NYC 1935 New York High Line

The West Side Cowboys and the White Turkeys have been forgotten. The West Side Line has seen the same people-friendly repurposing as many of Canada's pioneer railways. Today, you can even travel along the New York High Line urban park via Google Maps. 

This article comes from a short-run serial magazine from the mid-1930s: Railway Wonders of the World (Amalgamated Press). They were dutifully transported to Canada in airborne luggage by a penpal contact of long standing who visited my mother from the UK. They were transported because her spouse - LC Gagnon - 'likes trains'.

The identity and interests of that particular conscientious collector of the 1930s are lost to history. He might well have been of the same cohort as our maternal grandfather who was in Europe 1915-1919 with the Canadian Railway Construction Corps. 

Busy with all sorts of written correspondence, grandchildren-related activities, history reading, and a having a greater interest in Canadian, and some American, roads, LC Gagnon carefully wrapped and salted away this collection in the garage. They were passed on to me in the 1990s with limited and almost apologetic artifact-promoting enthusiasm. From time to time, selected articles are posted here if I think there might be some interest in them. Often we do become quite specialized in our own railway interests, it seems.

As I get older, I find my interest in railway systems has become deeper and broader. The original simple idea of steel wheels running on 'metals' to keep carts transporting heavy loads from sinking in the mud has contributed, and still does contribute, a great deal to the world's standard of living. 

This magazine series includes articles on many of the colonial railways then in place. These railways promoted local economic activity and increased the prosperity of the various empires whose engineers were sent to build them.

The series is also available on-line. You'll see that it really does present a true international perspective on railroading. Typical for the era, Canadian railway company publicity photos are used in many of the articles on Canadian topics. 

Here is the New York Central-supported article on their new West Side line.

*  *  *

The YouTube link below perfectly illustrates the typically dangerous urban conditions before this grade separation on the west side of New York. This is one of the YouTube channels which Jim Christie first discovered and generously shared with his correspondents. 

The description indicates that the location is probably in the area of 33rd Street and 11th Avenue. At around 4:30 in the video, an engine passes and the engineer displays typical, harmless, 'don't take it so personally' 'New-York-style acknowledgement behaviour' to the hand-operated camera operator. 

As I understand it, the old motion film cameras had no automatic speed regulation and adding simple spring-driven mechanisms would subject the frame-rate to torque decay. However, skilled professional camera operators were known for their ability to maintain a solid, steady crank rate with their right hands. 

Both the engineer and the photographer share the skill of regulating cranks attached to wheels.

New York Central: the West Side Line in 1927 and 1928

*  *  *

Map from 1956 Showing New York Central's New York Operations

LC Gagnon had become a seasoned New York visitor via the D&H in the late 1940s - seen elsewhere on this blog. However, I don't think he was down there when this March 1956 tourist pamphlet was picked up: The New York Visitor (map, attractions, advertising pamphlet); March 1956; New York Central System.

I had to do a 'work-around image cut' to have the map display properly (Blogspot software is in flux these days). However, a key location is just above where I cut the image, so just find the cut and look above for the "New York Central Freight Yards 33rd Street".

The St John's Park 'location' mentioned in the article has disappeared from local New York place names, I think, but you can see it marked at the southern terminal of the line. 

from: The New York Visitor (map, attractions, advertising pamphlet); March 1956; New York Central System.