. John's Park Freight Terminal .    Once the St. Johns Park Freight Terminal was completed, the original trackage to Chambers Street was removed in 1868 and the line dedicated to freight use only. Passenger service by this date was routed down Fourth Avenue to the original Madison Square Garden Station located at East 26th Street.     On November 1, 1869, Vanderbilt merged the two railroads (those being Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central & Harlem River Railroad), along with Spuyten Duyvil & Port Morris Railroad in the Bronx) to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, and with him, the first Grand Central Terminal would not be built until 1871 at 42nd Street.    All this consolidation meant the railroads operated in a single network under one owner. And now with that history outlined, we can now focus our attention entirely to the freight operations of the West Side.      While all that was taking place in New York City; the Transcontinental Railroad was completed through to the West Coast in 1869. Now freight and passengers, both to and from the West Coast, including freight importation from East and Southeast Asian countries, was now able to be transported across the Pacific, across the US and to the East Coast.     Because of this direct freight route into and out of Manhattan; and whereas other railroads had to transfer their freight to "lighter barges" (barges with their own crane), covered barges for perishables or carfloats for railroad cars; the Hudson River Railroad and later the New York Central; dominated railroad freight handling on Manhattan Island, and as the New York Central could haul its freight directly into and out of Manhattan via the West Side without transloading.    This direct route via Spuyten Duyvil swingbridge gave the New York Central access to the "Water Level Route" north along the Hudson River north to Albany, NY; where it could go east to Boston, Massachusetts or cross the Hudson River and go west to Chicago, Illinois; or even farther to the West Coast; north to Canada; or back south to New Jersey and other points south along the Eastern Seaboard.      Unlike the other Class 1 railroads that did come to have offline freight terminals in Manhattan: such as the Pennsylvania; Lehigh Valley; Erie; Central Railroad of New Jersey; and the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroads; the New York Central Railroad had direct rail connection to and from Manhattan to the mainland United States rail network.    Ironically, this physical connection still exists to this day, albeit slightly rerouted to get the trains off the streets (which we will get to in a later chapter), and is now under Amtrak usage for passenger service.    In 1881, the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad had been planned as one link in a chain of a new transcontinental railroad from New York to San Francisco. This chain was to be comprised of the West Shore; the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad or "Nickel Plate Road"; the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, the Northern Pacific Railroad; and the Oregon Navigation Company. William H. Vanderbilt May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885     However, William Henry Vanderbilt (son of Cornelius Vanderbilt and known as "Billy", and of whom now owned the New York Central Railroad); purchased the Nickel Plate Road in 1882, in effect breaking the chain and that plan.    From childhood though mid life; William was looked down upon by his father, with Cornelius frequently berated and criticized him, calling his eldest son a "blockhead" and a "blatherskite". Billy longed to demonstrate to his father that he was not, but William never dared stand up to the Commodore, who had a very imposing presence. A case in point and even in adulthood: William once stated to his father, "If you tell me not to smoke, I'll obey you." Cornelius grunted, and William threw away the cigar, and gave up smoking forever. Cornelius was that powerful of a patriarch. A major turning point in their relationship occurred on the family trip to Europe on the steamship "Vanderbilt" in 1860, after which the two became very close and Billy was given a greater role in business matters.    His father carefully oversaw his education in the business world, starting him at age 19 as a clerk in a New York banking house. After joining as an executive of the Staten Island Railway and increasing the revenue, William was elected to the office of president in 1862. In 1869, he was made vice-president of the New York and Harlem River Railroad, further becoming its president in 1877. He took over for his father as president of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (LS&MS) Railway, the Canada Southern Railway, and the Michigan Central Railroad (MCRR) at the time of the Commodore's death in 1877.    As crude as his father Cornelius was considered amongst his peers, it was William that drew the ire of the everyman. In 1883, reporter John D. Sherman questioned him about why he ran the limited express train, "Do your limited express trains pay, or do you run them for the accommodation of the public?"    Vanderbilt responded with, "Accommodation of the public? The public be damned! We run them because we have to. They do not pay. We have tried again and again to get the different roads to give them up; but they will run them and, of course, as long as they run them we must do the same."        This interview was then published in the Chicago Daily News, but Vanderbilt's words and the context were modified, with particularly heavy emphasis on "The public be damned." Several different accounts of the incident were then disseminated; the accounts vary in terms of who conducted the interview, under what circumstance and what was actually said.    Vanderbilt received a great deal of negative publicity from the "The public be damned" portion, and so much so that he even went as far to clarify his response with a subsequent interview by the Chicago Times. In that interview he was quoted saying: "Railroads are not run for the public benefit, but to pay. Incidentally, we may benefit humanity, but the aim is to earn a dividend." As you can imagine, these words did not sit well with the public or the media.       Paying no heed to how the public viewed him, Vanderbilt's railroad holdings included no less than the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q); the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway; the Detroit and Bay City Railroad; the Hudson River Railroad (not to be confused with the New York Central and Hudson River RR), the Hudson River Bridge, the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad, the Michigan Midland and Canada Railroad, the New York Central Sleeping Car Company, the New York and Harlem Rail Road, the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad, and the Staten Island Railroad.    During this same time frame, the New York Central began constructing the South Pennsylvania Railroad across southern Pennsylvania, of which was deep in the Pennsylvania Railroad's territory. At the same time, the New York Central Railroad then proceeded to drive the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad into bankruptcy via a brutal rate-war, of which the West Shore could not withstand financially.    The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was and remained the New York Central's greatest rival right up until 1968; recognized that the West Shore Railroad would make a great addition to its network, and also allowing it to penetrate deep into New York Central territory. So it began to make overtures to acquire it.    And now a second, but more destructive rate-war between the Pennsylvania and the New York Central commenced; to wit each railroad kept lowering its freight haulage prices to the point they were actually losing money in an effort to undercut the other.    This loss of revenue was an anathema to J. Pierpont Morgan; of whom sat on the board of directors of both the New York Central and the Pennsylvania. Morgan was well respected throughout the business world, and of whom was the top railroad financier in the United States, much less among many other industries. This rate war, which drove down stock and bond prices; was essentially killing Morgan's profits. So, he decided to personally intervene.    In July 1884, Morgan and Vanderbilt agreed to try to negotiate a peace treaty between the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads. Morgan invited George B. Roberts and Frank Thompson (president and vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad) to meet with the New York Central’s president, Chauncey Depew, on board Morgan’s yacht, Corsair. Morgan picked the executives up at a Jersey City pier, near the Pennsylvania Railroad’s terminal, on a hot July morning. They proceeded north up the Hudson River 50 miles to Garrison, NY; and then turned back south to Sandy Hook, New Jersey; located at the entrance to New York Harbor.    Depew beseeched the Pennsylvania men to end what he called the “ruinous” competition of building parallel lines and endless rate wars. These tactics added nothing to the bottom line of either railroad. A luncheon was served as the Corsair sailed up and down the river. Morgan argued that this sort of competition was not only bad for business; it was adversely affecting the flow of European (especially British) financial capital into American railroads as they continued their expansion across the continent. No agreement, Morgan implied, equated to no further European investment.    While Thompson came around to Morgan’s way of reasoning, Roberts remained adamant against it. Only when Corsair tied back up to the Jersey City pier at 7:00 pm; did Roberts, finally relent and shook hands with Morgan on the dock, stating, “I will agree to your plan and do my part.” While it took almost two more decades for the final agreement to be signed; the West Shore Railroad, would now be owned by the New York Central as a subsidiary, and the construction of the South Pennsylvania Railroad ceased (sections of which were repurposed much later (1940) for use in constructing the Pennsylvania Turnpike.) John Pierpont Morgan April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913    The stock prices of the two railroads rose immediately and naturally, the principals were pleased.    The New York Central, having purchased the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway on November 24, 1885; reorganized its new acquisition as the West Shore Railroad on December 5, and leased it for 475 years from January 1, 1886. (So, in effect the West Shore Railroad West 36th Street Yard was originally the competition; wound up becoming a subsidiary and by proxy an expansion to the West 33rd Street Yards.)    In 1914, all of Cornelius Vanderbilt's eleven other railroad operating interests: particularly the New York, West Shore & Buffalo with its carfloat terminals in Weehawken, New Jersey; were merged into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad to form the New York Central Lines.    With the basic but very convoluted history of the railroads in New York City now outlined, let us get down to the specifics of the West Side of Manhattan Freight Operations. . . Population Boom    As the city population grew, freight traffic grew to keep up with it. And as the city population expanded northward; there arose a conflict.    Trains were now impeding the people and the people were getting run over by trains. This can be somewhat equated to building an airport on the outskirts of the city; and the city grew, it encroached upon the airport, and now its presence has become a nuisance to those closest to it. In most cases, that does not have a fatal outcome - unless of course the plane crashes into some houses, then there is an uproar; and that has happened on several occasions - but no amount of public uproar ever forced an airport to relocate!    When the railroad was first laid out in the mid 1850's, pretty much everything north of 42nd Street was undeveloped farmland or forest. It was unfathomable at the time that the city would grow north of the demarcation line at 42nd Street. This misconception would come back to haunt the City fathers time and time again - when City Hall was constructed at Chambers Street, it employed cheap brownstone for its north face, as it was expected most residents would not venture north of Chambers Street and not see it often.     As the Manhattan grew in both industry and population; that imaginary demarcation of "the city line" - was subsequently moved from Chambers Street to Canal Street, then to 14th Street, then 34th Street, then 42nd Street (which was why Vanderbilt built Grand Central Terminal there) and well after that, people just gave up on trying to define the city line entirely!    As you can see by the table at right, (via Demographia) the population of Manhattan alone, doubled in the thirty years between 1850 (when the railroad on the West Side was first laid out) and 1880; when the problem of people getting hit by the trains began making public appearance in the newspapers. Population doubled once again over the next 20 years.    So, as the city population grew, even the slow moving (no more than 6 miles per hour per the city regulation) freight trains running down the center of the thoroughfare were found to be involved in a rather growing frequency of serious accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians.  year population (Manhattan) 1840 313,000 1850 516,000 1860 814,000 1870 942,000 1880 1,165,000 1890 1,441,000 1900 1,850,000 1910 2,332,000 1920 2,284,000 1930 1,867,000 1940 1,890,000 . So called "Death Avenue"    One of my pet peeves, is that I particularly despise the moniker "Death Avenue" - which Eleventh Avenue (and Tenth Avenue) became to be called as a result. Perhaps this "Death Avenue" moniker is a bit of hyperbole and sensationalist.     The 1800's and early 1900's - and with them the coming of the Industrial Age - were an inherently dangerous period of time in itself. People were maimed and killed by lots of things in daily life; coal mines, steel mills, lumber mills, steam boilers, bridge building, tunnel boring, mechanized farm equipment, etc.     In short, injuries and fatalities came from all sorts of machinery and industrial accidents, and not just this particular train or its routing. A big deal has been made about 540 people were known to have been fatally injured by train movements through 1905 by the operations of street running freight trains in Manhattan.     Trolleys caused deaths too. The trolleys, so essential to the movement of people to and from work and school, were no different either. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle ran a full page feature page on December 30, 1894 blasting the deaths of so many from trolleys; but no one individual or any holder of city office enacted or tried to enact legislation that forbade the use of trolleys or made them move to another street or part of the city. See, the trolleys were a public service.    Pedestrians were also run over by horsedrawn wagons daily or trampled by horses. Riders were thrown.     And when they were developed, automobiles caused death: So many injuries and deaths were occurring as a result of autos, that the NY Daily News began a clock-like "Hands of death." The latest one in 1923 showed 889 people killed by "the automobile". In 1931, deaths as a result from automobiles reached 1,448. But, only a few people actually advocated banning the automobile from streets.    But it was the "big, bad freight railroad" that bore the brunt of the blame and was an easy target. And while people need the trolleys to go to and from work and school, and what have you; they were an essential public service. Most transit companies were "locally" owned. The freight trains weren't. They were perceived to be owned by a faceless corporation. The railroads always have and always will bear unjust ire and blame by the public, even to this day: A tractor trailer driver gets stuck on a crossing that is well marked with signs as a "high center crossing" and a train hits it? Why didn't the train stop? (Why wasn't the truck driver better trained or more attentive?) Trespassers got run over while walking on tracks? Why didn't the train blow it horn? Why doesn't the railroad build fences? (It did and it does.) A train derails? It must because of shoddy maintenance or faulty equipment. (But no matter how well something is maintained or how new, things break.) A movie crew (with props) films a movie scene on a railroad bridge (with no trespassing signs!) without permission from the railroad and train comes along and kills a member of the crew? (Sue the railroad for wrongful death!)    