Walkway Over the Hudson - Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge

[Kurt]

It is possible to get a halfway decent photo on the eastern side of the river ( Metro North). Here is a photo I got of Metro North's Inspection Train in the Station back in October 2009. I shot it through the fencing, but had to take some time to manually focus, IIRC the edges were blurred a bit, and I cropped those portions out.

[Mark_K]

Nice job, Kurt. I tried shooting through the fence with my pocket digicam (with mixed results), but it was too much of a bother with my DSLR lens.

I suppose NYS could put some sort of viewing port in the chain links, but then there remains the problem of idiots trying to throw things through them (not that they can't throw things over the fence currently).

[DutchRailnut]

The fence is only directly above road and railroads, rest of bridge is fence free.

[RussNelson]

Russ, that's a lovely shot. 600mm telephoto or did you finally venture past the Highland bluffline?

Haha, very funny, yes, I had no trouble walking on the nice sturdy concrete rather than the grating which wasn't always supported on both ends!

No, that's somebody else's photo ... I just picked it because it gives you a nice view of how fence-free the rest of the bridge is. And yes, I was very disappointed to see a fence over the MNRR line, and Yes, it would be very nice if they put in some photo portals (before some ya-hoo railfan with a pair of clippers and a bolt-on metal frame does it, hint, hint, if you're going to do it, wear a hi-viz vest and a hardhat, you can do ANYTHING if you're wearing a hi-viz vest and a hardhat particularly if you have a clipboard with a fake work order on it), and YES, if the goal was to prevent purposeful dropping of objects it needs to go completely over the top of the walkway.

[Mark_K]

Russ, that's a lovely shot. 600mm telephoto or did you finally venture past the Highland bluffline?

Haha, very funny, yes, I had no trouble walking on the nice sturdy concrete rather than the grating which wasn't always supported on both ends!

Undoubtedly if you had been wearing a hi-viz vest and a hardhat while holding a clipboard with a fake work order on it, you could have summoned the courage to make it out to the observation platform c. 2008.

I'd be well up for putting a petition together to present to Fred Schaeffer and the Walkway staff (or NYS Parks Department functionaries to be named later) to see if photo portals over Metro-North could be created... easily and inexpensively, of course. On the downside I can see the foamers bashing each other to pieces trying to get prime portal viewing spots for [wait for it] an unscheduled local freight job.

[Noel Weaver]

Objects thrown and dropped off overhead bridges on to highways/vehicles and railroads/trains are a big problem and a big
issue. It is far more important to protect people in their cars, trucks, buses etc as well as locomotive cabs from stuff being
dropped from overhead bridges.
Unfortunately today common sense requires these screens, as always a few have ruined it for others. The fences should
remain as they are and photographers need to be a bit more resourceful in their endeavors. Good pictures are possible but
it just requires a bit more work and maybe stronger lens as well.
Noel Weaver

[RussNelson]

Good pictures are possible but
it just requires a bit more work and maybe stronger lens as well.

Throwing objects is possible but it just requires a bit more work and maybe stronger arms as well.

Those who will give up any amount of advantage for a little security will have neither the advantage nor the security at the end of the day.

[JBlaisdell]

And yes, I was very disappointed to see a fence over the MNRR line, and Yes, it would be very nice if they put in some photo portals (before some ya-hoo railfan with a pair of clippers and a bolt-on metal frame does it, hint, hint, if you're going to do it, wear a hi-viz vest and a hardhat, you can do ANYTHING if you're wearing a hi-viz vest and a hardhat particularly if you have a clipboard with a fake work order on it), and YES, if the goal was to prevent purposeful dropping of objects it needs to go completely over the top of the walkway.

Sounds like a thinly veiled endorsement for vandalism...

[RussNelson]

And yes, I was very disappointed to see a fence over the MNRR line, and Yes, it would be very nice if they put in some photo portals (before some ya-hoo railfan with a pair of clippers and a bolt-on metal frame does it, hint, hint, if you're going to do it, wear a hi-viz vest and a hardhat, you can do ANYTHING if you're wearing a hi-viz vest and a hardhat particularly if you have a clipboard with a fake work order on it), and YES, if the goal was to prevent purposeful dropping of objects it needs to go completely over the top of the walkway.

Sounds like a thinly veiled endorsement for vandalism...

Vandals destroy things. I'm suggesting the creation of something.

[JBlaisdell]

Then can I come by and spraypaint my tag on your house?

[charlie6017]

Then can I come by and spraypaint my tag on your house?

Why are you babbling stupid troll-like comments? I'm thinking that Russ is far from a destructive person, and maybe you would too if you go back and look through postings.

Quit stirring the pot; if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything.

if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything.

I try to follow my own advice, however I felt the need to say something here.

Charlie

[pablo]

OK, got it, guys. More about the walkway, or are we done here?

Dave Becker

[RussNelson]

Then can I come by and spraypaint my tag on your house?

Only if not spraypainting my house is stopping you from taking a good photograph of the train tracks below. (I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. I guess illogic is infective!)

Dave -- yes, until there are portals in the fence. Then we get to argue about who put them in.

[JBlaisdell]

I know Russ contributes a lot. I appreciate that. I apologize for the manner in which I made my comments. However, the Walkway is private property, and it hurts the railfan community for someone to suggest cutting a hole in a fence for the sake of some pictures.

[RussNelson]

Well, that's not exactly what I proposed. I suggested that if a professional job was done creating camera portals, it would be a long, long time before they were removed, if ever. Cutting a hole? Vandalism, to be sure. Creating a camera portal? Solving a problem.