CORINTH, N.Y. — The newly formed Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway has announced plans to begin tourist operations this spring.
Trains will operate on more than 11 miles of the southern end of the former Delaware & Hudson Railway Adirondack Branch, between Corinth and Greenfield, N.Y., just north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The locomotive will feature Alco S1 No. 5, built in May 1947 as Alco’s Schenectady, N.Y., plant switcher, as its primary locomotive.
More information is available at the railway’s website and Facebook page; more information on the locomotive is available at its Facebook page.
The Adirondack Branch dates to 1864-70, when it was built as the Adirondack Railroad between Saratoga and North Creek. It became part of the Delaware & Hudson in 1889, and was purchased by Warren County, N.Y., in 1996. It has previously seen tourist operations by the Upper Hudson River Railroad, between Corinth and North Creek from 1998 to 2010, and over the entire length of the branch by the Saratoga & North Creek from 2011 through 2018. The route has been dormant, except for occasional equipment moves, since the Saratoga & North Creek halted operations in 2018 in advance of the bankruptcy of parent Iowa Pacific.
I would love to be optimistic about this or any other tourist railroad. But if someone like Ed Ellis couldn’t make this work (and at least one person here enjoyed his effort) on track he didn’t own, what’s different now? What’s more, in this very same Adirondack Region is a glaring example of what can actually go wrong here too. Witness the abandonment of the Adirondack Scenic to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, two of the region’s biggest attractions. Gorgeous station complexes in both towns. But “winter sports interests” got the ear of the Cuomo administration and convinced them the ROW would serve the greater good as a recreational trail. Out came the tracks and crossing signals (all recently upgraded) last spring.
I certainly hope the Saratoga County operation is creatively pursuing as many revenue sources (and not just from tourism) as they can find, and wish them the best of luck.
John Rice says above, “Many of these operators fail because they think its about railroading. It’s not. It’s about providing an customer focused experience.”
My experience riding the Saratoga and North Creek was exactly that, a satisfying customer experience. From the friendly and informative crew members, to the beautiful and comfortable equipment, to the beautiful scenery, to the excellent food and to the enjoyable destination, it was definitely a customer focused experience. It’s a shame that it had to go out of business, possibly because of failures of the parent company elsewhere. I hope the new operation will be successful and will expand at least as far as North Creek again.
WHAT EVER HAPPENED to the auction recently covered in local media?
The auction is for the line from North Creek to end of track in Tahawus. The tourist operation is at the southern end of the line, not reaching as far as North Creek.
Hopefully future track repairs will permit running north of Corinth to North Creek again. That is the truly scenic portion of this line, where it closely follows the shore of the upper Hudson River.
Remember that the Adirondack Scenic, oin spite of its’ ‘challenges’ has made ‘; a go of it’ for some time and is at least in that vicinity…Wish this ‘new’ operation’ Good Luck and God Speed….
P.S. I seem to recall that in their area; there was a supply of ‘marketable’ grades of ‘rock’ will the operator of the new SC&H have access to that? Would certainly, be a good money maker for the new line.
Anyone know what passenger equipment they will be using?
The recently formed ‘Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway’ has announced plans to start tourist operations this spring from Sunday, May 22nd 2022 if all goes great!
So, when the highly anticipated time comes up, sit back, relax and enjoy a beverage on a 90 minute vintage train ride, railfan folks of all ages!
The excursion company’s trains will operate out of Corinth Station and offer guests a chance to see the beauty of the Southern Adirondacks behind the historic diesel-electric locomotive ALCO 5, built by the American Locomotive Company in 1943 at Schenectady-NY.
Entirely original, ALCO 5 is an 660 hp (490 kW) S-1 switcher and was the last locomotive to leave the factory in 1989.
Well, what more can be said? “Good luck” to the devoted ‘Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway’ team and “Bon voyage” in advance to lucky passengers!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Mr. Thompson: I will advocate for those organizations that have asound business plan rather than unrealistic passion. I still ache for the dumpster fire that occurred with the Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville, IN. We lost a great steam locomotive, now in pieces, and historic albeit decrepit artifacts, and a fun operation. Owning your property makes your position secure. If a government does you will not be in control of your destiny. Further, the laws of economics cannot be suspended no matter your passion. I do wish this group the best; may they learn from the past as well as celebrate it.
This is in a vacation and recreation mecca close to the NY Capital region. With proper promotion and management it could do well.
Thanks Mr Fisher. It’s nice to see that someone on this Trains site shows some optimism when it comes to tourist railroads. Not sure when or why it happened but negative views seem to be in vogue these days. I can’t imagine why anyone who doesn’t enjoy trains, be they tourists, Amtrak or freight, would subscribe to TRAINS magazine. Maybe they’re gluten’s for punishment.
Hey Chris, as a frequent rider on *many* scenic railroads, I am not against them at all. What I am “negative” about is the constant churn of some of these operators who after several failures seem to think they have the secret sauce to make it work.
Many of these operators fail because they think its about railroading. It’s not. It’s about providing an customer focused experience.
Mr. Rice: When you can’t feed the tiger anymore, the tiger eats you. There is a discontinuity of logic in the population and politicians, between understanding the railroad mode and the railroad business. The former is the pet, the latter is the tiger. Blessings to all
In the case of Ed Ellis, I would agree, he was eaten.
Liability insurance is the main culprit here…and everywhere else they want to move people on old infrastructure.
I never fails to amaze me that so many tourist railroad operators feel that they have a better mousetrap that the previous failed operators, again, and again and again…
than
It’s called “pet railroading”. No different than trying to raise a wild animal as a pet.
As long as there is a healthy supply of old engines, old ROW and a local subsidy to keep them rolling they will always try to tame the tiger. Usually they reach their demise when the deferred maintenance catches up to them.
Kind of like when you can’t afford to feed the tiger anymore. The tiger usually dies or is taken away from you.