New Paltz Historical Society - Rails to the Catskills

The New Paltz Historical Society

Invites you to a screening of the film

“RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS”

Presented by award-winning filmmaker Tobe Carey

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

7:00 pm

New Paltz Community Center

Steam locomotive #39, Ulster and Delaware Railroad

"Romance of the Rails..." - Woodstock Times

"...an engrossing viewing experience." - Chronogram

"...engagingly told. Highly recommended." - Video Librarian

RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS, by filmmaker Tobe Carey, is a history of the dynamic railroad industry in the Catskills of New York State. Catskill railroads have roots in the canals of the 1820's and the post-Civil War railroad boom. This film explores railroading in the Northern and Southern Catskill Mountains of New York State, beginning with the era before railroads, when the Delaware & Hudson Canal reigned. Improvements in rail transportation led to the rapid growth of passenger and freight service throughout the Catskills, and introduced no fewer than seven individual railroad companies to the Mountains. Among those lines covered in the film are the Canajoharie & Catskill Railroad, the New York, Ontario & Western Railway, the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, the Catskill Mountain Railway and the Otis Elevating Railway, the Wallkill Valley Railroad, the West Shore Railroad, the Delaware & Ulster Railroad, and the Catskill Mountain Railroad.

Crowds at the Phoenicia station

RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS looks at people's love of trains, but also examines some contemporary issues surrounding the abandonment of rail lines, including the conflicts faced by railroad enthusiasts, who want to preserve the tracks for commercial and tourists railroads, and local governments, faced with financial burden over owning and maintaining the lines who want to reuse the rail beds for other purposes, such as rail trails. We witnessed this dilemma right here in Ulster County.

A "Mother Hubbard," or center-cab steam locomotive from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway

RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS uses original footage, contemporary and vintage photographs, postcards, rare films, railfan-movies, newspapers and historic archives. Music is by Dick Staber and Paul Lounsbury. The film includes historians Eugene Dauner, Dale Flansburg, Robert Haines, John M. Ham, William Helmer, Evan Jennings, and Bob Mohowski.

For a preview, you can watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/railstothecatskills/199446632

Hudson River Steamship Robert Fulton meeting the train at Kingston Point

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Tobe Carey is an independent film producer, director and photographer whose documentaries and art projects have been seen in film festivals and on cable and broadcast television and are available for streaming on Vimeo-on-Demand. Carey is an award-winning filmmaker with more than 50 years’ experience. His Catskill Mountains/Hudson Valley documentaries include: Luis Moses Gomez and His Mill House; The First Artist in America; Rails to the Catskills; The Catskill Mountain House and The World Around; Sweet Violets; Stanley's House; Woodstock Summer of '94; and Deep Water (with Robbie Dupree and the late Artie Traum).

Carey's projects also include a 20-year collaboration with performance artist Linda Mary Montano, films such as Poetry of a Watershed Stream, Waste, Fraud and Abuse and Paper or Plastic, available online.

He is president of Willow Mixed Media, a not-for-profit arts organization working on issues of social concern, such as Sing For the Silenced with musician Marc Black and All Politics is Local, documenting two years of political events in Woodstock and Kingston. His latest project, the documentary film The Esopus: Slide Mountain to the Hudson, is now in production.

For additional information about Tobe Carey and his films. contact: video@hvc.rr.com , or online at http://documentaryworld.com/

A selection of Tobe's films, including the following five titles are usually available at his shows: The Catskill Mountain House and The World Around; Rails to the Catskills; Deep Water: Building the Catskill Water System; Sweet Violets; and The First Artist in America: The Life and Times of John Vanderlyn - Artist. The show pricing is $20 each, 3 for $50, 4 for $60, tax included. Tobe graciously donates a portion of each sale to the New Paltz Historical Society, so consider helping us to continue bringing you quality programs such as this by purchasing one or more of Tobe's films.

Join us on

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

for

RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS

7:00 pm

New Paltz Community Center

3 Veterans Drive,

New Paltz, NY

Refreshments will be served.

This event is free and open to the public.

Become a member of the New Paltz historical Society!

It only costs $10 per calendar year (less than $1 per program), and helps supports our monthly programs.