Cab Ride on Conrail NHSE Across the Maybrook Line and Beacon Branch

On April 6, 1990, my step father Jim Dundon was invited to ride on the Conrail NHSE from Danbury, CT to Beacon, NY while I followed the train from the car, (you can see that video at
www.youtube.com... )
Hope you enjoy this rare view from the cab!
Tim Wakeman

[@johndileo8102]

Wow...this train went through the crossing at Crosby Ave. where I used to sit and wait with my grandmother for trains to go by as a kid. Also showed the RR bridge over Rt 202 in Brewster as well as the bridge over the Metro North Line at Towners, NY. What a great video, thank you.

[@ssmontemaniac84]

Thank you for this great video. I remember watching trains on this line as a kid. I sure miss Conrail. Too bad that line is shut down and exempt.

[@SWITCHMASHER]

I RODE THIS LINE IN THE 1950'S WITH MY GRANDMOTHERS BOYFRIEND WHO WAS A NYNHHRR OPERATOR. BROUGHT BACK GOOD MEMORIES

[@vonmazur1]

Guys: I hired out on PCRR in 1972 and rode from Devon to Maybrook several times. It was an initiation ritual to ride on top of a box car over the Poughkeepsie Bridge, both ways....It was not all that thrilling, as I did two tours of duty in Nam as an Army Aviator, before joining the Penn Central....but I am happy that I got to see the whole Maybrook before the PC management burned the bridge...(Yes it was arson by the PCRR.) The particular guy who did is now deceased...

[@HarrisonPeloso]

The line could still be used today. If Metro north sends trains from Brewster to Beacon they could still have normal service on the line. This would not cost over 200 million dollars for repair and stations for the scenic people to enjoy during the summer time. This could work because Brewster connects just shortly after Southeast.

[@DH7409]

@yonkersrails Thank Jim for taking this! CHEERS!

[@MrZeldalove]

I'll bet that route in the Spring and Summer when the trees are out, is a scenic paradise. Track looks pretty good, too.

[@DH7409]

Tommy Thomason It has not been used in years. A walking trail is next to it in much of the line. MNCR has control for possible east/west service

[@777fuzzypeach]

Perfect compliment to the Penn Central Historical Society magazine article about operations on this line! Thanks very much for this!

[@mariowalling]

thank you for posting this up - I pass the end of this in Beacon and wonder where it went - worked out at a plastics plant near Whaley Lake and this was it. It would be great to see this get some use again.

[@Striljr]

i used to take rides on this line, but only from dykemans (Brewster) to danbury, ct. Pretty cool ride, but the train only went about 25-30 mph, being that the track was in bad shape. And it actually goes farther than Danbury. It actually goes all the way to New Haven, CT.

[@robertgift]

Nice! Thank you, DH, for sharing this.

[@DH7409]

You're welcome!

[@PaulHoffman-w9y]

Awesome video. Recently, I emailed the Governor to ask her why this rail road sits one step above abandonment, instead of being used to generate income for the cash strapped MTA which owns the right-of -way. This is not an obscure logging railroad, located somewhere in the remote regions of Oregon. I recommended that she invite short line operators to take a look at this route for passenger service to/from Danbury, CT, or perhaps even an alternate Amtrak / CSX route to NYC. Since there are no industries to service in NY any longer, I thought that this was a good idea. If Governor Hochul ever bothers to get back to me, I'll update this post. But I wouldn't hold my my breath waiting.

[@JaneKetcham]

Amazon and a few other companies now have distribution centers in the old ibm site…imo it’s ridiculous that these tracks sit unused..

[@russbonk1372]

At approx. 13:15 timing is where this Maybrook line went straight on up to Poughkeepsie and across the Poughkeepsie Bridge. Now it's a walking trail. And if anyone reading this would like to visit the restored Hopewell Depot it's JUST up a little farther from this point at the site of the old diamond East/ West...North/ South of former Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticutt.

[@cilva7able]

Even in the nineties trains didn’t go through often. I also noticed that when you crossed the Hudson line before merging there were only two tracks. Maybe at that time there were only two tracks 9n the Hudson line north of croton Harmon; because for the last thirty years since I’ve been riding metro north there has always been three tracks between Poughkeepsie and Croton Harmon.

[@douglasalan5783]

Excellent video!

[@cilva7able]

Route 82 crossing in Hopewell Junction NY at 14:30.

[@DH7409]

Thanks for your insight. You should stop by the Maybrook RR museum some w/e and chat with the old heads there. I'm sure you might know them. There is usually someone there running the place that worked Maybrook-New Haven. They are only open during winter months.

[@digger3102]

great video, I posted a picture of the big steel bridge in Brewster that goes over metro-north track on Facebook abandoned rails, is the video of car still available, i can't seem to find it, thank you

[@mtc6191]

"Nice" keep them coming!!!

