I had a special fascination with railroads when I was growing up in Troy. Not surprising since trains ran right through the heart of the city several times a day.

All but a few reminders of Troy's glorious railroad history survive. Most of it has been destroyed and taken away.

The block around Union, Broadway, Fulton, and Sixth Avenue was Troy's railroad Hub in the form of the Union Railroad Station. The station was controlled by the Rensselaer & Saratoga, Troy & Schenectady, Troy & Greenbush, and Troy & Boston railroads. Built in 1854, it burned in the great fire of 1862, but immediately rebuilt. In 1903, a new Beaux Arts style station took its place and lasted until 1958, replaced by a parking lot.

Trains entered Troy from Rensselaer, Green Island, and from the North. They crossed into the city in South Troy starting at Madison and headed northeast until reaching the Market Block at Liberty. From there the trains went into a small tunnel under Fifth Avenue, then hugged Mt. Ida until they went through the Ferry Street Tunnel, exiting at Congress, and reaching the station a few feet from there. I can now confess after all these years that I threw stones into the coal cars as they exited or entered the tunnel from Congress. We also played "chicken" with the trains in the tunnel.

Trains also rumbled over the Green Island Bridge with the tracks splitting south into the train station, or north to the rail yards at Middleburgh and beyond. You can view the track right-aways past the bridge at a set of buildings along Fifth Avenue and Grand Street (look for the angled buildings).

I remember waiting for the trains to cross the street while sitting in my father's '53 Desoto. Every street and alley crossed by a train had a small shanty and a railroad man who would come out and stand in the street with a large sign pole (probably a stop sign, but I can't remember). I do remember sitting there with my father counting the cars and sometimes long trains near the station would be backed up blocking Broadway. Pedestrians simply climbed up and through the cars to the other side.

I really loved that train station. While only a block long the inside seemed gigantic with a large central hall with grand ceiling and huge windows. The ticket window was to the west (Union Street). To enter the trains you exited through doors on the east; a large clock above told you the departure time. If you were headed north, you climbed down stairs and entered a subway tunnel that looked like a Greek temple and exited on the other side of 6th Avenue.

Outside, you were shielded by the elements by a long overhanging platform, which by the way now is used as a tee off at Hoffman's Driving Range.

Several wings were attached to the station. One of them was used by the Railroad Express Agency (REA). My Uncle Boyd had the franchise and my father worked for him. Each day hundreds of mailbags were taken off the train cars and loaded into trucks and driven to the post office a block away. Other bags would be driven to the Albany Airport - at that time no more than two runways. I liked helping my dad because I (and my friend Paul) would get to sit in the back of the truck - in the dark - amidst all the mail bags and have a ball on the way to the airport. You'd be surprised how many tunnels you can create. After a hard day of work, dad would take us to Torniesello's across from the station for Ice cream sundaes.

Troy's rail days were impressive. In the early teens, there were 130 passenger trains a day (one every eleven minutes) going through the city. There were more than 30 trains running daily between Troy and Albany, 25 minutes apart on the commuter 'Beltway.' In fact, in 1954, you could go from Troy to Albany hopping on a daily New York Central starting from the main station, or stops at Adams, Madison, or the Iron Works near Polk.

If you want to relive Troy in the 50's, the RPI Railroad Club has a great model of Troy with running trains, videos, and more. Contact them at 276-2971.

It's rumored that Amtrak might build a new passenger train station in Troy, and there are efforts to create a new light rail system in the area. In my opinion, it can't happen soon enough.