Poughkeepsie Bridge Route
Encyclopedia
The Poughkeepsie Bridge Route was a passenger train route from Washington, D.C.
to Boston, Massachusetts, via Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
It specifically avoided New York City
, due to the lack of a direct crossing in that area, instead passing over the Poughkeepsie Bridge
at Poughkeepsie, New York
. Another selling point was its Boston terminus at North Station
, allowing a direct transfer to Boston and Maine Railroad
lines to the north.
The Federal Express
later used a similar route for several years in the 1910's, but ran via Trenton, New Jersey
and New Haven, Connecticut
.
The route used the following companies' lines:
The route was only used from 1890 to 1893, after which operating patterns changed.http://web.archive.org/web/20040509110247/http://www.wayland.ma.us/historical/1085.01+Chapter+4.pdf Parts of the route near the Poughkeepsie Bridge have been converted to rail trail
s; the Hudson Valley Rail Trail
to the west, and the Dutchess Rail Trail
to the east. The closure of the bridge to rail traffic after a 1974 fire eliminated the route and created the Selkirk hurdle
.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to Boston, Massachusetts, via Baltimore, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
It specifically avoided New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, due to the lack of a direct crossing in that area, instead passing over the Poughkeepsie Bridge
Poughkeepsie Bridge
The Poughkeepsie Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York on the east bank and Highland, New York on the west bank...
at Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
. Another selling point was its Boston terminus at North Station
North Station (Boston)
North Station is a major transportation hub located at Causeway and Nashua Streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the city's two terminals for Amtrak and MBTA commuter trains, the other being South Station...
, allowing a direct transfer to Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
lines to the north.
The Federal Express
Federal Express (passenger train)
The Federal Express was an overnight named passenger train run by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington, DC's Union Station and Boston, Massachusetts's South Station from 1912 to 1971. Train numbers on both railroads were 172 northbound and...
later used a similar route for several years in the 1910's, but ran via Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
and New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
The route used the following companies' lines:
- Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
- Washington to Philadelphia - Philadelphia and Reading Railroad - Philadelphia to Bethlehem, PennsylvaniaBethlehem, PennsylvaniaBethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
(via the North Pennsylvania RailroadNorth Pennsylvania RailroadNorth Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company formed in 1855, and served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County, Pennsylvania.-History:...
) - Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
- Bethlehem to Easton, PennsylvaniaEaston, PennsylvaniaEaston is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County.... - Lehigh and Hudson River RailwayLehigh and Hudson River RailwayThe Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast-southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it...
- Easton to Maybrook, New YorkMaybrook, New YorkMaybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,084 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined... - Central New England and Western Railroad - Maybrook to Simsbury, ConnecticutSimsbury, ConnecticutSimsbury is a suburban town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 23,234 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's twenty-first town in May 1670.-Early history:...
- New York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadNew York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadThe New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
- Simsbury to Northampton, MassachusettsNorthampton, MassachusettsThe city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
(via the New Haven and Northampton Company) - Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
- Northampton to Boston (North StationNorth Station (Boston)North Station is a major transportation hub located at Causeway and Nashua Streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the city's two terminals for Amtrak and MBTA commuter trains, the other being South Station...
) (via the former Central Massachusetts RailroadCentral Massachusetts RailroadThe Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad running west from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, as a parallel competitor to the Boston and Albany Railroad and Fitchburg Railroad...
)
The route was only used from 1890 to 1893, after which operating patterns changed.http://web.archive.org/web/20040509110247/http://www.wayland.ma.us/historical/1085.01+Chapter+4.pdf Parts of the route near the Poughkeepsie Bridge have been converted to rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
s; the Hudson Valley Rail Trail
Hudson Valley Rail Trail
The Hudson Valley Rail Trail is a paved east–west rail trail in the town of Lloyd in Ulster County, New York, stretching from the Poughkeepsie Bridge through the hamlet of Highland. The trail was originally part of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Route, a rail corridor that crossed the Hudson River via...
to the west, and the Dutchess Rail Trail
Dutchess Rail Trail
The Dutchess Rail Trail is a rail trail that stretches from Poughkeepsie east and south to Hopewell Junction. It occupies the right-of-way of the former Central New England Railway's abandoned Maybrook Line....
to the east. The closure of the bridge to rail traffic after a 1974 fire eliminated the route and created the Selkirk hurdle
Selkirk hurdle
The Selkirk Hurdle is the term used by urban planners, railroad employees, politicians and others to describe the route that must be taken by freight trains traveling between New York City or other points in downstate New York and points in the United States west of the Hudson River...
.