(erielack) Re: Erie Main / Graham Line

[Richard P <rjp_jr_@_yahoo.com>]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first posting to the erielack list.  I’ve
enjoyed reading the postings since I joined last July.
I thought I’d add my 2 cents ( a little late!) to the
Erie Main / Graham Line thread from January 4…I’ve
lived in the Orange County, NY area for 28 yrs and
occasionally take the train to Hoboken..so it was
particularly interesting to me…

The section of the Erie Main Line that was abandoned
in Orange County, NY begins in the east at the
Newburgh Junction ‘Y’ in Harriman, NY where the Main
Line and the Graham Line diverged (you can see
Newburgh Junction from the present Metro North
Harriman Station off Rt. 17 if you are looking
westbound down the tracks).  The stops along this
segment of the Main Line listed in Erie’s 1906 time
table were: Harriman (former known as Turner), Monroe,
Oxford Depot, Greycourt, Chester, Goshen, New Hampton,
Middletown, and Howells at the western end where the
Graham Line rejoined the Main Line.  

The final commuter train to run on the old Main Line
before commuter service was switched to the Graham
Line was Train #71 on Saturday April 16, 1983.  The
station stops still in use on the Main Line at that
time were Harriman, Monroe, Chester, Goshen and
downtown Middletown…I remember the platforms were in
awful condition!  The final work train passed through
to remove the rails and ties sometime in mid-December
1984…a very sad day!  A section of track a few
thousand feet long was left in place from the ‘Y’ at
Newburgh Junction to serve the Nepera Chemical Company
and to serve a future planed industrial park just past
the River Road railroad crossing in Harriman (which
never materialized). There was a two track siding left
in place at Greycourt which linked up with the former
Lehigh Valley Line now used by Norfolk Southern and
NYS&W.  This siding is still in use today.  Judging
from the way the tracks are aligned,  it looks like
they could have been part of the Main Line.  At the
western end, a few thousand feet of track were left in
place from Howells into the City of Middletown.  Most
of that track was removed in the late 80’s after a run
away freight car rolled into the city!

Today the County of Orange owns most of the old Main
Line right-of-way and has turned a large part of it
into a county park rail-trail.  They have paved it
from the Shortline Bus commuter parking lot located
next to Museum Village in Monroe (just off exit 129 on
Route 17) to the former Goshen train station.  Plans
are in the works to extend the paved section from the
Shortline parking lot to the former Harriman train
station on Grove Street.  In anticipation of this, the
section of Main Line track which was left in place at
the east end from the bridge crossing route 17 at
Nepera Chemical, on past the River Road railroad
crossing in Harriman going west towards Monroe (for
that future industrial park that never
materialized)was removed in July 2001.  Now, the
Nepera Chemical switching yard is all that’s left of
the eastern end of the Main Line.  Getting back to the
rail trail…it is used heavily by the community during
the warm months - walking, running, rollerblading and
cycling (no motorized vehicles are allowed). 
Emergency phones have been installed at mile
increments along the paved section and it’s patrolled
by local police departments.  That having been said,
if you are thinking of venturing  out to use the trail
there are access points in Goshen, Chester and
Monroe…DO NOT go by yourself and bring a cell
phone…there are many remote areas along the route that
are not easily accessed and a few incidences have
occurred since it was opened.  

Most of the stations along the old Main Line still
stand…The Harriman Station on Grove St. is still
standing but is boarded up and in terrible condition. 
There has been talk of turning it into a museum for
several years now.  The original 1842 Monroe Station
on Lake St. is still standing…the bottom floor is a
bar – “The Ale House”.  The new station that was built
in 1913 to replace it a few hundred feet to the east
burned down in 1977. Today all that is left is the
foundation and remnants of a platform.   The Oxford
Depot Station on Oxford Square Rd in Blooming Grove is
now a private residence…you would never know it was
once used for a station.   The Station in Chester on
Railroad Ave. has been restored and is used by the
Chester Historical Society and is open to the public. 
The Goshen Station has been restored and is used as a
police station.  The downtown Middletown Station on
James St. has been restored and is now the City
Library. Much of the right-of-way in the downtown area
has been paved over and is used for a municipal
parking lot.

Well that’s all for now…

Rich P.



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End of ErieLack Digest V3 #435
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