Roxbury station

Last updated

Roxbury
General information
Location Roxbury, Delaware County. New York
Tracks1
History
ClosedMarch 31, 1954 [1]
Services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Grand Gorge
toward Oneonta
Catskill Mountain Branch Halcottville
Roxbury station
Location Roxbury, New York
Nearest city Stamford, New York
Coordinates 42°17′41″N74°34′30″W / 42.29472°N 74.57500°W / 42.29472; -74.57500
Built1872
Part of Ulster and Delaware Railroad Depot and Mill Complex (ID03000254)
Designated CPApril 18, 2003

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.

Contents

History

This depot was originally constructed by the Rondout & Oswego Railroad with construction completed in January 1872. The R&O would be reorganized into the New York, Kingston and Syracuse railroad only three months later, in April 1872.

The NYK&S RR itself only lasted until 1875, at which time it was reorganized into the Ulster & Delaware Railroad.

The station as originally built consisted of a single rectangular structure, with an internal dividing wall separating passenger and freight rooms.

It was substantially altered sometime between 1888 and 1891 by the U&D. Some believe Helen Gould Shepherd (railroad tycoon Jay Gould's daughter) designed and/or financed the renovation.

Local history has it, she wanted a more elaborate waiting room for her friends and family, so an addition was constructed on the north side of the building. The addition consisted of two rooms: the tickets agents office (facing the tracks through a bay window) also containing a telegrapher's office, and the main waiting room.

Also of particular note, is that this station was equipped with what is believed to be the first indoor flush toilet in Delaware County, and central heating, with a common coal fired furnace in the basement with duct work and registers to transport hot air to the Ticket Agent's Office & Waiting Room upstairs. This "modern convenience" eliminated the ever-popular "potbelly" stove ever so present and common in railroad stations across the country.

Another addition to the station at this time was a portico, or colonnade (open air roofed area similar to a pole barn) attached to the north side. Most U&D RR stations did not have this feature.

Roxbury, although not as busy as Halcottsville, did have several business located there, including a retail coal dealer, feed and grain supplier, and a paint factory as well as several local creameries.

Although passenger service ended in 1954, the station agent stayed on until 1957. After that date, it was subsequently used in two commercial ventures, first by a feed & grain dealer from 1959-1976 (when freight service ended this same year); and then by a body shop owner, in the mid-1990s. Although the entire station was covered with metal siding by the feed supplier, little was changed on the inside, making it one of the best preserved U&D stations.

Roxbury Depot Museum

Today the Roxbury Station proudly houses a multitude of interpretive display kiosks showing local history and interaction with local businesses, as well as maps and diagrams illustrating the history of the U&D RR, and scale dioramas of the station in various eras.

The structure itself, is in remarkably good shape (being protected by the sheet metal curtain wall); and the station is being restored by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad Historical Society, which other than the Roxbury Station restoration, has undertaken the restoration of a 1920 H. K. Porter, Inc Steam Locomotive; former BEDT 14; and a 1906 New York, Ontario & Western 4 wheel "Bobber" Caboose #8206].

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

Kingston Point station, was one of the last stations built on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D). It was built in Kingston, New York, to permit passengers and cargo to be transferred between the U&D and boats transiting the Hudson River between Albany and New York. It was also adjacent to Kingston Point Park, which was an attraction in itself, and there was a nearby trolley depot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hurley station</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashokan station</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catskill Mountain Railroad</span> Heritage tourist railroad in New York State, US

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, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold Brook station</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenicia station</span>

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.

This station, MP 32.1, was located where the site of the old Allaben station. The old Allaben station was a big masonry building that served the village of Allaben. It was torn down in 1899, and replaced with a new pre-fabricated station. This was placed in the area where the depot before it was. This station was destroyed soon after the end of passenger service on the Ulster & Delaware in 1954.

The Arkville station, MP 48.1 on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D), and MP 37.52 on the Delaware and Northern Railroad (D&N), was another busy station, as this served as a junction between the two railroads. This station bore a strong resemblance to the Grand Hotel station and the Pine Hill station, which both looked like longer versions of the Mount Pleasant station.

Kelly's Corners station, MP 51.4 on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, served a rural farming community, which there were plenty of in Delaware County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallkill Valley Railroad</span> Railroad in New York State (1866–1977)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catskill and Tannersville Railway</span>

The Catskill and Tannersville Railway was a historic 3 ft narrow gauge railroad operating in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halcottville station</span>

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haines Falls station</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad</span> Heritage railroad in New York, U.S.

Kaaterskill station, branch MP 19.1, was one of the busiest railroad stations on the branch lines of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D). It was near the banks of South Lake in Kaaterskill, New York, and was a major stop for people who wished to stay at the Hotel Kaaterskill or the Catskill Mountain House, which was 0.93 miles from the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter station (New York Central Railroad)</span> Former station on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad

Hunter was a former station on the Hunter Branch of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) and was the busiest station on the branch lines of the U&D. Within several yards of the station were the Standard Oil Co. and the Otto Gordon Coal Co. The village of Hunter, which the station serviced, was also home to several popular resorts.

The Delaware and Ulster Railroad (DURR) is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society</span>

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.

References

  1. "Final Old U.&D. Passenger Train Trip Wednesday". The Kingston Daily Freeman. March 30, 1954. pp. 1, 8 . Retrieved May 6, 2021 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg