I work in the area now and of course, curiosity got the best of me... This place will be massive!!!
Informative sign out front
New Skyscapers being built further west are looming above it all!
In the front of the building, the Post Office is still functioning and will continue as is once the reconstruction is completed.
Aerial Views
Here.s an aerial view of the Area- in the distance (at the top of the photo you can see Madison Square Garden and the Post Office (future "Moynihan Train Hall")
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.
The heat finally subsided and it was a beautiful day for a ride!
Slingerlands to Albany
I started the ride in Slingerlands and rode down to the end of the trail. The nicest part is of course the stretch in the gorge by the Normanskill Falls/Rapids.
It's an easy ride with a barely noticeable grade.
Near my starting point was the old freight station - how cool!
I was very impressed with the occasional signs that detailed the former railroad history and its train stations.
At the bottom of the trail there are even CityBikes available!
The Falls/Rapids
Slingerlands to Voorheesville
From my online research I expected the trail from Slingerlands to Voorheesville to be rough gravel and/or grass but it has been fully paved and was a breeze to ride!
Note Picnic Pavilion Roof made to look like the old train station
The former West Shore Mainline (now CSX) is where the rail trail ended
looking northwest
looking southeast
Short Video of the Ride
About the Railroad
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad (A&S) was a 6 ft (1,829 mm) broad gauge railroad from Albany to Binghamton, New York, operating 1851 to 1870. Construction began on April 19, 1851, from Albany to Schoharie Junction, New York, a 35-mile (56 km) stretch that required 12 years to complete.
In 1864, one could purchase a 20 cent ticket and hop on the train in Adamsville (now Delmar) at 8:45 AM and arrive 15 minutes later in Albany. After business, shopping, and lunch, the train left Albany at 2 PM. for the return trip―all without hitching up the horses and braving the roads.
By December 31, 1868, the line’s 142 miles to Binghamton were completed.The line was built with 60-pound iron, and a six foot gauge enabling it to connect freely with the Erie Railroad in Binghamton.
In the summer of 1869 there was a Railroad War for control of this important line. Read about it in either the Wikipedia link or the Susan Leath link below.
On February 24, 1870, the weary board of the A&S leased the line in perpetuity to the Delaware & Hudson. Passenger service on this section of the D&H line ended in the 1930s. Freight service continued through the 1990s with the actual rails being removed in 2004.
Source: The Rail in the Trail” by Susan Leath (See excellent link below)
