Sailing with the "Hudson River Day Line" in 1904 

Seeing Tom dressed as a gentleman from the 1900s. Perfection 👌🏻

A great show of the beautiful and historic Hudson River!

My wife told me she went from Manhattan to West Point for a football game on the Alexander Hamilton in about 1969. I said you got chance to do something really cool. I only ever saw the Day Line commercials on TV.

Tom, your channel has got to be one of the NICEST channels on RU-vid, despite the truly horrific stories so often told! This video is nostalgic and lovely on so many levels.

The Hudson River Day Line continued to exist into the 1970s. A week or so before my high school graduation in 1970, our class took a trip on the Day Line. It left from around 40th Street, and only went as far north as Pougkeepsie, where it turned around without stopping (although it did stop at Bear Mountain, both northbound and southbound). It was a very nice trip. They should bring it back.

Lived in the Poughkeepsie area in the mid-60s, and rowed the Hudson on the Crew Team at FDR High School in Hyde Park. Waiting for our turn in the shells, we would run 2 miles North and back on the railroad tracks at the top of the bluff, passing the ruins of the abandoned Woodcliff Pleasure Park. We found the place kind of spooky, but it’s draw was irresistible to me. I would run ahead of the others to get enough time to hop the fence and do a little exploring a couple of times a week during the season. The place at one time boasted the World’s largest salt water swimming pool. Satellite photos show it to be mostly gone now, with just the ticket booth remaining. Another great video!

There are museums that would love to have a presentation like this. Well done.

I spent most of my life in the mid Hudson valley and I’d never heard of these steam boat lines this video was fascinating

I grew up in Yonkers, N.Y. from 1951 on. I remember the Yonkers Ferry at Ashburton Ave and Alexander Street that Crossed The Hudson River to Alpine, N.J. That Ferry Boat ended up on Lake Erie as an Floating Office. And I also remember the Side Paddle Wheelers that stopped at the Yonkers Pier at the 'Foot of Main Street. Steam Ships called The Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, Henry Hudson. And there were, (at least), 3 Taverns that were in walking distance of The Pier that catered to Sailors from Tug Boats and other ships that stopped there. The Tyrone House was a 100 yards away. Second was The Half~Way House, 200 yards away. And Third was The "Ship Of Lost Souls", about a 1/4 mile away on New Main St.

New to watching but I know I won’t stop. Everything is interesting.

A splendid voyage, Ol' Bean. TY.

am in awe to see this fantastic work !!!!!!!!

I've got a couple record albums of old steamboat aged songs by various artists. Really a great set.

Another fascinating video... of a much more genteel time. Well presented.

BTW love your outfit. Always keeping in time :)

I grew up in Poughkeepsie and boated on the Hudson with my family. I remember the Alexander Hamilton Dayliner in particular. It was a beautiful ship! Thank you for this video.

Damn, I felt I was on the trip. KUDOS!!!!!!

Excellent!!! So well done.

This channel is such a gen

Such a nice video presentation. I’ve always wanted to visit the east coast but haven’t made it yet. It was a nice “trip”.

Brilliant...!

Nice vid great concept! I really enjoyed this production.

amazing work

I love this!

Outstanding. Bravo Zulu!

How i would love to travel back in time and witness it all irl 🙂

I am fortunate enough to split my time between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Palenville, a hamlet of Catskill, NY, on the Hudson. Oh, how I would love to make that commute on a steamboat up the Hudson. (BTW, if you want to Part-Time explore my neck of the Catskills check out Green Cottage, Palenville on Airbnb. 😉)

Thanks!

Mom Grew Up in Croton on Hudson NY & the wife is Related to Robert Fulton!! Spent Many a Summer in Croton!! JJ

awesome

Beautiful job done as always Tom, keep it up! Also...very spiffy outfit sir!

I do like Poughkeepsie - we English like to boast about our weird and wonderful pronunciations of place names, but that's one to rival any of ours! I'd never have guessed it's 'puckipsy' in a million years. Or a hundred and seventeen years, you might say...

