Metro-North Railroad operates passenger service on the East Shore of the Hudson River between Grand Central Station in NYC and Poughkeepsie, NY…Maintenance on their locomotives and passenger car fleet are done at the former New York Central Harmon Shops at Croton-Harmon, NY. Each October, Metro-North holds an Open House at the Harmon Shops where visitors can tour the shops and get an up close look at Metro-North equipment and how it is repaired and maintained. In addition, on that day, free excursions are run between Harmon and Garrison, NY which equates to a roughly 25 mile round trip…This year’s Open House will occur on Saturday, October 11th and I will be attending as usual. A link to the Metro-North homepage…On the right side of that page, look for the ‘News’ section, and click on Metro-North Harmon Open House for more info www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/
Thanks for posting this.
I’ve attended several of Metro-North’s open houses at Harmon and have found them to be enjoyable and fascinating.
It’s a great day to promote a better understanding of what the railroad is and what it does for people who ride the train and those who live in the communities served by Metro-North. The railroad makes the most of that opportunity, too. The employees are friendly and eager to share their knowledge and experiences with visitors. And as far as the train ride, there’s nothing like a trip along the Hudson River in the fall!
I’m thrilled Metro-North continues to hold this event.
Matt Van Hattem
Senior Editor
Mertro-North is in the process of building new repair shops at Croton-Harmon which will be replacing the old New York Central vintage shops. This may be one of the final, if not the final Open Houses to be able to tour the old shops… so it would be worthwhile to attend to be able to tour the old shops once more…The free train rides up the East Shore Hudson Line are worth it too…The only fly in the ointment this year may be the possibility of rain and/or gray skies to mar outdoor photo opportunities, though weather won’t be a factor for indoor photography…I would equate it to a scaled down version of the older Altoona Railfests from Conrail days where the public used to be able to tour the Altoona Juniata Shops…I make it a point to attend the Harmon event when my schedule allows…and I will be there this year too.
A link to an article discussing some of the new structures already completed as part of the Harmon Shops upgrade. Article mentions about space being cleared to build the replacements for the main diesel and passenger car repair shops www.gannettfleming.com/Newsroom/2008/crotonharmon052108.htm
And a link to another site that has interesting info on the history of the Harmon Shops www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/Harmon1.html#Modernization
Thanks for the links! In the same vein as Harmon, does anyone know if NJ Transit still sponsors a Hoboken Festival?
I made it a point to go to the Hoboken festival every single year (except for the one in 1998, which happened to fall on the same day my sister was getting married. My parents insisted I skip the train show.)
Matt Van Hattem
Senior Editor