New York and Harlem Railroad

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New York and Harlem Railroad
Map
New York and Harlem Railroad (red) and
standard gauge

The New York and Harlem Railroad (now the

Murray Hill Tunnel now carries a lane
of road traffic, but not the buses.

The line became part of the

trackage rights granted to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad into Manhattan. It is now part of the Metro-North Railroad system, and the only Manhattan
trackage of that system. As of 2017, Metro-North operates commuter passenger service from Grand Central Terminal, via Southeast (change from electric to diesel power), to Wassaic. The trackless right-of-way from Wassaic to Chatham is being converted to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

History

The New York and Harlem Railroad was first built from the original

Poughkeepsie.[7]

In 1831, when the New York and Harlem Railroad received its

Westchester County, and then was authorized by the New York State Legislature to be further extended northward in order to create a connection with Albany. [7] On May 12, 1846, a new competitor received its charter to build a railroad alongside the Hudson River between New York City's lower Manhattan west side and Albany, backed mostly by wealthy Poughkeepsie manufacturers and merchants. (It was completed to Albany on October 3, 1851, after a great amount of costly blasting, filling and tunneling the craggy eastern shore of the Hudson River.) The Harlem Valley's directors started to worry that Boston would have a competitive advantage over New York City for the expanding "western trade."[7]
An easier and less-costly inland route, also to be named "Harlem Valley", was thus created.

Construction

An 1847 map of Lower Manhattan; the only railroad in Manhattan at that time was the New York and Harlem Railroad

The company was incorporated on April 25, 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad, to link New York City with suburban Harlem.[9] Among the company's founders was John Mason, a wealthy banker and president of Chemical Bank who was among the largest landowners in New York City. They decided to build their railroad on the eastern side of Manhattan Island, convinced that it would never be able to compete with steamboat traffic on the Hudson River.

The first section, along

Prince Street north to 14th Street, opened on November 26, 1832.[10]
After that, the following sections opened:

Between 1847 and 1856, a track was built in Grand Street between Centre Street and Bowery (along with one block on the Bowery) for northbound trains.[15] Southbound trains continued to use the old route.

In 1864 or 1865, a branch was added for trains between downtown and the

horse car
service, running between Astor House and the ferry.

Grand Central Depot opened just north of 42nd Street
in October, 1871, and intercity passenger trains from the north were ended there. Freight trains continued to operate along the tracks south of Grand Central, as did streetcars (still turning off at 42nd Street).

Operation and control

Railroad trestle work, between 100th & 116th Streets on 4th Avenue, New York, c. 1870
Gold Bond of the New York and Harlem Railroad, issued 19 April 1917

As in other

early railroads, the dominant propulsion in the railroad's early years was horse power. In 1837, steam engines were introduced, but their use was limited to areas outside of the heavily settled parts of the city, which was then north of 23rd Street.[16]

The New York City

32nd Street. When the ordinance took effect, the NY&H had not done anything. After much debate, including an injunction issued preventing the city from enforcing the ordinance, the courts struck down the injunction on July 30, 1858.[17][18]

In 1864, the railroad was purchased by

Hudson River Railroad to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad: a precursor of the much larger New York Central Railroad.[16]

On July 2, 1870,

Harlem
.

On April 1, 1873, the NY&H leased its freight lines to the

Penn Central and Conrail. Metro-North Railroad
took over the line in 1983.

The first electric

Metropolitan Street Railway
leased the streetcar lines.

Receivership and conversion to bus operation

Port Morris Branch
.

The

Metropolitan Street Railway
on July 31, 1908. The lease was terminated on January 31, 1920, with operation returned to the NY&H.

On October 10, 1932, it was leased again, this time to the

convert the line to bus operation
. The stockholders voted to do this on February 19, 1934.

An approximation of the route is now traveled by

Murray Hill Tunnel
now carries a lane of roadway, but not the buses.

See also

References

  • Railroad History Database
  • General News,
    New York Times
    December 15, 1863 page 4
  • New York Times
    December 26, 1865 page 8
  • Local News in Brief,
    New York Times
    November 1, 1871 page 8
  • Quicker Surface Transit,
    New York Times
    December 6, 1896 page 16
  • New York & Harlem Intact for Century,
    New York Times
    May 25, 1930 page 39

External links



References

  1. ^ "mta.info | Facts and Figures". web.mta.info. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "First Street Car - The John Mason - Wonders and Curiosities of the Railway (1884)". todayinsci.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Julien Electric Traction Car The Electricall Review, via Google Books
  4. ^ US patent 384447
  5. ^ US patent 384580
  6. ^ a b "History of the Railroad". www.southeastmuseum.org. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Railroad and Local history". www.hvrt.org. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  8. ^ "Brewster Railroad History". www.southeastmuseum.org. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  9. ^ David T. Valentine (1866). A Compilation of the Existing Ferry Leases and Railroad Grants Made by the Corporation of the City of New York, 1866. Edmund Jones & Company. pp. 345–346. specifically, the "power to construct a single or double railroad or way from any point on the north bounds of Twenty-third street to any point on the Harlem river...to transport, take, and carry property and persons upon the same by the power and force of steam, of animals, or of any mechanical or other power, or any combination of them..."
  10. ^ a b c New York and Vicinity Railroad Map from 1860 (BrooklynRail.net)
  11. ISBN 0-9621206-5-0
    .
  12. ISBN 0-9621206-5-0
    .
  13. ^ The Harlem Division: New York Central System Historical Society
  14. ^ Port Morris Branch
  15. ^ "Railroad Is King". The New York Times. September 24, 1856. p. 2. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  16. ^
    ISBN 0300055366
    ..
  17. ^ "Steam Below Forty-Second Street". The New York Times. July 2, 1856. p. 8. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  18. ^ "The Harlem Railroad Company vs. The City and Police Commissioners". The New York Times. July 31, 1858. p. 4. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  19. ^ "Madison Avenue Railway". The New York Times. July 3, 1870. p. 5. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  20. ^ "New-York's First Electric Car". The New York Times. September 18, 1888. p. 8. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  21. ^ Carman, Harry James (1919). "The Street Surface Railway Franchises of New York City". Columbia University (Ph.D. thesis). pp. 204–220.
  22. ^ "American Street Railway Investments". 15. New York: Electric Railway Journal; McGraw Publishing Company. 1908: 237–244. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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