124-530: The Hudson River Historic District , also known as Hudson River Heritage Historic District , is the largest Federally designated district on the mainland of the contiguous United States . It covers an area of 22,205 acres (34.6 square miles, 89 km) extending inland roughly a mile (1.6 km) from the east bank of the Hudson River between Staatsburg and Germantown in Dutchess and Columbia counties in
248-606: A Dutch -style stone house that burned down in the early 20th century. Its appearance is recalled in the peaked roof of the Rhinebeck post office , built in 1940. Judge Livingston participated in the Stamp Act Congress . His son, Robert helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He and Margaret would have nine children. The eldest, Robert R. Livingston , built another estate, Belvedere, just south of Clermont. In retaliation for
372-502: A slipformed (or pre-cast) concrete base (development 2000s). The 'embedded rail structure', used in the Netherlands since 1976, initially used a conventional UIC 54 rail embedded in concrete, and later developed (late 1990s) to use a 'mushroom' shaped SA42 rail profile; a version for light rail using a rail supported in an asphalt concrete –filled steel trough has also been developed (2002). Modern ladder track can be considered
496-856: A state assemblyman and lieutenant governor . Another son, William Chanler, also served briefly in Congress. Another son, Robert , was Dutchess County sheriff and an accomplished painter. John Watts de Peyster , Civil War general, military historian and adjutant general of the New York National Guard , also spent some of his formative years at Rose Hill in Tivoli, and later built the firehouse now used as village hall. Another New York Civil War figure, Charles S. Wainwright , lived at The Meadows. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's ancestral home in Hyde Park
620-440: A "clickety-clack" sound. Unless it is well-maintained, jointed track does not have the ride quality of welded rail and is less desirable for high speed trains . However, jointed track is still used in many countries on lower speed lines and sidings , and is used extensively in poorer countries due to the lower construction cost and the simpler equipment required for its installation and maintenance. A major problem of jointed track
744-498: A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), and the historic commission or architectural review board may decide upon the changes. The COA process is carried out with all aspects of due process, with formal notification, hearings, and fair and informed decision-making. According to the National Park Service, historic districts are one of the oldest forms of protection for historic properties. The city of Charleston, South Carolina
868-444: A State Historic Preservation Office, not all states must have a "state historic district" designation. As of 2004, for example, the state of North Carolina had no such designation. Local historic districts usually enjoy the greatest level of protection legally from any threats that may compromise their historic integrity because many land-use decisions are made at the local level. There are more than 2,300 local historic districts in
992-415: A continuous reinforced concrete slab and the use of pre-cast pre-stressed concrete units laid on a base layer. Many permutations of design have been put forward. However, ballastless track has a high initial cost, and in the case of existing railroads the upgrade to such requires closure of the route for a long period. Its whole-life cost can be lower because of the reduction in maintenance. Ballastless track
1116-481: A development of baulk road. Ladder track utilizes sleepers aligned along the same direction as the rails with rung-like gauge restraining cross members. Both ballasted and ballastless types exist. Modern track typically uses hot-rolled steel with a profile of an asymmetrical rounded I-beam . Unlike some other uses of iron and steel , railway rails are subject to very high stresses and have to be made of very high-quality steel alloy. It took many decades to improve
1240-558: A federal designation, such as granting qualifications and tax incentives. In addition, the property can become protected under specific state laws. The laws can be similar or different from the federal guidelines that govern the National Register. A state listing of a historic district on a "State Register of Historic Places", usually by the State Historic Preservation Office , can be an "honorary status", much like
1364-623: A gentle and gradual slope from the low glacial ridge followed by routes 9 and 9G to the river, which generally remains about 10 feet (3 m) above sea level at this point. The railroad tracks built for the Hudson River Railroad to connect New York City and Albany , still used by Amtrak and CSX today, run at the river's edge through much of the district. Most of the land reflects its past as large country estates, with large fields and meadows alternating with woodlots . The slope allows for expansive views from cleared areas of not only
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#17328520642281488-591: A historic district per U.S. federal law , last revised in 2004. According to the Register definition, a historic district is: a geographically definable area, urban or rural, possessing a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development. A district may also comprise individual elements separated geographically but linked by association or history. Districts established under U.S. federal guidelines generally begin
1612-530: A mesh of structures, streets, open space, and landscaping to define a historic district's character. As early as 1981, the National Trust for Historic Preservation identified 882 American cities and towns that had some form of "historic district zoning " in place--local laws meant specifically to protect historic districts. Before 1966, historic preservation in the United States was in its infancy. That year
1736-455: A plan for Red Hook Landing, a small boat-building town on the river, and renamed it. His plans were never fully realized, but they did guide the community's development. In 1870 it incorporated as a village, taking in the adjacent commercial center of Madalin. The Romanticism that flourished in the succeeding years drew a good deal of its inspiration from the Hudson Valley , in the form of
1860-514: A price per square foot basis increased in value significantly more than non-designated properties. The original concept of an American historic district was a protective area surrounding more important, individual historic sites. As the field of historic preservation progressed, those involved came to realize that the structures acting as "buffer zones" were key elements of the historical integrity of larger landmark sites. Preservationists believed that districts should be more encompassing, blending
1984-456: A separate process unrelated to zoning. Local historic districts are identified by surveying historic resources and delineating appropriate boundaries that comply with all aspects of due process . Depending on local ordinances or state law, property owners' permission may be required; however, all owners are to be notified and allowed to share their opinions. Most local historic districts are constricted by design guidelines that control changes to
