An historic rail line from Utica through the Adirondacks to Lake Placid will be partially converted to a bike path/snowmobile trail as part of a plan by the state Departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation today. Rails used by a tourist train would remain in place to Tupper Lake, where a mega-resort is being planned, but be removed from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid, so the rail bed could be turned into the new multi-use path. This would end the use of the tourist train from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake.
AS an outsider, but somewhat interested party; I would guess that the DEC is in the process of whistlingh past the graveyard… To my suspicions that the DEC is simply "pandering’: FTA:"…Rails used by a tourist train would remain in place to Tupper Lake, whe
The loss of Lake Placid as a destination will, in my estimation, be huge. Lake Placid has name recognition world-wide that Tupper Lake (still a very nice community, by the way) does not. It’s not much different than if the Grand Canyon RR didn’t go all the way to the Grand Canyon - who’d ride?
It’s been my personal opinion that the “trail advocates” really don’t want a trail - they want everyone out of their woods. When it comes time to look for funding for the trail, they’ll be really hard to find.
It’s not quite over yet - I think there’s one more “hearing.” I’m afraid, however, that their mind is made up. A huge loss for Adirondack tourism.
The environmental lobby is only gaining power. Even today, it’s difficult to envision rails being laid on an idle corridor, a difficult proposition anywhere, within the confines of the Adirondack Park. Once these are gone, they’re sadly gone for good.
Sad day, but hardly a surprise in this country. Particularly when it’s New York State and Albany is involved.
I wonder what the next step after the rails are lifted will be. There’s no way that those that have been behind this scheme will rest. The snowmobilers better watch their backs, since they’ll be next up and stand to lose what they already had anyways with the railroad there.
I’m not very familiar with this “mega resort”, but such a loss if that comes to pass for both Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, that this asset will be destroyed that could’ve linked these two communities to it by a tourist railroad.
I’d love to think that one day they’ll be sorry, but they’ll likely be too busy with their next scheme for more than a handful of them to ever look back and lament about this decision that they played a role in allowing to happen.
“State announces plan for Adirondack Scenic Railway Corridor”
by Elizabeth Cooper Posted Jun. 11, 2015 at 5:17 PM
Updated at 7:19 PM
THe following was, I thought, an intersting statement: [snipped]"…Bethan Maher, executive director of the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, which operates the Adirondack Scenic Railway trains from Utica to Big Moose, said her organization will fight to ensure that the rails go all the way to Lake Placid.
“Our mission has been and will continue to be to restoring rail service to Lake Placid and connecting the high peaks with Central New York and the Mohawk Valley,” she said.
If rail service goes only to Tupper Lake, which has less name recognition than Lake Placid, it would be “a significant blow to the potential ridership and the economic impact” of the railway, she said.
The group Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, however, applauded the trail plans, but was displeased with the plans to extend the track to Tupper Lake…"[snip]
The environmental commissioner said “The proposal will reinvigorate the economies of neighboring communities by implementing a comprehensive approach to recreational use of the Corridor including establishing a multi-use recreation trail from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and other compatible uses and a renewed commitment to rail from Remsen to Tupper Lake,”
In what universe is cross-country skiing and sowmobiling a compatible use? What is renewed commitment to the remaining rail corridor? Have they contributed anything to the rail rehab? Will they compensate Adirondack Scenic for the rehab work they have done between Lake Placid and Saranac?
I just received a statement from the rail operator which suggests the issue is not closed yet. This sounds like a good topic for TRAINS’ editors to look at. NY State is the owner of the rails to Lake Placid, which has no regular air or Fpassenger rail links to the outside despite its staus as two time Winter Olympics venue and major center for Adirondack tourism and winter sports. Why a dual use of the corridor will not work here as it has elsewhere is hard to understand, as is renouncing any prospect of linking Lake Placid and saranac lake to NY Empire Service some day. One hopes the fight over this is not finished, it is such an awful outocome.
Here is the statement:
Volunteers, Members & Supporters:
The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today, June 11, 2015 the State’s decision to reopen the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor’s Unit Management Plan with the intention of removing the railroad tracks north of Tupper Lake, running to Lake Placid. The corridor is part of the 141 miles of track on which the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society (DBA: Adirondack Scenic Railroad) operates and is working to preserve. Although the Railroad disagrees with the State’s compromise position, the organization looks forward to an exp
New York appears to be learning from its neighbour, Quebec. Quebec has been a leader in rails to trails, and their “Route Vert” (Green Route) has pumped millions upon millions of dollars into the Quebec economy over the past ten years. So much so that Quebec is now recognized throughout the first world as the go to destination for cycling. I can personally attest to it…I spend alot of time cycling on Quebec trails… the trails are busy and well used and encourage healthy living. And if trains do make a comeback for shorthaul and distribution one day, the trails are there and can be converted easily enough… the roadbed is graded and all that’s needed is for someone to put the track back into place.
