Catskill Mountain Railroad Takes First Step to Get Extension Plan Approved
CMRR Presents Proposal for Rail with Trail
On Thursday October 24th, CMRR President Ernie Hunt presented the CMRR’s proposed Rail with Trail plan to the U&D Corridor Committee of the County Legislature. The Committee will make a recommendation on the highest and best use of the only remaining undesignated segment of the U&D Corridor from MP 8.33 in Stony Hollow to MP 10.01 at the edge of the Ashokan Rail Trail at Basin Road. The meeting was attended by the full U&D Committee – Legislators Collins, Sperry, Uchitelle, Litts, Kovacs, McCollough and Nolan, as well as Legislators Greene, Levine and Stewart.
Hunt’s presentation, which is available on the CMRR’s website at
www.catskillmountainrailroad.com, focused on the practicality and cost of implementing Rail with Trail “RWT” not only on the remaining undesignated segment, but the entire corridor from Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir
Key points in the presentation included:
1) Discussing the economics of Rail and Trail
2) Discussing the appropriate distances between the railroad and the trail
3) Showing other successful RWT projects
4) Showing the costs of RWT vs Trail only from Kingston to Basin Road.
The CMRR asked Stone Consulting, the consultant hired by the previous U&D Committee in 2015, to update the detailed cost analysis it did for this section of the corridor in 2015, and in particular, come up with a method to construct RWT on the Stony Hollow fill just west of Stony Hollow which borders federal wetlands.
The lack of a method for constructing RWT on the Stony Hollow fill was the primary reason this segment of the corridor was left undesignated in 2015. However, Stone produced three different methods of bridging this gap that do not involve disturbing the wetlands, and priced out the most cost-effective method which contained a ten-foot wide walkway built on piles directly into the fill just below the grade of the railroad. With this problem resolved, Stone went on to conclude:
“Stone Consulting has concluded that Rail with Trail remains both viable and practical for the final undesignated portion of the U&D Corridor from MP 8.33 at Route 28A to Basin Road at MP 10.01, given the alternatives for dealing with the Stony Hollow fill portion.”
Stone Consulting’s conclusions coincide with the Open Space Institute’s presentation made on September 26th which also stated that Rail with Trail could be done for Kingston to Basin Road.
Both consultants came up with a similar cost for “trail only” from Kingston to Basin Road. OSI stated the cost being $15 to 17 million and Stone concluded it would cost $14.6 million. Stone also gave a detailed cost analysis for RWT from Kingston to Basin Road, which was about 25% more than Trail Only.
Given that the viability and affordability of Rail with Trail has now been established, the CMRR asked the U&D Committee to proceed as follows:
1) Update the existing Rail with Trail policy from Kingston Stony Hollow all the way to Basin Road, which will unify County policy for the U&D Corridor from Kingston to Basin Road.
2) Ask the County to hire an experienced RWT design engineering firm to begin a design of Rail with Trail from Kingston to Basin Road. The CMRR pledged to work with the County to “Value Engineer” the Rail with Trail design to lower costs.
3) Request that the County extend the CMRR’s existing from Stony Hollow to Basin Road so it can begin track reconstruction and access the $667,000 NY State grant for development of a terminal at Basin Road, which will include a 900-foot segment of Rail with Trail.
The CMRR concluded by asking the Committee implement a Rail with Trail policy on the final undesignated segment of the Corridor as quickly as possible, and that it looks forward to working with the Trail community on this “win/win” option.
Hunt added as an added incentive that the CMRR is working to bring a new special event to Kingston that could be even more popular than the Polar Express in the summer of 2026. However, the event will be dependent on the having a destination and terminal site at Basin Road as envisioned in the CMRR’s expansion plan. In order for this event to happen, the CMRR must start work on the track extension project immediately.
The CMRR looks forward to working with the Ulster County Legislature to make the necessary policy changes and the Ulster County Executive to extend its permit as quickly as possible to bring this exciting event to Kingston in the summer of 2026.
PHOTO: CMRR Crew at Route 28A awaits Ulster County approval for expansion to Basin Road. Photo credit: Tom Healy.