bankruptcy judge signed the death or- der on the Westchester. The last trains would run on December 31, arriving at their terminals after midnight, a sad way to start 1938.
Life after death
Judge John C. Knox ordered the property remain intact so that propos- als for continued operation could be considered. A bill was introduced in New York State to create a new operat- ing authority that would purchase the Westchester and operate it. It made it all the way to Governor Herbert Lehman’s desk where it was vetoed in March 1938. Considerable pressure against the bill had come from New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who opposed the new authority because of the power given to The Bronx bor- ough president and the funding rela- tionship with Westchester County. In 1940, New York City purchased
the segment from East 180th Street to the city line at Dyre Avenue for use as an extension of the IRT White Plains Road line. The first subway trains ran on the newly converted line on May 15, 1941, with LaGuardia at the controls. Meanwhile, communities in Westch-
ester County held out hope for some sort of salvation. The Port Authority in- spected the property but announced in April 1941 they had no interest in its operation. More importantly, the New Haven was pushing for liquidation of the Westchester before its mortgage bonds became due in 1946. With America’s entry into World War
II on December 7, 1941, the issue of the remaining NYW&B property took on a greater importance. The federal gov- ernment made a cash offer to begin sal- vage operations immediately, and after a brief delay, Judge Francis Caffey signed the order on March 13, 1942. Scrapping began that May, and the
TOP: Thought the railroad had only been idle for a few years, it quickly went to seed. This 1940 view at North Avenue station in New Rochelle was indicative of the general condi- tion of the line prior to dismantling. Memorial Drive now cuts through here on this very same route. ABOVE: The only steam locomotives used on the line were during construction and dismantling. In March 1942 the government purchased the property to harvest the steel for the war effort. The scrapper’s train is seen here at Columbus Avenue junction in Mount Vernon, using a borrowed New Haven steam engine. PHOTOS BY JOHN TOLLEY, COLLECTION OF ROBERT A. BANG LEFT: A two-car shuttle arrives at Baychester Avenue station in The Bronx in June 1942. These ancient wooden “gate cars” were assigned to the Dyre Avenue Shuttle op- eration when the New York City Subway took over in 1941. Scrapping of the remainder of the Westchester began the month previous, so that New Haven-era catenary tower won’t be standing much longer. A new track connec- tion built in 1957 allowed direct operation into Manhattan, a dream fulfilled. PHOTO BY KARL GROH, COLLECTION OF J.J. SEDELMAIER
46 JULY 2012 •
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