The Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR), is a heritage railroad, celebrating its 40th year anniversary. Based in Kingston, New York, it began its operations in 1983. CMRR leases what was the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain Branch Line. The tracks were purchased by Ulster County in 1979 from the estate of Penn Central and subsequently leased to CMRR.

The Catskill Mountain Railroad is a New York corporation dedicated to preserving railroad history while providing scenic and seasonal event train rides to folks from all over the Northeast. As well as special charters, the CMRR offers event trains including Easter Bunny Express, Catskill Flyer, Fall Foliage, Pumpkin trains and the ever popular Polar Express.

We can trace our roots back to the original Rondout & Oswego Railroad that began construction in 1868. The Ulster & Delaware Railroad took over in 1876 and pushed to complete the railroad to Oneonta by 1900. Trains carried vital freight and tourist traffic to and from the Catskills. Bluestone for the sidewalks of New York was quarried here and dairy products from area farms were rushed to the city by rail. As one of the first all-weather routes into the Catskills, the railroad enjoyed considerable success bringing vacationers to the grand hotels and boarding houses by the thousands. Between 1908 and 1912, the railroad carried supplies for the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir, part of the system of reservoirs feeding New York City.

The Ulster & Delaware Railroad was purchased by the New York Central Railroad in 1932, and it became their Catskill Mountain Branch. Following the cancellation of the last postal service contract, passenger service on the line ended in 1954. The New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads merged in 1968 to form Penn Central, though service continued to decline on the branch. Operation of the route passed to Conrail, but there were no plans to retain the line after the last freight run on October 2, 1976.

Thanks to the original commitment from the Ulster County government, and the efforts of the CMRR to restore and maintain the tracks, the Catskill Mountain Railroad continues to grow and expand to serve greater numbers of passengers year after year. For more information call (845) 332-4854 or email info@catskillmountainrailroad.com or visit our website at www.catskillmountainrailroad.com. To Book your tour today email us at charters@catskillmountainrailroad.com plenty of bus and coach parking available on site. Located at 55 Kingston Plaza Road, Kingston, NY 12401. All Aboard!