• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

New York Central RR

Railroads, The Spuyten Duyvil Disaster & Faustian Legend

June 9, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Replica of the DeWitt ClintonOn September 27th, 2025, it will be two hundred years ago that the world’s first public railway, known as the Stockton & Darlington (S&DR), was opened in north-east England.

As well as carrying coal, the train offered space for six hundred passengers, most of them traveling in wagons, but some distinguished guests were allocated a seat in a specially designed carriage called The Experiment. [Read more…] about Railroads, The Spuyten Duyvil Disaster & Faustian Legend

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Cultural History, Harlem, Harlem River, Hudson River, Hudson River Railroad, Literature, modernism, New York Central RR, New York City, railroads, Spuyten Duyvil, The Bronx, Transportation History

“Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks”: Building the Adirondack Railroad

March 26, 2022 by John Warren 4 Comments

Gainesville Midland track maintenance crew, CA 1890The St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railroad, also known as the Mohawk & Malone – eventually owned by the New York Central and called the Adirondack Line or the Adirondack Railroad ran directly through the Adirondacks from Herkimer (near Utica) to Malone connecting the rail lines along the Mohawk River to the Main Trunk Line running into Montreal. The line is often attributed to William Seward Webb, but it was the men who actually built the line that are the subject of this essay.

On March 29, 1892 a Boston Globe article titled “Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks” reported that Utica “resembled Washington during war times, hundreds of penniless and destitute Negroes are camped out tonight in the temporary places of shelter given them, and the citizens of Utica are consulting as to the best means of returning them to their homes.”

The Globe told readers that all night, “runaway slaves” had been coming into town. One hundred and fifty of them, mostly black laborers from the Deep South, but some recently arrived European immigrants as well. [Read more…] about “Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks”: Building the Adirondack Railroad

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Adirondack Scenic Railroad, Adirondacks, Black History, Black River, Boonville, Crime and Justice, Franklin County, Herkimer COunty, Immigration, Irish Immigrants, Labor History, Legal History, malone, New York Central RR, Oneida County, railroads, Saranac Lake, St Lawrence County, Transportation History, Tupper Lake, Utica, William Seward Webb

Adirondack Rail Trail Design & Construction Starting

March 15, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Remsen- Lake Placid Travel CorridorThe New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Transportation (DOT), in cooperation with the Office of General Services (OGS), have announced the completion of the transfer of jurisdiction for a 34-mile segment of the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor. [Read more…] about Adirondack Rail Trail Design & Construction Starting

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Rail Trail, Adirondack Rail-Trail Debate, Adirondacks, bicycling, Cross-Country Skiing, DEC, Department of Transportation, DOT, Essex County, Franklin County, hiking, Lake Placid, New York Central RR, railroads, Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, Saranac Lake, snowmobiling, Transportation History, Tupper Lake

The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

December 31, 2021 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Dudley Observatory first building in Albany ca 1880The Capital District’s Dudley Observatory is considered “the oldest non-academic institution of astronomical research in America.” Originally, it was located north-east of downtown Albany, NY.

Construction there began in 1852 and the facility was dedicated in 1857.  Albany’s Congressman Erastus Corning, the founder and first president of the New York Central Railroad, was instrumental in donating a high quality telescope and time-keeping system at the new Dudley Observatory in Albany. [Read more…] about The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Dudley Observatory, Erastus Corning, New York Central RR, New York City, railroads, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Science History, Siena College, Transportation History

Canton Eddie, Turn of the Century Safecracker

December 30, 2021 by John Warren Leave a Comment

victor safe small“Canton Eddie” (a.k.a. “Boston Shorty,” Edward Collins, Edward Burns, Harry Wilson and possibly Harry Berger and Eddie Kinsman) who real name is believed to have been Edward Wilson, was a native of St. Lawrence County, born in about 1876 in Canton.

He was the perpetrator of a string of daring robberies in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and probably elsewhere during his lengthy career. Using nitro-glycerin and “the rest of the safecracker’s outfit” he blew the safes of more than 30 post offices, including the Montpelier, Vermont Post Office at least twice in 1905 and in 1907. By the time he was arrested for the last time in 1916, he had already served a number of prison sentences totaling more than nine years. [Read more…] about Canton Eddie, Turn of the Century Safecracker

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Auburn, Auburn Prison, Canton, Crime and Justice, New York Central RR, railroads

