Late 40's Beacon, NY operations

Hello,
I'm a New York Central modeler, and eventually I hope to be able to include Beacon, NY on my layout. I model the late 1940's, and I would like to find out some information about the New Haven operations around Beacon. Several years ago, on one of the older versions of this forum, I posted a similar question, and got some great information. But I must not have saved it, because I can't find any of it now.

I'd like to know the following:
-What type of engines did the NH use for Beacon service? I think I remember someone telling me RS-1's, but I don't remember what type of steam might have been used before the RS-1's showed up.

-What kind of traffic did the NH move in and out of Beacon? I know there was an interchange yard with the NYC, and also a pier in which the NH received iron ingots (?) from barges.

-Any other tidbits of information that might be of interest.

Thanks for any help on this,
Brian.

I think the most likely power to be found on the Beacon Branch in the days of steam would have been K class moguls and in the diesel era, the
most likely unit would have to be a 0900 or 0600 class Alco switchers.
Larger engines were permitted on this line but their use was not common.
Maybe a fan trip or some other special move occasionally but that would be about it.
Noel Weaver

Having lived along this branch from 1961-67, I am pretty sure that it would have been very rare indeed to see a cab unit, much less an mu'ed set working the line. At least I never saw any such thing which in itself does not mean that it never happened! I do recall single units (Geeps or Alco road switchers) and the occasional unit was in the McGinnis scheme.

I've told this story before, but it's worth repeating. When I was a youngster watching trains on this line, I was probably the only one NOT throwing things at it, something the crews obviously appreciated. I learned some pretty colourful language from them when they were yelling at the other kids, but to me, they were always very nice. One day spring day in 1965, a passing crewman threw something to me whilst I watched the turn go by. He said "here, kid" and before I could react, a recently expired October 1964 employee timetable dropped at my feet. I'd never seen anything like it before and studied it for a long time. I still have it. What I don't have is a single photograph of a train on the line during this period although I'd been photographing, developing and printing my own film since the age of ten. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

cheers,
Ori
VA3ORI - VA3XW

Forgot to mention: this all occurred at Fishkill, New York.

I'm looking to model the interchange of the NYC and NH at Beacon. Does anyone have any pics or track layouts of this area? Any time frame is usable since I want to know how it was used since it was built and then reduced. I grew up in Fishkill and plan to model the branch that goes out to Hopewell Jct. My dad worked at the National Biscuit Co. for 40 years, that was right across the tracks from this interchange.
Any info would be helpful, as for any of the whole line and it's supporting roads. One of which I know was called the Newbugh, Dutchess, and Conneticut Railroad.
Thanks, JT

HI, I grew up in Fishkill also, from about '60 (when I was 4) to about '80. I don't remember the track to much back then in Fishkill, except where it crossed Rte 9. My uncle worked at the old Maple Glen Garage there. I do remember some 40-50 car trains going through( I used to always count them as my dad cursed having to wait for the train, although he was a fan also). I remember more of the tracks in Beacon by East Main street where they were down below the street level and you could look at the tops of them as they went by. That's one of the area's I will model on my future layout.

The long trains you remember were no doubt beginning around 1971 when Penn Central finished upgrading that branch to provide another access route from the New York City area to Selkirk, i.e., ex-NH main line Oak Point to Devon, CT, Maybrook Line to Hopewell Jct, Beacon Line to Beacon, Hudson Div. to Selkirk.

Other railfans who lived in that area in the 1960s, the last years under the New Haven, told me they recalled seeing mostly RS-3s on the local. There were some passenger fantrips in that era, a couple of times with a Budd RDC; once in Oct. 1957 with a NH GP-9 and a few coaches [that trip is depicted briefly on one of the videos sold by the NHRHTA]; and one with --- believe it or not --- an Erie Lackawanna train that operated Hoboken-Campbell Hall-Hopwell-Beacon and return!!

If anybody is interested, I have a couple photos of that 1965 Erie fan trip stopped at Hopewell Junction.

Bernie Rudberg

R.W. Nimke's book "Central New England Ry, Vol 3, Places 'n Things" has lots of pictures of the line but most are 1930's and earlier. There are also track layouts which probably didn't change much through the 40's and 50's. Moguls are shown on local freights in the 30's. There was a Texaco facility at Glenham which was active into the 1980's, getting tank cars. Some old coal silos are still there near the famous old Matteawan station. Some of the factories were really interesting too. Especially the former New York Rubber Co., which factory is in the process of demolition. The tall tower may be saved- not sure. There was also a long spur for coal to the Matteawan State Hospital. This included a switchback going up the hill. Any of these would be an intersting challenge for a modeler. Around 1980 there was a big derailment of one of the freights to Cedar Hill in Matteawan. Cars piled up and took out the end of one of the factories. The scars are still there. On the New York Central there were a number of brick yards, some of which had their own narrow gauge lines. One a couple miles north of Beacon had its own narrow gauge bridge over the Hudson Div. main. It was still there as late as about 1990, but I suppose it's gone now.