New York and Harlem Railroad

New York and Harlem Railroad

New York and Harlem Railroad (red) and New York Central system (orange) as of 1918
Overview
Locale	New York
Dates of operation	1832–1873 (main line) 1832–1896 and 1920–1935 (streetcars)
Successor	New York Central Railroad (north of 42nd Street) New York City Railway (south of 42nd Street)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The New York and Harlem Railroad (now the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line) was one of the first railroads in the United States, and was the world's first street railway.^[1][2] Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 between Lower Manhattan Island to and beyond Harlem. Horses initially pulled railway carriages, followed by a conversion to steam engines, then on to battery-powered Julien electric traction cars.^[3][4][5] In 1907, the then leaseholders of the line, New York City Railway, a streetcar operator, went into receivership. Following a further receivership in 1932, the New York Railways Corporation converted the line to bus operation. The Murray Hill Tunnel now carries a lane of road traffic, but not the buses.

The line became part of the New York Central Railroad system with trackage rights granted to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad into Manhattan. It is now part of the Metro-North Railroad system, and the only Manhattan trackage of that system. As of 2017, Metro-North operates commuter passenger service from Grand Central Terminal, via Southeast (change from electric to diesel power), to Wassaic. The trackless right-of-way from Wassaic to Chatham is being converted to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.