The Delaware and Ulster Railroad (DURR) is a

heritage railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

based in Arkville, New York.

History

The last regularly scheduled passenger train over the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad (U&D) tracks was operated between Kingston and Oneonta by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

on March 31, 1954. The tracks were then cut back to Bloomville in July, 1965 to make way for construction of Interstate 88 near Oneonta, and for lack of freight business west of Bloomville. Ownership of the tracks passed to

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

in 1968, and to the government-backed Conrail on April 1, 1976. The last westbound freight train over the mountains was operated by Conrail on September 26, 1976, with the return trip to gather up all remaining freight cars taking place on October 2, 1976. The DURR is a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Catskill Revitalization Corporation, of Stamford, NY, which owns the former U&D railbed between

Highmount, New York Shandaken is a town on the northern border of Ulster County, New York, United States, northwest of Kingston, New York. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,866.2020 US Census, Shandaken, Ulster County, New York https://ww ...

and

Bloomville, New York Bloomville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Kortright, Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 213 at the 2010 census. Geography Bloomville is located in the West Branch Delaware River valley, ...

: 45 miles. The line was acquired from Penn Central in 1980, for $770,000, following the successful regional advocacy for this by noted transportation attorney Donald L. Pevsner. Funding was provided by the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, of Hobart, NY, which currently has $57 million in assets derived from IBM stock that was sold to Mr. O'Connor directly by Thomas Watson, Sr., IBM's founder, in the 1920s. The Foundation conveyed the 45-mile-long line to the Delaware County Towns through which it passed, and these Towns later conveyed it to the non-profit Catskill Revitalization Corporation. The new tourist railroad started operations in 1983, between Highmount and Arkville, NY, and extended operations later to the Arkville-Roxbury, NY segment. The DURR operates in

Delaware County, New York Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3 ...

on the former U&D tracks west of Highmount, where the tracks are defunct eastward to a point just east of West Hurley. DURR's operations are currently limited to the Arkville- Roxbury segment. The Highmount-Arkville segment was placed back into service on October 3, 2013, and the Roxbury-Hubbell Corners segment remains out of service. The Hubbell Corners-Bloomville segment was abandoned; the railbed was converted for use as the Catskill Scenic Rail Trail. The DURR suffered a major washout at Kelly's Corners on August 28, 2011, as a result of

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 ...

. The east branch of the Delaware River undermined approximately a quarter-mile of track along Route 30, and caused minor washouts and scouring at Halcottsville and other locations along the line; service resumed in May 2012.

''Rip Van Winkle Flyer''

The pride of the DURR is the ''Rip Van Winkle Flyer'', a five-car Budd streamline train used for charters. The train consists of: * Observation Car: former NYC No. 61, built 1948 * Tavern Lounge: former Minneapolis & St. Louis No. 52, built 1948 * Dining Car: former ACL No. 5936, built 1950 * Vista Dome: former MP 891, built 1948 * Baggage/Generator, former ATSF The regular train is powered by former

Delaware & Hudson The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D& ...

5017, an

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

RS-36, and consists of two

flat car A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

s and three former Pennsylvania Railroad MP-54 coaches (441, 444 and 447) lettered for NYC. Other locomotives at the DURR consist of: *Alco S-4's #1012 and #5106, * GE 44 tonner #76, *EMD NW2 #116 Currently under consideration for restoration is the "Red Heifer" a Model 250

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

Gas-Electric doodlebug, formerly

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

M-405. This piece of equipment was used extensively during the railroad's early days in 1983. The railway also owns two

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

s. The DURR's Roxbury Station is owned by the Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society and is called the Roxbury Depot Museum. Currently, the entire depot is covered by a structure that was put in place while it was used as a lumber and feed dealer. Volunteers are seeking funds for full restoration, as well as seeking to settle remaining issues with the estate of the former owner before work can proceed.

Management

The DURR is owned by the Catskill Revitalization Corporation. * G.V. Stevens, Chief Mechanical Officer and Operations Manager * Ted Latta, Track Supervisor * Ken Dodge, Jr., Signal Maintainer

References

* Delaware, Ulster & Greene County NY Railroad Information (website), courtesy of Philip M. Goldstein * John M. Ham, Robert K. Bucenec (2003), The Old "Up and Down" Catskill Mountain Branch of the New York Central, Stony Clove & Catskill Mountain Press

External links

Delaware & Ulster Railroad

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware Ulster Railroad Heritage railroads in New York (state) Catskills Tourist attractions in Delaware County, New York