The ROW pictured in the aerial photo is part of the original 1880-1881 routing of the Put. Most of it is still visible to some degree. It veers from the current Put route in the Beaver Hill area. It starts approximately where the parking area is opposite the UPS warehouse in Elmsford. It runs through the parking lot for the buildings that house MK tire and the Poland Spring distributor and continues almost parallel, but at a slightly higher elevation, to the current Put routing until right after you cross under the power lines. The 1880 route veers west into the hillside between the Put and the Saw Mill Parkway. It appears that some of the original route was obliterated when the parkway was constructed. The ROW appears again on the western side (southbound lanes) of the Saw Mill where it goes through a rock cut that is just south of the location of the southern abutment of the trestle.
The there were a couple of reasons that the New York & Northern decided to change the routing:
1. Most passengers were scared to death of crossing over the wooden trestle. In fact during the inugural run people were wagering on whether or not the train was going to make it across the without the trestle collapsing.
2. The 1880 routing had a somewhat steeper grade than the 1881-1930 route. When a northbound train reached Elmsford/Beaver Hill a second engine had to be coupled to the train in order to make it to Pocantico. One engine didn't have enough power. When they reached the trestle the helper engine was uncoupled and made its way across. The rest of the train then crossed the trestle. The second engine was coupled again and the train made it's way to Pocanitco. The use of two engines per train was probably viewed as a very inefficient way to run things.
Tom Curtin wrote:Today, there's a milepost alongside the bikeway less than a mile north (compass north) of East View --- 21, or 22, I forget which. It is a concrete post, not the usual carved stone ones the "old" NYC used, and must have been put in for the 1930 reconstruction. It has a piece missing.
There are no doubt all kinds of archeological finds along that bikeway if you concentrate on looking for them. I know there is a fully intact telegraph pole or two ---- crossarms and all --- north of Millwood
There are other mile markers still in place. 6, 37, and 46 are still standing.
I've also spotted a couple of concrete whistle posts.
There are numerous telegraph poles along the line in various states of disrepair especially on the southern portion of the Put. A few still have numbers tacked to them. I've even spotted a glass insulator or two.
There are still a few small segments of intact trackage if you know where to look.
The ghost of the Put has many stories to tell if you're willing to listen and keep an eye peeled.
Jon
