As a long time fan of railroading, I've been keeping an eye on the Saratoga & North Creek Railway. It operates on a branch of the former Delaware & Hudson Railroad from Saratoga Springs up to North Creek in the Adirondack Mountains. This past summer is when they took over the line; I posted a diary about their plans back in July.
Despite my full intent, I haven't yet gotten around to riding the new service - but plenty of other people have. According to the Troy Record, they've seen 60,000 plus riders since beginning service this summer - and they're not done yet! We're talking about a full spectrum of rail service here - more below the Orange Omnilepticon.
The branch line operated by the Saratoga & North Creek Railway has always had a lot of potential, now being realized. The southern end makes connections with Amtrak at Saratoga Springs. A largely single track line runs north to the town of North Creek through some beautifully scenic country along the upper Hudson River. Iowa Pacific Holdings, the parent company of the S&NC has made some significant investments in the rail operation. The equipment and services now being offered are one of the big reasons ridership is doing so well.
As might be expected, there are seasonal delights like Thomas the Tank Engine and fall foliage trips. The Polar Express excursions are the latest effort, and it sounds like quite a production. I've seen a couple of reviews that suggest it hasn't been without some glitches, but there's also been a lot of interest. The Saratoga & North Creek is all diesel - I can only imagine what the reaction would be if they had a real steam engine pulling the excursions.
More exciting is news that the railway will start running the Snow Train to North Creek and Gore Mountain December 30, 2011. Ski packages are available through the S&NC. The D&H used to run ski trains back in the thirties - revival of the service has been a long time dream for the region. The local merchants of North Creek have already started to see benefits from the rail service; they have plenty to offer people who want to do things besides skiing.
But it's not just about tourism and scenery. There's potential for freight and related industrial revitalization as well. From the Troy Record article:
While operating several scenic trains throughout the U.S., the majority of Iowa Pacific’s business is in freight. Ellis declined to cite specifics, but said such service will start up on the Saratoga to North Creek line in January or February.
The company recently acquired another 27-mile stretch of idle track from North Creek north to Tahawus, where titanium was mined to make armor during World War II.
An estimated five million tons of stone tailings are available to haul. At present, Barton Mines sells such material to local clients in limited amounts. The high cost of truck transport has prohibited more widespread distribution.
Rail service would at least create the potential for new business.
“We’re open to discussing it,” said Jim McAndrew of Barton Mines.
Ellis said, “We think of it as a recycled product. It’s something that should be used because it’s already been dug up.”
And the future may hold even more. While reopening the line all the way to Tahawus would be historic, Iowa and Pacific hasn't said much about tourism/outdoor recreation possibilities up that way, although I'm sure there are people who'd like to be able to get up there by train. There's certainly potential if the area can be opened up to the public. As far as moving people around goes though, the real promise is in the other direction. Saratoga is one of the fastest growing areas in the region.
The Adirondack Northway is part of I-87, running north from Albany up to Canada. It sees lots of rush hour traffic Monday through Friday. There's been talk of adding lanes for years. If the Saratoga and North Creek Railway succeeds with its plans for both freight and passenger service, there will be serious consideration given to expanding their reach down to Albany with some kind of commuter rail operation from Saratoga Springs. There's already a plethora of trackage paralleling the major highways crisscrossing the Capital Region - it's a matter of negotiating trackage rights and making infrastructure investments; that and assembling the political will. Again from the Troy Record:
“We want to take people off the roads,” said Ed Ellis, president of the scenic railway’s parent company, Iowa Pacific Holdings Co. “With the price of gas going up, it makes sense to do that.”
A commuter line linking the Spa City to Albany has been discussed for many years. Now, Iowa Pacific has the equipment, manpower and know-how needed to make it happen.
The big question is financing.
Typically, train fares cover 60 percent of a commuter train’s operations. The rest comes from state and federal sources. However, government subsidies support the nation’s airline and highway systems, too, he said.
Primarily, it’s up to local government leaders and the Capital District Transportation Authority to push for such funding.
For decades we've been putting our resources into highways while the rail lines around here have lain fallow. Now that the age of cheap oil is over and the age of Global Warming is upon us, it's time to reconsider those policies. Once rail and railbed has been brought up to specs, once regular rail operations are established, then old businesses may return and new ones look to get in on a good thing. There's talk about refurbishing the branch that runs into the old industrial area of Corinth. While it's probably unrealistic to hope for, the line used to have a branch that went to Warrensburg as well. Looking at the map, Lake George doesn't seem out of reach from there...
It's a synergistic effect. This is about job creation and providing viable alternatives to highway-based transportation modes. It's about investing in a region with a struggling economy in ways that build on its strengths. It's about sustainable development. It's about public-private partnerships that work for everybody.
I will confess to being a shameless booster of this effort - but damn! It's nice to see some good news for once! When the S&NC started operations at the end of July, 2011, who would have thought 60,000+ riders would have taken the train before the year's out?
A local success story like this has bigger implications for rail travel too. One of the big factors in the S&NC story has to be the connection with Amtrak. Having a national rail passenger system means there could be more potential operations out there like this waiting for the right mix of public/private partnership and vision. If the Saratoga & North Creek Railway continues to thrive, let's hope it will inspire comparable efforts elsewhere.