Current Plattsburgh yard status

[caboose]

What is the current yard status at Plattsburgh?Do they still store anything there?Is the yard oos?

[Champlain Division]

How 'bout it, guys?!!! Inquiring minds want to know!

[Champlain Division]

From the DandH Yahoo Groups List:

Looks as if the "expansion " of Bluff Point Yard is finally underway. All
this week a contractor and some D&H/CP M of W folks have been opening up the
long unused road which once led to the former D&H tree nursery which was
located on the west side of the ROW near the north end of Bluff Point Yard.
This road runs between a row of very large trees westward from Route 9
adjacent to the 13th hole of Bluff Point Golf Course. This location is about
1/2 mile south along Route 9 from the entrance road to Clinton Community
College. So far a temporary grade crossing (at least it looks temporary to
me) has been installed and some clearing of brush and trees alongside the
north end of Bluff has taken place. The area is very wet and a friend who is
a civil engineer says he is surprised that the Army Corps of Engineers
hasn't become involved.

Of course this project and the installation of a couple of tracks near the
abandoned central heat plant on the former Plattsburgh AFB are the result of
the purchase of Plattsburg Yard by the City of Plattsburgh

I'll try to keep posting updates on this as things evolve.

Wally (Day?)

[caboose]

There was a picture of the yard development in the Press-Republican in(I think) Tuesdays paper of last week.

[Trackmobile]

There was a picture of the new tracks being constructed at the base in that same paper maybe early last week.Looks like the work is going smoothly.

[joshuahouse]

Why did the railroad own a tree nursery?

[ChiefTroll]

Why did the railroad own a tree nursery?

One of Leonor Loree's projects was re-forestation of D&H Company land. There were several locations - I think I remember one being west of Cemetary Yard at Rouses Point - where evergreen trees from the nursery were planted in a line to act as a snow fence. The D&H folks called all of those plantings "Loree Trees." I think the D&H also provided trees to farmers and adjoining land owners to eventually generate pulpwood and lumber traffic for the railroad.

The D&H owned quite a bit of forest land along the Chateuagay Branch, and sold the pulp wood. I think they also had land on the QM&S in Canada.

The D&H sold the section foreman's house at Russia Station in 1943. One day I was in Dannemora (the station, not the Correctional Facility) when SC-15 called on the radio to say that they had hit a truck at Russia. I went up with my Hi-rail, because there was no road to the site of the hit, and found a truck parked across the tracks, center-punched by the Hog Job. The truck belonged to the same person who had purchased the Russia section house, where he lived. He had just driven in and parked across the tracks to load wood pulp from the bank alongside the track.

Our claim agent was about to settle the guy's claim for a new truck, believe it or not, until I pointed out that the land where he was cutting the pulp wood was D&H property, and he was stealing our timber. That changed the outcome of the settlement.

[Trackmobile]

Can anyone tell me what ever happened to the old Plattsburgh roundhouse?

[Champlain Division]

It burned down about 1980(?) taking a signifiicant amount of D&H Historical data with it. Suspected to be arson, but unknown if perpetraitor was ever apprehended.

[Trackmobile]

I visited the BLHS and found pictures dated 1992. What went down with the fire ?

[Champlain Division]

Here's an update from the Yahoo DandH List

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 1:49 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [dandh] Plattsburgh Roundhouse Fire


Guys,

A fellow fan on the railroad.net forum is asking about the Plattsburgh
Roundhouse Fire that destroyed it.

Two questions: 1.) Was it arson and was the perpetraitor ever caught? 2.) What kind of irreplaceable historical data was lost in the fire?

Rick Shivik
BLHS #1130

The assumption has always been that the roundhouse fire was set. As far as I know, no arrest was ever made.

I've been told that the building wasn't especially secure, i.e., it was easy to get into. Whether the fire was set by vandals, perhaps unwittingly, or was set by someone with actual intent will likely never be known.

The value of the destroyed contents depends on the opinion of the person whom you are asking. The "official" D&H/CPR story was that nothing of value (contents-wise) was lost. Many others locally say that the structure was chock full of all of the remaining D&H records which had not been disposed of when the move was made from the Beiver (sp?) St offices in Albany. There is some local evidence that the latter is closer to the truth.

My fire department (South Plattsburgh) was on standby duty at one of the Plattsburgh City FD stations during the incident. Unfortunately I was flying back from Minnesota at the time and knew nothing of the situation till I arrived back home.

Wally (Day)

I visited the roundhouse shortly after the fire and found charred remnants of drawings and papers as early as 1849.

Bob Yarger, Editor
Railway Preservation News (free website)
http://www.rypn.org

[Champlain Division]

From Yahoo Groups DandH List as of Sunday, 10 Oct 2004


Visited the Bluff Point Yard expansion project late this afternoon.

Someone will probably throw a flame at me for saying this, but seems to me
it's taking an extended period of time to bring this job to completion.

All three of the new tracks are in and appear to be more or less complete at
the north end. Ballast has been spread and some tamping and surfacing has
been done, perhaps 40% of the total. At the south end, there is still a
short gap at the end of the new tracks 4 and 5. It looks as if one more
"snap track" prefab turnout is still needed. There isn't one there, so maybe
that's the hold up. Another change will be necessary since the new switch
stand for the switch between existing tracks 1 & 2 will be right in the
gauge of track where the missing gap is for tracks 4 & 5. There are
numerous CP company service hoppers filled with ballast on the north end of
track 2. Looks as if there is far more there than what is still required for
the new trackage. Maybe if they try real hard, there will be time to do some
much-needed resurfacing on tracks 1 & 2 before fall turns into winter.

A couple of weeks ago a locked gate was installed at the Route 9 end of the
access road which leads to the north end of Bluff Point Yd.

Also, the two new tracks on the former Plattsburgh AFB are both in place and
the ballast work appears completed. This trackage is located near the
now-abandoned PAFB Central Heat Plant. It is visible just to the south of
the grade crossing on New York Road.

The Plattsburgh Bombardier plant still appears pretty busy. There are 5
Hiawatha cars (for Minneapolis) still in process along with numerous Metro
North/LIRR M-7 cars. The completed Metro North cars leave on their own
wheels. The similar (identical?) completed LIRR cars are shipped on flatcars
as are the Hiawatha cars. As I've mentioned before the Hiawatha cars are
wrapped in blue shrink wrap for their trip west.

Enough rambling.

Will report again after my next field trip.

Wally (Day)

[Trackmobile]

I think it should be noted that the pulling up of the rails at the yard has started as of Wednesday.A contracter was hired to carry out the work.

[b&m617]

Does anyone know who the contractor is who is doing the work???
Thanks!!

Work safe

Derail

[Trackmobile]

Sorry,should of posted this with my first post.


The contractor hired by CP is Railworks Tracks Services.