History
The Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway (G&J) was incorporated in the early part of the 20th century, and became a subsidiary of the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H). It connected to the D&H's Washington Branch at Greenwich Junction. Following the 1980 closure of the Georgia Pacific pulp and paper mill in Thomson, New York, the D&H planned to abandon the G&J along with the adjoining Washington Branch, which ran from Eagle Bridge, New York to Castleton, Vermont. In 1982, Mohawk-Hudson Transportation, owned by Ron Crowd, purchased the railroad from the D&H, forming the Batten Kill Railroad. Crowd had the distinction of being the first African-American to own and operate a railroad in the United States.
While initially financially successful, a series of national railroad strikes in the mid 1980s left the railroad in a less profitable state. In 1994, the railroad was turned over to NE New York Rail, a non-profit, and the BKRR remained the operator. Passenger excurisions were started, but were terminated by 2004 due to declining ridership. In November 2008, William Taber purchased the Batten Kill from Mohawk Transportation and the estate of the late Ron Crowd. Tabor is the current President and CEO of the railroad.
Read more about this topic: Batten Kill Railroad
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