Green Island Branch / Ballston Branch & etc.

Reading through Dominic Bourgeois new D&H book "Delaware & Hudson, Bridge Line Freight 1960-1983 Vol 1 The North End" and referring back to Jim Shaunessy's D&H book from the 1960's I find confusion that perhaps someone can clear up.

I get all tangled up in reading about the Troy Branch, the Colonie Main, Green Island Branch and line relocation that created the Ballston Branch and something to do with Round Lake .... well I have no idea how all this fits in. QG, QS, the "new connection", joint B&M / D&H, and joint NYC / D&H via Maiden Lane etc. That whole ball of wax. I've even ridden some of this over the last 30 years and driven the area but have to admit I have never connected all the dots.

Can someone come up with a real simple map of these lines and connections that show how it all worked (and why) with NYC (PC), B&M & D&H - before and after relocations ? I am familiar with Saratoga Springs, it is just below there (Malta area) and south that I don't really follow things.

By the way, Dominic's book is great and I highly recommend it. It does have some track diagrams in the back but the area of interest is not well defined.

I don't have my computer, so I can't scan a map, but I will try to explain.

At Albany, the tracks were on two levels. Maiden Lane was at grade, and it wend down to Kenwood Yard, and connected with the Albany Main to Dela son. They had a connection to NYC's elevated tracks too.

In Watervliet there way a Y track . It headed to Green Island and Troy. There was another branch from Green Island to Waterford. It came out on the main at JA Cabin. This is at the south end of Momentive Performance Materials, formerly GE Silicones. They use a stub of the Waterford Branch as a switching lead.

Now let's get to the main point about the connector. First, the Saratoga Subdivision ran from Albany to Whitehall. Albany, Mechanicville, Round Lake, Ballston Spa, Saratoga............ Whitehall. The Ballston Branch ran from Glenville Jct. to the Saratoga Sub. main in Ballston Spa. The D&H had a joint line with Boston and Maine from Mechanicville, to Crescent. At Crescent, the B&M headed for Rotterdam Jct., and the D&H for Schenectady and Delanson. They eliminated about 10 miles of the Saratoga Sub. between Mechanicville, and Ballston Spa (via Round Lake). In its place was built the connector. It is a mile long, and runs from Crescent, to Ballston Lake, which is on the Ballston Branch. The Saratoga Sub. is again joined at Ballston Spa. If you look at a map, the connector starts under a bridge for Ashdown Rd.

One more point is about the relocation projects. The centers of Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs were bypassed in the 1950s. New lines were built around them.
I hope that I have explained it well enough without maps.