D & H to Lake Placid

[FCM2829]

Does anyone know when the last train to Lake placid/ Saranac Lake ran via the D&H branch from Plattsburgh?
Any info greatly appreciated.

[CarterB]

Here's what I found so far:
In 1946, Delaware & Hudson abandoned Lyon Mountain to Plumadore; and sold Saranac to Lake Placid ro the New York Central. So I'd guess the last Plattsburg to Lake Placid Service on the D&H would be around then.
NYC Lake Placid - Utica passenger service ends in 1965.

[jlauser]

The former NYC Utica -> Lake Placid run ended regular service in 1965, but special service was restored for the 1980 Winter Olympics. The line is currently operated by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, based in Utica. They operate from Utica north to Thendara and from Lake Placid south to Saranac Lake. The railroad wants to restore the middle of the line, but securing funding for ~100 miles of track seems a bit like a pipe dream. Then again, I would have said the same about seeing service restored between Saratoga and North Creek.

[greenwichlirr]

The abandonment Lyon Mt. to Plumadore in '46 is correct. Just an add-on bit of info:

In 1940, The D&H made a connection with the NYC at the new location which became Plumadore. The two RR's were literally feet from each other, so building a cross-over to the Central was as easy as could be. From there into Saranac Lake, The D&H abandoned their first piece of the old Chateguay Railway, and obtained trackage rights from the new connection down into Lake Clear Jct., and then up the Saranac Branch to Saranac Lake.

Hope this fills in any blanks...

As for restoring the middle of the line.....if only they would start running SOME kind of freight service to the north end, they could at least have some more money coming in, but that's a subject for another whole thread. (And yes...I know....the track has to be fixed before it can be used that way...but you get my idea.)

[RussNelson]

Michael Kudish's four-volume series on the Mountain Railroads of New York State can't be beaten for details like this. That said, since the question has already been answered, I'm not going to go looking to see if it's there.