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Wassaic station

Coordinates: 41°48′53″N 73°33′44″W / 41.8147°N 73.5623°W / 41.8147; -73.5623
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Wassaic
Train departing the station, seen from its entrance road to the south
General information
LocationWassaic, New York
Coordinates41°48′53″N 73°33′44″W / 41.8147°N 73.5623°W / 41.8147; -73.5623
Line(s)Harlem Line
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsBike transport Harlem Valley Rail Trail
Construction
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone10
History
Opened1857; 167 years ago (1857)
ClosedMarch 20, 1972; 52 years ago (1972-03-20)[1]
RebuiltJuly 9, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-07-09)
Passengers
2018241[2] (Metro-North)
Rank87 of 109[2]
Services
Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station
Tenmile River
toward Southeast
Harlem Line
Wassaic Branch
(weekdays)
Terminus
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
State School
toward New York
Harlem Division Amenia
toward Chatham
Location
Map

Wassaic station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in the town of Amenia, New York. It is the northern terminal of the Harlem Line.

The station is located on New York State Routes 22 and 343 just north of the hamlet of Wassaic.

History

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The first Wassaic train station was about a half-mile south of its current location and was situated in the actual town section of Wassaic. The station operated by New York and Harlem Railroad, and later New York Central Railroad served the surrounding village area, as well as towns even as far as Connecticut. Following the line's construction, a hotel was built in the area, and freight service served three nearby industries that came to the town. In 1968, the railroad merged with longtime rival Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central Railroad, and thus the station and line became property of the newly merged railroad. On March 20, 1972 Penn Central abandoned service north of Dover,[1] and in 1990, rails were removed from Millerton south to milepost 81.33 which became the northernmost point of the freight operation by Penn Central on the Harlem Line.

The physical end of the track is located just north of the current Wassaic yard, at mile post 83.68, there is no track or railroad past that point, but the roadbed, which is still visible, is slowly being reclaimed by nature. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail now operates a paved trail over the existing road bed. Some 45.8 miles (35.9%) of track have been removed in two stages following some bitter court battles.

Before the station reopened on July 9, 2000,[3] Metro-North Railroad rehabilitated the tracks and grade crossings that existed north of Dover Plains and moved the physical location of the Wassaic train station to approximately one half mile north of the old station and constructed a new rail yard facility. The moving of the station to the new location resulted in the re-laying of tracks over the existing rail bed approximately three quarters of a mile where the tracks end.

Station layout

[edit]

The station has one four-car-long high-level side platform to the east of the track.[4]: 17  A small storage yard exists to the north of the station platform.

References

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  1. ^ a b Layton, Preston; Oliver, Richard (March 21, 1972). "PC Ends Run, Strands Riders". New York Daily News. p. 22. Retrieved December 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b METRO-NORTH 2018 WEEKDAY STATION BOARDINGS. Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group:OPERATIONS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT:Metro-North Railroad. April 2019. p. 6.
  3. ^ Rowe, Claudia (July 9, 2000). "6 Miles for $6 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  4. ^ "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
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