Low-level platforms at 125th St. and elsewhere until when?

I was looking at a few pictures of New York Central commuter trains in the 1950s (I think), and it looked like 125th Street station had low-level platforms then. Amazing to me that such a busy station could be like that.

Question: when were high-level platforms added at 125th St. and elsewhere outside of Grand Central: only once government funding started in the '60s/'70s? Or did some key stations have them from much earlier?

Thanks.

I think the advent of the M1's/M2's were the catalyst for high levels being put in in general. I'm sure someone else has better specifics.

in any case this question pre-dates Metro North by about 20 or more years and belongs on NYC or Penn Central forum.

The M-1's arrived on the Harlem and Hudson before the M-2's on the New Haven so 125th Street got high level platforms very early in the Penn Central era while the M-2's were put in to service in 1971 or 1972 on the New Haven so these stations were a little bit later in getting either high level platforms or in some cases replaced and relocated. The two most important stations that were relocated were Mount Vernon which was moved east to straight track and Bridgeport which was moved west to straight track. At the time Mount Vernon was moved east Columbus Avenue Station was closed because it was on a curve. While this predates Metro-North it led up to the many changes that occurred both during that period and also during the Metro-North years as well. It is history.
Noel Weaver

I remember at Larchmont the low level platform was replaced with a high level one during the summer of 1972.

Noel Weaver wrote:The M-1's arrived on the Harlem and Hudson before the M-2's on the New Haven so 125th Street got high level platforms very early in the Penn Central era while the M-2's were put in to service in 1971 or 1972 on the New Haven so these stations were a little bit later in getting either high level platforms or in some cases replaced and relocated. The two most important stations that were relocated were Mount Vernon which was moved east to straight track and Bridgeport which was moved west to straight track. At the time Mount Vernon was moved east Columbus Avenue Station was closed because it was on a curve. While this predates Metro-North it led up to the many changes that occurred both during that period and also during the Metro-North years as well. It is history.
Noel Weaver

NW: I will second you on this mention - High level platforms were installed on Penn Central's Metropolitan Region first on the Harlem and Hudson Lines during the time the M1a cars (8200-8377) were introduced in 1971-72...

The Cosmopolitan (M2) cars came later - 1972-73 - and the New Haven Line then was equipped with high platforms for those cars...Mount Vernon was a huge improvement for stations in that the two stations there - which as
mentioned were both on curves - were combined into one station - Mount Vernon East...

The MTA-financed 70s era improvements on all three lines predate Metro-North's creation in 1983 and this infrastructure changed these lines significantly...Yes-it is history...MACTRAXX

The Danbury Branch low-levels lasted well into MN days, however- until the early/mid '90s. Think the Upper Harlem lows lasted even longer.

The High level platforms stopped at Harmon(Hudson)Brewster North(Harlem),and New Haven(New Haven)
including the New Canaan Branch,New Canaan was the oddball with a Mini-High and Belmont style stairs.
this was back in the mid '80's,Waterbury,Danbury,Patterson to Dover Plains on the Harlem,and
Croton North to Poughkeepsie(Hudson) were low level with step boxes.

Regarding the Harlem and Hudson Lines - high level platforms were built in mid-1971 at 125th Street, Mount Vernon West and all stations from there to North White Plains. They were built for the M-1's which started running on the Harlem Line in September of 1971. I have heard that there were very short high level platforms built at Fordham that predated the other Bronx Harlem Line stations, but I'm not sure if they were built in '71 or a little bit later. Perhaps someone else can elaborate. The next stations to get high levels (and M-1's) were on the Hudson Line from Ludlow to Croton-Harmon in late 1972/early 1973. Bronx stations (and Marble Hill) got high level platforms in late 1974/early 1975.

The next stations were on the Harlem Line from Valhalla to Brewster North which were built in 1983-'84 for the electrification project, then the Hudson Line from Peekskill to Poughkeepsie sometime around 1990. The Harlem Line from Brewster North to Dover Plains got high levels around 1996-'97 (Tenmile River and Wassaic didn't open until 2000).

When we got the hi-level platforms at HX (E. 125th St.), we found a new problem in that if the M-series had problems, you couldn't access the
underside controls / resets because there was no side clearance to open the coffin boxes.

Also, does anybody remember the fire that took out the new platform at White Plains? Original construction was asphalt and wood, and it went up like a torch.

Yes I do remember! (I was just getting ready to write the same recollection).

BTW, were all the Harlem station south of NWP initlally done with wood platforms (and replaced with concrete later), or just White Plains?

Backshophoss wrote:The High level platforms stopped at Harmon(Hudson)Brewster North(Harlem),and New Haven(New Haven)
including the New Canaan Branch,New Canaan was the oddball with a Mini-High and Belmont style stairs.
this was back in the mid '80's,Waterbury,Danbury,Patterson to Dover Plains on the Harlem,and
Croton North to Poughkeepsie(Hudson) were low level with step boxes.

You can see the Belmont style mini-highs in the 'Ice Storm'. They were removed by 1999 when New Canaan station was rebuilt.

In East-of-Hudson service, only Merritt 7, the Waterbury Branch and the limited service "hiker stops" on the upper Hudson and Harlem lines, remain low level.

I think all of the Harlem platforms at least between NWP and 125th Street or at least most of them were originally wood and somewhat short as well. They have been upgraded a number of times over a period of years.
Noel Weaver

TCurtin wrote:Yes I do remember! (I was just getting ready to write the same recollection).

BTW, were all the Harlem station south of NWP initlally done with wood platforms (and replaced with concrete later), or just White Plains?

I believe only the original platforms from 1971 were built this way (125th St. and all the stations from Mt. Vernon West to NWP). The White Plains fire was in July of 1972 and the Hudson Line and Bronx Harlem Line high levels were all built later and with concrete. Perhaps the fire had something to do with the change in construction. Except for White Plains, all of the platforms on the Harlem from Mt. Vernon West to NWP were replaced in 1989-'90 with the current platforms. The original Hudson Line high levels were replaced around 2004-'06, and Melrose, Tremont and Wakefield on the Harlem around 2006-'07.

Does anyone have any recollection of Fordham having very short (I believe 2-car length) high levels at the very south end of the station in the VERY beginning of the high level era? I was told about this a long time ago, but I've never been able to find any photos of it.

In the 1990 movie Malcolm X there is a scene where Malcolm gets off the train at 125 St (sometime in the mid 1940's) on a high level platform. Ooops!!