U&D CORRIDOR NEWS FLASH!

Transcription

1 Effective September 8, 2008 Ulster & Delaware DAY LINE E X P R E S S Vol 1, No. 2 UDRRHS Day Line Express is published by e Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society, 101 Bridge Street, Roxbury New York udrrhs.org / All reproduction rights reserved and protected by auors individual copyrights. Entire publication copyright 2008 UDRRHS. For more information on e Society or to become a member and get is publication directly, please visit udrrhs.org U&D CORRIDOR NEWS FLASH! The Belleayre Fall Crafts Festival / Oktoberfest has been moved to D&U Exhibition Grounds at Arkville adjacent to e: U D CORRIDOR PRESERVATION DAY 2008 GALA CELEBRATION Saturday, Oct 11, am-6pm Highmount & Arkville NY If you re not already planning to attend e Corridor s big end of e season railfan event on October 11, now you have even more reason to reserve your tickets today! Already a day-long circus of railfan activities targeted at U&D corridor enusiasts, our humble railfan event has a new neighbor in e 29 Annual Belleayre Fall Crafts Festival and Oktoberfest - wi dozens of vendors, beer and food tents and bands. The festival gets an average of 8000 people a day so railfan event ticket holders will be entitled to VIP parking and free access to e adjacent festival. Besides hosting our event s charter train and bobber caboose maiden run, e D&U will be operating at maximum capacity which will be interesting in itself and a great photo op! Members of TMNY, CMRR, ESRM, O&WRRHS and UDRRHS get special VIP $10 tickets to U&D corridor celebration if reserved before 9/28. Speeder Rides on Pine Hill Horseshoe Curves, NYC Style Catskill Mt. Branch two car photo special wi a meet in Roxbury., Maiden Run of O&W Bobber 8206 and More! DETAILS INSIDE!!!

2 2 Ride e first mile of e old U&D at The Trolley Museum of New York! Map Reproductions Courtesy of Evan Jennings By Evan Jennings, President TMNY, wi Doug Kadow UDRRHS Wheer you like rapid transit and trolley cars, e U&D, or bo, e Trolley Museum of NewYork is one of e region's rail attractions you will want to visit. It wasn't imagined in 1983, when e Museum moved from Brooklyn to e former U&D Rondout Shops property, at ere would someday be townhouses and trendy restaurants as next-door neighbors, yet ey stand ere today, among e specialty shops, maritime museums and tour boat dock along e Kingston waterfront, where Rondout Creek enters into e Hudson. This neighborhood, once e center of e town of Rondout, is today part of Downtown Kingston. Thomas Cornell, builder of e Ulster & Delaware, began e railroad's construction in 1868 under e name Rondout and Oswego, e latter being e Great Lakes port he hoped it would reach to tap e lucrative business en enjoyed almost exclusively by e New York Central Railroad and e Erie Canal. Long before Cornell began his railroad venture, Rondout had become e tidewater port and East end of e Delaware and Hudson Canal, which hauled a sizable percentage of e Pennsylvania anracite coal (hard & clean burning) used to heat New York City homes roughout much of e nineteen century. Cornell in fact had a near monopoly on hauling e barges at arrived at Rondout over e canal downriver to New York City wi his fleet of sidewheel steam powered towboats. Above: TMNY and U&D Corridor present day East end of track, at Kingston Point. Below, e largest Day Liner, e Washington Irving prepares to dock at Kingston Point and detrain passengers for U&DRR Train #7 its locomotive and baggage car on e section of roadbed pictured above. Located along The Strand in Rondout, e Trolley Museum's neighborhood has gone rough many transitions over e last two centuries. Besides canal and railroad terminals, a number of passenger and freight steamboats called Rondout eir home port, including e most famous of all Hudson River steamboats, e Mary Powell. Cornell owned e Mary Powell for a time before selling it to e Hudson River Day Line, which used it as a backup boat in its final years. In is service, it would have been likely at e Day Line used it on e Rondout-New York express run on peak days, in e joint U&D boat/train operation. After e canal quit in 1899, e U&D shops, terminal facilities and freight customers kept is area very much alive wi commerce and industry rough e mid-twentie century. When e railroad finally quit in 1977 (after becoming New York Central in 1932, en Penn Central in 1968 and finally Conrail in 1976), e area had become run down and attracted few visitors who didn't have business at e few remaining industries in e neighborhood. Since e Trolley Museum moved in, e neighborhood has grown and prospered, and today is awash wi fine restaurants, rail and maritime museums, tour boat operations, a bandstand and marina where large private boats line one end of e creek shoreline, at a point where giant mountains of anracite once awaited transshipment on Island Dock in e center of e creek. Now, grow and change along e Kingston Waterfront is e norm and e Museum is doing its best to keep up wi e trend it helped start. In recent years, e Trolley Museum hired an administrator, Steve Ladin who has been arranging events, recruiting volunteers, seeking grants and increasing local awareness of e Museum.

