August 1992

NEWSLEITER

OF THE MOHAWK & HUDSON CHAPTER, N.R.H.S.

THE CALL BOARD 11

The New York Central's Schenectady Detour Project

By Dick Barrett & Tim Truscott
The Schenectady Detour Project, also known as the "Carmen Cut-Off," involved the construction of a 3.61-mile segment of new line between the vicinity of Carmen Station, at the top of the grade east of Schenectady, and the West Shore line near South Schenectady. The detour project was undertaken in 1902 by the New York Central with two principal objectives in mind: avoiding the heavy grade on the mainline eastbound out of Schenectady and reducing the number of trains which would pass through Schenectady at street level and encountering numerous urban grade crossings. Other improvements. including grade crossing eliminations, were undertaken at Schenectady simultaneously. Prior to construction of the detour. eastbound trains on the mainline would climb a maximum grade of 0.76% between Schenectady and Carmen as they left the Mohawk River Valley and passed onto the plateau going toward Albany. This 2 1/2-mile grade required the use of pusher locomotives on heavy trains.The grade had become more of a problem as the weight of trains increased and the volume of traffic increased, as well. In 1900 the "Hoffman's Connection" was completed. This new route connected the New York Central mainline at Hoffman' s, seven or eight miles northwest of Schenectady, with the West Shore line. which was located on the south side of the Mohawk River. All freight trains between Weehawken . .\"J and :i\'YC mainline destinations to the west were carried over this new connection so as to avoid the pusher grade east of Schenectady and the traffic congestion that might be encountered by traveling through West Albany and downtown Albany before heading down the west side of the Hudson River to join the West Shore line. Since the "Castleton Cut-Off' through Selkirk (and over the bridge spanning the Hudson River) was not to be built for another 25 years, freight trains to and from New England over the Boston & Albany passed through West Albany and encountered not only the 0.76% Schenectady grade but also the severe 2.5% West Albany grade. The "Schenectady Detour," therefore, benefitted eastbound freight trains headed for New' England and Albany by eliminating the need for pusher locomotives and keeping all freight traffic in both directions, other than local service, out of downtown Schenectady, Except for a half-mile stretch of 0.40% grade between Hoffman's and Central Junction, where the Hoffman's Connection joined the West Shore, no grade on the Schenectady Detour exceeded 0.25 %. The "Schenectady Detour" project fitted in with the grade crossing elimination projects in Schenectady involving both the New York Central and the Delaware & Hudson, and which were undertaken concurrent with the detour project. On the four-track mainline, there were grade crossings at Front St., Green St., Union St., State St. and Edison Ave. While all of these crossings were dangerous, State St. was particularly dangerous because it was on a curve and because traffic crossing the line was heaviest there. In an actual count, 63,000 pedestrians and 2,000 vehicles crossed the mainline at State St. each day. The overall effect of the New York Central's improvements at Schenectady were to both eliminate grade crossings and to reduce rail traffic in the downtown area. An analogy can be drawn, therefore, between the "Schenectady Detour" (and later, the "Castleton Cut-Off') and the Interstate Highway System constructed in the 1950's, '60's and '70's: Both diverted inter-city traffic out of the downtown areas and both minimized the grades encountered in order to improve traffic flow. Some small sacrifices were made, however, in constructing the new route around Schenectady. The detour route was 1.16 miles longer than the New York Central mainline. The alignment of the new route increased the curvature by 173 degrees, compared with the mainline. In spite of these disadvantages, railroad officials felt the savings afforded by elimination of the pusher grade more than justified the project. The relative importance of the Schenectady Detour (Carmen Cut-Off) declined after the Castleton Cut-Off was constructed and Selkirk Yard opened in about 1925. After this time, through freight trains to and from New England no longer needed to follow the route between Albany and Schenectady via West Albany. The Schenectady Detour is still intact and can be seen today, including the foundation of the tower at Carmen.

References: The Railway Age,

December 22, 1900

Railway Gazette,
September 19, 1902