Hell Gate Bridge @ 100

Amtrak related; lest we forget who owns He'll Gate Bridge:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/nyre ... s-100.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

..The first train to cross the Hell Gate was an inspection train. The New York Times said there was a short dedication ceremony at the Bronx end of what was officially known as the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge.

The name came from the word “hellegat,” Dutch for “hell channel,” a description of the treacherous stretch of river that it crosses and its infamous tides and rocks. There were countless wrecks there, and Robert S. Singleton, the executive director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, noted that the General Slocum disaster unfolded there. The General Slocum was a steamboat that caught fire and sank in 1904, killing more than 1,000 people

From any source available, namely Wiki and Amtrak Financial Statements, it appears that the NY Connecting RR has been dissolved; therefore Amtrak owns it.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:From any source available, namely Wiki and Amtrak Financial Statements, it appears that the NY Connecting RR has been dissolved; therefore Amtrak owns it.

The freight-only portion of the NYCR from Bowery Bay (split with the NEC in Woodside/Astoria) to Fresh Pond (Fremont) is CSX owned (via Conrail) as Fremont Secondary.

The freight operation might be controlled by CSX but Hell Gate Bridge is owned by Amtrak. Every time I ran a train over this magnificent structure I really appreciated the significance of this bridge. In my opinion this is the best approach to any city in North America by train, NO exceptions. I ran a good number of freight trains over it as well and it was not nearly as simple as it might appear. Lots more memories!!!
Noel Weaver

I have to agree with Noel. The view of the city from Hellgate Bridge is spectacular. The Sydney Harbor bridge, which is of similar design, has a famous bridge walk where tourists can climb to the top of the arch for a substantial fee. For a more modest cost, you can climb one of the pylons. It would be nice if similar options would be made available on Hellgate. Until that time, only the graffiti artists will enjoy the view from the top of the bridge. http://untappedcities.com/2015/03/13/ur ... ge-in-nyc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's the plaque dedicating the bridge with the NYCR: https://goo.gl/maps/4E4mavND5F22" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To add to my earlier post regarding Hell Gate Bridge, in the New Haven Railroad days you were not really qualified on the New York Division until you were able to run Hell Gate Bridge especially eastbound, keeping the train intact and not blowing any signals. In those days engineers spent a year in freight service before they were allowed to qualify in either Grand Central Terminal or Penn Station. In the very last days of the NHRR this restriction was relaxed when soon after being set up the engineer was given a proficiency of service examination by Bob Kennedy who at least in my opinion knew more about air brakes then the people who invented and created them. He could explain every minor detail and explain it so at least some could understand it. He was that good. One could spend an afternoon with him on the air brake car and learn more than anywhere else under any conditions. He also had a brother who was a Road Foreman and both were very good railroaders. Good people as well.
Noel Weaver

What would be interesting would be an engineering report about its ability to stand up for the next 100 years. We have seen many RR bridges needing replacement at the 120 - 130 year age.

Noel Weaver wrote:To add to my earlier post regarding Hell Gate Bridge, in the New Haven Railroad days you were not really qualified on the New York Division until you were able to run Hell Gate Bridge especially eastbound, keeping the train intact and not blowing any signals ...

Does eastbound on the bridge mean heading from The Bronx to Queens, or heading from Queens to The Bronx?

jhdeasy wrote:

Noel Weaver wrote:To add to my earlier post regarding Hell Gate Bridge, in the New Haven Railroad days you were not really qualified on the New York Division until you were able to run Hell Gate Bridge especially eastbound, keeping the train intact and not blowing any signals ...

Does eastbound on the bridge mean heading from The Bronx to Queens, or heading from Queens to The Bronx?

Or another words, geographic east or railroad east, respectively?

east point wrote:What would be interesting would be an engineering report about its ability to stand up for the next 100 years. We have seen many RR bridges needing replacement at the 120 - 130 year age.

I recall reading somewhere that Hell Gate Bridge is so overbuilt (as a way to reassure wary travelers) that if humanity suddenly disappeared, it would last nearly 1000 years, outlasting everything else in NYC by several centuries.

jhdeasy wrote:

Noel Weaver wrote:To add to my earlier post regarding Hell Gate Bridge, in the New Haven Railroad days you were not really qualified on the New York Division until you were able to run Hell Gate Bridge especially eastbound, keeping the train intact and not blowing any signals ...

Does eastbound on the bridge mean heading from The Bronx to Queens, or heading from Queens to The Bronx?

Trains from New York to Boston are heading "railroad east," and those trains cross the bridge from Queens to The Bronx.

Geographically, the bridge is oriented such that an "eastbound" train going across the bridge is heading to the northwest (40 degrees west of north). To further confuse matters, Amtrak's public timetables consider the entire NEC as north-south. So, a northbound Amtrak train heading to Boston is traveling railroad east, but on the bridge is actually moving to the northwest. My head hurts.