The Edward J. Crist Collection of Orange County Railroad History contains artifacts showcasing the importance of Orange County’s railroads and how they influenced the Hudson Valley’s industrial development. A large portion of the collection features over 1,000 documents, postcards, and images of local railroads from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Among the railroads represented include:
Erie Railroad (and predecessors)
Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Company
Lehigh & New England Railroad
Middletown & New Jersey Railway (and predecessors)
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (and predecessors)
New York Central Railroad (and predecessors)
New York, Ontario & Western Railway (and predecessors)
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway
Sterling Iron & Railway Company
Wallkill Valley Railroad Company
This banner, from the Scranton Division members of the New York, Ontario & Western Railway Veterans Association, is a cornerstone of the Edward J. Crist Collection for Orange County, NY Railroad History. Though Scranton is far from Orange County, the NYO&W was headquartered in Middletown, NY until its closing on March 29, 1957.
In addition to paper materials, the collection also contains a large quantity of artifacts including railroad signage, over twenty lanterns, period dining car china, antique railroad tinware, and more. Some examples featured are a sign from the Erie Railroad’s Harriman, NY station, concrete whistle and mile markers from the Erie Railroad’s Newburgh Branch, a large variety of “summer homes” vacation guides from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway, and a one-of-a-kind banner from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway’s Veterans Association.
About Orange County’s Railroads
It would have been impossible for Orange County’s agricultural and manufacturing industries to blossom without the meticulous aid of its now-largely forgotten railroad network. Today, only a fraction of Orange County’s railroads remain in service and many of the region’s railroad marvels now sit abandoned. The first railroad to come to Orange County, the New York and Erie, was constructed in the late 1830s and opened for service in 1841. Later known as the Erie Railroad, gained recognition in 1842 when Thaddeus Selleck, the station agent of Chester, NY, successfully shipped milk by rail from Orange County to New York City. Selleck’s idea sparked New York’s fluid milk market—one of the state’s most lucrative industries for the next century. With the rise of milk came the need for more routes of steel to transport this valuable commodity. Soon, railroads extended in every direction across Orange Country. The Erie built numerous branchlines to connect villages and cities such as Newburgh, Pine Bush, and Montgomery to the greater railroad network. However, the Erie would not remain as Orange County’s only railroad. By 1900, the New York, Ontario and Western, Lehigh and Hudson River, Lehigh and New England, Middletown and Unionville, Central New England, and the New York Central all developed footholds in this region of New York State. It was arguably possible to travel anywhere in the county by train.
Among the many railroads came numerous engineering marvels to Orange County. One which trains still operate upon is the 3,200 foot-long Moodna Viaduct spanning the Moodna Creek valley in Salisbury Mills, NY. Constructed between 1906 and 1909, the viaduct was built as a part of the Erie Railroad’s ambitious project known as the Graham Line. A great majority of the Erie’s tracks, especially between Harriman and Middletown, consisted of steep grades, tight curves, and numerous railroad crossings. This was not favorable for freight trains designed to move at fast speeds, so the Graham Line was constructed as a freight bypass that featured few grades, gentile curves, and, most importantly, no grade crossings. The Moodna Viaduct, with its highest point reaching 193 feet, remains the highest and longest active railroad trestle east of the Mississippi River.
While the Moodna Viaduct is in active service, one railroad marvel that has been forgotten is the Maybrook Classification Yard. When the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge opened for service in 1889, it was the only Hudson River crossing between Albany and New York City until the Bear Mountain Bridge opened in 1924 for automobiles. The bridge allowed trains from New England to travel through Dutchess County, across the Hudson River, and then interchange goods with railroads operating west of the Hudson River. This interchange occurred at Maybrook which, at its height, possessed 177 tracks that extended 71 miles. In addition to the miles of trackage used to classify and sort railroad cars, the yard also featured a massive twenty-five stall roundhouse used to store locomotives, a substantial engine machine shop, and a large icehouse used to provide ice for cars carrying refrigerated goods. Maybrook suffered with the decline of regional railroads and ended service abruptly in 1974 when the Poughkeepsie Bridge suffered a catastrophic fire. Today, one track remains in Maybrook and few signs of the yard are visible today.
