Here's a little weekend excursion tale for your amusement today. No big political themes, no cries of moral outrage, just a story about riding a train out and back through one of the more beautiful regions of America. The story starts about ten years ago, when a group of people got together and decided bringing back trains on an idled rail line would be a good thing.
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If you just want to read about the train ride, you can skip over the history section here to Riding The Train - but you'll be missing some of the good stuff. ;-)
First, a little history.
In the late 1800's America embarked on a railroading boom. Rail lines were pushed across the country and into remote regions. Once upon a time you could have said America was tied together by ribbons of steel, and you wouldn't have been wrong. If a rail line didn't go through your town, everybody still knew where the closest depot was.
In 1865, a rail line pushed out from Saratoga Springs into the Adirondacks. Eventually coming under the control of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad,the line reached all the way to North Creek. It became a popular route into the Adirondacks for tourists, and a means of bringing out local resources: timber, tannery products, and ore.
The line's most notable historic event came on September 14 1901. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt had been on vacation in the Adirondacks. President McKinley had been shot in Buffalo, NY days earlier, but was believed to be recovering. Roosevelt had been staying near Mt. Marcy when he received word McKinley had taken a turn for the worse, so he began a journey to the nearest railway station, North Creek. After an arduous journey on foot and by buckboard, Roosevelt arrived at the station in the pre-dawn hours to learn McKinley had died. He boarded a waiting D&H train for his rendezvous with history. That event put the station on the National Register of Historic Places.
Events following that night were a little less exciting. The line continued to operate. In the 1930's the Delaware & Hudson ran ski trains up to North Creek and the ski resort at Gore Mountain, which still operates today. Another attraction not too far away is the garnet mines which are now open for tours. Barton Mines operated them for decades, but is now branching out into wind farming.
During World War II, the Adirondack Branch of the D&H became a vital national asset. The line was extended 30 miles north to Tahawus in order to bring out ores vital to national defense, primarily titanium. (This involved playing fast and loose with the Forever Wild provisions of the State Constitution - but there was a war on after all!)
By the 1950's, the time of passenger trains was starting to come to a close. Passenger service to North Creek ended in 1956. The mines kept traffic moving over the branch, but when the mines closed in 1989, the line was abandoned north of Corinth.
Although the Delaware & Hudson was now history, having been acquired by CP Rail, local interest in reviving the line was intense. Using ISTEA funding, Warren County bought 40 miles of right of way from Corinth to North Creek in 1998. They've been working with Saratoga County to open the line all the way to Saratoga Springs, where it can connect with Amtrak. The plans and rationale for the line are pretty straightforward.
OBJECTIVE: Build on the tourist economy of the region by providing needed capital improvements to the rail line formerly known as the Adirondack Branch from Saratoga to North Creek. Provide for the necessary linkages between the tourist rail operation and intercity rail service.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION: Scenic Train operations are a cornerstone of economic development in the North Country. Tourism is without a doubt one of the primary industries in Saratoga and Warren Counties. The natural, scenic, and cultural character of the counties combine to make the region one of the prime tourist attractions of Upstate New York. Plans by Warren County and Saratoga County incorporate both riverfront tourism and the potential for ski trains, leaf peepers, and other tourist rail excursions. A state waterfront planning grant is being used to develop community-based development plans that will enhance the quality of life and bring jobs to the North Country.
The nearly year-round convention and tourism business at Saratoga Springs brings hundreds of thousands of people into the Southern Adirondack Region each year. Coupled with major scenic vista along the Upper Hudson River and world class skiing centers at Gore Mountain, the concept of a scenic train excursion makes sense. Local government officials, business leaders and citizens believe that the scenic train is the economic “engine” that can bring prosperity to their part of the Southern Adirondacks.
The Upper Hudson River Railroad is the organization that has been operating trains out of North Creek for ten years now. Operations have been expanding as track and facilities have been restored and upgraded. Stations are being added along the line, and the local communities are all getting involved. As an anniversary observation for the ten years since UHRR got rolling, it was decided to have a special run all the way from Hadley, New York up to North Creek and back. Trains can't yet reach Saratoga because of a washout on the south end of the line in 2006, but it should be open all the way within a week or two. As it happens, a last-minute effort extended the start of the run all the way down to Corinth, NY.
