DH D&H History

I have been waiting for a certain web site to post the history of the rail lines that comprised the D & H, but they have been slow at updating, but by far, they are doing a great job. Can anyone provide for me the histories? If replying off line is better, I'll provide my address. Thank you all

 

I'm not certain what you are looking for. Are you looking for information on what lines D&H purchased over the years? Who purchased D&H over the years?

Just wanting to know so I can see if I have what you are looking for.

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum

 

Specifically the origins of the D&HRR itself, like when it started railroading, what companies it purchased (like the Saratoga & Whitehall RR) and the part that seems hardest, when these companies were incorporated, opened and then absorbed. The only thing about recent history that I am not sure of is when the Whitehall to Rutland line was given up and to whom. Thanks.

 

The Delaware & Hudson was chartered in 1823 to build a canal to carry coal from Honesdale, Pa. to Kingston, N.Y. After the Civil War the D&H expanded northward by acquiring the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad (Albany-Binghamton,N.Y.) and the Rensselaer & Saratoga (Troy-Albany-Whitehall,N.Y.). By 1873 the D&H system from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and Binghamton north to the Canadian border. D&H reached Montreal through acquisition of the Napierville Junction Railway to St. Constant in 1907 and trackage rights on Grand Trunk to Montreal. The last run of a steam locomotive of the D&H was on the night of July 21, 1953, when 4-8-4 #300, the standby engine at Rouses Point, ran to Albany on Train 8, then moved to Colonie the next day for scrapping. Deezul Diggers took over and put us all out to pasture after that! I have a lot about the steam and rosters of the D&H, but the diesel stuff sorta slipped through my fingers some way.

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Watash #982

 

I have posted your question on another D&H Forum to see if I can obtain as much detail as possible. watash has got a great start and I hope I can add to this shortly.

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum

 

Thanks all...I'll be patiently waiting. by the way, When the Napierville Junction Railway was built, the line connected to Canadian Pacific Railway in Delson, but that is a great start

 

Well, the other forum just told me to go to the library and checkout the books on D&H history.

Given that, I will outline what I have from the material I have in storage. I will get back with you shorty.

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum

 

Ok Stourbridge Lion, I'll be waiting and hoping this will help me. Have a good one!

 

OK, This is what I have found so far and I will continue to edit the information as I find more detail.

<LI> Founders: Maurice & William Wurts

1. 
   <LI> April 23, 1823 Act to Incorporate
   <LI> January 7, 1825 First Coal shipment on aboard slopp Tripler sent to Tontine Coffee House (Stock Sale)
   <LI> April 13, 1831 John Wurts (brother) becomes 3rd President at age 38
   <LI> March 15, 1858 John Wurts steps down due to health reasons

<LI> D&H Canal Company 1823-1898

1. 
   <LI> 1827 Canal is Navigable from Hudson to Delaware
   <LI> April 22, 1828 Revenue Operation
   <LI> 1827 Gravity Railroad work begins
   <LI> January 15, 1829 - America
   o Whereabouts remain a mystery after delivery
   o Boiler found later in the Smithsonian Institution
   <LI> May 13, 1829 - Stourbridge Lion
   o First locomotive to run on rails in America
   o September 9 - Ended operation
   o ~1850 Converted into a Boiler in Carbondale
   o 1870 End of the "LION"
   <LI> January 6, 1847 Accepted Roebling's Aqueduct Proposal
   o 1848 Delaware Aqueduct built (142 Feet)
   o 1848 Lackawaxen Aqueduct built (228 Feet)
   o 1850 Neversink River (170 Feet)
   o 1850 Cuddebackville (Near Roundout Creek)
   <LI> 1860 Passenger Service Begins
   o Major Sykes (0-4-0)
   o C. P. Wurts (4-4-0)
   o Both 4'3" Gauge
   <LI> 1861 Honesdale (0-4-0) (No. 3)
   <LI> 1862 Lackawanna (0-6-0) (No. 4)
   <LI> 1866 Isaac N. Seymour (4-4-0) (No. 5) (Exploded 1879)
   <LI> 1867 (May) Petitioned/Received Railroad Rights (Based on RR Act of 1850)
   <LI> 1877 Passenger Service expanded to 100% of Gravity Line
   <LI> R. A. Henry (2-6-0) (No. 97)
   <LI> Porto Rico (0-6-0) (No. 13)
   <LI> 1898 Canal Closed

<LI> Adirondac Iron & Steel Co.

