The Otis Elevating Railway (1892-1918) For the first 64 years of its existence, the Catskill Mountain House was accessible only by a long stage coach from Catskill Landing on the Hudson. Faced with increased competition from the Kaaterskill Hotel, served by the Kaaterskill Railway, in 1892 Charles Beach hired the Otis Elevator Company to build a cable funicular railroad straight up the Wall Of The Manitou. The line was 7,000' long with a rise of 1,630', a maximum grade of 34%, and an average grade of 12%. Click here for an explanation how the railway worked.In 1904 the line was shortened and the lower trestle was eliminated. The Otis Junction station (pictured left after the 1904 reconstruction) connected the Otis to the Catskill Mountain Railway, a 15 mile railroad between Catskill Landing and Palenville. At the Otis Summit station at the top, it connected to the Catskill & Tannersville Railroad, that ran the 5.2 miles to Tannersville.  In 1918, all three railroads were closed and sold for scrap. For more details on the Otis, read the article from the Oct. 5, 1895 issue of Scientific American

	The final trestle, just below the Mountain House.
	Postcard showing one of the enclosed cars with its open baggage car behind.
	Otis Junction, showing the 1904 reconstruction, when the lower trestle was removed, and the line shortened.
	Closeup of Otis railway tracks, with an explanation of how the trains moved up and down the steep slope.
	The view from the Otis Summit station
	Postcard showing Otis Summit Railway Station and Power House.
	The view down the tracks, with the Hudson and Taconics in the distance.
	On the way up... or is it down?
	Postcard showing the steamship landing at Catskill on the Hudson River, and the rail lines to the Otis and the Mountain House.
	1897 wide angle panorama photo of the railway ascending South Mountain. From Library Of Congress
	Pre 1904 Quadrangle map of the Otis Railway, the Mountain House, and the Hotel Kaaterskill.
	Digital Orthophotograph of the Otis Summit and the Mountain House area today. From New York State GIS Clearinghouse
	Digital Orthophotograph of the Otis Junction area today. From New York State GIS Clearinghouse
Other Otis Railway Websites Excellent web page on the Ulster & Delaware and all the railroads of the Catskills. Their Otis Railway page includes several articles from Engineering News in 1892 on the construction of the Otis, as well as more pictures and maps.
The Catskill Archive website and all contents, unless otherwise specified, are ©2001 Timothy J. Mallery.

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