Breakneck Ridge Tunnel

Breakneck Ridge is located in the Hudson Highlands, directly across the river from Storm King Mountain. Its distinctive stony face was picturesque, albeit quarried for granite by the 19th century. It posed a major obstacle in plans to build a railroad line along the Hudson River. By 1851, however, a 400-foot tunnel had been bored by the Hudson River Railroad (later to become part of New York Central). Here, in a contemporary photo, we see the line still in use as part of Metro North / Amtrak service.

The stone structure at right is part of the Catskill Aqueduct, constructed between 1908 and 1924. Technically, it is called the Moodna / Hudson / Breakneck Pressure Tunnel: a tunnel bored 1,100 feet below the river's surface through which water passes from Ashokan Reservoir to New York City. The building was constructed in 1917 to drain the pressure tunnel.

Breakneck Ridge probably is the location of New Deal Gallery artist Isaac Fastovsky's 1937 painting Tunnel by the Hudson.

Skeats, William J.

Digital Photograph