Railroad Operated Pier Stations & Inland Freight Stations of Manhattan

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

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This page consists solely of pier stations or inland freight stations that were simply that:
a pier station or inland freight station with no other adjoining railroad facility, float bridge, or trackage.

Pier Stations with adjoining railroad operations are shown on their respective Offline Freight Terminal pages.

Freight handling via pier stations was a very simple but laborsome affair, but pier stations were expeditious and very direct. There were two methods used for the transfer of freight to and from pier stations, and both utilized station / platform carfloats brought to the pier via the railroad's tugboat.

In diagram 1, the carfloats are first accessed by doors on the sides of the pier shed. The pier sheds had doors placed at intervals for this purpose. Bridge plates (in yellow) usually made of steel plate or wood planks, are used to "bridge the gap" between the pier shed and the doorway of a boxcar.

Note in the photo below how several bridge plates are used in succession to access the boxcars behind the worker.

Referencing the diagram below, once the bridge plate was placed in position, the boxcar in red would be unloaded first. Once that was accomplished, the door on the other side of that boxcar would be opened and another bridge plate would be used to bridge the gap between the boxcar and the steel platform of the carfloat.

Diagram 2 shows a combination piershed and bulkhead shed. In some cases, there would be no piershed and only a bulkhead shed. The inner carfloat (or the right carfloat) would be unloaded in the same manner as in diagram 1. However, the left or outer carfloat was accessed with a small wood bridge from the bulkhead shed door to the front ramp of the carfloat. Then the freight car that needed to be unloaded first (green in this case) was unloaded. This front bridging method could also be used in cases where there was no bulkhead shed, and where freight could be unloaded directly onto the bulkhead.

According to the Joint Plan with Comprehensive Report, in most cases, the bulkhead shed was used for the loading of outbound freight, while the piershed, (being larger) was used for inbound freight that was unloaded. Consignors were usually given 48 hours "free time" (starting at 7 am the day following the freight's arrival), to come and get their freight. This 48 hour hold time requires a great deal of space, while consignors freight awaits pick up. Therefore the larger piershed was in most cases used for inbound freight.

In either diagram; once these bridge plates (in yellow) were in place, and the center platform of the carfloat is accessed, men with hand trucks, dollies or even forklifts could be used to unload / load freight from any of the boxcars on that given carfloat via that center platform (dotted yellow lines) . Unloading priority was given to perishables or expedited freight.

In some cases, a piershed would be shared between a railroad and steamship line.

To make those interested readers lives a tad easier, I have taken the time to create a comprehensive list of Pier Stations, Freight Houses and Freight Stations on both the Hudson and East Rivers, as shown on the 1943 Map of Railroad & Terminal Facilities of the Port of New York, as issued by the New York Central Railroad. It is by no means complete, as railroads would give up obsolete properties and acquire others in a different location, when needed.

Dimensions given are taken from the 1920 Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan & Recommendations issued by the New York Port & Harbor Development Commission..

An inland freight station is nothing more than a railroad owned warehouse type structure set away from the piers or offline terminals for storage of freight.

They were used by the railroads to relieve congestion at the waterfront piers and offline terminals. Therefore, a customer could pick up or drop off their shipment at the inland freight station and avoid the hustle and bustle of the pierside location, and the railroad would take care of the transportation to and from the pier and inland freight station.

The inland freight stations were also used for the long term storage of freight before consignees could come an pick up their items. Also, inland freight stations could have served to store "overflow" from pier stations when freight traffic was at it's peak.

The Erie Railroad had several inland freight stations located in lower Manhattan at Leroy, Greenwich, Watts, and Hubert Streets. These were located one or two short blocks inland from the piers stations on the Hudson River.

On September 16, 1932; the Port Authority of the City of New York dedicated the Union Inland Freight Station. This facility was also known as the Port of New York Authority, Inland Terminal #1. The Union Inland Freight Terminal was a 16 story building occupying the block between Eighth & Ninth Avenues and West 15th and West 16th Streets and opened for business in 1933.

This Union Inland Freight Station was to be occupied by no less than eight trunk line railroads:

It is understood that the purpose of the Union Inland Freight Station was to provide a convenient and unified location in Midtown Manhattan for the major railroads in the New York Area.

