North Chatham Depot

North Chatham Depot. . , The Albany-Hudson Electric Trail follows the route of a thirty-seven-mile-long electrified rail line that connected its namesake cities from 1900 to 1929. This interurban line, which used electricity to power high-speed travel between cities and villages separated by rural areas, stopped at fourteen passenger depots along its route, including North Chatham. , (upper right photo) , NORTH CHATHAM DEPOT /SUBSTATION , The North Chatham depot has been restored to its original appearance from the early 1900s. Passenger depots were community gateways to the outside world. Source: Hagley Museum and Library., Passenger Depot , Built in 1900, North Chatham depot incorporates characteristic architectural features including overhanging roofs for sheltering passengers, a large waiting room and freight office doors, and a bay window providing a clear view of the tracks. This depot was a busy center of community life where people got mail, packages, and news from the outside world. Converted to a fire station in 1940, the depot was restored in 2013 mand is now the home of the North Chatham Historical Society. It is part of the North Chatham National Register Historic District. , (upper middle photo) , POWER PLANT , The Albany and Hudson Railway and Power Company built this electrical generating plant at Stuyvesant Falls in 1900 to power its thirty-seven-mile Albany-Hudson rail line and to light streets in towns along the way. Source: Stuyvesant Town Historian., (lower middle photo) , THIRD RAIL , The Albany-Hudson line's electrified third rail, visible at right, was the first to power a US interurban rail line. Despite fences and warning signs, there were occasional accidents involving people, farm animals, and pets. Source: Schodack Town Historian., Electrical Substation , The Albany-Hudson line was the first US interurban railroad powered by an electrified third rail. The company generated its own electricity at its Stuyvesant Falls hydroelectric plant and provided the first electric service to communities along the line. High-tension wires carried 12,000-volt, 25-cycle AC power to brick substations at Hudson, East Greenbush, and North Chatham. There it was stepped down in air-cooled transformers, converted to DC power in rotary converters, and delivered at 600 volts to the third rail. North Chatham is the only surviving substation and the only one that doubled as a passenger depot. , (lower middle right photo) , SUBSTATION EQUIPMENT , North Chatham's 200- and400-kilowatt rotary converters changed AC current to DC to power the trolley cars. Station staff kept equipment immaculate and controlled current for local streetlights. Source: Hagley Museum and Library. , Freight Service , The Albany-Hudson rail line also hauled freight including milk, farm products, cotton and wool for textile mills, and finished goods. Dairy and lumber buildings still stand on private land adjacent to the North Chatham depot, evidence of once-busy freight operations here. , (lower right photo) , Freight Service , This Albany-Hudson line freight locomotive pulled daily trains, sometimes forty cars long. The overhead wire pickup poles were used in urban areas and highway crossings instead of the third-rail contacts visible at the outer wheels. Source: Schodack Town Historian.