For The Millerton NewsHarlem Valley rail documentary resurfaces after more than 40 years
His dedication even left him with battle scars. He strapped his camera to a hand car, “the kind Buster Keaton used,” he noted, and pumped it by hand from Copake to Sharon to capture a moving shot. “By the time I got back, I had blisters all over my hands.” He said with a grin, “But I got the shot.”
MILLERTON – While the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association continues to pave the way for preserving the region’s historic railroad corridor, Board Chair and longtime local business owner Dick Hermans was reminded recently of how much the region has changed since its railroad days.
That reminder came in the form of a resurfaced documentary film that had been tucked away in an attic in Dover Plains for more than 40 years. The film’s subject was the Harlem Valley Transportation Association – a grassroots group that fought to retain passenger and freight rail service between New York City and Chatham, New York in the 1960s and 1970s. Hermans recalls being an early member after founder Lettie Gay Carson “handed over the organization’s checkbook” before retiring.