Hillside Avenue RR Spur - Aqueduct, NY

After our trek down by the abandoned trolley bridge across the Mohawk River; Gino, Gary and I drove up to the Hillside Avenue industrial complex to sniff out vestiges of the spur.

Hillside Avenue RR Spur (1951 to 1984) 

Right in the parking lot of the industrial complex is a surviving remnant of the rail spur. Intriguingly, rails were left in the pavement for just a short stretch and abruptly end a few feet later.

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ALCO and the War Effort

 It is hard to imagine now but this empty off-the-beaten path spot was once a bustling center of activity.

In November of 1940, ALCO was awarded a government contract to produce tanks for the war effort. In just five months, the first tank was successfully tested in front of government officials.

In 1951, this spur was built for the Korean War. Production had increased substantially and the spur was needed to transport the tanks up to testing grounds without destroying the city streets. The tanks were assembled in the huge plant in downtown Schenectady and brought by train up the spur to the test track located off Hillside Avenue. The test track is still visible in Google Aerials. When combat ended in 1953, production dropped to a trickle.

The spur was officially abandoned in 1984.  It probably last saw service in the late 60s.  It's last use was servicing the CONDEC (Consolidated Diesel Equipment Corp.) and later the Nova Bus Company that located to the former ALCO Tank site.

Historical Photo
A Multitude of Tanks Parked by the Testing Grounds

The tank testing track

Google Aerial View

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Hiking the Spur

Using Bing Bird's Eye View, the ROW is visible

Near the top of the hill, the ROW cuts thru an open field.

 Gino is on a mission! :-)

  We found coal all along the ROW...

...and even a half buried section of rail.

 As we hiked down the ROW, it became a little more picturesque thru the woods...

 but where the soil was softer, it was carved out by water runoff.

 We reached the bottom...

 ...and Gino salvaged a tie plate along with a few S hooks (not pictured)

We then hiked back up to the top and found a huge stash of railroad ties. Rarely in any of our treks, do we find this many discarded railroad ties. When railroads were abandoned, they were generally bankrupt and hard up for cash. The rails and ties had monetary value and were resold for recycling. Since this spur was basically built as a government-sponsored war effort, apparently resale value of ties wasn't considered!

It was an enjoyable few hours out in the fresh air, exploring railroad history. Gino had a blast as well and we will be planning more RR explorations together soon!

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Further Info About ALCO and the Tanks

• ALCO AND WW II
• American Locomotive Company - Salute To Freedom
• Schenectady County - Contributions in World War II
• U.S. M47 Patton tanks being demonstrated at American Locomotive Company facility in Schenectady, New York. Video >

Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail - Colonie to Albany

I got started at 10 AM, heading east on the Rail Trail from the Colonie Town Park Parking Lot. I brought both bikes as I planned to ride the mountain bike trails nearby as well.

Looking East at the Colonie Town Park Lot

I took an accidental selfie whilst getting the camera  while riding - it turned out kinda cool... :-)

Colonie to Schulyer Flatts

The first section is a pleasant ride thru woods...

- Short One-Handed Video -

The Trail is brimming with history. The historical sign detailed the High Street Railroad Station in Cohoes. See Historical Postcard >

 Further on, more info on the railroad was nicely displayed.

Once your leave the actual railroad ROW in Cohoes, you bomb down steep hill via a couple of small city streets and pass by an old Erie Canal Lock.



The next part of the ride was a long BORING ride thru Green Island on city streets. 

- Short One-Handed Video -

Near the Green Island bridge across the Hudson, you pass by the old freight house -- now a commercial establishment. Street View >  |  See Historical Photo Comparison >

The east-west Green Island Bridge originated as a railroad bridge

Finally at 4th Street, a trail sign lures you into the woods but it turns on it was the Schulyer Flatts trail, not the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail.

But it was a pleasant detour, especially with the groundhog scurrying ahead of me (see video)

Dead End

- Short One-Handed Video -

Along the Hudson

After reaching the dead end (pictured above), I returned and turned down the hill on 4th Street and got to the river's edge. The Hudson was a beautiful sight, glistening blue in the sunlight!

The ride south from here was gorgeous and... 

...interestingly brimming with history. This section of the trail ran south along what were former islands. Most of the west side channels were filled in when Interstate 787 was built.

- Short One-Handed Video -

The first historical sign indicated there was a huge iron mill at this spot. Troy, of course was renown for its iron industry. It's foundries built the Union-clad U.S. Monitor for the Civil War and the city's proximity to rail and barge shipping were a great plus.

As the next historical sign detailed, the islands were home to amusements parks, race tracks and heavy industry. Due to frequent flooding, over time most of these businesses did not survive. Sadly, except for the commemorative signs, no physical traces are left of their existence.

 This strange observatory-looking dome beckoned me from across the river. I believe it is part of a water treatment plant. See Google Aerial View >

This trail sign indicated there was a huge bustling amusement park at this location. Amazing!! Who knew? Further details on the links listed at the bottom of this post.

Albany Riverside

The trail leads right into downtown Albany and I had to stop and take of photo of this magnificent building. This was the Delaware and Hudson Railroad's headquarters. It is a iconic symbol of the prosperity and "good taste" of this local railroad's contribution to the local economy. [To learn more, be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post]

My trek along the trail (now more like a wide urban sidewalk) took me past quite a few interesting things. 

