Newburgh Yard, Circa 1971

By the year 1971, action at the Erie Lackawanna yard in Newburgh was drawing to a close. The Newburgh Branch would only operate for another eight years before abandonment, and the yard is indeed showing signs of disuse. Dennis Carpenter captured this scene of Erie Lackawanna GP-9 heading southbound through a maze of twisted rails and growing weeds.

Last Train at Enderlin (West Cornwall) NY

In April of 1936, the Erie Railroad closed down their "Shortcut" brach and ended passenger service on the Newburgh Branch. Seen to the right is the last train at Enderlin (West Cornwall) NY. After exchanging passengers, the train will continue to head northbound towards Vails Gate Junction and eventually, Newburgh. The train will then turn around and head down the branch to Greycourt NY. In the distance, the bridge that carries the NYO&W mainline over the shortcut can be seen. Photo from Russ Hallock.

The Erie's Newburgh Yard in Later Years

Here is a look at what remained of the Erie Railroad's yard in Newburgh NY during the conrail days (circa 1994). Much of the yard was still intact and simply was not used by the railroad. In the background, the Newburgh Paper building which still stands today and the Central Hudson gas balls can be seen. Once urban renewal went into full swing in this area of Newburgh, the city simply paved over this yard and turned it into a parking lot. If you travel here today, almost all these rails can be seen peeking out of the pavement. James Kawal photo.

The Fantrip at Otterkill Bridge

As seen in the last post, here is the same fantrip along the Newburgh Branch about to cross the "Otterkill Bridge" in Salisbury Mills NY. The Otterkill bridge is one of five bridges that the Erie passes over to cross the Moodna Creek, which follows the Newburgh Branch all the way from Greycourt to Salisbury Mills. Bridges, in general, were a big part of this branch as there were fifteen bridges on the entire branch and nine of them lie between Vails Gate and Greycourt. Out of these nine, eight survive with Jackson Ave. in Cornwall removed in the 1980's. The Otterkill Bridge remains today, hidden from site off Orrs Mills Rd in Salisbury Mills NY. Dennis Carpenter photo.

Fantrip at New Windsor

During the 1960's, the EL ran a series of large fantrips along the Newburgh Branch right of way. The most photographed of them ask was the 1966 fantrip seen here. Online the others, the leading engine had not yet been repainted by EL and retained it's Lackawanna heritage. It is the only time that an engine with Lackawanna attire traversed the branch and it made for some interesting pictures like this one. The trackage in the foreground used to service one of many coal docks in the New Windsor/Newburgh area. Today, the trackage remains yet it does not see as much action as it once did. Dennis Carpenter photo.

The Story Behind the Rt. 32 Bridge

Many of you may pass under this bridge regularly. It takes the Erie's Newburgh Branch over Rt. 32 just north of the five corners in Vails Gate/New Windsor NY. At one time, this section of the branch from Vails Gate Junction to Newburgh was double tracked, yet in the 1930's reduced to a single track. Seen here is the bridge during the early 1980's with Conrail 8009 heading back to Newburgh. A signature feature of this bridge for years was the gratified "Lionel RR" on the southern side of the bridge (Lionel being known as a renowned manufacturer of toy trains). Ironically, this was soon replaced with "Tyco RR" which is yet another model train manufacturer. That is the first "controversy" in this picture, along with the blue Conrail engine, which represents a very controversial topic within itself. Two controversial topics, that of model trains and of real railroads, both very relevant but rarely seen in the same picture. The bridge remains today yet it is spotless. Russ Hallock photo.

Erie Lackawanna at Tarkett

Here is a look at the Tarkett flooring facility in Vails Gate NY. When it began production in the mid 1960's, they needed rail service and a portion of the shortcut that had been removed a year earlier for Cornwall Coal and Supply was re-installed for this facility. The scene here was taken in February of 1976. Next month, Conrail will take over the EL and seven other northeastern railroads. The facility experienced action up until 2008 when it closed. It is now a business park and the rails remain, waiting to be used once again. Russ Hallock photo.