Catskill Mountain line....A question about kingston.

Hello all,

I was looking at Kingston NY on google maps and was wondering....

How did the Catskill branch make its way through Kingston to the Hudson river?

I can see the line clearly heads west from the CSX line, but how it went east toward Rondout is not quite so clear. I can make out a bridge across Rt 9 and most of the row east of there, but between rt 9 and the CSX line, it is impossible to clearly discern.

Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks in advance.

See ya all later.

This topo map shows the ROW clearly, as a dotted line:


http://www.nysgis.state.ny.us/gisdata/q ... 47plan.gif

The ROW is intact, though rails are removed in some places, and leased by the Trolley Museum of NY up to 100 feet west of East Chester Street, about MP 2.4. From there to CSX, MP 2.8, the ROW has been abandoned and sold off by the City of Kingston, who own the ROW from MP 0 to MP 2.4.

EH

Here's the route of the U&D:
http://rutlandtrail.org/gmap.cgi?UnD-delaware.ny.track

Hello all,

Thank you Ernie and Russ!

I kinda thought that the ROW was gone west of Chester St.

Ernie, you said the right of way was still intact. Did you mean that there is an easement or something left throught the properties between milepost 2.4 and 2.8, or did you mean from MP 2.4 to the river? I',m guessing you ment the part to the river is still intact. However, I'd love to know if the other part of the right of way was still intact, just sold off.

I look forward to learning more. Thank you for the information

Well, that's all for now folks.....

See ya all later.....

From 9W down to the river, the r-o-w is intact. West of there it has been obliterated. Kingston Hospital's parking lot covers it, looks like a cut was filled in there as the lot is a full story higher than the grade would have been. West of the hospital, an industrial building sits on the r-o-w right before the old diamond's location.

Yes, the original ROW has been permanently blocked between MP 2.4 and MP 2.8.

The TMNY does have an outline of a plan for a trolley connection to the CMRR, if they decide to have an uptown trolley network someday. This would eventually connect with the new multi-mode transit hub to be located near Washington Avenue on the CMRR at about MP 4.37, and allow access to Kingston Plaza at MP 4. The outline of the plan is in their long-term plan (link below) and the relevant excerpt is listed below. Keep in mind that this is a very long ways off.

EH

http://tmny.org/MasterPlan.html

Expansion ideas in Midtown Kingston
Build trolley loop near the site of the former East Chester St. car barn.

Extend line along original U&D alignment to behind City Hall. This requires coordination with the planned parking structure construction. The City Hall trolley stop would be in the lower level of the structure.

Reopen trolley tunnel under CSX line: Shunt from where U&D alignment approaches Grand Street to south of the NYDEP building (formerly Micronetics) to connect to original subway alignment at Canfield Lane (the end of Dederick Street). New road access will also need to be provided for access to the buildings on Canfield Lane.

[Are tracks down Broadway desired?] Potential traffic congestion is a concern to maintain a regular trolley schedule. Following the original U&D and trolley tunnel alignments as much as possible avoids Broadway congestion. The trolley tunnel will not be inexpensive to build, but overall cost should not be significantly different from the cost of installing track in Broadway under the CSX and Railroad Avenue bridges. The U&D alignment also has the benefit of avoiding extremely sharp curves, at least until Grand St. Trolley cars can accommodate a radius as small as 35’, whereas the subway and railroad equipment in the museum collection, being longer and heavier, must have wider turns with a 90’ [?] minimum radius.

Once the trolley line is extended to the west side of the CSX tracks, it has been suggested that the line be continued to Kingston Plaza. The former U&D line is still intact in this stretch and is currently leased to the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR).

[Research needed on Federal Railway Administration (FRA) ramifications of CMRR connection, both with and without a CMRR connection to CSX.]

The Nat'l Micronetics building is what I was thinking of- it was built right over the r-o-w.

A trolley right up B'way would work, if there was a system in place to activate traffic lights in advance of the cars, like in San Diego. Such a trolley could have many uses. By linking the waterfront with uptown, it could provide a link from the Thruway circle to a ferry with Rhinecliff. B'way is wide enough for a trolley, it already passes under CSX, and it will bring people right to shops, Kingston Hospital, the Performing Arts center, and historic uptown. Commuters, tourists and residents could all benefit.