A Selkirk Branch Overview

The Schodack, Castleton, and Selkirk Subdivisions

The traditional Selkirk Branch runs between the Hudson Line at CP-125, near Schodack, N.Y.,on the east bank of the Hudson River, and the north bank of the Mohawk River (ex-Chicago Line at CP-169) near Hoffmans, N.Y., The branch is a remnant of the Pennsylvania Railroad's foray into New York Central territory, the New York, West Shore, and Buffalo railroad, what we remember today as the "West Shore" and, in the Hudson Valley, today's River Line. (The New York Central's similar foray into the land of the Pennsylvania Railroad, while never producing a railroad line, did produce the tunnels ultimately utilized by the the State of Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Turnpike; the Central getting the West Shore and the Pennsylvania getting the tunnels, which it never used, was brokered through the intercession of J. P. Morgan, banker to the railroads, who did not wish to see two of his major properties destroy each other. (An interesting bit of local history concerns the West Shore railorad and the Pennsylvania Tunnels: see below, "The Pennsylvania Tunnels: A Selkirk Branch Footnote"; see also Selkirk History on the Selkirk Super Facts Page for additional information on the Selkirk Branch and its evolution.)

The New Names

With the maturing of the CSX era, the Selkirk Branch is now renamed as follows:

• Schodack Subdivision:
  • ex-Selkirk Branch south of CP-SM to the Hudson Subdivision at CP-125
    • NC dispatcher
    • Radio: CR Ch. 2, AAR 6464, 161.070 transmit & receive
• Castleton Subdivision:
  • ex-Selkirk Branch west of CP-SM to CP-SE, MP 13.70, in Selkirk Yard
    • NC dispatcher
    • Radio: CR Ch. 1, AAR 4646, 160.800 transmit & receive
• Selkirk Subdivision:
  • ex-Selkirk Branch west of CP-SW, MP 16.5, in Selkirk Yard
    • NC dispatcher
    • Radio: CR Ch. 1, AAR 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
  • ex-Chicago Line west from the Hudson Subdivision connector at CP-169 to the Mohawk Subdivision at CP-175 (at the west end of the controlled siding in Amsterdam)
    • NC dispatcher
    • Radio: CR Ch. 1, AAR 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive

The West End

For Conrail's purposes, the branch was, in effect, the easternmost end of the Chicago Line, being a continuous extension of the double-track line extending from Hoffman's (between Amsterdam and Schnectady on the Chicago Line) across the Mohawk River and on to Selkirk Yard. Like the Chicago Line, the Selkirk Branch was signaled for running on both tracks. This remains the case today under CSX.

In Conrail's day, the Chicago Line extended through Schnectady and Albany to Rensselaer, ending (or beginning, if you wish) at the Rensselaer Amtrak station. The Troy Industrial track branches north from CP-LAB, just north of the station, while the Post Road Branch and the Hudson Line (now CSX subdivisions) branch to the south from just below the station. Mileposts run westward to Buffalo as a continuation of the northbound-running mileposts along the Hudson River. The transition from CR's Hudson Line to the Chicago Line was at CP-142, at the south end of the Albany/Rensselaer station, but that is now all the Hudson Subdivision to west of Schnectady.

The Flyover

Between Hoffman's and CP-Unionville the branch is doubletrack. Between Hoffmans and Fullers the tracks are numbered, from the north, 2 and 1; at Fullers there is a flyover, and track 1 become the northern track. The flyover is located where U.S. Route 20 passes under both tracks, so this produces a rather spectacular double overpass. The lower bridge is a girder bridge, while the upper one is a truss bridge. Just east of the flyover, where the tracks' grades are already separated, the branch passes over the dam at the outlet of the Watervliet Resevouir. This is a spectacularly beautiful -- if small -- area, with hiking and biking trails. The branch sits well in this little area.

