Marble Hill and Spuyten Duyvil: The Penn Central Hudson Divison in New York City, 1969-1970

[@paulbruno8327]

Living in Riverdale in the 60s my favorite pastime was hanging out at Spuyten Duyvil. I got to see the last run of the 20th Century Limited December 3, 1967. One time I was hanging out on the bridge so long the guy forgot I was there and the Circle Line came and he opened the bridge while I was on the bridge lol. Usually they would yell that they had to open the bridge and I would get off. I remember in the mid 70s the inbound side of the Marble Hill station fell into the River! Sooo many memories…Thanks for posting!

[@BG_Lidar]

I have watched this at least 3 times. It's fascinating. Thanks for this!

[@ronaldhowell7427]

In the early 70's there was freight trains on the putnum side in the early 70's. Every Saturday or Sunday morning we would jump on a freight train, we would get off at tibits brooks, go swimming. In the afternoon the same freight train would come back, going back into the city. We would get on and get off at 225 street [ Marble Hill Projects ] Great fun,.

[@haroldbeck4351]

Once in the 70's I was walking along the Putnam Line tracks right by the causeway that goes over the Saw Mill River at V. Everette Macy park the causeway is just south of the dam. I was much surprised to see a freight train coming north. I'd occasionally go to this park (was a kid at the time) to fish. It was the only time I ever saw a train on that line in my infrequent visits.

[@haroldalexis4200]

This is Why I'm so proud of being a railroader I lived in the Mott Haven / Melrose section & saw all these fleets on the Harlem lines and crossing under CARDINAL HAYES HIGH SCHOOL which at that time The Pullman Yards shared grounds, housing and schools campuses tower over that long forgotten sight and yards! The P & T motors I can't believe only one survived in a museum, surprise they were running into The Amtrak era as Penn Central headed towards bankruptcy! The 1920's MUs I remember them briefly I thought they ran on the New Haven lines 🤔. But I have so many memories as a little boy, as The P & T motors disappeared the FL9 started to appear on all 3 divisions! How I respect those units I miss them dearly as well. The Pullman Standard washboards until the 1st Budd M1 cars. This railroad even into METRO NORTH & Amtrak era is valuable history to my heart. The rocks that surround Marble Hill and curve north was once a Manhattan and Bronx connection rocks long before the Broadway Bridge was invented it was destroyed to make a path waterway from the Harlem River to the Hudson River. Amazing these films bring so much joy and my interests grows & grows. As a modeler in many scales I want these past relics on my layout platforms & scenery. Thank you for this film. 🙂👍

[@richardmacdowell4815]

Prior to leaving for the military in '68, I got to see both the New York Central, which eventually merged with the Pennsylvania, and I also watched the new "PC" operate past U.H. And I remember the P-2s in "electric" striping. But again, watching the 20th Century Ltd make its final run to Chicago, had to be the most fabulous part of my train watching on the NYC/PC. Again thanks for your great video.

[@anatolib.suvarov6621]

I especially liked the shots from on the high bridge. It looked like a model railroad. Really great!

[@trainluvr]

Good choice of 1967 music.

[@richardmacdowell4815]

I knew these stations, but I mostly hung at the University Heights station. I grew up on Cedar Ave, a stone's throw from the U.H. station. Watched many trains of all descriptions pass this station, many carried by P-2 Electrics, whereas in the dark of night various freights/piggybacks running past carried by any variety of diesels. But the greatest time there was the last night of the 2oth Century's run, and I stood on the northbound platform as the limited rounded the curve, raced past the platform on the commuter track. That was January 1967. Thanks for this great video!!

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Did you see my video about the building of the Harlem River Ship Canal? I did it as a sort of a history lesson for myself before I did this one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raHdiqOqftFoetE

[@richardmacdowell4815]

I did watch it. And I learned things I wasn't aware of! Your presentation is very informative and sheds great historical light on this area and what has taken place there over many years. Again, a great presentation. Thank You.

[@virmico1]

The trains of my youth growing up in Westchester. What a wonderful film. Thank you for sharing.

[@Mastertech6]

I Grew up on this line(DOBBS) My best memories are standing in the front car center window going into the city, all pretending i was the engineer. the best was the absolute maze of track work under park ave going into grand central.Never forget. thanks for sharing

[@seanycarr3226]

Now if I'm not mistaken, this trackage is now part of CSX with Metro North Commuter Railroad anchoring the former NYC from downtown New York to Poughkeepsie with its suburban commuter runs. And if I'm not mistaken, Canadian Pacific has trackage rights on this line to Montreal from Philadelphia with service to New York. And from Montreal, CP operates to Toronto and possibly Chicago from Detroit.

[@ronaldhowell7427]

Wow, I know where this is at. I came from Marble Hill Projects. My friends use to jump off of C rock when the circle line would come by.

[@Koolguykai]

Amazing piece of history!

[@alheitzer2438]

Wonderfully informative video ... thanks!

[@RalphPCvids]

Great vintage footage and background info! I especially appreciated the explanatory scenes with the map and the views from Henry Hudson bridge. Nicely done!

[@tjcassidy2694]

I lived in Riverdale 1965-68 when I was 4-7 and visited the area from time to time in later years. I remember my father rode those olive-drab MU commuter trains (I called them "green whales") to and from work. I had no idea the P-5s lasted as late as 1970. I wish I could remember them.

[@LibertyRailfan]

Great video thank you sharing a lot of history here..

[@VMA225]

Well Done, Marble Hill !!!

[@danhartnett6604]

Great vedio thank you for sharing.

[@dannyjones3840]

Wow, thanks for sharing this! My dad used to take me fishing and I caught my first striper at Spuyten Dyvil when I was about 8 lol. I used to climb on a couple of old cars they had staged in a siding just north of the bridge after the wye. I always wondered why the tracks for the wye stopped suddenly, now I know. Brings back memories of those summers in the early 80's.

[@EmpireBeltRR]

Very nicely done and very informative. Thanks for posting!

[@cnosprandt5155]

Great video! I grew up in Tarrytown and took the train in often but never quite understood the route through Riverdale into the Manhattan. The view from the HH made gave clarity. Thanks for throwing n the Columbia "C" on the cut!

[@arnoldstollar5375]

Remarkable complex nyc. Trains. I went on these trains to visit Pete Seeger, at His ‘Clearwater’ boat, n 1967. ,Hudson River.

[@nitramretep]

I used to live on Palisades Avenue overlooking Spuyten Duyvil, I remember taking that awful train twice a day!

[@anthonycameron2067]

I was young enough to view p motors fl9 and turbo,s on the park ave viaduct on 112th street before 125 a fan always

[@trenoking]

I find this fascinating, thank you.

[@ronaldhowell7427]

I was there in the 50's, 60's & part of the 70's. I then join the U.S.A.F

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

If you're interested Marble Hill-Spuyten Duyvil history, check out my video on the building of the Harlem River Ship canal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/raHdiqOqftFoetE

[@bourbonbeaucoup1872]

Incredible video of NYCRR operations the great curve at Spyton Duyvil connecting Mangattan with the continental United States. This curve is the same one where in 2013, a train travelling at three times the posted speed limit derailed causing 4 deaths and 61 injuries. It was the first casualties in the history of the Metro-North. This incident instigated a federal action to force the railroad to immediately install positive train controls that would have automatically limited the speed to the posted limits as federal regulations required to have been installed years earlier.

[@williamschlenger1518]

Great clips.😊

[@mrblue028]

Great video!

[@thisguy4135]

The Marble Hill station now is totally unrecognizable compared to what it was back then

[@johnscanlan9335]

They moved it!

[@thomaskauffman96]

I was on the train going by Jacob's nose on my way to my sister's in Ossinging the next day heard of that awful wreck on the news, guess I was lucky!!!!!

[@1940limited]

Fascinating!

[@vondumozze738]

I'm glad that I subscribed. This is another great video of the time of PC. I grew up in Bergen and Passaic County, but as far as the NYC, my aunts and uncles lived in West Haverstraw with the end of the commuter run in their backyard. I'd like to see some videos or even stills of that, but I think it was before your time. If you have any links to that era, please give me a shout.