So, in short; accidents, are the inevitable consequences of living in a modern first world industrial urban society. This bothers you? Go back to living in a cave, hunting for your food daily with a stone or a spear. Hell, archeologists have even found primitive man injured by hunting implements! Point being, injury and death goes hand in hand with living.     And in the case of the New York Central back in the 1800's; when that railroad was owned by a very outspoken ultra-millionaire, like it was by William H. Vanderbilt; well, they made for an easy target by the media. (Not much has changed, has it?) The railroads were, and remain to be perceived as a big faceless uncaring corporations.    That is not to say solutions and remedies were not attempted. One of the solutions to this problem, was to have a man on horseback escort the trains during transit on public thoroughfares.  Which brings us to: . . The West Side Cowboys a/k/a "Dummy Boys" - "Tenth Avenue Cowboy" - "Eleventh Avenue Cowboy"    The City of New York enacted a regulation that stipulated that trains being drawn by dummy engines; were to be led by a man on horseback; carrying a red flag by day and red lantern by night:    This horse rider was to lead the locomotive movement and warn pedestrians to yield to the oncoming train. An escort if you will. These horse riders became known as a "West Side Cowboy", or a "Dummy Boy" (after the steam dummy). They were also known as the Tenth Avenue (or Eleventh Avenue) Cowboy.    You will note in a lot of images; these riders appear quite young. They were - back in those days when a lad was old enough to ride a horse, he was old enough to work. It was not until 1938 that the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, prohibiting most children under age 16 from working (with exception to agriculture and domestic labor). So a lot of young men, no older than their early teens; were seen at work and this position was no exception.  three above images Bain News Service  / George Grantham Bain collection Library of Congress added 05 April 2024 .    The following film, converted to digital format, shows several of the West Side Cowboys at work escorting the trains. The following digital video from the blog "LivinTheHighLine" article titled "The West Side Cowboy and the High Line", (www.livinthehighline.com/the-original-urban-cowboy/). . . The Situation Comes to a Head. And a leg. And an Arm.    The New York Central & Hudson River RR had been operating the trackage in the streets under a perpetual franchise, renewed every 25 years. In 1905 it was proposed, and in 1906, the New York State Legislature passed a bill introduced by Senator Martin Saxe which gave the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company a year in which to negotiate a settlement with the old Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners; and in default of which; the City was to begin condemnation proceedings. But nothing came of it.    Later, the City brought proceedings against the railroad, with the result that in 1910 the Court of Appeals rendered a decision holding that the City of New York had no right to interfere with the company, but that, as it had succeeded in showing that the presence of the New York Central operations on Eleventh Avenue were a danger to the citizens and a detriment to the neighborhood. Therefore, the State could, under its general police power, take steps to force the railroad company to find a new site for its tracks at its own expense.    This included the railroad placing its tracks in a six track tunnel and which the railroad would retain its franchise on two of the six tracks, with the city renting the other four tracks to the railroad. Not to mention, the engineering issues in constructing a six track wide tunnel under active city streets! A two track subway tunnel, maybe... But six tracks? But surprisingly, the railroad was in favor of this very costly project of approximately $50,000,000 dollars - which equates to $1,775,000,000 (that's 1.775 billion) in 2024 dollars and allowing for inflation.    Despite this, the State Assembly in 1906 now passed a law that prohibited the use of streets, avenues, or any public place by a railroad operating a steam locomotive at grade level. This did nothing to solve the problem. In 1908, Calvin Tompkins (the Commissioner of Docks for the City of New York) proposed the following: an elevated freight line from West 72nd street to St. John's Park, and a "union" freight terminal with transfer bridges at 30th Street; union meaning to be operated by all the railroads seeking presence, and paid for by rental charges. This proposal too, went nowhere.    Thereupon the Legislature of 1911, by chapter 777, directed the NYC&HR RR Company to file before October 1 of that year; plans to show how it would remove its tracks, and authorized the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to enter into negotiations with the railroad to effect this. The situation then, in short was this: the City is trying to get the railroad off of its public streets; and the railroad company is trying to improve its freight terminal facilities. The question was, how can these two ends be attained and the interests of each conserved in fairness to those of the other?    So, the new plan was thus: tracks to be placed in a roofed cut, designed to carry a motor parkway above, from Spuyten Duyvil to West 72nd Street, and then an elevated steel girder structure from 72nd to St. John's Park. But it was also stipulated that the trains be drawn only by electric locomotive after 1915, which the entire project was to be completed by 1917.     The railroad and the city were getting close, but no cigar. Back to the table they went in 1916. Now it was proposed (from north to south): a tunnel under Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Harlem River) to a six track roofed cut to West 60th Street, then a four track elevated from West 60th Street to a point just south of St. John's Park, and an extension to Cortlandt Street carried on a viaduct above West Street and the bulkhead line. The railroad also took the moment to suggest enlarging their existing freight yards, and while they were at it; a provision for passenger service to the West Side to help alleviate the load from Grand Central Terminal. Total estimated cost? $65,000,000 dollars ($2,010,000,000 in 2024 dollars). Both parties agreed.    Not so fast! In June 1917, the State Legislature in Albany first nullified that agreement, and second; required all future plans be submitted for review by an "impartial committee" and approval by the Public Service Commission. And then the United States entered World War I. But, while both minor dithering between the City and the Railroad commenced, and some major dithering in Europe; the freight demands of Manhattan was growing at an exponential rate.    Thus began a decade of negotiations, plans, counter-plans, court hearings and compromises; before an actual shovelful of dirt was moved. The specific details are contained within the following three references (the first two of which are open source): Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York - 1917 (commencing on page 252) Report of the Commission to Investigate the Surface Railroad Situation in the City of New York - 1918 The Port of New York, Volume 1 and Volume 2, by Carl W. Condit - 1981    In 1923; the State reviewed the proposals and the New York Central Railroad now proposed the following: a new line of 11 miles in length consisting of the following: a new swing bridge at Spuyten Duyvil (eliminating the expensive tunneling) a roofed cut through Riverside Park, expansion of the existing freight yards, a viaduct from West 72nd Street to a completely new freight terminal located south of Spring Street and the razing of the old St. John Park's Terminal.    And by 1924, the State now was requiring electric operation of all trains within the City limits of New York by January 1, 1926 - the Kaufman Act. This is covered in detail in the chapter on the main page of this website: Kaufman Act    Multiple railroads operating freight terminals in the City of New York vehemently objected to the Kaufman Act, and the most outspoken of all was the New York Central; as most of their trackage was in the streets. The use of a ground level electric third rail was not feasible (unless you wanted to electrocute some residents on a daily basis - the cure was more deadly than the disease); overhead trolley wire had already been forbidden in the City; and electric battery locomotives were not sufficiently advanced to consider. Think about this: here we are in 2024, 100 years later, and battery locomotives still are not reliable enough to warrant widespread use or acceptance in a freight railroad capacity!    The railroads fought tooth and nail to overturn the Kaufman Act, and for good reason: electrification would be prohibitively expensive, and for one other reason we will get to in a moment.    This delay in enactment of the Kaufman Act bore some tasty fruit of an unexpected flavor. This was because in the five years of court battles and injunctions over the Kaufman Act and "electrification", a new breed of locomotive was nearing successful and widespread use: the Diesel-electric. A Diesel oil compression ignition engine would turn a generator, and would provide its own power. Up until this point the diesel-electric was not suited for long haul use because of durability of the engine and the required power. Direct drive internal combustion locomotives lacked finesse. Diesel electrics had only just become satisfactory for yard and switching service over the previous year; and in the form of Central Railroad of New Jersey #1000, a switch engine built by American Locomotive (body), General Electric (electrical systems) and prime mover built my Ingersoll Rand. The locomotive was in daily use at their Bronx Terminal. But the technology still had not quite reached maturity or reliability for "over the road" heavy freight use..    Fortunately, the chief engineer of the Public Service Commission: William C. Lancaster recognized this new form of motive power: "The Diesel electric locomotive... has none of the objectionable features of the steam locomotive; it is substantially noiseless and its movement are virtually the same as those of the electric locomotive of the same capacity.  It has one other feature... which has an advantage over the overhead system of contact or the third rail. in the case of the latter, there are frequent momentary discontinuances which draw arcs causing vivid flashes. These are a source of annoyance and would be objectionable to those living along Riverside Drive. The results where the contact shoe jumps from one conductor to another and such intervals would be frequent in the third rail system."    In 1924, a prototype General Electric - Ingersoll Rand model X3-1 locomotive, better known by its construction number: #8835; was fitted with an inline six cylinder (10" x 12" cylinders) diesel engine constructed by Ingersoll-Rand utilizing the Price-Rathbun design and solid injectors. This engine in turn powering an electrical generator designed by General Electric. This in turn supplied electricity to traction motors with voltage and current being regulated using controls designed a few year prior by Hermann Lemp of General Electric. The carbody was a left over, laying around at General Electric's Erie, PA facility. . #8835 would be "unveiled" on February 28, 1924 to the representatives of the railroads showing interest in a diesel locomotive: Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania, Boston & Maine, New York Central, Reading & Lehigh Valley. While the men were impressed, they remained unconvinced of the design which had not seen day to day service.    So, beginning in June 1924, and for the next thirteen months, the unit went through rigorous (and to some extent, abusive) testing on ten different railroads and three industries (to which the locomotive had been leased on a trial basis). #8835 would come to spend 2½ months operating on the West Side of Manhattan along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues for the New York Central Railroad: Ingersoll-Rand / General Electric Demonstrator #8835 - sometime between June 9 and August 23, 1924  Tenth Avenue, Manhattan, NY from Diesel Spotters Guide, Jerry Pinkepank / Kalmbach Publishing hours of service dates of service remarks 833 6/9/1924 to 8/23/1924  Placed in yard switching service (New York City West Side Yards) on July 19th for a daily recording of performance data. In one test phase, this unit was operated for 24 hours per day (almost continuously), handling 3 shifts daily from 7/24 to 8/7. Inspection of the locomotive could only occur during crew changes. On 8/14 a "Tonnage Test" was conducted: #8835 pulled "93 loaded freight cars on level track" for 36 minutes. 1, 2 Note: The Ingersoll-Rand record does not indicate what these loads consisted of or total tonnage pulled.    At midpoint of its testing on the 'Central; this locomotive was placed into a "tug-of-war"  test with one of the a Shay type locomotives of New York Central working the West Side Line; in which 8835 won that battle due to smoother torque of the electric drive and greater coefficient of friction; and a little overzealousness on the part of the Shay's engineer, who got the Shay's wheel's slipping. Needless to say, the Central's men were very impressed.    So, following the success of that experimental, New York Central felt confident with the technology.    The pieces were finally in place. The City of New York and the New York Central Railroad had finally reached an agreement. They hammered out some now minor details and on July 5, 1929; Mayor Jimmy Walker, R. D. Starbuck, a vice president of the New York Central; and E. F. Stephenson, the railroads secretary signed the documents. The agreement called for construction to start immediately, a timetable as follows: electrification north of West 72nd Street and diesel electric motive power for operation south of that; to be installed by 1931.  train movements on city streets to be eliminated by June 30, 1934. the double trackage in the street was to be relocated to a viaduct between West 34th Street and St John's Park,  a walled subgrade cut north of West 34th Street,  the two major yards at West 30th Street and West 60th Street Yard and the three smaller yards at West 17th Street, West 41st Street and West 145th Street were to be expanded to 4,000 car capacity;  the existing surface St. John's Park Terminal to be razed and new elevated terminal constructed at Spring Street.     The New York Central Railroad literally was giving the City more than the City was asking for.    The cost of this ambitious project had now reached $175,000,000 in 1929 dollars ($3,200,000,000 in adjusted 2024 dollars), freight traffic on line was averaging about 1,700 cars daily. All work on this project took place under the supervision of the railroad's chief engineer, J. W. Pfau.    Contractors for the first phase were James Turner Co. and George A. Fuller Co.,  with the steel contractors being American Bridge Co.; McClintic Marshall Co. and the Fort Pitt Bridge Works. Structural design of Riverside Park was the work of Madigan - Hyland Company. General contractor for the construction of the new elevated St. John's Park Freight terminal was the James Stewart Co.    Second phase contractors were the Thomas Crimmins Contracting Co., George J. Atwell Foundation Corp, the P. T. Cox Contracting Co. and Corbetta Construction Co.    According to the agreement, the State of New York was to pay one quarter of the cost of this grade separation / realignment project, the New York Central Railroad was to pay three quarters: State of New York Transit Commission - 1925 (commencing on page 186)    But, the State of New York balked, stating it did not have the funds to cover their full 25% portion. With surprising congeniality and good faith, the New York Central Railroad offered to cover the states' portion and defer reimbursement arrangements and repayment to a later date. Not surprisingly, I cannot locate any documentation alluding that the State finally paying its due share of apportionment.    The order was signed on December 19, 1924; and the New York Central RR began construction immediately.    So yes; when you consider why present day freight railroads have a "hard-on" against regulations and / or having to relinquish or relocate property and assets, perhaps some of you will bear in mind and recall this and decades long situation and history.

---

The High Line & The Tunnel


original: 1931, New York Central.
annotated version: © 2024 freightrrofnyc / Philip M. Goldstein
 NYC&HR Manhattan Freight Operations

The High Line, being the core subject of this page; is shown in the following series of images; most of which were taken during, or just after completion. Keeping this series in order, best displays the over purpose and route of the High Line.

The beginning of the High Line looking southwest from West 35th Street- ca. 1957 Looking south-southwest from West 35th Street and Eleventh Avenue through West 30th Street and Twelfth Avenue. Library of Congress added 15 August 2025 .

. .

High Line looking west at West 30th Street Yard , Manhattan, NY - 1934 Looking west-northwest. and taken from roof of Parcel Post Building, with Parcel Post Building lead bottom center. Switches and curve at middle left is High Line main route to St. Johns Park Terminal  Note, every sixth tie is extra length for the support brackets of a third rail. Location marker 3 in High Line map below. added 05 April 2024

. .

High Line looking north from West 18th Street (foreground) to West 29th Street (background) ca. 1934 United States Trucking Corp. Track crossover and jog in alignment in foreground is West 19th Street; double crossover is West 21st Street, siding is West 23rd Street, crossover is West 25th, jog in background is West 26th Street, with curve left at West 29th Street to West 30th Street. Note, no electric third rails or support ties. Location marker 4 in High Line map below. added 05 April 2024

. .

High Line - West 15th Street - ca. 1934 Taken from the northeast corner of roof of the National Biscuit Company Building and looking south. From bottom: track under construction is spur to Nabisco, foreground cross street is West 14st Street, tracks entering through building is Cold Storage and Swift Company (zig zag of West Side Highway to right), tracks through building is background is Manhattan Refrigerating. Note, no third rails support ties on running tracks, but there appears to be one on the Nabisco spur. Location marker 12 in High Line map below. added 05 April 2024

. .

High Line - Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street - date? Looking north. Note, no electric third rails. Location marker 5 in High Line Map below. Kalmbach Library added 05 April 2024

. .

High Line looking south from Christopher Street at St. Johns Park Terminal; Manhattan, NY - 1933/1934 Note, no electric third rails. Looking south. added 05 April 2024

. .

Looking south from Leroy Street at St. Johns Park Terminal; Manhattan, NY - ca. 1934 Southern terminus of the High Line - 550 Washington Street at West Houston Street. Note, no third rails. Looking south. Location marker 6 in High Line Map below.

Looking north from West 36th Street overpass - May 1, 1936
West Side Improvement Project - subgrade routing
P. L. Sperr photo
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

Looking north from West 36th Street overpass - July 24, 1937
West Side Improvement Project - subgrade routing
note tie lengths for installation of third rail supports.
New York Central RR Publicity photo
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

Looking south from West 52nd Street overpass - July 24, 1937
West Side Improvement Project - subgrade routing
New York Central Publicity photo
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025
.



Looking north from West 57th Street overpass - July 24, 1937
train entering Eleventh Avenue from West 60th Street Yard in center of photo.
Under construction in image is new Sheffield Farms bottling plant.
West Side Improvement Project - subgrade routing
New York Central Publicity photo
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

Tenth Avenue at West 17th Street. Building is 101 Tenth Avenue with High Line trestle right center. Note: third rail shoes on the truck of the locomotive. Location marker 11 in High Line Map below	Tenth Avenue at West 17th Street. Building is 101 Tenth Avenue with High Line trestle right center. Note: third rail shoes on the truck of the locomotive. Location marker 11 in High Line Map below
.
Tenth Avenue at West 17th Street. Building is 101 Tenth Avenue with High Line trestle right center. Note: third rail shoes on the truck of the locomotive. Location marker 11 in High Line Map below	Tenth Avenue at intersection of West 26th Street looking south. The white building is 259 Tenth Avenue - R. C. Williams (wholesale groceries) warehouse. Location marker 10 in High Line Map below
.
Taken from the High Line Trestle lead into the Parcel Post Building at West 30th Street looking southerly towards West 29th Street.