2108-464: A small house there. At first, some of the younger Livingstons' estates followed the British colonial patterns of Clermont. Rhinebeck House, today known as Grasmere , is the best-preserved example. Later on the houses began to show the influence of contemporary French tastes, abandoning the large central hall in favor of smaller rooms and passageways inside and focusing more attention on the garden side of
2232-580: A smaller area with just one or a few resources. Historic districts can be created by federal, state, or local governments . At the federal level, they are designated by the National Park Service and listed on the National Register of Historic Places ; this is a largely honorary designation that does not restrict what property owners may do with a property. State -level historic districts usually do not include restrictions, though this depends on
2356-423: A specific definition in relation to the National Register. All but the eponymous district category are also applied to historic districts listed on the National Register. A listing on the National Register of Historic Places is a governmental acknowledgment of a historic district. However, the Register is "an honorary status with some federal financial incentives." The National Register of Historic Places defines
2480-465: A temperature roughly midway between the extremes experienced at that location. (This is known as the "rail neutral temperature".) This installation procedure is intended to prevent tracks from buckling in summer heat or pulling apart in the winter cold. In North America, because broken rails are typically detected by interruption of the current in the signaling system, they are seen as less of a potential hazard than undetected heat kinks. Joints are used in
2604-606: A walkway for the people or horses that moved wagons along the track. The rails were usually about 3 feet (0.91 m) long and were not joined - instead, adjacent rails were laid on a common sleeper. The straight rails could be angled at these joints to form primitive curved track. The first iron rails laid in Britain were at the Darby Ironworks in Coalbrookdale in 1767. When steam locomotives were introduced, starting in 1804,
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#17328520642282728-513: A whim of the gods. They appropriated the Catskills as a feature of their landscape and as a source of aesthetic pleasure to Livingstons and their guests ... [F]rom the Livingston country, the entire eastern wall of the Catskills with its higher peaks rising within the wall may be grasped in one delighted glance. Many of the then-popular locust trees were planted on the Livingston estates to frame
2852-462: Is 115 to 141 lb/yd (57 to 70 kg/m). In Europe, rail is graded in kilograms per metre and the usual range is 40 to 60 kg/m (81 to 121 lb/yd). The heaviest mass-produced rail was 155 pounds per yard (77 kg/m), rolled for the Pennsylvania Railroad . The rails used in rail transport are produced in sections of fixed length. Rail lengths are made as long as possible, as
2976-408: Is a manual process requiring a reaction crucible and form to contain the molten iron. North American practice is to weld 1 ⁄ 4 -mile-long (400 m) segments of rail at a rail facility and load it on a special train to carry it to the job site. This train is designed to carry many segments of rail which are placed so they can slide off their racks to the rear of the train and be attached to
3100-405: Is artificially restricted and the supply of new housing permanently capped in area so designated as 'historic'. Critics of historic districts argue that while these districts may offer an aesthetic or visually pleasing benefit, they increase inequality by restricting access to new and affordable housing for lower and middle class tenants and potential home owners. Housing advocates have argued that
3224-488: Is cracking around the bolt holes, which can lead to breaking of the rail head (the running surface). This was the cause of the Hither Green rail crash which caused British Railways to begin converting much of its track to continuous welded rail. Where track circuits exist for signalling purposes, insulated block joints are required. These compound the weaknesses of ordinary joints. Specially-made glued joints, where all
3348-407: Is credited with beginning the modern-day historic districts movement. In 1931, Charleston enacted an ordinance which designated an "Old and Historic District" administered by a Board of Architectural Review. Charleston's early ordinance reflected the strong protection that local historic districts often enjoy under local law. It asserted that no alteration could be made to any architectural features
3472-459: Is graded by its linear density , that is, its mass over a standard length. Heavier rail can support greater axle loads and higher train speeds without sustaining damage than lighter rail, but at a greater cost. In North America and the United Kingdom, rail is graded in pounds per yard (usually shown as pound or lb ), so 130-pound rail would weigh 130 lb/yd (64 kg/m). The usual range
3596-547: Is just south of the district, but some of his Delano ancestors were longtime residents of the Steen Valetje estate. As a child, his wife Eleanor lived at Oak Lawn, the Tivoli estate of her grandmother Mary Ludlow Hall, for several years after the death of her mother . The district has had a role in literature as well, both as a setting and a residence. Henry James , a frequent visitor to his uncle's home at Linwood, makes several references to Rhinebeck and other locales within
3720-471: Is little more than recognition by the government that the resource is worthy of preservation. Generally, the criteria for acceptance to the National Register are applied consistently, but there are considerations for exceptions to the criteria, and historic districts influence some of those exceptions. Usually, the National Register does not list religious structures, moved structures, reconstructed structures, or properties that have achieved significance within
3844-482: Is not involved, then the listing on the National Register provides the site , property or district no protections. For example, if company A wants to tear down the hypothetical Smith House and company A is under contract with the state government of Illinois, then the federal designation would offer no protections. If, however, company A was under federal contract, the Smith House would be protected. A federal designation
Hudson River Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-402: Is scarce and where tonnage or speeds are high. Steel is used in some applications. The track ballast is customarily crushed stone, and the purpose of this is to support the sleepers and allow some adjustment of their position, while allowing free drainage. A disadvantage of traditional track structures is the heavy demand for maintenance, particularly surfacing (tamping) and lining to restore