Inbound Freight would arrive from New Jersey via carfloat or lighter at the respective railroad's piers on the Hudson River. The freight was then offloaded and trucked to the Inland Freight Station to await pick up by the consignee / customer.

Outbound Freight would be dropped off by the consignor at the Inland Freight Station at the respective railroads area, and consolidated with other shipments for transfer to the piers. Once at the pier station, the freight would be loaded into freight cars (already on carfloats) for transport to New Jersey where the freight cars would be pulled off the carfloat and subsequently shipped to their various destinations throughout the United States.

In modern "lingo", the Inland Freight Station would now be referred to as a "shipping hub".

Handling the freight twice may appear to be a waste of labor, but considering the limited space at the piers & wharves, congestion of horses & wagons, and later trucks necessitated moving the freight transfer point away from the piers & wharves.

On 08 July 2010, I purchased an original agreement for the use of the Union Inland Freight Station, as issued to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Upon reading the agreement, I learned that it was originally intended to construct two additional Inland Freight Stations in New York City per the success of the original station. I found evidence that the Port Authority constructed the Union Inland Freight Station #2, also known as the Union Motor Truck Terminal which was located by the Holland Tunnel; and of which appears to have not been utilized by the railroads. I have also not been able to locate evidence of the City actually constructing the third location.

What makes the the Union Inland Freight Station unique, is that instead of being owned by any one individual railroad, it was owned by the City of New York, and they in turn leased space to the railroads. While the Port Authority would maintain the overall structure, heating, ventilation, electrical, and plumbing; the railroads would maintain the freight handling facilities, elevators and all specialty equipment.

What year the structure ceased being the Inland Union Freight Station remains to be discovered. However, I have found reference to it as late as 1947. Referencing the New York Harbor Terminals Map of 1961, shows the location no longer referred to as the Union Inland Freight Terminal, and the location is simply marked Port Authority Building.

The map below will provide you with a guide as to the locations of the pier stations and freight stations mentioned on this page.

Please keep in mind that this map is from 1943, and some pier stations may have been relinquished or may not have opened yet. Only the piers marked in red were railroad operated, but remember: carfloats and lighters could be spotted at any pier for a customer.

One of the confusing aspects of early pier numbering on the Hudson River, was the numbering of piers by Ward. E.g: Ward 1, which consisted of the Battery; Ward 2: Carlisle St to Barclay St; Ward 3, Barclay St to Duane St, and so forth.

Therefore, in many cases there existed piers of the same number, yet located in two different wards, I.e: Pier 5: one was located in the First Ward (Battery), and another was located by Christopher St. Obviously, this made for a very confusing system on numbering.

It is understood however, regular marine traffic did not deviate often to their assigned pier; the Erie went to an Erie pier; the White Star Line went to their pier, and so forth. Only in the cases of contract lighterage did a location need to be specified, e.g. the PRR Marine dispatcher would say to a captain, "go to the Barclay Street Pier and pick up two covered barges for Pier 8 Hoboken. This alleviated a lot of confusion for regular captains and mates, but not so much for new hires and overseas captains.

The next issue in regards tor pier numbering, is when a new pier was built between two existing piers, obviously the new pier was not sequential to the numbering: 4, 5, 13, 6, 7, 14; etc.

Because of these events, I decided to do with away with the old table of Piers below that I created in 2012, and replace it with one below. With a little time and effort, going through each and every Property Atlas and Fire Map for the Borough of Manhattan, plate by plate; in the New York Public Library Digital Collection; I compiled a numerical listing per atlas date. It wasn't difficult, but tedious.

Something else I have noticed, some pier numbers on the Atlases vary by cartographer.

One sure fire way to validate the occupancy of a pier, is to check the street at the foot of the particular pier. Very rarely was the street grid changed; so the pier (regardless of number) at the foot of Leroy Street in 1885, remains the pier at foot of Leroy Street in 1911; again regardless of the pier number.

I also added to this table, the various issues of Port Terminal Maps in my collection. This helps us show the diminishing railroad facilities over the course of the latter half of the 20th Century. It should be noted, that it appears a railroad may have vacated one pier and relocated to an adjacent pier. In some cases a railroad vacated a pier, only to reoccupy the pier at a later date.

For clarity, only those piers that were occupied by a railroad (any railroad for that matter), are shown. Do to its comprehensive nature; the table extends off screen to the right, so be sure to use the scroll bar!

I have removed pier dimensions, as there changed over the course of operation, and as some were rebuilt between numberings. Construction specifics are listed in the various Property Atlases, and in the Joint Report with Recommendation of 1920, as well as in various editions of the Army Corp of Engineers Port and Terminal Facilities. If you need such information for research, please contact me at bedt14@aol.com

After the last and final renumbering ca.1916-1920; the numbers of the piers north of Houston Street closely coincide with the street at the foot of the pier plus 40; e.g: Pier 62 is by West 22nd St., Pier 68 is at West 28th Street. Pier 72 is located at West 32nd Street, Pier 76 is by West 36th Street, and Pier 98 is by West 58th Street. This only applies to the piers on the Hudson River. It is not perfect and there are exceptions, but it is reliable enough to give you a location.

* = incomplete atlas in NYPL archives (volumes missing)
¹ = correlates to 1942 ACoE Port & Terminal Facilites, Part 2
² = inbound only
³ = MTCo = Manhattan Terminal Co.: Joint Company for B&O, LV, Erie, CNJ

When a street is listed as 26.5, this denotes the pier is located mid-block between two streets, and not physically at the foot of a street.
BH = unnumbered Bulkhead House or Freight Shed, not a pier;

B&O = Baltimore & Ohio; CNJ = Central RR of New Jersey;    CR = ConRail; CS = Chessie System;    CV = Central Vermont;    DL&W = Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Erie = Erie; EL = Erie Lackawanna;
LV = Lehigh Valley;    NJS = New Jersey Southern;    NYLE&W = New York, Lake Erie & Western; NYO&W = New York, Ontario & Western;    NYC = New York Central;    NYC&HR = New York Central & Hudson River;
NYWS&B = New York West Shore & Buffalo;    PRR = Pennsylvania; WS= West Shore

Central Railroad of New Jersey - Cedar Street Freight Station / Pier 11 - ca. 1932
E. Galloway photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Freight Station located on Pier 13 (Hudson River) was located at the foot of Cortlandt Street.

According to Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan & Recommendations, 1920, published by the New York New Jersey Port & Harbor Development Commission; Pier 13 dimensions were 882' x 100'.

The following is an excerpt from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR 1952 Directory of Industries & Facilities:

This Freight Station would share space with the Starin Transportation, Ben Franklin and New Haven shipping lines.

Erie Railroad - Chambers Street Freight Station / Pier 20 - 1942
Homer H. Poss, Jr. photo
(Mr. Poss was sightseeing in New York City prior to disembarkation for overseas duty during when he took this image.
His daughter, Sherry Fletcher; contacted me and presented this image (along with a photo of the DL&W Ferry "Ithaca") as gifts.
authors collection
added 23 November 2009

Erie Railroad - Duane Street Freight Station / Pier 21 - July 8, 1937
(with Baltimore & Ohio Jay Street / Pier 22 in background)
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009
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Erie Railroad - Duane Street Freight Station / Pier 21 - August 31, 1926
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 03 July 2009

Erie Railroad - Duane Street Freight Station / Pier 21 - July 12, 1931
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 03 July 2009
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Duane Street Freight Station / Pier 21 (left) and Pier 20 (right) - ca. 1950
unknown photographer
E. Bommer collection
added 27 December 2011

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Jay Street Freight Station / Pier 22 - unknown date
Photo taken by Interstate Commerce Commission and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Inventory Crew between 1916 and 1920.
image courtesy of Joseph De May, Kew Gardens, NY
added 19 June 2010

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Jay Street Freight Station / Pier 22 - ca. 1920's
E. Bommer collection
added 28 December 2011

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Jay Street Freight Station / Pier 22 - ca. 1920's
Note the wood brdige to carfloat platform and safety net.
E. Bommer collection
added 28 December 2011

