NH Central New England Railway rarities

Ken, those are fantastic. Most of those locations, except Campbell Hall, are less than 25 miles north of where I was born in Bedford Hills, and Brewster is only 12 miles north. My uncle lived near Millerton, although I remember him having plenty of water even though the CNE apparently did not....mg:

The CNE interchanged with NY Central's Harlem Division at Brewster, and paralleled the Harlem until it crossed over on a double-track bridge at Towners towards Hopewell Jct. and the Hudson River crossing at Poughkeepsie.

BTW, IBM had labs and factories at both Fishkill and Beacon, and they may have used the CNE before it went belly-up.

Consider sending a PM to Peirce Behrendt. He might be interested in this CNE history since it had a strong presence in Danbury, CT, and he's heavily involved with the Danbury train museum.

 

Hopewell Jct. is an honest-to-gosh for-real place according to those Master Cartographers, Messrs. Rand, Mc, and Nally. It surrounds the intersection of NY State routes 82 and 376, about 12 miles southeast of Poughkeepsie, NY, and about 25 miles northwest of Danbury, CT. I believe the town was merely "Hopewell" when the original NY&NE route ran from Danbury to a car ferry terminal at Beacon, NY. However, when the CNE absorbed the NY&NE in 1893-94, a new line was built from Hopewell to the newly finished Hudson River bridge at Poughkeepsie. When the bridge line was opened, the Beacon line became a branch, the car ferry was discontinued, and Hopewell became Hopewell Jct., at least according to various "experts"......:teeth:

My fondest memory of Hopewell Jct. is from the summer of 1947, when, at the tender age of 12, I was a passenger in a Luscombe Silvaire being flown by my 8-year older brother. As we were approaching Hopewell Jct., we saw a westbound NH freight with two gorgeous(!) FA's growling upgrade towards the Hudson River bridge........sigh :angel: (Yes, they were growling! We had throttled back, had the windows open, and were slow-flying about 300 feet above those lovely smoking beauties! :shade: )

Now, what other miscellaneous trivia can I foist upon you.....mg:

 

A Camera? It was right after WWII, who the H... could afford a camera? Awright, so we pooled our Bucks for an hour's worth of fuel. It was either fuel or a camera, and without the fuel, who needed a camera?

So sue me, awreddy! :laugh:

 

CNE Route Map - 1901

I have located a 1901 CNE route map showing most, if not all the locations of the above orders.

 

Brewster was "off-line" from the CNE only in an accounting sense. By the early 1900's, the CNE and the NY&NE were more like half-siblings, i.e. different surnames, but with the same genes, or was it the same surname and different genes......? :embarassed:

According to a 1912 railroad map of the Brewster area*, the NY&NE, on its way from Danbury to Hopewell Jct., entered the Brewster area at the south end of the New York Central Harlem Division Brewster Yard. It interchanged with the Harlem, and branched with a bridge over the Harlem to meet the NYC Putnam Division on the west side of that bridge. The NY&NE station and freight house were also at that location. The NY&NE main continued north along Brewster Yard's east boundary for a ways before separating east about a half-mile on its way to bridging the Harlem at Towners, 5-1/2 miles north of Brewster.

The map identifies the northbound main line as "NYNH&H, Highland Div. [many spaces] NY&NE (C.N.E. Ry)".

* Ref. Page 154, The Coming Of The New York And Harlem Railroad, Louis V. Grogan

Now I bet you're sorry you asked, aren't you......:teeth:


Edit - here is a thorough write-up and many, many good photos of the New Haven's "Maybrook Line", i.e. the NY&NE between Brewster and Poughkeepsie. http://www.lakemirabel.com/Railroad/MaybrookDutchess.html

Stormville (see photo of station) is the location of the airport where my brother (and I) flew in '47.

 

I was able to follow the NY&NE roadbed from Brewster to the Hudson River Bridge by using the Google Earth link in the write-up. I am amazed that all the ROW is still visible in recent satellite (aerial?) images, except for one very small building complex in Poughkeepsie. It's also interesting to see the various twists and turns the line took to round hills and valleys. In two locations, it turned more than 180 degrees.

 

Here's what I've found... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_New_England_Railway . The CNE&W is discussed about 1/4 of the way down the page, under the heading "Poughkeepsie Bridge: 1871-1899". The corporate maneuverings and intrigue sound very much like a Carnie's Shell Game.....mg:

Thanks to you and your flimsies, I am learning a great deal about railroad history in southern New York State and western Connecticut, all within 75 miles of my birthplace and much of my youth.... :shade:

 

Apparently this kind of corporate maneuvering and manipulation was rampant throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic during the last half of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Thanks to you, I'm just learning of the intrigues of men like Commodore Vanderbilt and J.P. Morgan. But how the B&M's owner(s) loosely played with rules during that time period was disgusting. Many small town entrepeneurs were encouraged to charter and build 10-20 mile point-to-point short lines without the first clue of how to build and run a railroad. The B&M owners would wait until the shorties declared bankruptcy, then pick up the charters for "a bottle of whiskey and a box of cigars"....of course it was called a "Lease", or something equally barely legal. From what I've read, this is how all of the railroad empires became so large.

Have you had the chance to read The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869, by Stephen Ambrose? It is a thoroughly researched and well written insight into the founding, funding, construction, and corruption of building the CP and UP to Promontory.

 

And "Fishkill" it is still today. I know of many "Villages" within the 100 mile commuting distance of New York City that dropped Village from their names years ago so as to appear more sophisticated. Now most are regretting it because of our society's desire to restore the small friendly community image, which becomes a more desirable (and expensive) real estate market. :sad:

Those flimsies are in excellent shape for their age. It's fun comparing them to the maps we've found. I'm learning of communities I never knew existed. I'm sure you're beginning to suspect that I had a very sheltered childhood, and correctly so......:embarassed:

BTW, Stephen Ambrose lived in Bay St. Louis, MS, a mere 20 miles west of me. His CP/UP book, although ~500 pages, is a fast read, and thoroughly enjoyable. Would it be available from a library in your area, or from an on-line lending facility?

 

Why are you asking me? You've already introduced me to more than I knew existed..... :embarassed:

:teeth: