Старая железная дорога "Олд Пут" в Нью-Йорке

Former rail line in New York
the railroad nicknamed Old Put

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 New York & Boston Railroad (NY&B) was chartered on May 21, 1869 to build a line from Highbridge on the Harlem River in New York northeast to Brewster. At Brewster connections were to be provided to the New York & Harlem Railroad for travel north to Albany, and to the Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad to Boston. The railway would see several name changes and reorganizations before construction commenced. The New York, Boston & Northern Railway (NYB&N) was formed on November 18, 1872, as a consolidation of the NY&B with two companies to the north — the Putnam & Dutchess Railroad (P&D) and Dutchess & Columbia Railroad (D&C). The P&D was a plan for a line to split from the New York and Boston at Carmel to a point midway along the D&C. The D&C opened in 1871, running from the Hudson River to the Connecticut border. The Clove Branch Railroad was to serve as a short connection between the two parts of the planned line. The New York, Boston & Montreal Railway was organized on January 21, 1873, as a renaming of the NYB&N. It continued north to Chatham on what is now the defunct section of the Harlem Line and then used the Harlem Extension Railroad into Vermont. The Panic of 1873 caused the cancellation of the leases and mergers on December 1 of that year. Construction on the P&D and D&C stopped; D&C later became part of the Central New England Railway, the Harlem Extension became a part of the Rutland Railroad, and the Clove Branch Railroad was abandoned in 1898. The New York, Westchester & Putnam Railway was formed on July 3, 1877, as a reorganization, and was leased to the New York City & Northern Railroad (NYC&N), formed on March 1, 1878. Between East View and Pocantico Hills, the NYC&N built a segment leading to a perilous 80 foot high trestle over a marsh filled valley. Because of the dangers of crossing the bridge, which often required that trains slow down to a crawl, the line was rerouted west around that valley in 1881. The bridge was torn down in 1883, and the valley became the Tarrytown Reservoir. The line finally opened under the original plan, ending at Brewster, in April 1881. That year, the New York & New England Railroad opened to the north, using some of the grade built for the P&D and D&C. The West Side & Yonkers Railway was leased to the NYC&N on May 1, 1880, extending the line south across the Harlem River to the northern terminal of the Ninth Avenue Elevated at 155th Street. It was merged into the NYC&N by 1887. In the 1910s, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) of the New York City Subway purchased the bridge across the Harlem River to move its elevated lines north into the Bronx, cutting the NYP back to Sedgwick Avenue. The Yonkers Rapid Transit Railway was opened in 1888 as a branch from the NYP at Van Cortlandt northwest to Yonkers. It was merged into NYP by 1887.

The company went into receivership by 1887 and was reorganized as the New York & Northern Railway. By 1894 it was reorganized as the New York & Putnam Rail Road Company (NY&P) by J. P. Morgan, who in turn leased the railroad to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (NYC&HR). The Sedgwick Avenue Van Cortlandt section and the Yonkers Branch were electrified in 1926. Several short branches were eliminated after the 1920s. The Mohansic Branch near Yorktown Heights, originally built to serve a mental institution that was canceled by Albany, went first. In 1929, John D. Rockefeller Jr. had the tracks removed from his Pocantico Hills property, eliminating four stations while creating one. The nearby village of East View was obliterated to build the new line. The Getty Square Branch was abandoned on June 30, 1943. Despite a legal battle by Yonkers residents which reached the United States Supreme Court to save it, the line was scrapped in December 1944. The first diesel locomotive passenger train in the U. S. ran on the Putnam on March 18, 1929. Besides the regular Sedgwick Avenue–Brewster service, service also operated from Golden's Bridge on the Harlem Division via a connecting branch to Lake Mahopac, and then over the Putnam Division to Brewster, where it returned to the Harlem Division. Trains taking this route were said to go "around the horn".

NYC saw the Putnam Division as a dispensable stepchild. The line lacked a second track, electrification, commuter parking and direct service to GCT, all of which the parallel Harlem and Hudson Divisions had, resulting in declining patronage. In 1956, the New York Central asked for permission to discontinue service on the line. On May 14, 1957, the Public Service Commission allowed a 15 percent increase in fares, but required that service be run on the Putnam Division on a limited basis. On March 12, 1958, the Public Service Commission authorized the NYC to end passenger service on the Putnam on June 1, 1958. At the time, the line had less than 500 daily riders, and discontinuing the line was expected to save $400,000 annually. The last trains ran on May 29, 1958, as there was no weekend service on the line. Service "around the horn" via the Harlem Division's Lake Mahopac Branch continued until April 2, 1959. Until 1962, when NYC's West Shore Railroad was upgraded, the Putnam served oversize freight trains, due to the lack of tunnels on the line. Tracks between East View and Lake Mahopac were removed in 1962. NYC merged with long time rival Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central (PC) in 1968. Freight service on the northern part of the Putnam ended in March 1970. The southern end of the line remained in service until the closing of the A&P warehouse in Elmsford, in 1975. The decrease in traffic from Stauffer Chemical cut back the line to Chauncey by 1977. Conrail took over the bankrupt PC in April 1976, but had no plans for increasing business. The last customer was the Stella D'Oro bakery in the Bronx, which stopped using the railroad in 1989, after which Conrail wanted to sell the right of way to the city and Westchester to reduce its tax bill. The station in Millwood remained until 2012, but it was torn down in May 2012 due to structural instability. The station in Elmsford serves as a restaurant. The Yorktown Heights station had its exterior restored and is the centerpiece of the town park. The station in Lake Mahopac has been an American Legion Hall since 1965. The freight house in Baldwin Place and the station in Tilly Foster remain but are on private property. Skeletal remnants of the Van Cortlandt station remain in Van Cortlandt Park.

The Getty Square Branch still shows evidence of its existence, with vestiges of the railroad and stations, and neighborhoods exhibiting characteristics of transit oriented development. Getty Square station, originally a head house and train shed, was replaced by an office building, which still stands and is ornamented on its exterior and in its lobby with images of locomotives. The long right of way is part of the trail system in Van Cortlandt Park, including the bridge that carried the branch over the Henry Hudson Parkway. Old railroad ties can be found along the right of way. The right of way within New York City ends at a parking garage for an apartment building in Yonkers. To the north of the apartment building, another parking lot was built. The bridge over the adjacent street was walled in where the ROW used to pass underneath. Abutments of the former branch can be found at School Street across from Herriott Street, McLean Avenue near South Broadway, and the former Lowerre Station on Lawrence Street at Western Avenue. The former Caryl Station on Caryl Avenue between Saratoga and Van Cortlandt Park Avenues, with the tunnel into Van Cortlandt Park walled off by cinder blocks, is now the Caryl parking lot and playground. A lot of the intrusions on the branch were from the expansion of outside storage from adjacent industries, which broke up the right of way in many places, especially in Yonkers. and on Alta Avenue north of Overcliff, and the home of the railroad's president, also on Alta Avenue. North from the Yonkers New York City boundary, the path of the route generally follows the path of the Saw Mill River Parkway until it reaches East Irvington.

