There was a time when the trail people were actually about ‘corridor preservation,’ but it has long since passed. We need to wake up and realize that R-t-T and their affiliates are an insidious enemy of low-traffic and tourist railroads across the country. These people no longer want cooperation - they want to sieze and destroy. In fact, I would argue that they are the single greatest threat to shortline service in America today.
I don’t know what we can say here that hasn’t been said before, but I will say again the day may come when those tracks are going to be sorely missed, and who know how many millions will have to be spent putting them back?
I’ll make another prediction. It won’t be long before the hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers and snowmobilers start having a turf war over that trail. Count on it.
Does the removal of the rail preclude the possiblity of there ever being the resumption of rail service on that corridor? Who will own the corridor after the track is removed?
There’s no doubt. But all I see are the thousands - literally - of miles of trails in the Adirondack Mountains… and the one little railroad. And those thousands of miles of trails just weren’t enough for these people - the railroad had to die, too.
In a larger sense, this isn’t just about railroading - it’s about the sacrifice of unique history on the altar of the mob. Those rails are never coming back, and there’s a huge crowd of people who are elated by that news. And, frankly, I’m beginning to believe that they should be stripped of their say.
There was a hybrid plan, but the state/trail folks didn’t want that. The Adirondack Scenic was a lessee, and NY owned the right-of-way. The railroad won a court case about 3 years ago, but the trail people (being boundlessly wealthy NIMBYs) came back again, and this time they won. So the last 34 miles of the railroad (and undeniably the best 34 miles, since these were the parts that ran through the mountains) are being removed as we type.
So I assume that means that it is not “rail banked” with the State having the option to rebuild track and host a rail operator? Although even if that were the case, I doubt it would ever happen.
I’m watching primarily for exactly when certain people associated with ‘forever wild’ act to shut down further trail development on the 34 miles … that the state says it does not have development funding for. My bet is on the day the last load of track material is removed at state expense.
At least much of the ‘removed’ material will help in renewing the track on the preserved section.
As I understand the political shenanigans, the State redefined what a ‘transportation corridor’ is to include the prospective trail construction. No one seems to know if this is ‘legal enough’ to preserve the ROW once it is no longer used for a railroad. There are others here much better qualified to assess, and if necessary further research, this concern.
I would presume that, as a transportation corridor, it would be possible to re-lay track should the State decide to do so. I would not expect this to take place for a variety of reasons.
It couldn’t be railbanked because NYC abandoned it prior to the Olympics and prior to to the Rails to Trails Abandonment legislation was formed and passed into law before 1976-83.
There is no NITU or CITU on the property. The state owns the property under whatever color of title it has. (and I suspect they never even tried to look). Similar situation exists at Peoria and the direct opposite exists in Bucky’s backyard.
Tree has been over all of this so many times in the past.
Yep. And those who commented that the forever wild crowd will be all over this are likely oh, so right. Redefining the corridor definition to include trails kind of set the precedent for completely removing the definition, IMHO. And I have little doubt that this will be the next step.
The folks behind this simply want everyone out of their woods.
The snowmobilers backed the concept because (and I get this) it takes a packed eight inches of snow (probably a two foot snowfall - and snow has been increasingly rare) to be able to ride over the rails without tangling with them. I believe they’ll find that they’ve been willing dupes, and will soon regret that support as use of the ROW for snowmobiling, and possibly most other uses, fades from view.
I’m sure the originators of the “trail” had this in mind, but they couldn’t get rid of the sledders until they got rid of the tracks.
Word is that the sledders have been advised that the state won’t be maintaining the corridor, IIRC. There are also indications that funding for building the trail is also being pulled back.
There are restrictions on what can be cut in the Adirondack Forest. After the big blowdown in 1995, loggers were prohibited from harvesting that fallen timber. So it lays there, rotting.
It just hit me like a ton of bricks today, when I spotted the Youtube video with the work train - like an icicle right through the sternum. It would not be in any way an exaggeration to describe my overall feelings as ‘devastated’ or ‘on the verge of tears.’
I don’t live anywhere near upstate New York, and could never have had any impact on the fight, either as a voter or as a donor (I’m destitute, so I couldn’t ever contribute more than a few bucks here and there to the railroad), but I always felt like the line into Lake Placid was one of the most unique railways left on the continent. And now, like so many a darling, bucolic branch, it too will be gone.
