According to
OldNYC.com contributor Harry Hassler, this used to be an old foot bridge
that once carried pedestrians over the Cross Harbor Railroad's tracks in
the area by the float bridge.
A closer view
of the abandoned walkway. Notice the old lamppost that once guided
pedestrians over the bridge at night. Another infrastructure relic
of the past.
"L.B. Foster
Co. - New York, Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Atlanta" - I
wonder if this company was a prominent rail manufacturer back in the day.
Stepping out
of the yard, and on to First Avenue, the cement breaks in the street are
the spur tracks from the CHRR to some of the industrial buildings that
line the eastern wye of First Avenue. A chain-link fence lines the
eastern perimeter of the yard, and there is only one section of fence that
is open that allows trains to travel from the yard to a warehouse on First
Avenue.
Peering back
in to the yard, we see the Statue of Liberty watching over Upper Bay (and
I suppose the Cross Harbor Railroad, if she can see that far!). As
you may have seen if you took the Manhattan Hudson River Piers Virtual
Tour at OldNYC.com, tugboat traffic and car float operations were once a
big part of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Lady Liberty
saw a lot of these types of operations over the years, but now just a small
fraction of freight is transported by rail in New York City. Freight
railroad companies like the Cross Harbor Railroad and the New York and
Atlantic Railway hope to change this fact.
-->> Click Here to Continue to Explore the Cross Harbor Yard!