"Chasing A Ghost: O&W's Utica Division"

Pursuant to a liquidation order by a Federal bankruptcy court, the New York, Ontario & Western ceased operation on March 29, 1957. The O&W was thereafter almost completely abandoned.
Portions of the "Old & Weary" were saved, however, including some of its Utica Division in and around Utica, NY. These tracks were purchased by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. Much of this trackage remains active today; it is operated by New York, Susquehanna & Western.
In this video, we take a trip, via drone, on the O&W from Utica's Union Station to Estates Drive, New Hartford, approximately 4.5 miles. Though overgrown, tracks remain in place approximately 1000' south of Estates Drive, parallel to the Yahnundasis Golf Course. A small earthen mound represents the point where the scrappers stopped pulling the rails in 1958.
My good friend, John Ivory, operated the drone. He did a fantastic job!
A GM Hopkins map of Utica dated 1883 was used to help determine where the O&W's right-of-way was in West Utica.
Also of enormous importance was the assistance received from Jack Coughlin, Doug Ellison and John Taibi.
Photo 1: Looking west from Union Station, we see the O&W (and DL&W) lead. Also note Bagg's Hotel (Jack Coughlin Collection)
Photo 2: O&W Utica Freighthouse (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photo 3: O&W Utica Freighthouse with truck (Doug Ellison Collection).
Photo 4: Along the O&W, Water St, Utica (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photo 5: Bridge 52 (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photos 6 & 7 Bridge 50 (Jack Coughlin Collection)
Photo 8: Fay St Warehouse Implosion (Kurt Tupaj screenshot KZbin video, "Fay St. Warehouse Implosion").
Photo 9: O&W engine, facing south, West Utica (Doug Ellison Collection).
Photo 10: Noyes Street, looking south (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photos 11 & 12: O&W's Canal Branch Yard looking north (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photo 13: Coal Tower, Canal Branch Yard (Jack Coughlin Collection)
Photo 14: Roundhouse, Canal Branch Yard (Jack Coughlin Collection).
Photo 15: O&W/West Shore Diamond, view looking north towards French Road (David Snyder Photo).

[@drrobert8678]

Exceptional video. Sound effects, which I don't normally care for, enhance this video to the next level. All the nice touches, like the street IDs, building IDs, current right of way IDs, and accompanied old photos just add to the enjoyment. An obvious labor of love, this NYO&W history buff highly recommends it.

[@pdarling6812]

Thanks for sharing this video, thirty years ago, my two sons and I use to call Utica, NY home!!!!!!!!

[@slpwlknga]

As someone who travels these roads regularly, the trip by rail provided new incite to me. Well done! Thank you for sharing this piece of history.

[@lorettacaputo6997]

Very nice. Being a railfan and traveler to the Utica area, I got to appreciate where the trackage was and the lay of the land. Great idea. Thanks for doing this.

[@Tom-xe9iq]

That was absolutely fantastic! Thank Witold for his excellent drone navigation. Watching--- 3 yrs down the road--- from Belton MO.

[@jaywinn3558]

In a word Fabulous!!! As an old timer who used to stand on the old Burrstone Road bridge and watch the O&W shifters working the yard, the old Coal Dock on Campion road and the O&W switching American Emblem in New Hartford etc. I can absolutely attest to the accuracy of your research for this video.. It brings back a LOT of memories Thank you It is an absolutely stellar effort!!! Jay Winn

[@railroadingrambler218]

Jay: Thanks, that means a lot to me coming from someone with your wealth of knowledge!

[@bodo4202]

Great video!!!!!!!! The effort and time you spent on this project are self evident..........thank you so much for doing this for the rest of us. We as a society, are lost without our history.

[@jssw3618]

Dont know what great memories this generated to me!!! Thank you so much.

[@railroadingrambler218]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@timothyglaserr8791]

Absolutely incredible the best video I’ve seen depicting the old row’s and the ones currently in use with great explanation of old and current structures, yards , and trackage!!! EXCELLENT!!!!!!!

[@railroadingrambler218]

Thanks!!!

[@PRR5406]

I am fascinated by the drone footage and how you manage to not lose the drone! This covered some significant mileage.

[@JohnSmith-bw8xv]

How doea he fly a deone so far from the remote ? Does it reach that far ?

[@donnebes9421]

@@JohnSmith-bw8xv apparently.

[@flashcar60]

This should be the standard by which all abandoned-line tracing docs should be measured. Excellent work!