4092-456: Is starting to paint rails white to lower the peak temperatures reached in summer days. After new segments of rail are laid, or defective rails replaced (welded-in), the rails can be artificially stressed if the temperature of the rail during laying is cooler than what is desired. The stressing process involves either heating the rails, causing them to expand, or stretching the rails with hydraulic equipment. They are then fastened (clipped) to
4216-437: Is still reflected in land use and architecture within the district today, since it has not seen major development. In 1990, two separate historic districts were combined and expanded into a National Historic Landmark District (NHLD), in recognition of this unique history and character. Only 2% by acreage of the properties within the district are not considered historic. The Hudson River Historic District roughly corresponds to
4340-477: Is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails , fasteners , railroad ties (sleepers, British English) and ballast (or slab track ), plus the underlying subgrade . It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers; since the 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel. The first railway in Britain
4464-754: Is to bolt them together using metal fishplates (jointbars in the US), producing jointed track . For more modern usage, particularly where higher speeds are required, the lengths of rail may be welded together to form continuous welded rail (CWR). Jointed track is made using lengths of rail, usually around 20 m (66 ft) long (in the UK) and 39 or 78 ft (12 or 24 m) long (in North America), bolted together using perforated steel plates known as fishplates (UK) or joint bars (North America). Fishplates are usually 600 mm (2 ft) long, used in pairs either side of
4588-435: Is usually considered for new very high speed or very high loading routes, in short extensions that require additional strength (e.g. railway stations), or for localised replacement where there are exceptional maintenance difficulties, for example in tunnels. Most rapid transit lines and rubber-tyred metro systems use ballastless track. Early railways (c. 1840s) experimented with continuous bearing railtrack, in which
4712-517: The Hudson River School in painting and the architectural theories of Andrew Jackson Downing , put into practice there and elsewhere by his protegés Calvert Vaux and Frederick Clarke Withers as well as Richard Upjohn and Alexander Jackson Davis . "No part of the United States had a more correct kind of Romantic scenery to offer", wrote Catskill historian Alf Evers . The Livingstons took full advantage of this gift dumped into their laps by
4836-553: The Rockefellers in building or improving estates further downriver, closer to the city. The influence of the newer wealth and its tastes on design and living was still felt along the Hudson most in the changed approach to the pleasure grounds around the estates. What had once been used for gardening and ornamental farms was now used for recreation, and some of the earliest golf courses , tennis courts and country clubs were built on
4960-560: The U.S. Conference of Mayors penned an influential report which concluded, in part, that Americans suffered from a sense of "rootlessness." They recommended historic preservation to help give Americans a sense of orientation. The creation of the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, on the heels of the report, helped instill that sense of orientation the mayors sought. The mayors also recommended that any historic preservation program not focus solely on individual properties but also on "areas and districts which contain special meaning for
5084-400: The U.S. state of New York . This area includes the riverfront sections of the towns of Clermont , Red Hook , Rhinebeck and part of Hyde Park . This strip includes in their entirety the hamlets of Annandale , Barrytown , Rhinecliff and the village of Tivoli . Bard College and two protected areas , Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park and Tivoli Bays Unique Area , are also within
Hudson River Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-612: The 40 estates established along the river on lands originally granted to the Livingston family . Portions, the Sixteen Mile District and Clermont Estates Historic District , were previously included in two other smaller districts that were later incorporated into the district. Two of its boundaries are political. On the west it ends at the Ulster county line in the middle of the river channel. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge provides
5332-644: The Hudson. It was the first commercial steamship voyage; the boat itself would later be renamed Clermont in recognition of Robert Livingston's patronage and investment. Several statesmen have called the district home besides the many from the Livingston-Beekman family. Egbert Benson , a congressman, federal judge and New York's first attorney general , built his law practice in what would later be Tivoli. John Winthrop Chanler, another congressman, married Margaret Astor Ward, who had inherited Rokeby through her Livingston / Astor forebears. His son Lewis served as
5456-470: The National Register of Historic Places. If such an objection occurred, then the nomination would become a determination of National Register eligibility only. This provision is controversial because of the presumption that owners who do not file a formal objection support the designation, placing the burden on opponents. Most U.S. state governments have a listing similar to the National Register of Historic Places. State listings can have similar benefits to
5580-639: The National Register. For example, in Nevada , listing in the State Register places no limits on property owners. In contrast, state law in Tennessee requires that property owners within historic districts follow a strict set of guidelines from the U.S. Department of Interior when altering their properties. Though, according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, all states must have
5704-536: The Performing Arts brought innovative contemporary architecture back to the district. The irregularly-shaped metal panels on its roof echo the view of the Catskills across the river, the district's original attraction. Historic properties listed in Historic American Buildings Survey that may be within the district include: Historic district (United States) Historic districts in
5828-467: The United States are designated historic districts recognizing a group of buildings, archaeological resources, or other properties as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects, and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts vary greatly in size and composition: a historic district could comprise an entire neighborhood with hundreds of buildings, or
5952-424: The United States is primarily based on arguments that such laws creating such districts restrict the supply of affordable housing, and thus the result of such districts is that of enforcing caste structures and class divisions by region and segments of urban areas. Several historic districts have been proposed not for a true preservation purpose but to prevent development. The issue of local historic districts and
