Poughkeepsie, NY

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
dadonatrain

dadonatrain

Service Attendant
Joined
Feb 17, 2022
Messages
195
Location
Easley, SC
Not sure which thread this goes in.

I want to take a scenic day trip up the Hudson while in New York for a week next month. I’ve been advised riding up to Poughkeepsie and walking across the Hudson is worth the trip.

My question now is how do I get TO the bridge from the train station? I’ve heard it’s a “brisk hike” uphill. 10 or 20 years ago I’d be undaunted but today I’m 79 and diabetic and exercise drives my blood sugar through the floor. If this hike would truly be even mildly uphill it’d be a non starter for me.

Does anyone know if public transportation or maybe Uber is available there? I’ll Google the website of course, but I’m asking here also cuz many here often know the answers.

Thx.
 
I haven't been up on the bridge yet myself, but it is a long way up from the Metro North tracks, and the bridge extends eastward over a chunk of Poughkeepsie before making landfall. You would not want to hike from the station to the east end of the bridge, as it would be all uphill for about a mile. However, there is an elevator from near the river's edge that appears to start from near the level of the rail line at 83 North Water St., less than a 10-minute walk from the station, and goes right up to the walkway level, the equivalent of 21 stories high. According to the Walkway Over the Hudson website (walkway.org), the elevator is in operation from 9 a.m. until 90 minutes before sunset and may not operate in severe weather. It is also described as "seasonal." You'd want to check their site to make sure it's running before you go. I'm sure Uber and taxis would be available if you wanted to take one between the station and either access point.
 
Last edited:
It's been a few years since I crossed the Hudson on the old rail bridge. The bridge is at least 200 feet above the river. It overlooks the rail line and like many places along the Hudson, it is a spectacular view. I wouldn't want to hike to the bridge however. I'd take a taxi or Uber. The bridge was an active connector between western NYState and New England until service was discontinued and the bridge fell into disrepair. One note: If it's chilly, there can be a really cold wind from the north. The Hudson is a N/S river and funnels wind. While you are in the area, consider visiting Hyde Park. If you are able, make reservations at the Culinary Institute. There is lunch service in the teaching kitchens that may include some tasty food. There is also the Roosevelt Mansion. That part of the Hudson Valley is evocative of some European river valleys.
 
The elevator is open all year, subject to weather and maintenance.

It's 0.3 mi. from the station, on Google Maps. I visited a couple of years ago. I don't recall it being particularly steep, but I was using a mobility scooter, so I may not have noticed. On Google Earth, it looks like it's about 20' down, and then 20' up, in either direction. The 20' up is from the park entrance to the elevator, so I don't think an Uber would get you past that.

This website has elevator hours by month & a number to call to check on status: Visit
 
Last edited:
pennyk said:
Shortly after the new bridge opened, I walked from the station to the bridge and over the bridge. It was not a short walk, but doable. The view from the bridge was incredible.
Click to expand...
The Walkway is part of a mixed use trail system that uses the old rail right of way for its route. You probably can Uber to a street-level trail connector that is somewhat upstream from the elevator. Long ago, a friend who worked for Western Union was supervisor of the team that connected a Western Union line from FDR's Hyde Park residence to a telegraph line across the Hudson. He wouldn't let his crew carry the wire across the bridge--he did it himself. If you take the Walkway think of the guys that built and maintained that spider-web bridge.
 
railiner said:
The Boston-Washington Federal Express ran the first all-rail passenger route between the two cities over it, for a few years prior to the Hell Gate Bridge opening...
Click to expand...
I think I remember seeing that train in an old Official Guide. Didn't it run through NJ via the Lehigh & Hudson River line?
 
Last edited:
jis said:
Here is the route it followed... (By Unknown author - Scanned map from unknown source, Public Domain, File:Poughkeepsie Bridge Route.gif - Wikimedia Commons)

View attachment 34406
Click to expand...
Not quite that way...this copied from the Wiki article said it ran the current NEC except diverted between New Haven and Trenton....
On October 19, the Federal Express began operating over an all-rail route via the Poughkeepsie Bridge. The routing involved a long detour between New Haven and Trenton, using the NYNH&H Maybrook Line (via Derby, Danbury, and Brewster, New York), the NYNH&H's Central New England Railway across the bridge to Maybrook, New York, the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway to Belvidere, New Jersey, and the PRR's Belvidere-Delaware Railroad branch. Due to freight congestion on the Maybrook Line, the train was discontinued on January 9, 1916.