As a historical note on this local oddity, we long wondered exactly why this flyover was right here, and what it did. We collected the following information from various sources, but finally located a logical and authoritative explanation (which is, in effect, number 4 on the following list):

1. In the book Images of America: Guilderland, N.Y. (Charlston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 1999), Alcie Begley and Mary Ellen Johnson state (on page 57) that the grade crossing was eliminated in 1927, and that "within a few years" the second overpass was added to aid locomotives pulling heavy trains up "the heavy grades upgrade at Frenchs Hollow." They include a nice photo of an RDC coming over the upper bridge here.
   
   
2. There is some speculation that the flyover is a relec from the previous incarnation of Selkirk Yard, where there were two humps. Was the flyover necessery when tracks were signalled for only one direction and westbounds emerged on the southernmost track? [NO -- the old yard was right-handed!]
   
   
3. Alternatively, it has been recalled by some that there was the need to bring freight traffic from the south side of the branch at the "Army Depot" (Guilderland Center, now the Northeast Industrial Park) to the north side at the Burdick Road area: the flyover brought this local freight traffic across the branch's main.
   
   
4. Another suggestion has to do with the track arrangements along the Hudson Division (i.e., the Hudson Line) vs. the arrangements along the Mohawk Division (i.e, the Chicago Line). On the Hudson Division, the freight tracks were the center two tracks while the passenger tracks were the outter two tracks. On the Mohawk Division, the tracks were two-and-two: the passenger tracks were the two southern tracks (with right-handed running, and the stations were all on the south side of the line), while the freight tracks were the two north tracks (with left-handed running). So, the bridges may have had something to do with this "sorting out" of the tracks between the two divisions, making the right-hand running Selkirk Branch (as it emerged from the yard) into the left-handed running Selkirk Branch prior joining the Mohawk Division.

And that is it: basically, number four. We recieved the following information from Gordon A. Davids:

When the NYC built four tracks between Albany and Buffalo, long before Selkirk Yard was built, they were numbered from south to north as 2,1,3,4. Odd numbered tracks were signaled for westward traffic, and even numbers for eastward. The principle was that traffic on the two middle tracks ran in the same direction (westward), so passenger trains passed freight trains on the adjacent track, rather than meeting them head-on. In order for the freight traffic not to meet passenger traffic head-on on adjoining tracks, the freight tracks ran left-handed, so that west-bound passenger trains would meet west-bound freights by over-taking them, and there would be one track between west-bound passenger trains and east-bound freights, two tracks between east-bound passenger trains and west-bound freights. It was a safety measure. So the passenger railroad (tracks 1 and 2) operated right handed, and the freight side ran left handed on tracks 3 and 4.

The major passenger stations west of Albany (Utica, Rochester, etc.) were all on the south side of the right of way, between the railroad and the Mohawk River. The two passenger tracks were likewise on the south side of the right of way, running in a standard right-handed operation. (A notable exception was Fonda -- which may have predated the four tracking, not a major source of passenger traffic, and a junction station with the F.J. & G.) Freight and passenger traffic were separated at Syracuse, but the passenger tracks ran through the city, and freight used the old West Shore Lake Line past Clark Street (GS) to the north.

The freight yards west of Hoffmans were on the north (freight) side of the railroad, and were arranged for left hand operation. The westbound hump at Dewitt was south (left) of the eastbound hump, for instance. All three NYC lines east of Albany and Selkirk were double track, with right-hand operation (as is the current yard when viewed from the west), so the original Selkirk was a right-handed yard and traffic had to be flipped from the left-handed operation west of Albany to the right-handed operation of Selkirk Yard and the east.

The Fullers Jumpover reversed the track handedness for freight trains, allowing the change from left hand to right hand operation without any trains crossing over between tracks. They could have done the same thing with two crossovers, but it would have been an operating nightmare with trains slowing to cross over, trains waiting for trains, and the potential for head-on collisions.

They placed the Jumpover at Fullers Crossing so they only had to bridge one track over Western Turnpike for the crossing separation. Thus a location where it was already necessary to have a bridge was an ideal choice to build a second bridge; thus (1) the flyover and (2) it being at Fullers over Route 20. Along with this, the Selkirk Branch passes over the Chicago Line at Hoffmans. This is in order to get the two left-hand running freight tracks onto the north side of the right of way, with the passenger tracks on the south side.

