Erie Newburgh branch?

A few days ago I came across a webpage which made reference to an Erie Newburgh branch and the station list contained three stops (Central Valley, Highland Mills, Salsibury Mill) which sound like they should be located on the Graham (current Port Jervis) line. I was not aware that there was ever passanger service on this cutoff. Are the stations I mentioned on the old Graham line, or some paralell ROW? If not, where did the Newburgh branch diverge from the current Graham line and is anything left of it today (for future commuter service)?

Not sure where the junction was (but I think it was labelled something obvious, like "Newburgh Junction". But the Newburgh end of the branch is still in place and still in service.

At the south end of Newburgh, immediately south of the old station, the branch ties in to CSX's river line, and then climbs a steep ramp, crossing over the main a half mile or so to the south. There's still a lumber yard up there that takes a few cars a week.

Hisorically, this is interesting. The Erie was Newburgh's first RR, not the West Shore. There's a bunch of interesting stone work on the ramp track (visible from the sewage treatment plant access road). That's "interesting" as in "bizarre": a wide variety of rock types, laid up pretty poorly in places. I've always had the impression that this thing was built on the cheap, in a big hurry.

I think this would make an excellent launching point for a commuter rail expansion. Connect it to the Beacon ferry at one end, and Metro North's jervis service at the other.

Port Jervis wrote:is anything left of it today (for future commuter service)?

Anything left? Yes. Commuter service? No.

Two things. First, the line split at Vails Gate Jct and one went down to Central Valley through Mountainville (station extant). You can see the line this time of year from the Thruway below the Graham Line. This was the first line out of Newburgh. The other leg of the Jct went out under the big viaduct through Salsbury Mills to Washingtonville out to Greycourt. This was later and got pulled up in the late 70.s but that is a guess, we had a thread on all of this some time ago.

Your idea of a cnx with the current active line is unlikely as this was a low speed railroad and you would have to bridge the Thruway. Also a lot of the ROW is gone and development is heavy here so fat chance. If you go out the other way you can see the grade level difference as the line passes under the viaduct is serious! To put a new line in from the north side of the viaduct would be tough and again development is moving quickly.

Thanks for the info. From this and other threads I've seen on the E-L board (thanks to whomever moved it here) that there actually was passanger service and stations on the Graham line to Newburgh which ended in the 1930's.

Today, the line cuts right through the center of Highland Mills, though on an embankment. Sounds like a perfect spot for a new station. Central Valley is out due to the rampant opposition from locals concerning the proposed Woodbury Commons station.

Ok the Graham Line branches off the Main. Before the Graham
existed, the shortcut to Newburgh came into the main. Im cannot
say it was the exact spot but this is how the service was provided.
I just don't have my map at hand.
You could go to Newburgh this way until the gas cars quite running
as you say. I dont know when service out of Newburgh ended
via the route to Greycourt.
If you relaid the route nearly all of it from Newburgh Jct would
have to be relaid, not much of the Graham would be used as
the Graham is climbing up to the viaduct and the shortcut is
pretty much level or at least rising only to the high
point about where it crossed what is now the
Thruway. I believe this was West Cornwall.
Look at a map, Stewart Airport to Beacon has
no easy and cheap route besides a bus across
I-84.

Is this the branch that went to Maybrook before Passenger service was ended in the 1930's ?

PJ:

COUNTRY COUSINS by Robert McCue goes into detail about both the Newburgh branch and the shortcut off the Graham Line. The book also contains good photos of the ancient pin construction of the bridges used on the lines. You may have trouble finding it, however. As far as I know, only The Chester Historical Society sells copies of the book. If you can, stop by this Sunday the 18th at 2:00pm for our annual meeting, which is open to the public. We're located at the former Main Line station in Downtown Chester.

onder:

onder wrote:The other leg of the Jct went out under the big viaduct through Salisbury Mills to Washingtonville out to Greycourt. This was later and got pulled up in the late 70's but that is a guess, we had a thread on all of this some time ago.

According to McCue, passenger service ceased in '35, the line officially closed in '79, and the ROW was ripped out in the spring of '84.

gawlikfj wrote:Is this the branch that went to Maybrook before Passenger service was ended in the 1930's ?

The Newburgh Branch never passed through there. However, just about all the other lines did!! http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a

Hello there!
My name is Robert McCue, and I happened upon the query about the Newburgh branch and my first book
"Country Cousins"
The Newburgh branch , coming from Greycourt, had stations at Craigville, Blooming Grove, Washingtonville, Salisbury Mills, and two at Vails Gate. One was a station at Vails Gate Junction and the other was as I understand it a shelter by what is now Rt. 94.The Erie "Short Cut" branched off at Vails Gate Jct and ran through Enderlin, Mountainville, Houghton farm, Woodbury, and Highland Mills. At the junction at Highland Mills with the Graham line and the short cut shared tracks into Harriman with a station at Central Valley. The Row of the short cut is "findable" in sections. The line to Greycourt is intact save for one overpass removed in Salisbury Mills. A nice walk save for where development has pushed up too close for comfort against the ROW
I recently update Country Cousins with a book "A walk along the Erie's Newburgh branch" with pictures from the O&W society and the generosity of it's members. The society of which I am proud to be a member. To anyone who read Country Cousins I hope you enjoyed my work. I will for the record correct one error in CC-Salisbury Mills station was not betwween Clove and Orrs Mills crossings but off to the right of Clove Road . I corrected that in the new book along with a map from the 1903 Atlas of Orange County. Never stop doing research, even on a roadbed you though you knew for a quarter century!
If anyone is interested further please feel free to contact me!

