River Rail Photo - Along The Way

06/30/2026

"Ahead of America’s 250th birthday next weekend, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will hold a ceremonial lighting and announce that effective immediately, it will permanently light the George Washington Bridge’s two towers every night from dusk to 10 p.m. The bridge’s towers have never been lit nightly since it was built in 1927 and opened to traffic in 1931."

Full resolution pics and prints:
https://www.riverrailphoto.com/gwb

PA NYNJ Press Release:
https://maritime-executive.com/corporate/port-authority-to-announce-permanent-nightly-lighting-of-george-washington-bridge-s-towers

06/29/2026

Farewell To Aqueduct Racetrack (September 27, 1894-June 28, 2026)

A few pics from today to get a sense of what it is like on the last day. It was named after an aqueduct from the Ridgewood Reservoir, and last renovated in 1959. The record attendance of 73,375 people was recorded on May 31, 1965. The modern facility had seats for 17,000 and a capacity of 40,000, but by this late date much of it was closed off. The casino next door is presently undergoing renovations, so perhaps they are preparing to expand soon, but the racetrack facilities were showing their age.

This closure means the end of NYRA Horse Racing in New York City, but with Belmont just over the border in Nassau and Yonkers in Westchester, fans will not have to travel far.

05/28/2026

Happy National Hamburger Day!

So the story goes that May 28 was chosen becuase it is the beginning of the summer grilling season.

"The beginnings of the hamburger sandwich as we all know it today was really quite simple. One day in 1900, a gentleman hurriedly walked into Louis’ Lunch and told proprietor Louis Lassen he was in a rush and wanted something he could eat on the run. In an instant, Louis placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way. And so, the most recognizable American sandwich was born."

On this day, I was here with a friend who explained: "This is one of 12 places I have visited that 'invented' the hamburger." They are all cooked on cast-iron grills from 1898, and placed on sliced and toasted white bread. Another noteworthy sign - "No ketchup, no mustard – just cheese (spread), tomato, and onion". (If asked, they will explain that sliced cheese would gum up the toaster or the grill). Also, no fries, just potato chips and potato salad. Pie for dessert. Foxon Park soda. They've been around since 1895, so they are doing something the right way.

"The Original Burger" was 7 cents when it was 'invented', around this time they were $5.00, and it's $8.25 currently. I'm overdue for a visit, so better pics at some point soon.

Louis Lunch
261 Crown Street
New Haven, Connecticut
July 16, 2011

05/28/2026

Gone For "Good", But Not For Long....

Apparently on April 21, 2026, the famous lighted General Electric sign in Schenectady, New York was removed from the roof of this building, where it sat for many decades.

BUT - GE explains it was taken down to be refurbished as part of the 100th Anniversary of the Schenectady site, which opened in 1886 as the Edison Electrical Works and became part of General Electric in 1894. In turn General Electric Vernova is a spin-off that separated from GE in 2024. The sign is planned to return "in the late spring", so now we can all exhale and wait for the unveiling.

General Electric Vernova
1 River Road
Schenectady, New York

Full resolution pics and prints:
https://www.riverrailphoto.com/citypics/e5828f1ad

05/22/2026

Fifty Years Of Food.....Croton Colonial Restaurant Diner

During the recent extended 'stakeouts' of railroad activity in Croton, I found my way back to the the Croton Colonial Restaurant Diner fro the first time in a while. Twice. With the goal of avoiding too much fast food, this was a good choice for grilled chicken over salad. So good that I got the small during the the first visit, and the large when I returned. The chicken was marinated and moist. I do eat in a lot of different places, and I find that when it comes to grilled chicken over salad, many assume you'll just toss it in thousand island and not notice that they never touched it with seasoning; that is not the case here. Of course they also have the usual assortment of burgers, fish, steak, and french toast at any hour; that will be for the next visit.

If I asked you to describe a 'diner', this is what you'd imagine. They are open 8:00 AM-10:00 PM, and they have a 10 page menu. As people pursue ever more exotic cuisines, diners are having a hard time, so maybe go out and support a locally owned business this weekend if their continued existence is as important to you as it is to me.

Croton Colonial Restaurant Diner
221 South Riverside Avenue
Croton-On-Hudson, New York

Post visit pro tip learned: Until reading the website to write this, I did not know that they stopped offering bread and crackers with meals, as well as tomato, lettuce, coleslaw and pickles with sandwiches, but they are included and you can ask for them. This is a cost saving measure. I think this is a little to extreme, they could add 'available on request' on the menu, or have the waiter ask. I assumed it was not available, and it would make for a better experience if I had known.

