Wallkill Valley Railroad Co. - 1886 or 1877 dated Fully Issued Railway Stock Certificate

Stock printed by Henry Seibert & Bros. Scarce! Only 84 found issued. Fully Issued.

The Wallkill Valley Railroad, a defunct railroad that once operated in Ulster and Orange counties in upstate New York, had a corridor that stretched from Kingston in the north to Montgomery in the south. A leased extension extended to Campbell Hall. The railroad crossed both the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek. Founded in 1866, it ceased regular service in 1977. Throughout its history, the Wallkill Valley Railroad was owned by various companies, including the West Shore and New York Central railroads, as well as Conrail. After its closure, portions of the rail bed were acquired by municipalities along the corridor and transformed into rail trails.

The Wallkill Valley Railway, established in 1866, was constructed to align with the Erie Railroad’s six-foot gauge, facilitating the transportation of goods between railroads. For the next ten years after its construction, the railroad was operated by the Erie. In 1870, it arrived in New Paltz and bridged Rondout Creek and the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1872. That year, steamboat Captain Thomas Cornell became the railroad’s president, though some believed he acquired it solely for his own benefit. Despite completing the construction to Kingston, he left his position shortly thereafter. Newspaper articles suggested a financial scandal, leading to the bankruptcy of the Wallkill Valley Railroad.