Hi Rod,

What a remarkable film! I had no idea this existed. You are correct that it shows the 3' gauge Catskill Mountain Railway and Otis Elevating Railway incline. The Catskill Mountain footage appears to begin soon after leaving the terminus at Catskill Landing and then takes us through the narrow gorge of Catskill Creek called Austin's Glen, showing 2 of the 3 bridges over the creek. The camera appears to have been mounted on a flatcar coupled behind the coach. Overall, it reminds me of a northern version of the Tweetsie.

The Otis Elevating Railway is perhaps even more remarkable. At the passing track in the middle of the incline I was surprised to see the two cars pass each other on the left (I had assumed it would be to the right), and after reaching the top at Otis Summit I would love to have seen a little bit of either the Corliss winding engines and the connecting Catskill & Tannersville Railway (though we do get a glimpse of the switch at the summit), but what we're given in still amazing.

There is no indication of who made the film, but given the 1906 date I expect it may have come from Edison Studios, which was based in New York.

-Philip Marshall



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2016 10:11PM by philip.marshall.