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Jay Street Freight Station / Pier 22 - July 8, 1937
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Harrison Street Freight Station / Pier 23 & Jay Street Freight Station / Pier 22 - unknown date
Erie RR Pier 21 / Duane Street facade showing in background above Pier 22 roof.
G. Hockaday photographer
L. Kilian collection
authors collection
added 26 Sept 2009

Pennsylvania Railroad Vestry Street Produce Market / Pier 29 - October 24, 1934
(Canal Street left, Pier 29 right)
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009

Pennsylvania Railroad Vestry Street Produce Market / Pier 30 (left) Pier 29 (right) - June 30, 1932
Aerial Explorations, Inc.
NYPL Digital Archives
added 03 July 2009

The following is an excerpt from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR 1952 Directory of Industries & Facilities:

Erie Railroad Pier 48 / West 11th Street Pier Station - unknown date
(possibly Southern Pacific Company?)
image courtesy of Joseph De May, Kew Gardens, NY
added 09 June 2010
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Pier 48 / West 12th Street Pier Station - September 1972
T. Flagg photo
added 13 January 2012
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The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Freight Station located on Pier 68 (Hudson River) was located at the foot of West 28th Street.

According to Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan & Recommendations, 1920, published by the New York New Jersey Port & Harbor Development Commission; Pier 68 dimensions were 621' x 50', with a track down middle of pier.

The following is an excerpt from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR 1952 Directory of Industries & Facilities:

Even though this pier station would be flanked by Lehigh Valley and Erie Railroads, it would not be associated with a rail yard until 1960, when the Erie and the Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroads merged, forming the Erie - Lackawanna Railroad.

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Freight Station / Pier 68 - May 29, 1931
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009
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New York Central Freight Station Pier 73 (left), float bridges (center), Pier 72 (right) - ca. 1929
(looking east)
unknown photographer
NYPL Digital Archives
added 02 July 2009
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Erie Railroad (w/Baltimore & Ohio? Railroad) Coenties Slip / Pier 7 Freight Station - unknown date
courtesy of J. DeMay collection
added 26 June 2010

The following is an excerpt from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR 1952 Directory of Industries & Facilities:

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Catherine Street Freight Station / Pier 26 (East River) - unknown date
(looking north)
courtesy of J. DeMay collection
added 26 June 2010

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The Lehigh Valley Railroad maintained a Pier Station located on Pier 57 (East River). While the description accompanying this photo was marked "Pier 97", the location given is the "foot of East 47th Street", and the pier is clearly marked Pier 57:

Unfortunately, this pier is not listed in the 1920 Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan & Recommendations, published by the New York New Jersey Port & Harbor Development Commission; and no pier in the vicinity of East 47th Street is shown to be occupied by any railroad in the 1943 New York Central Railroad and Terminal Facilities Map of the Port of New York. (Matter of fact no piers are shown in that area, period.)

If in fact this pier was located at the foot of East 47th Street on the East River, it was most likely obliterated in the construction of the United Nations.

Lehigh Valley Railroad - East 47th Street Freight Station / Pier 57 (East River) - July 10, 1937
P. L. Sperr photo
NYPL Digital Archives
added 01 July 2009

Inland freight stations were essentially nothing more than large warehouses that received, stored and distributed freight by the various railroads for their various customers.

When the waterfront reached a point of saturation in relation to pier stations, and traffic to and from those pier stations, another location would be selected by the railroads to store freight for their customers. Obviously, these locations would be close enough to the pier stations as to be a short distance, but not so close as to add to the exisiting traffic congestion at the waterfront.

As not every railroad customer would be able to or have the need to pick up their freight as soon as it arrived, the freight of these medium & long term storage customers were usually sent to an Inland Freight Station to keep the limited storage space within the Pier Stations themselves free for fast turnove receiving and shipping.

Erie Railroad Leroy Street Inland Freight Station - ca. 1926
Two page centerfold advertisement of Erie Railroad Inland Freight Station Facilities in New York & Chicago from:
"The Traffic World"
Vol... XXXVIII, No. 24 - December 11, 1926
authors collection
added 14 July 2009

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Erie Railroad Greenwich Street Inland Freight Station - ca. 1926
Two page centerfold advertisement of Erie Railroad Inland Freight Station Facilities in New York & Chicago from:
"The Traffic World"
Vol... XXXVIII, No. 24 - December 11, 1926
authors collection
added 14 July 2009

(BALTIMORE & OHIO / CENTRAL RR OF NEW JERSEY,
DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN / ERIE,
LEHIGH VALLEY / NEW YORK CENTRAL,
NEW YORK NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD / PENNSYLVANIA)

I believe I can clarify some of your open questions, in particular the plans for multiple terminals and what ultimately became of this terminal.

