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Albany and Binghamton were both moderately large cities at mid-century, and one might have imagined that a fair passenger business might be generated between the two New York State cities. There was only one city of any size between the two, Oneonta, and a group of rather smaller communities such as Cobleskill, Worcester, Schenevus, and Unadilla. New York Route 7 paralleled the route much of the way, and it was a slow, two-lane highway that went through every town, and up and down a number of sizeable hills. But the leisurely pace of the D&H's trains down the valley of the Susquehanna provided little competitive advantage over the slow Route 7. The D&H never treated the route as a passenger market comparable to the New York/Albany/Montreal north/south main line, and by 1960 it was in terminal decline. Charles Ballard recorded northbound #205 pulling into the station at Worcester, New York behind RS-3 4036 for its mid-morning stop on July 26, 1958. Quite clearly, mail and express accounted for most of the revenues on this run, with a single car sufficient for the few passengers who patronized the little train. (Charles Ballard)

Photograph from Delaware & Hudson Vol. 3: D&H in the Diesel Years by Jeffery Plant and Jeremy Plant..

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