- Short One-Handed Video -

Finally, when the "trail" seems to dissipate into nothing, I turned around here at this massive U-Haul building and headed back north.

Heading Back...

As I headed back, a colonial re-enactment was setting up along the trail. Folks were dressed in colonial garb and old boats, tools and tents were on display.

Once back in the woods area, I veered off the trail to take a photo this massive power line tower replete with solar panels. Google Aerial View >

I stopped for a snack at one of the many picnic benches conveniently placed along the trail near the river's edge.

At the north section of Green Island, There is a short section of the road where one can see the Mohawk River and the islands to the north. I stitched together three shots for a panorama view - it was quite beautiful 
PS -  You can see the Green Island railroad bridge (now part of a rail trail) on the right.

There was a fat groundhog who didn't seem to mind me getting close and taking his picture :-)

Back on the rail trail I stopped for a sec to snap this photo of the old Reepmyers Feed Warehouse in Crescent. The trail parallels the warehouse on the far right. Historical Photo Comparison >

Once back at the parking lot, I switched bikes and headed over to the mountain bike trails - I was in for a surprise (altho' forewarned - I was still shocked!) 

Colonie Shale Trail Surprise >

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Further Info

-Historical Info- 

Al-Tro Park
http://www.colonie.org/historian/altro/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Tro_Island_Park

Schuyler Flatts
http://instruct.neric.org/schuyler/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuyler_Flatts

Troy Iron and Steel Mills
http://www.lostlandmarks.org/ren2.htm
http://www.albany.edu/history/Troy-Cohoes/

Delaware and Hudson Building - Albany NY
http://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/statestreet/dhbuild.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUNY_System_Administration_Building
http://new-york-pictures.org/delaware_hudson_building.html

-Railroad Info-

Troy and Schenectady Railroad

http://gino.cdfw.net/_railpage/TandS/index.html

http://www.spindlecity.net/Brochures/SandT_Railroad%20tour%20A.pdf

Mohawk Hudson Rail Trail (Schenectady eastward...)

Sunday Nov 10th, 2013
11 miles (total: to and from)

The morning was cloudy and crappy but by early afternoon it got better. I headed down to Schenectady to do a section of the Mohawk Hudson Rail Trail (see below) that I hadn't done yet: eastward from Schenectady to Niskayuna.

I was planning on starting my trek from Schenectady Community College and ride thru the Stockade area and the industrial ruins of the former Alco factory spread but it was sprinkling so I decided instead to drive thru the Stockade area and start further east. I ended up parking right off Nott Street near Union College and started from there. Thankfully the weather had cleared.

Easy and flat, the paved trail goes by a couple of industrial spots and then it gets woodsy. Turns out you are riding in the old Erie Canal and you can see remnants of the tow paths on occasion on either side of the trail way. <Wrong! I checked the historical map and the canal is much closer to the river. Review the Historical Map > 

Railroad Ruins
Being a railroad history buff, when I saw a old railroad bridge abutment looming off to the side, I parked the bike and explored it. 

A rotting railroad tie at the top of the embankment confirmed it was railroad related and not canal related. It must have been the start of where a trestle began. Perhaps it was super marshy here and a trestle was needed to maintain downhill drainage. (?)

Aqueduct

After my side adventure, I jumped back on the bike and continued on to Aqueduct. I stopped to take a photo from the railroad bridge over Balltown Road and continued on towards Niskayuna.

Compare to the historical view > 

(Amazing!)

On to the Research Lab...

Soon signs appeared off to the left, warning of dangerous cliffs / no trespassing / etc. which, ironically tempted me to dismount and go exploring :-)  but I trekked on. After a few more minutes of riding, a fence and sign blocked where the railroad bed continued and the trail veered to the right up a large hill.

I managed to ride up the steep hill without a problem.  At the top, a small shed with benches and a picnic area were thoughtfully provided. 

The woods turned to scrub meadows and the sunshine had returned. I encountered a few walkers and dog walkers along the stretch and stopped to take a few photos for my now retired Dad. He worked at the GE Research Lab and I figured he would enjoy seeing his work place from a few new viewpoints. It can be seen glistening in the sunlight at the top of the hill. :-)

The trail merges along the road and at the top of the hill I took a photo of the main entrance into the Research Lab. 

The wind was ferocious so I opted to head back from this point. I bombed down the short hill but only reached 20 mph due to a wicked headwind.

On the way back thru the meadow area, I shot a handheld (one hand on the handlebar) video...
The video below shows (1) the trail where I first started just east of Schenectady and (2) the second part shows a snippet of the return from the GE lab right before I headed down the big hill.

Aqueduct
Once in Aqueduct, I decided to veer down to the river and check out the old aqueduct ruins close up.

Here is the view down river  - the sun was shining but the wind was strong:

Riding back up to the rail trail via Aqueduct Road me me the opportunity to stop and take a photo of the arched bridge under the railroad. This is where the old Balltown Road went.

Compare to the historical view >

There was a a strong headwind the whole way back and it seemed to get dark much earlier but the rest of the trek back to the car was uneventful yet pleasant.

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Further Info

Previous Mohawk Hudson Rail Trail Rides are posted on this blog

• April 25, 2010 - Niskayuna to Cohoes Falls
• April 30, 2011 - Schenectady to Rotterdam Junction

Great Historical Site About the Railroad >