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Scarborough station (Metro-North)

From KYNNpedia

Template:Infobox station Scarborough station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line, located in the Scarborough area of Briarcliff Manor, New York. Trains leave for New York City every hour on weekdays, and about every 25 minutes during rush hour. It is 28.7 miles (46.2 km) from Grand Central Terminal, and the trip there takes about 50 minutes. Trains of electric multiple units serve the station. The Scarborough station is within walking distance of most houses in the neighborhood.

Construction of the Scarborough station dates back to the 1860s, when the first station building stood along the Hudson River Railroad, which was completed in 1851 and served areas from New York City to Rensselaer.<ref name="Drury"/> It became part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Railroad in 1983, following the devolution of commuter rail service from Conrail. The station was included in a revitalization plan in 2007 to help serve its commuters. The 1899 station building has housed the Scarborough post office since 1961.

History

A one-story post office building
A one-story post office building
Former station building and current post office c. 1970s and in 2014
A riverside train line and station
A small riverside train station
Early images of the Scarborough station

The first station building was built by the Hudson River Railroad sometime before 1860,<ref name="1860age"/> and acquired by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad in 1869. The station was named "Scarborough" until 1867. On July 16 of that year and until November 26, the area was officially called Weskora. The Scarborough station was accordingly changed by local government officials to "Weskora", and changed back in December 1867.<ref name="Weekly"/>

The Scarborough post office dates to December 3, 1864, when the U.S. Postal Service established a "catch and throw" office there in the same small building as the earlier established station. A hook was installed along the tracks to hang mail bags to be grabbed by workers on the passing trains for outgoing mail distribution; in turn workers threw mail bags off the train for incoming mail distribution.<ref name="Gazette"/> The first postmaster of the Scarborough Post Office facility was James Van Velsor who had an annual salary of $200 ($4,900 in 2022<ref name="inflation-US" group="">1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.</ref>) in 1873.<ref name="1873register"/>

A large thunderstorm occurred in the area on August 4, 1898; the newly renovated station building, built in 1893, was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. At the time, the building also housed Scarborough's post office. Mail was destroyed although registered mail and money was being kept at the postmaster's house each night; damage amounted to $5,000 ($175,900 in 2022<ref name="inflation-US" group="">1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.</ref>) and the post office opened the next day, with mail being held in a pushcart.<ref name="Thunderstorm"/> The building was reconstructed identically to its predecessor.<ref name="Gazette"/>

In 1909, after the community of Scarborough was incorporated into the village of Briarcliff Manor in 1906, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad put up a sign reading "Briarcliff West" at the station.<ref name="Weekly"/> Soon afterward, attributed to the neighborhood's pride over their name,<ref name="1952history"/>: 54  that sign was thrown into the Hudson River and replaced with the original Scarborough sign.<ref name="1977history"/>: 15 <ref name="Changing Landscape"/>: 101 

In April 1931, Siamese King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambai Barni traveled from Bangkok<ref name="NYEvePost"/> to Ophir Hall (currently Reid Hall of Manhattanville College). The couple had flown from Japan to Vancouver and took a train to Chicago. From Chicago, they took another train, departing at 10:30 a.m. on the 21st and arriving at noon on the 22nd, and the trip took 25 hours; the king had requested the train travel slowly, as he was recovering from bronchitis and malaria. The train arrived at the Scarborough station, where journalists, spectators, and video and still photographers met them, along with one of their hosts. They were later driven across the county to stay at Ophir Hall for about six weeks in order for a cataract operation to be performed on the king's left eye. State troopers and a squad of New York Central policemen were stationed at Scarborough to ensure a smooth transfer.<ref name="NYCLmag"/><ref name="SchGaz"/> At the time, the king was an absolute monarch; he later became the country's first constitutional monarch.

The Briarcliff Manor village government purchased the 1899<ref name="BuildDate">"NYCRR Valuation Department Pre-Inventory Field Notes, Account #16". September 16, 1920. p. 173.</ref> station building in 1961<ref name="Depots"/> to house its Scarborough post office. The building was used as a filming location in 1966, in the first episode of the television soap opera Dark Shadows as the Collinsport train station.

As with the rest of the Hudson Line, the Scarborough station became a Penn Central station once the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads merged in 1968. Penn Central's continuous financial despair throughout the 1970s forced them to turn over their commuter service to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The station and the railroad were turned over to Conrail in 1976, and eventually became part of the MTA's Metro-North Railroad in 1983.<ref name="Drury"/> In 2007, the MTA overhauled the station, installing new systems such as platforms, canopies, shelters, enclosed staircases, lighting, and benches. The station's overpass was demolished and a replacement was built with elevators on either side.<ref name="Overhaul"/> The new overpass was designed in a less modern style and now has glass-sided elevators. During the construction, Metro-North built a temporary wooden station to the station's south.<ref name="Upgrades"/>

In 2010, Metro-North began a program called Arts for Transit. As part of the program, an art installation was created for the station. The work, titled Untitled with Sky, comprises six stained glass windows and twelve seats covered in mosaic tiles. Liliana Porter and Ana Tiscornia worked with Willet Hauser Architectural Glass to create the installations. The windows were originally intended for the overpass, where they were installed for a short time. Around 2011, the windows were moved to the southbound platform.<ref name="Art"/> Also in 2011, Hurricane Irene caused a mudslide onto the tracks near the Scarborough station; it damaged 300 feet (91 m) of third rail.<ref name="Irene"/>

