The Catskill Mountain Railroad, is a heritage tourist railroad based in Kingston, New York, that began operations in 1982. While freight service was no longer offered, regular passenger excursions were operated on two sections of track separated by three washouts as a result of severe flooding. The railroad leased the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain branch from Kingston to Highmount, New York, where it connected with the Delaware & Ulster Railroad (D&U). The railroad connected the Hudson Valley with the Catskill Mountains of New York State. The corridor was purchased by Ulster County in 1979 from the estate of Penn Central and subsequently leased to Catskill Mountain Railroad in 1982. The CMRR's lease with Ulster County expired on May 31, 2016 and the railroad ceased operations on that date. On August 6, 2016, the CMRR resumed operations under a new permit agreement with Ulster county for two portions of the Catskill Mountain Branch in Ulster County. In 2017, the railroad was awarded a five-year permit to operate trains on a five-mile segment of track from Kingston to West Hurley.HistoryCommercial HistoryThe Ulster & Delaware Railroad was chartered in 1866, and was completed between Kingston and Stamford, NY on December 12, 1872, and extended to Oneonta in 1900. Generations of travelers flocked to the Catskills to vacation at the storied grand hotels and lodges. Lucrative freight traffic included coal, lumber, dairy and farm products. Passenger traffic diminished during the Great Depression. Improved roads and the rise of the private automobile doomed the line, which became the Catskill Mountain Branch of the New York Central system (NYC) on February 1, 1932. The line was cut back from Oneonta to Bloomville in 1965. ending the railroad's role as a through route.
