MTA’s Hudson Line, Once Owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, Turns 175

The Hudson Line is celebrating 175 years in 2024.

The line traces its roots to the original Hudson River Railroad, chartered in 1846 to build from New York City north along the shore of the Hudson River. The line to Albany was completed in 1851.

In 1864, the Hudson River Railroad became the second property Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired, following the New York & Harlem (today’s Harlem Line). In 1869, he acquired control of the New York Central Railroad, which then ran between Albany and Buffalo.
Vanderbilt merged the three lines to form the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.

The Spuyten Duyvil & Port Morris Railroad was built to connect the Hudson River Railroad to the New York & Harlem at Mott Haven, plus a branch to Port Morris. Thus, the Hudson Line now had access to Vanderbilt’s Grand Central Depot, consolidating passenger service with the New York & Harlem (Harlem Line) and the New York & New Haven Railroad (future New Haven Line).

Vanderbilt’s railroad empire would continue to grow and stretch to Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis. The route between Albany and New York became known as the Hudson Division. The Hudson Division was the main line for New York Central and was four tracks wide in many places to handle all of the freight and passenger business.

At Spuyten Duyvil, the original Hudson River Railroad branched off to run down the West Side of Manhattan, providing New York Central with lucrative direct access to New York City for its freight trains, establishing yards at 72nd Street, 30th Street, and a freight terminal near St. John’s Park.

Abandoned by Conrail in 1980, the portion from Spuyten Duyvil to 30th Street was reactivated by Amtrak so Empire Service trains could access Penn Station. The rest of the elevated line was converted into High Line Park, the first portions opened in 2009.

Control of the Hudson Division passed from New York Central to Penn Central in 1968. In 1970, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority signed a subsidy agreement with PC to operate lines out of GCT, and the Hudson Division between GCT and Poughkeepsie became the Hudson Line.

PC became part of Conrail in 1976, and in 1983, the new Metro-North Commuter Railroad assumed direct operation of the Hudson Line, which continues to this day.