Industrial branches and spurs

Some older cities in the Northeast had trackage to industrial and other facilities sometimes located quite some distance from a mainline or yard. The tracks went through backyards, sometimes down public streets and snaked through industrial complexes.
On the Boston and Albany there was a lot of trackage along the side of Marginal Street in Chelsea and it was there into the early 1970s anyway. In Ashland, not a very large town, there was about a quarter mile of track along Main Street north of the B & A main to Lombard-Governor Corp. That was there into early 1960s. Cushing Hospital, a military hospital which handled burn and mental cases, in Framingham had a spur off the B & A main with a high level, two track station for removing stretcher cases from hospital cars, coal trestle, heating plant and mammoth coal pile. This site is now a public park and all the buildings have been razed, but the last time I walked through, the little yard and some rail embedded in pavement could be located. (Behind Keefe School.) Never saw the hospital station used, but did spot strings of hoppers at coal pile. Closed as a military hospital mid-1950s. Used as a geriatric hospital for a number of years thereafter.
Which brings me to the question for the moment. I have a set of NYC employee timetables, June 7, 1942. On the Mohawk Division, there are notations in the Special Instructions regarding a Kellogg Branch at Amsterdam and the Rome Industrial Track in Rome, also referenced as the Old Line. Any idea as to the length, street running if any, approximate # of customers, etc. How long did they last? The Rome Industrial appears to have gone near the Air Base. These were run by yard rules, I think, so they don't rate any timetable listing as such.

eddiebear,

The Kellogg's Industrial (aka: Amsterdam, Chukamunga & Northern or
something similar) diverged from the east end of Kellogg's Yard east of
Amsterdam (just west of CP-171) and climbed the hillside out of the Mohawk Valley in a NWly direction. No street running, but through mixed residential and commercial sections of town. The line divided up on the ridge. The line to the left crossed a creek / ravine on a curving trestle and served Coleco Industries. The line to the right crossed the creek/ravine on an S-curve trestle and served one of the carpet manufacturers, IIRC. There was a weight restriction on the trestles, and a lightweight SW-locomotive was assigned to the local to go up the hill. Could only handle a few cars at a time because of the grade. I'm told that the line originally extended farther north, but that was long before I was on the Mohawk-Hudson Div.

The Rome Industrial was the original mainline routing before the Rome Bypass was constructed. The old NYC Station downtown was still in non-railroad use. Again, no street running. The line diverged from the present mainline just west of CP-29, ran through the City, and rejoined the present alignment west of the present Rome Stn. where there was a wye for the St. Lawrence Div. trains which operated Rome to Richland via what became the Camden Secondary. The line to Griffiss AFB diverged from the old line near the east end, crossed the Mohawk River and the Barge Canal, crossed the SR-5 limited access highway at grade, and entered the AFB. There were several miles of trackage on the Base. When I was on the Div., the local that worked the line came out of Utica
Yard and worked Rome and the Camden Branch.

Industrial trackage was worked at Restricted Speed, with no block rules or yard limits. The Camden Secondary was MBS, 30mph.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for that information!

The Kellogg Branch in Amsterdam was the Amsterdam, Chuctanunda and Northern Railroad Company, which was chartered on September 23, 1879, and leased to the New York Central on November 1, 1907. It ran about one mile, from the NYC Jct to Jay Street in Amsterdam, in 1954. I don't know if it had been longer at one time, but you can check the old topo maps like I will when I get this posted.

The AC&N owned the right of way and road bed, but the NYC owned the track. It was owned by the Kellogg family of Amsterdam, in particular Lauren Kellogg and Elizabeth K. (Kellogg?) Smith. I suspect they had an interest in one or more of the carpet mills for which Amsterdam was noted. The total stock outstanding in 1951 was 200 shares. It paid a dividend of 17.00 per share in 1951. It appears the the NYC paid them $5,000 per year rent, and they had to pay the property tax on the land, around $1,500.

The name of the creek is sometimes spelled "Chuctenunda" but the railroad spelled it with an "a."