THE O&W RAILWAY IN THE TOWN OF ROCHESTER
Picture this: a large steam engine chugging and whistling its way across Main Street in
Accord……….or a train rumbling across Kyserike Road/County Route #6 at the bottom of the “station
hill” in Kyserike. What a scene that was for over half a century, from 1901 until 1956.
The Age of Railroading*
“A raging epidemic spread across the United States after the Civil War, carrying its infectious
influence far from the centers of population, straight into the tiny hamlets and the homes of
isolated farmers…..The malady, of course, was railroad fever.….Here was the answer to muddy,
rutted rural highways, to the incredible slowness of canals, to the monotony of rustic living,
to the sameness of one locality.”
The New York, Ontario & Western Railway served primarily New York State in the area between the
rail lines of the Erie and the New York Central. Beginning in the 1860s, separate sections of
the iron rail network were built by a number of small companies: e.g. the New York and Oswego
Midland, the Port Jervis, Monticello and New York Railroad, the New York, Ontario and Western
Railway, and the Ellenville and Kingston Railroad Company.
In 1871, the eight-mile section between Summitville and Ellenville was built, followed by the
extension from Ellenville to Kingston in 1901. The Ellenville and Kingston Railroad Company
(which soon was leased to the O&W) had purchased part of the right of way belonging to the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company; the Canal having closed down in 1898. The new Ellenville to
Kingston section was built on the old canal towpath from just north of Ellenville to Accord, and
opened to traffic in 1901.
“This branch was built when the NY O&W was in a period of great prosperity and this is reflected
in the elaborate stations built along this part of the line.”
*(The above information and quotes were taken from “O. & W. The Long life and Slow Death of the
Ontario and Western Railway” by William F. Helmer.)
The O&W Railway in Ulster County and the Town of Rochester
O & W Railway stations in the Town of Wawarsing were located at Ellenville, Napanoch, Wawarsing,
and Kerhonkson. Accord was the first of two station stops in the Town of Rochester. After
passing through Accord, the railroad left the towpath and crossed the Rondout Creek on a 276
foot long bridge (abutments still visible). Just before arriving at the Kyserike station (which
remains today just to the north of County Route #6, Kyserike Road), the tracks passed by the
railroad milk station or creamery which was leased by the Rondout Valley Cooperative Dairies
between circa 1902 and 1925 (see The Accordian, March 2007). At the Kyserike station, a
separate siding served the Cross Company.
(Soon passing out of the Town of Rochester on its way to Kingston, the O & W Railway stopped at
stations in High Falls, Cottekill (both still standing) and Hurley {razed when Route 209 was
widened in the 1960s}.)
Prosperity for the Town of Rochester
The coming of the O&W Railway to our valley and Town in 1901 had far-reaching impacts, both
economically and socially. Directly related to the railroad were the development of larger
farms, the establishment of creameries, the opening of feed mills and coal companies, the
expansion of tourism, the extension of educational opportunities, and a general improvement in
the quality of life for local residents.
Perhaps the greatest impact of the railroad was felt by the farm families (which included most
of the residents in the early 1900s). Prior to 1901, farms had produced just what was needed to
sustain the family. A bit of cash was attained by selling eggs, butter and cheese to customers
within wagon-travel distance. The impetus to enlarge the dairy herds and diversify crops came
when the railroad established creameries to process the milk, and provided transportation for
large quantities of dairy products, eggs, and fresh produce under refrigerated conditions to a
wider market.
Soon after the valley-line was extended from Ellenville to Kingston, students from the Town of
Rochester began riding morning trains to high school in Ellenville and Kingston. For Town
residents who needed to visit a lawyer or bank, or had other business in Kingston or Ellenville,
the trip by train was far easier than it had been by wagon. Life improved in other ways as
well. Now residents could order supplies for the home or farm from mail order catalogues, and
have the merchandise delivered to the nearest railroad station. Building supplies and early
modular homes also were brought in by rail.
