There’s that old saying, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

How true it was back in August 1977 around Oneonta, when there were hopes for an incredible rebound for an otherwise declining D&H railroad, which had been on a steady slide in employment since the early 1950s.

The front-page headline in the Friday, Aug. 5, Daily Star read, "D&H rebirth in Oneonta is planned."

"A considerable increase in employment by the Delaware and Hudson in Oneonta appears in the offing with the unveiling Thursday of plans by the D&H management to restore the local yards and shops to their former status as a major switching and car repair center," the article began.

An outline of the plans was passed along to city officials when the D&H senior vice president in charge of operations, William J. Ruby, and the line’s general superintendent, Howard Hontz Jr., held a midday meeting with Mayor James Lettis and the city’s D&H liaison specialist, Parks-Streets Supervisor James Catella.

Specifics were lacking on the plans, but they included upgrades of all tracks in the Oneonta yard to make it a "production" yard. Catella said this would restore Oneonta to the status it held years ago when it was one of the largest switching and marshaling points east of Chicago.

Another item on the agenda was the plan to upgrade the car shops and make Oneonta "the car repair center for the D&H." As for the employment potential, Ruby again wasn’t specific but said that with these upgrades and improvements, it appeared certain there would be a sizeable increase in the number of jobs.

Back in the early 20th century, nearly 39 percent of Oneonta’s population was employed by the D&H.

By October, Ruby had returned to Oneonta, and at a news conference with Lettis said that as much as $10-15 million worth of construction, repairs and renovations may be in the future if the D&H was successful in getting a multi-million-dollar loan from the Federal Railway Agency.

Ruby said the actual construction could be as far as two years away, although some yard improvements had been made in anticipation of more rail traffic. Some furloughed employees had been called back. Ruby said an additional 100 people could be employed as a result of the upgrades. That would bring total employment to about 500. This was still a fraction of the numbers employed in the early 20th century.

This optimism was short-lived, however.

In November 1977, D&H officials were preparing to meet with federal officials to discuss the future of the railroad. An announcement had been made by the feds that the financially troubled railroad was asked to consider merging with more-successful carriers to bail itself out of a deep financial hole. In 1977 alone, the D&H was expected to lose nearly $7 million.

At that time, the D&H was a subsidiary of the Norfolk and Western Railway, which had refused to invest money in the D&H.

While there was still employment in the Oneonta yards for several more years, this rejuvenation of the tracks and shops never occurred. The D&H was eventually taken over by Guilford Transportation and in 1990 by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The D&H car shop closed its doors for good Friday, March 16, 1996.

This weekend: The Otsego County Chamber turns 100.

City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.