3 3 Car 358 circa 1991 Car 358 today! Special events often see Steve at e grill producing hot dogs and burgers for hungry volunteers! Stephen Finkle, Kingston's Economic Development Director, spearheaded two projects on e Museum and neighborhood's behalf at were funded by e New York Department of State and administered by e City of Kingston (which Rondout is now a part of). In 2006 e parking lot was realigned, paved, curbed, fenced and lighted, providing convenient parking for Museum visitors during e day and patrons of e restaurants across e street at night. Additionally, in 2007, engineering firm HDR was hired to produce a study to assess e Trolley Museum's track (U&D MP , and owned by e city), historic cars, power and utility requirements for proper operation of e museum's almost exclusively electric powered collection, and to recommend e upgrades and construction at will be needed to make electric trolley operation a reality into e center of Kingston proper. Once e report is finalized, e Museum will begin a campaign to raise e needed cash to build e system and upgrade much of e track for electric operation. This will be e largest project at e museum has undertaken to date. In e meantime, e Museum operates a restored (now diesel powered) trolley car between T. R. Gallo Park and Kingston Point (MP 0). The wooden Day Line pier wi its imbedded railroad tracks is gone, but Museum visitors can once again ride e first mile of e old U&D in near entirety, tracing e route of e U&D's summer-only Day Line Express train at once plied is trackage daily except Sunday (e Day Line did not operate Sundays for much of its existence). Visitors to e neighborhood can spend e entire day in Rondout. Besides e Trolley Museum, a dozen plus highly rated and very popular st restaurants, unique shopping, two maritime museums and e M/V Rip Van Winkle (which offers a 21 Century abbreviated version of an old time Day Line cruise on e Hudson) offer visitors a variety of options when spending e day on The Strand. The Museum's trolley ride has e potential to evolve from just being an 'excursion' between Broadway and Kingston Point into an extended route wi more hours of operation. Any extension is likely to mix old right-of-way (such as e spur at supplied coal to Hudson Cement) wi entirely new routing. While e Trolley Museum's big projects get a lot of public attention, e Museum is also working to improve e appearance and accessibility of e site and building. This Spring, pas were paved from e parking lot to e building eliminating e familiar lumpy gravel. The Museum's rolling stock is being assessed for its future potential and in some cases at can result in its transfer to anoer museum. Last year an Atlantic City trolley was sold and a new home is being sought for e Queensboro Bridge Railway trolley. The restoration needs of ese cars are extensive and would be best done elsewhere, considering e projects at must get higher priority. The Museum is not only a place to enjoy an afternoon and a ride to Kingston Point along e very first mile of e old Ulster & Delaware, but like most rail tourist operations, it's a work in progress and a labor of love made possible by dedicated volunteers, associated members, community cooperation and support, and successfully requested and awarded grants based on value to e community and its citizens. You can help support e Museum and its efforts by simply visiting e museums exhibit hall and restoration shop, riding e trolley to Kingston Point and purchasing items in e Museum's gift shop. However, you are encouraged to join its ranks as a sustaining member, helping e museum meet its minimum operational requirements, and showing your support for e Museum's vision and projects, a critical factor in accessing e funds needed to complete e Museum's projects and vision for a much needed public trolley operation for Kingston and e region s residents and visitors alike. The museum is open 12-5pm Saturdays and Sundays. For more information on visiting or joining e Trolley Museum of New York, please visit tmny.org or stop by when e Museum is open and e staff will be happy to answer your questions as ey welcome you to a wonderful museum at has helped its community in countless ways, and has e potential to significantly benefit its neighbors, community and region in even greater ways moving forward.