1. 
   <LI> Formed 1829
   <LI> 1852 Companying faultering
   <LI> Sackets Harbor & Saratoga RR Incorporated / faultered
   <LI> 1857 Lake Ontario & Hudson River RR formed / faultered
   <LI> 1860 Adirondack Estate & Railroad Co. forms / faultered
   <LI> October 24, 1863 Adirondac Co. chartered
   <LI> 1865 Joint operations with R&S
   <LI> 1872 Financial trouble scandal surfaces
   <LI> September 11, 1881 Sold to William West Durant
   <LI> 1902 Sold to D&H

<LI> Albany Northern

1. 
   <LI> March 9, 1852 Opened
   <LI> October 16, 1856 Sold (by Auction)
   <LI> Became Albany, Vermont & Canada Rail Road (Novevmer 7)
   <LI> 1859 Foreclosed
   <LI> Organized as Albany & Vermont Rail Road
   <LI> April 5, 1960 Major Stcok was purchased by R&S

<LI> Glens Falls

1. 
   <LI> 1867 Incorporated
   <LI> Route: Glens Fals to Fort Edward via Hudson Falls
   <LI> June 24, 1869 Purchased by R&S
   o ~1873 line extended to Lake George planned
   o ~1878 line completed to Lake George
   <LI> 1906 Merged into R&S Corporate Structure

<LI> Rutland & Burlinton
<LI> Rutland & Washington

1. 
   <LI> June 15, 1865 ??? entered into R&S service

<LI> Rutland & Whitehall

1. 
   <LI> Fall 1850 Openned
   <LI> November 1, 1850 Leased to Saratoga & Washington (See Saratoga & Whitehall)

<LI> Saratoga & Schenectady

1. 
   <LI> February 16, 1831 Incorporated
   <LI> August 20, 1831 Broke Ground at Saratoga Springs
   <LI> July 12, 1832 Openned to traffic (minus a bridge across Kayderosseras Creek @ Ballston Spa)
   o Engine Davy Crockett
   o Second Engine Fire Fly July 5, 1834 Arrived in NY
   <LI> April 15, 1833 Bridge Completed
   <LI> July 2, 1833 First train over complete line from Saratoga Springs to Schenectady
   <LI> October 1835 Lost control to R&S
   <LI> April 13, 1860 Lease made perpetual

<LI> Saratoga & Whitehall

1. 
   <LI> April 17, 1832 Incorporated
   <LI> Planned Route: Troy to Rutland
   <LI> 1834 New Charter with R&S called Saratoga & Washington
   <LI> Planned Route: Saratoga Springs to Whitehall
   <LI> 1837 Panic caused abrupt end to work for 10 years
   <LI> February 1847 work begins again
   <LI> Planned Route Saratoga to Fort Ann
   <LI> August 15, 1848 Saratoga to Gansevoort opens
   <LI> December 10, 1848 complete to Whitehall
   <LI> 1854 Foreclosure / Sold to R&S
   <LI> June 1855 Sold to Saratoga & Whitehall (Formed again)
   <LI> March 14, 1865 Leased to R&S

<LI> Troy & Rutland

1. 
   <LI> June 1, 1865??? entered into R&S service

<LI> Rensselaer & Saratoga

1. 
   <LI> April 14, 1832 Incorporated
   <LI> August 1, 1833 Tracking laying begins in Troy
   <LI> Engines obtained in January 1835
   o Erie
   o Champlain
   <LI> August 18, 1835 Opened
   <LI> 1852 Chartered to build line from Troy to Ballston Spa to connect to S&S
   <LI> Absorbed (Leased and Managed) various lines:
   o Albany and Vermont Rail Road
   o Saratoga and Schenectady
   o Saratoga and Washington
   o Glens Falls
   o Rutland and White-Hall
   o Rutland and Washington
   o Troy and Rutland
   <LI> Obtained Interestest in Steamboat Lines on Lake George & Lake Champlain
   o June 1868 Champlain Transportation Co.
   <LI> December 1870, D&H sent letter of interest to lease the R&S
   <LI> May 1, 1871 Lease Formalized as perpetuity (including Steamboats)
   <LI> July 2, 1945 Merged into D&H

<LI> Schenectady & Susquehanna 5/5/1836
<LI> Albany & Susquehanna

1. 
   <LI> April 19, 1851 Articals of Association
   <LI> 1864 Building completed
   <LI> August 6, 1869 Take Over by James Fisk Jr. & Charles Courter
   <LI> August 10, 1869 "Eric War"
   <LI> February 24, 1870 Leased (perpetuity) by D&H
   <LI> January 39, 1945 Merged into D&H

<LI> Erie Connection

1. 
   <LI> Sept. 2, 1868 Contracted with D&H to build line line North of Carbondale to connect to Main Line at Lanesboro Junction just East of Susquehanna, PA.

<LI> Post Civil War (Gained Control of)

1. 
   <LI> Plymouth & Wilkes-Barre Railroad & Bridge Co.
   <LI> Howard Coal & Iron Co.
   <LI> Union Coal Co.
   <LI> Northern Coal & Iron Co.