6076-425: The United States. Local historic districts can be administered at the county or the municipal level; both entities are involved in land use decisions. The specific legal mechanism by which historic districts are enacted and regulated varies from one state to the next. In some areas, they are a component of zoning (where they are sometimes referred to as "overlay districts." In other places, they are created under
6200-646: The Vieux Carré Commission and authorizing it to act to maintain the historic character of the city's French Quarter . Other localities picked up on the concept, with the city of Philadelphia enacting its historic preservation ordinance in 1955. The regulatory authority of local commissions and historic districts has been consistently upheld as a legitimate use of government police power, most notably in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York (1978). The Supreme Court case validated
6324-518: The area diminished through the continuing divisions of their property and the abolition of three-life leases under a new state constitution in 1840. Newer families, such as the Astors , moved in to take their place. Many of their homes were set among the winding rural roads that had served to divide the farmed portions of property, closer to the river, from the estates and surrounding gardens. They built picturesque stone walls and elaborate gateways that enhanced
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#17328520642286448-400: The bolt heads on the same side of the rail. Small gaps which function as expansion joints are deliberately left between the rail ends to allow for expansion of the rails in hot weather. European practice was to have the rail joints on both rails adjacent to each other, while North American practice is to stagger them. Because of these small gaps, when trains pass over jointed tracks they make
6572-451: The community." Local, state, and federal historic districts now account for thousands of historical property listings at all levels of government. Railroad tracks A railway track ( British English and UIC terminology ) or railroad track ( American English ), also known as a train track or permanent way (often " perway " in Australia or " P Way " in Britain and India),
6696-458: The continuous welded rail when necessary, usually for signal circuit gaps. Instead of a joint that passes straight across the rail, the two rail ends are sometimes cut at an angle to give a smoother transition. In extreme cases, such as at the end of long bridges, a breather switch (referred to in North America and Britain as an expansion joint ) gives a smooth path for the wheels while allowing
6820-502: The country seats. Some significant new buildings were added to the future district during this period. Stanford White converted Lewis's old home into a new mansion for Ogden Mills , as well as doing some renovations at Rokeby. Another Astor had Mott B. Schmidt design Valeur, and Charles A. Platt designed an American Renaissance home for the Chapman family. The last major country seat came when Harrie T. Lindeberg built Fox Hollow on
6944-421: The designation process through a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the official recognition by the U.S. government of cultural resources worthy of preservation. While designation through the National Register does offer a district or property some protections, it is only in cases where the threatening action involves the federal government . If the federal government
7068-440: The desired track geometry and smoothness of vehicle running. Weakness of the subgrade and drainage deficiencies also lead to heavy maintenance costs. This can be overcome by using ballastless track. In its simplest form this consists of a continuous slab of concrete (like a highway structure) with the rails supported directly on its upper surface (using a resilient pad). There are a number of proprietary systems; variations include
7192-447: The district in his writings. Edith Wharton , likewise a childhood visitor to her aunt at Wyndclyffe, used the district as a setting in many of her works. Thomas Wolfe lived in a gatehouse at Fox Hollow while writing Look Homeward, Angel , and Aldous Huxley lived there for a time in the 1930s. Bard College has played an increasing role in the district's cultural impact. Its faculty has included Hannah Arendt and John Dewey , and
7316-510: The district through their existing zoning and applicable New York state laws requiring historical and environmental reviews in certain areas. The district's boundaries have not been expanded since its creation and designation, but there is some interest in doing so. The Town of Germantown has formally expressed its intention to have the northern boundary extended from the Clermont line to the hamlet of Germantown. The estate houses generally followed
7440-513: The district's historic character, the Town of Rhinebeck , at least a third of which is included in it, has adopted local ordinances which govern the potential demolition of historic buildings as well as creating a special historic-preservation zoning district for those areas. The other municipalities with land in the district have not gone quite to this extent. Hyde Park has created a historic overlay district which applies to all historic properties in
7564-440: The district. From the colonial era to the early 20th century, the district was characterized by large " country seats " built by members of the Livingston family , such as Clermont Manor and Montgomery Place , both National Historic Landmarks . For most of that period, these estates were worked by tenant farmers , with much of the rest of the population concentrated in small riverside communities. This semi-feudal arrangement
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#17328520642287688-440: The end of one rail to expand relative to the next rail. A sleeper (tie or crosstie) is a rectangular object on which the rails are supported and fixed. The sleeper has two main roles: to transfer the loads from the rails to the track ballast and the ground underneath, and to hold the rails to the correct width apart (to maintain the rail gauge ). They are generally laid transversely to the rails. Various methods exist for fixing
7812-583: The family's revolutionary activities, in October 1777, the British burned both Clermont and Belvedere. Around the time of the Revolution , Margaret Beekman Livingston, had begun parcelling out smaller tracts of her holdings to her children. This led to the construction of another dozen estates during the early years of the new nation. They were joined by her son-in-law, Governor Morgan Lewis , who settled on 334 acres (1.35 km) south of Rhinecliff in 1790 and built
7936-530: The farmhouses around the mid-19th century, shortly after its debut in the estates. Like their neoclassical predecessors, they took as much inspiration from popular German forms as from the landowners' homes. The farmhouses built during this period are large, square, hipped-roof structures with ponderous cornices and large porches to match. While there are no houses in this style left in the district, some older barns and other farm buildings show it. Church stylings gradually show some difference between those where
