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Dutchess County, New York, circa 1902. "Mount Beacon Casino and power house, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N.Y." At right, a car of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
Last year I hiked up that mountain and followed the rails as much as I could. There are still the trucks from railcars (maybe the one shown here?) sitting overgrown and abandoned.
No great insight to share, just sharing an anecdote.
Per this website:
https://theotherhudsonvalley.com/2018/05/06/mount-beacon-casino-trail/
The Casino and Beaconcrest Hotel burned to the ground on Oct 16, 1927, but a new resort was built the next year. However, the Great Depression decreased patronage, and the incline railway and resort never fully recovered. The final ride of the incline railway occurred in 1978. The powerhouse and casino were burned to the ground in fires in 1981 and 1983.
Mount Beacon had a basic appeal to many Americans because of its role in the Revolutionary War, when it served as part of the Continental Army's early warning and signalling system. In fact, the mountain takes its name from the beacon fires lit upon its summit during that conflict.
The Mount Beacon Incline Railway faced a lot of fires (1927, 1934, 1936, 1967 and a final, catastrophic one in 1983). Nowadays restoration takes place. In the Hudson Valley Magazine you can read about the pro's and con's.
On the 1886 view on Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N.Y. the railway did not even exist, nor the casino.
View full size.
Imagine that. Fire in 1927 destroyed both the Casino and adjacent hotel. It brought an end to all development on the Mount.
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