Peekskill Valley Railroad

The Peekskill Valley Railroad was a 7 miles (11.3 km) long narrow gauge railroad in Peekskill, New York. It was inaugurated in 1873.

Peekskill Valley Railroad
Peekskill Iron Works in Peekskill, New York


Peekskill Valley Railroad on map by Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule, 1891
Technical
Line length7 miles (11.3 km)
Track gauge2 ft (610 mm)

History
'Uncle Abram' Hallenback supervises swimming kids at Annsville Creek near Peekskill

The Peekskill Valley Railroad was built by the Peekskill Iron Company in 1873, from their furnaces, at Peekskill, Westchester county, to a point on the Hudson River Railroad, over a distance of seven miles. The gauge of this railway was 2 ft (610 mm), and was at its time of construction the narrowest freight carrier in the USA.[1]

According to other sources, high grade iron ore from the Croft or Indian Lake Mines was extracted and transported by narrow gauge railway down Canopus Valley to the Peekskill Blast Furnace of the Empire State Iron Works at Annsville Creek from 1878 to 1887. The mine was abandoned in 1887 and the tracks removed for salvage in 1910.[2][3]

The superstructure and equipment was very light. The weight of the locomotive was four tons.[1]

See also

References
  1. Howard Fleming: Narrow gauge railways in America. A sketch of their rise, progress and success: valuable statistics as to grades, curves, weight of rail, locomotives, cars, etc. 1876. Page 86. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Otto Vondrak et al: "Peekskill Valley Railroad" 2-foot gauge - 1873.
  3. Empire States Ironworks and Peekskill Valley Railroad on map by Joseph Rudolf Bien, 1893.

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