4 4 Up & Down, One Milepost at a Time Coming in e next issue of Day Line Express: The conclusion of e history Part of Two - MP 0.39 to MP 0.93 U&D Mile One, Trolley Museum of NY Feature (ride U&D Mile By Harold W Oakhill One), Corridor Preservation Day Ticket Order form, UDRRHS VolunteerWe Crewbegin Program..and here where we left off in e previous issue, on our way West toward Rondout, more!! 0.39 miles from Kingston Point... THE STRAND Next was a spur to a Standard Oil dealer, built in 1919 at e west end of e passing siding, on e nor side at MP.39. The spur branched out into ree tracks wi a total capacity of 10 cars. The SO buildings, built of red terra cotta block wi little art-deco details, still stand at e corner of Nor Street and The Strand. The 1964 USGS map shows six oil tanks of various sizes here. The tracks and e tanks are long gone and e property is now owned by Millens, a scrap dealer. K 0 Just west of e Standard Oil property was a 300 ft. spur to e Kingston City Railroad power house for e delivery of coal. KCRR was one of e two streetcar companies in Kingston. The brick building still stands and is now part of e Millens scrap metal operation. On e opposite side of e mainline (sou side) was a 1,600 ft. siding lined wi industries at sat between e railroad and e Rondout Creek. Beginning at e east end was e gas works of e Kingston Gas & Electric Co. There was a gas producing plant and an expandable gas storage tank about 90 ft. in diameter as well as some smaller tanks. A 300 ft. spur, added in 1925, entered e property for delivering coal and for shipping coke, ammonia, coal tar, and oer chemical by-products of gas production. The property is now owned by Central Hudson Gas and Electric and nearly all e buildings, e tanks and e spur track are gone. A chain link fence surrounds e property and until recently e fence still had a gate where e spur went in. Next was e W. J. Turck Co. lumber yard, most likely dating back to e 19 century when Rondout was an important rail-to-water transshipment point for Catskill lumber. The lumber company property spanned e railroad, and in e late 19 and early 20 centuries huge stacks of lumber lined bo sides of e tracks for 300 ft. Continuing west was e Hewitt Boyce Rubbing Mill, a bluestone cutting and transshipping yard, anoer important industry in 19 century Rondout. There was a building here for cutting and dressing bluestone for use as sidewalks, curbing and roof shingles. The yard ran for about 400 ft along e railroad, room for about 10 freight cars of e early 20 century. Photos show a forest of stiffleg derricks, for moving materials about, covering bo e stone yard and e lumber yard. For e next 400 ft west along e tracks photos and maps show in e late 19 and early 20 centuries an ever-changing succession of warehouses and industrial buildings squeezed between e tracks and e Rondout Creek. There was no side track or spur here, so ese businesses were not likely served directly by e railroad. The bluestone industry declined rapidly in e early 20 century as Portland cement replaced it for sidewalks and curbing. By e mid 20 century oil storage tanks had replaced e lumber and stone yards and oer businesses at had been in is area. Oil companies included R. K. Ballard, e Texas Co. (Texaco), and Tyde Water Oil. Later Kingston Oil Supply Co. (Kosco), occupied most of e site. Most of e oil probably arrived by barge, but oil deliveries by rail probably continued into e 1960s. The auor remembers seeing a train of tank cars coming up out of Rondout around Map Reproductions Courtesy of Evan Jennings Proceeding west e mainline next cuts rough e property of e Newark Lime and Cement Co. Built on a hillside overlooking e Rondout Creek in 1850, e mill produced Rosendale cement from limestone quarried out of e hill directly behind it. By 1872 it was producing 1,000 barrels of cement

