Rock N Rail? too much fun. Keep this goin, guys, It would be dumb not to extend the lease, any other operator would be all the same, you guyz are havin a (high) ball.

There is some fishing permitted (for trout and walleye), but by permit only. While there is recreational boating allowed on certain NY City reservoirs, the Ashokan Reservoir is not included in that program.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31426.html

The depth of the distrust and bitterness many Ulster County residents hold for NY City over the reservoir and its management is hard to overstate. Several communities were lost to the reservoir when it was flooded in 1914, most notably the village of Ashokan, NY itself.

(Fans of the Ken Burns "Civil War" series on public television will recognize Jay Ungar's haunting theme song, "Ashokan Farewell", which originally had nothing at all to do with the Civil War but was composed as a lament for the flooding of Ashokan.)

-Philip Marshall

I certainly saw it. But you have to understand that the mission of NYCDEP, bluntly put, it to keep the water supply safe. In a perfect world, it would be 8' high razor wire with guard dogs patrolling the perimeter. They aren't New York State Parks. So there's no obligation to the public for access, only for water safety. They are only as accommodating as political pressure makes them. Natural instinct seems to be to lock the door. It's really not hard to comprehend if you think about it.

While it's understandable, the presence of NYCDEP deputies watching each and every vehicle cross over the bridge in the middle of the reservoir, as well as doing traffic 'pull overs' on a regular basis, didn't do anything to change that impression. Even the die-hard backers of the existing biking and recreational events up around the reservoir have commented that the NYCDEP presence could be overbearing at times and they didn't feel welcome.

At the time that railroad easement was written, Ulster & Delaware was at their peak of business - very successful operation - and drove the entire economy of hotels in that region as destinations. They got a very well engineered track alignment on the relocation that they designed and NYC paid for, but the easement rights were well-engineered by the other side as well. The trail isn't wanted either, it's just the lesser of two evils given a railroad track or a trail on the easement. And in any kind of a security situation, they can close all access.

Its easy to be confused by the dual-agency relationship of DEP/NYCDEP up there, but all you really need to understand is this is an extension of the City, period, and they will, without hesitation, defend their water supply against all enemies, foreign or domestic, and err on the side of extreme caution. Will they also restrict trail use in the future? Well, I can tell you that there were originally walking trails all around the entire reservoir (mostly for ice harvesting) that are now completely abandoned. The most tangible evidence is the 'Chinese wall' on top of the Glenford dike - that was constructed to separate the walking trail from the then very-active Ulster & Delaware main line. Google Books has digitized the original construction bid documents for the reservoir and that little design tidbit surfaced in some research.

The south side of the reservoir already has some bike and walking trails on top of the dikes - they don't really connect to anything, and Rt 28A is a narrow-winding deathtrap for anyone on a bicycle. The logical approach of putting bike lanes alongside it would be a major construction project in the watershed, and they control that roadway as well. Overall, it's a very odd and unique situation, not unlike the Adirondack Park in complexity, just smaller.

It never clicked on the about the song on Civil War, yeah, you're right.

The only situation I've been in that resembled this was working on the WNYP rehab across the Seneca Indian Reservation in western NY. The Atlantic & Great Western got a perpetual 999 year easement across Indian lands back in the 1850's, through AGW, Erie, Erie Lackawanna, Conrail, NS, and WNYP. But that doesn't mean the tribe likes it one little bit or has forgotten about it. Our employee ID's were checked, you had to have a work permit to be on the easement from the Tribe, and any stopped vehicle was subject to investigation by any tribe member. You could work on the property, but you were constantly reminded that it was NOT your land.

Philip and Randy, given what you have said about the NYDEP and its mission, its history, and how it behaves even currently, it is even more amazing that the county chief executive and the trail people would even entertain the idea of taking the railroad out. From what you've said, the seizure of the right-of-way isn't just possible or probable; it's practically guaranteed.

It's not like this behavior or scenario isn't totally unknown; indeed, it sounds quite familiar to anybody in Ulster County. Even the most rabid trail proponent should be able to see this.

Something isn't right at all.

The CMRR is having records sales this weekend. EHb

I am hoping this motivates in getting a new or extended lease

As much as it may pain me to say it (or you to hear it), I'm almost willing to guarantee that the only reason there are "record sales" this weekend is because of the railroad shutting down, and these being the last chances for people to ride. If this were any other weekend, I can't imagine there being record numbers.

Photo by Steve Barry via Facebook this morning.

Friday, May 27th

Paul Sternitzke and Todd Syska cleaned the ROW from Shokan to West Hurley.


Saturday, May 28th

On Saturday the CMRR ran 7 trains; 3 at Mt. Tremper and 4 in Kingston.

In Kingston, Dave Hilliard was engineer, conductor was Tony Bocchino and John Marino was brakeman. Flaggers were Hunter Downie, Jordan Torregrosa, Mark Glaser, Bryan Wade and Joe Wolff. John Prestopino was trainman. Car attendants were Harrison Balduf and Walt Otto. George Bain handled the sound set-up. Peter Fluchere was ticket agent. Jim Bruck assisted all around.