8060-519: The farms. Many were poor German immigrants , who settled in the area from the 1710s onward because other settlers were wary of the feudal "three-life" leases the Livingstons had traditionally offered, under which the property reverted to the original landowner if it could not be paid off in the lifetime of the original lessee, his son and grandson after him (It rarely was). Occasionally these led to "Anti-rent Wars", uprisings that sometimes directly affected
8184-437: The first country seat on Livingston Manor in the 1730s when he built Clermont, reserving the entire 2,000 acres (8.1 km) that fronted on the river for himself. He designed Clermont carefully to be a working farm as well as an estate, to be made financially viable when portions further inland were leased in portions to tenant farmers . The sweeping view of the lands further emphasized the Livingstons' dominance over many of
8308-505: The former is buried there with her second husband Heinrich Blücher . The college's alumni have included many figures in late 20th-century popular culture. Two of them, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen , cofounded the rock group Steely Dan , and wrote two songs about Bard and places near it: " My Old School ", from Countdown to Ecstasy ; and "Barrytown", on Pretzel Logic . In 2003, the Frank Gehry -designed Richard B. Fisher Center for
8432-428: The gaps are filled with epoxy resin , increase the strength again. As an alternative to the insulated joint, audio frequency track circuits can be employed using a tuned loop formed in approximately 20 m (66 ft) of the rail as part of the blocking circuit. Some insulated joints are unavoidable within turnouts. Another alternative is an axle counter , which can reduce the number of track circuits and thus
8556-522: The historic designation process has in many places been hijacked by NIMBY homeowners to block housing. The first U.S. historic district was established in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931, predating the U.S. federal government designation by more than three decades. Charleston city government designated an "Old and Historic District" by local ordinance and created a board of architectural review to oversee it. New Orleans followed in 1937, establishing
8680-404: The house, which usually faced the river and mountains as well. Montgomery Place, built by Janet Livingston Montgomery after the death of her husband Richard , is the only example from this period that remains largely as it was when first built. A direct French presence, in the form of a visiting French friend of Robert Livingston's, was also responsible for creating Tivoli. He laid out streets and
8804-627: The impact on property values concerns many homeowners. The effects have been extensively studied using multiple methodologies, including before-and-after analysis and evaluating comparable neighborhoods with and without local designation status. Independent researchers have conducted factual analysis in several states, including New Jersey, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Colorado, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and elsewhere. As stated by economist Donovan Rypkema, "the results of these studies are remarkably consistent: property values in local historic districts appreciate significantly faster than
8928-626: The intrinsic weakness in resisting vertical loading results in the ballast becoming depressed and a heavy maintenance workload is imposed to prevent unacceptable geometrical defects at the joints. The joints also needed to be lubricated, and wear at the fishplate (joint bar) mating surfaces needed to be rectified by shimming. For this reason jointed track is not financially appropriate for heavily operated railroads. Timber sleepers are of many available timbers, and are often treated with creosote , chromated copper arsenate , or other wood preservatives. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers are often used where timber
9052-474: The iron came loose, began to curl, and intruded into the floors of the coaches. The iron strap rail coming through the floors of the coaches came to be referred to as "snake heads" by early railroaders. The Deeside Tramway in North Wales used this form of rail. It opened around 1870 and closed in 1947, with long sections still using these rails. It was one of the last uses of iron-topped wooden rails. Rail
9176-402: The joints between rails are a source of weakness. Throughout the history of rail production, lengths have increased as manufacturing processes have improved. The following are lengths of single sections produced by steel mills , without any thermite welding . Shorter rails may be welded with flashbutt welding , but the following rail lengths are unwelded. Welding of rails into longer lengths
9300-710: The landlord desired to extend the estate to the farm property and move the tenants further east; as a result most of the surviving ones are made out of stone, such as Clermont's Stone Jug and Rhinebeck's Fredenburg House , since they were harder to demolish. Later in the 18th century, after independence, the tenants' homes echoed the Neoclassical aspirations of their landlords, as well as similar trends in Germany. Around Clermont, some two-story wood-frame farmhouses with five- bay facades and centrally-located entrances remain from this period. The advent of Romanticism began to show in
9424-521: The landlords worshipped and their tenant counterparts. Early churches hosted both, with the oldest example in the district being the plain white frame Red Church along Route 9G in Red Hook, dating to the early years of the 19th century. Later on, the wealthy began building churches and chapels for their private or exclusive use, and these, such as the chapel on the Clarkson property on 9G, show more ornament than
9548-450: The landlords, as in 1832 when Lewis's mansion was burned, supposedly by angry tenants. He replaced it with a 25-room Greek Revival home, the root of the current structure. Those who did not go into farming settled instead into the hamlets that served them, starting with Rhinecliff, where ferries crossed the river to Kingston. The completion of the railroad stimulated the development of not only Rhinecliff, which took that name in 1849 from
9672-599: The lands visible. This, as well as Clermont's name and position, strategically overlooking the Hudson and its commercial traffic, was influenced strongly by European feudal practices, setting a pattern other estates in Livingston Manor were to follow long after his lifetime. His son Judge Livingston followed feudal tradition further by marrying Margaret Beekman, daughter of Henry, another large local landowner whose holdings were concentrated around present-day Rhinecliff, which grew up around them. Beekman lived at Kipsbergen,
9796-406: The last 50 years. However, if a property falls into one of those categories and are " integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria", then an exception allowing their listing will be made. Historic district listings, like all National Register nominations, can be rejected based on owner disapproval. In the case of historic districts, a majority of owners must object to nullify a nomination to
