Harlem Line - History

History

Prior to becoming part of the Metro-North system, the line continued all the way north to Chatham, New York on the Boston and Albany Railroad, about 52 miles past the current terminal at Wassaic. Passenger service from Dover Plains to Chatham was abandoned in 1972, and the tracks were removed north of Millerton shortly thereafter. In 1980 freight service between Dover Plains and Millerton was abandoned, with tracks removed from Wassaic to Millerton. On July 9, 2000, Metro-North restored service between Dover Plains and Wassaic, a move the railroad billed as its first service expansion since it was created in 1983.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) leased the line south of Dover Plains from Penn Central on June 1, 1972. Penn Central operated the last southbound passenger train between Chatham and Grand Central Terminal on March 20, 1972, ending service in the middle of the day. With no scheduled return trip to Chatham, passengers who had gone south in the morning were left stranded, with service going only as far north as Dover Plains (52 miles shy of Chatham).

The segment of the line that ran from Wassaic to Craryville, New York is now under control of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association which currently has trails operating from Wassaic to the former Millerton station and between Under Mountain Road and Copake Falls, known as the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.