Hudson River Studies cont'd [photos]

[rebeccmeister]

On the return train trip, I took oodles of photos of the Hudson River, with an emphasis on trying to learn more about all of the Hudson River crossings. Some of them are more easily photographed from a train window than others. Here, a selection of photos taken from the train. The train window had some soot buildup, so this was the best I could manage. Learning about the bridges reminds me of my father learning about each and every one of the river crossings between Seattle and Portland. I hope to travel the Hudson by boat at some point, so learning the bridges is part of a general reconnaissance mission. For those who might know these bridges better than I do, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about any of them.

The Bear Mountain Bridge looked spectacular in the morning sun that Saturday as I headed towards NYC:


For some reason, the subterranean track views in Manhattan amuse me greatly. I think it's because they're suggestive of an alternate city beneath the city.


For S, another Stairway to Nowhere!!


Cuomo Bridge isn't particularly impressive, at least in my mind, viewed from the train. I understand from an engineering standpoint why contemporary bridges all tend to look alike, but from an aesthetic standpoint they make me shrug my shoulders.


In contrast, the (edit) Newburgh and Beacon Bridges Newburgh-Beacon Bridge excites the imagination.


Kingston-Rhinecliff, also soaring and elegant:


The Rip Van Winkle was hard to capture from the train:


Okay, not a bridge, but impressive dereliction of this metal warehouse in Hudson, NY:


Basically, once you get outside of New York City, there's an incredible sense of abandonment along the remaining length of the river. I suppose that's the legacy of having shifted away from transport by water and warehouses, towards containerization.

The Livingston Avenue train bridge, viewed from the closed Dunn Memorial Bike-Pedestrian crossing:


Construction for the replacement for the Livingston Ave bridge is supposed to begin this year. The replacement bridge will be located just to the south of the existing bridge. I believe it will feature a lift drawbridge instead of the swing opening. I can understand the feelings of the people wringing their hands over the removal of the Livingston Ave Bridge. At the same time, I am hugely excited about the possibility of another convenient bike-ped river crossing that will connect right into the Skyway and downtown Albany.

In contrast, I am annoyed that the Dunn Memorial is closed to people on foot or by bicycle, without provisioning of any sort of meaningful detour. I need to write a letter to the State Department of Transportation to that effect.

Comments

[cmcmck]

Bridges! :o)

[rebeccmeister]

Of course. :^)

[graydon]

That metal warehouse looks like munitions storage. (massive concrete walls; flimsy roof.)

[rebeccmeister]

I can't pull up much information about it, but it's just south of the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, in Hudson, NY.

[graydon]

Thank you!

And, yeah, one can get an address out of google and not much else.

Could be some kind of bulk bunker, I suppose, but it seems small for coal or anything else like that.

[bluepapercup]

Fun facts: It's called the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge (formally known as the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge) and though there are two spans, they are considered the same bridge. Each span carries traffic in only one direction. It's the bridge one takes when traveling from Massachusetts to southeastern NY, so I am rather familiar with it.

Also, LOL, the Cuomo Bridge was originally the Tappan Zee Bridge, and most people hate the new name (it was renamed in 2017 when they finished reconstruction) and still call it the Tappan Zee! Myself included.

[rebeccmeister]

Thank you for the fun facts! I've updated my reference to the Newburgh-Beacon now. Interesting how the naming works there.

I can appreciate continuing to call that bridge the Tappan Zee. :^)

[mallorys_camera]

Interesting the way tastes vary.

I think the new Tappan Zee Bridge is wayyyy more visually interesting than the Newburgh/Beacon bridge.

And, yes, the Bear Mountain Bridge is the most beautiful of the Hudson spans.

[rebeccmeister]

Heh, I suspect I'm just a sucker for old iron bridges. :^)

The Green Island Bridge up here in Troy is an artistically fun one.