 New York and Harlem Railroad (red) andNew York Central system (orange) as of 1918 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | New York |
| Dates of operation | 1832–1873 (main line) 1832–1896 and 1920–1935 (streetcars) |
| Successor | New York Central Railroad (north of 42nd Street) New York City Railway (south of 42nd Street) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheNew York and Harlem Railroad (now theMetro-North Railroad'sHarlem Line) was one of thefirst railroads in the United States, and was the world's firststreet railway.[1][2] Designed byJohn Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 betweenLower Manhattan Island to and beyondHarlem. Horses initially pulled railway carriages, followed by a conversion to steam engines, then on to battery-powered Julien electric traction cars.[3][4][5] In 1907, the then leaseholders of the line,New York City Railway, a streetcar operator, went into receivership. Following a further receivership in 1932, theNew York Railways Corporationconverted the line to bus operation. TheMurray Hill Tunnel now carries alane of road traffic, but not the buses.
The line became part of theNew York Central Railroad system withtrackage rights granted to theNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad into Manhattan. It is now part of theMetro-North Railroad system, and the onlyManhattan trackage of that system. As of 2017, Metro-North operates commuter passenger service from Grand Central Terminal, via Southeast (change from electric to diesel power), to Wassaic. The trackless right-of-way from Wassaic to Chatham is being converted to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
The New York and Harlem Railroad was first built from the originalGrand Central Terminal on 42nd Street inNew York City to suburbanHarlem. Opposition to the charter was voiced bysteamboat proprietors, whose service was successfully competed against by the new railroad; to avoid steamboat competition on the Hudson River, the tracks were laid on the east side of Manhattan Island, away from the Hudson. The railroad was extended an additional 125 miles (201 km) northward, reachingChatham, New York in 1852.[6][7] When the railroad was extended further, it provided a rail route for people and commerce northward toAlbany,Boston, and towns inVermont andCanada.[7] The completion of the Harlem Valley Railroad also resulted in the availability of products transported by rail directly to New York City, rather than depending on river transport viaPoughkeepsie.[7]
In 1831, when the New York and Harlem Railroad received itscharter, it was an early commuter railroad connecting Harlem withlower Manhattan (New York City).[7][6][8] Early in the 1840s, the Harlem Valley Railroad was extended northward intoWestchester County, and then was authorized by the New York State Legislature to be further extended northward in order to create a connection with Albany.[7] On May 12, 1846, a new competitor received its charter to build a railroad alongside the Hudson River between New York City's lower Manhattan west side and Albany, backed mostly by wealthy Poughkeepsie manufacturers and merchants. (It was completed to Albany on October 3, 1851, after a great amount of costly blasting, filling and tunneling the craggy eastern shore of the Hudson River.) The Harlem Valley's directors started to worry that Boston would have a competitive advantage over New York City for the expanding "western trade."[7] An easier and less-costly inland route, also to be named "Harlem Valley", was thus created.
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The company was incorporated on April 25, 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad, to linkNew York City with suburbanHarlem.[9] Among the company's founders wasJohn Mason, a wealthy banker and president ofChemical Bank who was among the largest landowners in New York City. They decided to build their railroad on the eastern side of Manhattan Island, convinced that it would never be able to compete with steamboat traffic on the Hudson River.
The first section, alongBowery fromPrince Street north to14th Street, opened on November 26, 1832.[10] After that, the following sections opened:
Between 1847 and 1856, a track was built inGrand Street betweenCentre Street andBowery (along with one block on the Bowery) for northbound trains.[15] Southbound trains continued to use the old route.
In 1864 or 1865, a branch was added for trains between downtown and theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing, running along32nd Street,Lexington Avenue and34th Street. This was the start of separatehorse car service, running between Astor House and the ferry.
Grand Central Depot opened just north of42nd Street in October, 1871, and intercity passenger trains from the north were ended there. Freight trains continued to operate along the tracks south of Grand Central, as did streetcars (still turning off at 42nd Street).
As in otherearly railroads, the dominant propulsion in the railroad's early years was horse power. In 1837,steam engines were introduced, but their use was limited to areas outside of the heavily settled parts of the city, which was then south of23rd Street.[16]
The New York CityCommon Council passed an ordinance on December 27, 1854, to take effect in 18 months, barring the NY&H from using steam power south of42nd Street, due tocomplaints by persons whose property abutted the right-of-way. Before that, the steam locomotives had run to32nd Street. When the ordinance took effect, the NY&H had not done anything. After much debate, including aninjunction issued preventing the city from enforcing the ordinance, the courts struck down the injunction on July 30, 1858.[17][18]
In 1864, the railroad was purchased byCornelius Vanderbilt, who consolidated it five years later with theHudson River Railroad to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad: a precursor of the much largerNew York Central Railroad.[16]
On July 2, 1870,horsecars started to run not only to the 34th Street Ferry but to73rd Street viaMadison Avenue. These trains ran through theMurray Hill Tunnel and turned west on 42nd before going north on Madison (northbound cars usedVanderbilt Avenue to44th Street).[19] The line was soon extended to86th Street and then toHarlem.
On April 1, 1873, the NY&H leased its freight lines to theNew York Central and Hudson River Railroad, but the horsecar line south of Grand Central remained separate. This eventually became theNew York Central Railroad and then part ofPenn Central andConrail.Metro-North Railroad took over the line in 1983.
The first electricstreetcar open to passengers inNew York City, aJulien electric traction car, was run on September 17, 1888 on the line to86th Street.[20] The line went back to using horses for a time, but switched to a "below-gradethird rail" (commonly called a "conduit") in 1897. On July 1, 1896, theMetropolitan Street Railway leased the streetcar lines.
TheNew York City Railway, which leased the Metropolitan, and hence also these lines, went intoreceivership on September 24, 1907.[21][22] The receivers returned operation of the Fourth Avenue line back to theMetropolitan Street Railway on July 31, 1908. The lease was terminated on January 31, 1920, with operation returned to the NY&H.
On October 10, 1932, it was leased again, this time to theNew York Railways Corporation, with the right toconvert the line to bus operation. The stockholders voted to do this on February 19, 1934.
An approximation of the route is now traveled byNYCT Bus'sM1 bus. TheMurray Hill Tunnel now carries a lane of roadway, but not the buses.
specifically, the "power to construct a single or double railroad or way from any point on the north bounds of Twenty-third street to any point on the Harlem river...to transport, take, and carry property and persons upon the same by the power and force of steam, of animals, or of any mechanical or other power, or any combination of them..."
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