One of the topics of frequent discussion, is whether the entire High Line was electrified territory (meaning being equipped with third rail for powering those locomotives the could be powered by it - the Tri-Powers; or was third rail only installed in certain sections?    First, we must discuss the type of locomotives owned by the New York Central that were used on the High Line and that could receive third rail power. The New York Central RR had many types of third rail powered "straight electric" locomotives for both passenger and freight use, and for both yard switching and road service. We also know the New York Central RR tracks with third rail existed between Spuyten Duyvil and West 72nd Street.    However, New York Central also announced during the West Side Improvement phase, that all switching south of West 72nd Street was to be done with DES class locomotives. (Dawn of the Diesel Age, Kirkland, p.128)    For this, Spuyten Duyvil to West 72nd Street section of the line, locomotives consisting of the New York Central Q, R, S, and T "straight electric" classes could be used. But none of these types of locomotives had internal battery power or diesel-electric power, therefore they could not be used south of that point.    The Q, R, S, and T classes alleviated this issue with small pantographs mounted on the roof of the cab or on top of the hoods of the locomotives. These pantographs would contact an overhead third rail mounted to the roof of the Park Avenue Tunnel or the ceiling over the tracks of Grand Central Terminal, so as to power the locomotives through switch gaps. The High Line and the sub-grade cut had no such installations.    The only type of locomotive that could both run on the third rail powered section as well as the un-powered sections, were the DES-2 and DES-3 classes, the "Tri-Powers". Only these were third rail capable, battery power and of course, diesel-electric power.

   We do know the Q class (steeplecab) and the R class (boxcab) were geared for, and led freight trains commencing in 1926. The straight electrics could go north from West 72nd Street to Spuyten Duyvil, then farther north to Croton-Harmon Yard, or turn east and south along the Harlem River to Highbridge, the Bronx Terminal Market or Mott Haven Yards.

   But for all that could be found, the West 60th - 72nd Street Yard was the southern-most point of use for these types of locomotives. No images are known with either of these locomotives in the West 30th - 36th Street Yards. Since neither type had internal batteries, neither could have operated on the unpowered portions of the High Line or upon the unpowered internal sidings within some of the industry buildings along the High Line.

   Predating the Q & R class freight locomotives, were the now famous S & T class locomotives. Again, these were external electric powered. The S was designed for moderate to high speed passenger service as well as switching in Grand Central Terminal, and the T class for road use. Again, neither had internal battery power, therefore they could not operate on un-powered right of way in the yards, along the High Line or in the industries.

   With this explained, those four classes of locomotive could not have worked south of West 36th Street. It was was specifically necessary for a locomotive to have battery power for use on the High Line and in the West 30th - 36th Street Yards for three reasons. The first; being the yards would have contained hundreds of gaps in a third rail located by each switch. 

   The second reason is, why go through all the effort of having a locomotive designed and built with a battery power source, if one could install a third rail power source in those buildings with inside trackage; why go through all the trouble of a locomotive with battery power capability?

   As such, is it believed the only locomotives on the New York Central roster are the Tri-Powered locomotives (prototype or production and until such time that straight diesel-electric locomotives were acquired to replace the Tri-Powers.)

   The locomotives could have worked the un-powered High Line portion St. Johns Park Terminal to West 28th Street, the third rail equipped portion of the High Line West 28th Street to West 35th Street, as well as the third rail equipped open sub-grade cut from West 36th Street to West 60th Street; as well as unpowered yard trackage in both the West 30th to 36th Street and the West 60th to 72nd Street Yards, as well all the industrial sidings along this route.

High Line - Twelfth Avenue - West 34th Street and West 33rd Street - third rail visible next to tracks

.

High Line - parallel to West 30th Street, by Eleventh Avenue

High Line - parallel to West 30th Street, by Tenth Avenue

..

We do know without a doubt that the open sub-grade cut from West 60th Street through West 36th Street had third rail installed, following the West Side Improvement project.    But once those tracks enter the West 36th Street Yard proper, things get fuzzy. Hence the third reason; your friend and his; Mr. Safety.    Because, it was at this location, where there existed multiple yard tracks that were located at the surface. Commercial vehicles and the foot traffic of freight handlers on the team tracks would be an commonplace. A third rail installation in this situation, would constitute a hazard to the public. This trackage is represented in yellow in the map at right.    I also believe, based on images; third rail power ended by crossover 185 (over West 28th Street) and seen in the map at right. Images of the High Line, south of West 29th Street through St. John's Park Terminal; do not show any signs of these extra long railroad ties being installed on the tracks. I shall state however, for the record; one image taken from the roof of Uneeda Biscuit factory, shows what might be a third rail on the siding track into the building.    From the examination of images on this, as well other websites; this author has determined that one section was definitely built with third rail and one section might have been. Third rail support shoes or brackets were installed on cross ties that were 10 feet in length, and about 2 feet longer than the standard cross tie lengths of 8 feet.    These ties were installed at approximate intervals of every sixth tie, or about every 15 feet. We can see these extra long ties in the 1937 image at above right of the construction of the open subgrade cut between West 36th and West 60th Streets.    Using these construction images dated 1933 through 1937; we see that the High Line incline ramp from West 35th Street up to the Morgan Parcel Post Building definitely had third rail installed, and was still installed as of 1957 as it is seen in the J. Shaugnessy image of 1957 above left. (It remains to be determined if it was still energized at this time.)    However, by the April 1963 image from the WCPC collection seen above right; the extra long ties are still present, but the third rail is removed. But by this time, diesel-electric switching locomotives of various ratings were common place.    Unfortunately, all copies of this particular image on the web, are small and compressed, and in trying to enlarge or zoom does not yield the resolution necessary to make a firm determination, and I have not yet located the repository in which the original image rests. It could simply be a shadow of the handrail.

	electric operation to West 30th Street,  switching and service south of West 30th Street by diesel electric.	St. John's Park Freight Terminal
.
..
St. John's Park Freight Terminal
.
electric operation to West 30th Street,  switching and service south of West 30th Street by diesel electric,  Elimination of 105 street crossings, discontinuance of steam locomotives,  development of Riverside Park	abandonment of old St. John's Park Freight Terminal opened in 1868	Bell Telephone Laboratories at Bethune Street,  Manhattan Refrigerating Company and direct siding
.
Cudahy Packing Co.  Armour & Co.  Smith & Co. West 13th Street	National Biscuit Co (Uneeda Bakers / Nabisco) - West 14th and 15th Streets	Merchants Refrigerating Co - West 17th Street
.
High Line Viaduct between West 17th Street and West 2th Street	R. C. Williams Building - 265 Tenth Avenue  Spear & Co Warehouse  Church of Guardian Angels	Morgan Parcel Post Building - Tenth Avenue & West 30th Street
.
		intentionally left blank
West 30th Street Yard	New York Stock Yards Co. - West 41st Street, Eleventh to Twelfth Avenues

New York Central Railroad - List of Station and Facilities, September 1925

West 143rd Street & Riverside Park - 1917
Looking north.
E. M. Jenks photo
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025




West 132nd Street & Riverside Park - October 16, 1925
Looking northwest.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

   An in-depth history of these transfer bridges, and all others throughout New York Harbor; are covered on my companion website: Development of the Carfloat Transfer Bridge

.

.

.

added 15 August 2025

. .

The following two images were taken as part of a series for surveying the Miller Elevated Highway a/k/a West Side Highway. Without a doubt, it's striking to think that those big 4-8-2 Mohawks set foot in Manhattan!    Since there are other images from other dates in this series also showing other 4-8-2's at this roundhouse, it was apparently commonplace for these monsters to bring freight to this yard; to be broken down into smaller cuts of cars at this yard and then brought to the West 30 through 36th Street Yards by smaller locomotives, then broken down again at those yards for final delivery to St. John's Park Terminal.    Because of the vastness of this facilty, I hve made an attempt to separate images into geographical groupings. This set of images view the structures and yards from the west side.     West 72nd Street Roundhouse (looking northwest) - October 30, 1930 New York Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

West 72nd Street Roundhouse (looking west) - December 9, 1930 New York Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

Three types of transfer bridges in one location: New York Central Railroad West 60th Street Terminal, Manhattan, NY - 1978 Looking east. left:       electrically operated, overhead suspension; steel contained apron bridge "J. B. French patent" with steel gantry center:  pontoon float / steel pony truss right:     electrically operated, overhead suspension, wood Howe truss bridge / separate Apron "J. A. Bensel patent" with wood enclosed gantry house T. Flagg photo added 04 January 2012

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard at West 69th Street and bulkhead (looking northeast - October 19, 1930 P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard at West 69th Street and bulkhead (looking northeast - October 19, 1930 Tracks on left lead to pontoon type float bridge, and tracks on right lead to wood Howe truss Transfer Bridge. This is an very interesting image, as it shows the one of a kind ALCo / GE / IR diesel-electric DES-2 Prototype locomotive on left edge. It's also interesting as it shows a simple yard incinerator for refuse. Obviously, locomotives weren't the only thing making smoke. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard at West 68th Street and bulkhead (looking northeast) - October 19, 1930 Yard tracks between wood Howe truss Transfer Bridge and Pier G. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard at West 65th Street and bulkhead (looking east-northeast) - October 19, 1930 P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Terminal - September 23, 1937 Looking north from West 64nd Street. Transfer bridges to left of West Side "Miller" Highway. Associated Press photo

. .

