Selkirk, NY: CSX/NYC Selkirk Yard and Roundhouse

Car Shop: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

safe_image for Three major NYC yards
[I don't have a subscription, but I was able to read about this yard.]
This photo shows the west end of the complex; unseen just beyond the top of the photo at the east end are, among other features, two roundhouses. Selkirk was vastly rebuilt and changed under NYC President Alfred E. Perlman in the 1960's.

Niel Fenn Davis posted
This was NYCRR main yards until Selkirk was rebuilt by A Perlman, Interstate 90 through Albany occupies most of it now, the NYCRR had heavy repair shops here, it was at the top of Mohawk Hill

Randal Buschart posted two images with the comment: "Happy 100th Birthday 🎂 today to Selkirk Yard and the Castleton Bridge. Opened on November 20th, 1924."

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Randal Buschart commented on his own post

Skipper L Swartout posted
[I started adding commas to this comment, but I gave up trying to punctuate it as sentences. If you give me a choice between PR platitudes with polished English and information, I'll choose information.]
New York Central two roundhouses in Selkirk New York this north roundhouse in the back you will see the power House  the testing plant the warehouse  the blacksmith shop that’ connecting both roundhouses the small box building is the foreman  roundhouse Office  big water tank this is when brand new  year 1924  my great uncle Sal Murphy Foro operated the turntable this is home of #999 from 1924 to 1962 only time they took her out on Special occasions The Selkirk engine terminal, located at the easterly end of the yard, included two round houses with stlls 120 feet long. One roundhouse held 32 locomotives, while the other held 30. While the two roundhouses were physically connected, by a Blacksmith shop each had its own electrically-powered turntable, and each had its own hot air ventilation fan system. The engine terminal also included seven ash pits and a modern concrete coal storage chute consisting two 600-ton bins served by conveyers. The remains of the engine house stalls may still be seen in the area between the Route 396 bridge (over the drill tracks) and the Route 396 underpass under the Inbound, in the area now known as the material yard.

Bob Pinchook: Did this belong to the D & H?

Skipper L Swartout: Bob Pinchook no New York Central By the end of the 19th century, Albany had become a bottleneck for the New York Central Railroad. Traffic travelling the "T" of New York City, New England and west were all routed through West Albany Yard and the West Albany Hill. (The grade at West Albany, supposedly the steepest between the east coast and Chicago, meant that trains had to overcome a rise and fall of 130 feet: westbound B&A and Hudson Division freights had to be split into up to four sections in order to negotiate the hill, often with pusher locomotives required on the West Albany grade, which placed a substantial demand on the railroad's motive power resources.

The Central began planning a bypass of West Albany at the turn of the century, which met wiht strong oppostion from Albany politicians, fearing the loss of the revenue of the Central's presence in West Albany. Selkirk, as far south as a realroad grade could be located (north of the Heldeberg Escarpment), just a few miles south of Albany but still out of the city, was the Central's choice. Naturally, Albany politicians wanted to keep jobs in Albany, and they fought the project.

By 1913, the New York Central had organized a subsidiary, the Hudson River Connecting Railroad Corporation, which was responsble for building the new branch westward from Niverville, the bridge over the Hudson River in town of Coeymans New York Castleton New York , and the yard (overall, the "Castleton Cut-Off"), as a 27.5-mile-long freight bypass of the congested Albany terminal area. The Cutoff crosses the Hudson River on the mile-long Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge, with spans of 600 and 400 feet over 150 feet above water level (and remember, Alfred E. Smith is a building in downtown Albany; Alfred H. Smith is the bridge over the Hudson River).

Selkirk Yard was built just west of where the Castleton Cutoff crossed the New York, West Shore & Buffalo's branch to downtown Albany, the remnants of which are today's CSXT Port Subdivision (ex-Conrail Albany Secondary). It was constructed on an area of flat land six miles long by one mile wide, thereby minimizing grading problems. The yard was graded for a capacity of 11,000 cars, although track for a smaller capacity was actually laid, and the site was estimated to have a potential capacity of 20,000 cars on 250 miles of track. Construction of the yard was reported to require 22,000 tons of steel and 430 switches.

Selkirk Yard was opened on November 20, 1924, the centerpiece of the "Castleton Cutoff." The original Selkirk Yard was two yards (not unlike today's Conway), eastbound and westbound. Each had its own hump with electrically operated switches. The eastbound yard was on the south side (where today's inbound and hump yards are), while the westbound hump was on the north side (where today's north departure is). Each hump-unit included receiving tracks where incoming trains were delivered, the humps, classification tracks, and advance tracks, where they were made into outgoing trains. The original yard was capable of holding over 8,000 cars. During the late 1940s, it classified an average of about 4,000 cars daily.

