John Taibi 238 pages hardcover
The earliest explorers and settlers in central New York first used ancient Indian trails to enter the region. Over time, primitive dirt roads, plank roads, and turnpikes in combination with the navigable portions of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries greatly aided expansion into the lands southwest of Albany. Eventually, the broad gauge Albany & Susquehanna Railroad - a predecessor of the powerful, renowned Delaware & Hudson Railroad - formed what would be regarded as the ultimate link in the transportation system that connected Albany with Binghamton. Besides accelerating community growth, the railroad spurred the development and facilitated the growth of local industry-limestone and cement, dairy and agriculture, and the manufacturing of tools, wagons, wood products, and machinery. In his inimitable style, Mr. Taibi engages the reader on a point-to-point tour, weaving an entertaining story around how these three phases of passage - the Roads, Rivers, and Rails - created lifelines for the interior towns. This book contains more than 500 color, sepia, and black & white illustrations - from vintage stereoviews of A&S/D&H operations to 2011 color photographs of current owner Canadian Pacific Rail with Norfolk Southern operations via trackage rights. Early D&H steam and the most modern diesels - AC4400CW, SD60, SD90, ES44AC, C40-9W, and ES40DC - are shown at various locations. Union Pacific run-through power is also included. Among those places visited in this first installment of Roads, Rivers, and Rails, are Voorheesville, Altamont, Delanson, Cobleskill, Richmondville, Worcester, Schenevus, and Oneonta.