[@railroadingrambler218]

Thanks, I truly enjoyed doing this project!

[@Tom-xe9iq]

Outstanding! I've never seen anything like this! Great detective work and drone flying!

[@bpp325]

Phenomenal tour and sound! Thanx for sharing.

[@yankee1789]

Mesmerizing. Absolutely Fantastic!

[@SkippyThorson]

Lived here all my life and never knew half this route. Very cool, thank you for sharing the history. I’ll always find railroading interesting, and finding how communities were built around them (or after them) is fascinating.

[@TheWeekendMedic]

Well flown, well filmed and well edited - good job!

[@Steve-xf4uv]

An awesome piece of work !! Great history lesson. I visited Central Square Museum last Sunday and had a history lesson of the O & W from a very knowledgeable gentleman, a must visit place ! Thanks for the video, kudos to the drone guy.

[@jrcrawford4]

This is very well done!

[@massimogiannoni9192]

Great, excellent job! Congratulations from an Italian railroad enthusiast fascinated by the world of US trains.

[@scottiebartz2534]

Great video rambler you can hear the train but you can't see it awsome work

[@beverlyondarcho6826]

Wow awesome video. A lot of changes off the arterial I hadn’t seen. Thanks

[@ericcallender1575]

Super. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertwillmott8879]

Really great presentation, brings the route to life in a new way.

[@macsdaddy3383]

By all means the drone operation was very well done. And like your Introductory Graphics as well. Throughout the video it amazed the wife and I how little traffic there was on the adjoining roadways. Quite different than what we have found ourselves to have to deal with where we live now. Towards the end, it brought a tear to our eyes to see the storage unit we rented for so many years during our military career prior to retiring.

[@skelelator]

Nice. Longtime member of the O&WRHS, this area is one that I have only seen through still pictures. Thanks

[@anthonybanks2979]

Very nice job !

[@vicodumb]

What a great video. I'm from the Midwest but have always held a fascination for the Old Woman. Thank you very much.

[@harrychest4303]

Great job. I’m always interested in Fallen Flag ROW.

[@intercityrailpal]

Excellent! AAA+ Great job! I really enjoyed this.

[@jimdep6542]

You did a great job on this ! Very creative and inspiring how you incorporated some vintage pics on location.

[@farmerdave7965]

This use of a quadcopter is absolutely brilliant. Now I need to get one. Video effects and editing are excellent.

[@Gigie2Z]

This was really wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@donmoore7785]

Very nicely done. I worked at GE in the 80's and lived in Utica and New Hartford - worked in the building you showed for 4 years, in one of the 3rd floor cubbies that stick up and have one small window each - a "black" project that was not on the company books.

[@richcoffey4080]

Excellent work!

[@wesleywright6484]

Wow!! Learned something new! About the railroads around here!! What made you do this? Nicely done in the morning light and not much traffic! Again great job as always!!

[@railroadingrambler218]

Glad you enjoyed the video! My inspiration for doing this came from another KZbinr, "Orvillespooner1," who made a drone video of the West Shore Railroad from Frankfort to Clark Mills, NY.

[@wesleywright6484]

@@railroadingrambler218 well then keep getting inspired!! As I'm a fan of anything old and history! Especially rail and the Canal! Which was an important part of building new York State!

[@railvideosbc]

A walk down memory lane.

[@RC944jim]

I watched this when first posted but never commented, I just wanted to say thank you and well done!

[@DammitAbby82]

LOVED THIS!!! Also, you can almost see my apartment. Great job!!

[@jimdep6542]

I really enjoy this video. At 2:20 Look at all those houses that used to be on Water St, across from the DL&W freight house. I'm working on a virtual train simulator project for that region in the late 1800's. You wouldn't mind doing drone coverage from Watertown over to Carthage and then down to Binghamton would ya ?

[@henrybednarski2491]

Great video! Fascinating to watch that drone fly over the neighborhood where I grew up. Lots of changes! One of the earliest memories I have in my old brain is running out of the house at about 3 years old, all excited and half-naked, to watch the circus-train go by on the Fay Street tracks (early 50s). The circus set up shop somewhere in North Utica, I think.

[@tumblinjack]

how did you ever do this? Great video and enjoyed very much. Well done!

[@yofrentzen]

Well done! Great video.

[@SupaFly10579]

Amazing! Really enjoyed this! So hard to follow the tracks on the ground.

[@robertwilliams6395]

very cool.

