Harlem Line
The Harlem Line is an commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southeast, in Putnam County, is electrified with a third rail and has at least two tracks. The section north of Southeast is a non-electrified single-track line served by diesel locomotives. Before the renaming of the line in 1983, it eventually became the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad. The diesel trains usually run as a shuttle on the northern end of the line, except for rush-hour express trains in the peak direction.
With 38 stations, the Harlem Line has the most of any Metro-North main line. Its northern terminal, Wassaic, is the northernmost station in the system. It is the only Metro-North line used exclusively by that carrier and the only one that uses the entirety of existing track. It is colored blue on Metro-North timetables and system maps, and stations on the line have blue trim. The blue color-coding appears to have started with timetables issued by predecessor New York Central for the then-Harlem Division as far back as 1965.
The Harlem Line was originally chartered in 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad and was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company in 1871. The line became part of the Metro-North Railroad in 1983. While the line has traditionally served to bring commuters from Westchester County to jobs in the city, since the 2000s it has begun to see more "reverse commuting" from the Bronx into Westchester and points north. The northern reaches of the line are also close enough to Western Massachusetts that residents in parts of that region are also able to commute to jobs in New York City.
Line description
The Harlem Line hews closely to roads along river-based transportation corridors dating back to even pre-rail times. It follows three major parkways closely from the Bronx northwards through Westchester: the Bronx River Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway and Interstate 684. In the last section it also begins to run close to NY 22, the long north–south two-lane state highway that parallels the eastern border of the state. In Westchester, it serves some of that county's most affluent communities as it slowly trends eastward.Manhattan and the Bronx
The Harlem Line begins underground with the Hudson and New Haven Lines at Grand Central Terminal, on the Park Avenue main line. The tracks emerge above ground north of 97th Street and run on an elevated viaduct starting at 102nd Street in Manhattan. After stopping at Harlem–125th Street, the Metro-North lines cross the Harlem River at 135th Street in Manhattan, entering the Bronx via the Park Avenue Bridge. The Hudson Line splits off at this point to travel northwest along the Harlem River, while the Harlem and New Haven diverges into open-cut north of 144th Street.In the Bronx, the Harlem and New Haven Lines cut through the neighborhoods of the southwest Bronx, with two stations: Melrose, at 162nd Street and Tremont, at 177th Street. Fordham station is next, at Fordham Road. The tracks rise to ground level after the stop at Fordham. The lines then parallel the western edge of Fordham University until the Botanical Garden station at Bedford Park Boulevard. The tracks then cut northeast to join the Bronx River Parkway, which lies to the east of the tracks. The Williams Bridge station is next, at Gun Hill Road. After the Williams Bridge station, Woodlawn Cemetery begins to the west of the tracks, with Webster Avenue in between the cemetery and tracks. The Woodlawn station is at 233rd Street, and it is north of here that the New Haven Line diverges east to head towards the Northeast Corridor.
The Harlem Line then goes under a bridge for the parkway, and it remains to the west of the tracks until Scarsdale station. The Wakefield station at 241st Street concludes the Bronx portion of the Harlem Line.
Westchester County
The Westchester portion of the Harlem Line begins at Bronx River Road in southeastern Yonkers. After the Mount Vernon West station, the line runs along the on-ramp to the Cross County Parkway eastbound, right before Fleetwood station. After the Bronxville station, the tracks parallel the Bronx River Parkway all the way up to White Plains.From White Plains, the railroad winds its way through the city and passing through the yards at North White Plains, which was the northern boundary of third-rail electrification until 1984. The stretch north of North White Plains is unique because it is the only third-rail electrified stretch of Metro-North's network that has grade crossings, a byproduct of its existence pre-electrification. Katonah and Brewster stations are located right next to grade crossings.
After North White Plains, the next station is Valhalla adjacent to the Taconic State Parkway. The double-track line then curves to follow the Saw Mill River Valley and the eponymous parkway. Rail and road briefly separate at Mount Kisco, but then remain close by at the last stop along the Saw Mill, Bedford Hills.
Past Katonah, the railroad runs between the Croton River and I-684. Golden's Bridge and Purdy's are both located very close to the interstate, although only the former can be seen from it. North of the latter, the tracks follow the river to Croton Falls, and pick up Route 22 for the first time.
