Updates on the Delaware & Ulster Railroad

By Todd Pascarella

Perhaps the most often asked question around Arkville these days could be “Is that train ever going to run again?” Since 2019 the historic depot and trains at the Delaware and Ulster Railroad have been idled by a series of infrastructure issues. According to an announcement made last week, approval of a $200,000 loan through the help of the Delaware County Economic Development Department will change that status.

Todd Pascarella, Executive Director of the Catskill Revitalization Corporation which owns both the rail line and the rail trail from Highmount to Bloomville said trains will run again in the spring of 2025. “The recent approval of this major loan, combined with several grants already awarded and upcoming, gives us the momentum and direction we need to start the engines again.” Pascarella added that “the plan is to complete restoration of the track between Arkville and Fleischmanns so an eight-mile round trip train ride can be offered in 2025, even as we continue the track reconstruction all the way up to Highmount and expand the train program to the base of Belleayre Mountain.”

Completing the Highmount Project in two phases is the quickest way possible for the Delaware & Ulster Railroad to restart the excursion train operation that was, until 2019, the single largest individual tourist attraction in Delaware County. Reflect- ing on the seriousness of the situation, Pascarella notes the CRC has been working on major fundraising activities to re-start full operation, both east and west. “We have been raising capital funds on a scale never yet imagined for the Delaware & Ulster. We are talking about millions of dollars invested in bringing the railroad back for our community.” He added that “funds from many different sources are making it possible. Without committed financial supporters such as the O’Connor Foundation, Delaware County Economic Development, The Catskill Watershed Corporation, New York State, and many private donors, this epic reconstruction effort now in its fifth year simply could never happen.” by

The CRC is continuing the multi-year investment in its historic railroad infrastructure located in the towns of Middletown and Roxbury and centered on the home of the operation in Arkville. Before the COVID pandemic the D&U Railroad’s ridership was approaching 20,000 per year. “The long-range vision is to appeal to a wide array of visitors, making the operation financially sustainable into the future. We believe that once the infrastructure is sufficiently rebuilt, the new and returning rail riders will translate to hundreds of thousands in annual revenue to the CRC, as well as thousands of new customers spending money at our many local businesses” Pascarella adds.

Background on the CRC and the Railroad

The railroad first connected the Catskills to the rest of the world in the early 1870s, until the last commercial freight train brought that era to a close in 1976. However, in the following years several individuals, with the support of the A. Lindsay & Olive B. O’Connor Foundation Inc., endeavored to give the Catskill Mountain Branch of the once great railroad a new life as a tourist attraction. The Catskill Rail Committee was formed to purchase and take over the right-of-way and to connect the leaders and stakeholders of the seven towns that the tracks ran through in Delaware and Schoharie Counties. A workable vision to preserve the railroad was forged and it resulted in the launching of the Delaware & Ulster Rail Ride, which in 1983 started offering scenic rides aboard vintage train cars from Arkville to Fleischmanns and Highmount and back. The D&U quickly became the biggest single tourism draw that Delaware County had to offer. In 1986 the organization formally incorporated as the Catskill Revitalization Corporation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, with the following mission:

Among the enduring purposes and goals envisioned for the CRC are the operation of a recreational rail ride, education of the public as to the historical significance of the Catskill Mountain Branch Railroad Line, providing recreational and park facilities, development and improvement of commerce, industry, and tourism, and promoting the general welfare of the communities served.

Over the next three decades the operation grew by adding new train equipment and more active track, expanding with rides in a second direction from Arkville to Halcottsville and Roxbury. In total, almost 19 miles of the original railroad was made active again, but at the same time the overall age and deterioration of the track infrastructure itself was catching up. Because of the expense of maintaining tracks, little was done in the waning decades of the original passenger and freight railroad. On poor track, the freight trains still running in the 1970s traveled at less than 10 miles per hour from Kingston to Stamford, if they could get through. When the Delaware & Ulster started up in the 1980s, there was still a little life left in the tracks, but not much. The approach in those years was to make repairs wherever necessary to keep the track usable. However, all the while the bulk of the wooden ties kept aging past 40, 60, and today 80 years old.

