Great speeder ride video! I am impressed by how your hard work has kept the track in gauge despite its rare use.

At 11:48 the speeder passes the "former Onteora Lake Spur." Why isn't the trail crowd clamoring for a pathway on that? It is an abandoned right-of-way that could make a trail.

I also noted that at 13:00 the speeder passes the "Ashokan Line Relocation." That old r-o-w could be utilized by the trail crowd too, and leave the tracks be where they belong: on the roadbed of the Catskill Mountain Railroad.

Friday, July 10th

Earl Pardini, Al Schoessow, John Patane and Jeff Otto worked on engine 401.

Dave Heick was engineer, Neil Isabelle was brakeman, and Walt Otto was conductor. Bruce Devorkin was ticket agent and Route 28 flagger.

Jeff Otto worked on track.


Saturday July 11th

Kingston crew: Engineer: AL Schoessow, Engineer Trainee: Tom Whyte, Conductor: Dave Hilliard, Brakeman: John Prestopino, Brakeman Trainee and Flagger: Hunter Downie, Flagger: John Marino, Alex Sorenson assisted. After the last train, the crew brought the Lion Gardner to Rt 209 for the last time. Jim Bruck and George Bain were ticket agents.

Mt. Tremper crew was Dave Heick, Engineer, Ray Ferrell, Conductor, Peter Fluchere, ticket agent.

Walt Otto worked on car 2949.

Al Johnson and Bill Kaba worked on car 35111 in Phoenicia.

George Peck, Joe Michaels and Greg Peck continued work on engine 407.



Sunday, July 12th

In Mt. Tremper, John Patane was engineer, Tony Bocchino was conductor, and Peter Fluchere was ticket agent and Route 28 flagger.

Tom Whyte, Harrison Balduf and I sickle bar cut from MP 10.6 to 6.3.

Ryan Lennox did work west of Shokan.

George Peck worked on engine 407.

Jeff Otto and Martin Elbrecht worked on track in Kingston.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/opinion/201 ... ounty-line

LETTER: Let’s run the tourist railroad from Kingston to the Delaware County line
POSTED: 07/30/15, 4:56 PM EDT

Dear Editor:

It is time to start moving on the Catskill Mountain Railroad from Kingston Plaza to the Delaware County line.

As for the railroad running though the reservoir property, we have had laws in our country for years. In years past, the railroad was used with no trouble. The law passed, the “grandfather law,” will override, not allowing New York City to stop the railroad passing through its property.

The railroad will bring tax money the Ulster County treasury. The trail will cost millions for pavement across the county. I’m sure there will not be any charge for using the trail.

The railroad will really put our county on the map. Once before there was talk of using the railroad, and it was turned down and it moved elsewhere and was a good success for the area to where it was moved.

If there are politics involved, Democrats and Republicans, shake hands and get busy on making money for our county. Remember, it takes money to make money. I’m sure there are grants available. The money the railroad makes can be used for the trail in the future.

Charles Lang
Kingston, N.Y.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/opinion/201 ... sabilities

LETTER: Rail plan meets needs of those with disabilities

Ulster & Delaware railroad tracks looking toward the Ashokan Reservoir from the
POSTED: 07/18/15, 11:37 PM EDT

Dear Editor,

I urge the citizens of Ulster County to support both a rail and trail from Kingston, N.Y., to Phoenicia, N.Y., by contacting Ulster County Executive Michael Hein and your county legislator.

The trail-only options ignore the disabled. Although they claim that the trail will comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, they fail to realize that there are many physically disabled folks and many on the spectrum who are not being addressed. These people can’t walk or bike a trail. They can only enjoy the fresh air and scenery provided by a train traveling along the Ashokan Reservoir on the Ulster and Delaware tracks.

I ask Hein and his trail proponents to go beyond their wants and show some compassion for our friends and families whose needs are covered by a rail and a trail. It is becoming selfish when it should be selfless.

Peter R. Baker

West Hurley, N.Y.

