Catskill Mountain Railroad In 1973, the Catskill Mountain Transportation Corp. "CMCT" was formed with the goal of purchasing the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad for freight and passenger service. On October 2, 1976, freight service ceased on the Catskill Mountain Branch. In 1979, Ulster County purchased the portion of the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad from MP 2.9 to MP 41.4, a total of , for $1.5 million, with the goal of resuming freight service and initiating a tourist train. The line had ceased passenger operations on March 31, 1954, and freight operations on October 2, 1976. In 1980 and 1981, members of the Kingston Model Railroad club cleared brush on the line. In 1982 members of the CMCT and the Kingston Model Railroad club formed the Catskill Mountain Railroad "CMRR", with the purpose of operating freight and passenger service on the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad from Kingston to Highmount, NY, a total of 38.6 miles of track. In 1982, Ulster County leased its entire portion of the line to the CMRR. On August 9, 1982, CMRR initially began operations in Phoenicia, using track cars and trailers to haul tourists and tubers three miles along Esopus Creek to Mt. Pleasant station. The railroad was incorporated on March 7, 1983, as a railroad corporation in the state of New York. William Haysom was its first President. In 1985, the CMRR began running full-sized equipment consisting of CMRR No.1, "The Duck", a flat car and caboose. Earl Pardini became president to help guide them through the transition. Pardini was with the D&U at its startup, helping to train its engineers and conductors. He agreed to come aboard, and the CMRR embarked on a period of serious expansion. Pardini had been a member of the former CMCT, and was brakeman on the last freight train on October 2, 1976. In 1986, Ulster County reconnected the line with
Conrail at Kingston. The railroad purchased a variety of second-hand locomotives, coaches and freight cars which were shipped by rail to Kingston. Some of the equipment was refurbished and used immediately, while the rest sat in storage until needed. Also in 1986, the CMRR signed its first multi-year lease with Ulster County, for five years, and began switching freight for the Kingston Recycling Center as well as operating tourist train service from Phoenicia to Mt. Tremper, New York. In 1987, a devastating flood washed out Campground Curve, between Phoenicia and Mt. Tremper. In conjunction with
NYSDOT and Ulster County, this damage was repaired and service restored in 1988. Operations focused on Phoenicia to Mt. Tremper, with limited operations in Kingston.
Expansion and Setbacks 1991-2005 The railroad entered into a 25-year lease with Ulster County in 1991. Railroad operations ended at busy Route 28 in Mt. Pleasant. The crossing had been out of service for many years, and the railroad needed to replace it if it was to continue east toward Kingston. The project received approval and after about ten years, public funding was provided to complete reconstruction of the crossing and installation of warning lights and gates. The new crossing was put into service in October 2004, offering the railroad its first significant expansion. Then tragedy struck CMRR. On April 1, 2005, a devastating flood nearly wiped out the railroad, and caused much damage to the tracks and equipment in Phoenicia. After several weeks of volunteer effort, the line was reopened in summer 2005. Around this time, interest increased in using some segments of the rail corridor in Ulster County for a recreational trail.
Volunteer Resurgence During the winter of 2006, the railroad reorganized its efforts as new volunteers came forward. A group from the nearby
Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society were among the first to offer assistance. Brush-cutting and clearing the right of way took first priority. A high-profile activity with immediate results, the cleanup effort motivated more volunteers to join. By the end of 2006, the volunteer force had increased to 45 full members and 30 provisional members. They cleared nearly 20 miles of brush from the mainline.
Kingston Operations Resume In 2007 the railroad began track repairs in Kingston in line with the "ski lift" concept recommended in the ALTA Engineering study for railroad operation from Kingston to West Hurley. The railroad restored tracks in Kingston, with service opening to Washington Avenue in December 2008. In late 2009, the railroad opened more track west of Washington Avenue and offered additional seasonal service throughout that year. From 2007 to 2009, close to two miles of track had been rebuilt in Kingston, from Cornell Street to the foot of Bridge C9. For three years, the CMRR worked to complete the rehabilitation of Bridge C9 over Esopus Creek in Kingston. The bridge was opened for service on December 7, 2012, enabling track rehabilitation westward with Route 209 being the first destination. Route 209, MP 5.42, was reached on September 21, 2013, and MP 6.16, was reached on November 16, 2014. MP 6.45 was reached in November 2015 and MP 8.33 was reached in Stony Hollow in September, 2019. The first passenger train to Route 209 ran on October 19, 2013, and the first to Hurley Mountain Road on November 21, 2014.
