Why New York’s Secret Elevated Railroad was Abandoned | The High Line
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- Опубліковано 16 чер 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.
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» 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.
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.
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.
@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.
@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.
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?
@@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.
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
Incarceration?
@@tokugawa12able I believe ‘incarnation’ was intended.
@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis I certainly hope so.
@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Yeah, this isn't a tv show with cue cards and all.
🥃👴🏻 OUR CITY ??? U LIVE IN JAPAN
It really is quite amazing that the high line was never torn down for scrap long before it became a park
👴🏻🥃 H.C. POTTER IN 24
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.
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
👴🏻🥃 NO U TALKIN BOUT THE FIVE POINT GANG IN SIDE JOHN'S BARGAIN SHOW I STILL GO SHOPPIN DERE
Always wanted to visit the Highline. Such an outstanding example of preservation and smart planning.
visit it soon...worth it
It is well worth a visit, especially if you walk the entire length from 34th street to 14th street
I visited the park the last time I went to New York. It is worth the walk! I'm glad the city preserved it.
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.
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."
The original tracks were removed and put back in as a decorative item. They in no way reflect the original layout.
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.
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.
@@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.
👴🏻🥃 I RODE ON A HIGH LOW IN JERSEY
@@larry4111
👠👠⬅️ YOURS??
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.
Didn't Conrail use these tracks in the late 1970s for local freight shipments?
Very insightful! Thank you so much for sharing!
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.
👴🏻🥃 I'M 67 AND TO FIRST GRADE WID MY MOMMY.
@@joshbenton4080
👴🏻🥃 NO! BYE BYE BIRDIE
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.
But that would make too much sense
@@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.
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
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.
@@grazz7865 Hints they ban is all lol... Your correct
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!❤
That’s a really cool suggestion!!! Can you please DM me on twitter or insta @ryansocash
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
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.
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..
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
Not "incarceration" but iteration. Chelsea Market was originally built by National Biscuit Company (Nabisco). And didn't the Skyline grow Northward? Excellent documentary. 👍
I really want to see that abandoned subway station in Manhattan that is perfectly preserved.
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.
I grew up on the westside and never remembered the highline. Thank you.
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.
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.
One of the last customers on the line was a cold storage warehouse. For meat, and other foodstuffs.
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.
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.''
@@firesurferAre the [
hoity] and [toity] two separate lines of evolution?
Very interesting and so cool thank you for the videos!
Very nicely put together video and very entertaining as well. Thanks for posting this.
To call the High Line Park “urban decay “ is a bit of a stretch. It is really a nice and affluent area now.
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!
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.
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.
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 :)
Nice report !!
Thank you for sharing this. Im looking forward to walking it on our next visit .
Wow!!! This is beautiful 😍 glad I found your channel ❤💖💕♥💜 ❤
Really enjoy the nyc videos! Amazing!
Thank you very much for your great content!
My pleasure!
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.
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
Those over head rails looks so good!
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
Thanks for this great little video! I was in NYC in 1983 and dream of walking the High Line.
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.
Brilliant photos
@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.
Excellent history lesson which has left me with more love and respect for the Big Apple.
Cool! I’m glad it has been preserved as public park and green space!
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!!
Great Ch, Ryan 👍
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.
also... just "in time" for end of the war in 45'
@@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."
Fantastic story❤
This is a great idea
Good stuff 😁
Great video. We visited The Highline in 2015 while staying in NYC. Fascinating transformation 👍🏼😊
Awesome! Thank you!
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
Great narration. Interesting h istory. The park is really beautiful.
Thanks so much!
Just out of curiosity, where is Vermont, Canada? Did something happen while I had my nap?
We annexed it back in 1967, we just didn't have the heart to tell you guys until today. Sorry.
There were train connections from NYC back in the day.
The High Line should have been turned into a light rail service. That area could really use it.
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.
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.
Magnífico explendindo
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.
DM me that concept on Insta or twitter and I’ll do it! @ryansocash
I was living in NYC when the High Line opened as a public park. Very cool. Highly recommended if you're visiting the city.
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.
Nice video
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.
Really excellent video I wonder what happened if they connected this to the underground subway system treating it as the L train extension.
Hey, another crazy battle that old Rudy G lost! Fantastic!
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.
Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica and we too have one of the olderst but dieing railways in the world wear my brother works.
Vermont, Canada -- a nice thought.
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.
I walked the High Line in Sept2019. Wanted to for years and it was worth it.
I can’t wait to go back to NY just to do this walk again
I love the highline it's one of my favorite places in the city
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.
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
The High Line has a copy in Manchester England. Part of the old Midland Railway line has been turned into a high level park.
AMO história MAnda mais muito bom obrigada
The highline as it is now is my favourite tourist attraction in NYC
I knew about this but it was nice to hear the whole story...
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.
Been there, very nice.
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
3:23 i drove a car through this building on gta 4 ‼️ the game is kinda artistic as hell i love it🍄
Heute der Loop ?
Eine toller Spaziergang auf der alten Strecke...
Wunderbar das ,das nicht abgerissen wurde
One of the initial scenes in this video is not the West Side New York Central rail right of way, but the Sixth Ave Elevated Line in Manhattan, three avenues west was the pioneering Ninth Ave Elevated Line, along with the Second and Third Avenue Elevated Lines on the East Side of Manhattan
This video omits a very important aspect. In order to get the High Line park built, the city promised to sell air rights to land owners around it. The resulting skyscrapers have irrevocably changed the low-rise architectural landscape and the fabric of the whole area. So much was lost.
Love your work. Please consider Governors Island and fresh kills park SI.
Forgive me if I have missed this being already covered! 😂
That is definitely one I’m thinking about.
You might be interested in the town of Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea in Southern Califonia. Half abandoned since the 70s, now becoming a quirky vibrant artist community
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.
The number of visitors per sq ft is far higher. I wouldn't be surprised if it's 100-1000 times higher.
@@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.
@@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
The photo of the New York Central train in the streets in front of the Edward Joy building is Syracuse; the city famous for the trains running in the streets until 1936.
I remember seeing the last train going down the high line
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.
Hey thanks for the suggestion! It can be difficult to make maps look nice but I agree with you.
@@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?
MysticTransit here on UA-cam has a method that seems to work.
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.
I remember seeing the freight trains operating on the highline in the 50s and early 60s.
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.
Love the High Line!
I’ve been wanting to do this story for a while!
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
Atlanta is an urban sprawl catastrophe
@nasirjones-bey6565 no argument here!