Commuting Between New York City and Pelham in 1843 Before the Railroad Was Extended to Pelham

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Pelham residents today think nothing of a quick jaunt into New York City.  The inexpensive commute on Metro North takes 29 minutes from Pelham Station to Grand Central Terminal on modern and comfortable electric trains that are heated during cold weather and air conditioned when hot.  Thus, it is hard to imagine a time in the earliest years of the railroad industry in the New York region when the line of the New York and Harlem Rail Road extended from City Hall through 27th Street, Harlem, Fordham, and terminated at Williams' Bridge using steam locomotives and passenger cars with virtually no modern conveniences.  

It is harder, still, to imagine wood or coal-fired steam engines with no enclosure for the single engineer / fireman who simply stood on an unenclosed platform shoving fuel into a rudimentary firebox to maintain the steam.  Such "trains" into and out of New York sometimes were principally freight trains with a single "second class" passenger car.  Other times they were principally passenger trains with two passenger cars and a freight / baggage car.  The image immediately below depicts such a steam locomotive. 

Depiction of 1842 William Norris Steam Engine Locomotive

Similar to Locomotives Used at the Time on the Line of the

New York and Harlem Rail Road.  Source:  McElroy's Philadelphia

Directory for 1842, Advertisement Pg. 22 (Following Directory Pg.

348) (Philadelphia, PA:  Orrin Rogers, 1842).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

The New York and Harlem Railroad was incorporated on April 25, 1831.  The first section of the new railroad ran from Prince Street north to 14th Street on November 26, 1832.  Slowly, thereafter, the railroad opened additional sections until it first reached Williamsbridge on September 3, 1842.  

No railroad line reached the little Town of Pelham until the New York and New Haven Railroad opened through Pelham in late December, 1848.  See Thu., Sep. 11, 2014:  Cattle Were Frightened; Animals Careened Round the Fields - The First Run of the New Haven Line Through Pelham in 1848.  There was a time, then, during the 1840s, when Pelhamites were capable of "commuting" by train to and from New York City -- as long as they could get to and from Williams Bridge.  Today's Historic Pelham Blog article details precisely how it was possible for Pelham residents to commute to and from New York City using the New York and Harlem Railroad for a portion of the trip.

It is possible to understand much about what such a commute was like for Pelhamites in 1843, only months after the New York and Harlem Railroad line was extended to Williams Bridge, from a commuter fare and timetable advertisement that appeared countless times in The Evening Post of New York City that year.  Moreover, the advertisement purports to depict a period image of such a train that permits additional analysis.  The image of the train taken from the advertisement appears below, first, with discussion of what can be learned from the image.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The tiny image of the advertisement (that appears in full below with a transcription, a citation and a link to its source) appears immediately above.  The steam engine locomotive can be seen in the lead with a single man standing at the crude firebox behind the smokestack (to keep the smoke from obscuring the operator's view).  There appear to be two passenger rail cars behind the locomotive with passengers visible through the windows.  In the rear is what appears to be a freight or baggage car that is loaded.  Although there is no evidence that this image depicts an actual New York and Harlem Railroad train in 1843, its inclusion in an schedule and fare advertisement placed by the railroad suggests that the depiction is not wildly inaccurate.

The advertisement makes clear that to commute on the railroad to lower Manhattan and back, Pelhamites could take a scheduled stage coach from Pelham Bridge to Williams Bridge and then a New York and Harlem Railroad train as far as the City Hall region of Manhattan and reverse the process for the return trip.

There is no indication in the advertisement regarding the stagecoach fare.  The fare between what then was the end of the line at Williams Bridge and City Hall in lower Manhattan was twenty-five cents (about $13.00 in today's dollars).  For regular commuters, certainly rare from Pelham in that day, there was a commutation pass available, although it was sold only as an annual pass.  It cost $50.00 (about $2,600.00 in today's dollars).   

Regular trains departed from City Hall in lower Manhattan for Williamsbridge daily at 6:00 a.m., 7:10 a.m., 8:10 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4:10 p.m., and 6:10 p.m. with each train returning from Williams Bridge with any passengers traveling to New York City.  Additionally, beginning May 10, 1843, the railroad began running what later became known as the "milk run" departing Williams Bridge for City Hall at 3:00 a.m. with a return trip to Williams Bridge leaving City Hall at 5:30 a.m.