To Selkirk Yard and East

From CP-Unionville to the beginning of the Selkirk Yard complex at CP-FB the branch is three tracks (from the north tracks 5-1-2). On the east side of Selkirk Yard, from CP-SK to CP-SM, the branch is also two tracks.

On the very east end of the branch the mileage is somewhat odd. The branch begins at MP 1.3, CP-125 on the Hudson Line, which is Hudson Line MP 125.6, where the Selkirk Branch departs Hudson Line track 2 to the west of the right-of-way. Today there is nothing of note 1.3 miles down the Hudson Line (MP 124.3), but the crossovers on the Hudson Line for Selkirk Branch traffic are at CP-124, MP 123.7, 1.9 miles down the Line. However, there is an abandoned railroad grade that descends parallel to the Hudson Line here, and old maps show a second turn out for the Selkirk Branch from the east side of the right-of-way, which would have been Selkirk Branch MP 0.0.

When this section was single-tracked, why was the line with a bridge crossing the Hudson Line from west to east retained instead of the line that did not have to cross the Hudson Line before recrossing it on the Alfred H. Smith Bridge? (N.B., Alfred E. Smith is an office building in downtown Albany; Alfred H. Smith is a bridge across the Hudson River.) Was it because the cost of paying taxes on the extra 1.3 miles of right of way was perceived as being so much more than the cost of maintenance on a bridge?

The Pennsylvania Tunnels: A Selkirk Branch Footnote

From various sources, including The Pennsylvania Turnpike Web Site

The Selkirk Branch, which runs between the Hudson Line at CP-125, near Schodack, N.Y., on the east bank of the Hudson River, and the Chicago Line at CP-169, near Hoffmans, N.Y., on the north bank of the Mohawk River, actually runs between some very interesting history as well. The branch is a remnant of the Pennsylvania Railroad's foray into New York Central territory, the New York, West Shore, and Buffalo railroad, what we remember today as the "West Shore" and, in the Hudson Valley, today's River Line. The New York Central's similar foray into the land of the Pennsylvania Railroad, while never producing a railroad line, did produce a number of tunnels through which the Pennsylvania Turnpike ultimately ran.

William K. Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie dreamed of building an east-west railroad across southern Pennsylvania to compete with the Pennsylvania. Vanderbuilt headed the New York Central Railroad. Carnegie was the industrialist who precipitated the great strike and riot at the Homestead Steel Works (near Pittsburgh), where members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers battled -- and ultimately defeated -- Pinkerton Guards brought-in by Carnegie's manager at Homestead, Henry Clay Frick. (Frick himself was the subject of an assassination attempt by Alexander Berkman, the Anarchist and long-term companion to Emma Goldman.) Carnegie later formed The United States Steel Corporation.

The effort at competition on home-grounds between the Central and the Pennsylvania threatened to become ruinous. Ultimately each agreed to withdraw, the Central getting the West Shore and the Pennsylvania getting the tunnels, which it never used. This was all brokered through the intercession of J. P. Morgan, banker to railroads generally and the the Central in particular, who did not wish to see his major properties destroy each other. In 1886, over $10 million dollars and 26 lost lives later, the unfinished project was halted with the Morgan's "Corsair agreement," named for Morgan's yatch, on which the agreement was negotiated while cruising the Hudson River.

Serveral of the nine tunnels which were partly completed during construction of the ill-fated South Penn Railroad went on to a new life. The Laurel Hill Tunnel near Donegal was one of the nine. Workers had bored through 813 feet of solid rock at the Laurel Hill site and had built some of the approach grades when work stopped. Over the next 50 years, the site became a nesting place for snakes and rats as water partly filled the tunnel. To the east, the Ray's Hill and Sideling Hill tunnels were similar remnants of the New York Central's Pennsylvania project that found future use.