In Phoenicia, Engineer was Dave Heick, Conductor was Ray Farrell, Brakeman was Neil Isabelle, and Russ Hallock was ticket agent.

Tom Healy picked up discarded ties near the Andrew's Lane area.



Sunday, May 29th

On Saturday the CMRR ran 7 trains; 3 at Mt. Tremper and 4 in Kingston.

In Kingston, John Marino was engineer, conductor was Tony Bocchino and Walt Otto was brakeman. Trainman was Al Schoessow. Flaggers were Mark Glaser, Jeff Otto, Joe Wolff, Bryan Wade and Karl Wick . Car attendants were Russ Hallock and Franc Libihoul. George Bain handled the sound set-up. Jim Bruck was ticket agent.

At Mt. Tremper, Engineer was Tom Whyte, Conductor was Hunter Downie, Brakeman was Ed Winstanley, and ticket agent was Peter Fluchere.



Monday, May 30th

On Saturday the CMRR ran 7 trains; 3 at Mt. Tremper and 3 in Kingston, plus a special all-CMRR train at the end of the day.

In Kingston, Tom Whyte and Earl Pardini were engineer, conductor was John Prestopino and John Marino was brakeman. Flaggers were Mark Glaser, Jeff Otto, Joe Wolff, Bryan Wade, Karl Wick and Chris Ruger . Car attendants were Jan Harrison, Pat Smalley and Franc Libihoul. George Bain handled the sound set-up. Pat Smalley and Thom Johnson were ticket agents. Ernie Klopping assisted all around.

https://scontent.fphl2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/ ... 5432_o.jpg

In Mt. Tremper, Engineer Dave Heick, Brakeman/Car Attendant Bill Kaba, Fireman Jordan Torragrosa, Car Attendants Russ Hallock and Harrison Balduf, Ticket agent Bruce Devorkin. Special Guests on board included Greg & George Peck (his ashes), Neil & Kathy Isabelle, and others.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=230713

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=230714

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=230712


Tuesday, May 31st

Paul Sternitzke, William Sternitzke and Todd Syska did a final cleanup run from Kingston to the Boiceville Trestle. They also filmed the entire section for posterity.

Jeff Otto, Bryan Wade and Vince Guido cleared debris at Stony Hollow and near Westbrook Station, and did a final trash run from Westbrook to O'Neil Street.

Peter Fluchere cleared all the CMRR equipment out of the stations at Westbrook Lane and Mt. Tremper.


Overall, the CMRR carried over 2100 passengers this weekend, a record for Memorial Day weekend, and nearly four times the number we carried for Memorial Day in 2015.

So far in 2016, the CMRR has carried over 5000 passengers, another record for the CMRR, especially since the season normally does not begin until June 1st.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

We have a friend in trail supporter Micheal Helbing, one of the founders of the hiking group Metrotrails:

https://www.facebook.com/metrotrails/ph ... =3&theater

....pindrop.....



wonder if the local businesses notice a drop in their tourism dollars...

The shutdown just took place, so it's a little soon to know.

First notable effects, if any, won't be seen until next weekend at the earliest.

Everyone should read that 'settlement agreement' through (link to the PDF is available in the Metrotrails Facebook post). I see a couple of things there that I find even more disturbing than the issue cited. Perhaps GWE or Mr. Wilkins can weigh in to confirm or deny that I should be concerned...

I note that after the date of lease expiry, CMRR is not allowed to "operate", but they may subsequent to the 31st be required to cure any breach of the various cleanup issues (in the sole estimation of an Ulster County employee, who is not required to have 'reasonable' cause to declare breach). One wonders if there will be an "issue" that requires power machinery to clean up.

I further notice that the county requires scrapping of considerable CMRR equipment, including the RS1, if the "cleanup" cannot be completed as scheduled. Note further that no dealers or preservation organizations were mentioned as alternatives to a 'scrap vendor', or any recourse indicated in the document other than scrapping.

Reading between the lines, either CMRR had extremely dubious legal representation, or Ulster County really 'has it in' for CMRR and at least some of its volunteers, or is dominated more than we realize by folks sympathetic to the "wrong" sort of trail interests.

My hat is off to the Catskill Mountain people who went to the end with panache.

Such a shame, I sincerely hope that there may yet be a positive resolution for this.

"(Fans of the Ken Burns "Civil War" series on public television will recognize Jay Ungar's haunting theme song, "Ashokan Farewell", which originally had nothing at all to do with the Civil War but was composed as a lament for the flooding of Ashokan.) "

Not quite!

http://jayandmolly.com/ashokan-farewell ... ewell-faq/

"I composed Ashokan Farewell in 1982 shortly after our Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps had come to an end for the season. I was feeling a great sense of loss and longing for the music, the dancing and the community of people that had developed at Ashokan that summer. I was having trouble making the transition from a secluded woodland camp with a small group of people who needed little excuse to celebrate the joy of living, back to life as usual, with traffic, newscasts, telephones and impersonal relationships. By the time the tune took form, I was in tears. I kept it to myself for months, unable to fully understand the emotions that welled up whenever I played it. I had no idea that this simple tune could affect others in the same way."

Best regards,

Joshua

Thank you for the correction.

-Philip Marshall