The Crown Jewel of Oneonta

Summary:
By the end of August 1865, The Albany and Susquehanna (A&S) Railroad had expanded west to Oneonta, which ushered a new era of travel of persons between towns as well as the expedited process of importing and exported raw and finished goods between towns, and eventually between cities. Oneonta was very soon experiencing a boom in industrialization.
In 1869, the entire line between Binghamton and Albany had been constructed to transport goods and passengers (via Oneonta); the line was turned over to the Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal Co. in 1870 after an attempted coup by a rival railroad. (The Canal Co. name would be revised to just D&H Co. by the early 1890s).
The Delaware and Hudson's history in Oneonta continued to last around 120 years after they procured the line. They used Oneonta as a center-point between Binghamton and Albany, but also further as they ran into Pennsylvania, and up north running into Montreal, Canada.

Oneonta's rail yard saw numerous workshop buildings being constructed, along with another roundhouse to compliment the A&S built roundhouse. The freight car and locomotive facilities built and repaired numerous pieces of equipment for the D&H's growing fleet. The D&H continued to operate the railroad primarily moving coal between Pennsylvania and New York, until that industry was no longer viable. In the 1940s after WWII, the D&H became a "bridge line" moving freight between New England/the North East US and Canada, namely Quebec.

After WWII, advancements in technology meant the D&H adopted diesel traction, especially with their already close connections to ALCO in Schenectady. By 1953, all of the steam locomotives had been withdrawn and or scrapped, rendering the famous 1906 roundhouse redundant. They partially demolished the roundhouse towards the end of 1954. By the end of January 1963, the final passenger commuter service to run through Oneonta ceased operations due to lack of ridership.

The Delaware and Hudson navigated rough waters throughout the 20th century, faced with weak mergers with other railroads and other factors that was hindering further growth. Oneonta yard's importance was slowly diminishing, and in 1980s with one final, terrible railroad merger, the D&H was declared bankrupt by 1988. The last of the repair shop jobs in Oneonta yard were lost by February 1996, signalling the end of an era.

As evidence, complete either of these following activities!
Activity:
If you know someone in Oneonta, chances are they know someone who worked for the Delaware and Hudson, whether it was themselves, a friend, or definitely a family member or two! Ask around and see if you know someone with that kind of connection and ask about it, and write a few sentences about what they told you or who they knew!
Activity:
There are a lot of railroad related structures and objects still around in Oneonta. Consider visiting the 1892 brick D&H Station building on Market Street (also known as the former Stella Luna), or perhaps the 'Little Red Caboose' sitting in Neahwa Park, and take a selfie or picture!