5 5 D&U s Alco S-4 and NYC painted coaches about to cross Route 28 in Arkville U D CORRIDOR PRESERVATION DAY 2008 GALA CELEBRATION Saturday, Oct 11, am-6pm Highmount & Arkville NY Speeder Rides on e famous Pine Hill Horseshoe Curves! Alco powered NYC Catskill Mountain Branch style Photo Special, wi a mid-run Meet at Roxbury Depot! 21st century maiden run of O&W Bobber Caboose 8206! Tour e D&U s Luxury Domeliner dinner train, e Rip Van Winkle Flyer Adjacent to e Belleayre Fall Festival held is year in Arkville - VIP parking for U&DCPD celebration ticket holders Barbeque wi all e fixins, book signings, railroadiana dealers, tour roxbury depot museum, round trip rail fare Arkville to Roxbury, Annual Corridor Preservation awards and more! NAME: Member of (check all at apply): TMNY CMRR ESRM UDRRHS O&WRRHS NRHS oer chapter(s) Oer rail group affiliation Group Name (you must present a membership card for one of e above organizations at e gate to get you and your guest s admission badges) Address City State Zip Daytime Phone Evening Phone Cell: Your Order: Make checks and money orders payable to Ulster&Delaware RRHS8 Your Admission.... Number of Guests (up to ree per order, ONLY $10 EACH) total for guests. Add $5 for ticket handling, mailing costs and event program... _ $5.00 UDRRHS Speeder Program chairman Neil Maizner pilots rail car passengers West of Roxbury CORRIDOR PRESERVATION DAY TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE BY PRE-RESERVATION ONLY TO CURRENT MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES OF REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED RAILROAD MUSEUMS, ADVOCACY GROUPS AND TOURIST RAILROADS FOR THE SPECIAL PRICE OF $10, AND FOR UP TO THREE GUESTS AT THE SAME PRICE WITH EACH CARD CARRYING MEMBER. PRE-RESERVATION CLOSES 9/28. AFTER THAT DATE, TICKETS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AT THE GATE FOR THIRTY DOLLARS EACH. IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE ABOVE GROUPS, YOU LL WANT TO JOIN ONEASAPTO COME OUT EVEN, OR EVEN SAVE A FEW BUCKS! Arrive Highmount by 11:30am to catch all e action! Ticket Order Form NYO&W bobber 8206 spends her 101st winter holding hands wi a much younger gent in Arkville! The old girl is standing up on her wheels for e first time in decades, anks to UDRRHS project chair John LaBarre and his TOTAL ENCLOSED... $. crew. Pre-Registration closes September 28, 2008 and all advance orders must be received by at date - after at, tickets will only be available at e event gate for $30 each - all orders received after at date will be returned. Pre-Reserve your Corridor Preservation Day Tickets today by completing e above form and mailing it wi your check or money order to CPD-2008, care of U&DRRHS, 101 Bridge Street, Roxbury NY All Tickets, including one complete four color event program per order, will be mailed on September 29. All sales final, event will be held rain or shine. NYC Catskill Mountain Branch train seats are limited to e first 100 tickets purchased. Area highway and best trackside photo location map will be included wi each ticket package. If arriving Highmount after 12:00 noon, please continue along route 28 to Arkville Depot where e event gate will be relocated.

6 a day. The plant was in operation until at least e 1920s. Around e turn of e 20 century Rosendale cement began to be replaced by Portland cement, which is cheaper and dries faster. Three spur tracks branched off e mainline and went into various parts of e Newark property. Beginning at e east ere was a 383 ft. spur on e sou side of e tracks into an open area beside e Rondout Creek. A tram way ran overhead to deliver barrels of cement to steamboats and barges, but ere were no loading docks or oer facilities for loading or unloading railroad cars. Photos suggest at coal and oer supplies for e mill may have been delivered here, but it is not clear how goods were moved up e hill and into e mill complex. Continuing west e mainline crosses The Strand and passed between cement storehouses on each side of e street. Here were two more spurs; a 237 ft. one on e nor side, and a 179 ft. one opposite it on e sou. The norern spur ran into one of e storehouses and was presumably for loading cement. There was room for two freight cars wiin e building. The spur on e sou side was for delivery of barrel staves for e mill's cooperage. The company made its own barrels for shipping cement, up to 1,000 barrels a day! By e mid 20 century e cement mill buildings were gone and portions of e property were occupied by oil storage tanks of e Standard Oil Co. To e west e Newark property abutted e roundhouse and shops of e U&D RR, which we will explore next time. The Lost Art of depot gardening A century ago, many railroad stations boasted significant gardens, which are often seen in old picture postcards. years ago, Roxbury Depot Museum senior tour guide Howie Futterman began to use his green umb around e depot to make e place a little more pleasing to e eye as e building core waits out its turn for restoration. His U&D in two foot letters of white stone on e street side of e building is a neigborhood attraction, and gets a lot of positive attention from passers by, as do his plantings by e depot s street side entrance. This year, he added e minigarden between e tracks. Depot visitors and D&U passengers love Howie s gardens, and he answers questions on em when he has time between depot tours. Below right: D&U s 5017 wi engineer Vic Stevens at e rottle and Brakeman Jake Hubbell on e pilot. Guarding e crossing wi red flag is Howie s son Stevie (also a UDRRHS member) and in his trademark tye-die RDM staff shirt, e master gardner himself. Below left: e museum s street side entrance and U&D in crushed marble. To Oneonta and Cooperstown former U&DRR (abandoned) Track Operated in 2008 Two(under restoration) Catskill Scenic Trail 1 U&D Corridor Rail Attraction (see below) U&D Corridor Rail Attractions 6 5 Arkville 30 Roxbury CATSKILL Pine Hill (1)TROLLEY MUSEUM of NEW YORK Museum and Trolley Rides, equipment displays and gift shop noon-5pm Sat, Sun & Hol. Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Adults $5, Seniors and Children 2-12 $3 (2) CATSKILL MOUNTAIN RAILROAD Service from Kingston Plaza set to commence fall 2008 visit for more information (3) CATSKILL MOUNTAIN RAILROAD Scenic Train Rides Cold Brook to Phoenicia, gift shop - ride includes stop at Empire State Railway Museum - Trains depart from Mt. Pleasant 11:30, 1:30 and 3:30 Sat, Sun & Hol May 24 rough October 26 Also Fridays July 4-Sept 1, October 3-October 26 Adults $14, Children 4-11 $8 (4) EMPIRE STATE RAILWAY MUSEUM Museum in restored depot, equipment displays and gift shop 11am-4pm Sat, Sun & Hol Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Admission free, donations encouraged 28 Windham 23 23A Hunter 4 Mt.Pleasant MOUNTAINS Phoenecia 3 Tannersville Woodstock 28 2 Kingston From New York City Saugerties 199 Exit 19 Rondout 87 Exit Exit 20 To Albany Amtrak Hudson Amtrak Catskill 9 Rhinebeck (5) DELAWARE & ULSTER RAILROAD Scenic train rides and dinner train charters, Arkville to Roxbury, equipment displays and gift shop ride includes stop at Roxbury Depot Museum. Trains departarkville 11:00am and 2:00pm Sat & Sun May 24-October 26. Also Thu & Fri July 3-September 1 First Class tickets, $26, Adult Coach $12, Child Coach $7, Senior Coach $9 (6) ROXBURY DEPOT MUSEUM Railroad museum inside historic depot, gift shop 11:30am- 3:30pm Sat & Sun May 24-October 26. Also Thu & Fri July 3- Sept. 1Admission free, donations encouraged Ulster & Delaware RR Historical Society Officers, Directors, Committee Chairpersons and Operating Crew President - Doug Kadow; Vice President - Harold Oakhill Sect y & Treasurer - Richard Makse; National Director - Donald Bishop (also Historian for NRHS National) Director Emeritus - Alton Weiss; Directors-Dale Flansberg; Gordon Davids; Burr Hubbell; Joe Marsh; Kevin Patton; John LaBarre; Vic Stevens; Paul Tillmann (Asst. Treasurer) Equipment Preservation Co-Chairmen John LaBarre & Joe Marsh Corridor Preservation Chair - Ernie Hunt; U&D Corridor Trail-Rail Stewardship Chair - Burr Hubbell Speeder Program Chair - Neil Maizner Roxbury Depot Museum Chairs Paul Tillman & Doug Kadow Promotional Director - Janet Maizner; Asst. Treasurer-Michele Kadow; Publications - Dick Makse & Doug Kadow; Administration: Dick Makse, MicheleKadow, Paul Tillmann; Senior Agent, Roxbury Depot - DavidScudder; RDM Senior Tour Guide - Howie Futterman; Roxbury Yardmaster - Malcolm Hughes Roxbury Asst. Yardmaster, Ellen Hughes

