The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor to the

New York Central and Hudson River 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 ...

, but was soon taken over by that company.

History

The first part of the line was built as the Saratoga and Hudson River Railroad, incorporated April 16, 1864 and opened in spring 1866. After only about a year of independent operation, the line served as a branch of the New York Central Railroad (NYC), splitting at Athens Junction near Schenectady and running southeast and south along the west side of the Hudson River to Athens, New York. Early plans included acquiring the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad as a northern extension. The Saratoga and Hudson River was bought and merged into the New York Central as its Athens Branch on September 9, 1867. The terminal at Athens was destroyed by fire in 1876. The line ran intermittently from then into the 1880s, with its tracks being torn up for good in 1888. It had been called the " White Elephant" Railroad for most of its existence because it quickly outlived whatever usefulness it may have had. Today, a row of brick houses known as the Brick Row Historic District, which was built in 1850 for the workers of the failed railroad, stand in Athens as the only remaining structure related to the "White Elephant" Railroad project. WestshoreRRWeehawkenimg096

At the south end of the route, the Ridgefield Park Railroad was incorporated April 4, 1867. This was planned as a branch of the

New Jersey Rail Road The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...

, splitting at Marion Junction and running north on the west side of the New Jersey Palisades via

Ridgefield Park Ridgefield Park is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the village's population was 12,729,Tappan, New York. Across the state line, the Rockland Central Railroad was incorporated on May 23, 1870, to continue the line to Haverstraw, and the Rockland Central Extension Railroad, incorporated May 29, 1872, was to continue farther north along the west side of the Hudson River. The Rockland Central and Rockland Central Extension merged on July 29, 1872, to form a new Rockland Central Railroad, and that company merged with the Ridgefield Park to form the Jersey City and Albany Railroad on June 24, 1873, with the intention of building a full line from

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Albany. The line first opened in 1872 as a spur of the New Jersey Midland Railway, which had built the section south of Ridgefield Park. At that time, the northern terminus was at Tappan; the extension north to Haverstraw, New York opened in 1879.

Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

struck soon, and the New York section of the line was sold on September 28, 1877, and reorganized on October 12, 1878, as the Jersey City and Albany Railway. The part in New Jersey was sold on August 17, 1878, and reorganized with the same name, and the two companies merged in January 1879 to form a consolidated Jersey City and Albany Railway. The North River Railway was incorporated on April 3, 1880, to extend the line north to Albany, with a branch to Schenectady and a connection to the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (O&W) at

Cornwall, New York Cornwall is a town in Orange County, New York, United States, approximately north of New York City on the western shore of the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 12,884. Cornwall has become a bedroom community for area t ...

. The North River Railway was consolidated with the Jersey City and Albany on May 5, 1881, to form the North River Railroad, again forming a single planned line between Jersey City and Albany. The Hudson River West Shore Railroad was incorporated on February 16, 1867, and the West Shore Hudson River Railroad was incorporated on October 28, 1867, absorbing the Hudson River West Shore on February 16, 1867. This was a second proposed line on the west shore of the river from New Jersey to Albany. The New York, West Shore and Chicago Railroad was incorporated July 13, 1870 and absorbed the West Shore Hudson River on July 21, 1877, with a planned line not only to Albany but then west along the south bank of the Mohawk River to Buffalo. That company was sold and reorganized as the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway on February 18, 1880, and on June 14, 1881, the North River Railroad was merged into it, forming one company in charge of the whole route from New Jersey to Buffalo. In 1883, the newly-formed company inaugurated service between Newburgh and

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, where passengers transferred to ferries across the river. A new alignment was built along the east side of the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in th ...

(formerly the New Jersey Midland) to North Bergen. By 1886, service operated to Weehawken Terminal through a tunnel under Bergen Hill that had been built in the three preceding years. The company leased the Athens Branch of the

, the old Saratoga and Hudson River Railroad, and incorporated it into its main line between Coxsackie and Fullers. At

Ravena Ravena is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,271 in the 2020 census an increase of 3 over the 2010 census. The village is in the southeast part of the town of Coeymans. History The village of Ravena ...

, along the Athens Branch, the main line turned northwest towards Schenectady, while a new branch continued north to Kenwood Junction on the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad in Albany. This full line formed an immediate threat to the NYC monopoly. In addition to its owned trackage, the West Shore (WS) also had trackage rights over the Suspension Bridge and Erie Junction Railroad and Erie International Railroad, providing a route from Buffalo to Ontario. After the New York Central took over the West Shore this was useless, as the New York Central had a parallel line, the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad. The West Shore also had relations with the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway (BHT&W), which would have run from the Hoosac Tunnel in Massachusetts west to Buffalo. Instead the BHT&W built only to

Rotterdam Junction Rotterdam is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-central part of the county. It was founded in 1661 by Dutch settlers, who named it after th ...

, west of Schenectady; it was later taken over by the Fitchburg Railroad and, after that, by the Boston and Maine Railroad. West Shore RR 1903

In 1881, the WS had been planned as a link in a new cross-country line from New York to San Francisco, using the Nickel Plate Road,

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...