9920-543: The location of one of the Catholic Worker Movement 's farms during the 1960s. By the 1930s, many of the old estate houses were becoming difficult to keep up and burdens on family fortunes that were being divided as the Livingstons' had once been. Some survived by selling and subdividing the farms to offset rising property taxes . Others, like Clermont, the Mills Mansion and Wilderstein, were eventually given to
10044-538: The market as a whole in the vast majority of cases and appreciate at rates equivalent to the market in the worst case. Simply put – historic districts enhance property values." In a 2011 study Connecticut Local Historic Districts and Property Values , it was found that "property values in every local historic district saw average increases in value ranging from 4% to over 19% per year." Similarly, in New York City between 1980 and 2000, local historic district properties on
10168-863: The mid- to late-20th century used rails 39 feet (11.9 m) long so they could be carried in gondola cars ( open wagons ), often 40 feet (12.2 m) long; as gondola sizes increased, so did rail lengths. According to the Railway Gazette International the planned-but-cancelled 150-kilometre rail line for the Baffinland Iron Mine , on Baffin Island , would have used older carbon steel alloys for its rails, instead of more modern, higher performance alloys, because modern alloy rails can become brittle at very low temperatures. Early North American railroads used iron on top of wooden rails as an economy measure but gave up this method of construction after
10292-407: The north boundary. It has been drawn very tightly to exclude some newer properties that do not reflect the traditional character of the area yet include some lands still reflecting their development as estates that had not previously been recognized. There are no signs or other indicators of the district boundary along the local and county roads that serve it. The land within the district is generally
10416-620: The number of insulated rail joints required. Most modern railways use continuous welded rail (CWR), sometimes referred to as ribbon rails or seamless rails . In this form of track, the rails are welded together by utilising flash butt welding to form one continuous rail that may be several kilometres long. Because there are few joints, this form of track is very strong, gives a smooth ride, and needs less maintenance; trains can travel on it at higher speeds and with less friction. Welded rails are more expensive to lay than jointed tracks, but have much lower maintenance costs. The first welded track
10540-761: The older churches. The hamlets, particularly Rhinecliff and Tivoli, also reflect the area's original land distributions. Many of their houses are small two-story frame structures in Victorian styles that occupy small lots on narrow streets. Commercial buildings, in the core neighborhoods, usually occupy the ground floors of such houses or small brick buildings. The landowners often donated money for various public buildings like churches and schools, such as Rhinecliff's Morton Memorial Library . The district has influenced American culture and history beyond its art and architecture. In 1807, Robert Fulton 's North River Steamboat , stopped at Clermont for an hour on its maiden voyage up
10664-462: The only access from this direction. In the north it is the line between the towns of Clermont and Germantown. The south boundary is not a municipal line but rather coterminous with the south boundary of Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park north of Staatsburg. Only to the east does the delineation get complicated. It follows an irregular line parallel to US 9 north to Weys Corners, the junction with NY 9G north of Rhinebeck, and then 9G from there to
10788-404: The outside of sharp curves compared to the rails on the inside. Rails can be supplied pre-drilled with boltholes for fishplates or without where they will be welded into place. There are usually two or three boltholes at each end. Rails are produced in fixed lengths and need to be joined end-to-end to make a continuous surface on which trains may run. The traditional method of joining the rails
10912-459: The pattern established by Clermont — a house with a river and mountain view surrounded by "pleasure grounds", with an approach road from the east so as to reveal the vista only at the house. The farm leaseholds were usually located further inland. This accounts for the large areas of open space still apparent in the district today. The tenant farms also boasted distinct architecture, mostly vernacular styles . Most notable among them would have been
11036-571: The post- Revolutionary period in the early 19th century when more houses were built in newer architectural styles, the later 19th and early 20th century when the area became less attractive to wealthy homebuilders, and the later 20th century when efforts to preserve and protect the properties began. Robert Livingston the Elder was the first member of the family to obtain the patent on the 160,000 acres (650 km) that would later become identified with his family. His son Robert Livingston Jr. established
11160-462: The properties included in the district. Many local commissions adopt specific guidelines for each neighborhood's " tout ensemble " although some smaller commissions rely on the Secretary of Interior Standards. For most minor changes, homeowners can consult with local preservation staff at the municipal office and receive guidance and permission. Significant changes, however, require homeowners to apply for
11284-435: The property owner's consent or compensation for the historic overlay. Historic districts are generally two types of properties, contributing and non-contributing. Broadly defined, a contributing property is any property, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make a historic district, listed locally or federally, significant. Different entities, usually governmental, at both
11408-516: The protection of historic resources as "an entirely permissible governmental goal." In 1966, the federal government created the National Register of Historic Places, soon after a report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors had stated Americans suffered from "rootlessness." By the 1980s, there were thousands of federally designated historic districts. Some states, such as Arizona, have passed referendums defending property rights that have stopped private property from being designated as historic without
11532-702: The public could view from the street. Local historic districts, as in New Orleans and Savannah, Georgia , predate the Register by ten years or more as well. Local historic districts are most likely to generate resistance because of the restrictions they tend to place on property owners. Local laws can cause residents "to comply with (local historic district) ordinances." For example, homeowners may be prevented from upgrading poorly insulated windows unless they spend tens of thousands of dollars on identical styles. Criticism of historic districts in Chicago and elsewhere in