<LI> United Traction Co. (Hudson Valley Railway Co.)

1. 
   <LI> Organized 1899
   o Albany Railway Co.
   o Troy City Railway Co.
   o Watervliet Turnpike & Railway Co.
   o Capitol Railway of Albany (Lease)
   <LI> Route: Albany to Waterford
   <LI> Electric Lines / Trolley Cars
   <LI> Includes Local Lines within
   o Albany
   o Rensselaer
   o Watervliet
   o Green Island
   o Troy
   o Cohoes
   o Waterford
   <LI> Connections with
   o West: Schenectady Railway
   o North: Hudson Valley
   o East: Troy & England Railway
   o South: Albany & Hudson Railway
   <LI> October 4, 1904 D&H/NYC&HR Purchase Schenecatady Railway
   o D&H Trolley Service Begins
   o Ballston Spa to Saratoga Springs
   <LI> October 1905 D&H Purchased Troy & England Railway
   <LI> November 17, 1905 D&H Purchased United Traction Co.

<LI> Other Early 1900's Activities

1. 
   <LI> Chateaugay Ore & Iron Co. November 1901
   o Included Chateaugy Railroad
   o Leased lines to Lake Placid
   <LI> Adirondack Railway Co. October 30, 1902
   o 1871 Opened
   <LI> Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad June 1903
   <LI> Schenectady & Duanesburgh Railroad Co. August 1903
   <LI> Plattsburg Transaction Co. March 27, 1906
   <LI> Greenwich & Johsonville
   o Started 1866
   o Union Village & Johnsonville Railway Co.
   o 1903 Purchased Battenkill Railroad
   <LI> Schoharie Valley Railway
   <LI> Quebec, Montreal & Southern Railway Co.
   o 1900 Purchased East Richelieu Valley Railway
   o 1900 Purchased United Counties
   o 1903 Gained control of South Shore Line
   <LI> Napierville Junction Railway April 9, 1907

<LI> Guilford Takeover of 1984
<LI> NYS&W
<LI> St.Lawrance and Hudson October 1, 1996

I know I have more so keep checking back as I update the above with more details.

[This message has been edited by Stourbridge Lion (edited 17 December 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Stourbridge Lion (edited 21 December 2000).]

 

Wow....that's a lot. So I guess I need to know more then...like when these companies open, from where to where, and when D&H got a hold of them. You know, maybe others will benifit from you posting all this Stourbridge Lion. Thanks for what you put on so far

 

I have made edits on 17-Dec-00 and 21-Dec-00 and still have more to come. This is also helping me research this information for usage on the DHVM for later too. Hope all that reads this finds somethin of interest and if you have corrections, please let me know

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum

 

Thanks a lot Stourbridge Lion, if I have anything of corrections...IF any...I'll post. I do have a date of when Napierville Junction was absorbed...although I forgot the source.

 

I have more D&H info, mostly on the Chateaugay line and Canadian routes. Once completed, I'll post

 

Great. I still have more myself; but, work is keeping my D&H research at a stand still right now.

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum

 

Here we go...what I could did up myself (not including abandonment dates nor repeating what was already put in:

Saratoga & Washington RR
1. 1851 - opened a branch from Whitehall to Lake Station for access to steam ships

Plattsburgh & Montreal RR
1. Apr. 4, 1851 - created to build north of Plattsburgh to connect to the Canadian rail line, the Montreal & New York RR
2. July 22, 1852 - line opened from Plattsburgh to Mooers Junction
3. Sept. 11, 1852 - line completed to international border
4. Sept. 20, 1852 - Montreal & New York connected to line at border
5. 1853 - due to a business dispute, company removes their rails from the border to Mooers Junction, seizing Canadian rolling stock on American soil
6. 1865 - Rutland & Burlington RR became major owners, using this route to Montreal after Montreal & Champlain RR (formally M&NY) relaid tracks once their leaser, Grand Trunk Ry, bought the right-of-way south to Mooers Junction
7. 1868 - line renamed Montreal & Plattsburgh RR
8. Dec. 31, 1870 - Rutland RR (formally R&B) and it's lines leased by Vermont Central RR
9. Feb. 1873 - sold by Central Vermont RR (formally VC) to New York & Canada, but continued operating it
10. Nov. 30, 1874 - operations under NY&C
11. Nov. 29, 1875 - merged into NY&CRR