Big news! The CMRR hopes to get passenger train back to Phoenicia as soon as possible!

From Ernie Hunt:

Engine 407 undergoing tests at Phoenicia, NY:

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=224955

CMRR 407 is now back in service after being down for repairs. It is also sporting a new paint scheme.

We hope to reopen the line to Phoenicia to passengers soon. It is now open to work trains on a regular basis.

I am surprised this has not been mentioned here yet--

Steam power returns to the Catskill Mountain Railroad for the first time since 1949 (!), in the form of American Viscose No. 6:

https://www.facebook.com/CatskillMounta ... =1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/CatskillMounta ... =1&theater


If you're in the area, it'll be a great little ride with steam, and a way to help this road.

Caught this on Trains Newswire a few weeks back. Having never visited the Catskill before but always wanting to, this is the perfect time to cross it off the list.

News announcement on the steam runs, with some video and photo links:

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-new ... is-weekend

Some photos and video of American Viscose 6 on the Catskill Mountain, starting with material from George Leroy Tyrebytre (that's the name he uses.)

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=5643D92E

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=564E698D

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=567F7406

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=5643D92E

A very short video that could almost be a still photograph; the small tank engine, the converted freight equipment for passenger service, and the presence of part of an old vehicle at the lower right reminds me of several early heritage roads in the 1960s that might have looked like this:

https://video-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvide ... e=55C71A66

As it turns out, that old truck is a 1946 Reo owned by a member of the Catskill Mountain Railroad, and it was a participant in the event; it brought the coal for American Viscose No. 6:

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=56482D55

We'll close out with a video by Tobe Carey:

https://video-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvide ... e=55C71752

I can not get the videos to play on my Ipad.
Al

I think that non-play issue may be from a security setting at the site I got the videos from.

Here are some others that might work better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV3DUCU ... e=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84qagY7fuD8

Something of a bonus--an excursion on what was then the Ulster & Delaware (recently merged into the New York Central) in 1936:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jyAVrmnMwQ

An article from late July that has few errors in it:

http://www.woodstockx.com/2015/07/27/ca ... -glenford/

Cahill likes rail-only option up to Glenford
by JEREMIAH HORRIGAN on Jul 27, 2015


To ride, or not to ride, or maybe to walk. Those are the questions — or at least two of them — surrounding the fate of the Catskill Mountain Railroad for the hearts and minds of railroad enthusiasts, hikers, bikers, politicians, bureaucrats and everyone who wishes to visit or benefit from a trip to the Ashokan Reservoir.

A Facebook posting last week by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill reporting on an 11-mile trip the Kingston Democrat made up the railroad line has triggered the latest round in a long-standing battle that pits supporters of the railroad against supporters of a planned rail trail to the reservoir lands.

In the posting, Cahill extolled the idea that providing rail access to Ashokan lands from Kingston up through Glenford as a “tremendous asset,” to the county while contending that “trail development only along that corridor is simply not ready for prime time.”

The reason, he said, was “rock cut areas where walkers and bikers might be trapped because access on and off the (t)rail was non-existent for unacceptable lengths.”

His posting puts Cahill at odds with supporters of the walking/hiking/biking trail, chief among them Ulster County Executive Mike Hein. The two Democrats engaged in a months-long political donnybrook over the Ulster County sales tax, a fight that culminated early this year with both combatants claiming victory.

Hein adamantly refused to comment on the rail-versus-trail controversy last week, referring all comments to two supporters of the rail trail plan.

Cahill, for his part, sounded a conciliatory note, saying on Monday his support for the railroad was not another round in his battle with Hein. “This isn’t something between me and him. I believe his position is incorrect, but he’s entitled to his position.”

Hein signed an agreement last month with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that’s expected to open the 11.5 miles of land along the reservoir’s north shore to bikers and hikers, but not railroad trains. If all goes as planned, the trail, which has been closed to the public for a century, will run from Basin Road in West Hurley along Route 28 to Boiceville. The DEP has agreed to provide $2.5 million toward the trail’s planning and construction. While the DEP owns that land, the county has held a right-of-way since 1976 along the reservoir’s shore that was intended for rail usage but never developed.

