Sergey Kadinsky

Written Works

This travel article was written in January 2006, and submitted to The Campus newspaper of City College. It was never published.

Taking the Amtrak

on the

Hudson River Line

By Sergey Kadinsky

Have you ever walked through Riverside Park and had your romantic walk interrupted by a rumbling sound, which you can hear, but not see? Have you ever had to endure Thruway traffic on your trip to Albany, Buffalo, or Montreal? Two weeks after starting my internship in the State Assembly in Albany, I was forced to return to City College for two days in order to take my Finals exams, which were postponed as a result of an earlier subway strike.

Not being an automobile owner at the time, my options consisted of Greyhound, Chinese shuttle buses, and Amtrak. Wanting to make my trip back home memorable, I chose the third option. Inconveniently, Amtrak has its Albany station across the Hudson River in the suburb of Rensselaer, with a one-way ride costing about $34 on a weekday.  Upon boarding the train, I was surprised to see that the seats allowed plenty of leg room and space to fully recline, and unlike the subway, the train ride was swift and noise-free.

However, the most impressive part of the Hudson River line is its scenery, which has been inspiring explorers, artists, and historians for centuries. Initially, the train passed through swamps and forests that line the river. From the window of the train, the view is almost identical to what Henry Hudson traveled through in 1609, the only things missing from the landscape being the wigwams and longhouses! Having chosen an afternoon train, the view was further enhanced by the setting sun, which gradually turned from orange to fiery red, skipping over the Catskill mountains.

In the early 19^th century, landscape artists such as Asher Durant, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Edwin Church painted these scenes in a genre known as the Hudson River School. In 1807, the river also played host to Robert Fulton, who demonstrated the country’s first steamboat between New York and Albany. Further down the river, large manors owned by wealthy families such as the Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts. Many of these estates have since been turned into public museums, including Kykuit, Sleepy Hollow, and Lyndhurst in Tarrytown. Like the artists, these landowners were also attracted to the picturesque views and natural scenery.

In the 1840s, when a railroad was proposed for the Hudson shoreline to link Albany to Manhattan, many of these landowners and artists were vocal in opposing its construction. Not only would their properties be cut off from the shoreline by the railroad, but so would “peace and quiet.” In 1851, the first trains rolled down the historic rail line. Roughly halfway between Albany and New York is Poughkeepsie, which is the northern terminus of the Metro North railroad. Seeing the familiar commuter trains, I also noticed slightly more development, including marinas, oil tanks, and bridges. Along the river are also historical curiosities, such as the crumbing Bannerman’s Castle. One active fortress is West Point, an elite military academy dating back to the American Revolution. To prevent a British naval advance, the patriots had a chain stretched across the river in 1777. It was also here that Benedict Arnold betrayed the country in 1781 in a last-ditch attempt to prevent independence. Fortunately, he was defeated and lived out his days in poverty in London.

In Ossining, the marinas and piers suddenly give way to high concrete walls and guard towers of the Sing Sing prison. It is one of the country’s oldest and most notorious prisons. It is so old, that it has its own museum on campus! The prison opened in 1825, but its name is reputed to be of native origin. This is where the expression “up the river” was coined, as many convicts from New York City originally arrived here by boat. Executions were held here until 1963.

While most of Rockland and Westchester counties are suburban, development along the shoreline is kept at a minimum, allowing rail riders to have nearly unobstructed views of the river all the way down to the George Washington Bridge. After passing over west Harlem, with its warehouses and billboards, the train disappears into a tunnel, not reemerging until its terminal. As late as the 1890s, much of western Harlem, including the campus site still resembled a sleepy village, with orphan asylums, mansions, and a catholic convent overlooking the river. Until the 1930s, the railroad ran at grade through Riverside Park, but under Parks commissioner Robert Moses, the railway was buried, with expanded parkland above it. As a result, the Upper West Side, received more parkland, though with some rumbling below the joggers’ feet.

As the train pulled into Penn Station, I was happy to know that not only did I experience traveling along the state’s most historic and picturesque waterway, but I arrived in the city roughly in half an hour less than what it would have taken with Greyhound. In spite of its ticket prices and occasional delays, I strongly recommend Amtrak for any readers wishing to travel north of the city.