The demise of Maybrook was echoed across Orange County in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, as automobiles and airplanes triumphed over railroads. One by one, busy railroad lines were abandoned and removed—leaving some unrecognizable today. Having been fascinated with geography from a young age, these old railroad lines fascinated me and, now, I have spent years collecting, writing, and sharing their history.
Edward J. Crist
Edward J. Crist was a life-long resident of Orange County, New York and a historian of railroads in the tri-state area. Growing up in Cornwall, Ed was first employed by the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Company of Warwick, NY before publishing his first book, The Final Years: New York, Ontario & Western Railway, in 1977. Both on his own and with fellow railroad historian John Krause, Ed continued to author several works including Delaware & Hudson Challengers & Northerns, Erie Memories, Lackawanna Heritage, Lehigh & Hudson River Volumes I & II, Lehigh & New England, and Susquehanna. After his passing in 2018, I was honored to inherit Ed’s sizable collection of documents pertaining to Orange County railroads as well as his own work as a railroad historian.
The collection welcomes those seeking to research the intricate history of local railroads. The majority of artifacts are on display, while all paper is either on display or stored in the humidity-controlled archive room.
A station sign from the Erie Railroad’s Harriman, NY station along with a roof overhang support salvaged from the structure’s demolition in 2006. Several architectural details from the Harriman station, including one of its baggage doors, are preserved in the collection. 
Volume One from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway’s “Observer” magazine, a publication intended to boost business for the bankrupt line. Displayed with the magazine are two printing blocks. 
A segment of pear-shaped rail from the New York & Oswego Midland Railroad, the predecessor to the New York, Ontario & Western Railway. The rail was discovered in 1947 during a washout on the line between Fish’s Eddy and Cadosia in Delaware County, NY. Subsequently, it was cut into segments that were used by railroad officials as paperweights until the company’s closure in 1957. 
Railroad lanterns representing Orange County’s railroads, displayed alongside local pharmacy/medicine bottles and glass telegraph insulators. 
A circa-1866 profile map of the Middletown, Unionville & Water Gap Railroad. Its distant ancestor, the Middletown & New Jersey, still operates today in Orange County. 
From the late nineteenth century until 1949, the New York, Ontario & Western Railway published the “summer homes” guide listing accommodations in Orange, Sullivan, Ulster, and Delaware Counties. These artifacts are an amazing resource for tourism history and offer a link between local railroads and the Sullivan County Borscht Belt which I also document (please see the Richard L. Benjamin Collection of Borscht Belt Tourism History here: https://alexprizgintas.com/borscht-belt-tourism-history/). The collection also has similar guides from the Ulster & Delaware and New York Central Railroads. 
A C. T. Ham No. 39 double wire-bottom lantern from the Erie Railroad Company with a clear-cast globe. 
A Dietz No. 6 bellbottom lantern from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway with a matching “Deitz No. 6 R. R.” clear-cast globe. 
Various cans and oilers, known as “tinware,” from Orange County railroads. 
Hatbadges were worn on specially-designed caps for railroad personnel. 
A few of the larger artifacts on display outdoors include two Erie Railroad concrete markers from Orange County, a flanger pole from the Erie Railroad’s mainline in Goshen, and a New York, Ontario & Western Railway switchstand.
Railroad paperwork from Orange County on display. 
Memorabilia on display from the nearby Mount Beacon Incline Railway. 
A broadside advertisement for an excursion chartered by the Central Railroad of New Jersey along the west short of the Hudson River to West Point and Newburgh. 
An original survey map for the New York, Ontario & Western Railway’s Middletown Branch, circa 1880. This valuable resource, one of two like it in the collection, are over twenty-four-feet in length. 
A circa-1854 rulebook from the New York & Erie Railroad. 
Various bonds issued by the Wallkill Valley Railway Company. 
Papers from the Erie Railroad on display. 
Papers from obscure local railroads on display. 
Papers from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway Company on display. 
Memorabilia pertaining to the Poughkeepsie Railway Bridge and its associating railroads on display. 
A sample of postcards from the Erie Railroad in Orange County. 
A sample of postcards from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway. 
Postcards and pictures relating to the Maybrook Railroad Yard. 
Papers from the Erie Railroad. 
Papers from the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Company. 
Small items from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway. 
Papers from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway. 
Papers from railroads relating to the Port Jervis and Monticello branches of the NYO&W Ry. 
Paperwork from the Sterling Iron & Railway Company.
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