Walking Directions: At the intersection of Franklin and Grand you will see original Train Depot building on the north side of Grand. You can cross the street to take a look and read the historical plaque. The tour will continue by returning to the SE corner and following the sidewalk around the front of the West Side Grill.
Introduction to Stop 10
The Story
The ADK Railroad Depot was built in 1888 and still stands at 117 Grand Street. The tracks for the D&H Line went directly from the freight station at Railroad Run to the main train station at the end Franklin Street in town. The houses along this road were home to the Irish workers. Many of the larger homes were boarding houses for the workers on the west side. The men worked on the railroad in a variety of jobs: crossing guard, watchman, railroad firemen, roundhouse worker, laborer, track maintenance, foreman, train engineer, steam firemen, car cleaners, signal maintenance, track gauge and brakemen.
Railroad shanties were located at the crossings and manned 24 hours a day. A watchman raised or lowered the gate manually or, where there was no gate, used a hand held stop sign and red lantern to protect the public from oncoming trains. The shanties no longer exist as the railroad was rerouted to west side of West Avenue and trains no longer go through the city. A single remaining crossing shanty stands on Church Street in front of the Woodlawn Parking Lot as a memorial to the railroad workers of Saratoga. There is a historical plaque there with more information. The interior is arranged as it would have been in the early 20th century with a wood burning stove and the red lanterns.
Listen:
The audio clip below is the voice of Gene Corsale, a lifelong railroad worker. He was describing the crossing shanties that operated up until the 1950s.
Artwork
This is a sketch done for the larger painting taken from the black and white reference above.
West Side Heritage Tour 