Beacon Line
Beacon Line | |
---|---|
standard gauge |
The
On February 26, 2021, Metro-North announced it would file with the Surface Transportation Board to seek an adverse discontinuance of the Housatonic Railroad's trackage rights over the line, allowing MNR to abandon the line and convert it to an interim trail.[4] In recent months, several studies have been underway to bring Metro-North service between Danbury and Southeast.[4]
History
The Beacon Line consists of parts of two former railroads. The western portion is the
Passenger service on the Beacon Line ended in 1927.[5]: ES-1
The Maybrook Line was the main east–west freight service of the
The portion west of Hopewell Junction to Maybrook was placed out of service when a fire damaged the Poughkeepsie Bridge on May 8, 1974. Penn Central diverted traffic to the lightly-used Beacon Secondary and upgraded it. Freight traffic was abruptly halted in 1992 when
The refurbished Poughkeepsie Bridge, originally opened on January 1, 1889 with a total length of 6,768 feet and a height above the Hudson of 212 feet, is now a New York State Park, Walkway Over The Hudson, completed in 2009. The remainder of the Beacon Line has also been placed out of service in a cost-saving measure.[7]
Reactivation study
In October 2000, Metro-North undertook a feasibility study to determine whether it was operationally, financially, and economically feasible to restore passenger service to the line between Hopewell Junction and Brewster. If service was to be operated, during peak hours, trains would run directly to Grand Central, while they would run as a shuttle during other times, ending at Southeast. Additional population growth in Dutchess County led to interest in using the line for passenger service. Using projected population growth, projected 2020 daily ridership was to be 3,060. The introduction of the line would reduce ridership on the Wassaic Branch by 20% and on the Hudson Line by 4%. Ridership would be poor, as it would continue to be more time-efficient for people to take Interstate 84 to Southeast where they could transfer to much more frequent electric service. $25 million would have been needed for rolling stock. Two shuttles would run exclusively on the Beacon Line, while three Upper Harlem Line trains would have been extended from Southeast to Hopewell Junction. The construction of a storage yard would have also been necessary if service were to be started. The four station candidates were located at Hopewell Junction, Taconic State Parkway, Green Haven at Route 8, and West Pawling at Route 292. The stations would cost $54–72 million due to the high cost of wetlands mitigation, and because of the possible requirement of a grade-crossing elimination.[5]: ES-1 to ES-10
The line's speed restriction clearly hampers its ability to attract ridership. Four strategies were considered for raising the speed from 25 miles per hour to 59 mph. The three discarded options were: rebuild the existing track with wooden ties and with welded rail; rebuild the track with superelevation but reduce curvature within the right-of-way; or to disregard right-of-way constraints and to take property to straighten the line. The best option was to rebuild the track while super-elevating curves, reducing travel times from 42 minutes to 31 minutes. Nine bridges along the line would have to be rebuilt, and grade crossing protection would have to be installed.[5]: ES-10 and ES-11
Since service on the line was not deemed to be cost-effective, it was not recommended to reactivate the line at the time.[5]: ES-13
Route geography
The Beacon Line's western terminus is a short distance south of the
Between the Hudson and Harlem lines, the Beacon runs a winding route, visible from many highways in
In Towners, the Beacon Line crosses the Harlem Line but there is no interlocking between the two lines here. Rather, the Beacon Line turns south, running nearly parallel to the Harlem Line for a few miles as they straddle Ice Pond. A single-track connection runs northeast from the Harlem Line to the Beacon Line in this area.
Continuing south from this junction, the Beacon Line continues nearly parallel to the Harlem for several miles, turning eastward in Brewster. Here, the line again passes under I-84 twice and then under Interstate 684. Despite the line's limited usage, grade crossings are avoided in Brewster.
