Archived Digital Text

planned, was to traverse the interior of Sullivan County. When built, this goal was not realized, resulting in anger and frustration amongst many of the county's leading citizens. In 1853, a survey party under the direction of Colonel Edward W. Serrell, made plans for a railroad route through Sullivan County. Apparently, the project lacked a firm financial foundation and came to nothing.
As early as 1864, correspondence appeared in the Middletown newspaper regarding the advantages to be gained by a railroad through the interior counties. This had been discussed for a number of years with no definite action being taken, but now a meeting of interested parties was called for Delhi on October 4, 1865. The difficulty of travel brought on by the snow storm of the day before emphasized the need for an improved mode of transportation.
A dispute soon arouse between two factions at the meeting. One sought a direct route from Oswego to New York through Sullivan County. The other group argued the line should, at or about Delhi, seek the Hudson River at Kingston or Newburgh, thus securing "for its freights easy and cheap water communication to the city of New York." Further, they argued the engineering obstacles that would be encountered on the Sullivan County route would be insurmountable. The population was "sparse and poor," and "such a route would furnish [no] business..." Sen. Henry Reynold Low, then of Sullivan County and later a Middletown resident, set forth his objections to the plan proposed by the Kingston group in a speech at a later meeting. He pointed out the need for extensive tunneling to reach the Hudson; that it would necessitate expense and delay to transfer the cargo from train to boat; since the route would not be direct, it would preclude development as a trunk line; and, finally, should ice or other weather conditions close the harbor, there would be no movement of goods or people. Senator Low cited the Erie's error of selecting Piermont as a terminus.
Returning to the meeting at Delhi, a call to vote on the route was made. Sullivan County proponents, in the minority, managed to get a recess for dinner. Upon return, many of the Kingston group had gone home to take care of their farms, so the route to the Hudson was lost. This group later built their own road which became the Ulster & Delaware. Orange County was not represented at this first meeting.
On December 13 and 14, 1865, a convention was held at the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York City to discuss the proposed railroad between Oswego and New York City. Col. Serreli presented the survey done in 1853, as well as recent preliminary surveys of the eastern and western portions of the route. Mr. Low gave an address which was printed in the Middletown paper.
Meeting in Albany, January 10, 1866, having met the legal requirements, the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad Company