Catskill Mountain Railroad - Kingston Operations

Kingston Operations

The Catskill Mountain Railroad also has a yard in Kingston, referred to as "Cornell Street Yard." In 2009, a new siding was constructed to expand the yard facilities to allow for the storage and restoration of passenger cars for expanded tourist train operations. Equipment restoration and maintenance takes place in the open air.

Since November 2006, volunteers have re-opened 1.8 miles of trackage in Kingston. The current operable section stretches from Cornell Street (MP 3.0) to the C9 bridge over the Esopus (MP 5.0), which is also the Kingston City Limits, so all track in the city of Kingston has now been rehabilitated. Materials have been acquired to redeck Bridge C9, with the goal of having it inspected and open to rail traffic once more.

On December 6, 2008, the railroad inaugurated seasonal shuttle service between Downs Street (MP 3.2) and Washington Avenue (MP 4.37). A small station and loading platform was constructed off Westbrook Lane (MP 3.78) opposite Kingston Plaza to support passenger operations in 2008. Trains are powered by Alco RS-1 401 (ex-GMRC 401), and consist of converted flatcar 278 (ex-LBR 26) and refurbished caboose 675 (ex-PRR 477672). The critical Washington Avenue crossing was reopened for limited use in 2008, and the track was opened to Bridge C-9 (MP 5) on November 15, 2009. As of August 2009, the regular operating section was extended across Washington Avenue to the Holiday Inn (MP 4.6), and service was extended all the way to Bridge C-9 (MP 5) on December 5, 2009 for the 2009 Kingston Holiday Train.

Repairs to Bridge C9 started in September 2011, and were completed on December 3, 2012. The bridge was certified on December 7, 2012, and the first passenger train ran across the bridge on December 8th. Next step is to rehabilite track to allow train service to continue further west. The first goal will be to reach Route 209 at MP 5.4.