Putnam Division & Branches: Getty Square, Mohansic, Saw Mill

There was NO line within 100 miles of New York City that would come
close to comparing with the Putnam Division. Heaviest steam power
permitted was 800/1200 series ten wheelers, no heavy equipment, all
timetable and train order territory with MBS rules, old stations generally
sans any modern conveniences such as indoor toilets, running water or
heat other than a pot belly stove and dispatched by telegraph for a long
time although they eventually got telephones (railroad telephones that is).
Nothing on any other railroad came close to the conditions on the Putnam
Division in 1950.
Even in May, 1958 when the last passenger trains ran, it was still puffing
in the past. I am glad that I had opportunities to ride this interesting line.
Noel Weaver

And ironically, despite all its limitations stated above, and its general 1900-era air, it was also recognized as a useful overdimension route. This, because it had no tunnels and, overall, considerably better clearances than the Harlem or Hudson.

Sadly, I never did get to ride it --- at least on any means other than a bike! Which reminds me --- when you are out there on a bike you get reminded how hilly some of it is.

DutchRailnut wrote:The switch for Stella D Oro was near tennis courts north of Marble hill, it was removed in 1991 or 1990, I don't know when it was last used for deliberies but 1988 may sound right.
Yes the track at BN was only used for MNCR work equipment

Isn't that the switch for the old auto facility? Wouldn't the Stella Doro switch have been north of BN on the Put?

Tom and others, the last passenger train on this line was quite an event.
I took the day off from the NHRR to drive to Brewster early that morning
and made the trip down and back.
It was well covered in the New York newspapers too. Even at that time, it
was not difficult to see just why this line was not going to make it
financially. Its passing was a wake up to New York and the other states
that were depended on railroad provided commuter service to do
something to relieve the railroads of the losses from providing this public
service.
There were a lot of things that the railroads of this period did that I did not
agree with but they were dead right when it came to seeking aid for their
commuter train losses.
Noel Weaver

What made the Put unique was that even in the 1950s, it was somewhat of an anachronism. Light bridges, telegraph and train order, single-track main with passing sidings, small stations serving smaller villages. Many stations were not wired for electrical service until the 1950s! There was much for a railroad buff to appreciate! It's clear why the Put has such an enduring legacy, even today among a new generation of fans who never saw it firsthand.

-otto-

To wit, an excerpt letter I just got today from Charles Ballard, a one-time resident of Carmel:

"I have had, what you might call, a life-long interest in the Put. I was born in Mount Vernon and lived there for 25 years before migrating upstate [All these "city" kids think Carmel is UPSTATE! - Ed.]. I yearned for steam as I lived near the New Haven in Mount Vernon and the NYC Harlem Division was on the other side of town but they were all electric. Finally, I found the Put operating steam into the Bronx and that did it. My usual origin point was Dunwoodie, which I could reach by trolley from Mount Vernon. I was amazed by the fact that here was 19th century railroading into the mid-20th century. The single-track, timetable and train order operation and manual block, etc. I used it into New York City, some just for the ride but mostly north such as to go fishing in the Croton Lake at Kitchawan...

... My first ride on the put was in 1935. I was not yet driving, so my mother did that. Looking at the timetable, I figured we could make a round trip to Elmsford and get back the same afternoon. We left Dunwoodie, I think it was at 1:10 pm on a gas-electric car. When the operator of the car noticed my railroad interest, he invited me to ride up front with him. We got off at Elmsford and waited for the down train which would get us back to Dunwoodie at 3:39 pm. The down train was steam and was hauled by one of the last 4-4-0's on the line with a consist of one arch-roof commuter coach and they towed the gas-electric as a second coach. Since the commuter coach was closed off, what passengers there were rode in the gas-electric as a coach. I was not yet taking pictures but sure would have liked to get this one."

Mike Roque wrote:

DutchRailnut wrote:The switch for Stella D Oro was near tennis courts north of Marble hill, it was removed in 1991 or 1990, I don't know when it was last used for deliberies but 1988 may sound right.
Yes the track at BN was only used for MNCR work equipment

Isn't that the switch for the old auto facility? Wouldn't the Stella Doro switch have been north of BN on the Put?

You are correct, Mike. The switch north of the new Marble Hill station (now MN CP 10)was for FH Yard. Stella Doro was just north of BN Yard on the Put. It was a busy place in the 70s. My first regular job as an engineer on the Harlem Line was WP-1 in 1978, which took over the work on the Put when the BN switcher was abolished. At that time, Stella Doro and Stouffer Chemical were the biggest customers, along with a plastics company on the Nepperhan Industrial Track.

New book on the Put available here:

http://www.yorktownmuseum.org/shop.htm

[edited by omv]

Another new book covering the later years of Put operation available later this month:

http://nywbry.com/forgotten/

-otto-

A local news article about one of the new books.

http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs. ... /709080340

That Journal-News article talks about the book and companion DVD images. Are they all sold together, i.e., you buy the book you get the DVDs too? This sounds wonderful, if, of course, it's well done.

So I can walk into the Yorktown Museum some day when it's open and purchase this thing? Yes I know they keep short hours and just a few days a week.

My wife and I were recently biking in the East View-Briarcliff area, which thankfully is more or less flat (by contrast to Croton Lake-Yorktown which is a steady uphill haul all the way)! A fair amount of archeological remains can be seen, such as some telegraph poles, and even one stone milepost.

Yes, the 2 DVDs come with the book.

One DVD is a walking tour of the Put from Van Cortlandt park all the way up to the end of the line at Put Junction. They show highlights of the different station sites and other artifacts along the way. The other DVD has film footage shot by Joe Schiavone in the early 60's, Steam-era footage shot by George Meyer in the late 40's, and footage of the Tarrytown Loop walking tour from Oct. 2006.

The book itself is really cool. I like the "multi-media" aspect of the package.

You should be able to walk into the Yorktown Museum and buy the book. The book is also available directly from Joe Schiavone. Unfortunately, I don't have his contact info.

Jon

Follow the link above to Yorktown Museum, they have the book and DVD's for sale. The price is worth it for the DVD and images in the book. Upon closer review of the book, one of my friends who used to run on the Put in the PC days picked up a few errors in the captions and text, and in the narration of the movies. I have not read the book in-depth, but I understand it focuses mostly on anecdotal interviews with crews who ran on the Put in the NYC days... I think the photos in the book and the images on the DVD are priceless. Errors are inevitable in any project, we're only human.

Otto Vondrak wrote:I understand it focuses mostly on anecdotal interviews with crews who ran on the Put in the NYC days....

True --- any police detective or criminal lawyer will tell you eyewitness recollections are notoriously inaccurate! In any book like this, of first hand stories, there's a very fine line between what/how things were done and "tall tales." But, even so, inaccuracies and all, first-hand accounts can be priceless and irreplaceable.

By the way Otto I look forward to seeing your book too, which I hear is meticulously researched.

By the way Otto I look forward to seeing your book too, which I hear is meticulously researched.

Sure, my co-authors and I did plenty of research (and some of the guys even work for the railroad)... but there's always room for error! It's inevitable that new info or different info comes to light once the work is published... btw, we're expecting ours by the end of the month. The books, that is, not the errors!

To discuss these books, please see: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42413

-otto-