Cairo

The Cairo Railroad represented the incursion by the young Catskill Mountain Railroad into the freight business when the branch was chartered on April 10, 1884. The directors of the CMRR saw the Cairo extension as a means of tapping business in bluestone, hay and fruit. While the line opened for business in June, 1885, sustaining business did not arrive until 1894 with the formation of the Catskill Shale Brick Company. The shale rock would come from a nearly-long branch south of Cairo and represent a major portion of the CMRR's freight revenue until the shale brick plant closed in 1914, the victim of declining business and early environmental complaints in downtown Catskill.

Mounting financial losses, brought about by improved roads, forced the termination of service on the Cairo Railroad following the end of the 1918 tourist season.