Bygone Hudson Valley

(Originally published as part of “The History & Rehabilitation of the Milton, NY Train Station,” 2015)

The journey of the watchman’s shanty known as Peg’s Point began long ago in Marlborough. She was one of several such shanties located beside the West Shore Railroad, providing shelter for the watchmen, protecting them from the wind, rain and snow. The shanties were located near rock cuts and railroad crossings. The watchmen guarded crossings and walked the railroad tracks from one shanty to another, checking for rock slides.

After years of service the shanties were abandoned, many being replaced by automated signals.

For a while the Peg’s Point shanty, located about halfway between the hamlets of Milton and Marlboro, stood idle. Then she was moved from the railroad to the Cluett Schantz property on Hudson Terrace in Marlboro, where she was used as a storage shed.

In the 1960s, Peg was on the move again. This time she would be moved to the Ruck property on Woodcrest Lane in Milton. This was a rather perilous trip. For the journey, Peg was rolled down a bank onto a farm trailer owned by Calvin Wygant. Surviving the trip, once on the Ruck property, the shanty stood guard beside the family pool, serving as a dressing room for bathers for many years.

After not being used for some time, Peg would once more be on the move, this time due to the generosity of the Angus family, who graciously donated the shanty to the Milton Railroad Station.

On a Saturday morning in December, the Peg’s Point Shanty was carefully loaded on a flatbed by many volunteers from the Milton Train Station. Traveling north on Rt. 9W, then through the village of Milton and down Dock Rd., she journeyed back to the West Shore Railroad to take its place beside the Milton Train Station. Today, Peg’s Point Shanty once again stands proudly beside the Hudson River and the West Shore Railroad, just a few miles north of her original position.