Rich's PedalPoint: Progress on the Maybrook Trailway

While up in Lake Carmel, NY working on a recording project, I drove over toward Patterson to check out the countryside, Being a bit of a railroad hound I sniffed out construction on the old Maybrook line and discovered it is being made into a combo of both rail and trail! Details on the project in the Further Info section at the bottom of this post.

(Click pics to enlarge)

History

Formally owned by the Central New England Railway, the Maybrook Line was assimilated into New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1927 to connect its Waterbury Branch in Derby, Connecticut to its Maybrook Yard in Maybrook, New York, where it interchanged with other carriers. It was the main east-west freight route of the New Haven until its merger with the Penn Central in 1969. Metro-North acquired the line, which runs from Danbury, Connecticut, to Beacon, NY in 1994 for $4.2 million.

The historical topo map below illustrates the Maybrook Line on the left. At this point in time it was owned by the Central New England Railway. The former New York and Harlem line is on the right.

Status - March 2020

1- Route 311 overpass

I drove over to Patterson and got lucky! - A MetroNorth train pulled into the station.

Patterson, NY

A couple of Google Street Views to illustrate the progress...

2- Google Street View .>

3- Google Street View >

Status Update

The 23 miles between Brewster and Hopewell Junction opened in 2021, and is one of several trails that make up the Empire State Trail across New York State. Traillink > | Flicker Photos >