A Railroad Town In Winter

On a recent frigid but snowless day I headed out to do my weekly shopping. But this time I had a camera with me. I often say that I live in Albany, but I actually live in Rensselaer, directly across the Hudson River from downtown Albany. Rensselaer is an old and historic city as well as the home of the Albany area Amtrak station.

So as I headed toward Wal-Mart, I stopped to snap this photo of the Rensselaer rail yard, where repairs are made. It's right on the shore of the Hudson River and in this shot you can see downtown Albany across the river:

The Albany skyline is visible from many places in Rensselaer but not often elsewhere because both cities lie so low in the river valley. Here's another view across the tracks and across the river to downtown Albany:

On the bridge crossing the railroad tracks (and from several other places in the area), one gets a good view of the Blackheads, three magnificent peaks in the Catskills. If you've followed this blog for a while, you've seen these mountains up close and personal when I hiked in the Catskills:

The new Rensselaer Amtrak Station. Albany residents come here to travel to New York City:

The towers of Albany rise up over the river as I drive through Rensselaer:

A flock of crows search for food just south of the Amtrak Station:

A closer view of the train station which also houses the Rensselaer Post Office:

An Amtrak maintenance building with the Albany skyline in the background:

I drive this route on my way home from work every day. As I go down this hill, the Hudson River and the Albany skyline are directly ahead of me:

Almost to the bottom of the hill, the river is now clearly visible:

And I drive right down to the river, say hello to a Canada Goose and view the city of Albany:

Across the river north of downtown Albany is this building with a giant dog on its roof. It's Nipper, the RCA dog, and a beloved Albany monument:

Here's a closer view of Nipper which I took another time:

And this old stone house is reputed to be one of the oldest in Rensselaer, formerly known as Bath-On-Hudson. Both the city and this house in particular are rumored to once have been busy stops on the Underground Railroad: