A Bronx Tale The feature on the history of the New York, Westchester & Boston is thanks in part to my dad, Edward Vondrak, who grew up along this line. He was only ten years old when the line shut down in 1937, but he re- membered riding it a few times with his mother, as they were only a few blocks from the Pelham Parkway station. In fact, my grandfather built their house in the 1920s along the roadway created by the cut-and- cover tunnel, Westchester Esplanade. It was my dad’s stories of playing on the abandoned railroad while growing up in The Bronx that inspired me later in life to do my own re- search on this long-forgotten railroad. There is something that we tend to take


for granted when it comes to history. We read about something being built and some- thing being torn up, but unless we were there to witness it for ourselves, we have lit- tle tangible connections to these events. As I grew older, I’d meet other folks who had heard the legends of the “Boston-West- chester” and shared some degree of disbelief that such a well-built railway could be torn up without a trace. By every account, it was the best railway ever built, sparing no ex- pense from its fast electric trains to its beau- tiful stations. Could it really have existed? The emotions were real, that’s for sure.


Sure, a short segment was preserved for subway service in The Bronx, but my dad would get really agitated when it came to discussing the fate of the rest of the line. He told me how my grandpa went to some of the “town hall” meetings to try to save the Westchester from the scrapper’s torch, but to no avail. “They never should have torn it up!” My father’s reactions stuck with me, as they went against his usual quiet and calm demeanor. I always loved hearing my dad’s stories,


but it was the ones about the “Boston- Westchester” I remembered the most. Those stories inspired me to start my own research and make real connections to history at a young age. My dad passed away in 1999, so he never got to see the fruits of those labors that culminated in the book Forgotten Rail- roads Through Westchester County that I helped produce and co-author in 2008. I thought the last chapter of our favorite rail- road had been written. To write the feature in this month’s issue


(page 40), I performed a little last-minute field research as we were going to press in May. The Metropolitan Transportation Au- thority is wrapping up a project to refurbish the old NYW&B headquarters and station at East 180th Street, and I wanted to get photos to help illustrate the story. Fortu- nately, I live only 20 minutes from The Bronx, so this was not too difficult. I hadn’t been on this section of the sub-


way in a number of years, not since the fa- mous “Redbird” fleet was being phased out in 2002. It was a Sunday, so there was plen- ty of street parking available near the East 180th Street complex. The paint was fresh, and the building gleamed in the sunlight. Some landscaping work has yet to be com- pleted, but I imagine this was the same sit- uation a passenger would have encountered at the railroad’s opening in 1912. The grand entrance has been restored, a fitting anchor for this growing neighborhood. I rode the train one stop north to Morris


Park, where I was hoping to capture Man- hattan-bound trains emerging from the Es- planade tunnel. The railroad is still four tracks here, and aside from the lack of cate- nary, continues to provide the same kind of rapid transit service it did a hundred years ago. It was a surreal experience to be stand- ing in the stations that I had seen depicted in the black and white world of photography. Yet unlike the rest of the system, these six stations in The Bronx continue to serve pas- sengers on a daily basis. It really existed. It’s still here. Unlike so much other of our histo- ry that only exists in faded photos and for- gotten volumes. I visited Pelham Parkway and Gun Hill


Road stations before doubling back to East 180th Street to retrieve my car. On my way home, I drove down Esplanade to check up on my dad’s old house. It’s still a quiet resi- dential neighborhood (my dad got teased when he was growing up for living in “the country”). The two-story brick duplex has not changed much over the years. My par- ents moved out before I was born, yet when I drive down those city streets, I felt like I’m home. Thanks in part to my dad, who in- spired me with his colorful stories of grow- ing up in The Bronx. — OTTO M. VONDRAK


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Railcar Images Wanted


TTX Company needs images of its equipment in action. We are seeking photos of intermodal equipment, boxcars and other TTX rolling stock in scenic settings for our 2013 calendar and future marketing materials. Photographers will receive $250 for full, non-exclusive rights for each image used. Selected images will become the property of TTX and will be retained electronically in our archives for various uses. Some editing of images may occur.


Digital images must be a minimum size of 6” x 8” (or 3,000 pixels x 2,400 pixels) at 300 dpi resolution. Files can be submitted as either JPG or TIFF file formats in RGB or CMYK. Please identify the location of each picture and provide your contact information for payment purposes if your image is featured.


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plete rosters of equipment, Dispatcher’s Train Sheets and was compiled for both the serious historian and the modeler. The book contains a listing of all structures and bridges and for you modelers a list of every “on-line” industry ever served by the railroad. “The Little Nickel Plate,” produced most of its revenue hauling bituminous coal north from its Toledo connec- tions during the winter months and finished autos and auto parts south from the auto plants of southern Michigan. Today this road is part of the Canadian National system and continues hauling coal to south- eastern Michigan.


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This new volume covers the never-be- fore published history of the D&TSL from 1897 through its inclu- sion in the Grand Trunk Corp. in 1981, and on through 2011. This 264 page hard- bound with dust jacket contains 271 b&w and color photos, stories, anecdotes, drawings, complete track dia- grams, statistics, com-


OLEDO


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