Discovering the O&W's Middletown Branch

by Ray Kelly

Photographs by Ray Kelly unless otherwise noted

 

Bob Collins caught heavy 4-8-2 451 is northbound at Stony Ford with BL-1 - O&WRHS Archives


    My first introduction to the Ontario & Western Railway was made back around 1979 or so, and it had nothing to do with the railroad itself. I was about nineteen years old then and lived in Washingtonville NY with my family. My father was a NYC fireman at the time and was looking to purchase a used car. The seller told him that he lived near Route 207 off of Twin Arch Road in Rock Tavern. My father then asked me if I knew where that was and I told him yes. He asked for exact directions and the guy said just before you get to Route 207, make a hard right and drive down the railroad tracks to my house. In typical FDNY language he was asked "What kind of a nut are you, I'm not driving my car down railroad tracks!" The voice on the other end said no, the tracks have been torn up and the railroad bed is my driveway now. After my father agreed to purchase the car I asked the seller about his rail bed driveway. He said the railroad went out of business in the late 50's, but didn't know the name of it. I kept that story in mind for several years, thinking about it but never doing anything more.

    During the1980’s I remember going to Middletown to hang out with my friends. One place we would go to once in a while was the O&W station, it wasn't exactly our type of party as it was a disco and an "older" crowd. Another place we would visit but not stay long because of the "age factor" was the Rusty Nail, a nice restaurant but generally out of our price range. We would just ride around burning up 50 cents a gallon gas on the back roads in the town of Wallkill. Driving down Slaughter Road one day we noticed a abandoned railroad bridge and further down Stoney Ford Road, onto Bart Bull Road there was a  large concrete foundation sitting on the shoulder and we wondered what it was.  Again, more clues about the O&W that I knew nothing about.

    Around this time, I was hired by the NYSDOT and in this capacity I got to know the roads of eastern Orange County quite well. Along Route 32 just north of Orr’s Mills road (Orange County 20) on the west side, I could see a giant monolith of concrete, it must have been 100 feet high, and I wondered what it was. On Route 94, by the Meadowbrook Lodge, there was a small bridge (it was removed in the mid to late 80's) that was a nightmare when you were plowing; it was so narrow and, being on the crest of a hill, you prayed no one was coming the other way. When construction was completed, a friend and I took his Subaru Brat down the old rail bed from Meadowbrook south and wound up under the NYS Thruway thinking, "wow, this would be a great trail for dirt bikes". On Route 9W, just south of the Cornwall/New Windsor town line on Moodna hill, another construction project was underway, removing an old RR bridge and filling it in. Along RT 208, just north of RT 207, is the old Borden’s creamery. Carved alongside RT 208, I saw what looked like an old road.  Again, more clues about the O&W, and still, I knew nothing about what all these clues really meant.

Orr’s Mills Trestle north abutment


    So I had all this jumbled information stored in my memory, occasionally reminiscing, until January 2004 when my co-worker Doug Holloran brought in a book to work called "A Guide to the New York, Ontario & Western Railway's Southern Division", written by Charles M. Breiner and William E Scott. Doug's family has been in Cornwall for about 150 years and his great grandfather was a prominent businessman in the late 19th and early 20th century. Doug is very interested in the history of Cornwall. He let me check out the book, and when I went through it, it was like a light bulb going off in my head. As I went through the book, I realized I knew where most of these places were.

    When I got up to Rock Tavern, it was like a bolt of lightning had hit me, remembering back to 1979 and my fathers purchase of the car. I asked Doug if I could borrow the book, grabbed my camera, and started out on my little historical adventure. I tried to take as many pictures as there were in the book to contrast the past with the locations today.  At work, the DOT has a detailed map of each work region, our map shows the path of the O&W to Middletown, where it ends at I-84. I had a copy made and again went out, mainly from Cornwall towards Middletown, as this is the part of Orange County that I am most familiar with.

    I looked at the map and noticed that, before the O&W went into Rock Tavern, it crossed over a dirt road called Slovaks Lane across from the Rock Tavern Post Office. I saw a man working in his driveway one cold January day and asked him if I could go down his driveway and take a few pictures of where the RR crossed over this lane. He said it didn't just cross over, but there was a concrete arch down there, like the ones on Route208 south of Burnside, and Station Road between Salisbury Mills and Little Britain. I drove down expecting to see some dilapidated pile of junk, but what I saw instead was an arch bridge, in far better shape than the other two previously mentioned that are driven under on much busier roads. The arch was marked 1905.  I took several pictures and thanked the owner for letting me go back there.


Bridge 33 2004


    This is when I went to the O&W web page and began to bombard Ron Vassallo with questions about my "find". He suggested I join the society and then ask some questions on the discussion group page, which I did. I attended my first O&W meeting. I then was introduced to Doug Barberio and asked him about the arch. I brought my map and pictures when I spoke to Doug; he was quite amazed that I had made such a "discovery". He encouraged me, like I needed it, to take more pictures of the remnants of the O&W since I knew my way throughout Cornwall, New Windsor, Hamptonburgh and Wallkill. Now my mission became obsession.  I went to the archives where I met Bill Scott and Art Robb, who showed me the files and all the pictures in them. I was like a kid in a candy store! I never knew such an extensive collection of history could be stored in such a place. I showed them the picture of the arch bridge and told them where I "found" it. Bill pulled out the file on Rock Tavern, and a picture of the arch I photographed. There was the bridge, marked Bridge #33, completed in 1905. Now my obsession became lunacy, every weekend of the winter of 2004 I went on a hunt, armed with my camera and some copies of pictures from Bill and Charlie's book to give as trinkets to land owners so I could access their property.

