View source for Adirondack Railroad

{{short description|Tourist railway in upstate New York}}
{{distinguish|Adirondack (train)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=August 2015}}
{{Update|date=June 2020|reason=need new logo}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox heritage railway
 | name               = Adirondack Railroad
 | other_name         = Adirondack Scenic Railroad
 | logo               =
 | logo_width         =
 | logo_alt           =
 | image              =
 | image_name         = Image-Adirondack Scenic Railroad - Saranac Lake Stn - Front.jpg
 | image_width        =
 | image_alt          =
 | caption            = Saranac Lake station
 | color              =
 | locale             = [[New York (state)|New York]]
 | terminus           =
 | longitude          =
 | latitude           =
 | map                =
 | map_caption        =
 | map_alt            =
 | mapsize            =
 | connections        =
 | linename           =
 | builtby            = [[Mohawk and Malone Railway]]
 | originalopen       =
 | originalgauge      = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
 | owned              =
 | operator           =
 | marks              = ADIX
 | stations           =
 | length             =
 | preservedgauge     = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
 | era                = 1992 -
 | com-years          = 1913
 | com-events         = [[New York Central]] takes over
 | com-years1         =
 | com-events1        =
 | com-years9         =
 | com-events9        =
 | closedpassengers   =
 | closed             = 1980
 | stageyears         =
 | stage              =
 | years              = 1992
 | events             = Restoration starts
 | years1             =
 | events1            =
 | years2             =
 | events2            =
 | headquarters       = [[Utica, NY]]
 | website            = [https://adirondackrr.com adirondackrr.com]
 | routemap           = {{Adirondack Scenic Railroad}}
 | routemap_name      =
 | routemap_state     = expanded
 }}
The '''Adirondack Railroad''' (formerly the '''Adirondack Scenic Railroad''') {{reporting mark|ADIX}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search MARKs |url=https://www.railinc.com/findusrail/pub/mark/search.do?fwd=init |access-date=15 October 2016 |website=[[Railinc]] |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715150949/https://www.railinc.com/findusrail/pub/mark/search.do?fwd=init |url-status=dead }}</ref> is a [[heritage railway]] serving the [[Adirondack Park]] that operates over former [[New York Central Railroad]] trackage between [[Utica, New York|Utica]] and [[Tupper Lake (village), New York|Tupper Lake]]. The railroad is operated by the not-for-profit Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society, with train crews composed largely of volunteers.

ADIX operates between Utica and [[Remsen, New York|Remsen]] over trackage of the [[Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern Railroad]], part of the [[Genesee Valley Transportation Company]]. The Remsen–Tupper Lake segment is owned by the State of New York and is designated as a multi-use corridor for rail traffic during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, and as a snowmobile trail during the winter months.

As of 2021, passenger trains operated between Utica and [[Old Forge, New York|Thendara]], with several trains continuing north to Big Moose. Historic stations have been restored in [[Holland Patent, New York|Holland Patent]], Remsen, [[Saranac Lake, New York|Saranac Lake]] and [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]]. The section of track between Utica and Lyons Falls is used for [[Freight train|freight]] traffic operated by the [[Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern Railroad]] (MA&N).

==History==
The line was built in 1892 by [[William Seward Webb]], a Vanderbilt in-law,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shelburnefarms.org/ |title=Home |website=shelburnefarms.org}}{{nonspecific|date=October 2024}}</ref> as the [[Mohawk and Malone Railway|Mohawk & Malone Railway]] and was purchased from him in 1893 by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gove|2006|pp=65–69}}</ref> Its successor from 1913, the New York Central Railroad, ran passenger trains on the route until April&nbsp;24, 1965.<ref>New York Central timetable, October 1964, Table 8, last timetable showing service</ref><ref>Gove, William. 'Logging Railroads in the Adirondacks,' Syracuse, NY: 2006, p. 71.</ref> It passed to the [[Penn Central Transportation Company]] on February&nbsp;1, 1968,<ref>Railroad and Railfan Magazine, February, 2018 cover story: "Penn Central Fifty Years Later"</ref> which abandoned freight operations north of Remsen in 1972. New York State bought the entire Utica-Lake Placid line from the bankrupt Penn Central in 1974, primarily to serve the [[1980 Winter Olympics]] in Lake Placid. The [[Adirondack Railway (1976–1981)|Adirondack Railway]] then operated passenger services between Utica and Lake Placid from 1979 to 1981.<ref name="Drury">{{Harvnb|Drury|1985|p=14}}</ref> Tracks were dormant from 1981 until 1992, when restoration began with a {{convert|4|mi|km|adj=on}} section from [[Thendara, New York|Thendara]] to [[Minnehaha, New York|Minnehaha]], New York. The section was approved and demonstrated on July&nbsp;4, 1992, and the line was given the name Adirondack Centennial Railroad. It was renamed Adirondack Scenic Railroad in 1994.

