This week the Delaware & Ulster Railroad announced its long awaited 2025 reopening. The beloved tourist railroad based in the hamlet of Arkville, which has been closed and under construction extensively since the COVID pandemic derailed the 2020 season, will begin offering train rides to the public again this spring.
According to Catskill Revitalization Corporation Executive Director Todd Pascarella, there will be much about the railroad that is familiar to people who remember what was offered by the DURR years ago, as well as several new updates and changes. “The railroad is heading in a new direction literally and figuratively” Pascarella explains. “We will be offering train rides aboard a combination of cars and engines that have been here for decades, however for the first time in 25 years riders will be traveling east from Arkville towards Fleischmanns and eventually to Highmount.” This will make for a ‘new’ experience for those who only remember the train rides running since 2001 from Arkville to Halcottsville and Roxbury, and D&U officials are sure that riders will be amazed by the experience of riding this somewhat forgotten but breathtakingly scenic stretch of the tracks.
As significant as the change in travel direction from the recent past is the new operating model for the railroad. Since track reconstruction in different areas will be continuing at full steam while offering train rides this year, a contractor was brought in to focus on starting up and managing the train operation itself. “Last fall we were looking at how thin we were spread with all the work there is still to do, then by way of a fortuitus introduction we came across a guy who was interested in taking on the restart, and we had several encouraging conversations.” The guy Pascarella is referring to is Stephen Lane, a young man with a long resume including involvement with half a dozen railroad projects in the Northeast. “Stephen has quite a bit of experience in the mechanics and logistics of railroads, but the thing we need most right now perhaps is urgency and commitment to the business aspect of our railroad, and Stephen’s entrepreneurial background and leadership experience gives him that balance as well.”
“The only thing constant in the world is change, and we are doing our best, and doing what is needed to adapt and sustain this for the future.” Pascarella is upbeat and optimistic when it comes to the future of the railroad. “Look, we’re very fortunate and grateful to have people like Vic Stevens and others who are dedicated to this railroad still involved in the project. Vic was the original D&U engineer in 1983 when things started here in Arkville, and he has been back helping to prepare the trains and tracks these past couple of years. People are also going to be seeing new faces and a new approach, and that is good too. It’s going to be a collaborative effort that makes it work. Come ride the rails with us this year, I really think you’re going to love it!”
Opening is set for Mother’s Day Weekend!
For information on the upcoming schedule and train tickets, visit www.durr.org
-via Press Release