Putnam County
After Croton Falls, the Harlem Line runs along East Branch Reservoir and crosses into Putnam County and its rural landscape. Above Brewster station, the railroad passes through the yards at Putnam Junction to Southeast station, which was formerly known as Brewster North. This is the northern boundary of third rail electrification.North of Southeast, the line operates with a single track and uses diesel powered trains. Prior to the 2010s, the branch was not signaled, and manual block system rules were used to direct train movements; however, positive train control was installed in the late 2010s. The track finally follows its own course, away from any road or river, past the former Dykemans and abandoned Towners stations up to Patterson and into Dutchess County.
Dutchess County
Shortly before reaching Pawling, the line enters the Harlem Valley and begins to parallel Route 22, although not as closely as it did the roads further south. A few miles north of Pawling, the Appalachian Trail crossing has its own stop to allow thru-hikers to take a break in the city and day hikers to visit the nearby Pawling Nature Preserve.The next two stops, Harlem Valley–Wingdale and Dover Plains, are roughly apart, the longest distance between any two stops on the Harlem Line. From 1972 to 2000, Dover Plains was the last stop on the line, but then tracks remaining from the NYCRR era that had not yet been torn up were renovated and the line was extended to Tenmile River and its new northern terminus, Wassaic. The total travel time between Grand Central and Wassaic is 2 hours on a peak through train.
A small yard where diesel trains await their routes just past the station marks the end of the line.
History
Origin as a streetcar line
The Harlem Line in its current form originated from the New York and Harlem Railroad, which was the first streetcar company in the United States. It was franchised, on April 25, 1831, to run between the original city core in lower Manhattan to the suburb of Harlem, several miles to the north on Manhattan Island. The railroad's charter allowed the line to run between 23rd Street and any point on the Harlem River between Eighth and Third Avenue, with a branch running to the Hudson River, encompassing most of the island.While the company wanted to run the line as a steam line, the city made it use horse power south of 14th Street. On September 13, 1831, the board of directors of the railroad approved its route along Fourth Avenue from 23rd Street to the Harlem River. On April 6, 1832, the railroad's charter was amended to allow the line to be extended south to 14th Street.
On May 2, 1832, the City Common Council secretly granted the railroad the right to lay track along Broadway to City Hall and Bowling Green. There was a public outcry once this was found out by the general public, and at the time a fraudulent map was circulated showing that the railroad would take up of the street when it would only take up. Newspaper editors also came out against the railroad's plan. In Spring 1833, the railroad published a pamphlet to refute objections to their plan titled "A Statement of Facts in Relation to the Origin, Progress, and Prospects of the New-York and Harlem Railroad Company." On March 1, 1833, a meeting was held in Tammany Hall concerning the issue, and at the meeting cab drivers and owners came out against the railroad. After the meeting, the crowd tore up some of the railroad's track. After the meeting, the council withdrew its Broadway agreement with the railroad. The railroad was extended downtown in 1839, but along a different route.
Ground was broken on the construction of the line on February 23, 1832, at Murray Hill on Fourth Avenue. At the ceremony, Vice President of the railroad, John Mason hinted at the railroad's ambitions saying that while the railroad's principal objective was local, its higher importance was to get to Albany. In 1832 the company was given permission to raise its stock limit to $500,000, equal to $ today. In November, two horsecars built by John Stephenson were ready for operation, both of which were named after the railroad's president.
On April 27, 1837, an act was passed in the State Legislature to widen Fourth Avenue between 32nd Street and the Harlem River to provide room for the railroad. The street was widened by on either side, making the street wide. The company ceded the title for the land that would be occupied by Fourth Avenue to the city in exchange for permission to occupy it. In that same year, the railroad purchased six city lots at Fourth Avenue and 26th Street for $7,000 for the construction of car barns and stables.
The first section, along Bowery from Prince Street north to 14th Street, consisting of, opened to the public on November 26, 1832. On that day a demonstration showing the car's braking ability was conducted, but inadvertently, one horsecar rear-ended into another with no serious injuries. This might have been the first rear-end collision in the United States. Service was then extended northward along Fourth Avenue to 32nd Street on June 10, 1833. The Murray Hill rock cut was completed in 1834, and service along a -long segment to 85th Street in Yorkville opened on May 1, 1834. Service ran every 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 8 pm, and ran every 60 minutes to 10 pm. A one-way fare cost 12.5 cents Service was extended to finally reach Harlem on October 26, 1837, with the Yorkville Tunnel constructed to reach this point. At the time, Harlem was just a small suburb of the city. Service was also extended further south. On May 4, 1839, the line was extended south along Bowery, Broome Street and Centre Street to City Hall at Centre Street and Park Row. Service was extended south on November 26, 1852, along Park Row to Astor House at Park Row and Broadway.