Beacon (Hudson Line) Station

That platform is used much more extensively than you may think. I have had to discharge passengers there on a number of occasions when either MN or Amtk were runninglate and they needed to accomodate 3 trains at once to keep the RR moving.

The point I was trying to make is that there is no scheduled use. If you are saying that it is used occasionally, then that is reason enough to keep it.

Assuming there were more engines to use, it would be nice to see a train or two originate there... since the amount of people using Beacon to commute into the city is only going to rise. 365 more spaces plus the ferry (assuming they ever find enough money to run it) plus better access for buses, cars, and better access to Rt. 9D is only going to make for more commuting.

Nester

some of the new parking is in already...not that great for skating tho. i heard they were going to expand the platform entrance too...

god forbid they should get that damned ferry running. all it would do is shoot the crime rate up in newburgh when people come over from the city and have no clue where the bad spots are. more then anything,beacon station needs to be given more indoor areas for cold weather...most people dont understand how badly we're crammed in like sardines in the two little shacks and the coffee stop.

They ran out of money for the ferry.

After watching the river very closely this past winter, I don't think it is going to be an ideal solution, anyway:

The river does jam up there (unlike at Peekskill/Bear Mtn) -- look at the Ossining/Haverstraw ferry -- there was a period of 10 days or so where it did not run due to poor river conditions. Riders were bused from Tarrytown across the Tappan Zee.

NY Waterway banked its future on providing post 9/11 service to NJ, and that plan worked until the PATH station at WTC re-opened. They've been inches away from state takeover or bankruptcy since. I'm afraid that they would provide the absolute minimum amount (and level) of service necessary to keep the contract in force, since they are so starved for cash.

There are only 150 or so spots at the terminal in Newburgh. That is only going to make a small dent in the amount of traffic entering and leaving the station area.

Better intermodal access, kiss-n-ride drop-off points don't that block the main roads, and better auto access to Rt. 9D will do wonders for the Beacon station.

Nester

PS: You skate at Beacon?

sort of...i got in some trouble last week with the mta police because i wasnt wearing a helmet....not like i was doing anything wrong,but they just wanted me to be safe...pfft...for a commuter/sk8er trying to haul ass down the platform on a skateboard,a helmet would be a sage idea,but a bulky and overly neccessity...next time i do i get a ticket...grrr...


and to end any confusion,i do not skate the MNRR rails,i skate the very,very nice wheelchair ramp at the south end...

so yes...i do skate beautiful beacon station from time to time...bleeech...

the station is starting to take on a skelton that reminds me of the stillwell avenue terminal that was just completed in coney island.



i would have given these "Wet" rails a good grinding on my skateboard,but because they were actually wet with water...and the climb would be horrible...

although i did give these a good once over,and i think other then the second-rate welding job they'd be a good once-over.


and yes i did take these pictures myself. [/u]

you might want to post these pictures somewhere else and then provide a link to them. the moderators don't like people posting pictures because it hogs up the bandwith.

The pictures reside on another server, off railroad.net. They're not using up Railroad.net's bandwidth.

You can verify that by right-clicking on the picture and selecting "Properties". You'll see the URL where they reside.

Jim

oh, my mistake, i didn't know that was even possible.

How about posting smaller photos instead? You should not need 1280x1024 resolution (or better) to see these pictures.

Nester

In addition to the above tips, I would not recommend giving anything "a good once-over" with a skateboard. Well, easy to say not being a skateboarder. But at least, I would recommend not admitting to doing so.

If any of the MN employees here wanted to be picky, there are ways to trace people on the internet and bring up charges on trespassing or some other violation, I'm sure.

Otherwise, good pics... my only complaint is that I would have liked to see a "wider" establishing shot to show where all this steel is, in comparison to the existing station, for those of us who can't get there to see it for ourselves. Just a standard photography tip.

There was once a very nice station in Beacon, too bad it was torn down, I
think in the Penn Central period.
Noel Weaver

pnaw10 wrote:If any of the MN employees here wanted to be picky, there are ways to trace people on the internet and bring up charges on trespassing or some other violation, I'm sure.

Otherwise, good pics... my only complaint is that I would have liked to see a "wider" establishing shot to show where all this steel is, in comparison to the existing station, for those of us who can't get there to see it for ourselves. Just a standard photography tip.

I don't think you can charge someone for tresspassing (a crime which requires a physical presense) based on some internet claims. Since presumably the OP had a ticket, he would have to actively be skating to get a ticket. Relax!

As for framing shots, I will try and take some this week, if the OP doesn't already have some.

Nester

I'll leave the photos up there for a few days, then I'm going to convert them to links, because the size they are now, it causes the forum pages to look distorted...

-otto-

What's the deal with the track 3 platform at Beacon station? I took a close look at it the other day, and it looks pretty worn down. Is it still in use at all (possibly from the couple trains a day that terminate at Beacon?)