This cache was issued a state park permit #BM-4, by the Bear
Mountain Park office.
Parking is available close to intersection of Rt.9W/202 and
Jones Point Road at the hiker's parking lot at N 41° 16.863 W 73°
57.770. From the parking lot, take either the footpath, or walk
south down the road to the trailhead. Either point of entry will
take you to the double-blazed Ramapo Dunderberg Trail (white with a
red dot) and the Timp-Torne Trail (blue). The beginning of the
trail is somewhat overgrown and there are thorn bushes, so long
pants are recommended. Very shortly, the trail begins to climb. You
will pass by one of the tunnels constructed as part of the
Dunderberg Railway Project. When the red dot and blue trails split,
follow the blue blazes up to the left. The cache is located a short
distance from the trail near a scenic Hudson River vista. If you
continue along the blue trail past the cache, you will find another
Railway tunnel.
Following the Red dot trail will lead up an inclined grade
constructed for the Railway, and will lead to another scenic vista,
and another of my caches In memory of BigBill6, placed in memory of
BigBill6, a local cacher who passed away on
6-10-06.
Dunderberg Railway: Because of the steep and rocky terrain, the
mountain escaped development up until the spiral railway project.
There were some iron mines up in the hills back of Dunderberg
during the colonial period, and some logging was done, but it was
still a scenic woodland in 1889 when it was discovered by Henry J
Mumford. Mumford and his brother operated a similar scenic railway
in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, with two inclined planes and coasting
runs, which had been converted from a mining railroad. The "Switch
Back" railroad was a popular tourist attraction in the second half
of the century, and Mumford believed that a similar attraction
closer to the eastern cities would be even more popular. Dunderberg
was ideal because not only was it near New York but a trip could be
combined with an excursion ride on the Hudson River steamboats.
It's not known exactly what happened to the Dunderberg Spiral
Railway. Construction began at multiple locations in the spring of
1890, and about a million dollars was expended on labor and
materials for about a year. The amount of work that was
accomplished in that time, with nothing but hand tools and muscles,
is a marvel to see. Probably the investors' money ran out, and all
was lost. No further work was done. The clearing around the
inclined planes was still visible from a distance twenty years
later, but by now, a hundred years on, trees grow on the grade and
small streams have washed through. Still, as Park official Gordon J
Thompson reported in 1978, "with noted exceptions, the grade is in
excellent condition and could be envied by the county's operating
railroads".