Why New York’s Secret Elevated Railroad was Abandoned | The High Line

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  • Опубликовано: 14 июн 2024
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    Discover the intriguing story of New York's Lost Highline in this captivating video. Explore the rich history of railroads in the city, from their inception to the dangers of street-level trains. Witness the transformative removal of street-level tracks and the subsequent downfall of train transportation. Immerse yourself in the activism surrounding New York's High Line, leading to the city's order to demolish it. Experience the remarkable journey of rezoning the High Line as a city park, preserving its legacy for generations to come. Finally, uncover what remains of the High Line in modern-day New York.
    00:00 - What is New York’s Lost Highline?
    00:36 - The History of Railroads in New York City
    02:16 - The Dangers of New York’s Street level Trains
    03:45 - The Removal of New York’s street-level tracks
    05:48 - The downfall of train transportation
    06:51 - Activism around New York’s High line
    07:34 - New York’s Order to Demolish the High Line
    08:39 - Rezoning the High Line as a city park
    09:59 - What remains of New York’s High Line in Modern Day?
    IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
    » CONTACT
    For brands, agencies, and sponsorships: itshistory@thoughtleaders.io
    / itshistoryx
    / ryansocash
    » CREDIT
    Scriptwriter - Neve Brown,
    Editor - Patrycja Klimczuk,
    Host - Ryan Socash
    » NOTICE
    Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

Комментарии • 428

  • @jeffgolden253
    @jeffgolden253 Год назад +453

    You omitted that the primarily reasons for the demise of the railroad on the west side of Manhattan were (a.) with the coming of container ships, cargo was no longer being handled at the piers on the west side, (b.) with improved refrigeration, fresh meat no longer had to come from the meat packing district, and (c.) the lower Manhattan produce market was removed to Hunts Point in the Bronx to make room for the World Trade Center.

    • @SeverityOne
      @SeverityOne Год назад +30

      It ought to be mentioned, though, that rail freight in general, world-wide, has changed dramatically in the last half century. The three points you mentioned happened in different incarnations elsewhere. General cargo got generally transported in trucks, manufacturing moved out of city centres because of rising property prices, and coal transport largely fell away.
      In Europe, the market is largely liberalised, with operators from all over the continent pulling trains that consist almost exclusively of containers, (petro)chemicals, grain, or still coal. Passenger traffic hasn't decreased so much, but elevated railways have moved underground.

    • @SeverityOne
      @SeverityOne Год назад +11

      @Sean Embry You're absolutely right. At the risk of bringing politics into this, I believe that the European situation is far better for competition and as such, the consumer. As a CEO explained at a company where I worked and that, for a number of years, had a monopoly, it's the best business model you can have.
      But even though the access rights are different, the small scale movement of goods that existed until about the 1960s, has completely vanished. In that sense, there are a lot of similarities between the continents.
      One notable difference is that European harbours see more (container) traffic than the US ones, and because of the many rivers, and because you can sail around most of the continent, a lot more trade happens over the water than over rails.

    • @SeverityOne
      @SeverityOne Год назад +3

      @Sean Embry It's pretty much the same everywhere in Europe. I haven't been to the UK much, and I certainly don't go trainspotting there. But I like to watch train travelogues, and like in the USA, everything is either bulk or container.

    • @iJoshDG
      @iJoshDG Год назад +1

      You failed to make a constructive comment with your opening verbiage. You chose to word your comment in quite a rude way. May I suggest you take an etiquette class?

    • @jeffgolden253
      @jeffgolden253 Год назад +15

      @@iJoshDG I'm not sure whether your comment is directed at me, or at one of the others who replied to my comment. Rest assured, though, that based upon your recommendation, I'm going to immediately enroll at ettikit school.

  • @joegordon5117
    @joegordon5117 Год назад +111

    There are so many parts of our cities that are lost, built over, it's nice for a change to see one that is not only preserved but turned into something wonderful for the local community

    • @tokugawa12able
      @tokugawa12able Год назад +2

      Incarceration?

    • @JohnGeorgeBauerBuis
      @JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Год назад +1

      @@tokugawa12able I believe ‘incarnation’ was intended.

    • @tokugawa12able
      @tokugawa12able Год назад +1

      @@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis I certainly hope so.

    • @fjkelley4774
      @fjkelley4774 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Yeah, this isn't a tv show with cue cards and all.

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      🥃👴🏻 OUR CITY ??? U LIVE IN JAPAN

  • @robertnussberger6449
    @robertnussberger6449 Год назад +36

    It really is quite amazing that the high line was never torn down for scrap long before it became a park

  • @SteveLEKORodrigue
    @SteveLEKORodrigue Год назад +35

    I visited the park the last time I went to New York. It is worth the walk! I'm glad the city preserved it.

