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Photos: Remnants of the O & W Railroad, Part II

The concrete base for trestle, near Mill St.
The concrete base for trestle, near Mill St.
Remnants of the railroad bridge over the Moodna Creek near Pleasant Hill Rd.
Remnants of the railroad bridge over the Moodna Creek near Pleasant Hill Rd.
Remnant of the trestle on Woodbury Creek.
Remnant of the trestle on Woodbury Creek.
The Mountainville train station.
The Mountainville train station.
Ketchum's store and railroad ticket office in Mountainville.
Ketchum's store and railroad ticket office in Mountainville.
October 09, 2008

More of Phil Hopp's photos of the O &W railroad remnants in the area of Firthcliff and Mountainville, New York.

The O & W Railroad, built in the 1870s, opened up the Catskills to people from New York City and the Hudson Valley, running a line that ran from Cornwall Landing to Lake Oneida and north to Lake Ontario. The line flourished for decades, then went out of business in 1957, more than 50 years ago. Since then, hikers have praised the natural beauty they find along the train bed.

Cornwall-on-Hudson scenic photographer Phill Hopp knows his way along the old train bed and sent along these photos he took of the crumbling track ruins. Last year, Hopp sent photos of the O&W train tracks closer to Cornwall Landing. You may view those photos here.

Here's what Phil has to say about where he took these photos:

"I started about 1/2-mile off Forge Hill Road, parallel to Route 9W, on the NW side. I followed the old railroad bed from there into Firthcliff and Mill Street (in Cornwall).

The track split near Firthcliff, with one bed going into the Firthcliff Carpet Mill and the other to the left and on into Mill street. Directly across from the newer homes on Mill Street there used to be a very long trestle, whose remnants are still there. The remnants are concrete bases and footings, with some steel still attached.

This trestle crossed Moodna Creek and Rt. 32, just up from Orrs Mills Road and the old flour mill that used to be at the base of Orrs Mills Rd. (By the way, this old flour mill was in service from the Revolutionary war until WWI. There is a plaque on a rock stating this, hence the name Orrs Mill Road.

As you cross Rt. 32, the remnant of the other trestle base can be seen. The railroad crossed here and followed along parallel with Orrs Mills Road until it crossed the New York State Thruway, where it bore off to the north and west, toward Route 94.

Another rail line, the Erie Railroad, sent a line south and west,  following parallel with Pleasant Hill Road until it crossed the Moodna and Woodbury Creeks, passed the site of the Black Rock Fish and Game Club, and on into Ketchum's Store In Mountainville ( Mountainville used to be called Ketchumville).



CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW.



Comments:

I believe that the last two paragraphs above contain an error.

The O&W continues west after crossing Route 32, crosses under the Thruway and heads north crossing Route 94 at Meadowbrook Lodge. (You can see the right-of-way on the south side of Route 94 behind the big fence.) Here's a link to a map of the NYO&W from the NYO&W Historical Society site: http://www.nyow.org/OW_map.jpg.

The railroad through Mountainville was the Newburgh Shortcut of the Erie Railorad.


posted by Frank Ostrander on 10/09/08 at 7:25 AM

Going though a box of pictures I have I came across my grandparents honeymoon picture. Henry & Carrie Engstrom. They were married June 4 1913. There is a picture of my grandma siting on a bagget cart to the right side of the side window, The sign over the window says "Mountainville" at the "Mountainville train station" I was so thrilled to find this picture & it still being there.


posted by Susan Foley on 05/06/13 at 5:03 PM

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