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My family has  lived in Mahopac my entire life. Our house was built by my grandfather in 1930. I remember going to the station with my father on Friday nights to pick up my other grandfather coming from NYC.  The sight and sound of a steam engine  chugging up the hill from Baldwin Place is one of my fondest memories.  We live about 2 miles from the old Mahopac Mines.  My father used to tell me about the Putnam Division spur that serviced the mines and the turntable that was located there.  Joe Schiavone's books about the Old Put are the best.  I met him at the first Mahopac train show, 3 years ago.  A very nice gentleman.

The Shuttle ended operation August 31 1958. The city pushed the TA for discontinuance as the needed to align the roadway for the ongoing reconstruction of the Harlem River Drive at that point. The stone piers of the structure to the bridge where in the way and had to be removed. Thus they were the first to go. The bridge was left in the open position and in 1959 or 60 it was demolished.

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> On Feb 25, 2015, at 11:15 AM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

A few more I came across - all circa 1905:

 

The first bridge in the background is the Putnam Bridge. Note the old semaphore signals and what appears to be a unique double tank work car on the left.

 

oldbx 002

 

Now from the opposite direction showing more of the Harlem riverfront area. In the background is the Highbridge Aqueduct when it was still all stone, with the Washington Bridge north of it.

 

The area along the river between the two bridges is where we would go to watch construction of the Major Deegan Expressway in the early 50s.

 

oldbx 003

 

While not of the Put, this is a photo of the construction of the 153 St bridge across the New York Central Mott Haven coach yard. The bridge would connect Morris Ave on the far side with Mott Avenue where the photographer is standing. Mott Ave would later become part of the Grand Concourse.

 

To the right of the photo is where the Hudson Division would separate from the Harlem/New Haven line. The Hudson Division trains would head toward the Harlem River and then pass through the area shown in the first two photos.

 

I'm sure Tom would be interested in knowing that just to the right of the photo is what would become the location of Cardinal Hayes HS .

 

I'd take the Morris Ave bus down to 153rd and walk across the bridge over the train yard to school everyday.

 

oldbx 001

 

Jim

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In the news...The New York Times on Aug. 20, 1958 ran a story entitled, 155th St. Shuttle Will Halt Aug. 31., Last El in Manhattan to Be Discontinued to Save $230,000 a Year.

Here are some tibits:

  • The facility, a remnant of the old Ninth Avenue Elevated Line, the first line in the borough, connects the 155th Street station of the IND Concourse line with the 167th Street station of the IRT Jerome Avenue line in the Bronx.
  • Charles L. Patterson, authority chairman, said discontinuance of the mile and a half shuttle was decided because of declining passenger revenues and the high cost of rehabilitating the forty-year-old structure. It will be turned over to the city on Sept. 15 for eventual demolition. He said the shuttle now serves only 1,200 passengers a day on the two-car train being operated. This reflects a 56% decline in the last six years, Mr. Patterson explained. Continued operation, he said, would require the expenditure of  $140,000 to $200,000 for repairs to the bridge, tracks and third rail. By terminating the operation, the chairman reported, the authority will save $230,500 a year. 

Tom

     

I did some more digging and came up with another article about the Put which was published by the Times. This one's dated September 13, 1981 and talks about the book written by Dan Gallo and Fred Kramer which was being released then. Steve Bogen's Quadrant Press published the book. I have many good memories of visiting Mr. Bogen's office on 44th Street. His building also could accessed from 45th Street so we used to hit the Model Railroad Corporation, Roundhouse, Red Caboose and then his place all in one shot. Having four train places on the same block made for some great memories which I treasure to this day.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09...the-putnam-line.html

 

Bob 

We suddenly gained a "like" on this topic tonight so I re-looked at all the posts and enjoyed seeing everything all again. 

One comparison that I thought was interesting. Bob CNJ 3676 posted an early photo of the Getty Square station. Compare that photo to the artwork on the circa 1970's kid's coin bank that I bought from my neighbor a few years ago at a garage sale. The station at this point had moved on to a new life as a bank, First National Bank in Yonkers. My wife actually worked there in the late 1970's. Look at the arches over the windows (with two windows on each side of the door) and the door in the center of the building, now with office space built on top. 

Tom

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