SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The company looking to replace the Saratoga & North Creek Railway as operator of a rail line in Warren County, N.Y., has withdrawn from negotiations with the county over a portion of the route.
But the Glens Falls (N.Y.) Post-Star reports that Nevada-based United Rail is still negotiating with the town board of Corinth, N.Y., over use of the line between Saratoga Springs and Corinth, and that the company wants to run excursion trains from New York City to Saratoga Springs.
United Rail withdraw from negotiations over the county-owned line between Hadley and North Creek, N.Y., after sending Warren County Administrator Ryan Moore a proposed contract. When Moore responded that the contract would have to be reviewed by a board of supervisors, the newspaper reports, United Rail executive vice president Michael Mason responded that “a further delayed timetable doesn’t work for our investors,” and that the company was withdrawing.
Mason told the newspaper that the company still wants to operate a tourist train in Saratoga County, using the line owned by Corinth, and to work with Amtrak for other tourist trains in upstate New York, including the Manhattan-Saratoga operation.
United Rail is the company behind a Southern California-to-Las Vegas passenger project, X Train, a concept it revived in 2018 and said would be running this year. [See “X Train planning California-Las Vegas service in 2019,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 20, 2018.]
Moore, the county administrator, suggested the best use for the county’s line appears to be conversion to a recreational trail, and that it has contacted the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to explore that possibility.
Another portion of the route formerly operated by the Saratoga & North Creek is likely to be abandoned after the railroad said it no longer opposed the effort [see “Iowa Pacific goes along with abandonment of New York state branch in STB filing,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 24, 2019.] The Saratoga & North Creek is one of the Iowa Pacific properties recently placed into receivership [see “Additional Iowa Pacific railroads placed into receivership,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 23, 2019].
The mine in question was for ilmenite, a form of titanium that replaced lead in paint – hence why the mine was owned by the National Lead Company. All that has been proposed to be shipped from the abandoned mine is the tailings to be used as fill and road construction material. While there are some savings because the rock has already been mined. By the time the tailings have been loaded on trucks, transported to be loaded on the train, interchanged in Saratoga, and then shipped down the Hudson on a barge the cost ends up higher than local rock, blasted out of the side of a mountain, loaded on a truck, and delivered to where it is needed.
As a hiker who has looked down on those tailings piles from the surrounding mountains, I would love to see them gone; but I just don’t think that the economics add up.
Maybe they would have better luck with NS to ship the material to the port of Albany over CP! new York state isn’t very cooperative towards Industry or small business ….just taxes it all away!
The owner of the mine want to ship IRON ORE. Hello Warren County Mr. Moore, everyone has trails all around to hike on but Warren County has a rare railroad that could haul iron ore and tailing and help the economy. How can you be so blind to not see more benefit in a railroad. Sign the contract. You can’t take the track up and later get it back but you can extend the railroad and get a trail later if necessary. We do need Iron ore to make steel.
United Rail clearly under estimated the requirements of approval. No public entity can empower just 1 guy to sign contracts on behalf of the taxpayers. That is why a Board of Supervisors exist.
Sounds like expedience hit United Rail instead of diligence. Not a good sign that they would be a very good operator.
Then again, everything associated with the Vegas X-Train has been about expedience, not necessarily about prudence.
Anyone who offers a “take it or leave it” contract to a tax entity should run away, very fast.
Mr. Cook, very well stated. Unfortunately today’s politicians don’t have the brains that God gave to a coupler knuckle. In 10-15 years everyone will say “gee, why didn’t we save that?” when there is no chance of getting it back. I should know; I live in California where all politicians have the forward thinking of a slug and the hindsight of an eagle. I hope the tracks stay.