# Okay, So I Wasn't Actually On The Train



## sweet tea (Jul 2, 2008)

Hey Gang,

Thought of ya'll last night as I rode a boat around Manhattan Island. Tons of drawbridges, but the only one that had to open for our little ship was the Amtrak bridge at the top of the island -- the one for the tracks going to Poughkeepsie and beyond, that the LSL takes.

Anyhow, thought someone here might enjoy seeing a pic or two of it open:












(mods please move this topic if this isn't the place for it. thanks  )


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## WhoozOn1st (Jul 2, 2008)

I have sort of a thing for bridges, so thank you, sweet tea.


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## MrFSS (Jul 2, 2008)

WhoozOn1st999 said:


> I have sort of a thing for bridges, so thank you, sweet tea.


And all along I thought you had a thing for Fezes!!


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## Bill Haithcoat (Jul 2, 2008)

And I have a thing for set-out sleepers.

And that is all I will admit to. :lol:


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## Bill Haithcoat (Jul 2, 2008)

sweet tea said:


> Hey Gang,
> Thought of ya'll last night as I rode a boat around Manhattan Island. Tons of drawbridges, but the only one that had to open for our little ship was the Amtrak bridge at the top of the island -- the one for the tracks going to Poughkeepsie and beyond, that the LSL takes.
> 
> Anyhow, thought someone here might enjoy seeing a pic or two of it open:
> ...


Guess you were on the Blue Circle tour? I really like that. It is a good easy way to see Manhattan. I took my mother on that when she was elderly and with Parkinson's disease. She would have been unable to deal with buses, climbing up and down steps, etc.. So she sat there and saw all she needed to see and loved it. They managed to circle the Statue of Liberty(this was before 9/11) so all could see it, such as folks who had tot remain seated as she did. I ran around all over the place but checked back on her frequently. I felt she was perfectly safe in that crowd of tourists. It was her one and only trip to NYC--which she totally loved. Wished I had taken her before she was ill.


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## GG-1 (Jul 2, 2008)

Aloha sweet tea

Loved seeing your pictures. And so what if you were not on a train, Amtrak provided pleasure.

For the record, Patrick and Tom have a thing. Now what did they do with the thing?


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## sweet tea (Jul 3, 2008)

thanks for the love, y'all!

whooz -- i love bridges too. and turns out there are a lot of them around here. if you like, check out the whole set:http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...57605962741321/ (also a few pictures of the 207th st subway yards.)

bill -- sure was the circle line. i've lived here 3 years, and i wish i'd taken this trip sooner! (we went because my partner is working on a book that involves two characters riding a magic carpet down the hudson, and she wanted to get a sense of what it would look like.) highly recommended to anyone who likes new york, boats, bridges, or rivers, even if you're not a tourist.

here's one more of that amtrak bridge, and one old-school rail scene:


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## Joel N. Weber II (Jul 4, 2008)

WhoozOn1st999 said:


> I have sort of a thing for bridges,


Me too. As long as they aren't generic recently built concrete bridges.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2008)

What type of bridge is it? i.e. how does it open?

See here for a list.


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## PRR 60 (Jul 9, 2008)

Guest said:


> What type of bridge is it? i.e. how does it open?
> See here for a list.


Swing bridge. Simple Platt Truss structural design.


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## sweet tea (Jul 10, 2008)

anyone know why it's SO low down? i know that spot isn't navigationally crucial, but it still seems a little odd to have a bridge only 5' above the water. it has to open for every little thing that wants to go by, which has got to be fun to schedule with the trains.


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## AlanB (Jul 10, 2008)

sweet tea said:


> anyone know why it's SO low down? i know that spot isn't navigationally crucial, but it still seems a little odd to have a bridge only 5' above the water. it has to open for every little thing that wants to go by, which has got to be fun to schedule with the trains.


Well Amtrak doesn't run all that many trains over it so it's not too big of a problem and it doesn't stay open for all that long.

That said, it's low because of the geography in that area. If they build a higher bridge, that cleared boats, the trains would have a big long grade to climb and there really isn't room for that grade/hill. The MN tracks are just barely above the water level themselves, so you can't arrive on Spyten Duyvil side 50 feet up in the air and still connect the tracks without a big long downgrade. And there really isn't room for such a grade to be built.


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## sweet tea (Jul 11, 2008)

thanks alan. that makes sense -- although i admit i was half-hoping for a crazy story beginning "old man jenkins finally agreed to sell his property to the railroad, but on one condition:...." or something.


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## abqdave (Jul 19, 2008)

In the flickr photos link...what is the structure that looks like scaffolding with water coming off it?


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2008)

abqdave said:


> In the flickr photos link...what is the structure that looks like scaffolding with water coming off it?


It is an artificial waterfall art project.


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## sweet tea (Jul 23, 2008)

Guest said:


> abqdave said:
> 
> 
> > In the flickr photos link...what is the structure that looks like scaffolding with water coming off it?
> ...


yep...here's more information on the waterfalls: http://www.nycwaterfalls.org/

i was a little unsold on them at first, but now i find them quite beautiful.


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