Eastern Railroad Discussion > Don't Fowl The Tracks! NYS&W's Trackwalker....

The opening seconds of this video show an unusual trackwalker, diligently at work, just ahead of a southbound NYS&W Utica NY branch local.

I had no idea that this little drama was playing out, else I would have kept videoing.

I suspect the trackwalker completed his duties safely....

A bit of Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad history is thrown in for good measure as we follow the NYS&W Utica branch local between Chadwicks & Clayville.

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Nice narrative sub-titles.

Thanks, Doug!

Too bad the Clayville station wasn't saved, it would've made a nice community meeting place.

A few images from days gone by.

1. A Conrail train comes up the hill with old Penn Central junk power passing the Clayville depot about 6 months before it burned.

2. A Conrail U25B passes the deserted Chadwicks depot in the Summer of 1980, that old boat was really barking loud coming up the grade.

3. Another lost part of railroading days gone by at Clayville was the gate tenders cabin, originally elevated but by this time (late 1930's) on level ground. DL&W operator Ted Jackson took this photo and told me that the railroad went through a program to lower the watchman towers as they had a few instances where guys died up in them and it was pretty hard to gt them out. I don't know for sure, but that was what he was told through the railroad rumor mill in the 1930's.

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As a follow up to Clayville depot.
It was built in 1867 by the Utica, Chenango & Susquehanna Valley Railroad, and taken over by the DL&W in 1870.
The first agent was A.J. Rhodes

The NYS PUC gave Erie Lackawanna permission to close it on January 5, 1963.
The agency was closed January 18, 1963 with Clarence Smith working as the last agent.
The EL officially retired the building May 16, 1963.

It burned on December 27, 1978 at a time when Conrail was operating the freight service.

Chadwicks first depot was built in 1868,  the 2nd depot in the Summer of 1886 by DL&W, the 2nd depot at that location being converted to a freighthouse when the current structure was built in 1905.

It closed in 1959 as noted in the video.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/15 13:52 by train1275.

Fine photos, Doug, and very interesting follow-up information! Thanks for taking the time to contribute to this thread.