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Grain Elevator A - foot of West 61st Street -  February 10, 1919 Note West 62nd Street Transfer Bridge on left edge. Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York William D. Hassler photo added 16 August 2015

. .

Looking northeast from West 60th Street. - 1957 Grain Elevator A formerly occupied the open yard tracks bottom center with three covered barges. New York City Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

. . East side of yard looking west

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard - east side of yard looking west - 1911 image taken from West 67th Street footbridge showing PierE and F added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard - east side of yard looking northwest - 1911 image taken from West 67th Street footbridge showing Pier G, Howe truss transfer bridge wood gantry house added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yard - east side of yard, looking north - 1911 image taken from West 67th Street footbridge showing Roundhouse and yard leads, tenements on West 68th Street Library of Congress added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Terminal - ca. 1940's Looking south from West 72nd Street. Transfer bridges to right of West Side "Miller" Highway.

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Terminal - ca. 1940's Looking south from West 72nd Street.

. .

This next set of images are from a series of Fairchild Aerial Survey Images from 1957. By this point in time, the roundhouse has been demolished, the stock yards razed and the bellmouth for the tunnel to West 36th Street constructed at that location (upper left corner). We also can see that at least two transfer bridges; the wooden Howe truss bridge with wood gantry house as well as the steel French design bridge (center right) are still in service; with an empty carfloat as the steel pontoon float bridge.

looking south - 1957 New York City Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

.. .

. looking southeast - 1957 New York City Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

.. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards, looking northwest. Miller Elevated Highway under construction - September 17, 1931 Derrick is over the roundhouse. Library of Congress added 15 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street  - May 20, 1927 Looking north at semaphore signal (but no shanty!), up West End Avenue. Note lower quadrant northbound semaphore on southbound track, and clear signal for northbound movement on northbound track. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street  - March 19, 1930 Looking north at Blockman's shanty and yard, up West End Avenue. Note lower quadrant northbound semaphore on southbound track. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking west at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street  - October 3, 1933 Blockman's shanty; old passenger cars converted to Men's Accommodations Barber Shop, Baths & Showers for Railroad Car-men and Yard office. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north-northwest at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street - October 3, 1930 Manual semaphore signals protecting Eleventh Avenue train movements (note levers at base) with blockman's shanty Note lower quadrant northbound movement on southbound track semaphore removed (as seen in 1927 & 1930 image. Grain Elevator A to left, Miller Elevated Highway in extreme background. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street  - October 3, 1933 Blockman's shanty and yard, up West End Avenue P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north-northeast at yard entrance at West End Avenue and West 59th Street  - October 3, 1933 P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

. .

West 60th - 72nd Street Yards looking north at yard entrance at West 59th Street and West End Avenue  - October 3, 1933 NYC #1544 Tri-Power on southbound track. P. L. Sperr photo New York Public Library Digital Archives added 20 August 2025

Eleventh Avenue and West 54th Street looking north - May 20, 1927
New York Public Library
P.L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

West 41st and West 42nd Street between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues - December 1932
Christmas trees!
New York Public Library
P.L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

..

.

West 41st Street / West 40th Street - Stock Pens and "Abbatoir Row"

Fairchild Aerial Survey Images - 1924
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 19 August 2025

Empty stock cars on Eleventh Avenue at West 37th Street - February 7, 1932
heading from Abbatoir Row towards the West 30-36th Street Yards (looking south).
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 16 August 2025

.

.

Empty stock cars on Eleventh Avenue at West 37th Street - March 20, 1935
heading to Abbatoir Row from the West 30-36th Street Yards (looking south).
New York Public Library
P. L. Sperr photo
added 16 August 2025

.

   Located between West 40th and West 41st Streets and Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues were the stock pens of the New York Stockyards Company, as well as the adjoining abbatoirs (slaugherhouses). West 39th Street between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues was known as "Abbatoir Row".

   From the 1800's through 1920's; various types of livestock (cattle, sheep, hogs) arrived by train into the various New Jersey terminals. here, they were transferred to stock boats (ferries for livestock), then ferried across the Hudson River, then unloaded and marched across Twelfth Avenue and up the side streets to the pens. 

   At least one newspaper anecdotal from 1986 relates the cattle broke out of the pens and stampeded at waterfront terminals. Even in normalcy; more and more street traffic became ensnarled due to the animals being herded through the street, therefore tunnels were constructed under the streets leading from the pier heads to the pens.

   Over the ensuing few decades, livestock increasingly came in via the West Side Freight Line via points north and switched via stub tracks to the pens. After slaughtering; the sides of beef, hogs and such; were transported to the Meatpacking District at Gansevoort Street for butchering, packing and shipping, as well as direct wholesale and retail sales.

   So in short, the process was this: 

• Live animals in stock cars or off the stock boat from New Jersey arrived at West 41st Street stock pens. Then after inspection, they were walked into the slaughterhouse next door. The carcasses were dressed and loaded into a reefer cars, and that car was transported down to the Meatpacking District at Gansevoort Street. Here the carcasses were offloaded, butchered and packaged.
  Finished meat products were then reloaded into a reefer car for transport to their final destination, or sold directly to merchants for wholesale or retail.
  .
• Already processed carcasses that were slaughtered out of the area, went directly to the Meatpacking District in refrigerator cars.

.

West 36th Street to West 30th Street & Twelfth through Tenth Avenues - Freighthouses and Yard Complexes

   The West 36th and West 34th Street Freight Yards and the West 33rd Freight Station were in fact two separate yards but connected extensively by trackage, and were divided by West 34th Street. 

   Therefore, despite being listed as two separate yards, it was in actuality one large yard. The reason for this, was the West 36th Street Yard was originally owned by the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad or "West Shore"; which was a competitor to the New York Central early on.

West 33rd Street - Transfer Bridges

   The New York Central also had another pair of transfer bridges located between Piers 73 and 72; of which trackage was connected directly to the freight yards and terminal at West 33rd Street. These would be the first transfer bridges located in Manhattan to shut down by New York Central circa 1943 possibly even earlier; while the transfer bridges north at West 60th Street Yard would remain in service until 1968.

Looking east from Hudson River at West Side, Manhattan, NY
added 05 April 2024

.

   But, as we have read; and despite having the rail-marine connections via the transfer bridges here at West 33rd Street; New York Central freight trains would literally travel down the centerline of several main thoroughfares, bringing freight to an fro the various terminals in Manhattan, as well as several customer sidings along the route. 

   A regulation stipulated that south of West 34th Street, conventional locomotives could not be used; so the cars were drawn by a dummy engine. A dummy engine was nothing more than a conventional steam locomotive with an outer car body that resembled a passenger car. North of 34th Street, a conventional locomotive could be used. Why 34th Street? 34th Street was the crosstown line of demarcation where it was thought that no to minimal development would take place. North of 34th Street then, was considered suburbia giving way to rural, with farmlands extending to the Harlem River. Oh, how they would soon learn that there were no limitations to be placed on urban sprawl!

West 35th Street & Twelfth Avenue (looking west) - October 26, 1930
New York Central #465 [0-6-0]
Library of Congress
added 15 August 2025
.

Twelfth Avenue & West 35th Street - May 30, 1934
Looking east at approach ramp and beginning of High Line. West 35th was dead-ended when the High Line ramp was constructed.
This ramp would be demolished in 1980 and a new ramp built at West 34th Street to accommodated the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
Looking east.
Location marker 1 in High Line map below.
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024

.

Twelfth Avenue and West 35th Street looking north, prior to paving - October 26, 1930
PRR gas-electric switcher at West 37th Street.
This is now Route 9A, with Javits Center to right, Pier 78 to left.
Library of Congress
added 15 August 2025
.

.

New York Central Railroad West 33th Street Yard - Twelfth Avenue & West 32th Street - March 4, 1937
Rows of ice cooled refrigerator cars on team tracks.
Looking east at Eleventh Avenue Viaduct and Empire State Building, presumably from approach ramp of High Line
Location marker 13 in map below.
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024
..

.

West 30th Street Yards looking east - November 1910
nycrecords.gov
added 15 August 2025
.
.

.

west side of Eleventh Avenue and West 34rd Street looking north - July 9, 1932
NYC Tri-Power #1532 with baggage and passenger cars. 
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

east side of Eleventh Avenue and West 34rd Street looking south - no date (but High Line trestle is built)
NYC Tri-Power #1555 with railway express cars.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo.
added 19 August 2025

.
.
.
east side of Eleventh Avenue and West 33rd Street looking south - February 7, 1932
Tri-Power (NYC #1540?) with a reefer and LCL container car. Note passenger car in yard.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.


east side of Eleventh Avenue & West 32 Street looking north - 1905
An 0-6-0 locomotive entering the Yard. Young man is wearing a railroad uniform - he could be a Eleventh Avenue Cowboy or a Crossing Guard.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
International News.
added 19 August 2025

.


Gridlock - 1920's style. East side of Eleventh Avenue & West 32 Street looking north - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

east side of Eleventh Avenue & West 32 Street looking north - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.


.


east side of Eleventh Avenue and between West 33st Street looking northwest - May 27, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

west side of Eleventh Avenue and West 33rd Street looking north - May 12, 1930
hay wagons heading south.
.New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

..

east side of Eleventh Avenue and West 33rd Street looking north - May 12, 1930
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

west side of Eleventh Avenue and between West 33rd and West 32nd Street looking west - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and between West 32st and West 31th Street looking east - May 27, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and between West 31st and West 30th Street (looking east) - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 30st Street (looking northeast) at Yard - January 21, 1931
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 30st Street (looking east-northeast) at Yard - January 21, 1931
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street (looking north-northwest) - January 28, 1932
Primitive Less Than Car Load Shipping Containers - the predecessor to todays intermodal containers
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street (looking north-northeast) - June 2, 1931
NYC Tri-Power #1536 shoving LCL car west.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue between and West 31st St and West 30th Street (looking east-northeast) - May 12, 1930
Primitive Less-Than-Car-Load shipping containers - the predecessor to todays intermodal containers; a milk car behind it; Railway Express and another LCL car to right.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue between and West 31st St and West 30th Street (looking east-northeast) - May 12, 1930
Another diner that appears to have been built out of an old passenger car. 
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

..