  • @EdwardGregoryNYC
    @EdwardGregoryNYC Год назад +84

    On the Lower East Side, there is also an underground trolley terminal, formerly known as the Delancey Underground, which was to be converted into a subterranean park called "The Lowline." The plans are stunning and innovative. Although the project was scheduled to open in 2020, it has not yet been completed due to lack of funding. Not sure of the current status, but would be an interesting dive.

    • @lorumipsum1129
      @lorumipsum1129 11 месяцев назад +6

      It's still abandoned. Never took off. Thiers a subway station next too it for the w train that sits next too it and you can see the site. Nothing has been done

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      👴🏻🥃 NO U TALKIN BOUT THE FIVE POINT GANG IN SIDE JOHN'S BARGAIN SHOW I STILL GO SHOPPIN DERE

  • @mackpines
    @mackpines Год назад +41

    Always wanted to visit the Highline. Such an outstanding example of preservation and smart planning.

    • @elfeintwentyfives1620
      @elfeintwentyfives1620 Год назад +2

      visit it soon...worth it

    • @jennifertarin4707
      @jennifertarin4707 2 месяца назад

      It is well worth a visit, especially if you walk the entire length from 34th street to 14th street

  • @monica012077
    @monica012077 Год назад +18

    The High Line is lovely to walk. You can almost feel what it was like moving by train up there. I also love that one of the buildings on Washington Street has the gap from where the High Line passed through it.

  • @henryostman5740
    @henryostman5740 Год назад +41

    It should be noted that the lower west side of Manhattan was not a major office or residential center but full of factories and warehouses and it was also alongside the Hudson River piers where ocean going freight ships were docked and unloaded and reloaded. This was the age of break bulk cargo ships that were serviced by shipboard cranes that served the cargo holds, not the container vessels we see today. Most all of these piers are gone or found other uses. Manhattan is no longer a port city. The sixties saw the development of the world trade center and the area changed from industrial to offices and added a lot of housing units as well. Some of these neighborhoods have become quite upscale. The area also saw the demise of the West Shore highway that carried vehicle traffic down as far as the battery at the south end of Manhattan, the closure of this route meant that cars and trucks had to use the Avenues with traffic lights on each cross street, this of course accelerated the movement out of the area of industrial facilities as well. The decline of the NYCentral RR, later merged into PennCentral was also a factor in the decline of the high line.

    • @joshbenton4080
      @joshbenton4080 Год назад +1

      Didn't Conrail use these tracks in the late 1970s for local freight shipments?

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  Год назад +2

      Very insightful! Thank you so much for sharing!

    • @iannarita9816
      @iannarita9816 Год назад +3

      Conrail never went below the 33rd(?) St yard, as far as I know. Penn Central at some point embargoed the line, I think. PC got away with an uncontested embargo as there were no customers left on the line PC was in bankruptcy, and the unions had other legal fights.

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      👴🏻🥃 I'M 67 AND TO FIRST GRADE WID MY MOMMY.

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      ​@@joshbenton4080
      👴🏻🥃 NO! BYE BYE BIRDIE

  • @rpvitiello
    @rpvitiello Год назад +104

    I do wonder if keeping this as a freight line, and keeping warehouses in the area would have helped with the rise of online shopping and the streets being choked with freight traffic from all the deliveries. Instead more streets throughout the city could have been made complete streets safe for pedestrians, and the highline could have kept freight grade separated from pedestrians as much as possible.

    • @GetDougDimmadomed
      @GetDougDimmadomed Год назад +16

      But that would make too much sense

    • @devastator5042
      @devastator5042 11 месяцев назад +4

      @@GetDougDimmadomed While logistically it makes sense, Trains are also incredibly loud. It would certainly be hard to justify the rail usage in the heart of Manhattan. Plus the line would have to be electrified which no major freight carrier in the US has experience with or locomotives to use for it.

    • @grazz7865
      @grazz7865 11 месяцев назад +5

      The people with their noses way up in the air paying $1 million for the little room in the basement next to the boiler would withhold their “political contributions “ and that would be the end of that

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 11 месяцев назад +1

      Well, it was a freight line, and it was losing money, so no. Find a way for the railroads to make a profit and they won't abandon the lines.

    • @jeffstrains4014
      @jeffstrains4014 11 месяцев назад

      @@grazz7865 Hints they ban is all lol... Your correct

  • @larry4111
    @larry4111 Год назад +26

    I visited the High Line in 2010 and it was such an inspiring experience. We brought food from Chelsea Market and ate our lunch looking out over the west side. At the time we could see where it would be expanded but I haven't been back since. I'm glad to see the expansions have been completed and new sections opened up. I hope to return soon.

