Developed by a stagecoach maker in lower Manhattan, Westchester County's first railroad, the New York & Harlem Railroad, arrived in the 1840s. Since commuting by train allowed convenient short travel, its arrival accelerated growth and commerce throughout the county due to New York City's proximity. Within the same decade, the New Haven Railroad arrived in Westchester from New England, followed by the upstate-backed Hudson River Railroad in 1849. At its peak in 1930 and on the eve of the Great Depression, Westchester County maintained as many as eight rail lines and branches. Today, three of the county's original rail lines, the Harlem line, the New Haven line, and the Hudson line, are still in use and as busy as ever.
Kent W. Patterson grew up in Dobbs Ferry and worked MTA-Metro-North as well as its predecessor railroad, sometimes bringing his camera to work. As a child, he recalls seeing trains on the Putnam Division and some of the earlier generations of operation on county railroads. Patterson has interests in transportation, oil painting, and history and is also the author of Arcadia Publishing’s book Westchester County Airport.