Jerome, I can't tell you the purpose of having built 2 Newburgh Branch alignments, except maybe to keep the railfans happy in later years(LOL). It certainly wasn't to connect freight traffic from the NY& HRRR at Newburg to the L&HR and points south, as (1) the L&HR was and Erie (NYLE&W) branch back then and (2) the Erie Warwick Branch was not completed from there south (west) yet. As I see it, the purpose more than likely was similar to that of the Montgomery Branch. Freight traffic can get to the Middletown area (and the NYO&W) more easily with a route to the Main Line. The Graham Line was connected at Highland Falls when it was decided to built a different (freight) route west. Technically, the Graham Line starts at Highland Falls; only after the rest of the Branch (past Mountainville, etc.) was torn up, did the lower portion all become known as the Graham Line. No, there is no portion of either of those 2 lines which were ever part of the Main Line, which I'm sure you well know. The Main Line took an entirely different alignment and never came that far north (by map) to even be near the Newburgh Branch around Woodbury or Highland Mills. Its connection at Greycourt is its only proximity. Yes, the Newburgh Branch (from Newburgh Jct.) went through west Cornwall and past the O&W near Vails Gate -- check out my previous post. In order of stations on the line, after Highland Falls was Woodbury, Valley (later Houghton Farms), Mountainville, West Cornwall, Vails Gate Jct. (where it joined the Greycourt portion east of Vails Gate on that other portion), New Windsor, West Newburg and Newburgh. Right again on Central Valley. Since Central Valley was originally on the Newburgh Branch, it had passenger service. As I understand it, that private residence just west of the existing freight station was the passenger station at one time, although I could be wrong. Well, got to run. Ray </HTML> The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org To Unsubscribe: http://lists.elhts.org/erielackunsub.html ------------------------------
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