Hyde Park station (New York Central Railroad)

Hyde Park
Hyde Park
	Station building in 2007
General information
Location	34 River Road, Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York 12538
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	4
History
Closed	1958
Former services
	Hyde Park Railroad Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	41°47′14″N 73°56′47″W / 41.78722°N 73.94639°W
Built	1914
Architect	Warren and Wetmore
Architectural style	Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.	81000403
Added to NRHP	1981

Hyde Park is a former New York Central Railroad station located where Crum Elbow Creek flows into the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York. A one-story wooden station was first established by the Central at the spot in 1851 by the Hudson River Railroad, connecting New York City and Albany. It was replaced by the existing building, built in a combination of the Mission and Spanish Revival styles by Warren and Wetmore, the railroad's preferred architects who had also designed Grand Central Terminal and the nearby Poughkeepsie station, in 1914.^[1]

The station saw heavy use throughout the early years of its existence, due to the proximity of estates such as the Vanderbilt Mansion and, later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's frequent retreats to his home in Hyde Park. Roosevelt is known to have passed through the station twice during his presidency: in 1939 when he greeted King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom on their 1939 visit, and posthumously in 1945, when his body was unloaded there in preparation for burial.^[2] However, even by Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term, it was only a local stop on local New York City–Albany trains, with the named trains bypassing the station.^[3]

When passenger rail transport in the U.S. declined as air and auto established themselves as alternatives in mid-century, the station began to see less traffic. Regular train service was suspended in 1953, after which it may have become a flag stop. It was listed by the Central as a station until 1958, after which the outer two of the line's four tracks were torn up and the tunnel to the southbound platforms closed off. Eventually the Central sold the station building to the Town of Hyde Park, one of many assets it divested itself of as it tried to stay afloat.^[1]

Local youths began fixing the station up for use as a teen center, but they failed to finish the project. By 1975 the abandoned building had fallen into disrepair and become heavily vandalized. It was one day away from demolition when the Hudson Valley Railroad Society (HVRS) took possession, renting the station from the town for a dollar per year for fifteen years. The HVRS completed the extensive interior and exterior renovations needed, including completely restoring the tiled roof, and began converting it into a regional rail museum, raising operating funds with an annual model train show.^[1]

The tracks, fenced off for safety reasons, remain in use by CSX and Amtrak's Empire Service. The station could possibly become part of an active passenger station again if the idea of extending Metro-North's Hudson Line commuter rail service northward from its current terminus at Poughkeepsie is ever realized.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Hyde Park Station History". January 25, 2003. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
^ "Hyde Park Railroad Station | Hyde Park, NY". hydeparkny.us. Retrieved February 7, 2023. In April 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral train stopped at the siding and his casket was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson to carry him to his home for interment.
^ New York Central timetable, March 5, 1933, Tables 18-21

External links

Hudson Valley Railroad Society's Hyde Park Station homepage Archived November 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[Station_history-1] "Hyde Park Station History". January 25, 2003. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2007.

[2] "Hyde Park Railroad Station | Hyde Park, NY". hydeparkny.us. Retrieved February 7, 2023. In April 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral train stopped at the siding and his casket was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson to carry him to his home for interment.

[3] New York Central timetable, March 5, 1933, Tables 18-21

[1]

[2]

[3]

