| PORT ANN MARIE
& DANASBURG RAILROAD |
ALBANY, N.Y., Dec.31, 1952 (UPI)
Officials of the PORT ANN MARIE
& DANASBURG RAILROAD (PA&DB RR) have declared bankruptcy and
abandonment of this New York Central Railroad subdivision. Statements
released indicate that a decline in passenger and freight revenue due to
post WWII automobile use and competitive freight trucking have led to
this decision. Operations will to be transferred to the newly constructed
Selkirk yard scheduled for operation in 1954.
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Ghent Area (click map)
Freight Info
Links:
NY&W
Rahway Valley RR
NY Connecting RR
Email Contact
Right click on the above passes for your copy!
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Welcome to the Port
Ann Marie & Danasburg Railroad. Reporting marks: PA&DB. A Class 1
subdivision of the Boston & Albany Railroad owned by the New York Central. Set in the lower Adirondack foothills of the Taconic Mountains,
southeast of Albany, NY circa October 1956 this line provides an important
northeast/southwest link, the Ghent Cutoff. (See map below).
The 6.5 mile Ghent Cutoff, links the water level Hudson
Division of the NYC (at Stockport) with Chatham on the Boston & Albany leading east
towards Pittsfield, MA.
Providing a way to bypass the Selkirk/Albany area, the
PA&DB handles bridge traffic of southbound lumber, brewery products, finished steel
parts, textiles, and daily hotshot milk trains. Northbound unit trains of coal,
Pacemakers, finished goods, steel, and fuel oil abound.
Chatham sees passenger locals from Stockport, with through
trains between Albany and Boston, MA. |
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Icing crews begin loading ice into refers at the
Rothaug Freight Yard icing facility located outside the town of Port Ann Marie.
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A hopper sits ready to dump its
load of coal at the Byrne Coal Yard. The
fall days will bring many more loads in as the trucks take load after load
of coal to the local residents’ homes and businesses. Byrne management has already seen that the future of coal and wood
as a source of heat days are numbered and have invested in new oil trucks
and a storage tank for home heating oil. |
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The unofficial photographer and railroad
historian, Steve Rothaug, has decided to take advantage of a beautiful
October Saturday to document steam in what may be its last year on the
PA&DB. The weather is
perfect and the trees are almost at peak colors. Steve catches engine 2357 one of the New York Central’s H10B
class 2-8-2 Mikado’s as it rolls past the passenger station at Port Ann
Marie, NY. |
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Steve Rothaug barely had time to grab this
photo of PA&DB Train 36 as it approaches the passenger station at Port
Ann Marie. The engineer, Steve
“Ace” Lynch taps the whistle of the aged Pacific K14f (4390) at two
trackside railfans. Train #36
originated at
Chatham
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NY
at 1:00 PM where it met the southbound Rutland Milk train from
Lake Champlain
. "Ace"
coupled the six milk cars then picked up the crew who were waiting in the
ex-B&A caboose.
This caboose was modified with passenger trucks to allow for the higher
speed passenger schedule. After
leaving
Chatham
the train works its way to
Ghent
where two additional cars are added to the consist. Ace then finds two more cars loaded and ready at the Widows Creek
Creamery. This will be the
last stop for the trip and once clear of the station. Ace will open up the throttle and head up the 1.4% grade and after
cresting the hill it will be smooth sailing to the
New York
Central main line to
New York City
. Train 36 will then
join with combined Train 184 out of Renselear at 5:30 PM. The train will then continue to Harmon, where it will be turned
over to an electric locomotive. It
will then drop cars at Spuyten Duyvil and the
130th Street
Milk Yard before reaching its final destination at the
60th Street
Milk Yard. |
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The Russom Dairy Farm rises above the Rothaug Freight
Yard and borders the PA&DB
main line. It is unusual to
catch the entire family in the same spot, but today we have. Mark is tending his draft horses , while Tom hauls a wagon load of
pumpkins in from the fields. Kathleen
is calling everyone in for dinner.
