1871 The Poughkeepsie Lucky Platt Department Store Opens

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2 1855 A letter to the Poughkeepsie Eagle proposes a bridge across the Hudson 1856 Albany Bridge proposed 1866 Albany Bridge opens 1871 The Poughkeepsie Bridge Company is founded 1859 Eastman Business College founded 1861 Vassar College founded. Civil War begins Civil War ends Hudson- Highland Suspension Bridge proposed 1869 Lucky Platt Department Store Opens

3 Goods and Passengers were crossing the Hudson river on barges and on ice Bridge proposed at Highland due to width of river and height of bluffs Railroads under construction on East and West shores could be easily connected Champions: Harvey Eastman & John Platt Opposition: Vanderbilt s Central System, the shipping industry, other bridge sites May, 1871, the Poughkeepsie Bridge company is organized Members include: John P. Adriance, Matthew Vassar Jr., George Innes, Vice Pres. Harvey Eastman and Pres. John F. Winslow Initial proposal: suspension bridge of iron, one span with no piers July, 1871 Horatio Allen, Engineer (and James B. Eads) confirm piers are necessary May 1872 Eastman elected to state legislature, charter amended for 4 piers Pennsylvania Railroad (A.J. Dennis and Andrew Carnegie) support attained with President J. Edgar Thompson subscribe to $1,100,000 of stock (1/2 of cost) Dennis becomes Pres. Poughkeepsie Bridge Co, Thompson & Carnegie on Board Keystone Bridge Co. chosen to build with J.H. Linville chief engineer Piers proposed are pneumatic piles of iron tubes, filled & surrounded by stone Dec 17, 1873 first cornerstone laid with great ceremony

4 The Poughkeepsie Bridge The Panic of 1873 affects many of the railroads to which the Bridge would connect May 1874 Thompson dies Thompson s estate, the Pennsylvania Railroad and Dennis no longer have funds for construction Bridge construction stops. Dec 1874 Boston Board of Trade creates a committee to find a better route for goods Newburgh, Kingston and Peekskill all have proposals Eastman hosts the committee by rail (and sleigh) along proposed rail lines. Winslow entertains. June 1875, Poughkeepsie Bridge company reorganizes Pres. John F. Winslow, Vice Pres. Eastman, board members from New England American Bridge Company contracted for $3.4 M, $1M raised Summer 1876 construction begins. Engineer W. G. Coolidge Design is still 4 piers, rectangular truss design, of iron Construction on cribs for 3 piers begins Difficulties arise

5 July 1877 Difficulties encountered: Special barges needed Deep river bottom Coffer dam breaks Winter approaches March 1878 construction resumes July 1878 Eastman dies December 1878 American Bridge Co. forced into liquidation Piers 2 & 3 are in the Hudson River Coolidge pier construction: Modified from Brooklyn Bridge Wooden cribs built on land Floated to site & anchored Weighted with rock, dredged of muck, filled with concrete Surrounded with coffer dam Topped with stone pier

6 1855 A letter to the Poughkeepsie Eagle proposes a bridge across the Hudson 1856 Albany Bridge proposed 1866 Albany Bridge opens 1871 The Poughkeepsie Bridge Company is founded 1876 Construction begins again 1859 Eastman Business College founded 1861 Vassar College founded. Civil War begins Civil War ends Hudson- Highland Suspension Bridge proposed 1869 Lucky Platt Department Store Opens 1873 Nearly 10,000 people attend a ceremony laying the cornerstone for the new bridge. Construction stalls Economic and engineering difficulties again halt construction

7 1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens 1885 Newburgh Rail-car ferry traffic high 1886 Construction begins again 1888 Construction completed 1886 Statue of Liberty dedicated 1887 Poughkeepsie Bridge Co. Charter extended to January Davies Hardware Store opens 1889 Connections achieved

