NEB&W Guide to Troy, NY - Tower No. 2 (Sixth Avenue Between Grand & Fulton)

Last Update: 2009-02-09

Troy Table of Contents
Layout Photo Gallery Table of Contents

Aerial view.
- [Photo courtesy RCHS.]

Prototype view of a Rutland train heading north on Sixth, past Union Garage. This section of the wye ran right in the street. Tower No. 2 is in the background. Photo c. 1952 by Charles Ballard.
- [Prototype photo.]
The block of row houses on the north side of Grand between Fifth and 6th, looking east. (Note the steam-era colors.) The building nearest the camera has French type windows that fold in shutter-like. This block is still standing c. 2004.
- [Aerial photo c. 1952, courtesy RCHS.]
- [The building on the left of this Jim Shaughnessy 1955 photo was triangular to fit the curve of the tracks.]
- [Photo looking west from 6th, by Tony Steel c. 1972. The building on the end was "Irma's Groc."]
- [Back of Irma's Groc. c. 1973. (Lines scribed on the print for scaling purposes.)]
- [Photo looking east from Fifth to 6th, by Jack Waite c. 1960.]
- [Fifth Ave side c. 1973 looking from Federal to Grand.]

Grand Street (South)

There was a block of rowhouses on the south side, too, also still standing, 2004. This block had all the buildings the same. (The last one on the west end was the same, but sat lower.)
- [Photo of the 6th Avenue end courtesy 1973. Photo by Tony Steele. (This building was bare brick back c. 1950.)]
- [Fronts c. 1973.]

North throat of depot. The prototype of the red building was originally a series of four story rowhouses, with Troy's unique "double arch" walls, cut down to two.

[1895 view looking south.]
[1973 view for comparison.]
[1917 view looking north.]
[Another early view looking north. (I believe this is from the RCHS.)]
[Prototype photo by Gerrit Bruins - look at the remnant of the third story windows. Also notice the grab-iron fire escapes on the two left-most buildings.]
[On the NEB&W.]
[Another layout view.]

Jim Shaughnessy photo of the track under Tower 2. You can really see the double thickness walls on the nearest building.

[Prototype view.]

Jack Waite took this photo of Tower 2 looking north. By this time (c. 1960), the depot has been torn down and the bowling alley built.

[Prototype view.]

Tolhurst Machinery

Tolhurst Machinery occupied a spot diagonally opposite the depot until c. WWII. It was torn down c. 1950 and the site became a parking lot. Much later it was occupied by a bowling alley (still there.)
William Tolhurst stated the company in 1856, moving several times until 1881, when he had built a new structure on the northeast corner of Fulton and 6th. Three years later (1884), he took his son into the business, becomming W.H. Tolhurst & Son. The building was said to extend 52 feet long along 6th and 54 feet on Fulton, but extending 79 feet east. (This doesn't make sense, but is what was said in City of Troy & Vicinity.) This original four story building was given an addition to the north, running to Grand (which also doesn't make sense as there were row houses on Grand.
- [C. 1900 Engraving.]
- [C. WWI view looking north. (I believe this is from the RCHS.) To the right is the Tolhurst addition.]
- [D&H Pacific 652 crosses Fulton c. 1940. Tolhurst is on the right.]
- [C. '52 photo by Gerrit Bruins shows it as a parking lot.]

Troy backyards: A "bathtub" Madonna, made from a Z scale Arab figure, is typical of this region's Irish and French Canadian Roman Catholic heritage. (See our section on backyard details for information on these and other detailing ideas.)

[A similar prototype.]
[Model view.]