Adirondack Scenic Railroad (ADIX) Discussion - 2014

[Noel Weaver]

I think it would be a huge plus for the line to Beaver River to be repaired at least to a point where they could run at 10 or 15 MPH on it or better yet 30 MPH. I think it would cool any opposition in Beaver River to the existing situation and it would make the railroad far more useful than it presently is. They could build a wooden ramp at Beaver River and maybe Thendara and ferry motor vehicles to and from Beaver River. This was actually done in Florida many years ago when the island of Boca Grande had a branch of the Seaboard with a drawbridge linking it to the mainland but it had no highway bridge connecting it to the mainland. Seaboard ran a daily passenger train as well as freight service there and they also had a ferry operation operated by some sort of a strange vehicle which could ferry one car at a time. For those of you who have no idea what I am referring to, Boca Grand is not too far from Fort Myers and is probably one of the most beautiful places in all of Florida, the old station is still there but the railroad has been abandoned and mostly torn up. Some of the ROW is a bicycle trail.
Noel Weaver

[BR&P]

Exactly, Noel. Make the railroad useful to Beaver River. Those who want the line to stay will benefit and maybe some of those on the fence will decide it's a good thing.

So somewhere less than 5,000 ties would safety tie the segment. Careful selection of tie replacement should cut that even lower unless the line is really bad. Does the railroad do their own trackwork, or contract it out?

I'm sure there are a lot more factors but at first glance it would seem getting the railroad to provide a benefit to Beaver River would be a high priority. You have the railroad itself wanting to stay, and the trails people wanting it gone. If the majority of local residents, who are neither rail nor trail people, want it to stay, that should be very useful. And maybe they can apply local pressure on the "problem child". It's a wonder civil war has not broken out up there!

[driftinmark]

just a thought , but maybe the pressure was put in place to make the rairoad move faster to get the line restored? stranger things are possible....

[BR&P]

just a thought , but maybe the pressure was put in place to make the rairoad move faster to get the line restored? stranger things are possible....

No. Trust me, the people being discussed would be out there tonight with a claw bar pulling up the spikes if they could legally do so.

[Otto Vondrak]

Trust me, the people being discussed would be out there tonight with a claw bar pulling up the spikes if they could legally do so.

Gosh, imagine if we tried to mount a campaign to remove a bike trail? Whew!

-otto-

[O-6-O]

just a thought , but maybe the pressure was put in place to make the rairoad move faster to get the line restored? stranger things are possible....

No. Trust me, the people being discussed would be out there tonight with a claw bar pulling up the spikes if they could legally do so.

I don't think there is any doubt that this is true. However catch the tone and a bit of frustration in this article.

http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.co ... l?nav=5041" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[traingeek8223]

I don't think there is any doubt that this is true. However catch the tone and a bit of frustration in this article.

[url]http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.co%20...%20l?nav=5041[/url]

Don't believe everything you read in the papers. Look no further then the author of the article to find the bias.

That being said, Beaver River is a bit of a magical place in today's day and age. You can't drive there. You can walk there (but the trail is 9 miles). You can't fly there. You can take a boat, but it's not an island. It is fully surrounded by the beauty of the Adirondack Park with absolutely no reminder of civilization. Train service to this location promises to be unique. Residents can use the service to access their camps and to bring in supplies. Local business owners (both of them) will benefit from day trippers that they don't normally get due to the hassle of getting there, plus they will experience more overnight visitors that like the idea of being so far from civilization, but want a civilized way to get there.

FYI the Norridgewock III is a nice establishment and would be a great destination for train goers. If you go there now just don't mention you support the railroad until after you get the check.

[charlie6017]

Scott Thompson is another of "The Three Stooges", along with Tony and Jim McCulley. All three
of these clowns are the ringmasters looking to rip up the rails.