8 Rail traffic, especially for coal is high William W. Gibbs, of Philadelphia buys majority of Poughkeepsie Bridge Co. stock to build bridge to market his coal to the NE Winslow is Pres. of Poughkeepsie & Eastern RR and a specialist in steel construction Designers Thomas Curtis Clark (Harvard) and Charles Macdonald (RPI) Retain 4 piers but use 3 cantilever spans with 2 rectangular trusses. Chief Engineer John O Rourke verifies piers and proceeds with construction 1886 Existing piers in river repaired, additional cribs built on land 1887 Workers assemble (Jan: 200, April:1000, July:1500) Early spring, piers installed, false-work built Request for charter extension (the 4 th time) granted with support of James William Husted 1888 Trusses constructed, cantilever spans lowered Aug 30, 1888 last pin driven to connect last arms of last cantilever span Dec 29 and 31 trains cross the bridge Construction is successful: 3 years, thousands of workers, cost of $3.4 Million 3094 feet over water (pier to pier), 7,678 feet long, 212 feet above the river, vertical clearance of 130 and 160 feet.

9 Connecting to freight and passenger lines proved difficult, but was accomplished. To the North East, formed Poughkeepsie & Connecticut line to connect to Hartford. To the South East the line to Hopewell Junction opened 1892 To the West, built line to Campbell Hall (27 miles), opened July Freight traffic slowly grew but for 6 years the Bridge Route could only limp 1889 August, the first coal train crosses 1897 Milk rates deregulated giving Mid-Hudson diaries a competitive advantage until over 400 freight cars a day, 1921 over 2,000 freight cars, 1943 nearly 3,500 cars a day Passenger traffic grows for a few years, then declines Passenger trains connect Boston & Harrisburg then Philadelphia, but don t thrive s Trolley runs from NewPaltz to Highland and Poughkeepsie, Circus trains begin Route established Boston to Chicago for the World s Fair the Federal Express, a luxury overnight train Washington to Boston 1925 one passenger train runs each way daily, between Poughkeepsie and Maybrook 1930 s-40s special West Point football trains Car traffic grows and causes many new crossings over the Hudson Bear Mountain Bridge 1930 Mid-Hudson Bridge 1931 George Washington Bridge (upper level) 1935 Rip Van Winkle Bridge 1955 Tappen Zee Bridge 1957 Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge 1963 Newburgh- Beacon first span, 1980 s second span

10 As the Railroad industry grew, so did Trains 1890 s Baldwin s, steam, 83 tons 1900 s ALCO-Rogers F-3 s, steam, tons Santa Fe L-1A, diesel 85, tons 1969 GM SPD-45, diesel-electric tons As trains grew and freight increased the bridge was reinforced 1906 new center steel truss installed, piers reinforced Ralph Modjeski directs project while trains run Jacks tracks onto oak blocks, adds new steel floor system Gauntlets the Railroad tracks: overlaps double tracks to distribute weight to the center Annual inspections & maintenance conducted until 1969 As trains travelled across the bridge, fires were not uncommon Railroad ties and walkways were of wood. Oil from passing trains dripped. All New Haven employees required to watch for fires and kept fire-fighting equipment handy (telephone line, water barrels, water pipes, fire hoses). By 1969 only 12 men remained on the bridge for maintenance and watch In 1972 the watchmen were eliminated In 1973 the maintenance crew were let go

11 Probably caused by a spark, an hour after a Penn Central train with 100 cars crossed the bridge a thick cloud of black smoke hung over the bridge. Wooden ties were smoldering and wooden walkways were burning, fanned by a moderate breeze. Because Penn Central had no guards or maintenance men on the bridge at the time, the fire was not quickly reported. When firemen arrived at the site, they found they could not easily pump water up to the top of such a high bridge. When they tried turning on the water to flow into the steel pipe which ran the length of the bridge, a line meant to help fight fires, they found that because it had not been drained the previous winter, it had burst at several points Penn Central had known it but had not repaired it. Source: Bridging the Hudson by Carleton Mabee Photo by Hayward Cohen -The last train across the Bridge. Courtesy of Dave Williams

12 After 85 years of operation, the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge was closed The fire was intense and difficult to fight Falling debris closed the Hudson Line and Route 9 A falling tie knocked out the signal system to Albany. All train traffic was rerouted 700 feet of the bridge was burned Repair costs were estimated at $650, Conrail takes over Penn Central negotiations for repairs continue, scope and cost rise, support declines