With the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad on April 1, 1917, the Federal Express and Colonial Express were restored as through trains via Penn Station and the Hell Gate Bridge.
 
railiner said:
Not quite that way...this copied from the Wiki article said it ran the current NEC except diverted between New Haven and Trenton....
On October 19, the Federal Express began operating over an all-rail route via the Poughkeepsie Bridge. The routing involved a long detour between New Haven and Trenton, using the NYNH&H Maybrook Line (via Derby, Danbury, and Brewster, New York), the NYNH&H's Central New England Railway across the bridge to Maybrook, New York, the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway to Belvidere, New Jersey, and the PRR's Belvidere-Delaware Railroad branch. Due to freight congestion on the Maybrook Line, the train was discontinued on January 9, 1916.

With the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad on April 1, 1917, the Federal Express and Colonial Express were restored as through trains via Penn Station and the Hell Gate Bridge.
Click to expand...
A train actually operated on multiple slightly different route apparently depending on which specific year one is talking about. Of course the Poughkeepsie Bridge from Maybrook seems to have been a constant. Today there is a less used branch which was in place the last time I went by that way, from NJT/MNRR Campbell Hall station on the Port Jervis Line, heading off towards Maybrook. From Campbell Hall to Sparta is still an active railroad rebuilt by NYSW for operating freight trains from Oak Island area in NJ to the ex-Erie Line along the Delaware River beyond Port Jervis.

One thing I found interesting is that at least for some time a train operated into Causeway Street in Boston, which would place it in the vicinity of what is North Station today AFAICT.
 
Last edited:
jis said:
It actually operated on multiple slightly different route apparently depending on which specific year one is talking about. Of course the Pughkeepsie Bridge from Maybrook seems to have been a constant. Today there is a less used branch which was in place the last time I went by that way, from NJT/MNRR Campbell Hall station on the Port Jervis Line, heading off towards Maybrook. From Campbell Hall to Sparta is still an active railroad rebuilt by NYSW for operating freight trains from Oak Island area in NJ to the ex-Erie Line along the Delaware River beyond Port Jervis.

One thing I found interesting is that at least for some time it operated into Causeway Street in Boston, which would place it in the vicinity of what is North Station today AFAICT.
Click to expand...
During the years it operated as a thru train via the Poughkeepsie Bridge, it ran as the Wiki article indicated. It did not use the B&M, nor the Reading and B&O, as that map route showed.
Here’s a copy of a condensed PRR timetable, showing major stops…

http://prr.railfan.net/documents/pdf/timetables/Timetable_Form07_1914-04-13_20th_RS.pdf
 
railiner said:
During the years it operated as a thru train via the Poughkeepsie Bridge, it ran as the Wiki article indicated. It did not use the B&M, nor the Reading and B&O, as that map route showed.
Here’s a copy of a condensed PRR timetable, showing major stops…

http://prr.railfan.net/documents/pdf/timetables/Timetable_Form07_1914-04-13_20th_RS.pdf
Click to expand...
Good to know. Thanks.

So the Federal Express never operated to Causeway Street, but operated to South Station. Indeed that would stand to reason it being a PRR train. I was wondering why I remembered that it ran through Danbury. Now I know why.

Anyhow the Wiki article Poughkeepsie Bridge Route claims that B&O operated a train along the route shown in the map in the 1890s. And it is this one that operated to Causeway Street, which makes perfect sense, since it entered Boston via B&M.

The Federal Express started operating in the 1910s or thereabouts. Which might explain the discrepancy between the map and the Federal Express timetable.

So we have two different trains using the same bridge in two different time periods. Fascinating! I did not realize that until digging a little deeper while trying to figure out the reason for the discrepancy.
 
Last edited:
That route from the 1890s seems totally amazing -- starting off on the B&M Central Mass. line and continuing on all of that long-gone trackage through northwestern CT and Pine Plains NY. The later routing using the NH through Danbury seems at least to resemble what freight trains did in my lifetime.

Either way, the idea of a Boston-Washington overnight passenger train running via the L&HR seems fantastic today. I can remember many car trips between NJ and PA as a kid, before I-80 was completed, going over the L&HR on US 46 and looking down at the old Great Meadows depot, which even then seemed like a ghost from some past era.
 
blueman271 said:
According to Google Maps it is a six minute walk from the train station to Upper Landing Park which is where the elevator is located. The Walkway Over the Hudson provides amazing views but it may be cold when you visit.
Click to expand...
Walked the bridge on Oct. 2, 2022, and it was in fact cold and windy to this Florida Man. There was a neat event on the west (far) side with food vendors, artists, and such.

We got up there from a stairwell at Washington Street, which would be a bit of an uphill hike from the train station, but I don't think the elevator was operating that day.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top