[@Bob.W.]

Thanks.

[@monica012077]

Awesome!

[@seanycarr3226]

FlexiVans were the forerunner to the stack trains of today hauling the likes of J.B. Hunt, Schneider, Cosco, Hapag Lloyd, CMA CGM and others.

[@johnpaulkane5480]

In 1969 I lived on Anderson Avenue near Yankee stadium I lived on 231st Street and Broadway in the 1980s I remember coming over on the bridge the one of the nine train you look left and you could see the C on that big giant rock

[@Redhand1949]

Well done.

[@haroldbeck4351]

I see at 2:41 that the Marble Hill platform was still east of the Broadway Bridge at this time. I thought the station was moved a lot earlier. OK, a few seconds later in the video what I just noted is stated by the narrator. I'm commenting as I watch...

[@rapturebound197]

Good stuff!

[@TheAnunnaki-NYC]

I wish I was able to go back in time and get a chance to ride the old "put" line to Brewster and even "Getty Square" but alas I was born only in the early 80's and long missed those opportunities but I did have a chance to walk through the Freedom tunnel as some call it on the west side line. Does anyone remember what freight yard existed on the south end of the Riverside park tunnel?

[@BlackPrincess4L]

Yes, the 60th Street Yard. The line then ran through the open cut where Amtrak trains run today, to the 30th Street Yard, which is now LIRR's West Side Yard. Then the line became elevated and ran over what is now High Line Park, but the line went past Gansevoort (where the High Line ends today) to St. John's freight terminal near Canal Street.

[@tracksofnyc]

@@BlackPrincess4L yes, New York Central's Rail Yard...was it also called the 72nd St. Yard?

[@michaela.chmieloski3196]

@@tracksofnyc I do believe 60th Street Yard and 72d Street Yard on the West Side Line are actually one in the same. Looking at a New York Central sketchbook track map shows the two streets are the physical southern and northern limits of the yard respectively. Usage goes back and forth, perhaps depending upon one's point of view as to where the yard begins--60th or 72d Street.

[@maunster3414]

Fiddler on the Roof sign. 3:57

[@kristianl7797]

What happened to the track that connected the Empire Connection to the Hudson Line?

[@bigstuff52]

How old were you when you took these if you don't mind me asking..Absolutely wonderful video....I was a senior in high school 69-70..

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

Too young to drive, but not by much.

[@trapezemusic]

Very well done. Thanks for posting. I wish you had a similar video focusing on the The NYC Putnam Division, or do you?

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

Sorry, but I don't. By the time I had a movie camera, the Put was pretty moribund. Most of the traffic was flour hoppers going to the Stella d'Oro plant.

[@BlackPrincess4L]

You don't remember the A&P warehouse in Elmsford and the trains tying up Route 119? LOL..

[@dannyjones3840]

I used to walk the Put as a kid. One time I started from the old Yankee stadium stop, or end of the line, all the way up to Fuddruckers in Yonkers. This was in the early 90's.

[@clinthowe7629]

May of 1969 same month and year I was born 05/05/69

[@andremorrsion6491]

where was the west side freight delivering to ?

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

Industries in lower Manhattan, car-float operations, etc.

[@andremorrsion6491]

@@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo - Thank you i remember as a kid 1980-81 seeing the old station platform on 125th street right next to the hwy which is still some debris to date also the large train yard that became Trump properties . I also remember the high line extension that was built for Lirr yard around this time

[@buddmetroliner200gaming3]

What if you did one with sounds

[@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo]

Super 8 sound film did not come out until a few years after I took these shots. And I'm not sure my budget could have afforded it.

[@buddmetroliner200gaming3]

@@SpeedGraphicFilmVideo did you hear the first geniration nyc central electric units traction motors when u recorded it

[@kristianl7797]

3:34 Spite in die vul

[@RaisedLetter]

Electricfication

[@arnoldstollar5375]

Spit of the devil