Otisville is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

stop on the

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

Port Jervis Line The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...

, serving the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Otisville along with the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Mount Hope in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, New York. It is located a short distance off

NY 211 New York State Route 211 (NY 211) is a state highway located entirely within Orange County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus is at the intersection with US 209 located in Cuddebackville, and the eastern terminus ...

near the eastern village line. The station has long been among the least developed on the Metro-North system, with a shelter on the bare

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

low-level

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

but no roof, and a 104-space

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

across the street. A short distance west of the station, trains enter the long Otisville Tunnel under the

Shawangunk Ridge The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jersey ...

, the longest in the Metro-North system and one of only two outside of the city. There is a long siding beginning just west of the station that allows trains to wait if one is coming through the tunnel. As a result, Otisville is technically a double-tracked station. When trains coming from the other direction are approaching, passengers board on the siding via a wooden platform on the tracks. Otisville station opened on November 1, 1846 as part of the extension of the

New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Eri ...

(later Erie Railroad) from Middletown, which had been the terminus since May 26, 1843. This remained the case until December 31, 1847, when service was extended to

Port Jervis Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

. The station was moved to its current location in January 1954 when the Erie realigned tracks between Howells and Graham station (in Guymard) onto the Graham Line, abandoning of the former main line.

Station layout

The station has two tracks and a low-level

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

with a pathway connecting the platform to the bypass track.

Bibliography

References

External links

Railfan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otisville (Metro-North Station) Metro-North Railroad stations in New York (state) Otisville, New York Railway stations in Orange County, New York NJ Transit Rail Operations stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1846 1846 establishments in New York (state)