I came across these old photographs of the Depot at Hopewell Junction. I could tell that they were old because Anthony Musso in his book Hidden Treasures of the Hudson Valley Vol. II mentions that the original depot originally had doors with rounded tops. Apparently it was hard to insulate properly so all but one were replaced with square topped doors. In the pictures you can clearly see that the doors all have rounded tops so the pictures must pre-date the change. Right?

Actually no. I took these pictures about a month ago and decided that this “aged” look was appropriate. Mr. Russo’s book is now a few years old and it seems that the restoration efforts have proceeded well, with the doors having been changed back to their original tops. For additional information on the restoration efforts see here.

For a good, short, illustrated history of the depot see here.

The depot is now a vistor’s centre/museum located at the beginning of the Dutchess County Rail Trail. I’ve walked on a number of these converted rail trails and don’t usually like them. They’re also used by cyclists who go whizzing by at high speed, often without giving you any warning that they’re coming. This one is, however, different: The old railway had two tracks so there was room to separate the walkers and the cyclists. In fact there are two trails: one of packed earth for walkers and another one paved for cyclists so there is no likelihood of collision.

Taken with a Sony Nex 5N and Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f3.5 T Tessar

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