Eleventh Avenue between and West 31st St and West 30th Street (looking east-northeast) - May 12, 1930
Primitive Less-Than-Car-Load shipping containers - the water tower, and the sloped tender of one of the Shay locomotives on right.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

.

Eleventh Avenue between West 33 and West 32 Streets - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
..

West 33th Street - unidentified Tri-Power [DES-3] entering yard from Eleventh Avenue.
Looking northwest at West 32th Street, Manhattan, NY - March 17, 1929
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 34 Street looking northeast - August 12, 1936
Construction of Eleventh Avenue Viaduct of Yards, as well as underpinning building for subgrade / tunnel to West 60th Street
old R. H. Macy Warehouse.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 36 Street (left) to West 34th Street (right) looking east - June 25, 1937
Construction of Eleventh Avenue Viaduct over yards, as well as underpinning building for subgrade / tunnel to West 60th Street
old R. H. Macy Warehouse.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 36 Street (left) to West 34th Street (right) looking east-southeast - July 24, 1937
Construction of Eleventh Avenue Viaduct over yards, as well as underpinning building for subgrade / tunnel to West 60th Street
old R. H. Macy Warehouse.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 36 Street looking southwest - July 24, 1937
Construction of Eleventh Avenue Viaduct over yards, as well as underpinning old R. H. Macy warehouse for subgrade / tunnel to West 60th Street
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 35 Street looking south - June 25, 1937
Construction of Eleventh Avenue Viaduct over yards. Taken from the roof of the R. H. Macy warehouse.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 31st Street (looking east) at Yard, and US Morgan Parcel Post Building under construction - January 20, 1930
Note the High Line access doors are roughed into the building, but no High Line structure appears to have been constructed as of this date.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.
.

Tenth Avenue and West 31st Street looking west at Yard - January 26, 1932
Pilings for High Line being erected.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street looking south - 1911
Taken from the pedestrian bridge in below images.
nycrecords.gov
added 15 August 2025
.

.

from West 29th Street looking north up Tenth Avenue at West 30th Street and pedestrian bridge - March 17, 1927
Percy Sperr should be standing in front of Frank's Diner.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025
.

.

from West 29th Street looking north up Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street at pedestrian bridge, and Frank's Diner (which looks like an old railroad car!) - March 24, 1929
The freighthouse, Frank's Diner and the milk sheds (out of view to right) will be razed and the Parcel Post Building erected in this location.
Percy Sperr appears to have been standing in front of the grocery store in bottom image.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

from Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street pedestrian bridge (looking west-northwest) - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

from Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street pedestrian bridge (looking west-northwest) - May 17, 1927
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

from Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street (looking west-northwest) - August 25, 1940
Note passenger and railway express cars.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

.

Tenth Avenue and West 29th and West 30th Street - MilkSheds

   Located between West 30th Street and West 29th Street Ninth and Tenth Avenues, were the Milk Sheds. 

   These were long roofed platforms (which unfortunately are all too often mistaken for passenger platforms in some "urban blogs". These platforms were dedicated for the use of unloading full milk cans and crates of dairy products (cheese, cream, etc.) from reefer cars, and usually specially marked "MILK". These cars were also known as "can cars."

   The milk was transported to bottlers where it was sold to the public or sent to schools. Empty milk cans were returned to the platform in the evenings, loaded into the milk cars and brought back to the dairy farms in Upstate New York for reuse.

		milkshed images: New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photos milkcan: eBay Milk cans were usually embossed with the name of the farm "Elgin" (of the Catskills), or the cooperative that the farm belonged to Dairyman's League (DairyLea) or the dairy company: Crowley, Sheffield, Queensboro, etc Painted numbers were used to track the can and either painted letters or embossed tags for the railroad which carried it and the milepost that can was dropped off and received from. U&D - 51 (Ulster & Delaware MP51 - Kelly Corners) O&W - New York Ontario & Western Rwy NYC - New York Central, etc. Ergo, this can is marked NYC, for New York Central.
Here we see milk men with horsedrawn wagons (and a very primitive internal combustion powered truck!) lining up.    By Spring of 1931, these milksheds will be razed and the property developed into the US Parcel Post Building.

.

.

Eleventh Avenue and West 29th Street looking north at High Line trestle and West 30th Street - August 25, 1940
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

United States Post Office Department - Morgan General Mail Facility - "Parcel Post Building"

   Beginning in 1930, there came about a major reconstruction of the West 30th Street Yards in response to the West Side Improvement Project, to which the long planned High Line would see construction. 

   Part of this reconstruction involved the block bounded by Ninth and Tenth Avenues, West 30th and West 29th Streets, with the milk sheds being demolished and the site redeveloped. 

   On this spot, the US Postal Office Department (currently known as the US Postal Service) had constructed their Morgan General Mail Facility, better known as the Parcel Post Building. Designed by James A. Wetmore, the acting supervising architect of the Public Works Branch of the United States Treasury Department; this ten story building would provide 2.2 million square feet. This edifice would be designed to incorporated direct rail service.

.

excavation of lot for General Mail Facility / Parcel Post Building (looking west-northwest) - April 9, 1931
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

.

Construction of General Mail Facility / Parcel Post Building looking east-southeast - June 2, 1931
General Mail Facility at West 30th Street and Tenth Avenue under construction. Ninth Avenue Elevated in background.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

June 30, 1933
Rail spur into General Mail Facility at West 30th Street and Tenth Avenue under construction.
note extra length ties every sixth for third rail supports.
added 19 August 2025

   When the High Line was built, the "main line" for downtown Manhattan including the Meat Packing District and St. Johns Park Terminal turned south just prior to Tenth Avenue. However a short two track spur continued east and diagonally crossed Tenth Avenue and entered the Parcel Post Building. Here the two tracks split into to three pairs of two tracks each between high level platforms. 

   One of the unique features of this location, was the tracks were inclined within the building at .026% up from Tenth Avenue to Ninth Avenue. This might have been done to assist the train rolling back towards the yard, or possibly to move cars within the building without the need for a locomotive.

   Dedicated trains from all points of the United States and carrying mail for the New York metropolitan area; eventually were routed to and came south on the West Side Line, which were then switched directly into the upper level by being shoved into the Parcel Post Building.

.

Tenth Avenue and West 29th Street looking northeast. Tri-Power locomotive on High Line branch outside the doors of Parcel Post Building.
West Side Improvement Project Brochure - June 28, 1934
added 19 August 2025

.

.
Tenth Avenue and West 29th Street (looking north) - May 30, 1934.
Morgan Parcel Post Building on right, with High Line access.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

..

.

   In 1967, the Morgan Building suffered a huge and devastating fire putting it out of commission. Unrelated, the US Postal Service further discontinued transporting mail on seven of their eight remaining routes by rail on April 30, 1971. With the High Line being severed in 1980 for construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, rail service ended for the entire High Line. 

West 30th Street looking east at Tenth Avenue (prior to area redevelopment) - ca. 1990's
Street level looking up at High Line trestle connecting Parcel Post Building
Jim Henderson image
added 19 August 2025

.\

Tenth Avenue & West 24th Street

NYC #444 [0-6-0, ALCo 1905] heading south on Tenth Avenue at West 24th Street
New York Public Library Digital Archives
P. L. Sperr photo
added 19 August 2025

Tenth Avenue & West 21th Street

Church of Guardian Angels

West 21st Street and Tenth Avenue (looking west) - July 7, 1931 Church of Guardian Angels In less than two years, the High Line will be built behind the church. New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

Tenth Avenue & West 17th Street - Fresh Produce Yard Team Tracks

United States Trucking Corp.; B & J Auto Spring

Tenth Avenue & West 17th Street (looking northwest) - April 2, 1929 New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 17th Street (looking northwest) - May 27, 1930 New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 17th Street (looking east-southeast) - July 16, 1932 New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 17th Street (looking east) - July 16, 1932 (looking from Eleventh Avenue) New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

NYC #1534 coming onto on Tenth Avenue from the West 17th Yard (looking northwest) New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

NYC #1532 coming north on Tenth Avenue, #1534 waiting to pull onto Tenth Avenue from the West 17th Yard (looking south) New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

From Eleventh Avenue and West 16th Street - April 2, 1929  (looking northeast) New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street - Uneeda Biscuit  / Uneeda Bakers (Nabisco)

Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street (looking north) - July 24, 1924 pre-High Line New York Public Library Digital Archives Standard Photographic Service Borough President of Manhattan added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street (looking north) - October 1, 1928 pre-High Line NYC #1897 (Lima Shay) New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street (looking north) - June 20, 1935 Showing High Line New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street (looking north) - March 31, 1937 Showing High Line New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

. Tenth Avenue & West 14th Street (looking north) - March 31, 1937 Showing High Line New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

High Line from Eleventh Avenue / West Street, West 15th Street on left, West 14th Street on right (looking east) - June 20, 1935 Empty lot is now 14th Street Park New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

West Street (Twelfth Avenue) & Gansevoort Street (looking north) - April 31, 1929 northbound Shay type locomotive New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

West Street (Twelfth Avenue) & Gansevoort Street (looking north) - April 31, 1929 Shay type locomotive shoving refrigerator cars in front of meat packers. Believed to have been taken from roof of Manhattan Refrigerating Co. New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 19 August 2025

. .

West Street (Twelfth Avenue) & Gansevoort Street (looking north) - April 31, 1929 Shay type locomotive running light. Believed to have been taken from roof of Manhattan Refrigerating Co. New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 15 August 2025

. .

