NEB&W Guide to Troy, NY - East Leg of the Wye (Sixth Avenue, Jacob Street to Grand Street)Last Update: 2009-08-07
Troy Table of Contents
Layout Photo Gallery Table of Contents
- Looking
north on Sixth Ave. at the north end of the wye. Later the area
on the left past the tracks was the location of Bloomfield Wreckers.
- [Photo, c. 1912.]
- Aerial view c. '48, looking north, with Fifth Avenue running up
through the center of the photo.
- [Prototype photo, courtesy Rensselaer County Historical Society.]
Jacob Street Crossing (Not Modeled)
- This is just north of where Jacob
Street crossed, at the spring switch
where the single track
became double track. From here north, the tracks
angled away from Sixth Avenue. Jim Shaughnessy originally took this
around 1960 for the Republic Party, as the photo showed a Democratic billboard
in the midst of such rubble. (Unfortunately, this scene is off our layout.)
- Some other views of in and around the Jacob Street crossing.
- [Tower c. 1917. I think we are looking north.]
- [The actual Jacob Street grade crossing c. 1950, looking north. Photo by Charlie Ballard. (The buildings on the left are still standing.)]
- [After the tracks were removed. Photo by Chuck Porter. I think we are looking south, but frankly, I'm not sure.]
Tower No. 4
- Tower no. 4 was a single story affair that sat in the
fork of the tracks on the north leg of the wye.
- [Tower no. 4 in 1912. Sixth Ave. looking north.]
- [Valuation photo c. 1919, looking south.]
- [Our model, kitbashed from the top floor of an Atlas signal tower.]
Georgian-Style House
- This "Colonial" style house on
Sixth at the north leg of the wye
probably predates the fire of 1862. Its wood
construction was later outlawed. The
advances in the iron production allowed the
typical 19th century urban building flat
roof ("tinned" iron roofing didn't
need such a steep pitch to shed water as did
roof shingles). Cast iron technology produced
the potbelly stove, which
did away with massive open fireplaces, and thus chimneys
were made smaller. Better heating and improved glass
manufacturing allowed higher ceilings
with taller windows (since natural light was still the
best by far).
- [Prototype photo by Jack Waite photo c. 1962.]
- [Our model.]
Three Rowhouses
- A trio of rowhouses on the east side
of 6th.
- [Prototype photo c. 1960's by Jack Waite, looking southeast.]
- [Prototype photo c. 1960's by Jack Waite, looking northeast.]
- Looking south at the north end of the wye.
- [Model view.]
Advanced Cooler
- Advanced Cooler c. 1972 or '73.
(Note one of our members, Tom Washbun,
standing there with a stick marked off in
foot increments to aid in scaling.)
This was originally a National Biscuit Co.
(Nabisco) plant, and had its own
one-car long siding inside the wye.
- [Prototype view, broadside view of the end. Tom Washbun holds the scale stick.]
- [Side view.]
- [Back with Paul Hubbs.]
- [Bigger view.]
- [Backs of the buildings to the south.]
- Our model of Advanced Cooler, with a brick decal made from the
preceding photo. (By the way, the parapet is a modified "swan's neck" shape,
derived from the same source as the Dutch Colonial style as seen on the Troy Record
building.)
- [Model view.]
- Sign-covered fence and tree house next to Advance Cooler.
- [Model view, just south of Advance Cooler (a corner is visible on right).]
"Haunted House"
- Looking north on Sixth Avenue, with "Haunted House" at right.
- [Prototype photo c. 1962 by Jack Waite.]
- [Model view.]
- Looking north from Federal Street. Jack Waite photos, c. 1960.
- [Prototype view, labelled, of the track side.]
- [Prototype view, unlabelled but bigger.]
- [Our model, very much under construction.]
- [Prototype view of the Federal Street side.]
- Federal and Sixth, looking west, with
Betty's Bar & Grill to the left, in front of
the Wagar's Ice Cream complex. Jack Waite took
this photo c. 1960's, after the tracks
had been taken out.
