Hudson River Rails

The Hudson River has been an avenue for transportation since the area was settled. First it was boat traffic and then railroads built on the Hudson’s banks. The New York Central & Hudson River RR built on the east shore and became the “Water Level Route” to Chicago. Competition arose with the construction of the West Shore Railroad. But the West Shore was ultimately absorbed by the Central. In the late 1980’s, the east shore rails carried passenger traffic on Amtrak and Metro North. On the west side, Conrail hauled heavy freight to New Jersey and beyond. We’ll visit Poughkeepsie Station and Chelsea on the east side of the river and Selkirk, Ravenna, Highland, Newburgh, Cornwall-on-Hudson and Iona Island on the west side of the mighty Hudson.