, Northern Pacific Railroad and Oregon Navigation Company. However, William Henry Vanderbilt of the NYC bought the Nickel Plate in 1882, killing that plan. The NYC then proceeded to drive the New York, West Shore and Buffalo into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

via a brutal rate-war that the WS could not financially withstand The

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) recognized that the WS would make a great addition to its system, allowing it to penetrate deep into NYC territory. At the same time, the NYC was building the South Pennsylvania Railroad across southern Pennsylvania: deep in the Pennsylvania Railroad's territory. A destructive rate-war loomed, which was anathema to top railroad financier J.P. Morgan. His personal intervention with these two railroads' presidents, aboard his steam yacht "Corsair" in New York Harbor, forced the PRR and NYC railroads into an agreement under which the NYC would buy the WS and stop building the South Pennsylvania (sections of which were reused much later for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, in 1940.) The NYC bought the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway on November 24, 1885, and reorganized its new acquisition as the West Shore Railroad on December 5, leasing it for 475 years from January 1, 1886. In many sections, the WS ran on a straighter path than the NYC, and was thus used for through freight. For instance, between

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

and Utica, the WS followed the general line of the never-built

Syracuse and Utica Direct Railroad The Syracuse and Utica Direct Railroad, chartered in 1853, a rival company to the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, threatened to build a line from Syracuse, New York to Utica by a more direct route, by way of Vernon. This reduced the total travel ti ...

, which had been merged into the NYC.

Named trains and route stations

Several named trains traveled north from Weehawken to Albany including the ''Storm King Limited'' and the ''West Pointer.'' NYCRR RiverDiv 19671105

Main stops between Albany Union Station and Weehawken Terminal included Ravena, Coxsackie, Catskill, Saugerties,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Highland, Marlboro, Newburgh, Cornwall, West Point, Haverstraw, Congers, West Nyack, Orangeburg and Tappan, all in New York, and Dumont, Teaneck, Bogota and

Ridgefield Park Ridgefield Park is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the village's population was 12,729, File:Former Union Station, Albany, NY (34114970523).jpg, The former Albany (New York) Union Station building File:KingstonStation.jpg, Kingston station File:Old Newburgh, NY, train station.jpg, Newburgh station File:INTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTH - U. S. Military Academy, West Shore Railroad Passenger Station, West Point, Orange County, NY HABS NY,36-WEPO,1-29-5.tif, West Point station's interior

Current use

Passenger service on the line ended to Albany in 1958 and to

West Haverstraw West Haverstraw is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village incorporated in 1883 in the town of Haverstraw, New York, Haverstraw, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located no ...

in 1959, ending direct New York Central passenger train service on the west side of the Hudson River. The line became part of Penn Central in 1968, and passed to

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

in 1976 after Penn Central's 1970 bankruptcy. When Conrail was divided between

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

and Norfolk Southern, in 1999, the West Shore Railroad, along with most of the old New York Central lines, became part of CSX. It became CSX's River Subdivision, which begins west of the Hudson Palisades at North Bergen Yard in

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in t ...

. Proceeding north it passes through

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rockland County, New York, and up the west side of the Hudson River to Selkirk Yard, from which there are connections to points west and east. South of North Bergen Yard it connects to the

Northern Running Track Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

, part of

. The tunnel under the Palisades is part of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail which emerges at the Hudson Waterfront at

Weehawken Port Imperial Port Imperial is an intermodal transit hub on the Weehawken, New Jersey, waterfront of the Hudson River across from Midtown Manhattan, served by New York Waterway ferries and buses, Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, and NJT buses. The district lies ...

West Shore Regional Proposal

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, New Jersey Transit, the main provider of contemporary rail and bus service in the locale, expressed interest in potentially restoring passenger service to the line due to ever-increasing ridership on the local bus lines. In 1997, a $3.97 million grant was given to New Jersey Transit by the Federal Transit Administration. At the time, many towns along the line supported the idea, and went as far as conducting zoning procedures to allow room for the new additions the railroad would bring. Considering the current line is not under proprietorship of New Jersey Transit, a new right-of-way would be installed parallel to the existing freight line. However, funding remained an issue, as did disagreement with CSX. Ultimately, focus on the project was dropped in favor of progress on the

Northern Branch Corridor Project The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposed extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) from its northern terminus into eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, initially proposed in 2001. If built, the new service would use the right-of- ...

and Meadowlands Rail Line (completed in 2009). An official status on the project has not since been noted.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Railroad History Database

Existing Railroad Stations in New York State
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Shore Railroad Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Defunct New Jersey railroads Defunct New York (state) railroads Erie Canal Hudson River Railway companies established in 1885 Railway companies disestablished in 1952 Subdivisions of the New York Central Railroad Weehawken, New Jersey Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Rockland County, New York Defunct railroads in Syracuse, New York Railroads controlled by the Vanderbilt family Rail lines in Rockland County, New York