At issue are 34 miles of rail that run from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid, N.Y. Portions of the tracks need work and are out-of-service. When New York State, which owns the land the railroad runs on, proposed in 2016 to remove the rails and convert the land to a rail trail, the railroad sued. Judge Robert Main Jr. ruled in 2017 against the state, in large part on the previous designation of the land as part of a “travel corridor.” Main said removing the tracks violated the long-standing definition of travel corridor to mean either a highway or railroad corridor.
A proposed amendment to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan would define “railroad corridor” as being “for the operation of rail cars or to serve as a rail trail,” says a press release from the Adirondack Park Agency. Agency representative Keith McKeever says the agency is scheduled to vote on the amendment at its Dec. 13 board meeting. McKeever says he did not know the breakdown of public comments on the proposal.
Reactions to the proposed change fall along expected lines.
“The travel corridor itself is defined in a certain way. If APA decides to redefine it, that’s along the same lines that got them in trouble with the first legal action,” says Bill Branson, board president of the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society Inc., which operates the railroad. Branson also noted that Main had cited other factors in his decision, including disputed ownership of some of the land, and questions about how the state would comply with historic preservation law when it comes to removing the rails.
Supporting the proposed amendment is Tony Goodwin. Goodwin says the original 1996 plan for the corridor contained six options, which included one for dividing it into segments that could be used for different purposes, including recreational use.
“This isn’t something they’re pulling out of the sky. This is something that was in the original 1996 plan.” Goodwin is a founding director of the Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, which supports conversion of the segment to a rail trail.
The amendment fight is the latest in a long series of controversies surrounding the operation of the railroad [see “Trail vs. Rail,” July 2016]. Much of the current discussion, as expressed in local media and to Trains, focuses on potential economic benefit to the communities along the path of the tracks.
“We know from economic studies that other people have done, that we can have a somewhere between $30 to $35 million impact on that area up there,” Branson says. He says local merchants want the tracks to be restored and the railroad to run trains, taking tourists to their towns.
Goodwin counters that converting the land to recreational use will bring in more economic activity, and says that five of six town boards in the area voted to recommend that the rail trail be established.
One thing that both sides agree on is that the debate has occasionally turned nasty, and that there doesn’t seem to be room for compromise at this point.
“It’s almost demoralizing that you can’t find some kind of resolution, and that we just continue to move along decade after decade with no solution,” APA’s McKeever says.
The corridor from Saranac to Old Forge area hasn’t been used in many years. Common sense would basically say why not create a rail trail from Saranac to OF. Let the ASR keep their existing Utica to OF runs and LP to Saranac trains going.
Do this and then we can revisit the results in say 5 years. Doing this would net effect the ASR in any way, since they don’t use that portion anyhow. Then we can see how the local towns like Lake Clear and Tupper Lake…etc enjoy the year round revenue from the rail-trail.
Can we just get the guv and the judge in a room together and talk common sense instead of wasting all of this time and money arguing when most of us know this plan really makes the most sense. No one loses anything they didn’t have and those on the inactive part of the line have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
Will someone here please tell me what railroad company filed the original franchise for this line? And how that lineage transpired through into the New York Central and Beyond?
Since I was quoted in the article (the check I write to renew my subscription says “James”, but most of the time I go by “Tony”), I guess I should respond. When the author interviewed me, I tried to make it clear that the railroad would continue to operate from Utica at least as far as Thendara (50 miles) despite calls from snowmobilers south of Thendara to have the tracks pulled all the way to Remsen where the Adirondack Rail Corridor ends and joins the privately-owned Mohawk and Adirondack Northern. The M&AN hosts most of the trains run by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad (ASR), including their very successful Polar Express offering. A careful analysis of the railroad’s financial filings (required because they are an not-for-profit) indicates that by far the majority of their income is derived from trains that never actually reach the Adirondack Rail Corridor.
The ASR’s business plan touts “cross platform transfers” from Amtrak in Utica as a way to travel from more distant markets to Lake Placid. Unfortunately, the operating schedule in the business plan does not permit any such “cross platform transfers”. And even if it did, the six hours shown on that business plan from Utica to Lake Placid (with a change of trains in Tupper Lake) plus the four hours from New York City to Utica would make for a very long travel day. NYC to Lake Placid is a 5-1/2 hour drive. Mr. Kittay did not include my comment that with that schedule even a three-day weekend would only leave one day to enjoy Lake Placid before the 10-hour return trip.
Is there any rational “Trains” reader out there who can possibly imagine that such service would actually be sustainable over time?
I believe that last year there was a NY state proposition that was approved. Part of it allowed building bike routes along existing highways in the Adirondacks. I don’t know how much of this has been done, but surely there is the opportunity for hundreds of miles of new bike routes. Also there are many old rail grades in the Adirondacks, including old logging lines which could be used for bike routes. I cannot see why the only remaining rail lines have to be sacrificed.
A somewhat silent partner on the rail trail side is the snowmobile faction. While, like hiking trails, there are literally hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails in the Adirondacks, there are many who would love to see the rails removed to make it easier for snowmobiles in the winter.
Mister Potter:
If the ASRR owns the ROW outright (unlikely but possible) they have a stronger case than if the ROW is pieced together from easements, grants, and owned property (the usual case). But even if it were outright owned and heavily trafficked (with trains) I wouldn’t bet the farm on them retaining it. These fights are as much political as legal and I have seen some highly …improbable… decisions handed down in similar cases. And if there is a jury involved then most definitely all bets are off.
Some attorneys simply live for such a case.
The above remarks are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Go find your own damn lawyer.
ANNA HARDING: The railroad does not own the ROW. The article states that it is owned by the state of New York and that is the problem. New York is a very corrupt state and court results usually go to the highest bidder i.e. those who pay the most. I love rail trails and ride my bike and run on my local trail several days a week. I travel to to other states with my bike to ride and run on their rail trails. I spend money for hotels and food while I’m there, probably the same amount as I would to ride a tourist railroad. But in this case I strongly support the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. This is an operating business venture and should not be pushed off the ROW without a better reason than some enviros want a another trail. Although the railroad has support among some, I’m afraid that the well funded environmental movement will pay to have their way.
If the ASRR plans on repairing and using the tracks, then I don’t think any trail should stop an operating RR from operating. Rails to trails is fine for abandoned lines.
The rail line between Lake Placid and Saranac runs thru wetlands, and the solid ROW is only as wide as the ties. No room for both rail and trail.
Went to the Adirondacks in October and stayed in Lake Placid. The preservationists are nuts. There are lots of trails in the area, but very few railroads. A trail will not add to the economic activity nor will it help the “environment.” If the enviros want to do something, reestablish passenger traffic to Lake Placid from New York City, and have electric cars for rent so that people can get around the area. The rails should also be used for increased economic activity aside from tourism, e.g. mining. Horrors.
Why can’t there be a train along the rail line, which can coexist?