West End Expansion Through 2007 and 2008, work also continued on opening the .6 mile Cold Brook Extension. The first train arrived at
Cold Brook Station on July 4, 2008: the first regularly scheduled passenger train to arrive at the station since March 31, 1954. Because Cold Brook station remains privately owned, the railroad maintained no agency there and there are no facilities to board or discharge passengers. In 2009, the CMRR repaired track another .8 miles to the Boiceville Bridge at MP 21.3, for work trains only. By 2010, the physical limit of track restoration was reached on the "western" end of the operable railroad. To the west of Bridge Street in Phoenicia is a major washout preventing any serious restoration work without outside funding. To the east, the railroad rebuilt tracks up to the limit of Bridge C30 (Boiceville Trestle). This was a total of 6.4 miles of operable track at its greatest extent.
Hurricane Irene On August 28, 2011, CMRR was devastated by flooding as a result of
Hurricane Irene. Flood waters inundated the yard at Phoenicia, scouring the right of way and threatening the depot. A significant washout occurred at Campground Curve, similar to the one in 1987. All operating equipment had been moved to safe ground at Mt. Tremper, east of Campground Curve. Additional damage had been incurred where damage from a previous washout was already underway. In the non-operating segment east of Cold Brook station, the most significant damage was the loss of three of the four spans of Boiceville Trestle (Bridge C30) to rising flood waters. There was no significant damage to the restored tracks in the Kingston area. The CMRR resumed operations on September 10, 2011, on a shortened length of track near
Mount Tremper. The washout at Campground Curve was repaired in late 2011, except for reinstallation of track. Operations west of Mt. Tremper commenced on August 5, 2012. In November 2012, the County informed the CMRR that several repair projects had been approved by FEMA. Seven projects, including restoration of the Boiceville Trestle, were approved for $2.3 million. However, the County informed CMRR that it would not begin the projects unless CMRR agreed to terminate its lease from Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir. On August 3, 2013, the CMRR started reconstruction work of track on Campground Curve as part of returning to Phoenicia. This was done assuming that the county would not initiate a FEMA-funded project for this repair. The CMRR completed repairs to Phoenicia on August 7, 2015. Ironically, these repairs made possible the future new railbiking use for this segment of the railroad. At the end of its 25-year lease with Ulster County on May 31, 2016, the CMRR ran from Phoenicia at MP 27.5 to the washout at MP 23.3, as the FEMA funds were never released for the trestle and washout repairs.
Litigation with Ulster County In 2013, Ulster County attempted to terminate the CMRR's lease three years before its expiration. The CMRR successfully litigated the attempt to terminate its lease at a cost of $700,000. The litigation was settled in April 2016, and the CMRR was allowed to continue its former lease through its natural expiration on May 31, 2016.
Permit Extensions and Growth In August 2016, the CMRR signed a new permit with Ulster County for a five-mile segment from MP 3.6 at Chandler Drive in Kingston to MP 8.3 in Stony Hollow. It was extended on a short-term basis until 2023 when it was subsequently renewed to December 31, 2028. Before its lease expired in 2016, the line was reopened for work trains to MP 11 on the Glenford Dike at the Ashokan Reservoir. The track from MP 10 to MP 11 was removed in 2018 for the Ashokan Rail Trail. In 2023, the CMRR signed a lease with the owner of a 5-acre parcel at Basin Road for the purpose of building a permanent terminal there. The CMRR lease included 1000 feet of track from MP 9.8 to MP 10.01, and the right to build a trail parallel to the tracks on this property. Also in 2023, the CMRR signed a Letter of Intent and later a lease for a property adjacent to its permit area for a permanent equipment storage and maintenance yard. • CMRR Inspection Train to Glenford Dike April 24, 2016 ==Operating history==