In Kingston, NY, a small tourist train brings joy and happiness to thousands of kids each year, especially during the holidays with its Santa train. This small private enterprise is threatened by advocates who want to rip up the rails and turn the route into a trail. The right-of-way is owned by a public entity, Ulster County, and that local government has already ripped up 11 miles of rails on the route of the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad.
As you know, I advocate for trails as well as rail transport. I think it’s very sad, disgusting even, to see trail advocates pushing for the destruction of tourist railroads. They succeeded in doing just that in upstate New York, where the ___ was forced to shut down. lost its right-of-way lease….
I enjoyed riding the Catskill Mountain Railroad and then lobbied the Ulster County Legislature via this letter. I did receive a reply; not surprising since I’m not a constituent. So far, the Catskill Mountain Railroad lives on. Good luck to them. And shame on the trail advocates!
Letter to Ulster County regarding Catskill Mountain Railroad