    • @fjkelley4774
      @fjkelley4774 11 месяцев назад +2

      I was there just over a week ago. The 34th St Yard (Hudson Yard) and an entrance on 34th seemed to be getting some work done. And *lots* of people on it.
      Interesting on rail traffic as I thought last NYC train had been in the 60's. The 70's makes more sense as it seems certain it would have been demolished if NYC stopped using it in the 60's.

    • @larry4111
      @larry4111 11 месяцев назад +2

      @@fjkelley4774 Great point! The 60s were all about destruction. After Penn Station and the highway revolts of the 70s they started to seriously look at preservation.

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      👴🏻🥃 I RODE ON A HIGH LOW IN JERSEY

    • @FRANKRIO-jv1sq
      @FRANKRIO-jv1sq 6 дней назад

      ​@@larry4111
      👠👠⬅️ YOURS??

  • @PowerTrain611
    @PowerTrain611 Год назад +10

    The real cause of the ban on steam locomotives in Manhattan can be traced back to the Park Ave. Tunnel crash of 1902, when the smoke from the locomotive made signals impossible to see, and an express from White Plains plowed into the rear of a local commuter train at 56th street. 15 people died instantly, while dozens more were injured badly.

  • @iannarita9816
    @iannarita9816 Год назад +30

    The High Line was not a passenger route. Though as your pictures show there was an occasional passenger train. These were charter excursions for railfans.
    The main reason for the demise of the High Line as a freight route was the loss of that freight as shippers and receivers moved to New Jersey, The Bronx or went out of business.
    The New York Central, and its successors, Penn Central, Conrail, and CSX hung on to the property as its real estate value became of great value. Eventually it was sold for the value.

  • @zach1810
    @zach1810 Год назад +23

    I have walked this area several times. It is by far one of the most beautiful urban gardens and pedestrian walkways in NYC. If you haven't been you are missing out.

  • @TricksterDa
    @TricksterDa Год назад +8

    Years before the High Line Park was even conceived, I visited Paris and while there I came across a park that had been built on the remains of a rail trestle that ran from the long closed Gare d' Orsay rail station. The rail station is known today as the Musee d'Orsay, a museum featuring classic and modern paintings. The park stretches out from the museum, through Left Bank neighborhoods and terminates, I believe, at the River Seine. I have long thought this converted park inspired the decision to convert the old High Line in New York. Regardless, the High Line Park is one of the top attractions in Manhattan. The crowds you see in the video are typical. Great feature, Ryan.

  • @DGuerriero
    @DGuerriero Год назад +4

    Around 1979 or '80 I was in college in the East Village. On a fine, early-Spring day a few of my classmates and I wandered over to the West Side and saw the High Line. "Who left this here?" We were able to get up to track level via a stair tower near Little West 12th St. and a "lock that ain't locked when no-one's around." We walked the length of the structure to it's end barriers...then walked back because there was no other way down. It was a great experience to walk that area a couple of stories up, above the traffic, and look out over the neighborhoods. I went back after the first rehabilitated segment was opened, then again for each new section. My hat's off to the architects and other planners who designed the linear park, they did a top-shelf job. I was happy to see that they'd left a lot of the old trackage in place as a reminder of where the High Line came from and "who left it there."

    • @firesurfer
      @firesurfer Год назад

      The original tracks were removed and put back in as a decorative item. They in no way reflect the original layout.

  • @charlescrawford7039
    @charlescrawford7039 Год назад +6

    In clip 4:10 a New York Central Railroad’s DES-3 class boxcab locomotive emerges from the Merchants Refrigerating Company Warehouse (built 1918) and onto the to the siding that connected to the main line. These locomotives received power from 600 volts DC and could generate electric power with diesel engines when the units were on trackage without third rail. The power from third rail ceased in the 1950’s and conventional diesel switchers were then assigned the work. The warehouse provided storage for perishables including meats, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. The High Line also served the St. John’s Terminal (1934) and Bell Laboratories (1898). All three facilities still exist with the terminal being extensively redeveloped as part of Google's new campus.

  • @sideshowbob
    @sideshowbob Год назад +11

    There is a segment of abandoned elevated rail line in Philadelphia, that used to lead into the old Reading Terminal (since converted to a convention center / farmer's market). I believe they are looking at converting that into a similar linear park.

  • @JoseMorales-lw5nt
    @JoseMorales-lw5nt Год назад +22

    I would love to see #IT'SHISTORY tackle an old elevated structure that once stood 2 blocks west of the High Line.... the old Miller Highway. We know it today as the original West Side Highway. The reason for its construction, and reason for its eventual demolition, would make a great addition to your video collection!❤

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  Год назад +5

      That’s a really cool suggestion!!! Can you please DM me on twitter or insta @ryansocash

    • @ernestpassaro9663
      @ernestpassaro9663 Год назад +4

      Yes hunts point market opened in 1967 in the Bronx cars could be directly received into the facility by rail no more car floating produce cars from nj the west side piers shutdown because they didn’t have the land to accommodate containers trucks got bigger and faster and ran on an improved highway system and New York City and state have never been business friendly with their high taxes and assinine regulations nabisco left nyc in 1959 a major New York central customer

  • @remie4494
    @remie4494 Год назад +17

    There's a lot of underground subway tunnels in New York City from the original subway to the plans of having the subway cross over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.. Would love to hear what you find out about them and maybe where they're in future plans with the NYC Subways..

  • @danshustack2710
    @danshustack2710 11 месяцев назад +4

    Not "incarceration" but iteration. Chelsea Market was originally built by National Biscuit Company (Nabisco). And didn't the Skyline grow Northward? Excellent documentary. 👍

  • @qolspony
    @qolspony Год назад +5

    Queenway wants to do the same thing. But this was a passenger rail route and passenger rail advocates are fighting to restore service. Home owners are fighting both plans even though this is railroad right of way.
    Restoring this line can potentially tie Rockaways to Central Queens, which is Queens Blvd.

  • @saulchapnick1566
    @saulchapnick1566 Год назад +8

    Great video. I worked and went to school around the corner from the Highline for over twenty years since the late 70s. I remember seeing a NY Central train or two riding those tracks in Westbeth.
    The new park gave vitality to that area!!!
    BTW, National Buscuit Company = NABISCO.

  • @gstar1084
    @gstar1084 Год назад +8

    Lovely video. In the small city of Den Bosch in the Netherlands, they build a parkbridge for pedestrians over the railway, that was inspired by a section of the NY highline. I live near there. It's nice to see the history of the original!

  • @jeffstrains4014
    @jeffstrains4014 11 месяцев назад +1

    Those over head rails looks so good!

  • @user-zk4os7nz4u
    @user-zk4os7nz4u Месяц назад +1

    My father worked for Eastern Meats
    On 14th Street and the High Line came into the building. I still remember the Meat being unloaded. The High Line always held a special interest. My only regret is that I now live in NC and never walked it.

  • @jaygatz4335
    @jaygatz4335 Год назад +5

    During my first visit to NYC in 1979, I was exploring the west side and came upon the tantalizing incline leading up to the high line at 34th St. between 11th and 12th Aves. There was a boxcar sitting on the tracks and I so wanted to walk up the incline and look at the tracks and see what this mysterious train route was all about. I was wary of being charged with trespassing, so I didn't venture up there. I have been to the park several times and they have created a magical space. However, it would have been a dream of mine to ride on one of those chartered passenger trains seen in the photos.

    • @firesurfer
      @firesurfer Год назад +1

      There is a relatively new access to that part of the high line. You can just walk in where the tracks used to be, and go all the way to the end of the high line. It's been open for a few years now.

    • @jaygatz4335
      @jaygatz4335 Год назад +1

      @@firesurfer Thanks for the info. The last time I was there (2019), that part was closed to the public. However, i did get to go up into The Vessel, before the unfortunate jumps made it off-limits.

  • @Fulcrumdesignstudio
    @Fulcrumdesignstudio Год назад +7

    It would be fun to do a video on Detroits failed subway system, specifically the 1915 proposal and how they built two stations in 1927 but never finished it.

  • @thievingpanda
    @thievingpanda Год назад +5

    I really want to see that abandoned subway station in Manhattan that is perfectly preserved.

  • @OLICIT
    @OLICIT Год назад +5

    We stumbled across it when we visited the Chelsea Market on our NY/USA trip in 2014, walked the whole way and was very, good to see they are doing something with the end section which was still bare back then

  • @sergiohenrique2411
    @sergiohenrique2411 10 дней назад +1

    I am not American, so all this is pure online tourism to me and this man does a really good job at story (history) telling :)

  • @uhlijohn
    @uhlijohn Год назад +33

    I visited High Line or 10th Ave. Elevated Line in September 2011. I believe there was a lot of meat packing done in close proximity to the High Line if I am not mistaken. Elevating RR rights-of-way was one of the greatest engineering feats of the last 125 years in Chicago. Chicago was/is rail transportation hub of the nation and the amount of carnage and traffic congestion was just too much to deal with so in the late 19th or early 20th century Chicago passed an ordinance requiring all railroad tracks within the city limits to be elevated and separated from ground level. It would be great if you did a video on Chicago raising the railroad rights-of-way.

