Following the Civil War the communities of upstate New York were desperate to have railroad service. Without a railroad communities were isolated and had no way to market produce or manufactured goods.

The beginning took place on Wednesday, October 4, 1865, when delegates along the proposed route met in Delhi, NY. Rival factions from Sullivan and Ulster Counties were in attendance each advocating a route through their County. When many from the Rondout left early to return home it was decided to choose the Sullivan County route.

The next meeting was held in the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York City. Two dominant individuals emerged, Henry Low from Monticello attorney and member of the NY State Senate and Dewitt C. Littlejohn, former Mayor of Oswego and prosperous merchant. Henry Low represented the southern terminus at Middletown, NY and Dewitt C. Littlejohn represented the northern terminus at Oswego, NY.

On April 5, 1866, Henry Low introduced the Town-Bonding Act that provided for the issuance of town bonds up to 30% of assessed value of property in the town to invest in the new railroad�s stock and provided for a ten year property tax exemption for the new road. The bill was passed on the spot.

Three tunnels had to be dug. The longest at 3,850 feet was through the Shawangunk Mountain between Bloomingburg and Summitville and was completed on October 19, 1871. The other tunnels were at South Fallsburg and Hawk Mountain just south of Cadosia. The highest point, 1.799 feet on the railroad was just north of Liberty at Young�s Gap. There were numerous trestles and bridges that had to be built. Among the largest were Ferndale, Sidney Center and Lyons Brook just south of Norwich. A series of zig-zag switchbacks was built to get the railroad over Northfield Mountain.

The railroad was not constructed along the easies route or the route where the most business was located but rather wound along the route to the towns that were willing to bond themselves to raise money for the railroad. In so doing it seemed as if the railroad traversed as many of the State�s mountains, hills valleys and rivers as was possible.

The railroad was completed on July 11, 1873, with the last spike being driven 12 miles north of Roscoe in Delaware County and had cost $26,000,000. Branch lines served Ellenville, Delhi, New Berlin, Auburn, Rome and Utica. From Middletown the Midland reached the New York City markets via the Middletown, Unionville & Water Gap and the New Jersey Midland railroads. Because of lack of business the Andover Branch running west from Norwich was soon abandoned. The New York and Oswego Midland Railroad entered receivership that same month due to debt and the financial panic of 1873.

On November 14, 1879, a new group of investors represented by Conrad N. Jordan of the Third National Bank or New York City purchased the Midland property for $4,600,000 and the New York Ontario & Western Railway was subsequently incorporated on January 21, 1880. The term, �Railway� reflected the large amount of British capitol in the new enterprise. Jordon became the first president of the O&W.

Among those serving on the Board of Directors were Horace Porter and General Edward L. Winslow whom were friends and associates of George Pullman. Pullman was not happy with William H. Vanderbilt because his New York Central & Hudson River Railroad was using the seeping cars made by the Wagner Palace Car Company.

The O&W needed a new route to the New York markets that would avoid the difficult and unreliable New Jersey Midland route. The way chosen was to build east from Middletown to Cornwall and then south along the west shore of the Hudson River to Weehawken, NJ opposite New York City. It is at this point that a very complicated period of corporate intrigue and financial warfare developed.

The New York West Shore & Buffalo Railway was built to rival the New York Central. Horace Porter and George Pullman served on the Board of the NYWS&B, the latter having invested heavily. The O&W organized the North River Construction Company to build the Middletown Branch to Cornwall and the NYWS&B. General Winslow became president of the North River Construction Company as well as the O&W. The route to Cornwall and Weehawken opened June 4, 1883. The NYWS&B was completed and opened for traffic on January 1, 1884, and a debilitating rate war soon began with the NYC.

William H. Vanderbilt had gained control of the Reading Railroad and organized the South Pennsylvania Railroad from New York to Pittsburg in competition with the Pennsylvania Railroad before the NYWS&B was founded. In retaliation President George Roberts of the Pennsylvania also invested in the NYWS&B.

J. P. Morgan knew that damaging competition was undermining the confidence of investors both in Europe and the US and that the duplication of railroad line had to stop. In July 1885, Morgan brought together President Chauncey Depew of the NYC and George Roberts of the PRR aboard his yacht, Corsair on the Hudson River. The bankrupt NYWS&B was sold to the NYC and the NYC gave up the South Pennsylvania to the PRR. Construction of the South Pennsylvania was stopped in September of 1885 and although the railroad was never completed the route was later used by the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

In January 1886, the O&W gave up all interest in the NYWS&B and in the Weehawken terminal companies to the NYC and in exchange received clear title to the line between Middletown and Cornwall along with trackage rights from Cornwall to Weehawkan and use of the terminal facilities there. General Winslow departed the scene and New York City railroad attorney, Thomas P. Fowler became President of the O&W. Fowler had been legal counsel for William H. Vanderbilt and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.

