The Catskill Chronicle

LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY (August 9, 2011) – On Saturday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m., Morgan Outdoors at 46 Main Street in Livingston Manor, will host forest historian and author, Michael Kudish, who will present a geographic tour of three historic tributary railroads that connected with the Ontario & Western (O&W) main line. 

Map lovers, hikers, historians and railroad buffs will especially enjoy the free public program, which includes a series of hand-drawn maps from Kudish’s book "Where Did the Tracks Go in the Catskills?" just published by Purple Mountain Press.

Much has been written about the O&W, but have you heard of the Treyz Railroad that ran along Russell Brook north of Roscoe? It was a short logging railroad, barely four miles long that almost connected with the O&W at Butternut Grove.

Further along the O&W tracks from Livingston Manor, the Delaware & Northern (D&N) Railroad connected at East Branch station. This history of the D&N could fill a whole college short course, but Kudish will scratch the surface with a description of East Branch yard.

The third railroad covered in the program is in Walton, where the O&W’s Delhi Branch connected with the main. The author will be available before and after the presentation to autograph copies of "Where Did the Tracks Go in the Catskills?"

RSVPs are encouraged due to limited space. Call Morgan Outdoors at 845-439-5507.