Harlem Valley Rail Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 26 mi (42 km) |
Location | Dutchess and Columbia counties, New York |
Trailheads | Wassaic and Taconic State Park |
Use | Hiking |
Website | hvrt.org |
Trail map | |
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail is a paved rail trail on an abandoned portion of the New York and Harlem Railroad, north of the hamlet of Wassaic and accessible by train, one mile north of the start at the Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line terminus in Wassaic. It is owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). It is maintained through an agreement between OPRHP, Dutchess County and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, a private not-for-profit organization.
The former New York and Harlem main line was acquired by the New York Central Railroad in 1864, and became part of the Penn Central Railroad (PC) in 1968. After PC declared bankruptcy in 1970, passenger the service between Dover Plains and Chatham ceased by 1972, though freight service continued over the line until 1976, when it was abandoned between Millerton and Ghent. The rest of the line was abandoned in 1980, but Metro-North restored service between Dover Plains and Wassaic in 2000. The abandoned rail line was converted into a public park in 1989. [1] The rail trail first opened in 1996 and reaches It has been expanded northward to Taconic State Park) with plans for an extension to Chatham. [2]
Metro-North Railroad, trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York. Metro-North serves the New York Metropolitan Area, running service between New York City and its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut, including Port Jervis, Spring Valley, Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, White Plains, Southeast and Wassaic in New York and Stamford, New Canaan, Danbury, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and New Haven in Connecticut. Service in Connecticut is operated under contract with the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Metro-North also provides local rail service within the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx.
Wassaic station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in the town of Amenia, New York. It is the northern terminal of the Harlem Line.
Tenmile River station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Amenia, New York.
Dover Plains station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Dover, New York.
Harlem Valley–Wingdale station on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in the Wingdale section of Dover, New York. It is adjacent to the site of the former Harlem Valley State Hospital.
The New York and Harlem Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States, and was the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 between Lower Manhattan Island to and beyond Harlem. Horses initially pulled railway carriages, followed by a conversion to steam engines, then on to battery-powered Julien electric traction cars. In 1907, the then leaseholders of the line, New York City Railway, a streetcar operator, went into receivership. Following a further receivership in 1932, the New York Railways Corporation converted the line to bus operation. The Murray Hill Tunnel now carries a lane of road traffic, but not the buses.
The Harlem Line is an 82-mile (132 km) commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower 53 miles (85 km) from Grand Central Terminal to Southeast, in Putnam County, is electrified with a third rail and has at least two tracks. The section north of Southeast is a non-electrified single-track line served by diesel locomotives. Before the renaming of the line in 1983, it eventually became the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad. The diesel trains usually run as a shuttle on the northern end of the line, except for rush-hour express trains in the peak direction.
The New York and Putnam Railroad, nicknamed the Old Put, was a railroad line that operated between the Bronx and Brewster in New York State. It was in close proximity to the Hudson River Railroad and New York and Harlem Railroad. All three came under ownership of the New York Central system in 1894. The railroad was abandoned starting in 1958, and most of the former roadbed has been converted to rail trail use.
The Housatonic Railroad is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and has since expanded north and south, as well as west into New York State.
Wassaic is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Amenia, Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 210. Located in southeastern New York in the valley of the Ten Mile River, Wassaic is bordered to the east and west by mountain ranges.
Taconic State Park is located in Columbia and Dutchess County, New York abutting Massachusetts and Connecticut within the Taconic Mountains. The state park is located off New York State Route 344 south of Interstate 90 and 110 miles (180 km) north of New York City. It features camping, hiking, bicycling, hunting, cross county skiing and other recreational opportunities.
Union Station served the residents of Chatham, New York, from 1887 to 1972 as a passenger station and until 1976 as a freight station. It was the final stop for Harlem Line trains. It had originally served trains of the Boston and Albany Railroad, then the New York Central Railroad and the Rutland Railway. It served as a junction for service that radiated to Rensselaer, New York, to the northwest; Hudson, New York, to the southwest; Vermont, to the northeast, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts to the east and New York City, to the south.
The Millerton station is a former New York Central Railroad (NYC) station on the NYC's Harlem Division that served the residents of Millerton, New York.
The Coleman's station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of North East, New York.
The Boston Corners station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Ancram, New York.
The Copake Falls station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Copake, New York.
The Hillsdale station was a former New York Central Railroad Harlem Division station that served the residents of Hillsdale, New York.
The Philmont station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Claverack, New York.
The Martindale station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Hillsdale, New York and was the next stop on the Harlem Division after Craryville.
The Craryville station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Copake, New York. It is currently located along New York State Route 23 in the hamlet of Craryville.
41°50′53″N73°32′58″W / 41.84806°N 73.54944°W