Can anyone give me a solid date, for when the Unadilla Valley RY was abandoned? A Google search turned up little of value. :sad: Boxcab E50
Unadilla I am from where the Unadilla was, and used to go through the Catskills to my Aunt's house a lot. If I recall, the UV was abandoned in the early 1940's when the Pepacton and Schoharie reservoirs were built. I need to find my copy of Gerald Best's book The Ulster and Delaware, as a whole chapter is dedicated to the UV.
The late Fred Pugh wrote a good book about the Unadilla Valley Railroad titled Days Along the Buckwheat & Dandelion. He lists the year of the UV's official abandonment and dismantlement as 1960.
A little more info from Pugh's book: Official ICC approval to dismantle - April 1960 Last day of operations - September 14, 1960 All rails removed by November 1960
Thanks! Info added to my notes. What is the significance of the "Buckwheat & Dandelion?" I do know the dandelion. As a pesky weed that infests lawns...... Is the buckwheat here a wildflower? Or the grain crop? Boxcab E50
You're most welcome. A quick perusal of Pugh's book didn't reveal a solid reason for the UVRR's nickname "the Buckwheat & Dandelion" but I would guess it got the name because those were two plants plentiful in the Unadilla Valley where the railroad ran. I'm not a farmer but I believe buckwheat is a grain crop since one can buy buckwheat flour at the grocery store. Hope that helps.
Whoops, I thought we were talking about the Delaware and Northern. There was mention of the UV in the book I was referring to. I forgot what family owned the UV, but they owned quite a few shortlines into the 1970s. I think it was the Strasburgs. Anyone have the definites out there?
Thanks for the welcome, Boxcab. Mike, you're right. The UV was purchased and run by the Salzburg family for its last 20 years or so. According to Pugh, the Salzburgs were dealers in used railroad equipment but kept the line going until it lost several of its largest customers (milk shippers IIRC.) When the O&W folded, the UV also lost its interchange capability to the south leaving just its northern connection with the DL&W in Bridgewater to interchange cars. I believe the Salzburg organization also ran the nearby Southern New York Railway (a former traction line) out of Oneonta in its final years.
Didn't the Salzburgs also get the scrap contract for the O and W? All their diesels had that cream and orange scheme.
Yes, Mike. I've seen photos of a Salzburg scrap train led by a GE centercab diesel with WAG markings dismantling the O&W.
If anyone is interested, I posted a thread several months ago, on the NYO&W. It's scans of train orders from my collection. Should be in this same category. Boxcab E50
I believe the lower half of the UV was abandoned (the former O&W branch) was abandoned or left unused after the abandonment of the O&W. Frank
I've always thought the UV would be a good example for one of those "small railroads you can model" stories. Boxcab E50
