Chenango Telegram, Tuesday, October 21, 1941
Last O. & W. Train Makes Run
Over New Berlin Branch
___
Large Crowd Greets Crew
Monday as U. V. Railway Co.
Assumes Ownership
NEW BERLIN (Special) - The last Ontario and Western train over the New Berlin branch of that road made its final run Monday. Arrival of the train here at 11 o’clock found a large throng of residents at the station and many pictures were taken of the train and crew.
A report of the Interstate Commerce Commission, received last week by Mosher and Mosher, local attorneys for the Unadilla Valley Railway Company approved and authorized the purchase by that company of the New Berlin branch of the Ontario and Western Railroad Company running from New Berlin to Edmeston, and the lease-hold interest of the O. & W. in that company. Change in ownership becomes effective as of October 20. This adds additional mileage of 29 1/2 miles to be connected with the 20 miles of track between this place and Bridgewater which have been in operation as a separate line since 1895.
This new trackage will be operated by the U.V. Railway Company as part of that system and it is expected trains will be routed after Monday from Bridgewater through to New Berlin Junction where the New Berlin branch connects with the mainline of the O. & W. at the southerly end of the new purchase, or an additional run of 22.29 miles. The former Wharton Valley Railway Co. of 6.83 miles will probably be run as a branch to the other main line.
An option will also be obtained for the purchased of that part of the main line of the O. & W. from New Berlin Junction to Sidney, which will only be exercised in case this particular track should ever be abandoned by the O. & W. With this option the Unadilla Valley, with its productive farm lands adjoining will thus be assured of railway service its entire distance and the Unadilla Valley Railway Company will have trunk-line connections with the D.L. & W. R.R. Co. on the north e d a d the Delaware & Hudson R. R. on the south.
Only freight and express service will be maintained, as passenger service has been abandoned on both roads for many years, but the handicap of freight rates, with which New Berlin has always been harassed, should now be eliminated.
Only the trackage and real estate along the line are involved in the transaction. All the equipment is reserved by the O. & W. so the new owners expect to operate their new property with its present equipment and will procure such additional facilities as will be necessary to give all required service. New Berlin will continue to be the nome office of the company as formerly. As main-line crews of the O. & W. have operated over this branch, it will hereafter be operated solely by employees of the new owners.
The acquisition of this property adds to the affiliated group of railroads now being operated by the H. E. Salzberg Company, Inc., of New York City. This corporation is now the owners and operators of the Southern New York Railway of Oneonta, N.Y. , and the Arkansas Valley Railway of Arkansas.
This transaction will mark an epoch in the business development of the Unadilla Valley, and marks the first change in ownership of the New Berlin branch and the Wharton Valley Railway Company since the construction of these two railroads. The New Berlin branch of the O. & W. was opened for service in August, 1870, and the Wharton Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1888 and was financed by residents along the line and in Otsego county, and was financed by an outlay of $145,000 and during recent years has produced no income for the investors. It has been operated by the O.& W. every since it was constructed under a lease of 99 years.
All the capital stock was acquired by the O. & W., probably at a small percentage of the original price. The bonded debt has been in default for many years.
(Note: The NYO&W discontinued mixed train on this line April 27, 1930. The Unadilla Valley discontinued all passenger service on May 4, 1930.)
Timetable, January 1, 1904
Timetable, April 28, 1929
Timetable, January 22, 1930
Binghamton Sunday Press, March 6, 1960
Unadilla Valley Railroad Nearing End of Line
Business Loss Prompts Plea To PSC to Halt Service
By Louis Augostini, Sunday Press Bureau Chief
Diminishing Freight - Roy T. Reidenbach, general superintendent of the Unadilla Valley Railroad, and 76-year-old Mosie C. Stratton, dispatcher and freight agent, check out diminishing freight which is driving the 65-year-old railroad out of business.
New Berlin - Within a few short weeks the advent of spring will probably mark the beginning of the end for a part of the Unadilla Valley in Chenango County.
The Unadilla Valley Railroad, which has snaked its way through the rolling hills and grassy fields of the valley for some 65 years, will become history.
Because of the estimated loss in business of some $25,000 a year for the last four years, owner of the minute railroad which measures 49 miles of track—H. E. Salzberg Co. of New York City—has filed a petition with the Public Service Commission to discontinue service.
The request was filed Jan. 28, but no hearing date has yet been set by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roy T. Reidenbach of New Berlin, general superintendent of the railroad, says a decision is expected by July.
And because of the continued financial loss, the railroading firm contemplates a favorable reply.
The main office in New Berlin probably will remain open for a few months after that to complete the necessary paperwork which will make officially the "iron horse" of the valley only a memory to area "oldtimers."
But the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce will not bid adieu to the railroad without a fight to keep the line in operation.
A two-man committee made up of Walter Bagg and Richer Mitchell, both of New Berlin, was named recently at a meeting of the chamber's board of directors to study possibilities of encouraging the railroad to continue service and attract more business to the line.
And from that first move by the chamber, stems ideas from two different sources, but almost identically the same—use part or all of the railroad as a tourist attraction.
Hamilton J. Smith, president of the chamber's board of directors, has suggested the railroad take about a mile of track with two loops and make it an excursion-type operation.
He added that the railroad possibly could obtain an "old fashion" engine and run it on the loop equipped with "old type passenger cars," especially for "kids."
Not only will this give the younger generation a chance to see railroad antiques, Mr. Smith explained, but also the added income from the operation might be able to make up the deficit.
Theodore R. Brining of South New Berlin last week also came up with an idea similar to Mr. Smith's—"add a few passenger cars to carry tourists, especially children, on special runs as a part of the vacation land promotion of the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce."
Mr. Brining's suggestion also explains that "some old stations would make the nucleus of "railroad museum to preserve some of the famous equipment of the golden age of the railroad when the Iron Horse moved civilization and its tons of freight and thousands of people West."
The suggestions, however, are only in the idea stage. Should the Salzberg firm ignore them, private individuals or enterprise would have to purchase the single track line to carry out the ideas.
Forty-two miles of the railroad starts at Bridgewater where it meets the Lackawanna Railroad and extends to East Guilford where it formerly met the now defunct New York, Ontario & Western line which went out of business about two years ago.
A seven-mile branch of the U. V. R. R. runs from New Berlin to Edmeston. After its founding in the era of the "Gay Nineties," the first train ran from Bridgewater to New Berlin, a stretch of 20 miles. In 1941, 29 miles of track were purchased from the O&W, which extended from East Guilford to Edmeston.
The railroad prospered after 1905 under Dr. Lewis Morris as three trains a day chugged through the Unadilla Valley with freight destined for far-a-way-places. Only the shriek of the engine's whistle interrupted as trees along; the line whispered to one another in cool summer breezes or stood shivering In cold winter winds.
Dr. Morris bought the road in 1905 through a bankruptcy sale. For the wealthy doctor, the railroad was a hobby at the start, but it was not long before he was able to harmonize the train whistles with the tingling sounds of the cash register and profits began flowing in.
The coming of the automobile in the "Roaring Twenties" badly scarred the passenger service on the railroad and in 1929, the U. V. R. R. discontinued carrying passengers to points along the line. In 1937, Dr. Morris died and the Salzberg firm purchased the railroad from his estate for a reported $125,000.
During its boom years, the railroad employed some 48 persons, but is now down to 15. The New York City company also-owns, four other railroads whose total miles of track run around 215.
It also owns the Queen Bus Lines in New York. Although in the transportation business since the turn of the century, the Chenango County railroad originally was purchased for junk, but possibility of making the road prosper moved the Salzberg firm to operate the line. In days gone by, the railroad was often called "Buckwheat and Dandelion," but as the years edged on, it became a part of the valley.
Fortune magazine of August, 1938, in an article, "Baby Railroad," said: "When the railroad was completed in 1895, the celebration was the most colorful the town ever had. "Fully 8,000 people were on hand, among them the mayor of Utica; the parade included six fire companies, two bands and 100 wheelmen and wheelwomen."
Fortune Magazine also tells of a Bernie Adams who worked for the railroad some four decades as station agent which left him plenty of free time to play his organ which he had right in the station.
Today, the railroad has Mosie C. Stratton, a 76-year old dispatcher and freight agent in New Berlin, who apparently wants to die "with his boots on."
Whenever a stranger comes around, Mosie tells him of his talking dog which he owned from 1945 to 1950. He lived in Guilford at the time. "Don't hardly anyone believe it," explained Mosie, adding the dog spoke eight words — Hello, I love you, No. and one, two, three.
The dog, "Tim, The Talking Wonder," played several entertainment circuits in the area, says Mosie, who has pictures of the animal within easy reach to show a doubtful visitor. Other employees of the railroad and their years of service who have been offered jobs in other communities with the Salzberg company are:
Ray Calman, auditor, 20 years; Bruce Harshbarger, engineer, 20 years; Carl Schermerhorn, conductor, 12 years; Joseph Graham, brakeman, 17 years; Clarence Howe, shop foreman, about 25 years; Paul Demlng. mechanic's helper and express truck driver, one year; George Moore, track supervisor, 30 years; Mrs. Winifred Van Fleet, part time station agent at Mount Upton, and Mrs. Reidenbach, parttime assistant to auditor.
About five maintenance men also are employed during seasonal work periods. The real beginning of the end for the pint-sized railroad came four years ago when the Dairymen's League plant at Mount Upton closed its doors, resulting in a loss of approximately 35 per cent of the U. V. R. R.'s total revenue.
For the people in the Unadilla Valley, something more than an industry will be lost. A part of the valley will disappear, leaving only the iron rails behind to revive nostalgic memories.
For youngsters in the valley, unless the railroad remains in some shape or form, they will never know what it is to dream about becoming an engineer when they "grow up."
Binghamton Press, March 10, 1960
