Catskill and Tannersville Railway

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The C&T's own special train, "The Huckleberry Express", on its daily trip from Tannersville to Otis Summit in Kaaterskill.

The Catskill and Tannersville Railway was a historic narrow gauge railroad operating in New York.

Also known as "The Huckleberry", the C&T operated tracks that were laid to a three foot gauge. The railroad commenced at the Otis Summit station in Kaaterskill at the top of the Wall of the Manitou, which was the terminus of the Otis Elevating Railway, and ended 5.2 miles away at its headquarters in Tannersville. The C&T faced competition from the parallel Stony Clove and Kaaterskill branch of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad.

[edit] History

C&T #2 resting at Haines Falls Station.

The Catskill Mountain Railway didn't always have the Catskill & Tannersville to connect the Otis Elevating Railway to Tannersville. Instead, the Kaaterskill Railroad served that purpose, as it was the same gauge as the Otis Elevating and the Catskill Mountain Railway; three feet, and connected by a shorter C&T from the Otis Summit Station, too. But the C&T was also present in the area, and was very close to the Kaaterskill. In fact, the two lines were so close that the C&T ran trains on the KRR from 1893-1898. This stopped when the Ulster and Delaware standard-gauged the Kaaterskill Railroad in 1899, and the connection was no more. So the CMR president solved that problem by lengthening the C&T to Tannersville in 1900.

It was built on a tight budget, and used 3-foot gauge so it could interchange freight cars with the Otis, and because it was cheaper. It only had two locomotives in its roster, both eventually being replaced by outside-frame engines. This railroad was known to some as the Ulster & Delaware's annoying narrow-gauge competitor; it did offer an alternative route, but this "alternative route" was right next to the U&D, and most of the C&T stations were right across from the U&D stations. There were downfalls to using this railroad, and that included the fact that the railroad barely ever ran on time. This was probably due to the frequent stops to let passengers get out and see the Kaaterskill Falls, the Mountain Laurel in full bloom, and even to pick blueberries, which the locals called "huckleberries", hence the railroad's nickname, and was probably enjoyed by the fellow passengers.

The railroad was somewhat profitable, and managed to survive for quite a while, but one thing it couldn't stay away from was bankruptcy. It went bankrupt in 1918, and was torn up and sold for scrap, along with the rest of the Catskill Mountain Railway system in 1919. The two locomotives that were previously owned by the C&T were shipped to the Bellevue and Cascade Railway in the State of Iowa.

[edit] Stations

• Tannersville Station
• Clum Road Station
• The Antlers Hotel
• Haines Falls Station
• Laurel House Station
• Otis Summit Station

[edit] Locomotives

[edit] Rolling Stock

[edit] External links

• Ulster and Delaware Railroad Historical Society
• A history of the Town of Hunter

[edit] References

• 1. Light rails and Short Ties Through the Notch: The Stony Clove & Catskill Mountain Railroad and Her Steam Legacy
• 2. Ulster and Delaware Railroad Historical Society
• Helmer, William F. (1970). Rip Van Winkle Railroads. Howell-North Books. ISBN 0-8310-7079-X.