Thursday Podcast "60 Seconds"
Riding on top of the caboose
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, Daily Gazette, 09-01-2007
A 1950 railfan excursion in the Mohawk Valley was enjoyed by all, even though some of the goings on would be frowned upon and perhaps grounds for legal action today.
“Litigation didn’t seem to be on anyone’s mind,” wrote Edward Theisinger, who was among those who took the October, 1950 excursion trip on the Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Railroad (F.J. & G.). Theisinger’s article about the adventure appeared in the summer 2004 edition of the magazine “Classic Trains.”
The excursion—including train transportation to Fonda from New York City—cost $5 per person. The highlight was riding the F.J. & G. from Fonda to Johnstown, Gloversville, and Broadalbin and back on board two cabooses, two combines and a gondola powered by an Alco S-2 diesel engine. By then, the local railroad was freight only.
“We rode the length of the line up to Broadalbin, where a photo stop gave us an opportunity not only to take pictures but also literally crawl all over the equipment—and ride that way on the return trip,” Theisinger wrote. Pictures from his article show railfans—some of the men wearing sport coats and fedoras--on top of the cabooses.
The railfans, according to Theisinger, even engaged in creative trespassing in an effort to view steam locomotives during the trip’s lunch break in Gloversville.
The attendees wondered where the F.J.& G. was storing its steam locomotives, as the line recently had switched to diesel power. One participant found the building containing the steam engines.
The young son of one of the fans squeezed under the big engine doors and with help from adults outside, figured out how to open a door to the structure.
Three Alco-made steam engines were found inside. Theisinger said, “It was very dark in the engine house, but I took a photo anyway, just for the record to show we had finally found the steam engines.”
Amsterdam history fan Emil Suda provided a copy of Theisinger’s article on the F.J. & G. trip. Suda recently revived his interest in the local railroad by attending a program at the Fulton County Historical Society.
Founded in 1867, the F.J. & G. at one time operated passenger electric trolley service in addition to its traditional railroad line. Starting in 1903, you could take a trolley from Johnstown or Gloversville to Amsterdam and Hagaman, even Schenectady. Trolley service ended in 1938, replaced by buses. The railroad itself stopped operating in 1984 and parts of the roadbed in Fulton County have been converted to a rail trail for bicyclists and pedestrians.
THE NOSES
Lloyd Smith, radio veteran and Amsterdam resident, was glad to see a recent column on historian Nelson Greene.
Editor of the Fort Plain Standard newspaper, Greene wrote a four-volume history, “The Mohawk Valley – Gateway to the West, 1614-1925.”
“His style of writing and research have given all who read this work a better appreciation of our part of the country,” Smith wrote. “For example, did you know Big Nose and Little Nose at Yosts were connected and some time after the ice age, an earthquake separated them and the Mohawk River started flowing from Woods Creek near Utica into the Hudson?”
Little Nose on the south and Big Nose on the north of the Mohawk River are highland landmarks in the Mohawk Valley just east of Canajoharie and west of Fonda. The landmarks are clearly visible from the Thruway, state highways 5 and 5 S, the railroad line and from the river.
Late historian Paul Keesler wrote, “For some 9,000 years, the Noses have overlooked the travels of the valley's earliest inhabitants--invading war parties, armies, settlers and a nation moving west.”
Mohawk Valley Weather, Thursday, January 9, 2020
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 24. Wind chill values as low as -5. West wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon.
Tonigh tMostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph.
Friday A chance of freezing rain and sleet before 10am, then a chance of freezing rain between 10am and 11am, then rain likely after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Little or no sleet accumulation expected.
Leader Herald Briana O'Hara
Caroga
https://www.leaderherald.com/news/local-news/2020/01/shermans-property-given-to-cac/
Plans to turn the former Sherman’s Amusement Park into a popular destination once again will soon become a reality as the Caroga Arts Collective are now the owners of the property.
Tomorrow
#300
Friday, January 10, 2020-Episode 300-Montgomery County historian Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar discusses a historical audio tour along the Erie Canal Bikeway in that county. Bob Cudmore reads three vignettes—Fort Klock, the Noses and the Putman Canal Store. How about that--300 episodes of The Historians Podcast. Kelly Farquhar was also the guest on Episode 1.
Saturday, January 11, 2020-Today’s Focus on History column in the Daily Gazette tells the story of Maldutis Bakery in Amsterdam, bakers of light rye and pumpernickel bread.
Bob Cudmore’s guest this weekend on Magic 590’s Talk of the town is the new conductor of the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra---Glen Cortese. Listen Sunday January 12, 2020 on Magic 590 plus 100.5 and, in the North Country, on 96.9 and 1410.
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