- [Prototype view after the tracks had been removed. Photo by Jack Waite.]
White Rowhouse
- The white rowhouse was on the west side of 6th.
- [Valuation photo c. 1917, with the rowhouse in the back.]
- [Prototype view after the tracks had been removed. Photo by Jack Waite.]
- [Prototype view c. 1973.]
- [Prototype view of the rear c. 1973.]
- We modeled this building as well as the one just to the north
(which was still standing c. 1950 but we have no photos
of it other than from aerial photos).
Wagar's
- Wagar's occupied most of the block. On the far side
(left) was a mirror image of Betty's.
- [Prototype view c. WWII. Photo courtesy RCHS.]
- [Prototype view looking west, after the tracks had been removed. Photo by Jack Waite.]
Betty's Bar & Grill
- Betty's Bar & Grill was on the northwest corner of Federal
and 6th. It was somewhat a Greek Revival style. There
was almost a mirror-image twin of this built on the other
side of Wager's.
Betty's stood alone on the corner into the early '70's and had a terrible reputation, at least among RPI students. (Don't know if it was even justified or not.) One of our members had a car accident outside. A few days later he went inside Betty's to see if any of the patron's had witnessed it. All the rest of us were dropped-jaw in shock that he had the courage to do so and he survived to tell the tale. Apparently it wasn't as rowdy as rumoured. - The rear portion of the side of
Betty's is shown in this 1917 Valuation
photo of the crossing shanty for the Federal Street crossing.
- Jack Waite took a couple of views that show Betty's.
- [Betty's c. 1960.]
- [Prototype view looking west, after the tracks had been removed, showing the side of Betty's. Photo by Jack Waite.]
Federal Street Grade Crossing
- The crossing
shanty on 6th Avenue next to Betty's Bar & Grill, c. 1917.
Federal Street East
- Prototype view of a B&M loco,
looking southeast at the Grand Street
crossing.
- A Rutland milk train, with
pooled B&M power, heads south past
Federal Street.
- Looking east on Federal.
- [Photo c. 1962, courtesy Jim Odell.]
- [Color photo, also '62, by Jack Waite.]
Union Garage
- The triangular block bounded by Federal and the
two legs of the wye was originally a bunch of row
houses. The first floors were drastically
altered to make a garage.
- [Prototype c WWI before the alterations. Looking north from tower no. 1.]
- [Looking north from Grand St. c. 1912.]
- [Prototype of the corner building from 6th Avenue. Photo c. 1973.]
- [View from Federal. Photo c. 1973. (Note the Troy hallmark double layered brick around the windows.)]
- [View shifted to the west. Photo c. 1973.]
- [West side c. 1973.]
- A B&M Budd car trundles down Sixth Avenue
past Union Garage toward the end.
- Grand and Sixth, looking north. The prototype Jim Shaughnessy photo
was taken c. 1955, after removal of one of the two mainlines. Wagar's
in the background towers over Union Garage.
- A Rutland milk train, with
pooled B&M power, heads south past
Federal Street.
- Federal Street looking south past
Union Garage to the station.
- [Layout view.]
- An NEB&W Mikado heads up Sixth Avenue
past Union Garage. (Both the main
building and the triangular annex to the left were
a bunch of former row houses,
kitbashed by the prototype.)
- [Model photo, by James Lauser.]
- The area on our layout on the east side of 6th between
Grand and Federal were mostly kitbashed DPM kits.
- [Two buildings on the south side of Federal (photographed not in situ).]
- [The other side (photographed not in situ).]
- [Working south down 6th.]
- [And a little further down.]
- [The backs of these (photographed not in situ).]
- Federal Street looking west, with brick-decaled side.
- [Model view.]
- Prototype view of a B&M loco, looking southeast at the Grand Street
crossing.
- Our model of Grand from the tracks east.
- [Model photo. (Sky digitally added.)]
