| Often advertised as
"The Only All-Rail Route To the
Catskill Mountains," the Ulster and
Delaware was originally established in
1866 as the Rondout and Oswego. It
traveled through four counties (Ulster,
Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego) and
connected with five other railroads, but
was mostly known for bringing the
tourists to the elegant hotels in the
Catskills. Although the Ulster and
Delaware ran one hundred and eight miles
through the scenic mountains, because of
its steep grades, some as much as 4.4%,
it would take the train almost four hours
to travel get from Kingston Point to
Oneonta, running at an average speed of
only 30-40.
Initially the
route began at Kingston Point, went
through Rondout, and then
--after numerous stops-- when it reached
the end of the line at Bloomville, the
engine was turned on the turntable there,
and returned to its point of
origin. Mr. Wilber Haynes,
Kortright Town Historian, took
descendant Carolyn McPherson and her
husband Mike on a trek on
the old U & D railroad
grade to see the foundation of the
roundhouse.
The
Railroad ran above the village of
Bloomville. Carolyn's
grandfather, William Hendry Hickok, was a
conductor on the U & D for his entire
adult life. At the end of the
day he walked down the hill into
Bloomville and stayed in the residence of
William Blakely Peters.
Eventually Hickok married Peters'
daughter Sarah. When the U
& D line was extended beyond
Bloomville to its ultimate terminus in
Oneonta, NY, Hickok, his wife Sarah, and
their child Hannah Rosella Hickok moved
to Oneonta.
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