HOWES CAVE, N.Y. – Railroad historian and author, John Taibi.  will give a special guest lecture, “Along the Cobles Kill and D&H Heritage Trail,” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, at The Cave House Museum of Mining & Geology, 139 Blowing Rock Road. The public is invited to this free event.

Mr. Taibi will give an overview of the railroad corridor between Albany, Schenectady and Binghamton. The special focus be will on the Central Bridge to Richmondville-Summit section where the Cobles Kill rises, falls and then deposits its water into the Schoharie Creek. 

Mr. Taibi, curator of the Franklin Museum & Community Museum in Ithaca, is publishing his 10th book this fall, The Delaware & Hudson’s Susquehanna Division Heritage Trail. He also has authored 110 short stories on a variety of New York State railroading subjects.

“The railroad was critically important to the early days of Howe Caverns,” said local historian and author Robert Holt, who also serves as board vice president of The Cave House Museum and general manager of Howe Caverns. 

“The station was located in Howe’s Cave and was an easy walk to what is now the Museum. Back then, the building was the Cave House Hotel, built by the cave’s discoverer Lester Howe, Mr. Holt said.

“Because of the railroad, the cave grew to become the second-most visited tourist attraction after Niagara Falls -- a status it still enjoys today,” Mr. Holt noted.

The Cave House Museum of Mining & Geology, now in its 4th season, is an educational institution with goals to create and to promote a positive understanding of the past, present and future of the natural resources industry.