Delaware & Ulster Railroad — Attraction in Town of Middletown

I reached out to Wes C, the director of the DURR in mid October 2020, I was planning to propose to my girlfriend and I thought it would be cool to charter an old dining car and have a picnic we sat and watched the Autumn landscape go by. I wasnt sure if this was even possible as the DURR is listed as closed due to COVID. After a few emails with Wes, It became clear that not only was it possible to rent out a railcar and the train but it was surprisingly affordable! I was over the moon! Wes was very clear in his communication and almost more enthusiastic about my upcoming proposal than I was.

Wes contacted the volunteers with whom he works, to schedule a day to open the station and move around the trains, clear the tracks, etc. and generally prepare for our scheduled visit . In the meantime I went ahead and purchased the ring and some snacks and a cooler and my girlfriend and I drove upstate to Arkville.

When the moment to set foot in the station arrived, i was more pleased than I had anticipated- The staff were warm and considerate, they had placed sanitizer stations strategically throughout, they followed all protocols and they were so friendly you could see their smiles even through their masks.

Wes gave us a brief rundown of what to expect, where the bathrooms in the station are, where we were headed, what time we would come back, what we would see along the way and some information about the train itself and then we sat down and unpacked our picnic in the rear of our very own, historically preserved dining car!

The ride was smooth, we had great fall weather and as we chugged along through the town of Arkville people on the street were waving to us. It was really cool because it felt like we were celebrities or something, having the whole car to ourselves!

I know Im kind of going on and on here, the point is, we had a fantastic and memorable experience, the engagement went well and now my girlfriend is my fiancee. The experience that the volunteers at the Arkville train station/ Deleware Ulster Railroad crafted for us will remain fondly in our memory for the rest of our lives.

I am so grateful to them and to Wes C for going out of his way to help me make this happen. When this Covid stuff passes, my Fiancee and I cant wait to go upstate again and jump on one of the DURRs famous Murder Mystery Train rides!

Huge thank you to Wes C and all who volunteered to come in on a Saturday to make our engagement possible! The people at DURR are one of a kind! Gems! If you are on the fence about checking out the DURR dont be! They are...

I debated on my stars for this railroad. We've been on various kinds of rails, tourist, commuter, cross-country, and international, so I think our expectations were a little higher than they should have been.

We were expecting higher speeds, a longer route, and views of the valley area or better views of the mountains.

HOWEVER, I think this is a GREAT little railroad ride for families, people with dogs, young and old alike. It was a very sweet and enjoyable ride. My party just wanted a bit more out of it. We were in the open-air car.

We got there early to get on the train, the line and clump of people is long and large, but once everyone got on the train there was plenty of room for people. They start to board about 5-10 minutes before departure. We were spread out in the open-air car; we did not go inside the dining and "first class" cars because of our pets and tickets.

We bought tickets online the day of driving to it about 2 hours before departure. I do believe you can walk up and buy tickets as long as there is availability.

Staff was friendly, and the conductors run the gift shop/learning center inside.

Accessibility note: yes, there is a ramp to the shop and train. I did not measure but I believe ADA compliant. There is also a ramp from the open-air cars to the dining and first class cars, but it did not seem to be 36 inches wide, however, I did not measure. (Now I want to start bringing a...

Train to Roxbury: Mostly great experience. A blast for a train loving 3 y.old son. Yes, there's diesel smoke; don't take it on a very hot, windless day and you'll be fine. My main issue is with the rush at Roxbury: Why allow only a few minutes there, while the locomotive switches sides?? There's not enough time to spend at the depot museum alone, not to mention also seeing the locomotive hook up. Give half an hour, let people wonder a few blocks to Roxbury main street! Sell more snacks and souvenirs at the museum to make money. Let people stretch their legs. Many reviews commented on "filthy" train cars; they're not perfectly restored (only some windows still open, for example), but they were sufficiently clean and comfy. Open cars more than make up for it (watch out for slippery decks after the rain). Careful with finger pinch points on the moving ramps between the cars; my little one got his finger pinched there. The route is surprisingly scenic, especially with swollen rivers and ponds after prolonged rains - forest, water, wetlands, distant hills; road crossings, farm cows and wild herons. We also had a great time walking along the tracks in Arkville exploring the old rusting locomotives and carriages after...