New Adirondack Scenic Thread (ADIX)

[mackdave]

How sad! Special interests win out while the public loses forever the opportunity for rail travel to Lake Placid. I'm glad I rode from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake when you could, and took the rail bikes from Saranac Lake to Lake Clear, and then another trip from Lake Clear to Tupper Lake. Beautiful ride, now gone forever.

Mackdave

[shadyjay]

It is extremely sad that this is happening and allowed to happen. When I lived in VT, I had made plans to head across the lake to ride the Adirondack Scenic. My neighbor was going and I had to work, so I tried to get her to postpone the trip a week. She wouldn't budge and went anyway, and I missed out. "I'll go next year", I said. Well, they ended up suspending the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake operation at the end of that year, so I never made it.

I have discovered a love for rail-trails. They are great and very popular, but they are NOT worth ripping up an active railroad for, especially a tourist railroad that brings people to a particular area. The Lake Placid area is already very popular and the tourist railroad is another draw to the area. Now... it's gone. Sad. I will not be patronizing this region... the thrill of riding a railroad through the beautiful Adirondacks is gone.

Unfortunately this is a New York thing.... down on the Catskill Mountain Railroad, the same thing is happening to a certain degree, with part of their operation retracted to Kingston due to the county ripping up the track the railroad used. And with one section gone, they "smell blood" and probably want the rest. Morale of the story: ride these tourist railroads while you still can.

Any reason why they couldn't do a "rail with trail" like they're doing on the inactive Maybrook Line downstate? Or was that a case of "why spend the $$$ to do that to appease a few lonely tourist train afficionados?"

[tahawus84]

As someone who has visited the area significantly in the past I will no longer visit this region or spend any money there. In fact as a life long resident of NY I am moving out to greener pastures at the end of this year.

[tree68]

The removal is due to the efforts of a small, but well-financed group who characterized themselves as "trail advocates."

The snowmobile community jumped in with both feet because they hate the rails. There are those who believe they will be extremely disappointed when the "forever wild" crowd gets involved and closes down the proposed trail entirely.

Apparently funding for construction of the trail has already been pulled back, perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

A "rail with trail" option was shot down by the "trail advocates." This should make you wonder whether a trail was actually on their agenda or not. Getting rid of the railroad certainly was.

Some opine that they want the sledders out of the woods, too. but couldn't accomplish that without getting rid of the rails.

Some still want the tracks lifted all the way to Remsen...

[ut-1]

MA&N ran a train to Boonville yesterday morning which included six cars (three hoppers & three gondolas) containing new ties for the Adirondack Railroad. The tie cars were spotted in Remsen for pick-up by the Adirondack.

This video features the "tie train" in Trenton and Prospect and offers a look at where they were spotted in Remsen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXdDpVX1xFM

Screenshot shows the southbound run passing the string of tie cars.

[50-year railfan]

Shadyjay; The Maybrook line was once double track, so there is a whole other roadbed next to the remaining single track. Building next to single track is a bit more difficult.

[shadyjay]

Shadyjay; The Maybrook line was once double track, so there is a whole other roadbed next to the remaining single track. Building next to single track is a bit more difficult.

This is true. Forgot about that. But still the fact that they're going through the trouble of keeping the tracks separate from the rail line, as if its an active mainline, seems odd to me (fencing and all), given the fact that the resumption of service on the line for a revenue move at this point is very low.

[SST]

Several pages ago I made a comment about the Clarion-Toby Creek path in Ridgway, PA and that for 3 miles or so, it is right next to the B&P RR. "Shared space." I didn't have a picture back then but I do now. It annoys me if it can be done in PA, why not here.

Section with a fence: https://i.postimg.cc/C1P8HQkz/IMG-2350-1.jpg
Section without a fence: https://i.postimg.cc/pd8hndXc/IMG-2351-1.jpg

There is a sign further up about installing more fence. Personally, the fence really won't help. In the first pic, you can see how easy it would be for somebody to climb over it. But, it would prevent unauthorized motor vehicles from jumping the track [snowmobiles and ATV's]. Yet again, they could just cut through the tree line anywhere and have at it.

Here in Buffalo, I was x/c skiing the Industrial track [Gardenville line near airport] and a snowmobiler came down the line and went up and over the track and watched the huge effort it took to get over the rails. He really dug into the ballast. I was hoping he'd get hung up on the rails. No such luck.

[50-year railfan]

See next post. I couldn't see how to delete the post that didn't have the photo.

[50-year railfan]

Fences are not seemingly required to separate the trail from the rail in all places. Here is a photo of the rail trail from Cumberland up to Frostburg MD. Probably no snowmobile use here. Again, a great trail with rail on a former double-track line. Unfortunately, the Adirondack Rail Corridor was never more than single-track, so a parallel trail will require more effort.
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[SST]

I rode that train and path last year. I had hoped to return again this year to ride from Frostburg to the Mason -Dixon line and to Savage tunnel. Hopefully next year.

I was postulating on whether the cost of tearing up one area of track along with the cost of repair of the other areas could be used instead towards the cost of dumping stone along side the ROW for the shared path section. Any quarry's nearby for easy transport?

[50-year railfan]

Unfortunately, no quarries nearby. And every drainage structure would have to be lengthened to accommodate the new fill.

[Jeff Smith]

Wanna buy FL-9 2007?

https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/railEq ... temId=2195

$22,500, located at the ASRR I believe (it's in ADIX colors)

Registration required to view.

[johnpbarlow]

Here's a Matt Donnelly photo of ADIX 2007 from March 2019 - needs some new glass and general TLC. Assuming it's operable?

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/711987/

[jurtz]

It has never operated in the 14 years I have worked on the railroad. My understanding is that it (and one or two other FL9s) were given to the railroad in the early 2000's as part donors for their other F units. New York State DOT prohibits six axle locomotives on their track north of Remsen, so the FL9s, with their three axle rear truck, were never going to be a usable power option. The previous CMO felt like the prime mover was intact and was viable, but would have to be moved to a more suitable unit.