It was a controversial issue--converting the railroad line to a rail trail--and although I am sad to know another railroad line no longer has rails, I think the conversion is very nice and the numerous kiosks do a good job of paying tribute to and educating the general public on this unique railroad line's history.
The Bike Ride
It was a very cloudy and overcast day and I was praying for no rain. I started at West Hurley (the Woodstock Dike Trailhead) and first rode east until the finished rail trail ended.
I then headed west to ride the entire trail to Boiceville (11.5 miles one way)
There were numerous informative kiosks along the way
It was great to see a section of the rails still on the ground by the kiosk that detailed the West Hurley station
Although it was sprinkling a bit (bummer), once I removed my glasses, the ride was fine...
A small stone foundation
A tie plate!
Details on the RR reroute after the reservoir was created
Even deep in the woods, stone walls were abundant
It was frustrating when the rain poured down for a bit and I got soaked but I kept on riding... determined to reach Boiceville!
At Ashokan Station
Another stone foundation
Finally... close along the reservoir - it was stunning!
I really couldn't see the former RR route's piers Perhaps they've crumbled
At the end...
On my return, I snapped this photos of the boardwalk over a marshy section.
It rained heavily again further on but I snapped a shot of the Glenford Dike...
On Friday, my friend Michael Adams joined me for a trek into the woods at West Hurley, NY to look for the fallen railroad bridge. It was a gray and cloudy day but fortunately we only had to deal with a bit of drizzle.
The railroad bridge was destroyed in 2011 by Hurricane Irene but its ruins are visible from a Google aerial.
Following the Stream bed
There's no road or path that leads to the bridge but I determined from aerial views that if one follows the stream bed from the nearest road, you will eventually come to the ROW. So we bushwhacked in and had to cross the rocky stream quite a few times.
Ruins!
Eventually we came across an old house foundation...
... and abutments to a long gone small carriage road bridge.
A 1905 topo map indicated there were houses in the area. As I was hoping to see some old foundation ruins, it was pretty exciting to discover them.
The Right-of-Way (ROW)
Of course, as I anticipated, the railroad ROW was nearby but I was somewhat disappointed to discover all the ties and rails were gone. I had read about the controversy of the county's alleged effort to stymie the operations of the Catskill Mountain Railroad--who were running tourist trains on the track before the bridge was destroyed. There was a concerted effort to turn it into a rail trail instead. Much as I love rail trails, I was hoping to discover tracks still here not just a gravel bed. Oh well--I guess I will have to mountain bike it next time...
We walked eastward for a bit and came across occasional tie plates and...
...Mike picked up a piece of a railroad tie.
It was kinda cool to find a mile marker - I believe that signifies 21 miles from Kingston (where the line originated).
I was hoping to locate where the prior route of the ROW branched off (blue line) but after decades of nature's regrowth I never found it (see About the Railroad below for further details).
Once we got to the causeway section and saw water on both sides, we turned back and..
...made our way to the fallen bridge.
At The Bridge Ruins
It was interesting that the trees were cut down here..
Compare the view above to this photo that I pulled from a railroad video few years back:
As mentioned above, this bridge was destroyed in 2011 by Hurricane Irene.
Closer/Zoom
Close up Photo Courtesy of Michael Adams
Sections of the bridge were scattered about...
Close up Photo Courtesy of Michael Adams
Close up Photo Courtesy of Michael Adams
In the water below us, rails snaked thru the river like wet spahgetti!
Super Short Video
After documenting the tragic wreckage, we headed back....
Ascending the Stream bed
As we made or way back up the stream bed, we came across a pile of birch bark (the photo only shows one small bit). It easy to see how this was used as paper manuscript long ago... Birch bark manuscript (Wikipedia)
It was hard to discern but along the stream bed it seemed there were remnants of a carriage road here and there...
Lastly one of our coolest discoveries was this sign nailed to a tree. "Man Dry?" We both thought (simultaneously!) the full sign at one time read: "Woman Laundry" as the stream bed at this location had a nice big flat rock and a narrows where water rushed thru. It would be a perfect safe spot to sit and wash your clothes by hand! Perhaps this is where the family that were living in the foundation ruins we saw, washed their clothes....
About The Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was chartered in 1866 as the Rondout & Oswego, and reorganized in 1872 as the New York, Kingston & Syracuse, it became the Ulster & Delaware in 1875, and was completed to Oneonta in 1900. Called the “Up & Down” by locals... stiff grades, horseshoe curves and babbling mountain brooks made the railroad a picturesque scenic ride and key to the development of much of the Catskill economy.
The railroad thrived into the World War I era, especially on tourist passenger traffic, milk, and coal, and began to fade with the coming of the automobile and the truck in the 1920s. The line later become the Catskill Mountain Branch of the New York Central and was finally abandoned in 1976.
[Credits: Trainweb and U&D Railroad Historical Society - see links below]
Reroute
Between 1908 and 1912, the railroad carried supplies for the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir, part of the system of reservoirs feeding New York City. When the reservoir was completed, nearly 12 and a half miles of the U&D were relocated to compensate for the old route that was soon flooded out.
Ulster and Delaware Railroad (Wikipedia) At its greatest extent, the U&D extended from Kingston Point on the Hudson River, through the Catskill Mountains to its western terminus at Oneonta.
Catskill Mountain Railway Great write up about the history of this section of track. Note This is the tourist train out of Kingston based on former Ulster and Delaware ROW - not the original narrow gauge Catskill Mountain Railway out of Catskill NY.