Whitehall & Plattsburgh RR
1. 1866 - created to link Plattsburgh & Montreal to Rensselaer & Saratoga RR
2. Apr. 27, 1868 - opened from Plattsburgh to Rogers
3. Sept. 26, 1870 - leased by Rutland RR
4. Dec. 31, 1870 - Rutland and it's lines leased by Vermont Central RR
5. Dec. 1, 1871 - second line opens from Addison Junction (Addison RR) to Port Henry, work stops
6. Feb. 1873 - sold by Central Vermont RR (formally VC) to New York & Canada, but continued operating it
7. Nov. 30, 1874 - operations under NY&C
8. Nov. 29, 1875 - merged into NY&CRR

New York & Canada RR
1. 1870 - created to build a rail line from Whitehall to Montreal; operated by D&H
2. Feb. 1873 - acquired Whitehall & Plattsburgh and Montreal & Plattsburgh
3. Nov. 30, 1874 - opened from Lake Station to Addison Junction and assumed operation of W&P and M&P
4. Nov. 29, 1875 - opened from Port Henry to Plattsburgh
5. 1876 - new line opened from Canada Junction to Rouses Point
6. 1894 - abandoned Ausable Branch connection at Plattsburgh for South Junction instead and opened it from Rogers to Ausable Forks
7. Nov. 1894 - Ausable Branch opened from Ausable Forks to Rome
8. 1945 - likely date of merger into D&H

Plattsburgh & Dannemora Railroad
1. May 20, 1878 - created to build from Plattsburgh to the State prison in Dannemora
2. 1879 - opened from Plattsburgh to Dannemora
3. May 1879 - became Chateaugay RR and charted to build west to Lyon Mountain
4. Dec. 17, 1879 - opened from Dannemora to the Chateaugay Ore Bed
5. Mar. 30, 1880 - opened from the Chateaugay Ore Bed to Lyon Mountain
6. 1885 - opened from Lyon Mountain to Standish
7. Nov. 15, 1886 - opened from Standish to Loon Lake
8. Dec, 5, 1887 - opened from Loon Lake to Saranac Lake
9. July 29, 1903 - standard gauged and merged into D&H, new connection at Bluff Point
10. 1955 - new connection at Salmon Junction

Montreal & Sorel Railway
1. June 30, 1881 - created to build from St-Lambert to Sorel
2. Apr. 1882 - opened from St-Lambert to Armstrong and leased by South Eastern Ry
3. 1884 - closed temporarily
4. 1885 - reopened
5. June 1889 - leased by Great Eastern Ry
6. July 1894 - sold to South Shore Ry

Great Eastern Railway
1. May 17, 1882 - created to build from Dundee to Quebec City, opened by year's end in two sections, Yamaska-Est to St-Francois-du-Lac and from Nicolet to Pointe-du-Lac
2. June 1889 - lease Montreal & Sorel Ry
3. July 1894 - sold to South Shore Ry

United Counties Railway
1. Mar. 30, 1883 - created to build from Sorel to Iberville
2. Sept. 17, 1895 - opened from Sorel to Iberville
3. Jan. 25, 1900 - purchased and operated by D&H
4. July 7, 1900 - became Quebec Montreal & Southern Ry

Saranac Lake & Lake Placid Railroad
1. 1890 - created to link Lake Placid to Saranac Lake
2. Aug. 1, 1893 - opened from Saranac Lake to Lake Placid, operated by Chateaugay RR and jointly used by New York Central RR
3. July 29, 1903 - standard gauged and merged into D&H
4. Aug. 29, 1946 - New York Central purchased this trackage
5. Nov. 1, 1946 - NYC officially takes possession of this route

East Richelieu Valley Railway
1. Dec. 30, 1890 - created to build St-Hyacinthe to Lacolle
2. Dec. 1, 1898 - opened from Iberville and Noyan
3. May 1900 - purchased and operated by D&H
4. July 7, 1900 - became Quebec Montreal & Southern Ry

South Shore Railway
1. Jan. 8, 1894 - created to take over Great Eastern and Montreal & Sorel Rys
2. July 1894 - purchased GE and M&S
3. Dec. 5, 1903 - purchased by D&H and merged into Quebec Montreal & Southern Ry

Quebec Montreal & Southern Railway
1. July 7, 1900 - created after D&H merged East Richelieu Valley Ry and United Counties Ry and mandated to build to Quebec City
2. Aug. 1900 - opened from Armstrong (Sorel) to Yamaska-Est
3. 1901 - opened from St-Francois-du-Lac to Nicolet
4. Dec. 5, 1903 - merged South Shore Ry into itself
5. Nov. 1909 - opened from Pointe-du-Lac to Parisville
6. July 14, 1939 - sold to Canadian National Railways

Napierville Junction Railway
1. Apr. 9, 1907 - opened from Rouses Point to Delson and operated by D&H
2. 1970 - merged into D&H

 

I will send an update for the forum description to include more detail

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Stourbridge Lion
stourbridge_lion@yahoo.com
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum