Listen to the Whistle: An Anecdotal History of the Wallkill Valley Railroad in Ulster and Orange Counties, New York

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carleton Mabee tells the story of a gallant little railroad (1868 – 1977) that connected Orange and Ulster counties and aspired to be part of a major trunk line reaching from New York City to Albany.  A human, more than technological, story, Listen to the Whistle tells not only of hissing steam engines but also of trainmen high in their cabs, farmers shipping milk and fruit, children riding to school, and the weary hearing train whistles as hints of adventure in distant places.  This heavily-illustrated volume is fascinating reading for lovers of railroad and local history.  The author brings his account through the conversion of the train route to today’s popular Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

Carleton Mabee’s sources include contemporary newspaper accounts and photographs; interviews with railroad workers, railroad fans and longtime local families; and diaries left him by former occupants of his old farmhouse home in Gardiner, New York, richly detailing their experiences on the Wallkill line.