Catskill Mountain Railroad workers clean up at the Midtown yard Saturday. (photo by Phyllis McCabe)
Mayor Steve Noble said this week that he’s satisfied with progress made by the Catskill Mountain Railroad in cleaning up their Cornell Street rail yard and he has no plans to take further enforcement action at the site.
Noble added he had no problem with waiting until May, when the CMRR’s lease with Ulster County expires and the stretch of track between the Cornell Street and Kingston Plaza is demolished to make way for a walking and biking trail. Noble’s remarks come as the railroad is facing a court-mandated Feb. 10 deadline to clear debris and remove all items not related to their tourist train operation from the yard.
“We plan to tell the court that they’ve been cleaning up the yard and we’ve seen a great deal of progress in the past few weeks,” said Noble “We’re satisfied with what they’re doing.”
The expiration of the railroad’s 25-year lease on the county-owned rail line could bring a quiet end to a two-and-a-half-year legal battle initiated by former mayor Shayne Gallo to evict the tourist railroad from its Midtown headquarters. Back in 2013, county officials, eager to get going on the plan to turn the old Ulster & Delaware railroad line into a rail trail, were working to void CMRR’s lease on the grounds that the privately owned railroad had not met its obligations under the terms of the agreement. At the same time, Gallo initiated a separate legal action targeting the rail yard. The city suit argued that the yard, which sits on county-owned property, was operating illegally because it had never obtained site plan approval from the city planning board. The suit also claimed that debris, unsafe conditions and potentially hazardous material stored at the yard constituted a threat to public health. At one point, Gallo ordered a city dump truck parked across the tracks to prevent the railroad from bringing old rail cars, which may have been contaminated with lead paint, from a site near the Hurley Flats to the Cornell Street yard for refurbishment. The rail line running through the heart of Midtown has long been a source of irritation to some residents, who complain about noise and diesel fumes as the tourist train makes its way from the Cornell Street to Kingston Plaza, where passengers embark.
The city’s lawsuit culminated in a Dec. 31, 2015 ruling when City Court Judge Phillip Kirchner issued an order that the railroad “must cease the use of the parcel as a rail yard” and “remove all debris” to the satisfaction of the city’s building department. CMRR President Ernest Hunt said the railroad had interpreted the order to mean that CMRR must use commercial cleaning in the yard and remove everything except equipment related to the tourist train operation. Hunt said that the railroad was in the process of taking two steam engines and other equipment out of the yard. One of the engines and other gear is expected to be trucked to Phoenicia, where the railroad runs a tourist train on another stretch of the old U&D line. “We saw it as a good opportunity to do a general cleanup of the yard,” said Hunt.
While that cleanup continues, so does the search for a new permanent home for the yard. Under the terms of a compromise agreement crafted by Hein and approved by county lawmakers, a tourist railroad will continue to operate alongside a walking path on a stretch of track between Kingston Plaza and a site a few miles outside of city limits. The county is expected to issue a request for proposals sometime next month and CMRR is expected to make its case to continue its operation. But the tracks between the plaza and Cornell Street will be ripped up and replaced with a pedestrian and bike path. When that happens, whichever railroad takes over the remaining track will need to find a new location for its trains and equipment.
Hunt said that it would be up to the county to identify a site for a new rail yard in its request for proposals. “We’re indifferent as to where it is as long as it’s a secure fenced-in location,” said Hunt. “But we have to have something in place before we move out. It’s not a Lionel train set that you can just back up and put in a box for awhile.”
This was criminal harassment by the former mayor of Kingston. The CMRR had been using this property for over 20 years when all of a sudden they were trespassing?
The mayor complained the yard was dirty and needed to be cleaned up.
Had the mayor ever seen another railroad yard? All train yards are dirty, messy places.
Did the mayor then ask all the other businesses in Kingston to clean up their property? The scrap yards, etc…. No!
The mayor then had city workers trespass in the yard to take pictures.
I support rail with trail! Do NOT tear up any rails for a trail!
