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INDUSTRIAL & OFFLINE TERMINAL RAILROADS
OF BROOKLYN, QUEENS, STATEN ISLAND, BRONX & MANHATTAN:

WEST 37TH STREET FREIGHT STATION - PIER 77 & 78
Manhattan

(PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD)

Pier Station Hudson River Thirty Seventh

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Visitors please take note ! The collection of images on this website, which continues to grow; is due to the unprecedented and selfless contributions of the current owners of photo archives. These people made their generous contributions to this website in good will, and allowed me to post their images online for the entire railroading community to view and appreciate, in admiration of these Fallen Flag Railroads. In return, I strongly request that you please respect the ownership copyrights of those said images. Other than that, please enjoy the history, thanks for taking the time to visit, and don't forget to sign the guestbook on the main page!  ~ Phil

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INDEX

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Overview

   The date for the start of operations of this facility is unknown, but it is prior to 1897.

   According to the 1920 Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan and Recommendations by the New York, New Jersey Port and Harbor Development Commission; the following figures are given.

Pennsylvania Railroad - West 37th Street

   Aerial photos of this area dated 1924 show this facility in place and active.

Fairchild Aerial Survey Photo -1924
NYPL Digital archives

   This facility would close circa 1975.

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Property & Trackage

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   The 1885 E. Robinson Property Map seen below, is the earliest map located thus far that shows the presence of the Pennsylvania RR in the vicinity of West 37th Street in Manhattan.

   This "presence" is merely a structure located at the corner of West 35th Street and Twelfth Avenue, and is clearly marked for Pennsylvania Railroad and appears to be a simple bulkhead pier station. It should ne noted that this structure is two blocks south of where the Pennsylvania RR  West 37th Street Fregiht Yards would actually be located. That property appears to be multitude of semi improved lots. Also, take note that Twelfth Avenue ends at West 37th Street. The E. Robinson map legend denotes the following.
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• blue structures are of iron construction,

• pink are of brick construction, and

• yellow are of wood construction:

E. Robinson - 1885

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   The 1891 edition of G. W. Bromley Property Map shows that the basin between West 38th and West 39th Street has been partially filled in and Twelfth Avenue has been extended to connect with West 38th Street. This map also shows that the Pennsylvania Railroad now owns most of the block bordered by West 37th and West 38th Streets and Twelve & Eleventh Avenues with the exception of the row of structures along Eleventh Avenue.

   This map reflects no trackage or float bridge for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and while the West Shore Railroad property located one block south does not show trackage either, we know from the Robinson map above, it in fact does, and this map also reveals the outline of the float bridge and finger piers for the West Shore facility.

G. W. Bromley - 1891

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   By 1897 edition of the G. W. Bromley Property Map, the outlines of a float bridge and finger piers  for the Pennsylvania Railroad are shown, a pier shed ( in  light yellow with light blue border) and a structure at the foot of the float bridge (also in light blue with light blue border) has been constructed and marked "Penna RR Co". Oddly, no trackage is shown, for either the Pennsylvania or West Shore Railroad, yet we know the trackage existed.

G. W. Bromley - 1897

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   By the next edition of the G. W. Bromley Property Maps, (1909) trackage is now shown for the Pennsylvania RR, and West Shore Railroads. We can also see that the Pennsylvania Railroad has already crossed West 38th Street and expanded to the next block north:

G. W. Bromley - 1909

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   According to the legends on the G. W. Bromley map indexes;
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•  pink structures denote brick construction,

•  yellow structures are wood frame construction,

•  light brown denotes stone / concrete construction, and

•  yellow with blue outline denotes iron or metal sheathed wood construction.

   I have included these construction types to give the reader a better sense of the many types of structure compositions that existed in these freight terminals.

   By 1909, the West 37th Street Yard were quite large and contained a great variety of amenities and services, and in this authors opinion, this location was one of the better equipped Offline Terminal Freight Stations located in Manhattan.

   In viewing all the G. W. Bromley Property Maps above, we can see that Twelfth Avenue ended at West 38th Street and a basin interrupting the right of way of that avenue.

   We can also see that the Pennsylvania Railroad occupied Pier 77 (then numbered 67), but did not occupy Pier 78 (former Pier number 68), and we can see the close proximity of the West 37th Street Freight Yard to its rival West Shore / New York Central Railroad, just across the street to the south. We also see the triangular cattle pens existed at this early date as well as coal pocket and the original freighthouse.

   In comparing the aerial image from 1924, and the 1950 Valuation Map below, the Pennsylvania Railroad expanded this facility a great deal when the block of buildings between West 39th and West 40th Streets would be razed. This would make room for the construction of the twin diagonal freight houses and an additional four tracks.

   On 30 June 2009, I located the following images in the New York Public Library Digital Archives. The first photo is dated March 17, 1929 and shows the unique lattice frame overhead gantry crane at the Pennsylvania Railroad West 37th Street Freight Station. According to the 1950 ICC Valuation map seen below, this overhead gantry crane has a 30 ton capacity rating.

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   The next two images, while also from the NYPL Digital Archives, are erroneously marked for New York Central Railroad in the description, although it is without question that the structure in the photo is marked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

   The tall structure in the center of the image (behind the box truck) is the ventilation shaft for the first Lincoln Tunnel tube. The Empire State Building can be seen on the extreme right edge of the photo.

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   Considering the other offline terminals a little farther south in Manhattan (Erie, Lehigh Valley and Baltimore & Ohio), and upon the Pennsylvania Railroad's expansion to the block between West 39th and West 40th Street; the west 37th Street Freight Yard would become the largest offline terminal in the borough.

1950 Pennsylvania RR Valuation Map

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   By 1950, as seen in the Pennsylvania Railroad Valuation Map above, this facility offered: 

• three freight houses,

• a two track thirty ton capacity overhead gantry,

• livestock pens,

• float bridge / carfloat service

• carload and less than carload shipping and storage

• two freight sheds located on the bulkhead, and of course

• Pier Stations on Piers 77 and 78.

   The image below, is an aerial photograph taken 1954. From left to right on the west side of the West Side Highway, we can clearly see: 5 loaded station / platform carfloats moored to both sides of  Pier 77, the shadows of the twin float bridge gantries, what appears to be a centercab switcher parked by the north wall of the bulkhead shed, flanking the float bridge lead tracks.

   On the east side of the West Side Highway, we see the triangular stock pens, the twin diagonal freight houses and the long narrow freight platform (running south east / northwest almost the entire length of the terminal) and the original freighthouse in the bottom right corner of the image.

   The grid like object running lengthwise through the middle of the property is excavation work for the south tube of the Lincoln Tunnel, of which construction started in 1951 and completed in 1957. The larger open area towards the left of the opening will be the east ventilation shaft, visible in the 1966 aerial photo below, as the long shadow in the middle of the property.

United States Geological Survey Aerial Photo -1954

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   By 1966, Piers 77 and 78 would be razed and square building built to the north, and an extra wide pier to the south (out of view in the image below), and it is it is not known if the Pennsylvania Railroad was the occupant of either this new pier and / or structure.

United States Geological Survey Aerial Photo - 1966

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   During 1970, a track connection would be installed between this facility and the former New York Central West 36th Street Yard across the street to the south. Both these yards at this date would be under the ownership of the Penn Central Railroad, and this track connection eliminated the need for the float bridge at this location. Therefore, the West 37th Street float bridge was taken out of service in 1971.

   The photographs below, taken just prior to the installation of this track connection are in all probability, the last images taken of the West 37th Street float bridge in use.

September 1970 Looking west under the West Side Highway at the float bridge and float bridge lead tracks from the freight yard. A. Roberts photo

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September 1970 Standing under the West Side Highway and looking east. The lattice girder bracing and supports of the 30 ton travelling crane can be seen over the nose of the locomotive. A. Roberts photo

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   It is unknown on what date the freight stations closed, but by 1980 the property is most decidedly vacant, with the structures appearing dilapidated and the float bridge and gantry completely gone.

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Pier Station

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   As mentioned above, the Pennsylvania Railroad West 37th Street Freight Yard was opposite to Pier 77 and 78, which served as Pier Stations for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

   These piers are visible in the 1924 Fairchild Aerial Survey Photo above and would demolished by 1966, in the United States Geological Survey aerial photo of that year.

   These piers would accept and ship car load and less than carload freight. Freight would be transferred directly to and from the freight cars while loaded on the carfloats and moored to the piers.

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Float Bridge

   The float bridge located the Pennsylvania Railroad West 37th Street facility, was a double apron overhead gantry type, which was quite unusual for a single float bridge location.

   It is believed that this would be the only type of float bridge installed at this facility.

   It is unknown on what date it was removed, but by viewing an aerial photo dated 1980, the float bridge and gantries are completely gone.

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Locomotive Overview

   It is not known what steam locomotives were assigned to this yard, and with the Pennsylvania Railroad constructing and / or owning rather large fleets of steam powered switchers, it is unlikely any one locomotive was assigned permanently to this facility.

   As for gasoline and diesel - electric locomotives, we currently know of three, and again, based on the large fleet of locomotives fielded by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it is very likely many more operated here.

   The three locomotives known to work at this facility, are PRR #3905, PRR #3906 and PC #9369 seen below. We know there must have been other locomotives to have worked at this facility, but photographs and documentation are disappointingly lacking at this time.

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#3905

   #3905 is no stranger to the the offline terminals of New York area, as this locomotive has also been photographed in 1946, working the Pennsylvania Railroad's offline terminal located in Brooklyn, the North 4th Street Freight Station.

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#3906

   Previously, it was thought that #3906 was assigned to another part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, outside of New York. This is now known to be partially untrue, as the photographs below clearly show #3906 operating at the West 37th Street facility in 1936.

   It is now apparent with #3905 being photographed at the West 37th Street facility as well, that both locomotives could very well be found at either facility, even though at this time we have no photographic proof of #3906 ever having been operated at the North 4th Street Freight Station.

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#9369

   The Allan Roberts photos of #9369 below provided a few hours of minor angst, followed by a a few moments of joy for this author.

   I have never been real knowledgeable regarding the Pennsylvania, New York Central or Penn Central Railroads. While Pennsy had a few locomotives I am fond of, (all their electric models, and a few of their weird experimental steam designs), I freely admit to not being very adept at researching the "common" locomotives.

   Making matters worse, was the merger with New York Central forming the Penn Central. Making matters even more frustrating, was the conversion and merging of New York Central locomotive classification system with Pennsylvania's into the Penn Central's! (i.e: Penn Central #9369 was an ALCo model S3. As New York Central #901, this was a DES9 class. The Pennsylvania Railroad class for this model locomotive was AS6m, and while the Penn Central classed this locomotive as an AS6m as well, it was never a PRR locomotive!)

   But those are just some of the problems incurred in and with research of this type. Then, at one o'clock in the morning, with a foggy brain and blurry eyes, I had a brain storm: reference my copy of "Penn Central System Bi-Annual" by Robert H. Reid. Sure enough after a few minutes of excitedly flipping pages, I found the AS6m roster which, is listed by manufacturer's model: ALCo S3! Simplicity in itself! (Thanks Mr. Reid, wherever you are...)

   So #9369 had been identified, and its builder's information and its New York Central heritage listed.

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West 37th Street Freight Station (PRR) Locomotive Roster

Locomotive Footnotes:

[a]	The following information is courtesy of Sam Berliner's website (with J. F. Campbell information) and Pennsy Power II  (A. Staufer &  B. Pennybacker); #3905 was completed Altoona Shops, 5/22/1928. It was originally equipped with an 8-cylinder solid injection 500 HP Diesel engine (4-cycle) purchased from Bessemer Gas Engine Co of Grove City, PA, and a Westinghouse model 476 generator and 355 traction motors. Testing in the Altoona yards proved that the Bessemer Diesel engine couldn't handle the intended tasks so it was replaced with a Winton model 148 gasoline engine rated at 400 HP, as was {done to} their second unit (#3906) #3906 was built a year later. Both locomotives retired prior to 1959. .
	PRR #3905 & #3906 (A6) specifications: weight: length: horsepower: gear ratio: starting tractive effort: continuous tractive effort: maximum speed: continuous speed: 130,000 lbs. 26' 10" (coupler - coupler) 400 hp 76:16 32,500 lbs. 7,500 lbs. 20 mph 16 mph
[b]	In the 1954 aerial image above, a centercab locomotive appears to be "parked" next to north wall of the bulkhead shed, just off the float bridge lead tracks.

Sam Berliner has a remarkable website on Boxcab Locomotives. Please feel free to visit at:

S. Berliner Boxcab Index

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Marine Vessels & Equipment

   Being a Pennsylvania Railroad operation; the Pier Stations and float bridge would have been serviced by the Pennsylvania Railroad marine fleet

   Keeping in mind the significant fleet of marine equipment that the Pennsylvania Railroad owned and operated, a Marine Roster on this website would not be beneficial or justified; and therefore will not be forthcoming.

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