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v t e New York Central Railroad Main Line stations (1914–1968)
Chicago^P Englewood^P South Chicago⁴ East Side⁴ Whiting⁵ Indiana Harbor⁵ Gary^P Millers² Dune Park² Porter²^A⁶ Chesterton⁵ Burdick⁴ Otis⁵ Durham⁴ Pinola² La Porte^P Rolling Prarie⁵ Hudson Lake² New Carlisle⁵ Terre Coupee² Lydick² South Bend^P Mishawaka⁵ Osceola²^D⁵ Elkhart^P Goshen⁵ Millersburg⁵ Ligonier⁵ Wawaka⁵ Brimfield⁵ Kendallville⁶ Corunna⁵ Waterloo^P Butler⁵ Edgerton⁵ Melbern²^D⁵ Bryan^P Stryker⁵ Archbold⁵ Pettisville⁵ Wauseon⁵ Delta⁵ Swanton⁵ Holland²^A⁵ Air Line Junction² Toledo^P Millbury Junction⁵ Martin⁴ Graytown⁴ Rocky Ridge⁴ Oak Harbor⁴ La Carne⁵ Port Clinton^P Gypsum⁴ Danbury⁴ Bay Bridge² Venice⁴ Sandusky^P Huron⁴ Ceylon⁴ Vermilion⁴ Brownhelm² Amherst⁴ Elyria^P Shawville⁵ Olmsted Falls⁵ Berea⁵ Linndale⁶ Cleveland^PA East Cleveland⁶ Nottingham⁵ Noble² Wickliffe³ Willoughby⁴ Reynolds² Mentor⁴ Heisley² Painesville^P Lane² Perry⁵ Madison⁵ Unionville⁵ Geneva⁶ Saybrook⁵ Ashtabula^P Kingsville⁴ Conneaut⁶ Springfield⁴ Lake City⁵ Fairview⁴ Swanville⁴ Erie^P Harbor Creek⁴ Moorhead² North East⁶ State Line⁴ Ripley² Forsyth² Westfield^P Portland² Brocton⁴ Van Buren² Dunkirk^P Waites Crossing² Silver Creek⁵ Irving⁴ Farnham⁴ Angola⁵ Derby⁴ North Evans⁴ Lake View⁴ Wanakah² Athol Springs⁴ Bay View⁴ Blasdell² Lackawanna² Buffalo Central^A/Buffalo Exchange Street³ East Buffalo² Forks² Depew⁴ Lancaster⁴ Dellwood³ Wende⁴ Crittenden⁴ Corfu⁴ West Batavia³ Batavia^A South Byron³ West Bergen³ Bergen³ Churchville³ Chili³ Cold Water³ Center Park² Rochester^A Brighton² East Rochester²^C⁵ Fairport⁴ North Macedon² Walworth⁴ Palmyra⁵ East Palmyra⁴ Newark⁶ Lyons⁶ Lock Berlin² Clyde⁵ Savannah⁴ Fox Ridge² North Port Byron² North Weedsport⁴ Jordan⁴ Memphis²^C⁴ Warners² Syracuse^B Minoa⁵ Kirkville²^D⁵ North Chittenango⁴ Sullivan³ Canastota⁵ Wampsville⁵ Oneida⁶ Verona⁵ Greenway⁴ Rome Oriskany⁵ Whitesboro⁴ Utica North Frankfort² North Ilion⁵ Herkimer⁶ Little Falls⁶ East Creek² St. Johnsville⁵ Fort Plain⁶ Palatine Bridge⁵ Sprakers⁴ Yosts² Fonda⁵ Tribes Hill⁵ Fort Johnson² Amsterdam⁶^P Hoffman's⁴ Schenectady^P Carman² Karner² West Albany³ Albany^P Rensselaer²^D⁵ Castleton-on-Hudson⁵ Schodack Landing⁵ Stuyvesant⁵ Newton Hook⁵ Stockport⁵ Hudson North Germantown⁵ Linlithgo³ Germantown⁵ Tivoli⁵ Barrytown⁵ Rhinecliff⁶ Staatsburgh⁵ Hyde Park⁵ Poughkeepsie Camelot²^D⁵ New Hamburg⁵ Chelsea⁵ Beacon Dutchess²^D⁵ Storm King³ Cold Spring⁵ Garrison⁵ Manitou⁵ Peekskill⁶ Croton–Harmon Ossining⁵ Tarrytown⁵ Yonkers⁶ 138th Street²^C⁵ 125th Street⁶ New York
Old Main Line – Cleveland (pre 1930)	Berea⁵ West Park³ Cleveland³ East 40th² East 55th² East 105th³ Coits² Collinwood³ Nottingham⁵
Old Main Line – Syracuse (1936-1962)	Belle Isle² Syracuse⁶ East Syracuse⁵
Old Main Line – Syracuse (pre 1936)	Belle Isle² Syracuse³ East Syracuse⁵
²Closed in 1920s ³Closed in 1930s ⁴Closed in 1940s ⁵Closed in 1950s ⁶Closed in 1960s ^PClosed by Penn Central ^AClosed by Amtrak ^CRe-opened in 1930s ^DRe-opened in 1940s Italics - bypassed station