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RE: (erielack) Hypothetical Question on The Southern Tier



Rich Fleischer asked:

> Someone recently posted about the possibility of the 
> rebuilding of the 
> Poukeepsie Bridge. 
> 
> If this ever happened, what might the affect be on Maybrook 
> and the Southern 
> Tier? anyone care to speculate?


There is an excellent book on the Poughkeepsie Bridge and the original railroads in that area by Carleton Mabee, which makes some speculation about this very question.

Maybrook is a trucking terminal, with no railroads in the area anymore, so there won't be a resurrection of Maybrook. More critically is - where's the freight going to/coming from? On the west end of the bridge, you'd have to rebuild the former L&HR or Erie towards Campbell Hall - not a cheap prospect with home construction happening all over the place in that area.

On the east end, it's even trickier. What lines do you connect to? Former NH "Maybrook Line?"  Metro-North or the friendly folks in those neighborhoods may not like the idea of having freight trains rolling through their backyards. Plus, what major terminal city are you going for? New Haven? Boston? Not a practical idea when CSX already has good lines into both...

One idea that many folks have had is to use the Poughkeepsie Bridge route as a bypass around the New York City area. Of course, this would have been much more feasible if the entire L&HR were still in place! :(

If the line is rebuilt for commuter service, freight service might be feasible, but it will certainly be a tricky prospect.

	- Paul

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