After Pennsylvania Governor George H. Earle signed an Act on May 21, 1937 establishing the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Laurel Hill Tunnel got a new lease on life. A contract for $1,578,493.00 was awarded to Hunkin-Conkley, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio and the tunnel was extended another 3,555 feet. Traffic began flowing through Laurel Hill when the Turnpike opened on October 1, 1940. Again, however, the tunnel's useful days were numbered. On August 7, 1962, the Latrobe Construction Company began cutting a new four-lane bypass through Laurel Hill and on October 30, 1964, the tunnel was again abandoned.

The Ray's Hill and Sideling Hill tunnels were similarly utilized, but by the early 1960's, the York, Pennsylvania engineering firm of Buchart-Horn was called upon to study the traffic bottleneck at the two tunnels and recommended a 13.1 mile bypass that included reconstruction and relocation of the Breezewood Interchange and construction of a new east-west service plaza (Sideling Hill).

The Sideling Hill By-pass, completed at a cost of $17,203,000, opened on November 26, 1968, sending both the Ray's Hill and Sideling Hill tunnels into retirement. Portions of the vacated highway and the tunnels themselves still exist today and are used by the Turnpike for testing and research.

Additional information on the Pennsylvania Tunnels and the South Pennsylvania Railroad is available at http://www.southpennrailroad.com.

Driving the Selkirk Branch

East of Selkirk Yard

West Bank of the Hudson River

From CP-SK, return to State Route 144 by State Route 396. Take Route 144 south from the Thruway (exit 22). This will lead to an overpass over the tracks. In the 1994 Railpace article there is a photograph of the bridge over the Hudson taken from near here, but there has been much recent construction around the overpass, and the Railpace site may no longer be accessible.

East Bank of the Hudson River

State Route 9J south from Renssellaer (take US Route 9 south to Route 9J) leads south along the Hudson River to Schodack. Alternatively, take the N.Y. Thruway to the Berkshire Spur, Exit B-1; take US Route 9 to Schodack Landing Road.

West of Selkirk Yard

CP-FB to CP-VO

1. Proceed SOUTH from the N.Y. Route 32 overpass (over the west end of Selkirk Yard) about one mile to County Route 308 (New Scotland South Road): make a RIGHT TURN onto Route 308.
2. Continue on Route 308 to Delaware Avenue (the CSXT overpass will be on the right): make a LEFT TURN then a RIGHT TURN to continue on Route 308.
3. Continue on Route 308 past Game Farm Road: Game Farm Road has a CSXT grade crossing. The CP-Unionville home signal on 1 track is dimly visable in the distance, but CP-Unionville itself has no good access.
4. Continue on Route 308 across the CSXT grade crossing. Some people use this spot as a photo site. This is now well past CP-Unionville.
5. Proceed to State Route 85, New Scotland Road, and turn RIGHT.
6. Proceed on Route 85 about 1/4 mile to the traffic light at the intersection with State Route 85A: make a LEFT TURN onto Route 85A and continue to Voorheesville.
7. In Voorheesville, proceed under the CSXT overpass and make a RIGHT TURN at Voorheesville Avenue and a LEFT TURN at Main Street. CP-VO and the D&H diamonds are at the crossing.
8. Jaycees Depot Pizza in Voorheesville is in sight of the diamonds for refreshments.

CP-VO to Fullers

1. Leave CP-VO to the west on Prospect Street (south of and parallel to the D&H).
2. At the end of Prospect Street make a RIGHT TURN northbound across the D&H onto County Route 208.
3. Continue on this to Depot Road, County Route 201, and make a LEFT TURN onto Depot Road (the CSXT grade crossing is on the right).
4. Cross the D&H spurr that runs into the Northeast Industrial Park (on the right): take Route 201 (Depot Road) to State Route 146.
5. make a RIGHT TURN onto Route 146, then,
   • Prior to the overpass over the Selkirk Branch, make a LEFT TURN onto French's Mill Road: on the right will be a closed bridge over the Selkirk Branch. Continuing on this road (now Hurst Road) leads to State Route 158 (see below).
   • Proceed north on Route 146 to the overpass over the Selkirk Branch and the access road to the Northeast Industrial Park (however, there is no public access to the Industrial Park).
   • Just north of the overpass, make a LEFT TURN onto French's Hollow Road. The closed bridge over the Selkirk Branch (to French's Mill Road) will be on the left. Continue on French's Hollow Road to a second closed bridge, which runs over the Norman's Kill. CSXT's Selkirk Branch is high above, crossing the outlet of the Watervliet Reservoir on twin trestles that are already at separate grades in preparation for the Fullers flyover.
   • Proceed north on Route 146 from the overpass to U.S. Route 20: make a LEFT TURN and continue on Roue 20 to the Fullers flyover. Prior to the flyover (but with it in sight) make a LEFT TURN onto Fullers Station Road to reach the twin-trestles from the north side of the closed bridge.