Heading east from Brewster, the line runs almost parallel with I-84 and U.S. Routes
Current and future use
Metro-North added fiber-optics along the Beacon Line in 2007 as well as signal bungalows at many grade crossings from Beacon to Dykemans. Currently Metro-North operates a facility along the line in Stormville to train
The Beacon Line serves[citation needed] as a route to move trains between Metro-North's various service and maintenance facilities, without the need to move trains to New York City, the only other place all three east-of-Hudson lines are connected. The Housatonic Railroad owns the portion up to the Connecticut-New York border, and possesses the rights to use the entire line. However, the high cost of maintaining a line that does not generate revenue is a chief reason the Beacon Line is not used often. Steep grades over Stormville Mountain are an additional deterrent, especially if longer trains were to be moved.
Many have advocated reactivating the line for passenger service. Although no such service is currently contemplated, it was one of the reasons for the purchase of the line.[2][10]
On the morning of March 7, 2011, when heavy downpours washed out part of the right-of-way on the Danbury Branch just south of Bethel, 5 locomotives and 25 rail cars were stranded in Danbury Yard. Because these trains were needed for passenger service and the repairs were expected to last at least two weeks, the MTA decided to move the equipment over the Beacon Line to the Harlem Line just north of Brewster, where the trains were moved south to the Mott Haven Wye, where they were sent back up the New Haven Line to Stamford for passenger service. Multiple cars were coupled, with the trains operating at restricted speed.[11]
One current use of the line is as the
In February 2021, Metro-North filed to abandon a 41-mile (66 km) segment of the Beacon Line between Beacon and the New York-Connecticut border, pursuant to the Housatonic Railroad's trackage rights being resolved. This would allow for the extension of the Empire State Trail.[16] Housatonic indicated its opposition to the proposed abandonment.[17] The two railroad companies began discussing a settlement of the issue in September 2022.[18] The Housatonic Railroad notified the Surface Transportation Board it was no longer opposing the abandonment in January 2023, and the MTA sought approval to convert the line into a rail trail.[19] The STB denied Metro-North's abandonment and trail conversion request in July 2023, citing procedural and legal issues with the filing.[20] Metro-North again filed for abandonment in December 2023.[21] The filing was approved and took effect in February 2024.[22][23]
Station listing
There is no current passenger service on the Beacon Line. The station stops listed (from west to east) are according to railroad timetable and serve as "control points". They may or may not conform to historical stops nor planned locations for any future service. Passenger service ceased in 1927.[24]
NOTE: Stations along original D&C line are shaded in darker gray. Former passenger stations on current portions of the Beacon Line include the following:[25]
State | Milepost | City | Station | Opening date | Connections and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NY | Beacon | Beacon
|
Terminus near New York Central Railroad to the north originally Fishkill Landing | ||
Dutchess Junction | junction with New York Central Railroad (Dutchess Junction) to the south originally Matteawan | ||||
Dennings Junction | junction with Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad spur to Dennings Point; 1868-1870[26]
| ||||
Beacon | Matteawan | Wickopee Junction splits the line between Dutchess Junction and Fishkill Landing | |||
Glenham | Glenham | at Washington Avenue near Old Town Road. Currently a Metro-North "control point." | |||
Fishkill | Fishkill | Currently a Metro-North "control point." | |||
Brinckerhoff | Brinckerhoff[27] | ||||
Hopewell Junction |
Hopewell Junction | junction with NYNH&H ). Currently a Metro-North "control point."
| |||
Stormville
|
Stormville | ||||
Green Haven | Green Haven | ||||
Poughquag | Poughquag | Near the Appalachian Trail, which is also a Metro-North "control point." | |||
West Pawling | West Pawling | ||||
Whaley Lake | Whaley Lake | ||||
Holmes | Holmes | Currently a Metro-North "control point." | |||
West Patterson | |||||
Towner's | Towners | bridge over New York and Harlem Railroad (NYC) | |||
Harlem Junction | Not a station. Junction with New York and Harlem Railroad (New York City) | ||||
Dykemans
|
Dykemans | Currently a Metro-North "control point." | |||
Brewster | Brewster
|
junction with New York and Putnam Railroad (NYC) and New York and Harlem Railroad (NYC) | |||
CT | Danbury | Mill Plain | |||
Fair Grounds | Conditional station for the former Danbury Fair | ||||
Danbury
|
junction with NYNH&H ). Currently a Metro-North "control point."