[@maryfobian9511]

This is wonderful. I came across it while doing some genealogical research about Fred Shaver, who was a conductor on the O&W who lived in Utica from about mid-30s until his death in 1956. He and his wife lived at 908 Burrstone in 1940 and at 1553 Lincoln in 1950. I've looked on mapquest, and at route maps, but can't quite get a good idea whether these residences would have been within walking distance to where he would have reported for work. Any opinions or insights?

[@MartyLJ57]

Ghosts for sure!

[@PlanetMezz]

great video !

[@paulcrowshaw4232]

Thank you and very well done! It inspires me to get a drone and do something similar for old ROWs near me. I agree with the comment about the sound effects enhancing the video. If I'm not mistaken the sounds seem to come from and old LP, Railroad Sounds of Steam and Diesel, that might tell you how many times I listened to that one!

[@kennethgraniero1124]

Excellent footage. I grew up on Estates drive seen at the conclusion of the video, and often would see trains on that track into the 2000's. Not sure if it's still used today. Very interesting to see that the tracks were still being used in that small residential area, and the tracks would disappear into the forest where the video stops.

[@vicodumb]

No other way to capture the old line and lay of the land without a drone. Fantastic job Rambler!

[@rd3ster]

Well done and very impressive. I wish someone would do the same for the Main Line of the once-great Pennsylvania Railroad. I grew up near Paoli . Wouldn't it be wonderful to have European-style high-speed and whisper-quiet passenger trains.

[@tomflendodo7297]

IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL !! But, WE GIVE ALL ARE MONEY 💰 TO THE MILITARY NO, TIME 4 TRAIN'S !!!!!!!!!!

[@baldjguy]

Thank You. I was just wondering the other day what that pad was by ConMed.

[@nnervous]

Great video! I spent a LOT of time on many of those tracks (and trains) as a kid. I believe there was also a roundtable/turntable just before Burrstone Rd, behind Addison-Miller. I too am curious how you maintain communication with the drone over all that distance and would love to see more. Thank you for doing these. .

[@christopherdibble5872]

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not like they did back in 1954 used to recap truck and car tires at brighten General tire, in Utica, back when gas was 30 cents a gallon, and love was only 60 cents away!

[@williamh.jarvis6795]

At 6:30, would that be where the Schuyler Street street running tracks be, somewhere just off to the right? I ask because, I once did a Google Earth "street view" of the entire length of Schuyler Street's trackage, from between Noyes Street, all the way down to the little green tower, where the tracks move out of Schuyler Street, at the Whitesboro Street intersection. (BTW, what was that little green tower, located around 66 Schuyler Street, used for, anyway?) Around 7:02, I seemed to recognize the intersection of Oswego Street and NY Route 8. I did a Google Earth "street view" here as well, in all directions, checking out the traffic signals and the proximity of the tracks being right close by. Concerned about any train movement in the immediate area, I would scroll around in all directions of this intersection. I noticed that there are small signals included for train movement! It seems that any train arriving here cannot simply cross Oswego Street at any time. I am guessing that the train must wait until NY Route 8 has the green light. (This intersection, for southbound traffic only, includes a "No Right Turn" light-up board, consisting of a right turn arrow with a red diagonal slash through it.) When a train needs to cross Oswego Street NY's Route 8 will get the green light, with this "board" (for the southbound traffic) lighting up as described above and, the railroad's two light signal, usually displaying a red light, shall display a favorable indication for the Railroad so to proceed across Oswego Street.

[@railroadingrambler218]

Yes, for both the Rt 8 & 840 crossings the engineer must wait for a lineside signal to turn yellow to proceed (this indicates the traffic light is red)

[@ladieshomejournal1]

how about a video in the fall with no leaves O&W going to Clinton ?

[@banditburt4728]

I grew up in Clinton played on that railroad bed love to see it

[@PrinceCezar27]

at timestamp 7:14, that red building is Utica Metal Products, I work there. That's the back of the building. There are tracks directly in back of the red building on the left side of the Arterial, the tracks were torn up but there is a small piece there. What line was that?

[@ThunderTrain2930]

0:38 what whistle is that and what locomotive did it belong to? I believe the locomotive’s number is 3572 but I don’t know the wheel arrangement or what railroad operated it.

[@midstaterustics4507]

Great video as always. Please do one on the Old West Shore starting from the Utica Yard. I vividly remember running up the street from where I lived when I was a kid to wave to the engineer as the train went by.

[@railroadingrambler218]

Check out the "Orvillespooner1" KZbin channel. He did a drone video of the West Shore from Frankfort-Clark Mills (posted 7/20/18).

