The effort to bring a railroad north on the west shore of the Hudson River was finally realized when the portion of the Jersey City and Albany from Tappan to Haverstraw was opened in 1879. The extension north to Haverstraw is the same route as CSX takes today, but was diverted through the Long Clove while the permanent Haverstraw Tunnel (1883) was being constructed. The end of track was at the West Street Depot where the Haverstraw Transit garage is located.
The definitive story can be found at the link below.
RAILROAD WARFARE AT HAVERSTRAW
by
Daniel
DeNoyelles
South of the Mountains 1976-10, Vol. 20, No. 4
http://www.hrvh.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/hsrc/id/1784/show/1763/rec/26