    • @TheVoiceTalk
      @TheVoiceTalk Год назад +8

      It is by the meat packing district but most of the meat packers have been forced out due to high realestate prices and the expense of operating a refrigerated warehouse in Manhattan. Just a handful of meat wholesalers left.

    • @iannarita9816
      @iannarita9816 Год назад +2

      One of the last customers on the line was a cold storage warehouse. For meat, and other foodstuffs.

    • @spuds6423
      @spuds6423 Год назад +1

      Syracuse did the same in the 1930's with the Delaware Lackawanna and Western plus the NYC Main line. Eventually the NYC RR diverted its operations to a former freight only line and the line downtown became part of Interstate 690.

    • @firesurfer
      @firesurfer Год назад +3

      The meat-packing district is now super premium lofts and restaurants for the hoity-toity.
      ''The Meatpacking District is one of Manhattan's most glamorous neighborhoods. The area has come a long way from its slaughterhouse origins, transforming into a luxury destination filled with clubs, stylish restaurants and several of the City's trendiest hotels.''

    • @jonathanfrank4473
      @jonathanfrank4473 8 месяцев назад

      ​@@firesurferAre the [
      hoity] and [toity] two separate lines of evolution?

  • @patrickhepburn7867
    @patrickhepburn7867 Год назад +4

    I grew up on the westside and never remembered the highline. Thank you.

  • @robertpsarudakis3474
    @robertpsarudakis3474 Год назад +5

    Very interesting and so cool thank you for the videos!

  • @oddball_the_blue
    @oddball_the_blue 11 месяцев назад +3

    We've recently had the same sort of idea happen in the UK - In Leeds specifically. Except that the rails weren't on steel bridges but stone ones. (Leeds at one point had 3 stations in the middle of the city with the last one being built two stories up and thus the tracks for it were on viaducts. The lifting house from the upper to lower rails still exists too) It's still a very good way to reuse old infrastructure without the huge cost of demolishing it.

  • @kutter_ttl6786
    @kutter_ttl6786 Год назад +7

    I visited NY a few years ago and the Highline was one of my favourite places to visit. Aside from being a beautiful elevated park, it was one of the few places you could walk at a comfortable pace, away from the frantic pace at street level.

  • @Jakob_DK
    @Jakob_DK Год назад +4

    To call the High Line Park “urban decay “ is a bit of a stretch. It is really a nice and affluent area now.

  • @brianmorgan5739
    @brianmorgan5739 Год назад +5

    Another lost piece of Railway History is the New York Connecting Railway which connected Bayview, Brooklyn and the Long Island Railway with the New Haven line just south of the Hellgate Bridge in Astoria.

  • @EnjoyFirefighting
    @EnjoyFirefighting 11 месяцев назад +2

    Walked the park last time I've been to NYC. It's a very nice looking park which clearly shows where it originates from. One of the nicest modern urban parks I've seen!

  • @mizu_the_floatzel
    @mizu_the_floatzel Год назад +2

    It's actually pretty nice. I visited the high line back in 2015 it was beautiful. There were still expanding at the time. I may want to go back eventually to go see how much it's been done

  • @TheKurtsPlaceChannel
    @TheKurtsPlaceChannel Год назад

    Very nicely put together video and very entertaining as well. Thanks for posting this.

  • @towgod7985
    @towgod7985 Год назад +7

    Just out of curiosity, where is Vermont, Canada? Did something happen while I had my nap?

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 Год назад +4

      We annexed it back in 1967, we just didn't have the heart to tell you guys until today. Sorry.

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  Год назад

      There were train connections from NYC back in the day.

  • @spuds6423
    @spuds6423 Год назад +1

    @itshistory the photo at 2:58 is actually in Syracuse NY where the NYC RR mainline went down Washington St. To the left is Syracuse City Hall with its famous Romanesque architecture and the Edward Joy building was demolished decades ago and replaced by the State Office Building where I used to work. The Mainline was moved to the North on a specially constructed elevated embankment which would become I690 when they moved the mainline to a former freight only line in the 1960's.

  • @buckodonnghaile4309
    @buckodonnghaile4309 Год назад +2

    Brilliant photos

  • @garethbrennan4374
    @garethbrennan4374 11 месяцев назад

    Thank you for sharing this. Im looking forward to walking it on our next visit .

  • @MarkInLA
    @MarkInLA Год назад

    Nice report !!