By the early 2000s trains had stopped running to Fleischmanns and Highmount because washouts and tie condition were serious problems. The focus then had to be just the scenic train rides from Arkville to Roxbury, and back. Enough repairs were made to keep the Roxbury section active year to year. The line between Arkville and Roxbury has many beneficial aspects, but also some very challenging ones such as three major highway grade crossings within the first three miles of Arkville Station. The current crossings were installed in the 1990s and were nearing the end of their useful lives, and to compound this threat the overall tie condition continued to degrade, with the average railroad tie in the line between 60-80 years old.

Highmount Project

By 2018 it was becoming clear to the railroad that the need for deeper track rebuilding was inevitable. Worn out track with bad ties is neither reliable, safe, nor enjoyable to ride on, and therefore to ensure the future of the railroad, deeper rebuilding would be necessary. The plan that was created involved keeping the trains running to Roxbury, while restoring the track mile by mile in the opposite direction towards Highmount. The Delaware & Ulster Railroad would in effect return to its roots of 35 years earlier and once again operate east from Arkville along the Bush Kill to Fleischmanns and Highmount. Eventually, it was thought, with the Highmount direction restored to operation the trains could run that way while the tracks to Halcottsville and Roxbury were restored. What the Highmount Project physically called for was the replacement of deteriorated ties (7,000 in 6.7 miles of track up to the Ulster County line) as well as the other track materials, drainage work, and stone necessary to make the track complete. The plan was presented to the NYS DOT and a matching/reimbursement grant of $462,300 was awarded to the CRC by the state. The Highmount Project was to begin in 2019 into 2020 and be completed by the end of 2023 per the DOT’s deadline. (The deadline has since been extended to the end of 2025).

In 2020, when it appeared that the COVID pandemic would keep tourists away for at least part of the season and the tracks would be temporarily free to work on, some repairs were initiated between Arkville and Halcottsville where the ties were particularly bad. As the work progressed it incrementally got more involved and in fact became the proverbial can-of-worms that would not easily be resolved. Once the tracks to Halcottsville were disturbed past a point it became clear that no easy fix was in reach and train runs would be suspended indefinitely. By the end of 2023 almost 10,000 new ties had been installed to fully re-support the rails between Arkville and Halcottsville. In all, close to $2 million had been invested over the four years in 5 miles of track. The longneeded real rebuilding of track which started as spot repairs had finally begun, but not in the eastward direction to Highmount yet as was originally planned. Even with all the new ties now in place to date, the road crossings, extensive drainage work, and stone ballast work yet required will still prevent a train from operating safely to Halcottsville then eventually Roxbury until those problems are all resolved. For these reasons the work in that direction was temporarily paused at the end of 2023.

Based on the comparison of the full financial picture of the Highmount Project to that of the remaining work required towards Halcottsville, the CRC Board of Directors has determined that the best chance of making the railroad succeed once again is to complete the Highmount Project over the next two years, and in so doing, have the track to Fleischmanns restored enough to use after the first year. It appears that it will cost far less at this point to complete work to Fleischmanns and Highmount in large part because of the NYS DOT grant of $462,300, but also because there are no major road crossings there. Another major factor looming is the deadline of now less than 2 years away to satisfy the state and fully leverage the large DOT Highmount Project grant.

After that, and then after some more fundraising, attention can turn back to finishing the tracks to Halcottsville and eventually Roxbury. To those ends, the NY State DOT has also recently announced that the Delaware & Ulster Railroad will be receiving a grant totaling $795k to completely replace the troublesome highway crossing at Route 30 by Hanah Country Club. This project, when completed in the next few years, will be the single biggest investment in the railroad’s infrastructure in many years and indicates the state is serious about supporting the Delaware & Ulster.

For more status reports as they become available, visit durr.org.