By Eric Berger
Trains are rolling again on most portions of the Adirondack Railroad that were closed due to washouts after severe storms inundated the area in August, though work continues to restore service north of Old Forge to Tupper Lake. The line between Remsen and Old Forge reopened on August 17.
“The efforts and collaboration from suppliers, our business partner New York State Department of Transportation, and staff and volunteers were extraordinary,” said Frank Kobliski, ADIX president and general manager, in a press release.
He said service to Tupper Lake remains suspended because washouts were particularly severe at two locations north of Old Forge. He advised anyone interested in riding the line to watch the railroad website at www.adirondackrr.com for news of its reopening. As of this week, officials said it was possible that service would resume on September 18.
The line through the Adirondack wilderness between Remsen and Tupper Lake takes a curious route relative to normal railroad economics, lacking a significant industrial customer base or large population centers. That’s because it was built in 1890 largely to serve the needs of a fairly small group of very wealthy people with large estates in the area by Dr. William Seward Webb. He was married to Lila Vanderbilt, granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and namesake of Lake Lila east of the ADIX tracks south of Tupper Lake. Not surprisingly, the line became part of the New York Central system early in the 20th century. Passenger service was discontinued by NYC in 1965. The entire segment between Utica and Lake Placid was purchased in 1975 by the State of New York from moribund NYC successor Penn Central, mainly to serve the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Adirondack Railway operated passenger service between Utica and Lake Placid from 1979 to 1981, when that contract was terminated by the state.
A revival of the line began with Adirondack Centennial Railroad in 1992 with four-mile excursion trains. The operation grew steadily from 1994 into the 21st Century as Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Plans for complete restoration of service between Utica and Lake Placid were blocked by promoters of a scheme to convert a section of the line into a trail, who succeeded in removing 34-miles of track between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid in October 2020. The railroad was also reorganized as the non-profit Adirondack Railroad in 2020. Rehabilitation of the track between Big Moose and Tupper Lake enabled ADIX to complete the 108-mile trip from Utica to Tupper Lake for the first time in four decades in 2022, with regularly scheduled trains running over every segment of the route for the first time in 2023.
The ADIX equipment can be seen at Thendara and Utica. The diesel roster includes Alco RS3 NYC 8255 and an 1941 ex-Louisville & Nashville EMD SW1 lettered as NYC 705, as well as a pair of MLW RS-18s, an ex-Alaska Railroad F7A, an ex-NH/PC/MNCR FL9 and an MBTA F10 rebuilt from GM&O 884A, an F3A.
The railroad operates between Utica and Remsen over the tracks of freight shortline Mohawk, Adirondak & Northern, a Genesee Valley Transportation property.