I have long contended that the suggestion that the trail would be used by cross country skiers telegraphs one of the “trail advocate’s” true agendas - to get rid not only of the railroad, but of the snowmobiles on the corridor. Portions of the corridor pass through designated wilderness and primitive areas. I’m sure there is a constituency who feels that snowmobiles shouldn’t be there, but due to the current corridor plan, they haven’t been able to act on that.
I’m also convinced that the snowmobile community as a whole stopped listening when they heard that the tracks could come up. I get that the tracks are an impediment to sledding at the beginning and end of the season, but since they quit listening when they did, they haven’t heard the statements from the “trail advocates” that foretell their being banned from the corridor (or enough of it to make it useless as a through trail).
The state actually has (and does) make some contribution to maintaining the corridor. Perhaps they’ll start kicking in money for rehab - which they used to do in dribs and drabs.
It should also be noted that there is substantial opposition from the “environmental preservationists” to the planned resort in Tupper Lake, although the developer has won all of the court battles.</
Interesting how environmentalists include snowmobiles. Aren’t they noisy and powered by 2-stroke engines that cause a lot of air pollution? Don’t snowmobile drivers often chase down deer for amusement? Don’t they go off the trail and cause damage to the undergrowth? Environmentalists. Yeah right, and having new roads to a “mega” resort will sure help the environment as well as all the gas stations and strip plazas that will be built for the people driving to the resort. Glad I left New York 20 years ago.
I bet the people who want the trail consider it ‘their’ territory, and think of the railroad advocates as enemy invaders.
Excerpt from Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Rail trails are really compatible with bicycle use, with the gentle grades making for easy travel. The same is less true for the slower pace of cross-country skiing, where it can turn into boring drudgery if going more than a couple of miles. Skiing is a lot more enjoyable if there are occasional gentle slopes to break the monotony.
If the present plan is put into action, I can see the track north of Tupper Lake being ripped up right away. Then the moaning will start, “no money in the budget this year to rehabilitate the middle section”, and the so-called compromise will turn out to be smoke and mirrors.
Couple of things jumped out at me in the above linked statement: The original study was done in 1996 for "Empire State Development [ESD]. In 2014 the Dept of Environmental Conservation ordered a revision of the 1996 UMP concerning the 119 mile length of the ‘rail corridor’ the Adirondack Scenic RR is operating in two portions seperated by approx. 39 miles between Tupper Lake, and lake Placid, that portion of which was unable to carry the operational rail traffic.
Apparently, the ‘corridor’ between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid, via Big Moose Lake is problematic for a couple of reasons. The altitude at Big Moose is about 1135 ft (?) . According to the “History of the Corridor” [page 2 of the Economic Study] it was originally built in some 18 months around 1892 to reach the "Camps’ of wealthy property owners and was then operated continuously by the New York Central til 1972, in 1974 the State of New York
Elevation at “Summit”, just west (RR north) of Big Moose station, is 2040 feet, reputedly the highest point on the New York Central. In fact, the sign stating such (erected by the NYC) will be duplicated at the spot.
Big Moose is 11 rail miles north of Thendara, not between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid.
Big Moose Hill, five miles of 1.1% grade (with minor variations) was the ruling grade on the line. Purgatory Hill, just south of Otter Lake, is a little steeper, but not as long.
The Adirondack Railroad (Olympic edition) ran from 1979 to August of 1980. It was shut down for several reasons, including some poor management.
However, right up to the last trip, the railroad was carrying around 100 passengers each way on each trip. Had the operation been properly run, I would opine that today’s Adirondack Scenic might not exist, as the Adirondack RR might well still be a going concern.
Unless the “trail advocates” are able to push this ahead quickly, I don’t foresee any rails being removed for a while. There are things like historical designations to deal with, among other issues.
An historic rail line from Utica through the Adirondacks to Lake Placid will be partially converted to a bike path/snowmobile trail as part of a plan by the state Departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation today. Rails used by a tourist train would remain in place to Tupper Lake, where a mega-resort is being planned, but be removed from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid, so the rail bed could be turned into the new multi-use path. This would end the use of the tourist train from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake.
It seems like this saga is nearing its end if not quite over. Am I the only person who thinks the NY State government and Lake PLacid Olympic folks are nuts to tear up rails to Lake Placid when they are thinking of a future Winter Olympics bid for a town that has no real scheduled air service and will soon have no prospect of passenger rail service either?
Well New York State is pretty silly on how it spends it’s money. Look at the annual stats for the Erie Canal preservation as an example. I think they spend over $200 million a year on preserving what amounts to a large ditch for a few pleasure craft and their annual revenue take is less than 10% of that amount. Thats why New Yorkers pay such high taxes.