05/20/2026

05/19/2026

When At Mine Dock Park.....American Burrito

Somehow I've been driving past this place for many years without stopping; I was overdue. It's been around for about a decade or so and I like burritos, so I finally stopped in.

Something that I used to not highlight as much, but have been paying more attention to: the staff was very friendly. Basically, they have a menu, but change and rearrange to anything you want, and they will make it. For the moderate sum of $12.69 + tax, I had the "small" fish burrito . It comes with complimentary tortilla chips and access to the "salsa bar", and it was bigger than my hand. If I had paid $3.00 more for the large, I would have been taking half of it home. I don't like "saucy" things, so they offered to put the habanero cream sauce on the side. It was actually very good, but everyplace puts on too much sauce for my taste.

The decor was modern and clean, the air conditioning was pumping, and no one rushed me out while I was recharging my laptop at their outlet (I did ask before plugging in). Clean bathroom. Expect to see soldiers eating there, as it is very popular with West Point personnel. I don't know what more I could ask for, but they probably would have accommodated. I will definitely return.

Have you been? What did you think?

American Burrito
121 Firefighters Memorial Drive
Fort Montgomery, New York

05/12/2026

19 Years Ago Today....Photographing Ordinary Things

Country Delite (aka "The Milk Plant Store") opened in April 1970 and closed on January 17, 2014. Throughout those years, it was owned and operated by Steve and Arlene Kleinman.

This was an actual milk bottling and containerizing plant in my youth. As I saw today while reading an older article in "The Riverdale Press", many local students drank their milk in school, then visited to see from the big glass windows where their milk was sealed in cartons. The milk was purchased from local farms in NY, NJ, and PA. In 1990, they stopped the in house processing, but continued as a retail outlet for dairy and other foods. The sign in the window says "Milk/29 gal/Min. 6 Gal", which is assume means $2.90/gallon. The Dairy Program does not keep track of NYC prices, but shows Fort Lee, NJ was $3.66/gallon at the time, so this was like Costco pricing.

I do wish I had thought to photograph the interior when they still bottled milk (in glass bottles!!!), but I was quite young at the time. And so my point is - take more photos, even of the ordinary things, for they too will be gone one day. Today there is a Cube Smart at this location.

Country Delite
2880 Exterior Street
Bronx, New York
May 12, 2007

05/03/2026

Bagels Near The Beach....Beach Bagel

Gotta give the h/t to my friend Matt for this one, he did the research on https://everythingiseverything.nyc/, a local bagel rating site. I question a lot of their methods and scale, but they are honest about how they use them to determine a score. There are 2 bagel places that they have rated on the peninsula - this one is #8 in Queens, #25 in NYC, the other is Rockaway Bagel, #15 in Queens, #63 in NYC.

If you like a large, slightly heavier bagel, this is your kind of place. They have an assortment of cream cheeses and eggs options for the morning, and a deli counter for the rest of the day. Very bare decoration, small and narrow waiting area, more than adequate drink options. I got eggs with salt & pepper on a sesame.

It is highly unusual for us to be this far beyond the end of the Rockaway Branch at Beach 116, but for science, we had to investigate. Overall, given the options in the area, I'd go again.
Have you been? What did you think?

Beach Bagel
4-38 Beach 129th Street
Rockaway Park, New York
May 3, 2025

05/02/2026

Get Your Smoked Meat....Mile End Delicatessen

My last visit here was early 2023, so I was overdue for sure. Mile End opened in 2010 and is named after the neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their signature dish is smoked meat, which is also of Montreal origins. To cut down on words, I attached Gemini's description of the differences between Montreal smoked meat and pastrami as they are similar.

Given a break in local activity, a friend and I returned. We split a Montreal Smoked Meat Deluxe (with pickle, cole slaw, and fries) and a Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich. Both were excellent. Period.

They have a Jewish Deli (not Kosher) menu of other options, including eggs for the morning, challah french toast, and bagels and lox. Later day options include matzo ball and borscht soup, turkey and pastrami sandwiches, and a roasted chicken dinner plate. And of course every Doctor Brown's soda.

Go hungry, you won't be sorry. Have you been? What did you think?

Mile End Delicatessen
Mile End
97 Hoyt Street
Brooklyn, New York