Fullers to CP-SH/Burdick Road

The Conrail Rulebook refers to Burdick Road, MP 32.9, while street maps of Schenectady refer to Burdick Street. This is the area of the former wye to the D&H.

1. Leave the Fullers flyover on U.S. Route 20 westbound;
2. Proceed to State Route 158 and make a RIGHT TURN onto Route 158 northbound;
3. Cross over the Selkirk Branch (CP-SH will be on the left), cross over the Thruway: the Rotterdam Industrial Park and the Carman Branch will be on the left.
4. Proceed on Route 158 to State Route 7 and make a LEFT TURN onto Route 7; then,
   • Route 7 leads to an overpass at the Rotterdam Industrial Park (CP-SH is to the left); a RIGHT TURN just off the overpass leads through some side streets to State Route 159, Mariaville Road (the CSXT right-of-way will be on the right); a LEFT TURN onto Route 159 will lead to Burdick Street; from Burdick Street a RIGHT TURN will lead back the right-of-way at a grade crossing.
   • Leave Route 7 at State Route 159 and follow this over the tracks to Burdick Street, to make a RIGHT TURN back to the grade crossing.

Burdick Road to CP-RJ

1. Continue north on Burdick Street to I-890.
2. Take I-890 west to State Route 5S (don't get on the Thruway).
3. Proceed past the Boston & Maine (Springfield Terminal) interchange: CP-RJ will be on the left; the Selkirk Branch bridge across the Mohawk River will be ahead.
4. The interlocking itself is set back from the road a bit -- it may be best seen (while moving) from the New York Thruway near MP 166, where the west end (where the West Shore IT joins) and the east end (where the B&M joins) are both clearly visible.

CP-RJ to Hoffmann's

1. Double-back from CP-RJ to State Route 103: make a LEFT TURN onto Route 103 and cross the Mohawk River.
2. Make a LEFT TURN onto State Route 5 and proceed parallel to the Mohawk River -- the Chicago Line will be on the right and the Selkirk Branch will come in from the left.

Dispatching Selkirk and Environs

The various tracks in and around Selkirk Yard and the Selkirk Branch (yard and running tracks along with the area's various other lines, branches, and secondaries, now collectively "subdivisions" in CSX parlance) are controlled by CSX dispatchers and yardmasters, mostly at the so-called regional building in Selkirk Yard. By today's nomenclature, the yard and environs are actually CSXT's Albany Division (same as in CR days), but major changes having taken place under CSX with the names of the lines and dispatchers.

For the yard itself and its immediate approaches there are numerous people involved in controlling train movemnts, including the NC Dispatcher (ex-Hudson Dispatcher), the Hump, Top End, and East End Yardmasters, and the Fuel Plant Foreman. Various other folks are involved in train movements, such as the Car Department. Each of these people may be heard on one or more of radio frequencies (see the Selkirk Yard frequency list for a complete listing of the Yard frequencies).

Outside of the yard itself, the tracks leading to Selkirk Yard are dispatched by the Albany Division's NC (ex-Hudson) Dispatcher. This includes the former Selkirk Branch (detailed above). Additionally, train movements may be heard on talking defect detectors and axle counters.

The following information provides the new CSX names for the various subdivisions, the new CSX names for the various associated dispatchers, defect detectors and axle counters, and the corresponding radio frequencies. Additionally, the new CSX names for all of the Albany Division subdivisions and dispatercers is also included. The listings work more or less sequentially from east to west across the division.

