Saratoga & North Creek (S&NC) Discussion

Dcell wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 4:32 pm https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... -spotlight

Fair use quote below

NORTH CREEK – The dormant 30-mile stretch of railroad tracks between this resort community and the old mining settlement of Tahawus may soon see freight trains once again, now that the tracks are set to be auctioned in March.

It will be interesting to see which bid is ultimately accepted. The problem I see is how much it will cost to upgrade the rails to handle more than the rail bike use. Having looked recently at the track on the Sanford Lake line, there are stretches that could already be bicycled (between the rails) because the ties have sunk beneath the grade. It doesn't seem that the "occasional" freight movements that are referenced in the article would justify the major track rehabilitation required - at least not for gravel movements from the Tahawus mines.

Interesting that they are selling cab rides, I may have to take a ride up this summer

Who owns the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Rwy? Where is the rolling stock such as the Alco #5 switcher coming from?

Believe that unit was already there, wasn't that the one that shuffled out the equipment stored up there that VRS came and picked up a few years ago?

https://railfan.com/former-saratoga-nor ... o-company/

New ownership it is.

Doc N Duchess Rails LLC is owned by a New Mexico couple, John and Carol McClean-Wright, who are also trying to buy a nearby mine in hopes of moving titanium ore. The couple previously owned a dude ranch in the area. The Times Union reports that there were three bidders who attended a two-hour-long auction on Zoom on Thursday. The other bidders were Revolution Rail and the Sierra Railroad.

MOST Excellent news !

So what is Warren County going to do? They are bracketed by Doc N Duchess Rail to the north and the new group with the backing of Corinth to the south. No way they can abandon the line and they proved with NSC they have no interest in running a railroad. Their council is not rail friendly. Glad to see the bankruptcy judge told bidders if you didn't have a provision for hauling freight you were not permitted to bid. DEC tried to bid and was told they have no authority on the easement and no financial interest, in short, go bound salt. Things are looking better than a year ago.

Maybe we'll just have to wait and see. Here's a post by Bob Dillon on the "History and Legends of the Adirondacks" Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/408253066033468/
This will NEVER happen. These people are the same ones who bought 1,000 Acre Dude Ranch a few years back, made all kinds of promises, then disappeared under somewhat unusual circumstances. It's very unlikely that they have deep pockets to finance this type of venture, in fact, I personally can't believe they qualified to bid. Railroad tracks like this line would need substantial freight usage in order to break even let alone make a profit. There is NO WAY Mitchell Stone will ever get a permit to reopen the mine. Sorry to be Debbie Downer but this isn't a financially viable project. By the way the LLC is filed off a dirt road in nowheresville New Mexico. Does this look like the HQ for a railroad?

50-year railfan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 07, 2022 8:41 amSorry to be Debbie Downer but this isn't a financially viable project. By the way the LLC is filed off a dirt road in nowheresville New Mexico. Does this look like the HQ for a railroad?

The above post was edited to remove personal information about the new owners.

Please keep this discussion civil. Thank you.

-otto-

Let see how this plays out. Mr. Dillon seems positive it will never happen, that's his opinion which he has every right to express. It is not fact. My research and inside information seems to point to it being very economically viable. Don't take my word, do your own research and come to your own conclusion. Time will tell how this pans out.

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stor ... -sale-snagAccording to an article in the "Adirondack Explorer", the potential buyer of the Tahawus line has now missed a deadline for putting down a deposit. Doesn't appear from the article that the deal is totally dead due to missing this deadline, but it does call into question whether it will ultimately go through.

griffs20soccer wrote: ↑Mon Mar 07, 2022 4:31 pm My research and inside information seems to point to it being very economically viable.

Yet these folks don't even have the funds to pay for the assets they bid on, let alone acquiring/leasing equipment for start up. Might be time to get some new "sources".

It might be economically viable without all those pesky capital expenses needed to get things launched.....

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