West Street (Twelfth Avenue) & Gansevoort Street (looking north) - April 2, 1929 Shay type locomotive running light. Take from street level in front of restaurant in above photos. New York Public Library Digital Archives P. L. Sperr photo added 15 August 2025

. .

West Street (Twelfth Avenue) & Horatio Street - ca. 1915 Looking east at Manhattan Refrigerating Company / David Mayer. added 15 August 2025

. .

West Street & Gansevoort Street - February 22, 1930 looking southwest added 15 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue and West 14th Street - looking southeast - 1911 Morris & Company; Conron Bros. & Co; Commission Merchants; Swift & Co. 34 - 32 Tenth Avenue; Geo. Hotchkiss & Co 30-28 Tenth Avenue, Strauch Bros. Piano Actions added 15 August 2025

. .

Tenth Avenue and West 13th Street - looking southeast Swift & Co. 34 - 32 Tenth Avenue; Geo. Hotchkiss & Co 30-28 Tenth Avenue, Strauch Bros. Piano Actions added 15 August 2025

West Street & West Houston Street


West Street and West Houston Street looking north - October 25, 1927
P. L. Sperr
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025



West Street and West Houston Street looking north - January 18, 1932
Other than the demolition of the stores and business on right, note the top facade has changed on the building - the cornice centerpiece (under the date) has been removed.
P. L. Sperr
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

West Street and Spring Street looking north - June 3, 1930
Pier 35 on left, Miller Elevated Highway under construction to left of locomotive.
P. L. Sperr
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

West Street and Spring Street looking northeast - June 15, 1934
Pier 35 on left, Miller Elevated Highway completed to this location, new St. John's Park Terminal almost completed.
The locomotive is on the original right of way to the old St. John's Park Terminal.
P. L. Sperr
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 20 August 2025

Locomotive on Canal Street turning right onto Hudson Street - unknown date Looking west. added 15 August 2025

. . Old St. John's Park Terminal (first): 1868 - 1927

Hudson Street and Beach Street looking north - ca. 1920 St John's Park Terminal out of view right edge This is an interesting image for it shows portable ramps and platforms used for loading / unloading of boxcars on street trackage, thereby making them impromptu team tracks. added 15 August 2025

. .

St.Johns Park Terminal - 1890 0-4-0T Dummy with crew posing on Hudson Street (looking southeast) Stereoview Card added 15 August 2025

. .

St.Johns Park Terminal - undated Hudson Street (looking northeast) added 15 August 2025

. .

St.Johns Park Terminal - 1910 Hudson Street (looking northeast) New York Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

. .

St.Johns Park Terminal - 1911 Hudson Street (looking northeast) Emil Stopff photo New York Municipal Archives added 15 August 2025

In the interim: Franklin Street Station (no trackage) - Pier 23: 1927-1934

   As some of the more observant of you who are following closely, you will take notice of a time span in which there was no Freight Station located in Lower Manhattan. This would took place 1927 through 1934.

   It is well recorded that the original St. John's Park Terminal was razed in 1927 to make space for the Holland Tunnel exit plaza. The proposed new "Spring Street" Terminal (that would also come to be called St. John Park Terminal as well) would not open for business until 1934.

   So what did the New York Central Railroad (and its customers!) use for a freight terminal in Lower Manhattan for those seven years?  If my understanding is correct, the New York Central redirected Less Than Carload (LCL) Freight to their Pier Station at (new) Pier 23, at the foot of Franklin Street.

   This conclusion comes from my encountering a New York Times article regarding New York Central notice to abandon service at that location filed for 1934, which coincidentally is the same year the "new" St. Johns Park Terminal opened.

   The Franklin Street / Pier 23 was 859' x 70' and the Franklin Street Pier Station was open for many years prior to 1927. 

   For this to happen, would require that LCL freight upon arriving at Weehawken, NJ; was transferred out of its boxcar into a lighter, or the boxcar simpled placed aboard a station carfloat, and placed at the existing Franklin Street Station on Pier 23 in Manhattan for pick up by LCL St. Johns Park customers.

   As far as I can tell, the other alternatives would be to either go to New York Centrals' other pier stations at Pier 17 at Park Place; or Pier 31 at DeBrosses Street; or the West 33th Street Freight Station. One can only imaging the inconvenience of having to go "all the way uptown" to retrieve this redirected freight for the duration.

   Granted, my conclusion herewith is strictly circumstantial.

   Carload freight customers would obviously be unaffected, and continue to received their freight by the trains running in the streets.
.

Washington Street & West 10th Street - 1936
looking west under the High Line, West Side Highway on West Street
unknown provenance

..


.

Following the widely publicized plans to segregate the rail line from the streets, a new elevated freight station was proposed, designed and constructed.    By the beginning of 1930, the New York Central Railroad was acquiring land for the so called elevated "Spring Street Freight Terminal", which would replace the surface level St. John's Park Terminal.    Plans for the new terminal were announced in July 1930. The dimensions of the structure measured 1,250 feet in length, with Clarkson Street on the north and Spring Street on the south. The width of the structure was to average 250 feet and fall between West Street on the west and Washington Street on the east.    This new terminal would replace eighty-eight existing residential tenements, which were already in the process of being razed. Although plans for the above-ground section of the terminal had not been finalized, it was expected to be either four or seven stories tall based on sub-surface conditions and surveying. The work entailed closing off King, Charlton, and Spring Streets and a bridge over Houston Street.    Preliminary drawings put forth by Edward A. Doughtery, the architect; originally called for a 12-story structure. Revisions were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings in March 1931, which now called for a 17 story tall building. By November 1930, the building site had largely been cleared.    The New York Central Railroad had intended to rent out space to commercial tenant on the upper floors. As planned at 17 stories, the structure would have offered 3.6 million square feet had it been built.    Plans called for multiple tracks on the second floor, capable of accommodating 190 railcars, as well as loading docks for trucks and freight customers below situated at ground level.       In February 1932, the New York Central Railroad requested a $7.5 million loan to finance the West Side Improvement project, including the cost of the new freight depot. Initially, $10 million would be spent to build a portion of the terminal to meet "current needs". That November, revised plans were filed for only a three-story building with a projected cost of $2.5 million.    According to a contemporary New York Times article, the reduction of size was due to cost, as the original structure would have $12.5 million. However, a subsequent New York Times article cites opposition from brokers as a reason for reducing the building's height.    The final plan of the building, as it would be constructed; would serve only the New York Central Railroad's own direct purposes as a dedicated rail terminal; but the structure as built had support pilings capable of handling a larger building should the situation change, and the upper stories be added at a future date.     As built, the floors constituted 205,000 square feet each, and were the largest in New York City at the time of their construction. Each story could accommodate a load of 300 pounds per square foot.    The "Spring Street Terminal" and the elevated rail viaduct the "High Line" to service the terminal; were dedicated on Thursday, June 28, 1934, with ceremonies at the terminal building.    With the opening of this new terminal, the New York Central Railroad filed plans to also abandon the nearby Franklin Street station on (new) Pier 23 (no trackage, lighterage only), which was being used to make local deliveries.    The new terminal quickly became known as St. John's Park Terminal because the old terminal had been so well known as such. The terminal itself was large enough to accommodate 227 train cars. The third floor was leased in 1937 to the Borden Company, which used that space as a warehouse for refrigeration equipment.

St. Johns Park Terminal; Manhattan, NY - date?
Southern terminus of the High Line - 550 Washington Street at West Houston Street.
Note, no electric third rail.
Looking south.
Location marker 6 in High Line Map below.

I suppose, this should not have come to me as great a shock as it did, because I have seen an image of a New York Central passenger train in the streets. I, sadly to say; wrote this off as a special or excursion.    But with thanks to this ETT, it proves there was in fact limited First Class passenger service between Spuyten Duyvil and West 30th Street Terminal twice a day, in both directions:    For the northern direction (timetable direction westward) there was: Train 173 departed West 30th Street at 7:00 am, Monday through Saturday, and arrived at Spuyten Duyvil at 7:47 am. Train 175 departed West 30th Street at 5:02 pm, Monday through Saturday, and arrived at Spuyten Duyvil at 5:43 pm.    For southbound service (timetable direction eastward) you had: Train 174 departing Spuyten Duyvil at 8:10 am, Monday through Saturday  and arrived at West 30th Street Terminal at 8:51 am.   . Train 176 departed Spuyten Duyvil at 6:17 pm, Monday through Saturday and arrived at West 30th Street Terminal at 7:02 pm.    To be perfectly clear, passenger service ended at West 30th Street Terminal. There was no passenger service south of West 30th Street or on the High Line    Anyone with this or other issues of timetable that show 30th Street Branch, please get in touch with me.    Also this ETT specifies milk trains from the following: Rutland, Mohawk, Harlem, Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg, Rensselaer & Saratoga, Delaware & Hudson, and Mohawk & Malone. I *think* R&P is Richmond & Potomac,    Additional ETT's may be viewed in their chapter: Employee Time Tables & Train Symbols	June 26, 1921
In the September 2007 issue of Trains Magazine, it is mentioned in regard to West Side passenger service, the following train running in 1934 on the 30th Street Branch had this schedule: miles Daily except Sunday 0.00 West 30th St Leave 07:00 1.66 West 60th St pass 07:15 5.24 West 130th St depart 07:26 6.31 West 152nd St depart 07:31 7.48 Fort Washington depart 07:37 9.08 Inwood depart 07:42 10.06 Spuyten Duyvil Arrive 07:47 Three trains are similar.    It is believed at this time, these West Side passenger trains were operated for the benefit of employees for firms and industries located on the West Side. Whether some of the following images actually show this passenger service below remains to be confirmed because Railway Express cars usually ran expedited less than carload freight, but these images do in fact show passenger equipment on the West Side Line.
.

