Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Friday, April 09, 2010

The Closing of the "Eastern Railroad" of the Westchester Model Club, Inc. in the Pelham Manor Depot in 1953

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I have written before about the Westchester Model Club, Inc. that once ran a massive model railroad inside the old Pelham Manor Depot before the demolition of that station on the New Haven Branch Line to make way for I-95 during the 1950s.  See Tue., October 13, 2009:  Film of the Westchester Model Club, Inc.'s Model Railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot before its Demolition.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a brief article published in 1953 about the closing of the Club's facility in the Pelham Manor Depot prior to the station's demolition to make way for I-95.  The transcription is followed by a citation to its source.

"Putting Out A Big Line

At first it looked as if a big railroad were going out of business.  The story led off with the stark fact that the Eastern Railroad and its 65 locomotives, 500 freight and 150 passenger cars had been ordered to liquidate.  The railway had to get out of the way of a new highway. 

But it turned out, the Eastern Railroad presidents' conference reports that the E'astern Railroad' was only a model railroad -- though an extraordinary one.  It was being evicted from its quarters in the old unused station in Pelham Manor.

The station, it seems, was standing smack in the middle of the proposed New England Thruway. 

The 'Eastern Railroad' owns 3,500 feet of track and 12 stations and had been housed in the Pelham Manor station since 1936.  Equipment is scaled at one-fourth inch to the foot."

Source:  Putting Out a Big Line, The Cayuga Chief [Weedsport, NY], Jun. 4, 1953, p. 3, col. 1.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at
http://www.historicpelham.com/.
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