Riding the Train
Saturday morning October 13, I made my way through the fog to arrive at the Corinth, NY depot around 8:30am - or where the station used to be. In bad shape, it had been demolished, but a replacement is already being planned. There's a lot of local interest waiting for trains to run on the line.
I found a crowd of about 95 people waiting to board the train, already sitting on the main line. A reporter from the Post Star out of Glens Falls was on hand to capture the story. The crowd was mixed: although many were older couples, there was a scattering of younger folk, a few children, and a group of Asian tourists. The former D&H Alco RS36, still in lightning stripes, ran around the train to couple on for the run north, and shortly after we boarded.
The train was a mix of old heavyweight coaches, most with heat, and two open cars, each with a canopy at one end, to allow untrammled viewing of the rail ride. The Post Star story has a picture of the train and some other shots. The train began moving northward to its next stop in Hadley, NY around 9:00.
One of the most scenic views of the trip is just south of Hadley - the trestle over the Sacandaga River where it runs into the Hudson River. Looking east, there's a view of the historic bow bridge just restored a few years ago. Looking west, there's a great view towards the Adirondacks. To make it even more fun, the trestle is about 90 feet above the river, a view appreciated by rafters during warmer months.
We pulled into Hadley. Again the historic depot is long gone, but the UHRR has built a boarding ramp that made getting onto the train easy. After everyone boarded, the train backed up to give them a view from the trestle as well, and then began the ride to North Creek around 9:30.
It was a day of blue skies and fluffy clouds. Out on the open observation cars the view was great, but chilly. North of Hadley the track quickly plunges into Adirondack forest. The trees were at their peak of fall color, and the views were spectacular. At times the train ran through a corridor lined with trees on either side. Sometimes the track would be paralleled by roadway. Much of the trip runs along the west side of the Upper Hudson River though, and there are long stretches where the train is the only sign of human presence. Rushing water, rocks, colorful hillsides - all to the rocking of the train over the jointed rails, horn blowing at crossings. If you have never ridden a train just for fun, you've been missing something. Sometimes, the journey really is the reward.
This is not high-speed rail; I'd estimate the train was running at 20-25mph on the faster stretches. The 1960's era Alco would dig in on the upgrades and send a cloud of smoke shooting up as the turbocharger spun up. Speed is relative though. Standing in the open air with the wind rushing by and the leaves shaking off the trees, it seemed faster. The track itself was in good shape. A lot of work has been done adding new ballast, replacing ties, clearing brush. The signal gates at crossings are all new-looking. There's a real effort going on here.
We went past some pretty run down shacks and some spectacular homes. At one point the line goes right through the middle of an RV park under big pine trees - amazing to notice how many sites had satellite dishes. Almost everyone we passed took time to wave. Where the valley flattened out we passed next to a golf course where the golfers were having to cope with a flock of Canada geese on the fairway. Almost always the river ran near the tracks.
We pulled into North Creek some time after noon. The station has been lovingly restored; there's a gift shop and an operating model train layout that shows what the town looked like back in the Steam era. The orginal turntable left by the D&H has been restored and still operates. An old Alco S1 switcher, built 1947 was waiting for us, and took a train out for a short run shortly after we arrived. We had over 2 hours to walk around North Creek, try the local eateries, and just enjoy the Adirondacks.
Although the weather cooperated long enough for me to get some good pictures (I hope) of classic Alco locomotives, by the time we boarded for departure around 2:30, the skies had become overcast. No matter - still a great train ride through beautiful country. On the way back we passed that Alco S1 that had taken a train out and was waiting for us to pass in the siding at Riverside. Back along the river, through the trees, over the bridges to Hadley and finally back to Corinth. Once more over the high trestle, and then it was time to say thanks to the train crew and climb into my car for the ride home.
As I said up front, no big political themes here, no cries of moral outrage. Just a pleasant day out enjoying the Adirondacks and the train ride. Most of my life is spent on mundane things that will matter not a whit 20 years from now. I'd like to think I'll still remember that time I rode from Corinth 47 miles up to North Creek and back though.