11656-407: The public or private trusts and turned into museums of the life once led in them. The end of the country-seat era and of any major new construction locked the existing buildings and their architectural styles in place. At the same time the rise in automotive transportation and attendant road improvements, particularly the bridge, made the district more accessible than before. Preservation efforts in
11780-423: The quality of the materials, including the change from iron to steel. The stronger the rails and the rest of the trackwork, the heavier and faster the trains the track can carry. Other profiles of rail include: bullhead rail ; grooved rail ; flat-bottomed rail (Vignoles rail or flanged T-rail); bridge rail (inverted U–shaped used in baulk road ); and Barlow rail (inverted V). North American railroads until
11904-682: The rail by special clips that resist longitudinal movement of the rail. There is no theoretical limit to how long a welded rail can be. However, if longitudinal and lateral restraint are insufficient, the track could become distorted in hot weather and cause a derailment. Distortion due to heat expansion is known in North America as sun kink , and elsewhere as buckling. In extreme hot weather special inspections are required to monitor sections of track known to be problematic. In North American practice, extreme temperature conditions will trigger slow orders to allow for crews to react to buckling or "sun kinks" if encountered. The German railway company Deutsche Bahn
12028-425: The rail ends and bolted together (usually four, but sometimes six bolts per joint). The bolts have alternating orientations so that in the event of a derailment and a wheel flange striking the joint, only some of the bolts will be sheared, reducing the likelihood of the rails misaligning with each other and exacerbating the derailment. This technique is not applied universally; European practice being to have all
12152-494: The rail to the sleeper. Historically, spikes gave way to cast iron chairs fixed to the sleeper. More recently, springs (such as Pandrol clips ) are used to fix the rail to the sleeper chair. Sometimes rail tracks are designed to be portable and moved from one place to another as required. During construction of the Panama Canal , tracks were moved around excavation works. These track gauge were 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) and
12276-630: The rail was supported along its length, with examples including Brunel's baulk road on the Great Western Railway , as well as use on the Newcastle and North Shields Railway , on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway to a design by John Hawkshaw , and elsewhere. Continuous-bearing designs were also promoted by other engineers. The system was tested on the Baltimore and Ohio railway in the 1840s, but
12400-690: The railroad station , but Barrytown as well, where an icehouse was built in what had previously been a landing between the Massena and Edgewater estates into a small community. Another hamlet, Staatsburg, sprung up around the station near William Dinsmore's " Locusts on Hudson " in the 1860s and 70s. As the century wore on, into the Victorian period, the houses became more idiosyncratic and individualistic. Estates like Wyndcliffe , Wilderstein, Ferncliff and Rokeby sported towers and other ornamentation . By 1865, there were thirty such houses. The Livingstons' hold on
12524-464: The river and the higher glacial ridges on the west side but the Catskill Mountains in the distance. This prospect has attracted homebuilders from the earliest times of settlement to the present, and is considered an essential quality of the district: "There is a sense of openness that belies [the district']s constrained width because it is counterpointed by the persistent vision of the mountains in
12648-401: The river is a source of constant development pressure on the district, as builders look to serve buyers priced out of growing suburbs further south in the valley, yet still looking for a rail commute to the city via Amtrak or Metro-North (via Poughkeepsie ). The district boundaries had to be drawn to exclude one newer subdivision near Staatsburg, but had to include one in Tivoli. To protect
12772-549: The rolling stock full size. Portable tracks have often been used in open pit mines. In 1880 in New York City , sections of heavy portable track (along with much other improvised technology) helped in the move of the ancient obelisk in Central Park to its final location from the dock where it was unloaded from the cargo ship SS Dessoug . Cane railways often had permanent tracks for the main lines, with portable tracks serving
12896-594: The rural character of the landscape but also served to emphasize the exclusivity of ownership. Private pathways and roads connected the newer estates directly to each other, further segregating the estate dwellers from the public. Livingston Manor's prestige began to diminish somewhat in the later years of the century. The new money of the Gilded Age had come from industrialization , not landownership, and preferred newer hot spots like Long Island and Newport for its summer mansions and retreats, or followed Jay Gould and
13020-426: The sleepers in their expanded form. This process ensures that the rail will not expand much further in subsequent hot weather. In cold weather the rails try to contract, but because they are firmly fastened, cannot do so. In effect, stressed rails are a bit like a piece of stretched elastic firmly fastened down. In extremely cold weather, rails are heated to prevent "pull aparts". CWR is laid (including fastening) at
13144-540: The sleepers with base plates that spread the load. When concrete sleepers are used, a plastic or rubber pad is usually placed between the rail and the tie plate. Rail is usually attached to the sleeper with resilient fastenings, although cut spikes are widely used in North America. For much of the 20th century, rail track used softwood timber sleepers and jointed rails, and a considerable amount of this track remains on secondary and tertiary routes. In North America and Australia, flat-bottomed rails were typically fastened to
13268-476: The sleepers with dog spikes through a flat tie plate. In Britain and Ireland, bullhead rails were carried in cast-iron chairs which were spiked to the sleepers. In 1936, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway pioneered the conversion to flat-bottomed rail in Britain, though earlier lines had made some use of it. Jointed rails were used at first because contemporary technology did not offer any alternative. However,
13392-525: The state and national level in the United States, have differing definitions of contributing property, but they all retain the same basic characteristics. In general, contributing properties are integral parts of a historic district's historical context and character. In addition to the two types of classification within historic districts, properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are classified into five broad categories. They are: building, structure, site, district, and object; each one has