  • @theresehopkins1581
    @theresehopkins1581 Год назад

    Wow!!! This is beautiful 😍 glad I found your channel ❤💖💕♥💜 ❤

  • @ctntelevisionnetwork8738
    @ctntelevisionnetwork8738 Год назад +1

    Really enjoy the nyc videos! Amazing!

  • @gomezcreativemedia
    @gomezcreativemedia 5 месяцев назад

    Thank you very much for your great content!

  • @njlauren
    @njlauren Год назад +6

    The funny part about the high line was thst by the time it was finished it already was obsolete. Freight traffic was already diminishing, being rapidly replaced by trucks.

    • @PrograError
      @PrograError Год назад

      also... just "in time" for end of the war in 45'

    • @--KP-
      @--KP- Год назад

      @@PrograError Like half the history of NYC transit development can be summarized with "And then the war happened and construction had to be stopped because steel was needed elsewhere. And by the time the war was over, nobody cared about mass transit."

  • @user-xd1gt9if2v
    @user-xd1gt9if2v 4 дня назад

    Wow thank you. I just learned of the high line from google maps and i wanted to know all about it. After traceling the web for a while i found your video and it taught me all i needed to know. Thank you

  • @hughmnyks
    @hughmnyks Год назад

    Thanks for this great little video! I was in NYC in 1983 and dream of walking the High Line.

  • @TubeDisabuser
    @TubeDisabuser Год назад +2

    Vermont, Canada -- a nice thought.

  • @Davids_Hobbies
    @Davids_Hobbies 3 месяца назад

    I had a class in NYC where after class our professor (who lives in NYC) took us on part of The High Line. I think it was a good way of saving NYC rail history. I really enjoy that some sections of track are preserved up there.

  • @samtrak1204
    @samtrak1204 Год назад

    Excellent history lesson which has left me with more love and respect for the Big Apple.

  • @JohnDoesItAll
    @JohnDoesItAll Месяц назад

    Fantastic story❤

  • @FrankieJ1981
    @FrankieJ1981 Год назад +2

    This is a great idea

  • @janmcguire5268
    @janmcguire5268 11 месяцев назад

    Cool! I’m glad it has been preserved as public park and green space!

  • @CSDonohue11
    @CSDonohue11 Год назад

    Great Ch, Ryan 👍

  • @hornet1068
    @hornet1068 Год назад

    Greetings from the UK! I a have visited New York twice and both times walked the entire length of the High Line, it is such an amazing experience, always something going on, music, art, entertainment, but the best thing i noticed was people seeming, relaxed. Just enjoying a stroll, sitting, chatting, eating Just Chilling, it was so very relaxing and nice. Then you hit street level and its back to full on! If you visit NYC, you have to do `The High Line`, its a must do!!

  • @conservativethought1460
    @conservativethought1460 Год назад +2

    Basically, the removal of manufacturing to more rural areas and overseas has led to the demise of freight traffic by rail in cities. Aside from of course, stuff that moves by container into intermodal yards where they are, then unloaded from the train and put on chassis to be moved by truck.

  • @NickB_Yorkshire
    @NickB_Yorkshire 7 месяцев назад

    Great video. We visited The Highline in 2015 while staying in NYC. Fascinating transformation 👍🏼😊

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  7 месяцев назад +1

      Awesome! Thank you!

  • @tobyray8700
    @tobyray8700 Год назад +2

    Good stuff 😁

  • @ruk2023--
    @ruk2023-- 4 месяца назад

    The highline as it is now is my favourite tourist attraction in NYC

  • @lasalleman6792
    @lasalleman6792 Месяц назад

    Great narration. Interesting h istory. The park is really beautiful.

  • @elfeintwentyfives1620
    @elfeintwentyfives1620 Год назад +1

    i dont get out to NYC to often now days but if you are a tourist or live in NYC take a walk along the length of this park...it is amazing in and of itself est time to hit it is in spring and early fall it gets too hot in summer but still good place to go

  • @EpicThe112
    @EpicThe112 Год назад +4

    Really excellent video I wonder what happened if they connected this to the underground subway system treating it as the L train extension.

  • @jjfloyd618
    @jjfloyd618 Год назад +4

    I grew up in N.Y.C. In the 80’s and my junior high school was a literal stoned’s throw from the then abandoned, overgrown, graffiti’d High line. It became a police free Valhalla of a location for us to explore and get high on whilst ditching school.

  • @williamduhamel7726
    @williamduhamel7726 Год назад +1

    There were so many areas that were abandoned. I looked into the abandoned subways under city hall and the hotels. There’s even a rail car hidden that belonged to FDR.

  • @adventureseeker9800
    @adventureseeker9800 11 месяцев назад

    Hey, another crazy battle that old Rudy G lost! Fantastic!

  • @vandanerisgomes9009
    @vandanerisgomes9009 5 месяцев назад

    Magnífico explendindo

  • @stephanbernhardt5722
    @stephanbernhardt5722 Год назад

    Heute der Loop ?
    Eine toller Spaziergang auf der alten Strecke...
    Wunderbar das ,das nicht abgerissen wurde

  • @giacomosavardi2131
    @giacomosavardi2131 Год назад +2

    great video, but i think you meant “incarnation” instead of incarceration at 9:42

  • @shohaiku
    @shohaiku 11 месяцев назад

    I can’t wait to go back to NY just to do this walk again

  • @davidleathart7480
    @davidleathart7480 Год назад +1

    The High Line has a copy in Manchester England. Part of the old Midland Railway line has been turned into a high level park.

  • @tomlevier3615
    @tomlevier3615 Год назад +1

    I was living in NYC when the High Line opened as a public park. Very cool. Highly recommended if you're visiting the city.

    • @eattherich9215
      @eattherich9215 Год назад

      I walk the line everytime I visit. The last time I did so, the Spur had just been completed. The pandemic years prevented me from travelling, but I hope to be State side next year.

  • @thesubwaynut2
    @thesubwaynut2 9 месяцев назад +1

    The High Line should have been turned into a light rail service. That area could really use it.

  • @redfox4561
    @redfox4561 Год назад

    I love the highline it's one of my favorite places in the city

  • @johnburke1317
    @johnburke1317 Год назад

    Nice video

  • @Zwei-Rosen
    @Zwei-Rosen 8 дней назад

    In Paris, there used to be the station Paris-Bastille, at the place where the French Revolution started. It has an elevated track leading to it as well. The train line has changed its location, going more south along the river Seine via Gare de Lyon and is operated by the suburban railway line RER A. The station is gone, where it once was there's now Mitterrand's ugly Opera de la Bastille, which doesn't only lack beauty but is literally a failed construction in decay. The elevated track is used as a park like in New York, too. At the satellite map look for the place de la Bastille and the old railway line goes from there towards south/southeast along the Avenue de Daumesnil.
    At the mentioned suburban railway line RER A there's another previous station directly at the Seine banks - the previous Gare d'Orsay of the Paris - Orsay railway line. It is now used as a museum, named Musée d'Orsay.

  • @vandanerisgomes9009
    @vandanerisgomes9009 6 месяцев назад

    AMO história MAnda mais muito bom obrigada

  • @user-ie4tt1xp7j
    @user-ie4tt1xp7j 11 месяцев назад +1

    Converting an already-built railroad into a park sounds like a loss in general, to be honest. If I were in charge I would try to make anything to keep it working.

  • @williamgibb5557
    @williamgibb5557 Год назад

    I walked the High Line in Sept2019. Wanted to for years and it was worth it.

  • @kennedysingh3916
    @kennedysingh3916 7 месяцев назад

    Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica and we too have one of the olderst but dieing railways in the world wear my brother works.

  • @tr1ppyh1ppy
    @tr1ppyh1ppy Год назад +1

    i was just playing gta 4 high as a kite and was driving my car on the old railway in the city map that takes place in new york, i was actually wondering about the old bridge rail ways and paths that went through certain industrial buildings it’s really meat. would love to see it in person one day

    • @tr1ppyh1ppy
      @tr1ppyh1ppy Год назад

      3:23 i drove a car through this building on gta 4 ‼️ the game is kinda artistic as hell i love it🍄

  • @KuberX1
    @KuberX1 Год назад +1

    Hello this really good video on high line and it's history. I was wondering if you could do a video on the old elevated West side highway? From West 57 St to the Battery Underpass.

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  Год назад

      DM me that concept on Insta or twitter and I’ll do it! @ryansocash

  • @mattscudder1975
    @mattscudder1975 Год назад +2

    The High Line Park is mentioned a fair amount in a great zombie book series called The City by Sarah Lyons Fleming. The main characters in one part us it to get around and avoid zombies. We’ll worth reading.

  • @IamSnowbird
    @IamSnowbird Год назад +4

    I see Kevin Bacon was involved. His father was a well know city planner in Philadelphia.

  • @DMETS519
    @DMETS519 Год назад +4

    Pelham bay park in the Bronx is over 2,700 acres large and may have only 2 parks department officers assigned there on a regular basis. The high line park is less than 7 acres and has assigned at least 18 parks department officers there. So obviously the new high line's celebrity status matters.

    • @firesurfer
      @firesurfer Год назад +1

      The number of visitors per sq ft is far higher. I wouldn't be surprised if it's 100-1000 times higher.

