The Otis Junction Station after the railroad's reconstruction in 1904.Otis Elevating Railway, ca. 1900
A cable pulled the specially-designed passenger cars up the mountain, hooking a mechanism from the car onto the cable. To balance the system there were two cars which could each seat 75 passengers. The cars were built by Jackson & Sharp Co. in 1892. The cars were named Rickerson and Van Santvoord. A small open-air baggage car was coupled to the downhill end of each passenger car.
The cable was pulled by two Hamilton Corliss steam engines that spun a set of cogwheels that drove the cable. Each engine had a 12-inch (304.8 mm) diameter bore and a 30-inch (762 mm) stroke. Steam was supplied by two Manning Patent vertical tubular boilers. As one car went up from the bottom of the incline, the other car went down from the top of the incline. There was a passing track in the middle of the run where the track split in two and then rejoined. This was so the cars could pass each other without colliding, as they shared the center rail above and below the passing track.
The Otis Railway and the Catskill Mountain Railway had several freight cars interchangeable with both the Catskill and Tannersville Railway at Summit Station and the Catskill Mountain Railway at Junction Station. The freight cars were 22 feet (6.71 m) long and had a capacity of 5 or 8 short tons (4.46 or 7.14 long tons; 4.54 or 7.26 t).[1] One car could be carried at a time coupled below the coach. Boxcars were Otis Ry. 1, Otis Ry. 2, C.M. Ry. 17 & C.M. Ry. 18. Gondolas were Otis Ry. 3, Otis Ry. 4, C.M. Ry. 15 & C.M. Ry. 16.[2][3] In operation, a single freight car could be coupled to the downhill end of the open-air baggage car.
The Otis Junction station (pictured right after the 1904 reconstruction) connected the Otis to the Catskill Mountain Railway, a 15-mile (24 km) railroad between Catskill Landing and Palenville, New York. At the Otis Summit station at the top, it connected to the Catskill and Tannersville Railway, that ran the 5.2 miles (8.4 km) to Tannersville. In 1918, all three railroads were closed and sold for scrap. The two cars survive to this day. Soon after the railroad was scrapped, the coaches were shipped to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they served the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway.
^The Helmer (1970) reference states "5 tons" at page 83, and states "8 tons" at page 137.
^Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York. New York State Legislature., various dates.
^Poor, Henry V. and Henry W. Poor (1895). Poor's Manual of Railroads. H.V. and H.W. Poor Co., various dates.
Helmer, William F. (1970). Rip Van Winkle Railroads. Howell-North Books. ISBN0-8310-7079-X.
External linksedit
How the Otis Elevating Railway worked
Otis Elevating, at the Ulster and Delaware Railroad Historical Society
January 01, 1970
otis, elevating, railway, this, article, lead, section, long, please, read, length, guidelines, help, move, details, into, article, body, november, 2021, narrow, gauge, cable, funicular, railroad, leading, catskill, mountain, house, palenville, york, first, ye. This article s lead section may be too long Please read the length guidelines and help move details into the article s body November 2021 The Otis Elevating Railway was a 3 ft 914 mm narrow gauge cable funicular railroad leading to the Catskill Mountain House in Palenville New York For the first 64 years of its existence the Catskill Mountain House was accessible only by a long stagecoach from Catskill Landing on the Hudson Faced with increased competition from the Hotel Kaaterskill served by the Kaaterskill Railroad Charles Beach hired the Otis Elevator Company to build a cable funicular railroad straight up the Great Wall of Manitou Opening on August 7 1892 the line measured 7 000 ft 2 134 m long with a rise of 1 630 ft 497 m a maximum grade of 34 and an average grade of 12 In 1904 the line was shortened and the lower trestle eliminated Map The Otis Junction Station after the railroad s reconstruction in 1904 Otis Elevating Railway ca 1900 A cable pulled the specially designed passenger cars up the mountain hooking a mechanism from the car onto the cable To balance the system there were two cars which could each seat 75 passengers The cars were built by Jackson amp Sharp Co in 1892 The cars were named Rickerson and Van Santvoord A small open air baggage car was coupled to the downhill end of each passenger car The cable was pulled by two Hamilton Corliss steam engines that spun a set of cogwheels that drove the cable Each engine had a 12 inch 304 8 mm diameter bore and a 30 inch 762 mm stroke Steam was supplied by two Manning Patent vertical tubular boilers As one car went up from the bottom of the incline the other car went down from the top of the incline There was a passing track in the middle of the run where the track split in two and then rejoined This was so the cars could pass each other without colliding as they shared the center rail above and below the passing track The Otis Railway and the Catskill Mountain Railway had several freight cars interchangeable with both the Catskill and Tannersville Railway at Summit Station and the Catskill Mountain Railway at Junction Station The freight cars were 22 feet 6 71 m long and had a capacity of 5 or 8 short tons 4 46 or 7 14 long tons 4 54 or 7 26 t 1 One car could be carried at a time coupled below the coach Boxcars were Otis Ry 1 Otis Ry 2 C M Ry 17 amp C M Ry 18 Gondolas were Otis Ry 3 Otis Ry 4 C M Ry 15 amp C M Ry 16 2 3 In operation a single freight car could be coupled to the downhill end of the open air baggage car The Otis Junction station pictured right after the 1904 reconstruction connected the Otis to the Catskill Mountain Railway a 15 mile 24 km railroad between Catskill Landing and Palenville New York At the Otis Summit station at the top it connected to the Catskill and Tannersville Railway that ran the 5 2 miles 8 4 km to Tannersville In 1918 all three railroads were closed and sold for scrap The two cars survive to this day Soon after the railroad was scrapped the coaches were shipped to Chattanooga Tennessee where they served the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Contents 1 Stations 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksStations editOtis Junction Station Otis Summit StationSee also editList of funicular railwaysReferences edit The Helmer 1970 reference states 5 tons at page 83 and states 8 tons at page 137 Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York New York State Legislature various dates Poor Henry V and Henry W Poor 1895 Poor s Manual of Railroads H V and H W Poor Co various dates Helmer William F 1970 Rip Van Winkle Railroads Howell North Books ISBN 0 8310 7079 X External links editCatskill Mountain System How the Otis Elevating Railway worked Otis Elevating at the Ulster and Delaware Railroad Historical Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Otis Elevating Railway amp oldid 1170398777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
