View Full Version : New York City Cowboys
For 80 years they roamed on the west side of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen (Now Chelsea). By law, the New York Central Railroad had to have horsemen ride ahead of the electric engines to wave off pedestrians...
The story of these riders goes back to December 4, 1850 when the City Council passed a law compelling trains on the streets of New York to be preceded by a rider on horseback, on block ahead of the locomotive, waving a red flag by day and a red light by night to warn pedestrians and prevent runaways of horse-drawn vehicles. This quaint law is still in force, and the New York Central must, until it rises above the street, provide its riders or suffer revocation of its franchise.
The Tenth Avenue freight route extends from 30th Street south to St. John's yards below Canal Street, a distance of about two miles. To cover the operation of the various trains, a staff of twelve riders is maintained. These boys, who must all be over eighteen years old, are almost wholly recruited from Tenth Avenue and West Street, and strange as it may appear, riders are difficult to find, and only those who have, by strange fortune, learned to ride in the county are used, because a country boy knows and understands horses, and is thus prepared for any unexpected excitement that might affect his steed.
The "Ranch Boss" of these cowboys is the Superintendent of the New York Central Freight Yards, and since the law has been in effect two of the riders have risen from the range to the important position of Yard Masters.
This was replaced by the High Line which has now been converted into a park.
The Cowboys of New York (http://www.thehighline.org/blog/2008/03/13/photo-of-the-week-west-side-cowboy-twofer/)
http://i49.tinypic.com/5n67nb.jpg
w0aew
10-09-2012, 05:41 AM
It's too bad they're no longer around. In Britain, they would convert this into a tourist-attracting ritual that would increase in popularity as its actual necessity decreased.
Any idea what that power unit is, John?
n2ize
10-09-2012, 07:02 AM
Our country has a strange relationship with its rail system. Unlike other countries our railroad system is strangely locked in a state of antiquity. There is no better place to gain a sense of retro antiquity than the American rail system. Trains may be more modern but the system they operate on has changed little since the 1800's. I am surprised the "cowboys" are not used to this date, as a matter of ritual.
kf0rt
10-09-2012, 07:03 AM
Any idea what that power unit is, John?
Looks like a horse to me. :rofl:
Any idea what that power unit is, John?
Bell 47 APU.
Hello.
KC2UGV
10-09-2012, 07:22 AM
Any idea what that power unit is, John?
A 1 Horse Power engine :lol:
n2ize
10-09-2012, 07:24 AM
Bell 47 APU.
Hello.
Is that Rudy driving that train ? Or is Rudy the guy on the horse.
Any idea what that power unit is, John?
A New York Central DES-3 Tri-Power Locomotive. Could run on Diesel, Electricity (3rd Rail) or Battery. IIRC, these ended their days doing yard switching at Grand Central Terminal. Before the streets were paved over, those tracks were still there sitting unused. The High Line saw little work when I used to hang out in Hell's Kitchen in the 60s so its usefulness was short-lived. Many of the industries that used it moved out to the suburbs or out of the region and by the late 60s trains were rare.
The other pic in the link (which enlarges if clicked) had a shrouded steam engine. They covered all the running gear as it was believed at the time that horses (not from the NYC stable) would panic if they could see it. And yes, there is a guy walking with an actual peg-leg in the century old picture.
http://i47.tinypic.com/34zy59l.jpg
n2ize
10-09-2012, 10:02 AM
A New York Central DES-3 Tri-Power Locomotive. Could run on Diesel, Electricity (3rd Rail) or Battery. IIRC, these ended their days doing yard switching at Grand Central Terminal. Before the streets were paved over, those tracks were still there sitting unused. The High Line saw little work when I used to hang out in Hell's Kitchen in the 60s so its usefulness was short-lived. Many of the industries that used it moved out to the suburbs or out of the region and by the late 60s trains were rare.
The other pic in the link (which enlarges if clicked) had a shrouded steam engine. They covered all the running gear as it was believed at the time that horses (not from the NYC stable) would panic if they could see it. And yes, there is a guy walking with an actual peg-leg in the century old picture.
http://i47.tinypic.com/34zy59l.jpg
Too bad its not like that today. And notice how clean the streets were.
Too bad its not like that today. And notice how clean the streets were.
Looks can be deceiving. There was an ocean of Horse crap and an army of sanitary workers with push brooms working to keep them as clean as possible. There was diseases that we don't even see anymore, coal was at a premium, if you got sick and had no family, you died. Read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and you'll get an idea of what life was like back then. Without the smells, heat/cold and noise.
kb2vxa
10-10-2012, 01:27 PM
That's an interesting bit of history. Now I feel a song coming on...
Like a West Side cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a railroad rodeo
Like a West Side cowboy
Getting cinders in my eyes and junk I don't even know
And horse poop high and low
w0aew
10-10-2012, 02:18 PM
That's an interesting bit of history. Now I feel a song coming on...
Like a West Side cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a railroad rodeo
Like a West Side cowboy
Getting cinders in my eyes and junk I don't even know
And horse poop high and low
The talent displayed in these forums never ceases to amaze!
kb2vxa
10-10-2012, 08:10 PM
Thank you, thank you very much.
Thank you, thank you very much.
Yes Warren, he's right. You've been on a roll lately. :clap:
AE1PT
10-10-2012, 10:00 PM
That's an interesting bit of history. Now I feel a song coming on...
Like a West Side cowboy
Riding out on a horse in a railroad rodeo
Like a West Side cowboy
Getting cinders in my eyes and junk I don't even know
And horse poop high and low
Keep yer day job...
The horseshit patrol workers had names--they were apple knockers or turd whackers. Mostly they work parades these days...
n2ize
10-11-2012, 06:37 AM
Looks can be deceiving. There was an ocean of Horse crap and an army of sanitary workers with push brooms working to keep them as clean as possible. There was diseases that we don't even see anymore, coal was at a premium, if you got sick and had no family, you died. Read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and you'll get an idea of what life was like back then. Without the smells, heat/cold and noise.
True, they did have some bad problems back in those days. But its also a trade-off. We have many problems these days that they didn't have back then. And there was also a lot of good things back then that has vanished nowadays. I remember as a kid there were so many small stores run by independent families and you could find anything you wanted. No, they weren't going to get rich running a little candy store or hardware store but, they could stay afloat and make and save enough money to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, educate their kids, etc. We have advanced a lot, particularly with regards to technology and medicine. But we have also lost a lot of great stuff and great qualities from days gone by. And we are turning into a nation of whining wimps.. In general I think I would have preferred living in the old days.
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