For the first time in 35 years, a passenger train will pull into the heart of Cooperstown on Saturday in honor of the 140th anniversary of the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad, organizers said.
The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society plans a sojourn along tracks from Milford starting at 1 p.m., and volunteers in period costumes will be hosts during the three-hour round-trip train ride.
Meanwhile, two historic GG-1 locomotives that the society sold await travel and other arrangements to reach their new homes, Bruce Hodges, president of the railway society, said Tuesday. The locomotives are being stored at Cooperstown Junction, but are visible from state Route 7.
Celebrating the anniversary of the railroad, which opened July 14, 1869, is important because it made transportation connections with the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad in Cooperstown Junction, said Jim Loudon, LRHS historian and business manager.
The development was significant because it opened avenues to
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sell hops and to receive and send products in the textile industry, Loudon said. At one time, the county was the No. 1 producer of hops in the world, he said, and textile mills were located in Index, Phoenix Mills, Toddsville and Clintonville.
``The railroad really opened up this valley,'' Loudon said Tuesday.
Originally, the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley train went into the village's business district, Loudon said. Plans Saturday are to re-create that route by extending the ride from the usual stop at Linden Avenue to a stop at Glen Avenue, he said.
``It's exciting,'' said Loudon, who plans to wear a period costume. ``It makes us remember the importance of this railroad and what it meant to the area.''
The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society, which owns and operates the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad, runs trains between Milford and Cooperstown regularly on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sept. 3. Special events are planned throughout the year, such as ``train robberies,'' the Cooperstown Blues Express and trips to see fall foliage.
Hodges said Saturday's train will have seating for 210 passengers. The train will be pulled by a diesel locomotive built in 1956, he said, and the cars will include three coaches, a commissary car, a dining car and a caboose.
The cost is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and $12 for children between 3 and 12. Children younger than 3 may ride for free, organizers said. The train departs from the Milford Depot at 136 E. Main St. Reservations are encouraged because seating is limited, organizers said.
The Leatherstocking Historical Railway Society, a not-for-profit corporation based in Oneonta, has an annual budget of about $120,000 and three part-time employees. It is supported through membership fees and fundraisers, Hodges said.
The association has about 380 members, and relies on volunteers who work at various jobs, he said.
Sometimes, the society must decide to sell its property to support and focus on its mission, Hodges said. The society has sold one of its GG-1 locomotives to The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mich., and another to the GG-1 Historical Locomotive Preservation Society in Miami, Fla., which made a $5,000 deposit toward the $25,000 price tag.
Renovations, including asbestos removal from the locomotive destined to The Henry Ford museum, sparked concerns last year about possible health risks. At the time, Hodges said not notifying neighbors was an oversight. This week, he said that the new owner of the second locomotive won't be permitted to do refurbishment at the Cooperstown Junction site.
Several years ago, the Henry Ford museum paid $15,000 for the electric locomotive, and is responsible for moving it to Dearborn, Hodges said. The train would travel along Canadian Pacific rails until Harrisburg, Pa., then on Norfolk Southern rails to Michigan, he said.
The relocation has been delayed by clearance issues raised by Norfolk Southern about whether the locomotive can pass over the tracks, Hodges said, and also by funding constraints at the museum.
A GG-1 locomotive is nearly 80-feet long and weighs almost 240 tons, according to Christian Overland, of The Henry Ford, one of the nation's premier history and culture museums. The locomotives debuted in the mid-1930s, and helped usher in a new era in railroad engines, he said previously. The GG-1s were decommissioned in the mid-1980s.
"Norfolk Southern informed The Henry Ford that the GG-1 locomotive could not be moved due to clearance issues.' Those issues, as we understand them, have to do with the width of the locomotive, and the simple fact the train does not fit properly on the tracks and therefore cannot be moved,'' Overland, vice president of museums and collections, said in a statement sent by e-mail Tuesday. ``The current economic state of the nation has forced our institution to rethink our intentions for this artifact."
Overland, who has been traveling, couldn't be reached by telephone Tuesday, the museums' media-relations office said.
Hodges said the Leatherstocking Historical Railway Society also has been challenged by the recession and high fuel costs for its diesel engine. And this summer's rainfall has meant fewer riders from the local baseball camps, he said.
``So far, it's been a slow year,'' Hodges said.
For more information, visit www.lrhs.com or call 432-2429.
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