“The county is expected to issue a request for proposals sometime next month and CMRR is expected to make its case to continue its operation. But the tracks between the plaza and Cornell Street will be ripped up and replaced with a pedestrian and bike path.”
SAVE OUR RAILS! DO NOT RIP OUR TRACKS UP!
The CMRR has wonderful volunteers that do free labor to rebuild this corridor at zero taxpayer expense.
Respect them and respect our history!
You lying thief: you’ve stolen the moniker from The Freeman’s real Factsnotfibs, and completely reversed that person’s feelings in order to twist their words in front of the public!
Shame on you, you lying thief, God is watching YOU!
I think its a shame how citys rather spend money for the up keep of a trail then to make money from a tourist line. CMRR has a lot of history though this county and to remove any more is a crime. All our goverment agencys have nothing better to do other then killing our history to confirm they exist. That RR should by put back all the way to highmount in the least.
CMRR 4 EVER!
You lying thief: you’ve stolen the moniker from The Freeman’s real VTT, and completely reversed that person’s feelings in order to twist their words in front of the public!
Shame on you, you lying thief, God is watching YOU!
To the adjectives used to describe the CMRR, we can now safely add the descriptions liars, thieves and pretenders. Such is life dealing with the CMRR.
Mr. Hunt, shame on you and your organization
It’s nice to see some wisdom coming from City Hall and I applaud the mayor for it. However, I join those saying that it is a major mistake to rip up any rails in town (or anywhere else on the right-of-way). It is also impractical until a new yard is completed.
Besides, those tracks could be used to the city’s benefit. In the not-too-distant future, as Midtown develops into a destination itself (the theater is already in place), a station stop could be created near the current yard, and service established to tie Midtown to Uptown (at the current Westbrook Lane station) and the rest of the excursion. (A self-propelled car, such as a Budd or Brill car or a railbus, could be acquired, which would be quieter than a full train.) This makes the railroad’s right-of-way a practical benefit, not a taxpayer drain.
Here’s another idea that could be implemented this year, perhaps co-operatively with the city, railroad and historic district and its businesses: create a bus or “trolley bus” to meet the train and shuttle back and forth between the current station and Uptown. Visitors attracted to Kingston by the railroad could park at the Plaza and then discover Uptown’s historic and commercial attractions and dining options.
Just thinking out loud….
It is a HUGE mistake to remove any railroad tracks. The CMRR has brought millions of tourist dollars into the aeria. Every business around has benefited from this Railroad in some way or another. SAVE THE RAILS!! all of them!
Mayor Noble, and espeically ex-Mayor Gallo, and all of the City “Fathers’ are [expletives], albeit there might be an exception!
Let’s wait to judge. Mayor Noble seems to be trying to do the right thing. Let’s see how he does.
This mayor has his ducks in a row. Very nice.
Moving forward with the eviction and trail construction is exciting. The trail will connect Kingston neighborhoods as well as Ulster County communities.
Trail for all!
See my longer Feb. 15 comment about how leaving the rails and running them could be good for business and tourism.
It is nice to see common sense prevail over the vindictive game Gallo and Hein played with the railroad.
And thank you for your vote Dave to help make the unanimous decision to get the railroad out of Midtown and to curtail the expansion of the railroad on to reservoir property. This compromise preserves the ability to maintain a tourism site in Kingston and allow the practical usage of the corridor going west to the Catskills for a rail trail which is the best of both worlds.
Good riddance
THEY BETTER CLEAN THIS UP EVEN FASTER OR THE DUMP TRUCK IS COMING BACK!
Shoot…what am I supposed to do with my personal steam train stored in this illegal railyard??! Any ideas?!
This and the previous “S Gallo” post look like troll stuff. Anyone else agree?
Disagree, but please remove the rails.
Well done Mayor Noble. Being reasonable, fair, and equitable (to say nothing about politeness and courtesy) is the way to go.
when i come up to ulster county i will avoid buying anything there i think a good start to this injustice would to bring back tarring and feathering sleasy politions who grossly abuse their powers