Charlie

[umtrr-author]

I might point out that the anti-rail piece got 120 Facebook recommendations, while this one from the ADIX's Bill Branson 3 days previous only got 31 FB recommendations...

http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.co ... l?nav=5041" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Might some of us who are on FB help run up the score on the ADIX piece? Every little bit helps...

[SCB2525]

I only learned of this debate by accident TODAY in looking on information on US Supreme Court's decision on property rights for rail-banked ROWs and coming upon an article about the Lake Placid ROW. I was intrigued and I figured I would find more nuts and bolts information on good ol' Railroad.net

I am not a railfan in the classic sense. My interests in preservation of railroad rights-of-way are for commuter rail operations as they pertain to regional planning (especially in my hometown of Philadelphia) and in freight operations as they pertain to enhancing commerce. If the corridor in question in this thread were some random line that was redundant and of little use (such as the Philadelphia and Thorndale branch down my way or some industrial spur OFF the Lake Placid line), I would not defend its continued existence based on railroad history and would even champion its conversion to a trail. This right-of-way seems to have little value with respect to freight or inter-city travel.

That being said, the Lake Placid corridor in question is one of utmost value with respect to tourism. The idea of vacationing in a town in the Adirondacks (Beaver River) accessible only by boat, a 9 mile hike or potentially railroad intrigues the hell out of me to the extent that I would absolutely do so if the railroad reached it, as I have no interest in hiking or driving all the way there and then taking a boat to my lodging but would love to be that deep in the wilderness. This would be especially true if I could ride direct from NYC.

There are plenty of short-line tourist railroads here in PA that don't interest me in the least as they are their own attraction. I don't want to ride 5 miles at over garbage Class I track just because its some heritage equipment and the conductors dress like its 1910. YOU as locals of the Adirondacks had a blessing dropped in your lap via the Olympics in the form of preservation of 100+ miles of ROW through some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States, with a connection to NYC via an ACTIVE DIRECT AMTRAK ROUTE at Utica. To want to pull up the railroad to put a snowmobile trail is truly moronic and myopic for your own sake a local resident.

[tree68]

Just heard that this has become a money issue - for folks who would like (or get) money from a foundation in the Tri-Lakes area.

Word is that organizations have been told that they won't get grants from said foundation if they support the railroad...

The fairy tales haven't been working, so bullying has come into play.

[traingeek8223]

Bullying has been in the cards from day one. Right there with misinformation and propaganda. I really hope when the dust settles in this whole BS deal that someone ends up in jail.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Non-Snowmobile trail question

When I was younger (probably mid 1990s) my grandfather took me to ride the train out of Utica. It didn't board at the Union Station, but instead we had to drive about a mile away (or maybe less) and then we could get on. I don't recall the details because I was young, but am trying to locate where that was. At the time, it might have been part of the NYS&W (or not).

Can someone familiar with the "modern" history of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad provide some information as to when it started up again out of Utica, when it finally started running out of Utica Union Station, and where it boarded before it started using Utica Union Station?

Thanks.
Ben

[tree68]

I don't have dates - but the site you're referring to was referred to as "Falvo Station," adjacent to the Falvo facility alongside the line (the old roundhouse).

I suspect ASRR started running out of Union Station when the tower/crossover was finished, but I don't know when that was.

[traingeek8223]

Can someone familiar with the "modern" history of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad provide some information as to when it started up again out of Utica, when it finally started running out of Utica Union Station, and where it boarded before it started using Utica Union Station?

Ben

"Falvo Station" was in operation from the summer of 1998 until the overhead walkway and platform were opened at Union Station in the summer of 2002. The building, basically a larger fancy mobile construction office, is still there, located in the parking lot of Falvo Manufacturing, on the north side of the CSX mainline across from the NYS&W facility. Falvo Manufacturing it's self is located in the old Car Shop Building and is next to the former roundhouse. In order to access the station you have to travel over the Genesee St. Bridge to Lee St. Then turn onto Washington St and travel almost to it's end.