Re: Fulton Chain RR ("Peg Leg" ) in New York State

philip.marshall Wrote:
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> Thanks, Stewart. I have to admit I have no idea
> about the ruling grade, since really don't know
> anything about the physical characteristics of the
> railroad, but I'd love to try to locate it
> someday. The Adirondacks are a beautiful region,
> and there's a lot of railroad history there,
> particularly in the form of weird insular
> operations like the Fulton Chain RR and the Marion
> River Carry RR (built by W. W. Durant, the son of
> Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific RR) , as well
> as the narrow gauge Crown Point Iron Co. RR.
> Michael Kudish's map-heavy book on Adirondack
> railroads, "Where Did the Tracks Go" (which I
> highly recommend!) shows the location of the
> Fulton Chain RR ROW going west from Minnehaha, so
> it's just a matter of going up there and finding
> it.

Thanks for the recommendation Philip,

Having the book and doing some exploring sounds like a good way to spend a day or two in the Adirondacks. The other question about the FCRR is how switches were built. They were probably stub since a wooden switch point could splinter under the drivers of a locomotive, although with stub turnouts end batter (or shatter) would be a problem.

The Fulton Chair was an interesting operation, I wish there were more photos of it.