(rshsdepot) Trail plan could mark end of line for ormer Ulster & Delaware Railroad corridor

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From today's Daily Freeman.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Trail plan could mark end of line for railroad  
By Kathryn Gill ,  Freeman staff  
 

KINGSTON - Ulster County may drop a long-term plan for a tourist train  from 
Kingston to Highmount in favor of a 38-mile hiking and biking trail along  the 
former Ulster & Delaware Railroad corridor.
 
A public workshop is scheduled for Feb. 9 on the feasibility of a trail  from 
Kingston Point Park to the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center on the Delaware  
County line. 
 
The workshop, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Olive Town Meeting Hall on  
Bostock Road in Shokan, will explore issues associated with the creation of a  
pedestrian and bicycle trail, said Bill Tobin, the principal transportation  
planner with the Ulster County Planning Department. 
 
At present, most of the railroad right-of-way is owned by Ulster County and  
leased to the Catskill Mountain Railroad. The city of Kingston leases a lower  
portion of the track to the Trolley Museum of New York. However, Tobin said,  
less than 10 miles of track are being used. 
 
For five months a year, the Catskill Mountain Railroad offers a 14-mile,  
90-minute round-trip scenic train ride on seven miles of track between Phoenicia  
and Boiceville. It also operates the Esopus Creek Shuttle, which provides  
transportation for summer inner-tube riders on the Esopus Creek.
 
The Trolley Museum runs vintage trolleys on a 1.5 mile section from East  
Strand to Kingston Point. Both groups operate weekends and holidays from May 28  
to Oct. 30. 
 
Tobin said the trail plan offers the potential for a continuous  
transportation and recreation corridor from the Susquehanna River in Oneonta to  the 
Hudson River in Kingston. But he acknowledges there would be challenges to  
overcome. 
 
In 1991, the Catskill Mountain Railroad signed a 25-year lease with the  
county. Tobin said that contract requires the Catskill Mountain Railroad not  just 
to maintain the right-of-way, but to improve it as well. The group is about  
a decade behind its goals, Tobin said, and county officials feel it is not  
living up to its end of the deal.
 
Harry Jameson, vice president of Catskill Mountain Railroad Inc.,  disagreed. 
 
"We have continued to make progress in the restoration of the Catskill  
Mountain branch line and have a design document that has been approved by the  
Federal Railroad Administration and the New York State Department of  
Transportation, which is on file with the county, for restoration and operation  of the 
tracks from Kingston to Phoenicia," he said. "The right-of-way easement  through 
the (New York City Department of Environmental Protection's) Ashokan  
Reservoir is explicitly and only written to allow railroad operations."
 
Tobin acknowledged that the Department of Environmental Protection has  
voiced concern over the possibility of a trail that would run adjacent to the  
Ashokan Reservoir. The agency is concerned that people might be tempted to swim  
in the reservoir, he said.
 
Under the trail proposal, the railroad tracks would be covered with asphalt  
and gravel, or a raised platform of some kind, Tobin said. 
 
While some argue that a scenic train promotes tourism, Tobin said the trail  
would be more usable for adjacent property owners, who currently must get  
permission to walk in the area, or pay a fee to ride the train. A trail would be  
for the public good, "not just a profit," he said.
 
"Who is more important, a few tourists or people that live here  year-round?" 
Tobin asked.

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1292
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org