Catskill Mountain Railway
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The Catskill Mountain Railway (CMRy) was a Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". narrow gauge railroad, Script error: No such module "convert". long, running from Catskill to Palenville in Greene County, New York. Organized as the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR) in 1880, it was built in 1881 and 1882. The principals had interests in shipping on the Hudson and in hotels in the Catskill Mountains.
Unlike most railroads, the CMRR was built primarily for the purpose of transporting passengers and was intended to operate seasonally. Most people using the line were summer tourists who travelled by steamboat from points along the Hudson River. Their final destinations were hotels and boarding houses located high in the Catskill Mountains. While the railroad served its purpose of bringing passengers closer to the mountain top resorts, it still left them with an arduous hour-long stage trip up the face of the Catskill Escarpment (also known as the Wall of Manitou). In 1885 a branch was built in Cairo, New York, with the intent to carry bluestone, hay and fruit, and was run year round. That same year, the CMRR was reorganized as the Catskill Mountain Railway.
Competition
Competition soon arose, in the form of the Stony Clove & Catskill Mountain and the Kaaterskill railroad companies, both controlled by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. These narrow gauge railroads brought passengers much closer to their final destinations, saving them the difficult stage trip CMRR patrons had. To counter the competition, the Otis Elevating Railway was formed, hiring the company of Elisha Otis's sons[1] to build a cable railroad. This railroad was completed in 1892. Script error: No such module "convert". in length, it raised passengers Script error: No such module "convert". in 10 minutes - saving a one-hour stage ride. At the summit, Script error: No such module "convert". of track was laid to connect with the terminus of the Kaaterskill Railroad.
By 1897 connecting service on the Kaaterskill Railroad had become so bad, that a new railroad, the Catskill and Tannersville Railway was constructed to run from the Otis to Tannersville. This line paralleled the existing KatterskillScript error: No such module "Unsubst". one as far as Tannersville. Hastily built, this line had curves as sharp as 20 degrees and a maximum speed of 7 miles per hour. Locally, it was affectionately known as the "Huckleberry" for the fruit which grew along its way.
During a 1904 reconstruction of the Otis, a switch was installed to connect with the C&T permitting through freight to operate from Catskill to Tannersville. Because of the slanted seats necessary on the Otis, passengers still had to change cars.
A great boon to the CMRR was the development of the shale brick in 1888 by the Elmira Shale Brick Company. By 1898, raw material mined on the Cairo branch for the Catskill Shale brick company comprised, by tonnage, 95% of the freight carried.
The last trains were run in 1918.
Route
The train route ran from Cairo, southeast to Catskill and then Catskill Landing. Catskill provided a connection to the New York Central's West Shore Railroad trains from Albany to Weehawken, New Jersey. The Catskill Landing location provided a connection for boats across the Hudson River to Hudson, New York. Service between Cairo Junction and Palenville and Otis Summit on the C&T Railway was available in the summer months only.[2]
Locomotives
| Number | Name | Builder | Type | Date | Shop No. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Sherwood Day | Dickson Manufacturing Company | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1882 | 335 | |
| 2 | John T. Mann | Dickson Manufacturing Company | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1882 | 336 | |
| 3 | Charles T. Van Santvoord | Dickson Manufacturing Company | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1885 | 522 | Retired in 1911. |
| 4 | Charles L. Beach | Schenectady Locomotive Works | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1895 | 4333 | Burned in 1908. Boiler used on #2. |
| 2nd #4 | Charles L. Beach | ALCO Schenectady | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1909 | 46645 | Sold in 1920 to Oak Grove and Georgetown Railroad. |
| 5 | Alfred Van Santvoord | ALCO Rogers | 4-4-0Template:Whyte suffix | 1912 | 51126 | Sold in 1920 to Oak Grove and Georgetown Railroad. |
Passenger Cars
Freight Cars
| Number | Builder | Type | Date[3] | Capacity[3] | Notes[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | Script error: No such module "convert". | Script error: No such module "convert". long. |
| 2 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 3 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 4 | Jackson & Sharp | gondola | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 5 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 6 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 7 | Jackson & Sharp | gondola | 1882 | 12 tons | Script error: No such module "convert". long. |
| 8 | Jackson & Sharp | gondola | 1882 | 12 tons | 31 feet long. |
| 9 | Jackson & Sharp | flatcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 31 feet long. |
| 10 | Jackson & Sharp | gondola | 1882 | 12 tons | 31 feet long. |
| 11 | Jackson & Sharp | boxcar | 1882 | 12 tons | 30 feet long. |
| 12 | Jackson & Sharp | boxcar | 1882 | 12 tons | Converted to Script error: No such module "convert". caboose by railroad. |
| 13 | Jackson & Sharp | boxcar | 1893 | 12 tons | 24 feet long. |
| 14 | Jackson & Sharp | boxcar | 1893 | 12 tons | 24 feet long. |
| 15 | Catskill Mountain Ry. | gondola | 1906 or 1907[4][5] | 8 tons [3] | Script error: No such module "convert". long. Built for interchange with Otis Ry. and Catskill & Tannersville Ry.[6] |
| 16 | Catskill Mountain Ry. | gondola | 1906 or 1907[4][5] | 8 tons [3] | 22 feet long. Built for interchange with Otis Ry. and Catskill & Tannersville Ry.[6] |
| 17 | Catskill Mountain Ry. | boxcar | 1908 or 1909[4][5] | 8 tons [3] | 22 feet long. Built for interchange with Otis Ry. and Catskill & Tannersville Ry.[6] |
| 18 | Catskill Mountain Ry. | boxcar | 1908 or 1909[4][5] | 8 tons [3] | 22 feet long. Built for interchange with Otis Ry. and Catskill & Tannersville Ry.[6] |
External links
References
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- ↑ "The Otis Elevating Railway", Scientific American, Oct. 5, 1895; reprinted by The Catskill Archive
- ↑ 'Official Guide of the Railways, 1910, p. 290.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Helmer (1970), p. 137.
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Various years.
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Various years.
- ↑ a b c d Helmer (1970), p. 83.
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