Erie Turntable - Port Jervis, NY

Where it's at!

I got two turntables and a microphone

Where it's at!

-Beck, Where It's At!


From the punctuation, Beck was making a statement not asking a question. But honestly, who gives a shit about Beck's punctuation?! By it, I am going to tell you he meant a historic turntable then he needs look no further than Port Jervis, NY, home of the Historic Erie Turntable. That is the same Point Jervis that is home of the PA/NY/NJ Tripoint making the Turntable the 3rd most famous landmark in Orange County, New York behind the Tripoint and Orange County Choppers.

In case you do not know, a turntable in relation to railroads and not Beck, is a device used for turning railroad cars around. According to Wikipedia, turntables were especially useful for steam locomotives because they were not designed for extensive use in reverse which was required for return trips. Turntables were essential to rail travel in the 1800s. Port Jervis embraced its rail road heritage by putting up small brown signs announcing the Historic Erie Turntable and a train with an American flag posted next to it.

AMERICA!!!

Aside from the red, white, and blue and trains, there is nothing more American than trespassing! Just ask Native Americans, they left the fence open to foreign invaders like the propietors of the Historic Erie Turntable.

Fortunately for the Erie Turntable, I did not have manifest destiny on my side, just digital camera and the need to get my picture taken in front of unique and/or historic objects.

PA/NJ/NY Tripoint - Port Jervis, NY

There are a multitude of places in the US where the borders of 3 states intersect. There is only one where 4 states intersect, the Four Corners which aligns the edges of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. However, since I live in the northeastern United States, I am stuck near the more boring three state intersections. My favorite state being Pennsylvania and my residence currently being central/northern New Jersey I found myself traveling on a sunny Sunday morning to the one of the less unique three border intersections, this one connecting PA, NY, and NJ.

The funny thing about the PA/NY/NJ Tripoint is its location which is in the middle of the Delaware River. There are actually 2 monuments demarcating the borders intersections in Port Jervis, NY and neither of them is any closer than a few hundred feet from the actual spot. Unfortunately, I was neither prepared nor practiced as a kayaker or a swimmer and so I could not attempt to find the exact spot. I did take pictures of both incorrectly located land-based monuments. Below is actually the first one you come across when visiting the tripoint via land.
This monument must also be a local hang out for whatever has replaced the Goth kids that used to walk around the same mall I bought Magic: The Gathering playing cards. How do I know this? The melted wax at the base of the monument. Apparently, monuments depicting the incorrect location of the borders of 3 states has mystical powers. The wax may also be related to the cemetery you have travel through to get to the monuments. Maybe it was the bridge for I-84 under which the monument was located. Maybe its just the fact that Goth kids (or whatever they are these days) enjoyed going to the same weird places I do but they also enjoyed burning candles.

Regardless of who was there before me, I can now add the PA/NY/NJ Tripoint to locations I have visited. I continually find myself searching for my next conquest, the next victim to serve as background for my narcisstic need to have my photograph taken. The world is littered with random crap. However, I have kept myself vigilant because I never know where more random crap may turn up.