New businesses were established close to the stations. Bulk feed and coal companies were opened
by Charles Anderson in Accord and by Virgil Cross in Kyserike. Jerome Enderly began the Accord
Farmers’ Co-op in Accord (which became GLF, then Agway) and Henry DeVoe loaded railroad cars
with his bagged and bulk lime. Creameries were established in Accord by the Dairymen’s League
and in Kyserike by the railroad.
An important railroad-related activity at the Accord station was the loading of millstone and
other stone quarried from the ridges of Shawangunk “grit” on Lawrence Hill, Rock Hill and in The
Clove. A “cut” had been excavated for a siding just north of the station. When down in the
cut, the sides of two gondola cars at a time would be level with the ground to facilitate
loading of the stone.
Additionally, the O&W Railway provided a tremendous boost to tourism in the form of New York
City families coming to the country for their summer vacations. The Town of Rochester was the
location of a few hotels, numerous boarding houses (small, medium and large), several bungalow
colonies, and many private homes that each took in a few boarders. The larger hostelries met
their guests at the railroad stations with wagons (referred to as the “station wagons”) and
other vehicles. Taxi service was provided by regular taxi drivers and also by local individuals
in need of a little extra income.
Presiding over all this diverse activity in the environs of the Accord railroad station was Mike
Palmer who was the Station Master between 1918 and 1948. He managed efficiently handling
manifestos, bills of lading, and incoming and outgoing mail, sold tickets, and tapped out
communications on the telegraph.
Personal Memories
A number of local residents have personal memories relative to the railroad era in our Town’s
history. In The Accordian of July, 1993, Margaret Miller wrote, “Let us pause for a few moments
and once again hear of those times through the eyes of individuals who recall the days when the
“iron horse” was king of transportation in the Rondout Valley.”
Memories of the late Franklin Kelder, former Town Supervisor, civic leader, and farmer:
“Mike Palmer, the station-master, his wife, Thelma, and children, Doris and Pierce, lived in
the apartment over the station before they moved into a house across the tracks. I remember
when it was a very active station. On Monday mornings the farmers would bring eggs in for
shipment to New York City. Jerome Enderly (Charles Anderson’s grandfather) would bring in a
pickup truckload of eggs from his thousand hens. The Schoonmakers and Davenports shipped their
vegetables to Sullivan County. One of their men would meet the train there and sell the produce
to the hotels. Feed and coal came to Anderson’s mill, and the coal was shoveled off by hand.
Just north of the station at Accord Farmers Cooperative, feed in 100 lb. bags. Anderson also
had the Ford agency. The Ford cars came in by freight, partially disassembled. Final assembly
occurred in the building behind the mill.
“In the summertime, the station became a very active place. The city people rented rooms on
the farms, in bungalow colonies and hotels, coming in by passenger train because automobiles
were not that plentiful…….
“The Accord creamery was owned by the Dairymen’s League…..Milk was delivered to the creamery
each morning in thirty-gallon cans. Arriving early with your milk was the best practice,
otherwise a long back-up line developed with an hour or two to wait. I believe the early
shipments were in cans that were iced; later they had refrigerated tank cars on the railroad……
“Another area of activity was Henry DeVoe’s lime kiln. In the early spring he would go to
Delaware County and take orders. Soft coal for the kilns came in by rail on the spur south of
Accord, and carloads of bulk lime were shipped out…….
“Shawangunk millstones were also shipped out, by Wally and Vinnie Lawrence….. The local
stone is the hardest in the world with the exception of a location in France……..
“Hoop poles was another thriving enterprise that moved from the canal to the railroad. Small
farms accumulated large stacks of hoop poles (young sapling trees) that were shaved in their
hoop shops during the winter months. In the early spring, they were taken to the railroad for
delivery to coopers for barrel making. Many probably went to Cooperstown. In those days
Rosendale cement was shipped in wooden barrels, so of course barrels were in big demand.”
We suffered a big loss as the railroad got into financial trouble that led to bankruptcy and
their taxes went unpaid. “A lot of taxes were taken from the town; all the land that the tracks
laid on, plus the buildings. It really took a lot out of the town when the railroad closed
down.”