    • @DMETS519
      @DMETS519 Год назад +1

      @@firesurfer Sure visitors per square foot is indeed higher on the high line but in Pelham bay park if a park's officer is needed on the other end of the park their response is pretty much useless by the time they would get there. Also, sections of Pelham park do indeed get quite busy in the summer.

    • @tjlovesrachel
      @tjlovesrachel 7 месяцев назад

      @@DMETS519 money… that’s why money…they don’t care about Pelham bay park if is not riverdale or country club the cops couldn’t care

  • @ronaldo23425
    @ronaldo23425 Год назад +2

    Great video, if possible please try to incorporate more maps into your videos, eg when you say “The southernmost portion” it’d be nice to see where in NYC that southern portion is. Just a suggestion, thanks! Your videos are amazing. I’m a huge fan.

    • @ITSHISTORY
      @ITSHISTORY  Год назад +1

      Hey thanks for the suggestion! It can be difficult to make maps look nice but I agree with you.

    • @PrograError
      @PrograError Год назад

      @@ITSHISTORY maybe a 3D map?
      If the Subject is something like the high line it would be great to have a point of reference maybe like a GTA mini map of some sorts?

    • @queens.dee.223
      @queens.dee.223 Год назад

      MysticTransit here on RUclips has a method that seems to work.

  • @BellaCroyda
    @BellaCroyda 5 месяцев назад

    I remember seeing the freight trains operating on the highline in the 50s and early 60s.

  • @presidentkiller
    @presidentkiller Год назад +3

    In many cities with poorly-planned highways or limited space for expansion, freight trucks have become a serious factor in increasing traffic and making commuting much more complicated so some of them have been going back to freight trains, or planning to. I don't know if New York suffers from this, but I've read or seen in different media that traffic in the city is impossible. Could it be that losing the freight trains made it worse?
    Also it's funny how the high line was considered an eyesore when trains passed but not when nature began growing on it. The bridges are still ugly as hell and I'm sure maintaining them isn't cheap, and now the costs are paid by the taxpayers instead of the train operators. I don't understand the economics of that but I'm sure the building owners' around the area are happy that their property prices have sky-rocketed sponsored by the same people that can't afford such properties.

    • @EnjoyFirefighting
      @EnjoyFirefighting 11 месяцев назад +1

      had that issue back in my home town. Had a freight yard and cargo transshipment station next to the Central Station at the edge of downtown. All the trucks going there had to go pretty far downtown.
      They moved the transshipment station to the edge of the city, right next to a highway and another already existing rail yard. The then abandoned yard and all the buildings sat empty for years before it was demolished and repurposed for a mixed use development with lots of housing in mind

  • @russellmancillas4464
    @russellmancillas4464 Год назад

    Been there, very nice.

  • @DT-wp4hk
    @DT-wp4hk Месяц назад

    Rotterdam in The Netherlands are doing the same with the former Hofplein-line.
    The city that actually has a hotel called 'hotel New York' which was the terminal where people checked in/out from oceanliners to NYC.

  • @ronniewatkins
    @ronniewatkins Год назад +1

    A similar project is going happening on abandoned rail lines in Atlanta called The Beltline. There has been tremendous impact over the last 20 years since it started

    • @nasirjones-bey6565
      @nasirjones-bey6565 8 месяцев назад

      Atlanta is an urban sprawl catastrophe

    • @ronniewatkins
      @ronniewatkins 8 месяцев назад +1

      ​@nasirjones-bey6565 no argument here!

  • @miketwomey4923
    @miketwomey4923 Год назад

    I knew about this but it was nice to hear the whole story...

    • @eattherich9215
      @eattherich9215 Год назад

      There is a great little book called 'Joel Sternfeld Walking the High Line' that features lots of photographs from the line's abandoned state to early development of the park.

  • @savoirfaire5460
    @savoirfaire5460 Год назад

    I remember seeing the last train going down the high line

  • @vandanerisgomes9009
    @vandanerisgomes9009 6 месяцев назад

    Maravilha amo documentários mesmo não entendendo o inglês mas gosto de assistir parabéns

  • @TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan
    @TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan Год назад

    2:53 wow what a beautiful, tram engine, a steam tram. I am a fan of steam powered tram engines.

  • @celebrityrog
    @celebrityrog Год назад +1

    The HighLine is one of the most pleasant, quiet, wonders of NYC.

  • @tommyhaynes9157
    @tommyhaynes9157 Год назад +1

    I went to the early meetings about saving it . I remember Andrew Berman being very involved in this..I think Mayor Bloomberg getting behind the project really sealed the deal