Cobleskill industries

My Father had a summer place in Seward, I went up there with him all the time growing up, I never hunted but I went up with him during hunting season, and during the Summer for the Cobleskill Fair. His house was diagonally across from the Station, on 165 & Slate Hill Road. Hence my interest in the CV Branch. The house was right next to the Borsts, and Mrs. Borst told us the (our) house was once a blacksmith and Seward Post Office. She was the one who told me the line went clear through to Cherry Valley. I had thought up until then it had ended right there! I don't remember the bridge over the branch at the Warnerville CutOff, I guess I was probably too young to remember it, what kind of bridge was it and do you recall what year they removed it?

- Mark

From a highly imperfect memory (didn't pay attention to bridges unless I was under them) it was a simple span, nothing showing above the roadway surface. With the ROW in a cut at this point, and the cut pretty heavily vegetated, a casual driver would not have even noticed it was there.

It was still there when I moved out west in 1979, and gone when I returned in 1990.

What's really hard i trying to find the ROW along West Creek from here north for the next few miles. Even in the late fall, with no foliage, it's nearly impossible. I have a DOT ROW inspection volume from the mid 70s that claims it is entirely washed out, with nary a trace remaining.


BTW, my sister lives in Seward currently, about a block from the station. Small World.

I live in Cherry Valley. My office is one of the old post and beam railroad warehouses. The old Cherry Valley, Sharon and Albany station is the CV Fire Dept and is located next door to my office. There is a photo of a 4-4-0 running off the tracks and onto Genesee Street right in front of my office front door! I have walked across the D&H bridge across Rt 20. There is one nice view from up there. The ROW leading to the bridge is now a snowmobile trail and can be accessed from Rt 166.

You can follow most of the line to Cherry Valley, though, the ROW roughly follows Route 20, and there's still a pretty substantial overpass the state built in the 50s at one point.

You can follow most of the line to Cherry Valley, though, the ROW roughly follows Route 20, and there's still a pretty substantial overpass the state built in the 50s at one point.

But isn't that mostly private property right now? I would love to walk that area, (not now, I don't want to get shot by a hunter), but I always thought it would be private property. I am also guessing that RTE 20 overpass is about the only bridge left on that line/ROW.

I believe part of it is a trail, I can't think of the town's name but I had to go to Wernerville in the early spring and where I turned south off of 20 it appeared to be marked as such where it followed that road (route 10?). Outside of that, you'll have to follow on the parallelling roads, but the ROW is very apparent in multiple places along Route 20.

If this big overpass (a lot of steel there) was never removed, I doubt any of the others were either.

Was the washout the reason for abandonment of the line?

I don't have a whole lot of information on the CV branch, mainly, because I don't think there is alot. But I don't think the washout happened until long after that line had been torn up. I think it's last run was around August (12??) of 1956. There is a sign on 10 East of the Warnerville Cut-Off Road. I remeber readin, in Shaugnessy's book I believe, that this line was a losing battle for most of it's existence, since it was almost soley a dairy train branch line. In the early fifties I think the local Highways got some Major upgrades and tractor trailers began to take over, and the line was abandoned and removed. I think the reason that through girder double span is still there is b/c it was funded by NYS, so it didn't belong to D&H to remove it.

I've long been interested in this line, but as I said, information, and even photographs of this line, are scarce to say the least.

I also remember reading somewhere, that I think it is the Cherry Valley Library, or Historical Society or somethin, has a loose leaf book, with pictures of all the structures ( which includes bridges ) and you could get a copy of any of them for maybe a buck or so. But I don't remember the details, maybe someone else here would know that.

There's a 1951 traffic report for the D&H system that was reprinted (I think) by the RPI model RR club years back. IIRC, it showed that milk shipments out of Cherry Valley were the predominant traffic. Within a few years, the massive upgrade of US Route 20 doomed that time-sensitive traffic. The washouts were not a contributing factor, as far as I know. The real bad ones down near the junction took place well after abandonment if I understand correctly.

As for pictures, I've heard rumors that the NY State Historical Assn in cooperstown has a complete set of ICC valuation photos for the branch. I've never checked that out, but if true it's worth a look. The ICC project was mind blowingly complete, included photos of everything bigger than an outhouse. schoharie county historical society's publication had a brief photo article back in the 70s or 80s that included some shots of an RS3 puddling around the yard in Sharon Springs a year or two before the end. Unfortunately, the pix showed little except the engine.

This information may help you in your persuit of the current Cherry Valley discussion.