Located 10.5 miles from Grand Central in the north of the Bronx is a little station that as of yet has not been featured here, Williams Bridge. It is a bit hard for me to believe that I’ve spent quite a while sharing a different Harlem Line station each week with my readers. Not counting Grand Central, Williams Bridge is one of the last three stations we will visit.
Williams Bridge is like quite a few other Harlem Line stations, relatively quiet in comparison to the past. There was once a turntable here, but of course that has no use anymore and is long gone. The platform here is a bit smaller, and accommodates only four train cars.
By the time I had gotten to Williams Bridge on my last train outing it was rather dark, so I hardly think that these photographs are anything spectacular. In the dark with the graffiti it probably looks more grungy than it does normally. There are also a few photos of the station after the snow, which I took from inside a train that had stopped at the station. Next week I’ll have some better photos, I promise :D
I wondered why the station is spelled as two words (and no apostrophe) while the neighborhood is a single word. I suppose it’s just tradition. In any case, I found this additional information on the NYC Parks site:
“Williamsbridge Oval is derived from Williams’ Bridge, which was named for John Williams. In the 18th century Williams had a farm on the east bank of the Bronx River in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road and White Plains Road. Some credit him with building the first crossing over the Bronx River. Though the story remains unproven, his farm was closest to the earliest span, and by the 19th century the bridge and surrounding community had become known as Williamsbridge.”
Any idea when New York Central built the station, Al?
Used to be a lumber yard and a coal dealer SE of the station into the ’50s.