Reporting mark | HR&PC |
---|---|
Locale | New Rochelle, New York to Bronx County, New York City |
Dates of operation | 1873–1927 |
Successor | NYNH&H |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad (or HR&PC) was chartered in 1866 as a branch line railroad between New York City and Port Chester, New York. The line opened in 1873 as part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford commuter railroad and served in various capacities until 1971. The HR&PC is now part of Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad was chartered April 23, 1866 as a branch line from the Harlem River at the north end of the Harlem Bridge (now the Third Avenue Bridge) in New York City to the Village of Port Chester in Westchester County, New York at the Connecticut state border. Only the southern portion was completed, terminating instead about five towns southwest of Port Chester in New Rochelle. At the time, New Rochelle was the final railroad station when traveling from Connecticut before entering New York City.
The New York and New Haven Railroad and the Hartford and New Haven Railroad merged to create the larger New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1872. The HR&PC was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1873 and opened later that year, running from the New Haven at New Rochelle south into the Bronx. Leasing the line enabled the New Haven to establish a continuous line of service from Connecticut to Manhattan. The HR&PC provided freight service between New York City and the Harlem River Yard. Commuter service ran along the line from the Harlem River Terminal up to main-line New Haven in New Rochelle until 1931.