New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division  ETT #13B - June 26, 1921 note passenger trains (red = Sunday movements) canadasouthern.com collection R&P = Rome & Potsdam? R&S = Rensselaer & Saratoga RW&O = Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburgh M&M = Mohawk & Malone	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division  ETT #28 - September 30, 1928 note passenger trains canadasouthern.com collection
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #47A - June 15, 1938; p61 Speed Restrictions: between West 36th Street and St Johns Park on the viaduct was 10 mph. Between St. Clair Place (West 125th Street) and West 137th Street was 30 mph, and north of West 135th Street to Spuyten Duyvil swingbridge was 45 mph. Locomotive Restrictions: West 33rd Street Farm Yard - all locomotives with pony trucks, east end of tracks 6, 7, 8 authors collection	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #49 - April 30, 1939 canadasouthern.com collection
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #54A - December 14, 1941 canadasouthern.com collection	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #56A - December 6, 1942 eBay
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #57 - June 27, 1943 canadasouthern.com collection	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #65 - April 25, 1948 canadasouthern.com collection
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #75 - April 26, 1953 canadasouthern.com collection	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Electric Division & New York Terminal District #76 - September 27, 1953 canadasouthern.com collection
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Hudson Division & New York Terminal Division #7 - April 24, 1960; p89 canadasouthern.com collection	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Hudson Division & New York Terminal Division #8 - October 30, 1960; p87 canadasouthern.com collection
.
New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Hudson Division & New York Terminal Division #14 - October 27, 1963; p113 canadasouthern.com collection
	New York Central RR Employee's Time Table Hudson Division & New York Terminal Division #20 - October 30, 1966; p140 canadasouthern.com collection

Penn Central Employee's Time Table Hudson Division & New Jersey Division #3 - April 27, 1969; p274 #4 - October 26, 1969 p 274 (no changes for W30th St Branch) RS = RiverSide, DV = DuyVil authors collection

Outbound
BF-1 - West 72nd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY to East St. Louis	BF-1 - West 72nd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY to Chicago, IL
.
Inbound
NY-4 - Chicago, IL to West 33rd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY (AM)	NY-2 - Chicago, IL to West 33rd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY (PM)
.
XN-2 - Dewitt Yard, East Syracuse, NY to West 33rd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY

Outbound	Outbound	Inbound
LS-1 - West 72nd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY to Elkhart, IN	SLX-1 - West 72nd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY to Indianapolis, IN	VN-41 - Selkirk, NY to West 72nd Street Yard, Manhattan, NY
.
Mohawk - Hudson Division Local Freight Schedule - New York City, 72nd Street DO - 11:00 Daily; Oak Point, the Bronx and return DOJN - 2330 Daily except Saturday; Putnam Junction.

• "Pennsylvanian" and "Keystone Service";  to Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Altoona, Pittsburgh;
• "Carolinian" to North Carolina; Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham; 
• "Crescent" to Atlanta, GA; and New Orleans, LA; 
• "Palmetto" to Savannah, GA; 
  
• "Silver Meteor" to Miami, FL; 
• "Silver Star" to Tampa FL; 
• "Cardinal" to Indianapolis, IN and Chicago, IL. 

• "Lake Shore Limited" to Chicago, IL;
• "Adirondack" to Montreal Canada; 
• "Maple Leaf" to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Toronto Canada: 
• "Ethan Allen Express" to Burlington and Rutland, VT: 
• "Vermonter" to Burlington, VT.

New York Central & Hudson River RR - 1911
courtesy of canadasouthern.com

.

.

1913 - G. W. Bromley Property Atlas

G. W. Bromley - 1913
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024

.

.

1917 - New York Central Right of Way & Track Maps

.

New York Central Right of Way & Track Map - 1917
Hudson Division - 30th Street Branch
MP11 - Little West 12th Street to MP10 - West 30th Street
 Meat Packing District, National Biscuit Co, Milk Platforms, Transfer Bridges
National Archives

.

New York Central Right of Way & Track Map - 1917
Hudson Division - 30th Street Branch
MP10 - West 29th Street to MP9 - West 48th Street
 West 30-36 Street Yard, West 33rd Street Freighthouse, Hay Exchange, West 41st Street Stock Pens & Slaughterhouses
National Archives

.

New York Central Right of Way & Track Map - 1917
Hudson Division - 30th Street Branch
MP9 - West 49th Street to MP8 - West 69th Street;
 West 60-72 Street Yard, Stock Pens, Grain Elevator, West 62nd Street Transfer Bridge
National Archives

.

New York Central Right of Way & Track Map - 1917
Hudson Division - 30th Street Branch
MP8 - West 69th Street to MP7;
 West 60-72 Street Yard, Roundhouse, West 69th Street Transfer Bridges
National Archives

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1921 - G. W. Bromley Property Atlas

G. W. Bromley - 1921
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024

.

.

ca. 1930 New York Central West Side Line

Map of New York Central's West Side Line - unknown year (ca. 1930) as the private right of way is proposed.
Spuyten Duyvil to St. Johns Park Terminal
dashed line shows street routing prior to 1933
solid line shows tunnel and High Line routing post 1937
added 05 April 2024

.

.

1932 - Port Facilities at Port of New York - War Department / US Army Corps of Engineers

   The 1932 Edition of Series Port Facilities Maps below have been digitized by the University of Missouri-St Louis. I have acquired a digitized set of the 1942 Edition from Universtiy of Texas - Austin. I have annotated these plates to identify the routing of New York Central West Side Line through Manhattan and the associated facilities served by that line.

   I am desperately seeking the 1953 Edition and 1965 Edition; at the very least - the segment of the High Line. We know they exist, but apparently have not been digitized. If you know where a set is located or have a set already digitized, please contact me at bedt14@aol.com

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1932
Plate 32: West 59th Street to West 95th Street 
including Union Stock Yards, West 60th Street Yard, Transfer Bridges, Roundhouse & Turntable, Piers and Piersheds
added 05 April 2024

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1932
Plate 33 - West 26th Street to West 62th Street including West 30th Street Yard, West 33rd Street Yard, West 36th Street Yard;
West 41st Street spur to Stock Yard & Slaughterhouses
offline rail-marine terminals of Lehigh Valley Railroad at West 27th Street, Erie Railroad at West 28th Street and
Pennsylvania Railroad at West 37th Street Terminals; and railroad pier stations.
added 05 April 2024

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1932
Plate 34: Spring Street to West 28th Street, including West 17th Street Yard; New West Washington Market, industrial and piershed sidings, West Street and Tenth Avenue running tracks,
including area offline rail-marine terminals of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad West 26th Street and Lehigh Valley Railroad West 27th Street; and railroad pier stations.
added 05 April 2024

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1932
Plate 35: Battery Park to Spring Street, 
including St Johns Park Terminal, Hudson Street Canal Street and West Street running tracks.
added 05 April 2024

Port of New York Authority - Freight Terminal Map - 1934
authors collection
annotated by author © 2024 ~ freightrrofnyc.info

1942 - Port Facilities at Port of New York - War Department / US Army Corps of Engineers

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1942
Plates 1, 2, 3, stitched: Charlton Street to West 42nd Street:
New York Central High Line: St Johns Park Freight Terminal, West 30th, 33rd, 36th, West 41st Street spur to Stock Yard & Slaughterhouses
Key numbers correspond to lists contained in Port and Terminal Facilities at Port of New York; Part 1; commencing on page 60.
Yes, I have a copy, please email if needed.
authors collection

.

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1942
Plate 4, West 59th Street to West 77th Street, New York Central High Line, West 60th Street Yard & Terminal, Grain Elevators, Transfer Bridges, Union Stock Yards.
Key numbers correspond to lists contained in Port and Terminal Facilities at Port of New York; Part 1; commencing on page 60.
Yes, I have a copy, please email if needed.
authors collection
added 29 April 2024

.

Port Facilities at Port of New York - 1942
Plate 6, West 131st Street to West 148th Street, Manhattanville Yard.
Key numbers correspond to lists contained in Port and Terminal Facilities at Port of New York; Part 1; commencing on page 60.
Yes, I have a copy, please email if needed.
authors collection
added 29 April 2024

.

.

1916/1942 - New York Central Railroad - Siding Location Chart

New York Central RR Siding Location Chart - 1942
Sheet 129 - St. Johns Park Terminal to West 18th Street
Dashed line shows main tracks
(north to right)
courtesy of A. Galanty
added 13 August 2025

.

New York Central RR Siding Location Chart - 1947
Sheet 130 - West 18th Street to West 60th Street, 
including West 30th Street Yard, West 33rd Street Freight Terminal, West 36th Street Yard, West 41st Street spur to Stock Yard & Slaughterhouses,
Parcel Post Building
Dashed line shows main tracks
(north to right)
courtesy of A. Galanty
added 13 August 2025

.

New York Central RR Siding Location Chart - 1951
Sheet 131 - West 57th Street to West 81th Street,
including West 60th Street Yard, Turntable Roundhouse, Transfer Bridges, Stock Yards
Dashed line shows main tracks
(north to right)
courtesy of A. Galanty
added 13 August 2025

.

New York Central RR Siding Location Chart - 1945
Sheet 134 - West 135th Street to West 158th Street,
including Manhattanville Yard
Dashed line shows main tracks
(north to right)
courtesy of A. Galanty
added 13 August 2025

.

New York Central RR Siding Location Chart - 1916
Sheet 15 - Spuyten Duyvil
Dashed line shows main tracks
(north to right)
courtesy of A. Galanty
added 13 August 2025

.

.

1955 - G. W. Bromley Property Atlas

1955
Note: Miller Elevated "West Side Highway", New York Central High Line and 1937 West Side Freight tunnel / undergrade are present.
Note how the New York Central RR Twelfth Avenue trackage to the piers as well as the Transfer Bridges and track leads has been eliminated as well.
New York Public Library Digital Archives
added 05 April 2024

.