Walkway Over the Hudson - Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge

Tuesday, November 10th, weather mostly cloudy and temperature in the low to mid 50's. I had a most wonderful walk over this historic bridge. I was not sure that I could walk
over from Highland to Poughkeepsie but not only did I walk all the way east but almost halfway back before my friend said enough was enough and arranged for a ride the rest of
the way for me. I am paying for this tonight with aches that I haven't had in many years but the walk was well worth it.
I can't say enough good about this project, it is well worth a visit and a walk and I STRONGLY URGE everybody who reads this and can to get yourself to either Poughkeepsie or
Highland and walk, you'll be glad you did let me assure you.
I enjoyed this walk so much that I am thinking of doing it again next week IF I stay all of next week.
As a bonus I saw a parade of Amtrak and Metro-North passenger trains on one side of the river and 7 CSX freight trains on the other side. All in all it was a splendid day.
Noel Weaver

Good on you Noel .

Here is a article in todays paper it may answer some of Don Pvesners the sky is falling theory :

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... SLETTER100

By Jeremiah Horrigan
Times Herald-Record
Posted: November 12, 2009 - 2:00 AM
HIGHLAND — It's a bridge. It's a park. It's a not-for-profit. It's all of the above. And its unique, little-bit-of-everything status raises a couple of questions.

Who's in charge of the Walkway Over the Hudson?

Who owns it?

And who's going to take care of it over the years?

The answers might surprise you, especially if you thought the State of New York owns it. It's not that simple.

see link for additional

DonPevsner wrote:...In the interim, the Walkway corporation reportedly has a paltry few million dollars'-worth of liability insurance on the Bridge, and zero funds to provide future maintenance. It has obviously not occurred to anyone in NYS Government that the appropriate solution to the horrendous liability and maintenance-guarantee problem is to have the Walkway corporation convey the Bridge and its western approach viaduct to NYS Parks, which does NOT require Legislative approval. If this is done, the "deep pockets" of New York State will finally provide adequate liability on a structure of this magnitude, plus guarantee future maintenance of any kind, for the first time in 25 long years. A...

Why are you concerned about liability insurance? Do you plan on suing the walkway corporation for something?

From the News paper article and I quote:

And it's the parks department that insures the park through the state.

DonPevsner wrote:... They are also damned lucky that six abandoned and de-energized 115kv power lines, attached to the south side of the Bridge by Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation in 1949 and not maintained since 1985, did not collapse as a result of their 2,200-pound support brackets corroding. Had that occurred, the lines would have fallen across the busy CSX West Shore freight line, and possibly derailed HAZMAT cars into the adjacent Hudson River at a point directly across from the City of Poughkeepsie's drinking-water intake point...

Interesting point. But what is the difference if a support bracket breaks off the bridge, or if a huge tree falls from property that abuts the ROW and derails a train? How much liability insurance does a homeowner typically carry for this contingency?

It appears that several commenters are unaware of the purpose of liability insurance on a structure like the Poughkeepsie Bridge. No, I do not plan on suing the State (or anyone else) for damages that could be caused by the Bridge, as I live 700 miles away from it and am hardly likely to be damaged. What a ludicrous idea! However, liability suits by injured or killed Walkway visitors are certainly a future possibility, as are similar damage suits for structural failure or the like. Why do you think that liability insurance was invented in the first place? When the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad owned it, as a multi-billion-dollar corporation, you had better believe that it maintained a huge liability insurance policy against all negative contingencies on the Bridge, as well as all across its railroad, and conducted regular maintenance inspections with necessary repairs performed as-needed. Successors Penn Central and Conrail insured it properly right up to November 2, 1984, when Conrail escaped future liability exposure by selling it for one dollar to Gordon Schreiber Miller...even though they ran no trains over it for the 10.5-year period from May 8, 1974 to November 2, 1984. Right now, the Walkway corporation supposedly has a relatively low-limit liability insurance policy on the Bridge, but its head, lawyer Fred Schaeffer, cannot be bothered to reply to my specific question as to the amount. I blame him for the current, reprehensible situation, as well as the Walkway group itself for taking title to the Bridge in the first place back on June 5, 1998, with zero maintenance responsibility or resources and totally-inadequate liability insurance. With the exception of the Walkway liability insurance policy--whatever it may have been or is now--that group was and is no more financially "responsible" than were convicted felon Gordon Schreiber Miller and his successor, Vito Moreno. I never said that "the sky is falling", but it is certainly within the realm of possibility that it COULD fall with regard to a 121-year-old railroad bridge. Again, what do you doubters think that the purpose of liability insurance is? It is to PROPERLY PROTECT THE PUBLIC: PERIOD. If readers wish to read my Op-Ed on point, which I have just posted on the Internet, go to: http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com/po ... bridge.htm

Read newspaper article, its New York parks Dept who caries the insurance on the bridge(park), not walkway over Hudson organization.

I read the slipshod, incomplete Middletown Times Herald Record article as well. The Bridge Authority does not own the Bridge. Therefore, it has ZERO liability insurance on it.
Same for NYS Parks, other than the eastern approach viaduct, which is all that any NYS entity owns at present. Better read it again, and consult an original source at NYS Parks or the Walkway group.

I often drive down by the water between the bridges to watch the water and photo trains. Last Saturday there musta been 30-40 cars parked on the west side bridge access. I didn't know what they were there for until I checked the bridge and saw it loaded with people... Great thing.. Elsie Ky

DonPevsner wrote:I read the slipshod, incomplete Middletown Times Herald Record article as well. The Bridge Authority does not own the Bridge. Therefore, it has ZERO liability insurance on it.
Same for NYS Parks, other than the eastern approach viaduct, which is all that any NYS entity owns at present. Better read it again, and consult an original source at NYS Parks or the Walkway group.

Here is the total evidence you offered from your original post about the insurance:

DonPevsner wrote:In the interim, the Walkway corporation reportedly has a paltry few million dollars'-worth of liability insurance on the Bridge, and zero funds to provide future maintenance.

Please cite your source to prove this statement.

SEE BELOW.

My sources are:

(1)Conversations with prior Walkway group Presidents, including Fred Schaeffer, who is now "stonewalling" me on point since mid-October, 2009.

(2)News stories in the Poughkeepsie JOURNAL.

RussNelson wrote:

dwil89 wrote:Last Sunday was my first time up to the Highland area....I normally focus between Dunderberg Mountain

Oh! Speaking of which, can you share any photos of the Dunderberg Spiral Railway with me for publication here: http://russnelson.com/unfinished-railroads.html ?

...shooting video with the tripod while shooting digital stills freehand.

Had conversations with a few railfans who'd walk up to me and we;s strike up conversations...

Yeah, I had such a conversation. Tried to deny that he was a railfan, but I knew better. Had just a minor bit of foam around the lips. And a CSX hat. Dead give-away, that hat!

Sorry for the delay in responding.....Next time I hike up Dunderberg, I'll grab some shots for you......The Ramapo-Dunderberg trail, which I use to hike to the overlook of the valley uses portions of the Spiral Railway right of way....There is another trail that splits off from the R-D trail, called the Timp-Torne trail if I recall correctly that also follows other portions of the Spiral Railroad right of way...

I can give you a GPS track of the route of the Spiral Railway if it will help you find interesting bits. I have a GPS track of the Walkway, too, if anybody wants it. It's kinda straight.