Freight traffic on the New York Central from the south was forced to run through the congestion in the city of Albany. To alleviate this situation, a short cut was constructed to allow a more direct route for this traffic as well as from the Boston and Albany in the east. This routing required a new bridge across the Hudson River. The "Selkirk Branch" connected to the big yard at Selkirk and continued west through Feura Bush, Voorheesville, Guilderland and Amsterdam. One hour and 58 minutes.