The Port Authority conducted research identifying the source and destination of freight shipments throughout Manhattan, then used this research to divide Manhattan (south of 59th Street) into 9 "zones" of equal freight distribution density. They intended to build an inland freight terminal for each zone, i.e. nine terminals in all.

They prepared plans for the first terminal in the zone between Spring Street and Christopher / 10th Streets. But these plans were scuttled by the railroads, who worried that that location would disproportionately benefit certain railroad companies over others (due to proximity of railroad piers). So the Port Authority shifted plans to the current Chelsea location and ultimately built this building.

The railroad's, for reasons I am still somewhat fuzzy on; never liked this building and never used it very much. This, combined with the Great Depression, completely undid the Port Authority's plans for more terminals, and as such they would never build another inland freight terminal. The "Motor Truck Terminal" you mentioned, by the Holland Tunnel, was a separate initiative intended for long-distance trucking, unrelated to the railroads.

The original inland freight terminal continued on operating, well under capacity, through the 50's or so. I'm not sure exactly at what point the railroads stopped doing business there, but eventually the entire terminal area was given over to Railway Express Agency's operations. I would guess the name change from "Union Inland Freight Terminal" to "The Port Authority Building" reflected the Port Authority's trending tendency to play down the (essentially failed) freight purpose of the building. Also note that the term "Port Authority Commerce Building" always had a different meaning than the terminal.

updated: Thursday, 23 April 2026 - 0:00

update summary:	date:	location:
Hudson River pier table expanded by date	23 April 2026

East River
railroad	new pier #	old pier #	location	services	dimensions	remarks
PRR			E 125th Street	CL & LCL		at confluence of Harlem River, gone by 1956
LV			E 124th Street	CL & LCL		at confluence of Harlem River, gone by 1956
LV			Pier 57 - E 48th St	FtHs, CL & LCL, Stock Yards
NYNH&H			Pier 70 - E 22nd St			no bulkhead platform
LV			Pier 44 - Jackson St	CL & LCL	194' x 69'
NYNH&H			Pier 42 - Gouvenours Slip Pier 41 - Gouvenours Slip Pier 40 - Gouvenours Slip Pier 39 - Montgomery St Pier 38 - Montgomery St Pier 37 - Clinton St	LCL, Lighterage
NYC			Pier 35 - Jefferrson St	CL & LCL		open bulkhead
NYO&W / NYC			Pier 34 - Rutgers Slip	CL & LCL
NYNH&H			Pier 31 - Pike Slip			no bulkhead platforms
CV			Pier 29 - Market Slip
DL&W			Pier 26 - Catherine St	CL & LCL	422' x 45'	shared w/ Atlantic Fruit
PRR			Pier 25 - Oliver St		300' x 40'	joint station of LIRR/ PRR
LIRR			Pier 22 - James Slip		236' x 50'	joint station of LIRR/ PRR
B&O & PRR			Pier 21 - Dover St	CL & LCL		double deck pier
Erie / B&O?			Pier 7 - Coenties Slip	CL & LCL	571' x 80'
NYC			Pier 4 - Broad St
Inland Freight Stations
B&O, CRRNJ, DL&W, Erie, LV, NYC, NYNH&H, PRR			Ninth Avenue & West 16th Street	FtHs, CL & LCL		"Union Inland Freight Station"
Erie			Leroy Street	FtHs, CL & LCL
Erie			Watts St	FtHs, CL & LCL
Erie			Greenwich St	FtHs, CL & LCL
Erie			Hubert St	FtHs, CL & LCL

FB	=	float bridge
CL	=	car load delivery only
LCL	=	less than car load delivery only
CL & LCL	=	car load & less than car load delivery
FtHs	=	no pier - inland freighthouse only

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