Rare Vintage Footage of the Delaware and Hudson in Upstate New York, 1930s

This footage is very near and dear to my heart - this is a short film of clips my own Grandfather took in his home town of Oneonta, NY between 1935 and 1939. The roundhouse shown has been completely demolished, the depot is now a restaurant, and all that is left of this once busy northern outpost of the D&H is a single-track mainline. At some point, I'll upload my own footage taken in 2012 which shows the enormous decay and disparity between the two eras.
I hope you enjoy this rare glimpse into an age long gone!

[@makeitstop9344]

My Grandfather, William Henry Schraft was the Foreman blacksmith at this roundhouse. He got his experience in blacksmithing during WW1 as a tank repairman. Your Grandfather , no doubt knew my grandfather! Beautiful video ! Thank you

[@terryatpi]

Wow! Your grandfather caught some great scenes, he must have been a sharp man. Thanks

[@FoundersFan]

Grandfather, father, 2 uncles, 1 brother & myself all worked for the D & H out of Oneonta at one time or another. Great video, thanks.

[@albertcolone2774]

this is pretty amazing footage. It's technically advanced video. This guy knew his stuff. Ah, that's when Oneonta was truly an economically vibrant community.

[@timtraver7152]

Nice to see the Wooten locomotives in action, very rare to see them in motion close up like that!!!

[@dandh628]

Great footage and very rare ... The 1500s (Challengers on the UP) or 'J's on the D&H are my favorite all time power ... I can barely remember them passing thru Bainbridge, a little south of Oneonta in 1950-1951 or thereabouts ... I'm in the process of building an HO model of the 1500s so this scene at

[@razgrizaceblaze259]

Apparently, a little bit of the footage was filmed in the '40s. The 4-6-6-4 Challengers started arriving on the D&H in 1940.

[@drakeredwingofficial]

I used to live in Oneonta, NY. Never got to see the roundhouse (I was born in 2000), but this is a dope look into it.

[@twiconnor643]

Some incredible footage. The partial color as opposed to the usual black-and-white helps bring this long bygone era to life again, a true glimpse into the past. Thank you for posting.

[@aprilmorris450]

First and foremost, Thank You. For myself, seeing the engineers and workers made the film very personal. I also appreciate the sheer size of the trains and everything involved in keeping them running. Your grandfather had a fantastic eye!!! thanks again!

[@ChamplainValleyRailSnapshots]

Awesome stuff. An incredible record. The D&H had some pretty cool steam as well as an awesome fleet of ALCO diesels. Sadly just 2 locomotives ramble the D&H tracks still wearing D&H livery.

[@johnkoniecznyjr4591]

That big boy 4014 is from Schenectady NY. UP needs to do the right thing, and bring him home to NY at least.

[@terrymingle8355]

Thank you for posting this. Very nice. There is still an old roundhouse in Cortland, NY on Owego Street, across from Gator's Tavern. :-)

[@jaywinn481]

Simply wonderful films.. My grandfather started taking me to the Oneonta rail yards at about age 8 in 1950 and I visited regularly over the next 50 years or more. I even wrote a book about it.. "Grandfather, Oneonta and Me" that chronicles the history of the D&H in Oneonta as well as my own covering some 60 years... I have many fond memories, among them, riding a J class 1500 Challenger and these films bring back so many wonderful memories many thanks from a grateful long time D&H railfan.

[@hovermotion]

Wow this is amazing footage this is what I like about youtube people like you who make the time and effort to upload footage like this ......some fantastic scenes & locos...your grandfather was a lucky man to opperate a cini camera in those days he must of known it would of been saved for future generations. ...jim

[@sjwhitney]

I love the line of spectators at the wreck site!

[@dnhj95]

Thanks for sharing! This was fantastic! I used to watch and photograph along the D&H in and around Oneonta in the 1990s, and am a huge D&H fan. I recognized most of the locations in the film. As a couple of people mentioned below, the Challengers first started being delivered in September, 1940. It was a real treat to see one on film - I think most of the film footage of them that exists is from the Pennsylvania Division where they were dragging coal, but not very fast. The one in this film was barely out of the yard limits but already had a roll on it, maybe doing around 40 or so - the location looks like it was where the D&H main curves north eastbound out of Oneonta to go under I-88 (although I-88 was 40 years in the future at the time of the film).

[@johnkoury9958]

The lower deck! Oneonta powerhouse Delaware and Hudson! My grandfather worked there and I would spend tons of time around those tracks. Our parents would be so pissed off when they found out we were playing in the crumbling roundhouse. The pit was filled with horrible looking water then…just don’t fall in. Memories of otown!

[@steamgent4592]

Great footage thanks for sharing it. D&H steam in photos and films is so much more rare than many of the other roads. So your generosity is even more awesome.

[@stuff6063]

i bet you were hesitant to post this film due to quality, however, i am so glad you did.. there are so few motion pictures of the steam era on this rr , each one is a treat ... your dates are close, however your ending date should be changed to 1940, 41, or 42 because near the end of the film a 4-6-6-4 j-class challenger barrels by, they were built in two batches, first ones in 1940 and the rest in 1942 .. also appearing prior to that is the only movie film i know of 1402, named the james archbald, one of the few experimental high-pressure locomotives.. the 1402 was scrapped in september 1942