Olive is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The town is west of Kingston, New York, and is inside the Catskill Park. The population was 4,226 at the 2020 census.
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park, a 700,000-acre (2,800 km2) forest preserve protected from many forms of development under New York state law.
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was a railroad located in the state of New York. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route to the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D extended 107 miles (172 km) from Kingston Point on the Hudson River through the Catskill Mountains to its western terminus at Oneonta, passing through the counties of Ulster, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego.
West Hurley, MP 9.8, later MP 10.2, was a railroad station on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad in West Hurley, New York that was constructed in the late nineteenth century and rebuilt during the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir. The original station was made of wood. It was later torn down and temporarily replaced with a board-and-batten shed close to Woodstock, which created much local indignation. A new brick station to replace it was constructed at the West Hurley Dike of the Ashokan Reservoir. The depot was torn down in 1967.
Ashokan was a former railroad station located in the Shokan section of the town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, United States. Located 16.2 miles (26.1 km) from the terminus at Kingston Point in Kingston, it was located along the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, later the Catskill Mountain Branch of the New York Central Railroad. The station opened on June 8, 1913, when the railroad abandoned their former alignment due to the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir. The railroad moved the station depot at Brown's Station to Ashokan for service.
The Catskill Mountain Railroad is a heritage tourist railroad based in Kingston, New York, that began operations in 1982. The railroad leases a 4.7-mile portion of the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain branch from Kingston to Stony Hollow, New York. The tracks are owned by Ulster County, New York, which bought them in 1979 from the bankruptcy estate of the Penn Central Railroad. The railroad's current permit with Ulster County expires on December 31, 2028.
Cold Brook is a former railroad station in the Boiceville section of the town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, United States. Located on Cold Brook Road, just north of New York State Route 28A next to Esopus Creek, Cold Brook station served the New York Central Railroad's Catskill Mountain Branch, formerly the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The station was located 22.1 miles (35.6 km) northwest of Kingston Point station in the city of Kingston.
Phoenicia station is a repurposed train station located on High Street just south of Phoenicia, New York, United States. It is a frame building that opened in 1899.
The station at Big Indian, MP 36.4, was another Ulster and Delaware Railroad station. It served the town of Big Indian, New York, and was at the bottom of the Pine Hill Grade. At this stop, a second or third locomotive was coupled to the train to help it up the grade to Grand Hotel station. A water tower was located here along with a turntable for turning steam locomotives.
Pine Hill station, MP 39.7 on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D), served the village of Pine Hill, New York. It was constructed on the slope of Belle Ayr Mountain 100 feet above the village along the steep grade running from Big Indian to the summit at Grand Hotel station. The famous double horseshoe curves on the U&D were located just west of the station.
Grand Hotel station, MP 41.4 of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, was located in the small mountain hamlet of Highmount, New York, at the summit between Big Indian and Arkville. A turntable was located here, allowing pusher engines to be turned before descending to Arkville or Big Indian.
The Wallkill Valley Railroad is a defunct railroad which once operated in Ulster and Orange counties in upstate New York. Its corridor was from Kingston in the north to Montgomery in the south, with a leased extension to Campbell Hall. It crossed both the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek.
Halcottville station, MP 53.0 on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D), served the hamlet of Halcottville. On February 1, 1932, the U&D became the Catskill Mountain Branch of the New York Central Railroad. In addition to the station, the U&D constructed a large ice-house here and stored ice from Lake Wawaka. A tiny steamboat, also named Wawaka, plied the lake during the summer months drawing visitors from up and down the line who rode the boat and picnicked on the shores of Lake Wawaka. Halcottville boasted a hotel, two creameries, an early electric light plant, several stores, a post office, dance hall, school, and several churches. There were also numerous boarding houses in the area.
Roxbury station is a disused train station on the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad / West Shore "Catskill Mountain Branch" in the hamlet of Roxbury, New York. The station is a contributing property to the Ulster and Delaware Railroad Depot and Mill Complex, a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
Grand Gorge station, MP 65.5 on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D), originally known as Moresville, is a train station that had more freight service than passenger service. Its main business was the freight coming from the local farms and dairy products from the Decker-Slawson Creamery, which later became the Sheffield Farms Creamery. It also served the nearby community of Prattsville.
There were four stations built to serve the city of Kingston, New York. The first station was known as "Higginsville Station" built by the Rondout & Oswego railroad company. The second station was served by three different railroads, all of which eventually became part of the New York Central railroad company. The third station, known as "Fair Street Station", replaced the Higginsville Station in 1882. The fourth station was for the New York, Ontario and Western Railway.
Haines Falls is an abandoned train station in Haines Falls, New York. It was owned by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The abandoned station was restored in 1999 and is one of two surviving U&D branch stations. It is now the headquarters of the Mountain Top Historical Society. It is also the start of the Kaaterskill Rail Trail, a scenic hiking trail along the former railway.
Established in 1960, the Empire State Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum currently located in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station, Phoenicia, New York. The station was built in 1899 by the U&D, and is one of the few surviving examples left along the line. The museum owns a small collection of historic railroad equipment. The museum was formerly the publisher of the annual Steam Railroad Directory until the 2006 edition, when the title was taken over by Kalmbach Publishing and now released as the Tourist Trains Guidebook.
The Delaware and Ulster Railroad (DURR) is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York.
The Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society is a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). It focuses on the history of the railroads and related social, economic, and cultural institutions of the Catskill and Hudson Valley regions. That history, which began with the charter of the Catskill & Ithaca Railroad in 1828, encompasses numerous proposed and built railroads and trolley lines within Ulster, Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Albany and Otsego counties.