Though I have always felt it to be true, of late I’ve become almost hyper-aware about how morally bankrupt we have become as a country – we pour billions into stadiums and cruise liners; spend our days vapidly snapping selfies and crafting inane memes, all while libraries cut hours, and museums of all colors have to bow and scrape just to get by. This isn’t universal the world over – it’s decidedly an American thing, and it’s repulsive. And, for whatever reason, this rail removal thing just pushed me over the edge. How dare they. How dare we.
Did the railroad serve any viable purposes? Was there enough logging in that area. Mining seems to have petered out. There doesn’t seem to be enough population density for inbound merchandise that couldn’t be handled by highway.
Possibly it is exactly that element that the wealthy land interests seek to expel from the environment?
I don’t have a horse in the race either way in the Lake Placid thing. But as I have gotten older I have come to appreciate unspoiled wilderness more and more.
Whenever I go out to some natural paradise, I labor long towards leaving it just as I found it. But there are elements out there who seem to thrill upon “leaving their mark”, no matter how vulgar that might be. Since you really can’t distinguish the good stewards from the abusive types up front, sometimes prohibition is the most expedient solution.
It’s really a matter of priorities. Those having a priority to spoil and to exploit , IMHO, being the true villains
I think a bunch of rich people who own second houses in Lake Placid (and can jet up from NYC whenever they please), taking multiple legal shots at a tourist railroad until they obliterate it, just so they can restore a tiny percentage of land to the wilderness to suit some ultimately-unachievable ideal/make upstate New York their private park is pretty much the definition of villainy.
This ‘PROBLEM’ there in Upstate New York, has been a discussion subject for some time, on this Forum…I am sure Larry (tree68) is beginning to see ‘this as a fight that has no end’.
When the NYC RR essentially walked away (abandoned in place?)L the adjacent property owners, seemed to essentially holding their breath, hoping it would just go away(?)…The Lake Placid Olympics of 1980 were mostly remembered for the ‘win’ by the American Hockey team over the Russians. After they were over the isolated community settled back into a small town business as usual environment.
The ASR RR has battled with the line, and the last part of the ROW into Lake Placid for some time. The State of NY has been aapparently, a poor steward of the area, allowing local’s to remove tracks and ROW; in favor of all sorts of ‘fly by night developing’ schemes.
Seems as if the R-2-T crowd has only plans to eliminate the ASRR, and its ROW in favor of any use, other than the rails. Recently, snowfall in the area has been less than needed for snow related activities(?).
The State of New York seems hell-bent on turning the area of Lake Placid into a ‘Lake Flacid’.[sigh] While creating only a destination for motoring tourists; even then, a destination with a road network of only secondary, quality roads? [banghead]
On the Wilderness front, maybe NYS should buy those ‘fat cat’ properties so a True Wildeness can be recreated. I seem to recall that the Skyline Drive and the properties on the slopes and valleys it traverses was the product of a ‘back to wilderness’ program during the Great Depression.
Oh, I can see your side of it all. Meaning that I understand why you feel the way you do. And it is very seldom that I see the wealthy as “heroic”.
But you do a very good job, as well, of depicting modern values as a blight of sorts. Mankind tends to be very selfish in persuit of what is popularly deemed to be “progress”.
Mother Nature takes a beating so often as the diciples of capitalism relentlessly build their temples. I find it comforting to see Harvey Hustlebuck take one on the chin every now and then. [:-^]
I haven’t seen this point be stated better anywhere else. If you want to see the worst of the worst examples of this, look at Vancouver Island. A corridor with huge potential for commuter and intercity travel. One with good potential for freight. Provincially owned but sat dormant for lack of maintenance while billions are blown on transit project with poor value per mile in Vancouver and this enitre 200 mile line could be up and running for just a few hundred million. All while the highway on the island is chronically overcrowded. Yet people are getting on their soapboxes to rip it up and make it a trail, even though trails have been built in many places beside the line. Thankfully, it is probable the railway on Vancouver Island will be saved.
But this is just bad. Why make a 34 mile long trail? Who does that help? Who will use it? A handful of people per day? The tourist trains on this line could have had a much bigger economic impact, but now it is lost.