The North County Trailway is a long paved
rail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
stretching from
Eastview to
Baldwin Place in
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
. It is also part of the statewide
Empire State Trail
The Empire State Trail is a multi-use trail in New York State that was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in January 2017 and completed in December 2020. The trail runs from Manhattan north to the Canadian border in Rouses Point near the northern t ...
.
History and route
The North County Trailway was constructed along the
Putnam Division
The New York and Putnam Railroad, nicknamed the Old Put, was a railroad line that operated between the Bronx and Brewster in New York State. It was in close proximity to the Hudson River Railroad and New York and Harlem Railroad. All three cam ...
railbed of the former
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
("Old Put"). At its north end it becomes the
Putnam County Trailway, which continues along the former railbed to
Brewster, New York
Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York. Its population was 2,390 at the time of the 2010 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was nam ...
.
It connects to the
South County Trailway
The South County Trailway is a long rail trail stretching from the Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to the North County Trailway in East View, New York. Westchester County Parks constructed the trailway in segments beginning in 1 ...
in Eastview, also built along the former railroad. It connects through the Eastview parking lot to the Tarrytown Lakes Extension and Tarrytown Lakes Trail to the Old Croton Aqueduct and Tarrytown.
While primarily a dedicated multi-use path, trail users are directed by signs to use a highway shoulder for two sections between Briarcliff Manor and Millwood.
The Putnam Division provided passenger service from 1881 to 1958 between
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and Putnam County, with freight service continuing until 1962. The railroad served 23 stations in Westchester County. Historic marker plaques have been placed at most of the former stations.
In 2019, County Executive George Latimer announced that $8.7 million would be dedicated to improving the trailway. The project is expected to be done in 2020.
See also
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List of rail trails in New York
This list of rail trails in New York lists former railroad rights-of-way in New York that have been converted to rail trails for public use. Many of these rail trails are also part of the statewide Empire State Trail network, which officially ope ...
References
External links
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{{coord, 41.0667, N, 73.8050, W, source:wikidata, display=title
Protected areas of Westchester County, New York