| ||||
Maybrook Line continues to Derby, Connecticut |
Hopewell Junction is not listed as an abandoned station, as, though it was a Maybrook Line station, its location placed it on the now-abandoned stretch from Hopewell Junction to Poughkeepsie. Throughout the entire Beacon Line, all platforms were low-level, with one track, non-electrified.[28]
References
- ^ "Usage Rights". HRRC.
- ^ a b Lombardi, Kate Stone (February 5, 1995). "Metro-North Buys A Line for Future". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Final Review of ... Operating Budget Results. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 1994. p. 9.
- ^ a b Ryser, Rob (November 27, 2021). "Danbury leaders float a new train station on the west side with a reopened Maybrook line". News Times. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Beacon Line Feasibility Study" (PDF). October 20, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Lombardi, Kate Stone (February 5, 1995). "The Maybrook Line And Its Rise and Fall". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Pierce Haviland's Beacon Line page
- ^ "map of Metro North trackage" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ Namako, Tom (November 10, 2009). "MTA Dogging It - Upstate". New York Post. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Scherer, Ron. "Railroads try to prevent a 9/11 on the tracks; Some train passengers face airport-style bag screening, an effort that could go nationwide.(USA)".
- ^ "Danbury line to be out of service for two weeks | Trains Magazine". TrainsMag.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
- ^ "Panel to discuss $1.5 million in bonds for Phase III of rail trail". Poughkeepsie Journal. August 4, 2009.
- ^ "Maybrook Trailway". maybrooktrailway. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ^ "Maybrook Trailway". traillink. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Carey, Peter. "MTA Metro-North Railroad Announces Opening of Major Segment of Empire State Trail in Putnam and Dutchess Counties". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Digest: New Coaster locomotives, refurbished cars debut". TrainsMag.com. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Digest: Austin transit agency halts rail operations". TrainsMag.com. February 15, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Simms, Jeff (September 30, 2022). "Beacon Hopes to Move Rail Trail Forward". The Highlands Current. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Simms, Jeff (March 31, 2023). "Is Lawsuit Next Stop for Rail Trail?". The Highlands Current. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ "Surface Transportation Board Decision: Docket No. AB 733 (Sub No. 1X)" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. July 13, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2023.
- ^ "Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company – Abandonment Exemption – In Dutchess and Putnam Counties, New York, STB AB 1311 (Sub-No. 1X)" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. December 21, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2023.
- ^ Surface Transportation Board (January 10, 2024). "Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Dutchess and Putnam Counties, N.Y." Federal Register. 89 (7): 1622–1623. 89 FR 1622
- ^ "Corrected Decision* – Decision and Notice of Interim Trail Use or Abandonment – Docket No. AB 1311 (Sub-No. 1X)" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. February 8, 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2024.
- ^ "The Railroads in Patterson 3". www.historicpatterson.org. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ The New York, New Haven & Hartford Timetable for the Maybrook Line (Patterson New York historical web-site)
- ^ Denning's Point (Brick Collecting.com)
- ^ "Central New England Railway Map". Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ Metro-North: Beacon Line (Station Reporter; Archived Link)
- THE WORLD ALMANAC AND BOOK OF FACTS 2019, Other Notable North American Bridges, Page 723
- Trains Magazine November 2018 Issue, A Century of Survival, New England rail freight in the post industrial age by Brian Solomon, Page 48
External links
- Photo Essay of May 2001 Beacon Line Trip
- Photo Essay of August 2002 Beacon Line Trip
- Advocacy Site for the Beacon Line to be used by the City of Beacon Archived January 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad on Google Maps
- Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad (Mayberry Line) on Google Maps