NOTE: Stations along pre 1918 Manhattan terminus and pre 1931 Tarrytown Heights alignment are shaded in darker gray. LocalityMilepostStationLat/longNotes/ConnectionsManhattan155th Street TerminalOriginal terminal from 1881 to 1918. Putnam Bridge across the Harlem River; taken over by IRT Ninth Avenue Line in 1918The Bronx0.0Sedgwick AvenueNYC Transit: Connected to former IRT Ninth Avenue Line station and West Side/High LineHighbridgeNow the Highbridge Maintenance Facility. Morris HeightsUniversity HeightsFordham HeightsMerged with University Heights Station in early 20th CenturyHudson & Putnam Lines splitKings BridgeSomewhere between 225th Street and 231st Street; Not to be confused withthe Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad station of the same name.4.82Van CortlandtInside Van Cortlandt ParkJunction with electrified Getty Square BranchWestchester6.52Lincolnat McLean Avenue8.09DunwoodieAt Yonkers Avenue east of Dunwoodie Golf Course9.44Bryn Mawr ParkReplaced in 1995 by Palmer/Bryn Mawr Market10.50Nepperham11.92Gray Oaks12.01Nepera Park13.02Mount Hope13.86Chauncey14.72ArdsleyOff NY 9A between Saw Mill River Parkway and New York State Thruway. WoodlandsSmall wooden platform and opened shelter with canopy along Woodlands Lake.16.60WorthingtonCurrent day bike path does not pass the station location. Station looked similar to Crafts station.18.14ElmsfordCurrently a restaurantBeaver HillWooden shelter designed as a flag stop for former Fairview Golf ClubOriginal alignment from short lived 80 foot high Eastview Trestle segment began here (1880 1881).20.41EastviewOriginal pre 1929 relocation line began here. Tarrytown HeightsBuilt March 1882; First station along Tarrytown Heights alignmentwest of East View station and original NY&P alignmentTower HillBuilt November 26, 1881; Second station on former alignment westof Tarrytown Reservoir existed here until 1931Pocantico HillsBuilt November 26, 1881; Third station along former alignment nearRockefeller Estate and Tarrytown Reservoir existed here until 1931Original alignment from short lived 80 foot high Eastview Trestle segment ended here (1880 1881). WhitsonsFourth station along previous alignment. Replaced in 1931 by Graham station on new alignment23.92GrahamCreated by 1931 relocation, Original pre 1929 alignment ended just north of here. Open shelter that was proposed for major expansion which never occurred.27.04Briarcliff ManorCurrently the Briarcliff Manor Public Library.30.44Millwood32.52Kitchawan33.57Croton Lake35.04Croton Heights36.76Yorktown HeightsAt Railroad Park on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally containeda coach yard and an engine service facility. Connection to Mohansic Branch37.94AmawalkAmawalk's station agent was eliminated on February 8, 1935.39.96Granite SpringsPutnam42.25Baldwin PlaceConnection to Mahopac Mines Branch44.38Lake MahopacCurrently an American Legion HallConnection to Lake Mahopac Branch and NYC's Harlem Division45.13Mahopac47.20Crafts49.58CarmelSouthern terminus of unbuilt Putnam & Dutchess Railroad.51.84Tilly FosterOriginally built for the Tilly Foster Mine, which closed in 1897. Station continued to operate.53.82Putnam JunctionNot a station, connection with Harlem Division and Brewster Yard; included bridge toBeacon Line (a. k. a. CNE Highland Division) until 1907. BrewsterLine continues along NYC's Harlem Division

LocalityMilepostStationLat/longNotes/ConnectionsThe Bronx0.0Van CortlandtBeginning of Getty Square BranchPutnam & Getty Square Branches splitMosholuAbandoned 1926YonkersCarylNorth of Caryl Avenue Bridge, which still exists today. LowerreSouth of Lawrence Street between Western and Van Cortlandt Park Avenues.3.0Park HillConnected to former Park Hill Incline funicular railroad3.2Getty SquareLine abandoned in 1943

LocalityMilepostStationLat/longNotes/ConnectionsWestchester0.0Yorktown HeightsPutnam Line & Mohansic Branch splitMohansic State HospitalN. A. Never built. Branch was abandoned when the hospital project was cancelled before station was constructed. Line abandoned in 1917

LocalityMilepostStationLat/longNotes/ConnectionsPutnam0.0Baldwin PlacePutnam & Mahopac Mines Lines splitMahopac Falls4.0Mahopac MinesSeldom used by customers. Also had a turn table and water tower. Line abandoned in 1931

LocalityMilepostStationLat/longNotes/ConnectionsPutnam0.0Lake MahopacPutnam Division connection0.40XCUnmanned junction where the Lake Mahopac Branch crossed the Putnam Division. Westchester3.00ShenorockFlag stop, 9/10 mile west of Lincolndale.3.91LincolndaleStone station building.7.22Golden's BridgeHarlem Division connectionLine abandoned in 1959