Above: The Catskill Trestle, the highlight
of the northern River Subdivision,
with Q271
northbound on October 22, 2007, as the leaves have just begun to turn.
Catskill, NY, is in the heart of Rip Van Winkle country, and this statue of Rip himself stands in the middle of the road on Main Street (but not in the winter).
Catskill is undoubtedly the highlight of the northern end of the River Subdivision. It boasts the dramatic Catskill Trestle that traverses both the Catskill Creek and Route 9W. Also in Catskill are the Catskill defect detector, signals 108 and 111, and the old train depot. The River Sub is single track through Catskill and Athens to the north.
Getting there: Catskill is Exit 21 on the New York State Thruway. Make a left at the exit onto Route 23 east toward Catskill and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Shortly 23 and 23B split. Follow the sign for Catskill, not Hudson. Take Route 23B east and continue along the road until you come to Route 9W, where you will see the Catskill Trestle looming just to your right. Alternatively, if you are coming from Alsen, continue north on Route 9W to Catskill. In Catskill, Route 9W runs north past the detector, then turns east through a shopping strip, and then turns north again toward the depot and trestle. In this section, we assume you are traveling north from Alsen.
The Catskill Defect Detector
Getting there: The detector can be found alongside Route 9W just north of Alsen, one mile south of the point at which 9W turns east through the fast-food strip in Catskill.
The detector is at Milepost 108.1. It was the first detector to be changed after the CSX takeover of the River Line. The previous detector reported "Conrail," both the place name and milepost "Catskill, NY, Milepost 108," and "No dragging equipment." By July of 2003, however, the new detector was reciting "CSX Equipment Defect Detector," the milepost (as "108.1"), but not the place name, and "No defects," instead of "No dragging equipment." It now also provided an axle count, although as far as we know it is still a dragging equipment detector only. (As late as 2007 all other detectors but Bogota still recited "Conrail." In 2008, those detectors simply dropped the "Conrail," but did not otherwise change.)
Above: Q439 hits the Catskill detector on March 30, 2008. Automatic 108 can be seen in the distance.
Above: Headlights off: On August 18, 2004, congestion was intense at the north end of the River Sub. Southbound Q156 was forced to stop on the single track just north of the Catskill detector to wait for space on the double track in Alsen. The train stretched all the way back across the trestle.
The Former Train Depot
Getting there: The train depot is on Depot Street, just south of the trestle, off Route 9W.
The train depot sits at Milepost 110. The Catskill team track siding is several yards to the south. Depot Street at the grade crossing is nothing more than a dirt road. The depot was built by the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, and is now owned by an automotive garage business.
Above: Local Train C711 roars south across dusty Depot Street in Catskill at the Mile 110 marker on June 25, 2008.
Above: Northbound Q410 crosses Depot Street on March 30, 2008.
The team track siding can be seen to the left of the train just south of the crossing.
Above: DC-2, the Loram ditcher, crosses Depot Street. (See the section on the Ditcher At Work.)
Above and 2 Below: Three views of the former Catskill train depot.
Below: Q417 passes the depot on April 25, 2008.
