Beginnings The
Dutchess and Columbia Railroad (D&C) was chartered September 4, 1866. It was to run from Plumb Point in Fishkill northeast to meet the
New York and Harlem Railroad at
Hillsdale station in
Craryville. Despite the connection with the Harlem, it was not intended to be a
bridge line; instead, it was expected to carry lead and iron ore from the
Ancram area westbound, and coal from the
Coal Region of Pennsylvania eastbound.
Columbia County townships proved reluctant to fund the northern portion of the line, so it was rerouted eastward from
Pine Plains to meet the Harlem at
Millerton. The BH&E had completed lines from
Waterbury, Connecticut, to Boston and Providence by 1855, but had struggled building through the hills of western Connecticut. Intending to bypass New York City and compete with the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven) for New England business, the
Erie Railroad (which controlled the BH&E) planned to ship coal across the
Hudson River from
Newburgh. The BH&E supplied all rolling stock for the line. The D&C line reached
Millbrook by October 1869 and Pine Plains in February 1870. Regular service on the line resumed by March 25 using a purchased locomotive and coaches rented from the Hudson River Railroad. After a multiple-month court battle, the BH&E abandoned its claim to the line. Through service began soon after. Millerton became the connection point between the two railroads; the Connecticut Western leased the D&C between State Line and Millerton later in 1871. The
Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad (P&E) opened from
Poughkeepsie, New York to a junction with the D&C at
Stissing on January 24, 1871. It opened a second section of its line from Pine Plains to State Line on October 1, 1872. Between Stissing Junction and Pine Plains, it used
trackage rights on the D&C. Late in 1872, the D&C was merged with the
New York and Boston Railroad, the unbuilt
Putnam and Dutchess Railroad, and the Clove Branch to form the
New York, Boston and Northern Railway. In 1873, it joined with the Harlem Extension and the unbuilt Pine Plains and Albany Railroad to form the
New York, Boston and Montreal Railway (NYB&M). The Clove Branch and the D&C between Clove Branch Junction and Pine Plains were to become part of its New York–Rutland mainline.
Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut The
Rhinebeck and Connecticut Railroad opened in 1875 with a shorter and flatter route to the Hudson than the D&C, which allowed it to charge lower rates. The Rhinebeck and Connecticut replaced the D&C as the C&W's primary western connection for through traffic, hurting revenues of the D&C. Company headquarters were at
Matteawan. In 1877, the Clove Branch was extended by to Clove Valley, where an iron works was located. The extension was partially built on right-of-way that had been graded for the NYB&M. The
New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE), successor to the BH&E, opened its extension from
Danbury, Connecticut to
Brewster, New York in July 1881. That December, the NY&NE opened a further extension to Hopewell Junction. As had been planned in 1868, the ND&C was used to reach the Hudson, albeit with trackage rights rather than ownership. The NY&NE built a short branch from the ND&C to reach Fishkill Landing. Passenger service between Fishkill Landing and Boston began on December 12, 1881.
Train ferry service across the Hudson, connecting with the Erie Railroad, also began that day; the first freight car carried 800
turkeys from
Livonia, New York, bound for Providence. Within weeks, the NY&NE was carrying more freight than all other railroads in Dutchess County combined.
Central New England Railway The Central New England and Western was consolidated with the Poughkeepsie Bridge and Railroad Company in 1892 as the Philadelphia, Reading and New England Railroad, under control of the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. It was succeeded in 1899 by the
Central New England Railway (CNE), still controlled by the Reading. The transfer took place on September 14, 1905, after which the ND&C was operated as part of the CNE. Some service was rerouted to Poughkeepsie rather than Fishkill Junction. The ND&C, the Poughkeepsie and Eastern, the Dutchess County, and the Poughkeepsie Bridge were formally merged into the CNE in 1907. By 1912, the line had two daily Fishkill Landing–Millerton round trips and one daily Fishkill Landing–Pine Plains round trip, all operating via Dutchess Junction. Two daily round trips on the ex-NY&NE used the line between Fishkill Landing and Hopewell Junction; three daily CNE round trips used the line only between Stissing Junction and Pine Plains. By 1915, the line had daily Beacon (formerly Fishkill Landing)–Pine Plains round trips, a daily southbound trip from Pine Plains to Hopewell Junction, and one daily Beacon–Millerton round trip. One daily CNE round trip used the line between Millerton and Stissing Junction, and two between Pine Plains and Stissing Junction; two daily ex-NY&NE round trips used the line west of Hopewell Junction.
Abandonment The CNE ended passenger service between
Shekomeko and Millerton on December 18, 1921. That section of track was generally disused for freight until January 21, 1925, when the
Interstate Commerce Commission authorized abandonment. Passenger service between Millerton and Pine Plains via Boston Corners (using the ex-ND&C between Millerton and State Line) also ended at that time. The single daily round trip between Pine Plains and Shekomeko was discontinued in 1927. The final service east of Millerton on the ex-ND&C was cut back to
Canaan, Connecticut in December 1927, shortly before all CNE passenger service ended in Connecticut. The CNE was merged into the New Haven in 1927. The between Pine Plains and Shekomeko was abandoned in late 1935. On July 1, 1936, the New Haven discontinued freight service between Stissing Junction and Millbrook because two trestles were in poor condition. In April 1938, the Interstate Commerce Commission allowed the New Haven to abandon most of the remaining ex-CNE lines in New York. Abandonment of the long-unprofitable lines took place on August 1, 1938. The New Haven continued operating the
Maybrook Line as a major freight route over the Poughkeepsie Bridge. The Beacon–Hopewell Junction portion of the ex-ND&C was also retained for freight service. However, in 1981, Conrail applied to abandon the segment along with the Maybrook Line between Poughkeepsie and Hopewell Junction (the former Dutchess County Railroad). The latter segment was abandoned in 1982, but the Beacon–Hopewell Junction segment remained in use. Maybrook Properties, a subsidiary of the
Housatonic Railroad, purchased the remaining Maybrook Line (Beacon–Hopewell Junction–
Derby) from Conrail in 1992. The
Metro-North Railroad purchased the New York portion of the line from Maybrook Properties in January 1995 as the
Beacon Line. Metro-North filed for federal permission for
adverse abandonment of the line in 2021; the Housatonic, which retained freight rights on the line; opposed. Metro-North again filed for abandonment in December 2023. The filing was approved and took effect in February 2024. ==Route==