This past Saturday March 24 I finally got around to riding the Saratoga & North Creek Snow Train. Last summer the S&NC took over operation of the old Delaware & Hudson line from Saratoga Springs to North Creek, NY and as part of the deal brought back winter rail service intended to lure skiers to nearby Gore Mountain and the larger community.
Alas for the plans of the railway, the ski area, and the community, this has been one of the worst seasons for lack of snow on record. Gore closed last week for skiing, a month earlier than normal. As I'm not a skier, it wasn't that big a deal for me - but for the community it's been tough. But judging by my trip, North Creek now has a much better shot at renewal thanks to the restoration of real rail service to the community and the larger area.
More below the Orange Omnilepticon.
I'll confess to being a bit of a railfan. I like trains for a lot of reasons, and you can't really understand American history from the 1800's on if you leave out railroads. (Where do you think corporate personhood came from, for example?) Saturday though, my mind was on history of a more benign sort.
The former Delaware & Hudson rail line dates back to 1871. My destination, the station at North Creek, NY, is on the National Register because it's the site where Theodore Roosevelt learned he'd just become President of the United States after the death of McKinley. It's notable for being largely intact from that era - the original station, tracks and other buildings are still there for the most part. During World War II the line was of vital importance - it was extended up to Tahawus, NY to obtain titanium ore for the war effort.
I've been interested in the rail line for some years; I'd ridden parts of it earlier on several excursions by the previous operator of rail service, the Upper Hudson River Railroad. Late this last summer Saratoga & North Creek came in as the new operator. I'd posted about the new service along with some good news for Amtrak back on 7-14-11, with a follow-up story posted 12-10-11. Even though operations got off to a later start than hoped, the S&NC had already carried thousands of riders before Snow Train service began at the end of December 2011.
Here's a bit from the Troy Record back in December:
“It’s pretty amazing how people have gotten on board with this,” said Jody Moore said, manager of train operations. “It’s a beautiful run along the Hudson River on a rainy day. I can’t imagine that it’s going to be anything less than spectacular when it’s all snowy and crisp and cold. We’d like people to take the train up — skip the traffic, snowy roads and hassles — enjoy breakfast on the train, spend the day in North Creek and have dinner and a cocktail on the way back down to Saratoga.”
Service is scheduled to begin on Friday, Dec. 30 and run through the end of March. Trips will be made each Friday, Saturday and Sunday along with two Mondays — Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) and Presidents Day (Feb. 20).
Railway officials expect that 40 percent of passengers will be non-skiers, people just looking for a fun winter time outing in the Adirondacks. That’s why the rail company has been careful to bill the ride as an all-encompassing Snow Train, rather than a ski train.
My trip in late March came at the end of a winter that largely failed to deliver snow. I wanted to ride the train nonetheless - as Moore said above, it's still a beautiful run. (Here's a picture of
the train on one of the few snowy days we had this winter. That's the train I rode - two engines, a baggage/power car, dome car, and two coaches. More S&NC pictures
here.)
I arrived at the Saratoga Springs Amtrak station by 6:30am to get my ticket (already had a reservation); the woman behind the counter gave me some extras as well - a list of events happening in North Creek that week, coupons, etc. That was pretty much my experience for the whole trip. Everyone I came into contact with from the S&NC was uniformly helpful, friendly, and interested in making sure I was having a good time.
After running around getting a few photos in the early morning darkness, I boarded the train and found a place in the upper level of the dome car. It was spotless - lots of comfortable seating, all with tables covered with white table cloths. There were flowers, a lamp, a breakfast menu and a pad with pencils to order a meal. We left the station at 7:00am as scheduled.
The sun had slowly come up through a cloudy sky; it would remain overcast for the whole day. Just north of the station the line to North Creek branches off the main line to Montreal. We crossed over and began the trip north.
You can drive from Saratoga Springs to North Creek in about an hour. The train takes just over two. If you drive, you can't do what I did though, order the No. 1 Breakfast Combination (two eggs to order, toast, choice of meat, and Potatoes O'Brien - $7.00), cooked in the tiny galley kitchen down below and served up Table d' Hote by the smiling car attendant, Brittany. All this, and scenery unrolling all around me as the car gently swayed along. This is traveling in style!
Service was outstanding - and made easier for the crew because there was only a handful of passengers aboard that day. Despite the small numbers, there was no stinting on service. It says a lot about the intent of the Saratoga & North Creek Railway that they are determined to provide it even under adverse conditions.
The trip north goes through a mix of scenery: farms, marshes, fields, forest, small towns, hills and mountains. North of Hadley-Luzerne the line mostly parallels the upper Hudson River. There was almost no sign of snow; the only greenery to be seen was from conifers and moss as the trees hadn't started to leaf out yet. This made it possible to see quite a ways to enjoy the landscape; during prior summer runs I've made on the line, there are places where the train seems to be going through a green tunnel.
At Hadley-Luzerne the train crosses the Sacandaga River on a high bridge. You get a great view of the river and the historic bow bridge to one side. Today we were on an express run with no stops, so you had to look quickly. In the summer months, shorter excursions on the line and local stops make it possible to spend more time taking in the sights.
Upon arriving at North Creek, we found a ready reception. A shuttle bus was standing by. Normally it'd be making a run to Gore Mountain, but it had already closed for the season. (One interesting feature of the bus was a rack on the side to slip in skis and snowboards.) The bus driver was prepared to take people to Garnet Hill Lodge instead, but I decided to pass. I wish I had checked it out later - it looks like they're prepared to offer quite a bit of recreation all year round. The other people on the train split off to pursue their own interests. We were given the option of an early departure - 2:30pm, but everyone decided to stay with the 4:30 schedule.