NY Central Railroad Highlighted In New Albany Exhibit

June 22, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

20th Century Limited by William Harnden FosterThe Albany Institute of History & Art has announced “Romancing the Rails: Train Travel in the 1920s and 1930s,” a new exhibition featuring objects and library materials from the Albany Institute’s New York Central Railroad collection. [Read more…] about NY Central Railroad Highlighted In New Albany Exhibit

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, New Exhibits Tagged With: Albany Institute For History and Art, exhibits, https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/tags/new-york-central-rr/, New York Central RR, railroads

New York Central Railroad Photo Archive Gets Update

January 31, 2021 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Passenger Station at Westfield courtesy NYCSHSThe New York Central System Historical Society (NYCSHS) has announced the creation of a second-generation archive system as a resource for railroad historians and model railroaders of the New York Central System. With more than 58,000 images, the archive is the largest offering from the Society to date. [Read more…] about New York Central Railroad Photo Archive Gets Update

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: New York Central RR, railroads, Transportation, Transportation History

Former NY Central Adirondack Division Rails Being Removed

October 27, 2020 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Removing New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Rails October 2020 DEC PhotoThe New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has begun tearing up the former NY Central Adirondack Division tracks connecting Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, part of a $1.9 million State project to build a rail trial suitable for use by bicyclists and snowmobilers.

The 34-mile rail corridor being removed was key to a once-thriving 119-mile railroad which operated almost continuously from 1892 until 1972, first as the Mohawk & Malone, and then by the New York Central starting in 1913. [Read more…] about Former NY Central Adirondack Division Rails Being Removed

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Mohawk Valley, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondack Scenic Railroad, Cross-Country Skiing, DEC, development, hiking, Historic Preservation, Lake Placid, mountain biking, New York Central RR, railroads, Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, snowmobiling, Transportation History, Tupper Lake

Adirondack Wild: Rail-Trail Plan Fails to Assess Impacts

April 16, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

adirondack wildA DEC plan for the 119-mile Travel Corridor that runs through the heart of the Adirondack Park does not adequately assess actual and projected impacts on the Park’s public wilderness and natural resources according to the group Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve.

At issue is whether the plan complies with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. Adirondack Wild does not believe it does comply. The group filed comments on the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan amendment with the Adirondack Park Agency this week. [Read more…] about Adirondack Wild: Rail-Trail Plan Fails to Assess Impacts

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Wild, biking, DEC, Forest Preserve, hiking, Historic Preservation, New York Central RR, railroads, Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, snowmobiling, State Land Master Plan

A Short History Of The Hudson River Day Line

February 4, 2017 by Peter Hess 3 Comments

the-hudson-river-paddlewheel-towboat-oswegoAbraham Van Santvoord, a descendant of one of the earliest Dutch settlers in Albany, was born in Schenectady on December 18, 1784. At the age of 14, he worked with his granduncle John Post who owned a shipping business in Utica. Since, at the time, there were few roadways, and the ones they had were snow covered in the winter and mud bogs in the spring, most shipping was done by water.

Van Santvoord successfully ran a shipping business on the Mohawk River. During the War of 1812, he contracted with agents of General Stephen Van Rensselaer of Albany to store and ship provisions westward on the Mohawk to support Van Rensselaer’s troops planning to invade Canada. [Read more…] about A Short History Of The Hudson River Day Line

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albany, Hudson River, Industrial History, Kingston, New York Central RR, Schenectady, Transportation History, Utica

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Katie L Williams on “Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks”: Building the Adirondack Railroad
  • Edythe Ann Quinn on Slug Slime: A Secret Weapon
  • Stefani on Jet Ski Invasion of NY Harbor Rounds Manhattan’s Tip
  • Debby Starck on Coyotes: Decoding Their Yips, Barks, and Howls
  • Sean on A Brief History of the Mohawk River
  • Helise Flickstein on Susan B. Anthony Childhood Home Historic Marker Dedication
  • Art and Fashion Teachers Opportunity: Quilts, Textiles, & Fiber Exhibitions Looking For Entries DEADLINE August 14, 2022 – Keeper of Knowledge on Quilts, Textiles, & Fiber Exhibitions Looking For Entries
  • Margaret on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Kathleen Hulser on Georgia O’Keefe At Wiawaka On Lake George
  • Alison, descendent of Thurlow Weed on Albany’s Thurlow Weed: Seward, Lincoln’s Election, & The Civil War Years

Recent New York Books

off the northway
Horse Racing the Chicago Way
The Women's House of Detention
Long Island’s Gold Coast Warriors and the First World War
Public Faces Secret Lives by Wendy Rouse
adirondack cabin
Spaces of Enslavement and Resistance in Dutch New York
ilion cover
Spare Parts

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide