The Selkirk Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

in the U.S. state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The line runs from Selkirk northwest to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

along a former

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

line. At its southeast end, at

Selkirk Yard Selkirk Yard is a large freight railroad yard located in Selkirk, New York, about south of Albany. The yard is owned by CSX Transportation and is its major classification yard for the northeastern United States and the gateway to points east o ...

, the Selkirk Subdivision becomes the

Castleton Subdivision The Castleton Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Schodack northwest to Selkirk along a former New York Central Railroad line. At its southeast end, it junction ...

. Its northwest end is at the east end of the

Mohawk Subdivision The Mohawk Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Amsterdam, NY west to Oneida, NY along the former New York Central Railroad main line. At its east end, east of downtown Amsterd ...

, and it junctions the

Carman Subdivision The Carman Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line is located in and near Schenectady along a former New York Central Railroad line. It connects the Hudson Subdivision in Schenectady with ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and the

Hudson Subdivision The Amtrak Hudson Line, also known as the CSX Hudson Subdivision, is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation and leased by Amtrak in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Poughkeepsie north along the east shore of the Hudson River ...

at Hoffmans.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's ''

Empire Service The ''Empire Service'' is an Inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service ...

'', ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two sections east of Albany. The train began service in 1975; its predecessor was Amtrak's Chicago–N ...

'', and ''

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along t ...

'' operate over the Selkirk Subdivision northwest of Hoffmans.

History

The oldest piece of the Selkirk Subdivision is that northwest of Hoffmans, opened in 1836 by the

Utica and Schenectady Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

. The

Saratoga and Hudson River Railroad The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo, New Yor ...

opened in 1866 from Schenectady to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, including the current Selkirk Subdivision between Unionville (near Selkirk Yard) and Fullers. The line from Fullers northwest to near Pattersonville opened in 1884 as part of the

New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor ...

. The

Hoffmans Connection Hoffmans may refer to: * Hoffmans, New Jersey, an unincorporated community in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States *Hoffmans, New York, a hamlet in Schenectady County, New York, United States See also *Hoffman (disambiguation) Hoffman is ...

across the Hudson River between Pattersonville and Hoffmans opened in 1900, and the final piece, from Unionville southeast to Selkirk Yard, was opened in 1924 by the

Hudson River Connecting Railroad Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

. With this final opening, the Selkirk Subdivision became a bypass of Albany for traffic between the west and either

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. The entire line became part of the

and Conrail through leases, mergers and takeovers, and was assigned to

in the 1999 breakup of Conrail. (Prior to the breakup, Conrail's Selkirk Branch ran from the

in Stuyvesant north and west along what are now known as the

Schodack Subdivision The Schodack Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Stuyvesant north to Schodack along a former New York Central Railroad line. At its south end, it merges with the Hudson Subd ...

and

before reaching the current Selkirk Subdivision, and ended at Hoffmans.Conrail System Map Showing The Proposed Allocation Of Conrail Lines & Rights
July 9, 1997)

References

{{Reflist CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in New York (state) New York Central Railroad lines