The Copake Falls station was a former New York Central Railroad station that served the residents of Copake, New York.

Copake Falls
Copake Falls station
General information
Location64 Miles Road, Copake Falls, New York 12516
Coordinates42°07′14″N 73°31′13″W / 42.1206°N 73.5204°W / 42.1206; -73.5204
Tracks0
History
OpenedMay 10, 1852[1]
ClosedMarch 20, 1972[2]
Previous namesCopake Iron Works (????–1920)
Key dates
June 29, 1959Station agent eliminated[3]
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Boston Corners
toward New York
Harlem Division Hillsdale
toward Chatham
Location
Map

History

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The station catered to a local community that was served by the New York & Harlem Railroad, later the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad. The railroad between Dover Plains (to the south) and the end of the line at Chatham (to the north) was constructed between 1848 and 1852. The current train station was built in 1905.[dubiousdiscuss]

In 1968, the station and the railroad became part of Penn Central. After a tumultuous court battle, passenger service north of Dover Plains to Chatham came to an end on March 20, 1972,[2][4] and the station was closed (although a clause in the building's lease states that if passenger service ever resumes, space must be provided in the building for a waiting area). The tracks were then only used by freight trains sporadically until that service ended in 1976. The rails were removed in 1981, and the right of way was converted into a rail trail in the 1990s.

The building currently houses a small, seasonal convenience store, catering primarily to visitors to the nearby Copake Falls portion of Taconic State Park and nearby Bash Bish Falls. It is also near the Copake Iron Works Historic District.

References

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  1. ^ "Railroad Hopes to Realize $432,386 in Millerton - Chatham Line Abandonment". The Poughkeepsie Journal. August 26, 1962. p. 9B. Retrieved December 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ a b Layton, Preston (March 21, 1972). "PC Ends Run, Strands Riders". New York Daily News. p. 22. Retrieved December 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Rail Service Cut Granted In Columbia". The Albany Times-Union. May 22, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "Harlem Valley Rail Trail". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
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  Media related to Copake Falls (NYCRR station) at Wikimedia Commons