Peekskill is the most northern Hudson Line Station in Westchester County, steeped in railroad history and looks dapper after a recent renovation dedicated on April 26, 2013. It received high-level platforms around 1990. The biggest historical railroad moment came on February 19, 1861 at the historic brick freight depot (the last one standing on the Hudson Line) with wide high-level porches surrounding the interior when Abraham Lincoln Stopped during the trip to his inauguration. The building is now the Lincoln Depot Museum.
Just north of the station platforms is the southernmost grade crossing on the Hudson Line for fittingly named Hudson Avenue. It provides the only access to Travis Point and Riverfront Green Park. It is one of just three public grade crossings on the Metro-North Hudson Line. Continuing about 300 feet south from the grade crossing, down Railroad Avenue is the historic 1874 station house along the east side of the tracks. This is a relatively large one-story brick building painted white. It has a wide overhanging roof held track-side by metal support beans that reach the ground and are painted an orange-red, on the streetside metalwork holds up a smaller canopy. This orange-red is also the color of the roof shingles and Peekskill is painted in small lettering on the building itself facing the street. Inside are two areas; one is a larger space in the northern half of the building. It has a for rent sent and peering in through the windows is evidence of long counters, what was once PJ Kelly's Restaurant until about 2009. A smaller eastern area of the station has been restored as a waiting room with a sealed ticket office for Metro-North, a few wooden benches line the walls that have wooden paneling below and are a simple cream color above. The ticket office was open until 2007 for one weekday morning shift. The current waiting room hours are unknown. All passengers currently purchase tickets at TVMs only on the southbound platform.
For trains stopping at the station there are two platforms that can accommodate 6 cars with a unique configuration. The Hudson Line at the Peekskill Station finally becomes 2 tracks north of here; it's 3 tracks south of the station. 3 tracks actually platform at Peekskill on two platforms. The northbound Track 1 has a high-level side platform. Track 2 across from this is the southbound track and it has a high-level island platform shared with Track 4 that is one of two siding tracks in the Peekskill Yard. This track terminates at a bumper block just before the northern end of the platform where the single staircase and ramp down off this platform are located. Track 4 has loose ballast and is currently unused by any trains (nothing originates or terminates at Peekskill) Access to the Northbound platform is primarily at its northern end with a ramp and a couple staircases down to the main parking along its northern end (the stop has 488 parking spaces scattered around the station and the nearby park between the station and the Hudson River). There is a secondary entrance towards the southern end of this platform that leads to a path up to Northview Court. The platforms are covered from canopies starting from their northern ends. The canopies cover a third of the Poughkeepsie-bound platform and two-thirds of the Grand Central-bound platform. These canopies are unique because their southern ends are nicely rounded. The northbound platform's is also held up by beams that aren't simple enclosed beams but have visible trusswork. The framework of the canopies is painted the usual green color of every renovated stop on the Hudson Line.
At the northern end of both platforms are staircases up to the ADA accessible enclosed glass overpass structure that also has elevators shafts holding it up coming from ground-level (passengers needed step free access can use the ramps up to each platform), since the top of the overpass is beyond the new high-level platforms. A second staircase exists at the eastern end of the overpass and leads directly down fully enclosed (turning slightly for the last few steps) to the edge of the canopy structure of the historic station house. This means passengers waiting in the waiting room can get to the New York-bound platform completely covered.
All Photos: 5 July, 2014
Manitou 