 

Bridge 33 - O&WRHS Archives


    Looking at the DOT map and figuring that some of the only things left of the O&W would be stream culverts, I checked the map to find and mark as many streams as possible and how accessible they might be. I noticed one by Rowe's farm in Burnside, and drove over. I spoke with Rob and Chuck Rowe, 4th generation farmers, and told them of my intentions.  I told them that, according to my map, somewhere under the power lines on their property there was a culvert and I would like to photograph it. Rob walked me out onto the ice, and there it was, in perfect shape (photo below); still working as it did when it was first built in the 1880's. Rob then mentioned to me how many RR aficionados would visit the farm and thought the house on the bend of Station Road was the O&W Burnside station, only now relocated to another spot. This is not so, his grandmother's family saw how nice the station was and had a replica built. In his family, it was known as the Caldwell house. I thanked Rob and gave him some photographs and other trinkets. He told me to come back in the spring when his father comes north from Florida because he'd like to see old RR memorabilia since the O&W and L&HR cut through their property.


Culvert South of Burnside


    I took as many pictures of O&W remnants as I could during the rest of the winter and spring; as soon as the trees bloomed, all was lost to nature. In November of 2004, Doug Barberio and I met at the old Cornwall yards and began a search of Firthcliffe. I showed him a stone arch culvert before the Idlewild Creek site. We then carried on to the site of Moodna yards, again noticing how nature has reclaimed the area. On to Firthcliffe where Doug pointed out how the road was completely re-routed because of the sharp turn and tunnel before the station and how "modern" vehicles wouldn't be able to handle such a sharp turn. We walked over to the site of the Firthcliffe station (Montana) and found a few pieces of O&W hardware,. With each trip I take I always end up with greater knowledge of the O&W main line.

    Continuing on my own in the winter of '04-05, I photographed several more culverts between the NYS Thruway bridge and Meadowbrook, then jumped from there to Burnside to where I met Mr. Rowe Sr. He was very interested in my collection of photos. I showed him a copy of the O&W Observer from 4-April 1983 entitled The Bridge book. In it on page 35, picture #5 is a 1937 shot of Rock Tavern facing north looking underneath Route 207 prior to NYS re-aligning the road. In the background there is what appears to be a second bridge. I asked Mr. Rowe about this bridge and if the knew anything about it. He said it was an old farmer’s bridge and it was still there, although it was collapsing. I drove over to RT 208 and  parked where the  O&W bridge used to cross RT 208 on the east side of the road and followed the power lines into the woods, a walk of about a third of a mile. I noticed a large rock cut through the woods. All of a sudden there was a bridge, collapsing but still there, spanning a shale cut that must be 40 feet high on both sides. This cut extends back to Rock Tavern, a distance of at least 3/4 of a mile. Imagine the labor involved, using blasting powder, shovels and picks that was necessary to cut out the shale to make a path for the road bed, then using only horse or mule carts to haul the shale away.


 

    I then continued on and photographed   the culverts south of Otters near the golf course,  just south of County RT 4 in Campbell Hall, a cattle crossing between Campbell Hall and Clarks and a culvert beneath the Erie Graham line at Clarks. (Pics below)

 

Culvert South of Otters

Culvert South of County Route 4, Maybrook Rd in the area of Mc Bride’s  milk station

 

Cattle Pass just south of Clark’s Creamery Route 416 crossing of the O&W

 

Slaughter Rd Bridge South of Crystal Run

I left these big so you can see every detail. If you are using Internet Explorer it will open BIG and then resize your photo to the screen. If you are using AOL you  I would like to thank the following people for all their help and for making my O&W photo journal what it is:  Bill Scott and Charlie Breiner for writing the guide book that got me started on my journey, Doug Holloran, my co-worker for introducing me to the O&W, Ron Vassallo for posting my pictures on the web, Art Robb for his help at the archives center, and finally Doug Barberio, for all the great pictures he has shown me, his PowerPoint presentations, maps and other assorted knowledge.

    If any one would like to see my pictures, or needs fine tuning on directions around the Cornwall to Middletown branch, please write to my e mail address bridge33@verizon.net and I will help out as much as I can. Ray Kelly

More Recent Middletown Branch Photos taken by Ray Kelly

 

R.O.W. South of Little Britain

Window from Little Britain Station in Garage

Outhouse from Little Britain Station

Iron Beam from Orr's Mills Trestle #6

Inside Culvert South of Little Britain

Unnumbered Culvert South of Little Britain

Bridge #6 Concrete Support 4/15/08

Bridge 13 north of Meadowbrook

Bridge #13 marker cattle crossing

 

Bridge #22 East Side

Bridge #22 West Side

Bridge #22 Marker

Bridge #47 Marker RR Eastside 4-18-08

Bridge #47 RR eastside 4-18-08

Bridge #47 RR West Side 4-18-08

Bridge #56 RR Westside 4-18-08

Inside of Bridge #56 RR Eastside 4-18-08