Memories of the late Albert “Spike” Barley, the barber who clipped hair locally for over 60
years in his barber shop:
Some of Spike’s memories of the railroad were taking the train out of Accord for New York
City to attend barber school. His brother, Lloyd, used the train to attend high school in
Ellenville.
“Because the schedules didn’t coincide, Lloyd arrived 1 1/2 hours early for school every day.
He also worked at the O&W station during the summer months.
“Just north of the station, between Accord Farmers Co-op and the station, was the largest
icehouse I had ever seen. It was owned and operated by the O&W Railway that brought the ice in
by rail from Sullivan County. I don’t know if the creamery took ice from there or if they also
had an icehouse…..
“They must have had an outhouse to serve the passenger trains. Mike Palmer had one steady
employee at the station year round, and three during the summer. A lot of passengers came in
and a lot of vegetables were shipped. I believe the railroad hurt themselves in those days.
When the passenger trains came up from the city in the summer months, many of the passengers had
to stand all the way from New York City until they switched trains at Summitville down near
Wurtsboro, simply because the railroad refused to add more cars…..The passenger service stopped
a few years before the freight. (All train service to this Town had ceased by the late 1950s.)
There was a lady station-master at the end.
“You could always make a few dollars in those days, using your car as a taxi when the
passenger trains arrived. Accord was a busy place in those days.”
Eddie Fehring, antique dealer:
“I came to live here and played along the tracks by the railroad station in 1946, and I
recall that same year a passenger train came loaded with dignitaries taking pictures. What I
overheard from the crowd was that they were stopping at each station and taking pictures because
this was the last O&W passenger train through this valley. From that point on, it would only be
freight trains. However, luggage for the hotels and bungalows still arrived by freight, and my
stepfather and I would help unload it onto those large station carts, and then into waiting
pickup trucks. Each piece of luggage’s destination was marked. For example, Louis
Cohen’s Bungalow Colony, Bungalow ___, Unit Number ___, and which side of the road, and so on
for the other resorts. The reverse of this was repeated in the fall.
“I remember being fascinated watching Mike through the railroad station window working his
telegraph key with his green visor and puffy shirt sleeves, caused by the elastic bands around
each arm. It’s real interesting to me now to recall the sound of that telegraph.
“North of the station, before the bridge spanning the Rondout Creek, was a hobo jungle
located in a stand of birches, near a spring. In good weather you could always find four or
five of them there with a campfire, cooking cans that they hung over the fire on a stick. I
guess they must have ridden the freights.
“When going to school, (at the Accord School which is now the Grange Hall building next to
A&M Hardware), most kids walked down Main Street in Accord, then north on Route 209 to the
school near Whitfield Road. I used to take the shortcut up the tracks and across the railroad
bridge. As kids, we sneaked rides on the train by grabbing onto a ladder as the train passed,
and jumped off just before the bridge.”
The late Joseph Friedberg, retired bungalow colony operator:
“We started out in America on a 38-acre farm in Mettacahonts…….We had seven dairy cows and
two horses……In the beginning, we rented the four upstairs rooms of our seven-room house to
summer boarders. Then we built a bungalow across the road,….. made alterations on the granary,
….converted a shed into a community kitchen and added a dining room. We had ten units
altogether, and named it Sunrise Bungalow Colony.
“We used our two big horses hitched to a three-seated buggy to pick up boarders at the Accord
Railroad Station. I remember eggs were shipped out by rail, and that was also the way the mail
arrived for the Accord Post Office. People also came up the river from New York City on the
Hudson River Day Liner to Kingston, and then took the train to Accord.”
John Cross, retired owner/operator of the Cross Lumber Company:
“My earliest recollection of this railroad and the Kyserike Station starts about 1937 or
1938. In those days there was a daily way freight which started in Summitville, came all the
way down this branch to Kingston, and then returned the same day. In the summer there was
passenger service that originated in Summitville with two day coaches…..
