Program

Historic Transportation

Subject

Site, Transportation

Location

6379 Main St, Maryland, NY 12116, USA

Lat/Long

42.492871, -74.965041

Grant Recipient

Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society

Established in 1869, the Cooperstown & Susquehanna Valley Railroad ran 16 miles, connecting the village of Cooperstown to a new railroad junction with the recently completed Albany & Susquehanna Railroad in a hamlet that would come to be known as Cooperstown Junction located in the town of Milford. The new junction consisted of a wye track configuration, an arrangement of three rail lines with switches, allowing for a train to be turned to head in the opposite direction. The Albany & Susquehanna Railroad was a 142-mile line providing freight and passenger service between Albany and Binghamton that had been completed in 1868. It was acquired by the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railroad in 1870.

In 1888, the 16-mile Cooperstown & Susquehanna Valley Railroad became the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad. In 1903, the railroad was acquired by the D&H and was then operated as its Cooperstown Branch. In 1971, the D&H abandoned the line. In 1996, the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society purchased the former Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad, and began operating it as a heritage railroad, offering excursion rides along 8 miles of the northern portion of the 16 miles of track.

As of 2025, the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society continues to offer excursion train rides on the northern half, while the southern half of the line provides a connection to the former D&H line, now operated by Norfolk Southern Railway.

Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society:

Links

• https://www.lrhs.com/