I spent some time walking around the station. The original station is a museum - the former freight house behind it is the station and store now. The museum was closed that day, but I'd been in it before. It has an elaborate HO scale train layout inside showing the area as it looked decades ago, and exhibits about the history of the area, which is more than Teddy Roosevelt's midnight ride. (Gore is where the U.S. Ski Patrol was founded.) There's some boulders on display with pockets of garnets in them - Barton Mines up the road is a long established industry. In the summer you can hunt for your own gem stones.
I spent some time just looking around the station environs. They have a working turntable for turning engines and cars around. There's a huge shed engine house for light repairs, a number of other cars in reserve, sidings, switches, a sand tower, etc. (If anyone you know is into model railroading, this would give them plenty of ideas for a layout.) I spent some time watching the train crew move the engines from one end of the train to the other for the run back. They had quite an interesting mix: a modern GE B39E Dash 8 diesel, and an old rare BL-2 engine, both brightly painted. Some maintenance equipment nearby caught my eye. With a Knox Kershaw KSF 940 on standby, they were prepared to deal with serious snows. If only....
The Adirondacks are a beautiful place to live, but a tough place to make a living. Between the soil, the terrain, and the climate, farming isn't really an option. Timber and mining operations provide some employment, but as commodities they're subject to economic conditions. There's also the problem of their effect on outdoor recreation and tourism, a seasonal business also subject to the vagaries of climate and economic conditions.
The Town of North Creek spreads south from the rail station area. There are no big box stores or giant gas station convenience stores within the few blocks around Main Street. You can easily walk from one end to the other, which I did. The Town Library has WiFi, several public computers heavily in use on Saturday, and an upcoming class for iPad users. Across the street is a Chamber of Commerce building and art gallery. There was supposed to be a class in acrylics painting that day, taught by a local artist. Main Street has at least one bank, a grocery store, a hardware store, several shops and eating places, a hotel, and other small businesses.
The buildings are mostly of a certain age. There are some bright signs though - several of them were being worked on and renovated. I spoke briefly with one man who was doing some work. He mentioned it had been 80 degrees the day before; there were rumors black flies had already started to appear. He told me several people had bought new snow plows back in the fall - and only used them 3-4 times. Normally they can make a lot of money plowing, but not this year. I had lunch at Andies - the cheeseburger special that day. I was asked several times if I'd come in on the train - the locals are very aware of its impact on the local economy and they can use all the tourism they can get, especially this year.
After lunch, I ended up strolling across Route 28 towards the Ski Bowl. There's a new development going up there which will tie right into the ski trails coming off the mountain. The two townhouses completed so far looked pretty impressive as I walked around.
While I didn't manage to get over to it, there's a small airport in North Creek too; somebody was flying touch and goes in a tail dragger shortly after the train arrived in the morning. I saw a J-3 Cub flying off at one point, and a couple of ultralights showed up in the afternoon.
I finished up my day in North Creek back at the station. I watched them respot the train for the run back south, and sat down in the waiting room to wait for boarding. I recognized some of the riders from the morning. There was one family with small children who'd done some hiking, and another couple who'd come back from hiking up Gore Mountain. The train pulled out of the North Creek Depot right on time at 4:30 for the run back to Saratoga Springs.
Train operations manager Jody Moore was working the return run. I got to talk with him several times. The parent company of the S&NC, Iowa Pacific is pretty serious about the line. They've brought in some good equipment and made some real investments in service. They got a later start than hoped last summer but still got good ridership numbers. This coming year should be even better, especially as they'll be developing their connections with local businesses and communities up and down the line. They will also be cross-marketing with Amtrak, which only makes sense after all.
Moore mentioned he has plans to get the windows in the dome sections of the cars replaced. Iowa Pacific has a number of them. They're trickier to replace than regular car windows since they're curved, but it should really improve the view since they've accumulated some wear over the years. The car we were riding in, Tanana, had been running up on the Alaska Railroad for the Holland-America McKinley Explorer before being replaced by newer cars.
Moore and the rest of the train crew all seem to be really enjoying what they do. They're determined to offer good service and lots of it. While the S&NC has been getting a lot of (deserved) attention for its passenger service, there's also been discussion of freight service. Plans to reopen the line all the way up to Tahawus keep coming up. The communities along the line can use all the economic help they can get, and rail operations look to be part of that.
The ride back included a dinner menu; I went with the No. 10 traditional club sandwich with a pasta salad ($10.00) although the New York Strip Steak and the Chicken Cordon Blue choices from the plate combination side of the menu looked tempting. I passed on the beer/wine/cocktails - maybe another trip.
We came gliding back into Saratoga Springs Station at 6:40 after being delayed a few minutes by a balky switch. Just after we arrived, a northbound Amtrak train stopped to let passengers board and depart, then rolled off into the night bound for Montreal. It was a nice touch to end the day.
Snow Train service has effectively ended for the season - but the Saratoga & North Creek already has plans for the upcoming months. There's no shortage of things to see and do in the area; Lake George is not that far from North Creek. Saratoga Springs is loaded with attractions, between the racing seasons, the Performing Arts Center, and all the museums - and you can get there via Amtrak. Hiking, camping, fishing, whitewater and more - it's all along the upper Hudson River. And the locals are definitely friendly.
To further whet your appetite, I found this Youtube video shot along the Saratoga & North Creek last August, 2011. There's some nice shots of the train at crossings, pacing shots from a parallel road, views of the train along the Hudson, the countryside, the bridge at Hadley, and a CP Rail freight passing through Saratoga before the S&NC train comes in pulled by an Arizona Eastern E-8 diesel. Enjoy!