Catskill Mountain Railroad

The Catskill Mountain Railroad traces its origins to 1973, when the Catskill Mountain Transportation Corp. (CMCT) is created to acquire the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad. Freight service on the line ends on October 2, 1976, and Ulster County purchases the segment from milepost 2.9 to 41.4 in 1979 for $1.5 million. Members of the Kingston Model Railroad Club clear brush in 1980‑81, and in 1982 the CMCT and the club formally establish the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR), leasing the entire 38.6‑mile county‑owned portion that year. CMRR begins its first tourist runs on August 9, 1982 from Phoenicia, incorporates as a railroad corporation on March 7, 1983 with William Haysom as its first president, and expands to full‑size equipment in 1985. After Ulster County reconnects the line to Conrail in 1986, CMRR signs its first five‑year lease, adds freight service for the Kingston Recycling Center, and suffers a flood‑induced washout of Campground Curve in 1987, which is repaired and restored by 1988. A 25‑year lease commences in 1991; a new Route 28 crossing opens in October 2004, followed by a catastrophic flood on April 1, 2005 that nearly destroys the railroad, after which service resumes in the summer of 2005. Volunteer revitalization in 2006 expands the workforce to over 70 members, leading to track repairs in Kingston beginning in 2007, the opening of service to Washington Avenue in December 2008, and further extensions westward in late 2009. Bridge C9 over Esopus Creek reopens on December 7, 2012, enabling progress to milepost 5.42 (Route 209) on September 21, 2013, to milepost 6.16 on November 16, 2014, to milepost 6.45 in November 2015, and finally to milepost 8.33. Record ridership is achieved in both 2023 and 2024.