Description
The period of 1890-1950 marked the romantic era of steam power as the rails reached deep into the old growth of the Adirondack woods to harvest the timber crop.
In this volume, not only does William Gove provide an in-depth history of railroad activity in the Adirondacks he also describes the logging methods used, the role of railroads in the logging industry, and the influence of the railroads on the condition of the Adirondack forest today. In addition, he addresses the political and economic forces determining the location and viability of logging railroads, villages, and the forest industry.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One: Railroads in the Woods
1. Steam Enters the Timber
2. Early Rails in the Adirondacks
3. Gandy Dancers and Light Rail: The Construction of Logging Railroads
4. Logging Locomotives and Rolling Stock
5. Rails Through the Timber: Operations and Mishaps
6. Company Villages and Common Carriers
7. Logging the Old-Growth Timber
8. Forest Fires and the Railroads
Part Two: Individual Logging Railroads
Section One: Logging Railroads That Connected with the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, Adirondack Division
9. Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railroad, 1890–1982; Mohawk and Malone Railroad, 1892–1893; New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, Adirondack Division, 1893–1972
10. Moose River Lumber Company Railroad
11. John A. Dix Railroad Logging Operation and the Raquette Lake Railway
12. Woods Lake Railroad
13. Mac-A-Mac Railroad
14. Whitney Industries Railroad
15. Partlow Lake Railroad
16. Horse Shoe Forestry Company Railroad
17. The Emporium Forestry Company and the Grasse River Railroad
18. Paul Smith’s Electric Railway
19. Kinsley Lumber Company Railroad
Section Two: Logging Railroads That Connected with the Northern Adirondack Railroad
20. Northern Adirondack Railroad
21. St. Regis Falls and Everton Railroad
22. Watson Page Lumber Company Railroad
23. Brooklyn Cooperage Company Railroad
24. Bay Pond Railroad
25. Oval Wood Dish Corporation Railroad
26. Sisson-White Company Railroad
Section Three: Logging Railroads That Connected with the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, Carthage and Adirondack Branch
27. Mecca Lumber Company Railroad
28. Newton Falls Paper Company Railroad
29. Post and Henderson Logging Railroad
30. Newton Falls and Northern Railroad
31. Rich Lumber Company Railroad and Cranberry Lake Railroad
32. Jerseyfield Lumber Company Railroad
Epilogue: The Slow Bell
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
William Gove is a retired forester with a keen interest in railroading and the history of the lumber industry. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Granite Railroads of Vermont, Sky Route to the Quarries, Log Drives on the Connecticut River, J.E. Henry's Logging Railroads, and Logging Railroads of the Saco River Valley. He has contributed many articles to Northern Logger, Vermont Life, and Timber Times.
8.5 x 11, 272 pages, 294 black and white illustrations, 39 maps
January 2006