 

Skipper L Swartout commented on his post
I did a Lousy job on this I’m not good at this. I ask a guy to do this about 5 times he was in this group but he didn’t answer me return my emails . The yellow out line is the two roundhouses the south roundhouse is next the road the north roundhouse the yellow X was where the coal tower was

Dennis DeBruler commented on Skipper's satellite image
Thanks for including the coaling tower. It is easy to find it in this 1960 aerial photo if you know where to look. Note that most of the southern roundhouse has been removed. [ARB593306406275]
Skipper L Swartout: Dennis DeBruler my pleasure  and thank you you made my whole day   Beautiful   nice info. You can correct me  on this or you have any more information this what I have my Great uncle, he operated a turntable   Here’s a time line for you I meaning to do this for long time I finally got it done thank you so much. Ok here’s the time line for the Eastern part of New York Central  September 29 1951 Selkirk New York sea of steam engines scrap line from the coal to the two roundhouses. Hudson 4-6-4 #5270 will be last Steam locomotive to be repair at west Albany shops September 25 1952. Last Steam out of Selkirk in 1952 I think it was a 4-8-2 Mohawk 4-8-4 #6020 last steam locomotives out of HARMON, NY year August 7 1953 By 3/1/1953 the Selkirk Powerhouse was partly ripped down same year 1953 Dewitt Diesel engine shop is under construction. Mohawk #2933 After retirement from active service in August 1957, the 2933 survived scrapping and was reputed to have been used to supply heat in the roundhouse at Selkirk, New York. 2933 was the last active steamer on the System, #2933 and #999 was in the Selkirk roundhouse when it caught fire on January 5, 1957, both was stored in another part of the build- ing that wasn’t damaged. although five diesels were destroyed, and the damage was estimated at one million dollars.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Skipper's satellite image
In fact, the southern roundhouse had been cut back by 1953.
1953 Delmar Quad @ 24,000
Skipper L Swartout: Dennis DeBruler it’s adds up like you said In fact, the southern roundhouse had been cut back by 1953. In 1953 the power House was partly ripped down the same year 1953 they was building  Dewitt Engine Diesel  house under construction 

 

Skipper L Swartout posted
New York Central Selkirk Roundhouses B&A #2569 year 9 1925 the two roundhouses and and yard are brand new Selkirk New York
Neo Haven: This is a very interesting photo because it shows a locomotive with a shield on the pilot beam which protected mechanical engineers riding the pilot during tests using an "indicator" attached to the cylinders. That device measured and diagramed the steam pressure over the power strokes and calculated horse power. Diagraming the steam pressure over the stroke would show the efficiency of the cylinders. If this is No. 2569 it would have been a NYC L-1b 4-8-2 but not B&A -- I don't think the B&A used that number.
Skipper L Swartout: Neo Haven Maybe  they got the number wrong thank you for the information

 

Skipper L Swartout posted
Diesel facilities at Selkirk Yard 7/5/1952 FM "C-Liner"s , FM H-16-44 ALCO FAs and ALCO S2

River Rail Photo posted
Amtrak On The Selkirk Bypass Track.  As part of the process of requalifying crews over this territory for contingency planning, CSX Train P939 with AMTK 87 (P42DC) took the bypass tracks around CSX Selkirk Yard in Selkirk, New York on Thursday, June 29, 2023. This route, which would take potential detour Amtrak passenger trains over the CSX Selkirk Branch from the connection with the Amtrak/CSX Post Road Branch in Castleton-On-Hudson, New York to Hoffmans, New York and the CSX Mohawk Sub has not used end to end by passenger trains in the modern era, though sections have been used as the need arises. The train is double ended to facilitate changing directions during this exercise. In the background, a pair of CSX standard cabs switches out the yard, including distinctive cars from "Cardella", a New Jersey C&D customer that is known for branding its cars.
Full resolution pics and prints: https://www.riverrailphoto.com/amtrak/e633d8179

Goes Photography added
Taken from the dismantled "Ben's Bridge" sunset falls over CSX Selkirk Yard shining the golden hour light over the operations on a Saturday night in May of 2013. CSX 6427 lead locomotive of the slug set with CSX 2225 along with many more units including an ex. Conrail SD40 paired with retired CSOR units, Union Pacific, & CSX power now either gone or scrapped soak up the evening sun with the hump tower and east end in the background.
May 18th, 2013
Christopher Goes shared

David Caswell posted three photos with the comment: "Three way race at Selkirk yard east end and csx M426 departing Selkirk with an ex con in charge."

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Allan Gilbert posted

It's a CSX yard but the hump power is still CR blue. I miss Ben's Bridge and how "open" the yard was. The road to and from diesel service goes under the hump and is shared by a single track - I followed a set of power through one afternoon. I want to say this is 2000 but even as my mind doesn't think it wasn't that long ago ... it really was.

Selkirk, NY