The Albany Division has various dispatcher (DS) desks, and each desk can usually communicate with train crews and others in the field by transmitting from several remote radio sites. Following is a list of the dispatchers and their remotes in the immediate Capital Region. Following that is a list of the new subdivision names throughout the Albany division; following that is list of defect detectors in the Region, along with the frequencies on which they report (these are useful for locating an approaching train). Albany Division dispatchers are based out of the Region Building at Selkirk Yard. A comprehensive list of the dispatch desks division-wide follows the listing of defect detectors. (It appears that the only remaining interlocking that is still staffed is CP-LAB, the Livingston Avenue Bridge over the Hudson River: Conrail still staffs several interlockings, such as CP-Hack in North Jersey.)

Albany-Area Dispatchers

CRTS Update #06-19
Tuesday, June 11th, 2002 at 21:20 EST

CSXT RADIO CHANGE:
        Effective at 12:01 EST on Tuesday, June 11th, 2002, the CSXT "NC"
(Hudson) dispatcher radio west of Selkirk, NY and Albany-Rensselaer, NY
was changed from 160.800 to 161.070. The antenna at Amsterdam, NY now
monitors both channel one (160.800) for the CSXT "ND" (Mohawk)
dispatcher and channel two (161.070) for the "NC" (Hudson) dispatcher.
"LAB" is now also on channel two along with the Albany-Rensselaer, NY
stationmaster.

Albany-Area Defect Detectors

Albany Division Subdivisions & Dispatchers

• Boston Subdivision
  • ex-Boston Line, MP 92 (Berkshire Subdivision) to CP-Cove
  • NA dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Berkshire Subdivision
  • ex-Boston Line, CP-SM (MP 191.8) to MP 92 (Boston Subdivision)
  • NB dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Post Road Subdivision
  • ex-Post Road Branch (Berkshire Subdivision at CP-187 to Hudson Subdivison at CP-142)
  • NB dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Schodack Subdivision
  • ex-Selkirk Branch (Hudson Subdivision at CP-125 to Berkshire Subdivison at CP-SM)
  • NC dispatcher
  • Radio 6464, 161.070 transmit and receive
• Castleton Subdivision
  • ex-Selkirk Branch (Berkshire Subdivision at CP-SM to Selkirk Yard at CP-SE)
  • NB dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Port Subdivision
  • ex-Albany Secondary
  • NC dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• River Subdivision
  • ex-River Line
  • NJ dispatcher
  • Radio 5858, 160.980 transmit and receive
• Hudson Subdivision
  • ex-Hudson Line CP-75 to CP-141
  • ex-Chicago Line CP-141 to CP-169
  • NC dispatcher
  • Radio 6464, 161.070 transmit and receive
• Selkirk Subdivision
  • ex-Selkirk Branch, Selkirk Yard at CP-SW to CP-169 (MP 42.3)
  • ex-Chicago Line, CP-169 to CP-175
  • NC dispatcher
  • Radio 6464, 161.070 transmit and receive
• Mohawk Subdivision
  • ex-Chicago Line, CP-175 to CP-296
  • ND dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Rochester Subdivision
  • ex-Chicago Line, CP-296 to CP-429
  • NF dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Buffalo Terminal Subdivison
  • ex-Chicago Line, CP-429 to CP-2
  • NG dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Belt Subdivison
  • ex-Belt Line, CP-437 to CP-7 & CP-8
  • NG dispatcher
  • Radio 6464, 161.070 transmit and receive
• Niagara Subdivison
  • ex-Niagara Branch
  • NG dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Lakeshore Subdivison
  • ex-Chicago Line, CP-2 to CP-97
  • NH dispatcher
  • Radio 4646, 160.800 transmit and receive
• Division Post: Albany Division/Great Lakes Division, MP 97.2

The NC (former Hudson) Dispatcher also dispatches, within the yard, The Inbound and the Inbound Yard's Track 11 (the Hump Yardmaster controls the short stretch on track 10 in the Inbound Yard between 11 and The Inbound).

Albany Division Train Dispatchers

From the Division Dispatch Center
in the Region Building at Selkirk Yard