Freight Subdivision

The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway was incorporated in 1877 to build a new railway line linking western New York with Boston, Massachusetts, via the Hoosac Tunnel. The western terminus of the new line, which opened in 1879, was Mechanicville, New York.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1997|p=169}}{{sfnp|Karr|2017|p=202}} The Delaware and Hudson Railway had two lines in the vicinity: the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, which ran northwest from Albany to Ballston Spa via Mechanicville; and the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad, which ran north between Schenectady and Saratoga Springs via Ballston Spa.

To link these lines and eliminate running via Ballston Spa, the D&H constructed a {{convert|9|mi|adj=on}} line between "Coons", west of Mechanicville, and East Glenville, New York. The line opened in December 1881.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1997|p=169}}{{cite news |title=Untitled |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rutland-daily-herald-schenectady-and-mec/124643957/ |newspaper=Rutland Daily Herald |date=1881-11-29 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=May 16, 2023}} In 1884, the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway built further west to Rotterdam Junction.{{efn|There is some confusion over the date of the Rotterdam extension. Karr suggests that the entire Rotterdam–Massachusetts line opened in January 1879. The ICC valuation report for the Boston and Maine misprints "1855."{{sfnp|Karr|2017|p=202}}{{sfnp|ICC|1931|p=910}}{{cite news |title=The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript-the-boston-ho/124646612/ |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=1883-12-27 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=May 16, 2023}}}} This line ran parallel to the D&H line between Mechanicville and "Crescent", {{convert|9|mi}} to the west, and the two lines were operated together as a single unit.{{cite book | title=Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York | location=United States | publisher=Weed, Parsons and Company | date=1905 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fcnAQAAMAAJ | page=376}}

In 1964 the D&H built a {{convert|1.1|mi|adj=on}} connection northwest from the line to the former Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad line and abandoned the former Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad between Mechanicville and Ballston Spa. The D&H's remaining passenger trains, including the Laurentian, were re-routed over the freight bypass.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1997|p=364}}

{{As of|2023}} Canadian Pacific Kansas City, successor to the D&H, includes in the "Freight Subdivision" the entirety of the 1881 freight bypass, the former Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad from East Glenville to Schenectady, and the former Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad between Coons and Mechanicville. Amtrak's Adirondack uses the western end of the line.{{sfn|Roberts|Stremes|2023|p=14-119}}

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• {{cite book | author=Interstate Commerce Commission | title=Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. | location=United States | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | date=1931 | volume=30 | ref={{harvid|ICC|1931}} | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GO1DAAAAIAAJ}}
• {{Cite book |last=Karr |first=Ronald Dale |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-942147-12-4 |edition=2nd |location=Pepperell, Massachusetts}}
• {{cite book | editor-last1=Roberts | editor-first1=Earl | editor-last2=Stremes | editor-first2=David | title=Canadian Trackside Guide | date=2023 | publisher=Bytown Railroad Society | location=Ottawa, Ontario | issn=0829-3023}}
• {{Shaughnessy-DH}}

Category:Railway lines opened in 1881

Category:Rail infrastructure in New York (state)