Horse-drawn stagecoaches to carry passengers, freight, and baggage to Pelham Bridge did not meet every train's arrival at Williams Bridge.  Rather, such stagecoaches only met two trains a day:  those that departed from City Hall at 8:10 A.M. and at 4:10 P.M.  Both stagecoaches could carry passengers, freight, and baggage on their return trips from Pelham Bridge back to the end of the train line at Williams Bridge. 

Clearly regular travel between the little Town of Pelham and lower Manhattan was difficult and expensive in 1843.  Yet, one can perceive the origins of today's massive Metro North commuter railroad that now carries more than 84 million passengers a year along some of the same railroad track rights-of-way used by Pelhamites when traveling on the New York and Harlem railroad 175 years ago in 1843.

*          *          *          *         *

Fare and Schedule Advertisement for the New York and

Harlem Railroad Published in The Evening Post of New

York City Throughout 1843.  Source:  NEW YORK AND HARLEM

RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY --SPRING ARRANGEMENT

[Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], May 8, 1843,

p. 1, col. 3 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"NEW YORK AND HARLEM RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY.
SPRING ARRANGEMENT.

GREAT REDUCTION OF FARE as follows, viz:

Between City Hall and Harlem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1/2 cents
From City Hall to Fordham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 cents
From City Hall to Williams' Bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . 25 cents

On and after Monday, 24th of April instant, the cars will run daily as follows, viz:

Leave City Hall for Williams' Bridge, at 6, 7:10, 8:10, 9:10, 11:30, 2:10, 3:15, 4:10, 6:10.

On and after Wednesday, the 10th of May next, an extra freight train, with second class cars attached, for the accommodation of passengers, will leave Williams' Bridge, at 3 o'clock in the morning, and returning, leave City Hall, at 5:30, and 27th street, at 6 A.M.

Fare in this Train, between 27th street, and Harlem, 6-1/4 cents; between 27th street and Williams' Bridge, 12-1/2 cents.

The City Hall and 27th street Line will run daily as follows:  from 7 A. M. every ten minutes throughout the day till 8 o'clock, P. M.  Fare 6-1/4 cents.

An extra night line will run from City Hall to 27th st., as follows:

Leave City Hall for 27th st.   |   Leave 27th st. for City Hall,
8:30 P.M.,                             |   8 P.M.
9:30   "                                  |   9   "
10:30 "                                  |   10 "
11:30 " will run to 42d st.      |   11 "

Stages for Westchester, Throgg's Neck and Pelham Bridge, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Trains, which leave City Hall at 8:10 A.M., and 4:10 P.M.

Stages for Eastchester, New Rochelle and Mamaroneck, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Trains which leaves [sic] City Hall at 7:10 A.M. and 3:15 P.M.

Stages for Rye and Portchester will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of tthe Trains which leave City Hall 3:15 P.M.

Stages for Marble Hall and White Plains will leave Williams' Bridge daily, (Sundays excepted,) on the arrival of the Train which leaves City Hall at 3:15 P.M.; also, leave Williams' Bridge every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City hall at 8:10 A.M.

Stages for Robbins' Mills, Milesquare, NewCastle, North Castle and Bedford, will leave Williams' Bridge every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City hall at 8:10 A.M.

Stages for Mamaroneck, Portchester, Greenwich and Stamford, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City Hall at 2 o'clock, P. M.

The company are now ready to commute with persons residing on the line of their road by the year, as follows:  

Between City Hall and 27th street, in
     27th street line exclusively. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25
do          Yorkville, in trains     do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   35
do          Harlem,                    do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   40
do          Fordham,                 do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   45
do          Williams' Bridge,      do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   50

For further particulars in relation to commuting, apply at the office of the Company at City Hall, corner of Bowery and Broome street, and at 27th street, and will be forwarded by the 11:30 A.M., and 4 o'clock P.M. trains from the City Hall.

-- Freight must be paid in advance at the office of the company at City Hall, before the same will be forwarded."

Source:  NEW YORK AND HARLEM RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY --SPRING ARRANGEMENT [Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], May 8, 1843, p. 1, col. 3 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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