[@DH7409]

You are correct. I did use the youtube stabalizer because many scenes were just too shacky for viewing.

[@Eric-zi1oz]

Im glad we dont have to lug those huge camcorders around anymore and deal with tapes degrading..

[@trainengineerrick]

What are the industries along the line? At 12.5 min is a small yard with tracks still intact, do you know what industry this is and Where on the line it is?

[@russbonk1372]

Hopewell Junction. Former Bry Dain (spelling?) lumber...currently Williams Lumber. Was part of a larger yard that served this lumber yard as well as several others.

[@geeps08]

I like the video but it looks like it a digital stabilizer corrector was used. Is it possible to show the un-edited version?

[@Eric-zi1oz]

This is excellent stuff... Old double tracked NH mainline to Maybrook NY.

[@leecornwell5632]

IM glad that Maybrook Connecticut kept the train tracks and they were smart enough not to remove the tracks like they did to the Hudson Putnam county line and they had removed the train tracks instead of leaving the tracks to make it to a trail. What they should of did is to leave the train tracks alone and just added the trailer along side to tibbitsbrook park and just put a fence or a crossing railroad lights . IF you ride to tibbitsbrook park you will see a lots of train tracks old ties.

[@mister70s]

Thanks for this great post.....My parents had a cabin on Whaley Lake years ago....but I think the tracks that you were video taping from ran adjacent to the tracks along our cabin.....I looked for the overpass just above our cabin and didn't see it in the video.....is it possible that there were two different sets of tracks at Whaley ??

[@DH7409]

THere was only one set of tracks. If there was an overpass at one time, it may have been removed.

[@mister70s]

If it's OK ....I took a few photos of the tracks and bridge that ran along side our cabin....I'd like to send them to you....The best way to describe where the cabin was.....From Route 55 there was the sign pointing to Whaley Lake.....once you turned and made your next left there was a set of tracks that you crossed by car....drive down the road a couple of miles past where all the motor boats and docks are and there 's a green railed bridge...as you go over it and look down there's tracks...those are the tracks I'm referring to...but Im not sure if they attach to the ones you corss over a few miles back.

[@twake8790]

Paul Dimarco Ah yes! How could I forget? The main road, 292. My step father might not have been recording at that point.

[@DH7409]

T Wake Ah yes! How could I forget? The main road, 292. My step father might not have been recording at that point.

[@tommyrail67]

very cool.

[@MrZeldalove]

What kind of locomotive is that? It's a G.E., right? The ones in the beginning of the clip look like C40-8's. This one's nose looks rounder - like a C30-7.

[@DH7409]

Tommy Thomason They are GE C32's

[@skiscool]

16:05 train pulls into Beacon near the site of the old Tuck Tape factory

[@je19662008]

When was the branch from Hopewell Junction to Beacon abandoned?

[@je19662008]

I don't think so because I remember being in Danbury in 1988 and there were still trains running down the Maybrook line through there. The Poughkeepsie line across the Hudson had already been closed for 14 years at that time and there was no where else for trains to go except the Hopewell-Beacon line.

[@godawgs88100]

je19662008 1992 or 3

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

They have finally petitioned to abandon this line in it's entirety.

[@cilva7able]

Are you staying up until now? They were still using it, because I was under the impression they stopped using this in the mid 90s.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

@@cilva7able The trail people want it. It's not been in regular usage.

[@russbonk1372]

22:07-crossing over the River Line trackage on its' downhill ride to junction.

[@train5974]

That's actually the Hudson line. The river line is on other side of river.

[@cilva7able]

@@train5974 The metro North line at the time had only two tracks, now it has three.

[@reubenthegreat-s8w]

so do any trains run this route today?

[@realisticfsxpilot2215]

Around homes does it split into like two tracks

[@DH7409]

RealisticFSX pilot Not that I know of. The freight main split off at Hopewell Jct.

[@DH7409]

@mrkeithphoto No, but Metro North owns it and would like to make an east/west corridor connecting their east of Hudson routes one day.

[@leecornwell5632]

That's what they are doing now . Even though they they ripped the Hudson Putnam county line and they have the Greenway Putnam trailer they are definitely t Planning on what side they are going to lay down the tracks and cutting down the trees. I had saw them right where they had the old box fraigt car and they had there planning cameras. I had seeing that twice three times in in 2021 2022.

[@TheZeke1974]

Looks like its mostly OOS according to Google..

[@kevinwestcott76]

Is this the firmer L&HR?

[@DH7409]

No, this is the New Haven freight main east of the Hudson.

[@KM3W]

Camels! I love Camels!

[@meccaturbo]

Shacky?