Sad to see this treasure gone they should do this trip seasonally like part of summer to mid fall. Use a real steam boat to do it. I bet it would be popular

Perfect.🥇

Dressed like a bond villian, i dig it.

I don't know if I could recommend any ships, but it'd be cool if you could do a west coast steamer, ships that come to mind would be the Brother Jonathan of 1851 or the Columbia of 1880. Both ships have equally interesting footnotes in history, Brother Jonathan sending Oregon the news that it is now a state and Columbia being the first ship to have have electric lights and also the first commercial use of lights outside of Menlo Park

It's still possible to go cruise the Hudson, alas not on an elegant Day Line steamer. Makes me wonder what if a couple of them had been set aside and looked after for a few years, they could've done a roaring trade nowadays taking tourists on the same journey.

Have you thought about doing a video on the Steamboat Arabia?

I'd bet money people have mistook you and your wife for ghosts. Great video

To anyone wondering, dining cost $33.61 and that book cost $50.42 when both are adjusted for inflation. Yeesh.

it's aaron burr, not william

Born too late😫😫😫

Reject modernity, *return to s t e a m b o a t*

2 things 1 if you were from England you would know that they’re not called railroads they are railways railroad is only referring to when road crosses rail and 2 if you were from England you should also know that they are called goods trains not freight trains

Sorry I'm only here for the stories about Mass death on the Seas. If women and children aren't being ground up into hamburger then it's just boring

I definitely need a time travelling machine, what a fabulous elegant era for some

Please do more like this! This video and the 'Traveling on White Star Line's Oceanic Class' one are my favourites you've done so far. You're very good at bringing this sort of ground-level history to life and making it feel real. Like a time-traveller's guide!

If I were travelling on a river boat in the autumn of 1904, I’d be nervously thinking of the General Slocum fire that happened in NYC just that summer.

Have you ever hiked the trails above the palisades and looked at all the ruins of the old mansions? That would be a great video for you. What a beautiful place!

Really enjoyed this. Feeling under the weather today and this was a pleasant journey to make. Only one criticism - Aaron Burr dueled with Alexander Hamilton, not William Burr. Excellent video.

All i can say is, *“Lovely”* i feel like that perfectly describes all this. :)

I would love to go on a paddle steamer one day the closest I've got to was being on one at Disney land Paris but I would love to travel on one just like they did on the Hudson River many years ago.

This was very well done. Would like to see more back-in-the-day tours like this.

Love every one of your videos, Tom. I grew up along the Hudson, and you captured so well the soul of this place.

This is a welcome diversion from the various liners that have slipped beneath the waves.

Watched this several times, absolutely love it and as you say, a reminder to perhaps be a little slower and more deliberate.

Another incredible video Mr. Tom! Really enjoying the more frequent uploads!!

The talent of drawing scenery in the viewer's mind is impeccable. The mood in this, the day-by-day reviews of Titanic's voyage and indeed the Atlantic of the Oceanic class as mentioned is certainly unique and an impressive achievement. Thanks, the beloved Lynskey couple!Looking forward to the next one already

The fact that over a hundred years later, we can still relive what New York locals experienced all the way back then is almost a miracle!

hey Tom, i got a video suggestion it is about a packer boat in the great lakes called the SS America it was launched on the 2 of April 1898 America had a number of accidents; the first one barely two weeks after she arrived in Duluth, when the ship ran into an ice floe and stove in her bow.[3 In 1904, she ran too close to the steamer Edwin F. Holmes, destroying five staterooms, and in 1909 she ran aground. In 1909, the Booth Steamship Company failed and a new company, the Booth Fisheries Company, took over operation of the failed company's assets, including America. In 1911, America was lengthened to 183 feet, increasing the gross and net tonnages to 937 tons and 593 tons respectively. The beam and depth remained the same. The rework added 12 more staterooms, bringing the total to 51, of which 43 were reserved for passengers. In 1914, management of the ship was taken over by the United States & Dominion Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Booth. Also in 1914, America again ran aground, taking considerable damage. On 7 June 1924, she struck a reef, capsized, and sank off Isle Royale, Michigan; all 47 people aboard survived, and she was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. In 1926, she collided with another steamer, and in 1927 rammed the dock and grounded while coming into port but then America sank in Washington Harbor off the shore of Isle Royale in 1928, where the hull still remains. The wreck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

A lifelong New Yorker (though not living there now) I found the trip up the Hudson and the history of the area incredibly excellent, educational and fascinating. I’m so glad I found your channel.