All comments, questions welcomed

On Friday April 10, Good Friday, members of the New York Society of Model Engineers did a tour of the Erie RR lines between Suffern and Port Jervis. One of the locations covered was the Newburgh Branch Junction.

The Group

Additional photos of the tour are here:
NYSME Tour

If anyone is interested in joining us on future tours message me and I will add you to our mailing list.

AndyB

This was a through route for trains from Boston to the west for a
while. The initiating carrier on the transHudson leg was the NY&NE
(later NYNH&H).
They put the trainferry WILLIAM L. HART in service from Fishkill Landing
to Newburgh. Initially the standard gauge cars were carried on dual
gauge rails to some inland junction where the trucks were swapped.
This wasn't like the long stretch dual gauged for the Lehigh Valley
so it could access Buffalo for the few years they didn't have their own
RoW. Prior to the HART there was D&C service that used the FANNY GARNER
which carried through baggage for trains it connected with, but I can't
find mention of Newburgh connectors or transport of cars.

Implicitly it did connect with Erie trains, but perhaps
the Erie didn't quote joint rates or operate through service via of
Newburgh then. That ferry line mentions connecting with New York
and Hudson River RR (NYC) and the New York, Boston & Montreal
in 1873 timetables.

In any case, the New Haven took over the ferry service in 1895, but
I don't know if through pullmans were operated through there then.
Train ferry service of all kinds ended thereat
in 1904, and the NH's Poughkeepsie Bridge was reason for that.
The elimination of the ferry transfer of freight cars also dealt
the branch a serious setback as it eliminated all the through cars,
except the few with NYC's River line (i.e. West Shore).
The road vehicle and passenger ferry between Newburgh and
Beacon didn't die until the interstate highway bridge was built
in the early 1960s.
Good-Luck, PJB

Port Jervis wrote:If not, where did the Newburgh branch diverge from the current Graham line

Check out:

http://docs.unh.edu/NY/schu35se.jpg

http://docs.unh.edu/NY/schu35ne.jpg

and is anything left of it today (for future commuter service)?

The answer is yes a small portion remains in Newburgh, and the answer is no on on future commuter service.

NEW YORK DIVISION
Descriptive Data

MAIN LINE Extends from Jersey City in a westerly direction to Sparrowbush, N.Y. a distance of 89.8 miles.

BERGEN COUNTY R.R. 9.9 miles between Rutherford Jct. and Ridgewood Jct.

DUNDEE BRANCH 2.45 miles, connected with Bergen County Railroad at Garfield, and extending into heavy industrial section known as Dundee in the city of Passaic.

NEWARK BRANCH 14.5 miles extending from Greenwood Lake Jct. where it con-nects with New York & Greenwood Lake Div., and Paterson.

GRAHM LINE 42.3 miles, between Newburgh Jct. and Graham Jct. This is a double track low grade line used exclusively for the opera-tion of freight trains. There are no grade crossings and no stations. On this line are Otisville Tunnel, 5,314 ½ feet long, and Moodna Viaduct, 3,201 ½ feet long. Moodna Viaduct when constructed about 1908 cost between $400,000 and $500,000 and is a steel structure. This line is intersected by Montgomery Branch at “MQ”, Campbell Hall, over which we operate trains to Campbell Hall, NY., where traffic is interchanged with New Haven Railroad. Under an agreement with latter line, Erie crews operate between Campbell Hall and Maybrook Terminal (3.7 miles). Maybrook is a joint terminal of the New Haven, Erie, L&NE, and L&HR and is the gateway for traffic to and from New England.

MONTGOMERY BRANCH 10.2 miles, between Goshen and Montgomery. Connects at latter point with New York Central. No passenger service.

PINE ISLAND BRANCH 11.9 miles between Goshen and Pine Island. Under an agree-ment with Erie, L&NE operates freight trains between Pine Island Jct. and Campbell Hall, N.Y. over Pine Island and Montgomery Branches. At the latter point it interchanges traffic with New Haven, NYO&W, L&HR, and New York Central. New York Central (Wallkill Valley R.R.) has trackage rights over Montgomery Branch between Montgomery and Campbell Hall for interchange of traffic with lines mentioned above. Passenger service was abandoned by Erie several years ago due to lack of patronage.

MIDDLETOWN AND CRAWFORD BRANCH 9.9 miles between Crawford Jct, and Pine Bush, N.Y. The Erie has no direct physical connection with this branch. In order to reach it, it is necessary for the Erie to operate under trackage agreement over the NYO&W between Main St, Middletown, and Crawford Jct., 3.5 miles. Passenger service was discontinued several years age due to no public demand.

NEWBURGH BRANCH 18.8 miles between Greycourt and Newburgh connecting with New York Central at latter point. Erie handles the preponderance of traffic in and out of Newburgh, our line being so situated that there has been greater industrial development on ours than on competing line. No passenger service.