Big happenings at the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum

By Jennifer Patterson

With its biggest annual fundraiser just about a month away, the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum is gearing up for a special presentation next week.

Speaker Jill Witbeck Knapp, Ph.D., an author, researcher and public speaker, will give a free lecture, titled “The War for the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, in the Creamery Building at 143 Depot Lane in Schoharie.

“We’re lucky to host this presentation by Jill Knapp,” said Thom Fries, a walking encyclopedia of all-things railroad and director of the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum, which is part of the nonprofit Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association. ““We hope people take this opportunity to come and hear about this history, and how steam powered transportation changed everything.”

Knapp will talk about the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad, which was constructed and began operation from Albany to Schoharie Creek (Old Central Bridge) in 1863, then to Binghamton by 1869. She will give insights into the tumultuous head-to-head conflict when Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, working for the interests of the Erie Railroad, tried to take control of the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad. Joseph Ramsey of Cobleskill, then president of the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad, luckily prevailed, and the railroad prospered and later became a key rail link in the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company.

The lecture is being presented in anticipation of the annual Model Train Show and Sale, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum complex on Depot Lane.

The fundraiser benefits Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association and its mission to support and maintain two museums – the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum and the 1743 Palatine House Museum (the oldest house in Schoharie County). Both are open from noon to 4 p.m. on weekends from Memorial Day through early October. Other showings can be made by appointment.

In 1974, the nonprofit association transported the last remaining vehicle of the Middleburgh and Schoharie Railroad to Depot Lane in Schoharie from the Middleburgh flats, where it had been since 1936. The restored 1891 passenger car is on display for visitors, along with a restored 1917 wooden caboose donated by the Bridgeline Historical Society.

In addition, a period boxcar and a flatbed car also are on display at the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum, which includes a 1920 scale model of buildings, cars and terrain of the area served by the Middleburgh and Schoharie Railroad.

For information about the lecture, or the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum, contact Fries at 518-569-3395, or go to https://www.schoharieheritage.org.