7 7 UDRRHS Society Field Work Spotlight THE DAY LINE EXPRESS - SEPT 17, 2008 VOL. 1, NO. 2 Crewing e Rip Van Winkle Flyer and e East Branch Express The year 2007 saw e inauguration of e joint UDRRHS/D&URR volunteer crew program wi Society volunteers serving as trainmen/conductors aboard D&U coach trains each Saturday. This allowed D&U and e Society to also offer a first class service aboard former NYC streamlined observation car #61, which was coupled to e back of each Saturday train. Society crewmen not only interfaced wi passengers making many new friends and increasing D&U repeat business, but also served as docents, giving first class passengers a history lesson en-route to Arkville. The D&U shared a portion of each adult ticket wi e Society every day of operation in anks for our efforts aboard e train, and for our operation of e Roxbury Depot Museum and e free admission granted each D&U passenger, all of whom were invited off e train during e 30 minute Roxbury stop for a guided tour of e depot and museum. We decided to improve upon a good ing in 2008 by opening up e volunteer crewman program to all members, and by furer qualifying each volunteer as a D&U brakeman, in case eir assistance was needed when making switching maneuvers. On e opening day of D&U operation (May 24), members John Thorpe, Joe Marsh, John LaBarre, Harold Oakhill, Al Weiss and Doug Kadow took a class in train safety given by D&U CMO and Society director Vic Stevens, and all worked e 11:00am season opening train to Roxbury. En route, ey helped up sell e Roxbury Depot Museum's amenities including our snack and gift shop, netting us a season opening income record in train crew, gift shop and donation jar revenue. Gift Shop manager, Depot Ops chief and Society director Paul Tillmann had e snack shop stocked and ready for e rongs of passengers we handled on is unusually warm spring day. The Society is still seeking additional volunteer crewman. If you are interested in being trainman for a day and helping spread e love of Catskill Mountain Railroading to D&U's passengers, working aboard six and ten car trains (e East Branch Express and e Rip Van Winkle Flyer respectively), and sharing your knowledge of e old U&D, please contact Doug Kadow at or John LaBarre at It s fun; it s easy and it helps bo e Society and e D&U! Coming in e next issue of DAY LINE EXPRESS: Membership in e U.&D.R.R. Historical Society: The Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society (a NYS 501c3 not for profit organization ) is e regional chapter of e National Railway Historical Society who s mission is to preserve e history of railroading in e Catskill Mountains and MidHudson Valley. While advocating and supporting rail preservation and restoration in e region, e Society holds a tight focus on activity along e route of our namesake railroad, better known as e U&D corridor (most appropriate since it traverses bo Ulster and Delaware counties). In addition to publishing our quarterly Rip Van Winkle Flyer, e Society s flagship historic journal, and its new sibling, e Day Line Express, e Society focuses on educational and preservation programs and is presently working toward restoring e former U&D Roxbury Depot and expanding e Roxbury Depot Museum currently housed inside. The Society holds an annual membership meeting and several annual events and programs for our members and ose of oer regional rail organizations. Member dues are $20 per year wi an option for NRHS membership rough e Society for an addtional fee. For more information or to join e Society, please visit our website at udrrhs.org, or call e Roxbury Depot Museum at You may also write us at 101 Bridge Street, Roxbury NY Above: UDRRHS Volunteer Conductor/Trainman John LaBarre prepares to detrain first class passengers moments after his 10 car Rip Van Winkle Flyer arrived at Roxbury on a beautiful September day in Up ahead, coach passengers are climbing down e vestibule stairs onto e station platform while a vehicle at trackside services e dining and lounge cars in e consist. Former NYC parlorobservation #61 brings up e rear of e 700 foot long consist pulled by Alco RS-36 #5017. The observation car was used on trains such as e Wolverine, Motor City Special and Empire State Express (after e original observation cars for at train were retired) and in e later s consist, would have been cut out at Albany wi oer Montreal bound cars to make up e D&H s Lawrentian for at city..