[@americanpie6924]

Hey! I was wondering if any of the NYO&W engines are preserved or abandoned. I'd love to make a video on em.

[@PrinceCezar27]

8:46, Possible entrance to tunnel that leads to brewery district. That brush on the left is covering entrance.

[@plymouth-hl20ton37]

Awesome drone work how long did the Drone fly each time also awesome video

[@gazpacho59]

We ended up cutting the distance into 4 "missions", and spread the effort out over two days. You can see the transitions where we stitched the footage together at around 4:54, 8:28, and 12:38. If you look, you can see us in the parking lot of the iHOP. :-)

[@Garylee17]

Very nice video plus how did you do this??

[@55westend1]

Great video. How much of this is now a hiking trail?

[@railroadingrambler218]

There's a segment farther down the line between Dugway Rd, Kirkland, and Rt 315, Deansboro, that's now a hiking trail.

[@zz449944]

Question 1 -- who built and used the Utica Roundhouse ?? Question 2 -- which railroad served Bossert's Manufacturing ?

[@railroadingrambler218]

The roundhouse was built by the O&W. Both the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and the NYO&W served Bossert Manufacturing. You probably noticed, but if not, the former Bossert's building was bought by the NYS&W, transported to their Utica yard, and re-erected. You can see it in the video.

[@jaywinn481]

The O&W Utica Roundhouse was located just north of the Burrstone Road bridge and on the west side of the arterial... It was later used as a warehouse to store roofing materials and was ultimately consumed by a spectacular fire.

[@tomflendodo7297]

THEY TORE ALL THE OLD TRAIN STATION'S DOWN ON THE ONTARIO & WESTERN RAILROAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MartyLJ57]

Progress and those can automobiles!

[@halo-sd5qe]

Anyone know which whistle that is?

[@flfun1684]

2:07 looks like old roundhouse now serving truckers..

[@SPiDERDAWGcom]

Superb! Didn't want it to end. Would like to have seen a map of the excursion with photo points marked, but this can be created from www.openrailwaymap.org/

[@intercityrailpal]

The highway should be abandoned there is NO traffic on it! Oh, we only do that to tax paying railroads! Plus notice the road is perfect from the billions and billions of government money and non user fees and taxes collected for it. Nothing much for trains of course. Just excuses why we don't have them.

[@slpwlknga]

That is not true. This highway is WELL used. The video appears to have been taken at a time when there was not much traffic. Normally there is a considerable amount, not bumper to bumper as what you may be used to, but it is quite busy.

[@intercityrailpal]

@@slpwlknga Now May 2021 117 billion for highways in infrastructure bill. Republicans are demanding NO MONEY FOR RAIL! And that 117 billion is NOT from gas taxes! BS Plus the pictures speak for themselves of a overbuilt highway system. Which could bankrupt the county! Not even including the wars for the oil. Trillions last year were given to airlines and airports for bailouts they have NEVER paid one cent back in the past bailouts. No bailouts for railroads so they are gone! BS

[@slpwlknga]

@@intercityrailpal Do you even live in this area? If not, your inferences on the use of this highway are your own. I agree with the use of railways. I do not claim to have the answer whether or not rail is cheaper or more expensive than road as far as travel/transport of goods. I was simply stating that the roadways shown in this video were clearly not shown at their peak or even normal use.

[@intercityrailpal]

@@slpwlknga Peak is Peak and unlimited money for a ten minute use is a waste. Like I-90 across South Dakota.

[@slpwlknga]

@@intercityrailpal so you don't live in the area and are making assumptions. That's all I needed to know.

[@jayducharme]

Amazing work!

[@thedude3423]

Fantastic! A modern snapshot of history. U r to be commended. Come and film Cleveland, Youngstown, and Pittsburg lines next!

[@iusetano]

Thank you. I liked how you made this video. Excellent work.

[@nickelplate79]

Curious can the track be traced south of the switchback? Tried to see it on Google maps, but looks to be pretty developed??

[@railroadingrambler218]

Yes, still exists to Oneida Warehouse along Campion Rd, New Hartford. Maybe just over 1/3rd mile in length

[@pravoslavn]

Absolutely wonderful video. Thank you ! I have been up there twice in the last ten years, looking for old railroad alignments. Wish your video had been available before I made those trips...

[@warrenwilson4818]

Probably the best of the slogans based on the rr initians: "The Old & Weary." (July 31, 2019)