This was weirdly calming. Gorgeous footage and editing too. What a treat!

FINALLY a vid on the HRDL; a legendary and great service for many years. Sad that something like it is not quite there anymore. Best way to travel. Often, these boats were in the background of many an ocean liner line-up but almost never pointed out or explained.

I've lived just north of Albany my whole life, and have taken that train ride many times. The next time I do, I will look out onto those waters, picture an elegant steamship bearing my home's name making it's way north, and think of this wonderful video. Thank you.

Thanks, Tom! That was really cool!

Loved it

Fascinating. And beautifully presented, as always. Thank you.

I’m from Tarrytown. Fun fact: Sleepy Hollow was formerly named North Tarrytown. It was renamed Sleepy Hollow in the 90s I believe. Residents felt it sounded better for tourism. I was born in the hospital in North Tarrytown; feels odd when I tell folks the town I was born in ‘doesn’t exist anymore’. 😂

I used to live in Middletown, NY and worked just outside of Newburg. Went to Kingston a few times, been to the lighthouse you showed. Also took a cruise to look at some of the mansions on the river. Also went to Bear Mountain a few times. Haven't been in that area for almost 20 years now. This brought back memories, thank you.

Your video review was a pleasure to watch, but I do have one minor critique. Catskill was a major stop on the day line. It was the gateway to the Catskills mountain houses (not Kingston) and was already famous for the (and in some cases the home of) Hudson Valley School of artists. It was also a major commercial hub rivaling Kingston.

Around the 4 minute mark when you are mentioning the American Line & the SS New York, the film pans by Pier 13 owned by the Starin Line (which was at the foot of Cortlandt St when it used to go all the way to the river). In all the days of steamboating in New York, there is nothing...NOTHING...I would more like to be able to travel back in time to experience than a cruise on the Starin Line out to their "family day resort" at Glen Island (New Rochelle). I have collected a few things from the Line/Resort (and learned more) over the years, and it seems so utterly enchanting. If you have (so rightly) enjoyed recreating this absolutely lovely trip on the Day Line, you might want to explore the Starin Line and Glen Island. Just a thought.

What great video, Tom. At times I think I was born 100 years too late. It was as you say a slower and simpler time. America was a different place then. Thank you for taking us on s day trip with you Tom, it was wonderful.

Not to be overly picky but the prior use of a razor would have made a more convincing impression as by 1904 standards you would have been seen as unkempt. Some men sported beards (King Edward VII) , but generally they either had them or they did not. Had to do some research on the topic at one point. Clean shaven or a moustache were the most popular looks in that era with young men. Otherwise, great video. No Mississippi river steamers, that's a big improvement! Thumbs up!

Thank you for this video. I’m a resident of upstate New York, and I am just starting to learn about the steamboat history of the Hudson Valley. Learning about the history of where I live gives me just a little more pride. I would have loved to have seen these boats. There is an ongoing project to restore the SS Columbia to some degree. I am very thankful for that effort.

This was absolutely delightful. Thank you for this journey!

Another great job. You capture imagery and atmosphere so well. I long to travel first class on the steamers of the era. Oh...to have money in 1904. Life was a seven-course banquet. Of course, it was also pretty easy to catch typhoid or tuberculosis without knowing how, so our time has nice elements, too. Just not as beautiful as a trip up the Hudson on a steamboat. Thanks

During the 1880s where there tugboats that helped ships dock? And also how did it work back then for docking?