13516-442: The state. Historic districts created by local municipalities, however, almost always protect historic properties by regulating alterations, demolition, or new construction within the district. Much criticism has arisen of historic districts and the effect protective zoning and historic designation status laws have on the housing supply. When an area of a city is designated as part of a 'historic district', new housing development
13640-619: The thousand acres (4 km) Tracy Dows had acquired. In 1860, the Bard family had provided money so that a small Episcopal seminary near their Tivoli estate could be expanded into St. Stephen's College, later renamed after them. It eventually expanded into three of the former country seats. This was the beginning of a second life for some of the old country seats, as some moved out of private residential use and became institutions. The Catholic Church received Ellerslie, Ferncliff and Linwood, using them for various purposes. Dorothy Day made Rose Hill
13764-511: The ties (sleepers) in a continuous operation. If not restrained, rails would lengthen in hot weather and shrink in cold weather. To provide this restraint, the rail is prevented from moving in relation to the sleeper by use of clips or anchors. Attention needs to be paid to compacting the ballast effectively, including under, between, and at the ends of the sleepers, to prevent the sleepers from moving. Anchors are more common for wooden sleepers, whereas most concrete or steel sleepers are fastened to
13888-489: The town, providing in the case of the Hudson River Historic District that land use within its boundaries "shall obtain site plan approval and shall be limited to an agriculture, water-dependent and/or water-enhanced use or to a use appropriate to preservation of the historic resources of the district". Clermont, Red Hook and Tivoli have so far not chosen to apply any additional standards and continue to preserve
14012-406: The track then in use proved too weak to carry the additional weight. Richard Trevithick 's pioneering locomotive at Pen-y-darren broke the plateway track and had to be withdrawn. As locomotives became more widespread in the 1810s and 1820s, engineers built rigid track formations, with iron rails mounted on stone sleepers, and cast-iron chairs holding them in place. This proved to be a mistake, and
14136-408: The two needed to be combined into a larger district extending as far south as the Mills Mansion, and that it was significant and well preserved enough to be accorded National Historic Landmark District status. The National Park Service (NPS) added it to the list in 1990. On account of the scenic views and history, houses in the district command a high price. The desirability of open space overlooking
14260-428: The views. The Livingstons, as was customary for the owners of large country estates at the time, opened their grounds to the public on weekends as parks, and to this end followed Downing's theories of landscaping by building curving paths and rustic benches and shelters from which to admire the river and distant mountains. The Livingstons also spurred the population of the area through the tenants they attracted to work
14384-603: The wake of the establishment of the National Register of Historic Places led to the 1979 creation of the Clermont Estates Historic District in Columbia County and the Sixteen Mile District to its south. Shortly afterwards, the state Department of Environmental Conservation designated the area the state's first scenic district. Later research by the group Hudson River Heritage led to findings that
14508-534: The west," writes architectural historian Neil Larson in the NHL application. "The district benefits from such a direct and imposing profile of the mountains, and its legendary country estates would lose much of their appeal without this extraordinary setting." The district's permanent human population and attendant development is densely concentrated in the small riverside communities — from south to north, Rhinecliff , Barrytown , Annandale and Tivoli . This, too, reflects
14632-407: The wooden, center-aisled New World Dutch barn , often built before the farmhouse. In the pre-industrial era, it could store all the animals and equipment necessary for growing and harvesting wheat , the region's primary cash crop, as well as the harvest itself. Several remain standing. Farmhouses were, in the colonial era, often small two-story structures. It was not uncommon for them to be razed if
14756-470: The years of estate and country house development, as well as the historic importance of the river and rail transportation corridor to the local economy. The history recognized by the NHLD designation began in 1688 with the first colonial land grants and continues to the end of country house development in the area around 1940. It can be divided into several phases: the colonial era when only Clermont Manor stood,
14880-467: Was first introduced around 1893, making train rides quieter and safer. With the introduction of thermite welding after 1899, the process became less labour-intensive, and ubiquitous. Modern production techniques allowed the production of longer unwelded segments. Newer longer rails tend to be made as simple multiples of older shorter rails, so that old rails can be replaced without cutting. Some cutting would be needed as slightly longer rails are needed on
15004-432: Was found to be more expensive to maintain than rail with cross sleepers . This type of track still exists on some bridges on Network Rail where the timber baulks are called waybeams or longitudinal timbers. Generally the speed over such structures is low. Later applications of continuously supported track include Balfour Beatty 's 'embedded slab track', which uses a rounded rectangular rail profile (BB14072) embedded in
15128-466: Was soon replaced with flexible track structures that allowed a degree of elastic movement as trains passed over them. Traditionally, tracks are constructed using flat-bottomed steel rails laid on and spiked or screwed into timber or pre-stressed concrete sleepers (known as ties in North America), with crushed stone ballast placed beneath and around the sleepers. Most modern railroads with heavy traffic use continuously welded rails that are attached to
15252-526: Was the Wollaton Wagonway , built in 1603 between Wollaton and Strelley in Nottinghamshire. It used wooden rails and was the first of around 50 wooden-railed tramways built over the next 164 years. These early wooden tramways typically used rails of oak or beech, attached to wooden sleepers with iron or wooden nails. Gravel or small stones were packed around the sleepers to hold them in place and provide
15376-450: Was used in Germany in 1924. and has become common on main lines since the 1950s. The preferred process of flash butt welding involves an automated track-laying machine running a strong electric current through the touching ends of two unjoined rails. The ends become white hot due to electrical resistance and are then pressed together forming a strong weld. Thermite welding is used to repair or splice together existing CWR segments. This
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