All aboard, historians and railroad buffs

GUILFORD – ... As well as those with a general interest in railroad history. On Feb. 13 at noon, the Guilford Historical Society presents The O&W New Berlin Junction with special guest speaker John Taibi. The social will be held at the Guilford Methodist Church and Taibi will make the presentation at 1 p.m.

One can still hear the rumbling and the wooo-wooo of the whistle as the train crosses the trestle over Guilford Creek. The engine then slowing and pulling into the New Berlin Junction Depot at East Guilford. We have our tickets and are ready to board to hit the rails for Mt. Upton. Join the Guilford Historical Society and you will be taken back to that time period when railroading was at it’s peak.

Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society member and trustee, John Taibi will be displaying photographs utilizing a power point presentation and discussing the operations of the O&W in the Town of Guilford. Until March 29, 1957, the O&W operated through the town from East Guilford (New Berlin Junction) through Guilford Center (Parkers) and Guilford on its route to Summit which is the divide between the Chenango and Unadilla valley watersheds. Until 1940, the O&W also operated a branch line from East Guilford to New Berlin and Edmeston that ran through the Town of Guilford communities of Rockdale, Mt. Upton, and Rockwells Mills. This section of the railroad was sold to the Unadilla Valley Railway. They operated the line until approximately 1960. This is the topic of this year’s presentation.