Interesting video. Though your mixing up Bear Mountain and Indian Point, which was owned by HRDL. Also, HRDL didn't end in 1971. 1971 was the year the Steamer Alexander Hamilton went out of service. The successor Day Line operation continued until 1989 with the boat "Dayliner".

Brilliant!, Loved the whole concept. Moving pictures very well done. River services are a very under-reported aspect. Hope you might look at some European examples, perhaps the Danube by Royal Austrian during the mid 19th century.

From rockland county ny the areas around the river will always be the best anywhere you can experience a little bit of everything in ny

For some reason, much of the video sounds like Tom is promoting the Hudson River Day Line as though he were a salesman in 1904

nice hat you got there

A company of marine and travel consultants prepared a business plan to restore this same Hudson liner service in the 1990’s, an enterprise that foundered on the rocks of 9/11 in 2001. This venture could have invigorated the river towns and upstate economy, but alas, there was no initiative of support and now the Hudson is the only major river in the world without any public ship transport. What could be a daily pleasure for a vast public is now still sweet nostalgia. Maybe this voyage can happen again, someday. The Hudson River flows on and patiently awaits…

Great vid as always great facts and history of the area I live in thanks

I've basically lived in Albany my whole life and never knew about this, loved this

My grandmother got to steam on the Mary Powell on the Hudson River several times. One trip she went with her parents from Kingston NY to NYC for an overnight trip. The Mary Powell was the most beautiful steamship that went up and down the Hudson.

When I moved away from upstate NY, I thought Victorian homes I ran into were just dressed up houses that started out much more humbly. Finally, someone referred to the houses I had grown up with as Hudson Valley Gingerbread. Apparently, the invention of the band saw had held near religious significance for us.

Wow what we have lost .thank you .

Thanks for totally forgetting to mention my home town of Nyack (near piermont and tappan) New York, and the county I grew up in Rockland county. Directly across from Tarrytown. At least you mentioned Stony point which is in Rockland county....

This was so beautifully done, I'm glad content creators like you still exist on YT. And this video definitely deserves way more views.

Thanks for sharing. I was born in Yonkers New York, raised in the village of Nyack in Rockland county across from Tarrytown and I've lived all over the Hudson valley.

My glass is raised...Great documentary on the Day Line and to end it at my birth city Albany. I will share it with my audience when I begin the videos on my Hudson River steamboat models. Hopefully you will get more patreon support from them, as I will redirect. Again, kudos.

My Grandfather Barney O'Brien took the First Diesel Locomotive from NYC TO Albany on the NYC Railroad!! He worked on the RR 50 years! JJ

I'd give anything to just take a day out of my life and sail on along this picturesque route on one of these beautiful boats.😭(Though I must admit, hearing "riverboat," "New York" and "1904" put me in mind of a much less peaceful excursion, if you know what I'm referring to...)

In my early teens we used to take the Alexander Hamilton on church outings to Bear Mountain every Labor Day. IN THE SUMMER WE TOOK THE JOHN MESSIC OUT THE EAST RIVER TO RYE BEACH AMUSEMENT PARK SHE RAN A STEADY 18 MPH THOSE WERE THE BEST TIMES TO BE ALIVE!.

Brings back such memories of almost getting arrested at Bannermans Castle in the fall off 2006. With our passengers on a down bound cruise from Montreal to Rhode Island. I grew up on Long Island, but never really traveled upstate besides lake George, the Hudson and Erie Canal gave me a love of the beauty of NY! We docked at their docks at Bear Mountain, West Point, and Catskill. We docked at the Maritime museum in Kingston as well.

4:47 *Aaron Burr I don't know if anyone else caught that.

Being from Newburgh born in 1957 I really enjoyed this adventure back in time. Thank you

This brings back some good memories. I graduated high school in 1961 in NJ and our graduation trip included the Red Circle Line tour up the Hudson to Bear Mtn. and West Pt where we disembarked at both locations.

A Texan who loves the Hudson - Tarrytown is terrific!