{"nrhp_refnum":"73001161","name":"Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad: Green Island Shops","other_names":["Green Island Car Shops"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"James and Tibbits Sts. and the Delaware and Hudson RR tracks","address_restricted":false,"city":"Green Island","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.750777725000034,"lon":-73.69222301047975,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A railroad car shop complex in Green Island, Albany County, New York, built in 1871 for the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad. It includes a brick car shop, a semi-circular roundhouse and an octagonal water tower base.","why_significant":"The shops were one of three large complexes maintaining Delaware and Hudson Railroad engines and rolling stock, and were essential to Green Island's economy and the D & H Northern Division. The nomination also cites the engineering of the cast iron columns and iron-reinforced wood trusses, which gave large open work floors and daylight. The roundhouse is described as one of the older standing examples of its type.","narrative":"Green Island's railroad car shops were built in 1871 for the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad and were leased to the Delaware and Hudson before completion. The complex includes a brick car shop with a three-story south section and a one-story north section large enough for five parallel tracks, a semi-circular roundhouse, and the octagonal base of a water tower. Locomotive designing and rebuilding took place here until 1912, when the work moved to Colonie, and work on wooden freight cars continued until the late 1930s. The buildings are noted for their engineering. Cast iron columns carry the upper floors of the south section, and wooden trusses reinforced with iron span the north section without interior columns. A long roof monitor and rows of windows supplied daylight. The water tower base was bound with iron tie rods to carry more than 51,000 gallons of water. The roundhouse is among the older surviving examples of its type.","period_of_significance":"19th Century; specific date 1871","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, unaltered and on its original site, with industrial and transportation uses.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.30532-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001161.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001161/11839daf3a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001161/11839daf3a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rensselaer_%26_Saratoga_Railroad,_Green_Island_Shops,_Tibbitts_Avenue_%26_Delaware_%26_Hudson_Railroad_Track,_Green_Island_(Albany_County,_New_York).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rensselaer_%26_Saratoga_Railroad,_Green_Island_Shops,_Tibbitts_Avenue_%26_Delaware_%26_Hudson_Railroad_Track,_Green_Island_(Albany_County,_New_York).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316319","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rensselaer_and_Saratoga_Railroad:_Green_Island_Shops","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7313491"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/rensselaer-and-saratoga-railroad-green-island-shops-73001161/"}