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Fahrer’s Lumber Yard is getting
ready to close as it finishes up with the few remaining customers. Located in Port Ann Marie, it is the only lumber yard and building
supplies company in the area and does a thriving business. On the road outside a county highway crew finishes some highway
repairs before the winter freeze sets in. |
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The tugboat Lizzie B, out of
New York City
, has docked along the Sea Catch Seafood Co. The model was scratch built using clear pieces of pine 2X4 cut on a
band saw for her hull and cabin. |
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Steve obtained permission from the
captain of the Lizzie B to take some photos. Here is a view of Fahrer’s Lumber Yard from the upper deck of the
tugboat Lizzie B as well as a portion of the Sea Catch’s Pier. |
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Steve once again gets snapshot of
the huge Mikado from the alley behind The Sunshine Bakery. |
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Railroad maintenance workers go
about their daily tasks at the Danasburg Engine Facility as Steve records
this image from the other side of Widow’s Creek as bonus he also gets a
glimpse of an unidentified New York Central engine on James L. Kelly
bridge. |
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An aerial view of the town of
Port Ann Marie
and the Rothaug Yard |
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A photo from the Republic Steel Warehouse’s
parking
lot outside Port Ann Marie. |
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The newly weds Ann Marie and Rich are just
finished posing for pictures as Father Duff and others in the bridal party
get ready to leave St. Boniface’s Church in Port Ann Marie for their
reception at The Watermill Catering Hall. |
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Two railfans catch a shot of a rusty faced
0-8-0, switching engine
U3a number 7744, as it backs down the rails a gondola load of pipes
to a trackside customer. |
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The couple in the back seat of
this convertible seem too preoccupied to notice engine 7744 as it backs
down the track to the Danasburg engine facility. |
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Steve once again caught up with
7744, just a little too late to get a better view of the engine and its tender.
The engineer passes the abandoned remains of an old tank truck as
it sits rusting away not far from the PA&DB main. |
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Another view of the loading dock at the Widow’s
Creek Dairy, with a pile of milk cans that have been weighed and are being
loaded into an awaiting milk car, that will soon be racing down to
New York City
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Fahrer’s Lumber Yard |
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Two locals discuss the repair work being done by the
county on the road outside Fahrer’s Lumber Yard.
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An E8 New York Central diesel 4076 races The New Englander past Byrne
Coal’s dumping ramp. |
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These are the storage racks that
allow new trains access and trains that are leaving the layout really leave the layout.
Pins
that are secured to the bench work allow
entire trains to be lifted off the table and either stored or rotated via
electrical connectors located at each end of the “bridge.” |
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Steve catches an un-named
passenger train on the curve outside of Port Ann Marie. In the background is Condor Electric. |
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A freight pulled by a New York Central FA unit
passes the New Englander downgrade after crossing the
James
L.
Kelly
Bridge
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A kit bashed model of a NYC 19000 class
caboose. |
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Another view looking down
Park Ave.
That 1953 Buick
Roadmaster’s driver is enjoying the weather and has the top down, for
what possibly could be the last time before the cold weather begins.
To the right in the picture is Veteran’s Memorial Park that dates
back to 1866 and its monument remembers all the towns veterans from the
Civil War up to the Korean War. |
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Two neighborhood women peek over the back fence to
get a look at the newlyweds as they stand on the steps of St. Boniface’s
Church. The backyards of
Park Avenue
abut the front of the church, allowing these ladies the opportunity to see
all the church activities.
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Here we have a view of
Park Ave, in Port Ann Marie. It looks
like the local teens are taking advantage of the mild Saturday weather to
polish Bob’s old Ford, as their mother, Mrs, Strauss and her daughter
perform the Saturday ritual of washing the stoop and side walk of their
apartment building. |
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One of two International Truck sit
ready to unload their charges. The
drivers have stepped into the yard masters office to complete their
paperwork, grab a hot cup of coffee and hear the local scuttlebutt, while
they await permission to move to the team track. |
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We catch a glimpse of New York Central H10b
(2357) as it effortlessly glides downgrade after crossing Widow’s Creek and the James L. Kelly Bridge on its way to Springfield,
Massachusetts. The building in
the background is the Moeller Brewery, which is the largest customer on
the PA&DB RR |
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NORTH BRIDGE - Finally, the
first of the leased 2-8-0 ex-NYC Consolidations are heading south to the New York &
Western. Here's road #1147 running light and "airing it out" over North Bridge
just prior to leaving the PA&DB. |
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WESTBOUND HOTSHOT MILK TRAIN -
Hot stuff! Is that a feedwater heater I see on the fast freight coming into Port Anne past
Dave's scratchbuilt Creamery Plant? There's the brewery in the background and a transition
era diesel lashup (with lightning stripe scheme) holed up in the siding (right side)
waiting for the daily "Hotshot" Milk Train to pass. The dispatcher must be
annoyed holding a fast freight westbound while the milk run exercises its class right of
way coming into town. I would gather it's October 1953+, the trees have turned. Is that a
railfan shooting the event by the blue '49 Chevy, or...? |
