ABOUT OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK

“Due to the shipping industry’s shift to container operations outside of the Port of New York, the consequential abandonment of waterfront railroad systems brought about the obsolescence of the Hudson River Barge…

In 1985 less than a dozen covered railroad barges remained intact. The majority of these were renovated for boat club use, marina breakwaters, etc. The Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge Number 79 is an excellent representative type of the Hudson River Railroad Barge, and she survives in original condition. She is a rarity based not only upon her historical significance and social impact but also upon her pristine state of preservation. Today, the Lehigh Valley No. 79 represents the only surviving all-wooden example of the Hudson River Railroad Barge from the Lighterage Age (1860-1960) that remains afloat and accessible to the general public…”