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Ulster & Delaware Railroad "The Only All Rail Route Through the Catskills"

Rondout 10 Feet Above Tide

Map drawn by Michael Kudish. Page 1034. Mountain Railroads of New York State: Vol. IV. Where Did the Tracks Go in the Catskills? Used with permission.

Ulster & Delaware Train Station: Rondout

Interestingly, the passenger station at Rondout was not located on the mainline but on the spur that led to the Rondout coal trestle. Departing trains would back east to the mainline switch, then head west. The building itself dated as early as the days of the Rondout & Oswego Railroad in the 1860s. The building was located on Ferry Street in Kingston. The U&D's early corporate offices were located here before being moved elsewhere. The train master's office was also located here. The station was closed in 1932, upon the New York Central takeover. The building was torn down shortly thereafter, as were many of the U&D buildings at Rondout after the NYC acquired the property.

Ulster & Delaware Railroad Shop Facilities

An early view of the yards at Rondout. Rondout was the site of the U&D's shops, where major work could be performed on steam locomotives, rolling stock, and other equipment. Over the years the shop complex evolved to meet the increasing needs of the railroad. The shops were closed in 1932 upon the New York Central takeover and torn down shortly thereafter. Two men proudly pose with U&D 32 at Rondout. Trolley Museum of NY collection. ROUNDHOUSE & REPAIR SHOPS The first roundhouse at Rondout was a four-stall wooden structure which was extant in 1876. A new brick roundhouse (and turntable) with six stalls was erected in 1886, replacing the earlier wooden one. The roundhouse was expanded to nine stalls in 1897, the same time that a new repair shop, powerhouse, and electric generator were constructed at Rondout. Only eight of the nine stalls were assigned to locomotives, while the ninth was exclusively used for the storing of maintenance-of-way equipment. The powerhouse, which appears behind the roundhouse with the tall smokestack, powered the railroad's facilities at Rondout. When the U&D began upgrading its motive power in 1899, the turntable and pit were reconstructed to accomodate the heavier power. The U&D roundhouse at Rondout, looking east. The stall furthest to the left was the MOW stall, notice the lack of an exhaust stack. The tall stack behind the roundhouse belongs to the powerhouse. The first six-stall roundhouse, with R&O 2 "Thomas Cornell"  in the foreground. The structure was razed in 1886. U&D 34 is receiving some attention in the repair shop, the shop was erected in 1897. The U&D facilities at Rondout are under a bit of water in this 1930's view. Trolley Museum of New York archives. From left to right, the roundhouse (extreme left); the turntable; boiler, blacksmith, and machine shops; the four-stall repair shop where heavy locomotive repairs were done; and the coaling tower. To the right the mainline can be seen heading towards Kingston. 1931. COAL TOWER The original R&O coal tower was replaced sometime between 1899 and 1901 by a much larger structure. The U&D coal tower survived the NYC takeover and was still extant in 1947. The tower must have been torn down not long after the discontinuance of steam locomotive power on the Catskill Mountain Branch in 1949.   ERECTING SHOP This structure was constructed in 1922 where the Rondout Foundry & Machine Works used to be. The NYC tore the building down in 1932.       U&D 13 and 14 were the assigned shop switchers at Rondout. Catskill Mountain News, 2/12/1932.

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