Today, the all-volunteer railroad hopes to expand along that track from Kingston as a tourist train. To that end, it has brought in several commercial endeavors such as the Christmas-themed Polar Express as proof of its value to the community and tourism.

But those efforts haven’t moved the legislature nor the Hein administration; the county’s years-old suit to remove the railroad from the tracks is still under appeal, while the railroad’s lease with the county will be up next May, with signs of a renewal being remote.

‘Mystified’ by Cahill

Cahill’s Facebook posting unleashed a torrent of arguments for and against the railroad; chief among those opposing his contention that a rail trail was unsafe was Kathy Nolan, co-chair of the Woodstock Land Conservancy and chair of the Catskill Heritage Alliance, who says the deal with the DEP is a godsend to the county and trumps any plans the railroad could provide. “We feel the county’s making the right choice here, it’s economically viable and we’ve got very strong public support.” She says the railroad has had its chance to upgrade and maintain the track and failed. Clearly, she says, a deal that includes DEP commitments on parking and marketing a rail trail is the only way to go.

Nolan called it an either-or question, and that the trail agreement was the vastly more feasible and desirable choice.

Kevin Smith, who is Nolan’s co-chair on the Woodstock Land Conservancy, said he was “mystified” by Cahill’s assertion that the proposed trail was unsafe, saying the eventual design will be “world class” and will be able to accommodate full-size emergency vehicles with ease. “The real risk to the public’s health and safety is the sedentary lifestyle that winds up costing taxpayers money in health care costs, costs that can be reduced by getting out in nature.”

Smith buttressed Nolan’s contention by forwarding a description of the DEP agreement that “recognizes that a rail-with-trail scenario is not feasible” along the Ashokan lands corridor.

Asking NYC to reconsider

Cahill says the rail trail-only argument ignores the bigger economic picture and that the current “community minded” leaders and members of Catskill Mountain Railroad have made good-faith efforts to demonstrate the line’s value to local businesses. “They need to go further, but already they’ve plowed everything they have into the community,” he said Monday. Making the railroad a tourism attraction that would go the distance to the Ashokan lands is something he said has been gaining local business support and the support of people who live along the route.

Ernest Hunt, president of the railroad club, could not be reached for comment.

Cahill said he met last week with DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd and members of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to see if the commission would “reconsider” its position. He acknowledged that while Lloyd didn’t appear receptive to the idea, he intends to pursue the issue further.

Cahill called for a “new partnership” of political and private interests that could preserve the railroad and the rail trail concepts. Even if there’s already a plan in place, he said, “any plan can be modified.” He compared the potential loss of a tourism train to what was lost in the City of Kingston in 1969 when the city’s old post office building was razed to make way for a fast-food franchise.

Daily Freeman story about American Viscose 6:

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-new ... qus_thread

I don't think I had better say anything about some of the comments that follow. . .

New petition for extending the CMRR to the Glenford Dike on the Ashokan Reservoir. Please sign and pass on. EH

https://www.change.org/p/emily-lloyd-sh ... d-corridor

To all:

As you know, the current Ulster County Executive, Mike Hein, has been attempting to terminate the CMRR's lease with Ulster County since June 2013. Since then he has refused all of the CMRR's attempts to meet with him and the railroad has been forced to spend $400,000 in legal expenses so far to defend its leasehold. We estimate that the County has spent an equal amount in its attempt to terminate the CMRR's lease.

His opponent in the upcoming election is Terry Bernardo, former Chairman of the Ulster County Legislature. She is on the record on her website defending the Historic railroad tracks in Ulster County:

Terry Bernardo for Ulster County Executive

http://www.terrybernardo.com

I strongly encourage you to make donations to her campaign as the best way to keep the railroad tracks in Ulster County. See below:

http://www.terrybernardo.com/donation

EH