by jurtz
SST wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2019 2:47 pm Was the washout the reason you stopped ferrying equipment? And with the washout repaired, can the ferrying of equipment resume and therefore justifying this section remain a railroad?Adirondack Scenic used the out of service section to ferry equipment between the in-service portion on the south end to the in-service track between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. After the 2016 operating season, the state pulled ARPS's operating permit on the north end in anticipation of pulling the tracks and building the rail trail, so there was no longer any reason to move equipment. That, and not any washout, is why the equipment moves ceased.
I guess I ask these questions because I find it interesting that the DOT would spend the money on a section that stands at the brink of abandonment. At least that's the way it looks from my "arm chair."
When ARPS had their operating permit for the entire line, they would periodically patrol the out of service portion to look for problems (beaver dams blocking drainage culverts in particular) and correct those issues as they arose and were still minor in nature (sometimes with help from the DOT). Once the state pulled the permit up there, nobody was minding the store, and eventually a washout resulted. As tree68 said, that probably would not have happened had it been an operating RR with regular track inspections.
DOT spent the money to fix the washout because otherwise that section would be unavailable to the snowmobilers this winter, not to restore rail service.