The railroad had formerly planned to restore passenger operations over the entire {{convert|142|mi|adj=on}} length of the Utica–Lake Placid corridor, and did operate from 2000 to 2016 on the {{convert|8|mi|adj=on}} segment between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.<ref>http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com, May 4, 2016.{{nonspecific|date=October 2024}}</ref> Other advocates in the area called for replacing the Tupper Lake–Lake Placid section with a [[rail trail]] instead.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 3, 2011 |title=World-class bikeway envisioned |work=Adirondack Daily Enterprise |url=http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/524854/World-class-bikeway-envisioned.html}}</ref> Tracks were slated to be dismantled in late 2016,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governor green-lights rail-trail plan - AdirondackDailyEnterprise.com - News, Sports, Jobs, Saranac Lake region — Adirondack Daily Enterprise |url=http://adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/562507/Governor-green-lights-rail-trail-plan.html?nav=5047}}</ref> but their removal was delayed by legal battles between the railroad advocates, rail trail advocates, and the state.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Adirondack Scenic Railroad on 'pins and needles,' some rides will begin July 1 |language=en-US |work=NewYorkUpstate.com |url=http://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2017/06/adirondack_scenic_railroad_on_pins_and_needles_some_rides_will_begin_july_1.html |access-date=2017-06-23}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court]] ultimately sided with the railroad on September&nbsp;26, 2017, annulling the rail trail plan.<ref>{{cite court | litigants =Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society, Inc. v. New York State Adirondack Park Agency (Leilani Ulrich); New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Basil Seggos); New York State Department of Transportation (Matthew Driscoll) | vol = 2016-213 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 16-1-2017-0129 | pinpoint =| court = Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Franklin; | date = September 26, 2017 | url= https://s3.amazonaws.com/ogden_images/www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/images/2017/09/27201417/170928RRCourtOrder.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Mike |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Judge Rules In Favor of Adirondack Scenic Railroad |work=The Adirondack Explorer |url=https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/judge-rules-favor-adirondack-scenic-railroad |access-date=2017-10-16}}</ref> However, in the subsequent Adirondack Park Act, the term "travel corridor" was redefined to include a trail in place of a rail line, reviving the option of a rail trail.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adirondack Park Agency to redefine travel corridor |url=http://www.adirondackrr.com/adkrr/adirondack-park-agency-to-redefine-travel-corridor/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417191835/http://www.adirondackrr.com/adkrr/adirondack-park-agency-to-redefine-travel-corridor/ |archive-date=April 17, 2018 |access-date=2018-04-17}}</ref> The tracks on the {{convert|34|mi|adj=mid}} Tupper Lake-Lake Placid section were removed in October 2020.<ref>http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org (May 16, 2021){{nonspecific|date=October 2024}}</ref>

Concurrently, New York State renovated the tracks from Big Moose to Tupper Lake.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-09 |title=Adirondack Railroad looking ahead to expansion of service |url=https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/adirondack-railroad-looking-ahead-to-expansion-of-service/ |access-date=2021-06-22 |website=WSYR |language=en-US}}</ref> The first train ran over the entire {{convert|108|mi|adj=mid}} Utica–Tupper Lake corridor in September 2022, and regular scheduled tourist excursion service began in late spring, 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Michael |title=New train line connects Utica and Tupper Lake |url=https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/local-news/new-york/new-train-line-connects-utica-and-tupper-lake/ |access-date=11 October 2022 |work=ABC22 & FOX44 |date=13 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Railroading Rambler |title=1st Revenue Run in 42 Years! Utica-Tupper Lake NY |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBJVGJGTdc |website=YouTube |access-date=October 21, 2022 |language=en-US |date=October 17, 2022}}</ref> The name was changed again to the Adirondack Railroad in 2020.

==Gallery==
<gallery |="" mode="packed">
Image:Adirondack Scenic RR engine 6076.jpg|ASR #6076
Image:New York Central Caboose, Adk Scenic RR.jpg|NYC caboose, Now in Utica, NY
Image:Adirondack Scenic RR engine 6076 at Lake Placid.JPG|ASR #6076, Lake Placid
Image:Adirondack Scenic Railroad - Saranac Lake Stn.jpg|[[Saranac Lake Union Depot]]
File:Remsen Depot 2005.jpg|Remsen Depot. Rebuilt in 1999, on the same site and to the same plans as the original station.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of heritage railways]]
* [[New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Drury Historical Guide 1985}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gove |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vuHYYmmnL1QC |title=Logging Railroads of the Adirondacks |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-8156-0794-6 |location=Syracuse, NY |oclc=61881113}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.adirondackrr.com/ Adirondack Railroad website]
* [https://www.adirondackrailtrail.org/ Adirondack Rail Trail website]
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=44.304196&lon=-74.054031&z=13&l=0&m=m Wikimapia - Saranac Lake to Lake Placid]
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=43.580391&lon=-75.06546&z=11&l=0&m=m Wikimapia - Thendara to Utica]

{{City of Utica, New York}}

{{coord|44.35342|-74.28885|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=title}}<!--Bing Maps-->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adirondack Scenic Railroad}}
[[Category:Heritage railroads in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Essex County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Franklin County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Herkimer County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Oneida County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Essex County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Franklin County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Herkimer County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Oneida County, New York]]
[[Category:Adirondack Park]]
[[Category:Saranac Lake, New York]]