Local community members have been maintaining the inside and outside of the building through labor and monetary donations under the group name "Save Scarborough", and brought attention to the post office's 150th anniversary, celebrated on December 3, 2014.<ref name="BMSHSNews2014"/> About twenty members began their work around 2010, concerned that the downsizing United States Postal Service would close the Scarborough post office, which is a branch of the Briarcliff Manor post office. As of 2014, the group has spent almost $4,000 in various renovations, upkeep, and improvement costs.<ref name="Gazette"/>

Notable passengers

Ridership is moderate, relative to the other Hudson Line stations, with an average of 865 inbound passengers on weekdays and 233 on weekends in 2007.<ref name="ridership-pow"/> Historical ridership included many notable passengers, including William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller, C. C. Clarke (the First Vice President of the Hudson River Railroad), Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard, Walter William Law, and the Webb family.<ref name="Thunderstorm"/>

Station layout

File:PrajadhipokScarborough.png
Siamese King Prajadhipok arriving at the station in 1931
A train station overpass and incoming train
Old overpass; from Scarborough Park, 2003

The station's parking lot has had a valet service since the station overhaul in 2007. The ongoing construction took up parking spaces, which spurred the village government to institute valet parking. The parking service has remained since the construction finished. A private contractor has an agreement with the village for three employees to manage that part of the lot. An additional section of the station parking lot is privately owned. The valet service has no extra charge.<ref name="ValetParking"/>

Platform and track configuration

All of the tracks are powered with a third rail, except Track 1. The station has two high-level side platforms, each eight cars long.<ref name=Overhaul /><ref>"Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.</ref>: 3 

M Mezzanine Connection between platforms and parking
P
Platform level
Street level Exit/entrance and parking
Side platform Template:Access icon
Track 3 Template:Rcb toward Template:Mnrr (Template:Mnrr)
Track 1 Template:Rcb express service do not stop here
Template:Rcb Empire Corridor services do not stop here
Track 2 Template:Rcb Empire Corridor services do not stop here →
Template:Rcb express service do not stop here →
Track 4 Template:Rcb toward Template:Mnrr (Template:Mnrr)
Side platform Template:Access icon

Gallery

References

<references group="" responsive="0"><ref name="2007Plan">"Comprehensive Plan - Village of Briarcliff Manor" (PDF). Village of Briarcliff Manor. November 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2014.</ref> <ref name="ridership-pow">"MTA Metro-North Passenger Counts 2007" (PDF). Pedestrian Observations Wordpress. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Drury">Drury, George H. (1994). The Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories, Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 206–217. ISBN 0-89024-072-8.</ref> <ref name="1860age">"The Collision on the Hudson River Railroad.; Coroner's Inquest at Yonkers--Testimony Conflicting". The New York Times. January 24, 1860. Retrieved August 11, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Weekly">Pattison, Robert B. (October 5, 1939). "A History of Scarborough". Briarcliff Weekly.</ref> <ref name="Gazette">"150th Anniversary of Scarborough Post Office to be Marked". The Gazette. November 27, 2014. p. 8. OCLC 35004776.</ref> <ref name="1873register">Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior. 1874. p. 814.</ref> <ref name="Thunderstorm">"Post Office in a Pushcart" (PDF). The New York Times. August 5, 1898. Retrieved August 11, 2014.</ref> <ref name="1952history">Our Village: Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 1902 to 1952. Historical Committee of the Semi–Centennial. 1952. LCCN 83238400. OCLC 24569093.</ref> <ref name="1977history">Midge Bosak, ed. (1977). A Village Between Two Rivers: Briarcliff Manor. White Plains, New York: Monarch Publishing, Inc. OCLC 6163930.</ref> <ref name="Changing Landscape">Cheever, Mary (1990). The Changing Landscape: A History of Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough. West Kennebunk, Maine: Phoenix Publishing. ISBN 0-914659-49-9. LCCN 90045613. OCLC 22274920. OL 1884671M.</ref> <ref name="NYEvePost">"The King and Queen of Siam, Traveling Incognito as Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess Sukhodaya" (PDF). New York Evening Post. April 25, 1931. Retrieved April 4, 2015.</ref> <ref name="NYCLmag">"King and Queen of Siam Ride on N.Y. Central Special Train" (PDF). The New York Central Lines Magazine. 12 (2): 7–8. May 1931. Retrieved April 4, 2015.</ref> <ref name="SchGaz">Hackler, Victor T. (April 23, 1931). "Siam's Royal Household at Purchase, N.Y." The Schenectady Gazette. Vol. 37, no. 176. Retrieved April 4, 2015.</ref> <ref name="Depots">Folsom, Merrill (December 4, 1961). "Old Depots Converted to Stores, Banks and Church" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Overhaul">"Station Reconstruction Begins at Ossining, Scarborough and Philipse Manor". MTA Press Releases. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Upgrades">Valenti, Ken (July 29, 2011). "Metro-North upgrades at 3 Hudson River stations improve form, function". The Journal News. Retrieved July 13, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Art">"Arts for Transit and Urban Design". Mta.info. Retrieved July 13, 2014.</ref> <ref name="Irene">"East Coast transit services slowly returning following hurricane". Metro Magazine. August 29, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2014.</ref> <ref name="BMSHSNews2014">"2014 Late Fall Newsletter" (PDF). Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. 2014. p. 3. Retrieved December 22, 2014.</ref>

<ref name="ValetParking">Bonvento, Robert (May 20, 2011). "V is for Valet… Taking the Stress Out of Commuting in Scarborough". River Journal. Retrieved August 11, 2014.</ref></references>

External links

Template:MNR links

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