Traffic that had started to develop on the Midland began to flourish on the O&W. Milk was shipped from Orange, Sullivan, Delaware and Chenango Counties to New York City. Soon creameries and related ice storage facilities were established all along the line.

The Midland had first published Summer Homes in 1878 that listed farms boarding houses and hotels that rented rooms to guests from the City. The O&W continued to develop and encourage this business. By bringing Sullivan County within easy travel distance of New York City the railroad enabled this area of the Catskills to become an important tourist destination.

Anthracite coal was brought from the Lackawanna Valley by the Delaware and Hudson Railroad to the O&W at Sidney, New York. The O&W transported this coal up and down their entire line. With the opening of the Poughkeepsie Bridge on December 29, 1888 coal traffic on the O&W continued to increase on the O&W. O&W trains entered the Maybrook yard through Campbell Hall and over the tracks of the Central New England which later became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Eventually the Erie, Lehigh and Hudson River, Lehigh and New England and the O&W would all feed coal as well as other freight that was destined for New England into Maybrook.

In 1888 the O&W decided to build a 54.5 mile line from Cadosia to Scranton to directly reach the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. The Scranton Division opened on June 30, 1890, and coal traffic increased to became the largest source of revenue for the company.

The O&W followed a policy of lending money to coal operators to develop and improve their properties for greater output, taking in return mortgages on the properties. In 1937 the Coal Companies were unable to meet these obligations and this forced the O&W into receivership rather than a lack of traffic revenues.

The increase in this heavy traffic required improvement of the line. A tunnel was completed in Northfield in December of 1890 to replace the zig-zag. Coal docks were built at Oswego, Cornwall and Weehawken and coal storage facilities were established at Cadosia and Middletown. Many of the original wooden bridges were filled or replace iron.

To meet the demands of increasing traffic double tracking was started in 1903. The Scranton Division and mainline from Cadosia to Cornwall were completed in 1913. Concrete bridge supports were poured next to the original stone supports for the double track and the old iron was replaced with steel.

Industry flourished in the Willowemoc, Beaverkill and East branch of the Delaware Valleys. There were wood chemical factories, lumber mills located throughout these valleys. Among the largest was the George I. Trevz plant in Cooks Falls. Mr. Treyz had been injured while on an O&W passenger train and had been awarded $25,000. He used this settlement money to start his chemical business. His factories generated so much revenue for the O&W that President Fowler remarked that it was the best money the O&W had spent. The Federal Creosote Plant just north of Livingston Manor held 185 cars. Livingston Manor also had plants for the manufacturing of bowling pins and baseball bats. In Delaware County there were quarries all along the O&W for blue stone that the O&W transported to New York City for sidewalks.

At the turn of the century the Ellenville branch was extended to Kingston and the O&W purchased the Monticello, Port Jervis, Monticello and New York Railroad including the extension from Huguenot to Summitville built in 1886.

In 1912 President Charles S. Mellen of the NYNH &H was elected President but he resigned in a year and John B. Kerr originally a west Shore civil engineer was elevated from Vice President. During World War I the Federal Government took control of all the railroads on December 28, 1917. On June 12, 1918, Joseph H. Nuellle the O&W�s General Superintendent and Chief Engineer was appointed Federal Manager during the war.

In 1930 John B. Kerr retired and Joseph H. Nuellie became President of the O&W. From 1925 on passenger revenues declined until service finally ended on September 10, 1953, as the automobile became the popular means of personal transportation. Coal traffic peaked in 1932 and by 1939 tonnage was down by half and there after declined.

The O&W entered bankruptcy on May 19, 1937, and the ICC appointed Frederic E. Lyford trustee. In the 1930�s and 40�s the wood chemical industries declined as new synthetic methods were developed. After World War II more and more of the milk business went to trucks.

The O&W increased revenue in one area. Priority freights consisting of perishable goods such as meat and fresh fruits were picked up from the Lehigh Valley Railroad and rushed through to Maybrook for destinations in New England. These freights were known as Symbol Freight Trains.

Following World War II the line was converted back to single track. As another economy measure the O&W sold or scrapped their steam power and was completely dieselized by 1948. In 1953 as the O&W�s finances continued in decline, 70 year old Lewis D. Freeman was appointed as Trustee. Finally on March 29, 1977, the New York Ontario & Western Railway ceased operations and passed into my memory and history.