“On Friday nights there was another passenger train that picked up passengers in Summitville
that had arrived from the terminal in Weehawken. The train arrived in Kyserike at 8 p.m. and
brought the New York Daily Sun. My grandparents, and later my parents, used to sell the Daily
Sun in their store….I would walk over to the station with my grandmother just to get the Sun on
Friday night.
“I must have been 7 or 8 years old when my grandmother treated my brother and me to a train ride
from Kyserike to Summitville and back. That was quite an occasion in those days…..The passenger
train service died soon after World War II was over. They had a school bus that came here to
take passengers to the Summitville Station, but the financial fortunes of the railroad were
deteriorating steadily and the bus service was discontinued around 1948 or 1949, and that was
the end of all passenger service on this branch.
“The freight ran faithfully six days a week, using steam locomotives. I would guess the
railroad was dieselized somewhere in the early ‘50s. Instead of that cheery steam whistle, we
had an air horn announcing the arrival of the freight trains. Of course, we put a few pennies
on the track when we were kids. The same crew was on the freight train every day; it never
varied. They got to know us kids and tolerated us.
“We rode in some open box cars as feed or lumber was switched onto a siding. One day when I
was about 15, I was allowed to ride in the locomotive all the way to Kingston and returned in
the caboose.
“I recall a great tragedy around 1943. We were in the Alligerville School when someone burst
in with the news that Harry Parker had been killed in a train wreck at the Kyserike grade
crossing. He was a passenger in a truck with a piece of plywood in the window, and no muffler.
The driver didn’t hear the locomotive’s whistle, drove across the track, and poor Harry Parker
was killed.
“Kyserike had the highest number of feet of sidings of any station on the Summitville to
Kingston branch. There were sidings for the first creamery, the lumber yard, and the second
creamery, which did not ship milk by tail but did receive coal, and also there was a cottage
cheese plant.
“The Kyserike station did not have a resident station agent in my memory; Levi Haines who
lived nearby was the only station agent. I remember a large bay window on the far side and the
telegraph keys and storage batteries that powered these keys. The idea of the bay window was
that the station agent could look up or down the track. Also, there was a water tower north of
the Kyserike Station where the train took on water.
“There was a baggage car that was part of the daily freight train that was railway express.
The boarders shipped up their summer belongings this way. The local poultrymen shipped their
eggs via railway express from all stations up and down the line. The eggs came in wooden
crates; I think 30 dozen to a case. If the freight train was running late, the baggage car with
the eggs would be taken off and hooked to the rear of the passenger train so it got back to
Summitville in time to make the connection to New Jersey.
“The freight service slowly declined. First it was three days a week, then in the mid-1950s
it was twice a week, and finally failed in 1956. The rails kind of rusted away until a scrap
company salvaged the steel in August of 1958, starting from Summitville and working to
Kingston.”
Joe Lee, retired from Agway, and farmer:
“I originally started out with the Accord Farmers Cooperative near the railroad tracks just
north of the (Accord) station…..The Freight trains maneuvered coal cars on to the Co-op siding
to what was called the coal shed. The coal cars dumped, and the coal was taken by conveyor up
into the silo. When the coal was delivered to the public, we had to weigh the Co-op delivery
trucks at Anderson’s mill until we got our own scales.
“When poultry was a big business in the Town of Rochester, the majority of the equipment for
the chicken coops came in by rail: nests, drinking fountains, and chain conveyors that ran along
the floor to remove the droppings. They were called pit cleaners.
“I just got in on the tail end of the railroad when it was going out of business. I still
remember the station master Mike Palmer and all his paper work, and Marie Meeker who took over
when Mike retired. I guess you could say it was a busy place in its day.”
And as Margaret Miller wrote in 1993: “Now that our O&W has become part of that which once
was and is no more, and the pathway of those rails has become an elongated park aptly named the
Linear Corridor, perhaps a note of caution is in order. As you walk this corridor, occasionally
glance over your shoulder and strain to hear the far-off whistle of that phantom train that
still silently roars through our valley, carrying the spirits of hundreds of passengers and tons
of freight to unknown destinations on those missing ribbons of steel.”
