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Adirondack branch

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Adirondack branch
Overview
Owner
Service
Operator(s)Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway
History
OpenedDecember 1, 1865 (1865-12-01)
Technical
Line length57 mi (92 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map

Legend
mi
29.1
 Tahawus
0.0
94.7
 North Creek
87.0
 Riverside
81.1
 The Glen
75.9
 Warrensburg
72.7
 Thurman
67.0
 Stony Creek
59.4
 Hadley
54.4
 Corinth
50.5
 South Corinth
47.1
 Kings
Canadian Subdivision
37.4
 Saratoga Springs
Canadian Subdivision
This diagram:

The Adirondack branch is a railway line in the state New York. It runs 57 miles (92 km) from Saratoga Springs, New York, to North Creek, New York. The line was built by predecessors of the Delaware and Hudson Railway between 1865 and 1871. Ownership of the line is split between Warren County, New York, and the town of Corinth, New York. The Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway operates excursion service over part of the line. The Tahawus line runs another 29 miles (47 km) from North Creek to Tahawus, New York. It was built during World War II to serve a titanium mine and is now owned by a railbiking company.

History

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Delaware and Hudson (1865–1996)

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Under the leadership of Thomas C. Durant, the Adirondack Company had begun building north from Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1865. Trains began running as far as Hadley, New York, on December 1, 1865. In Saratoga Springs, connection was made with the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad.[1] The line reached North Creek, New York, in 1871.[2] The Delaware and Hudson Railway gained control of the line in 1889 and merged the Adirondack Railway in 1902.[3] During World War II, the line was extended further north to Tahawus, New York, to serve a titanium mine. The federal government owned the line and leased it to the D&H, which operated services.[4]

Passenger service was reduced to summer-only in 1950 and discontinued altogether in 1957.[5][6] Operations at the titanium mine ended in 1989, and the federal government sold the line between North Creek and Tahawus to NL Chemicals, the owner of the mine.[7]

Public ownership (1996–present)

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Warren County acquired the line between North Creek and Corinth, New York, in 1996.[8] The Upper Hudson River Railroad began excursion service between North Creek and Riverside on October 17, 1998.[9]

Corinth acquired the line between Corinth and Saratoga Springs in 2006.[10] Corinth and Warren County did not renew the Upper Hudson River Railroad's contract in 2010, and the Iowa Pacific Holdings took over in 2011.[11] The Saratoga and North Creek Railway began offering scheduled passenger service between North Creek and Saratoga Springs--not just excursion service--on July 23, 2011.[12] The Saratoga and North Creek Railway also acquired the line between North Creek and Tahawus from NL Industries in 2011.[13] The Saratoga and North Creek ceased operations on April 7, 2018.[14]

The Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway began operating excursion service out of Corinth, New York, in 2022.[15] Revolution Rail, a railbiking company, acquired the line between North Creek and Tahawus in 2022.[16][17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 118.
  2. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 121.
  3. ^ Shaughnessy (1997), p. 129.
  4. ^ Sanders (1959), p. 46.
  5. ^ "D&H to End Run in Winter Between Spa, North Creek". Schenectady Gazette. June 15, 1950. p. 13.
  6. ^ "D&H to discontinue passenger service to North Creek". The North Creek News Enterprise. May 29, 1957.
  7. ^ Minerals Yearbook. United States: Bureau of Mines. 1989. p. 589.
  8. ^ Goodspeed, Susan (June 27, 1996). "Legal Hurdle Cleared For Tourist Railway". Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Goodspeed, Sue (October 22, 1998). "Excursion Train Launched". The North Creek News Enterprise. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "It'll be one dam repair after another". The Saratogian. May 23, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  11. ^ Post, Paul (June 9, 2011). "Flooding didn't derail Saratoga-North Creek tourist train". Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Iowa Pacific introduces intercity passenger-rail service in New York". Progressive Railroading. July 27, 2011. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  13. ^ Surface Transportation Board (June 1, 2012). "Saratoga and North Creek Railway, LLC―Operation Exemption―Tahawus Line" (PDF).
  14. ^ Anderson, Eric (April 3, 2018). "Saratoga North Creek train to shut down April 7". Times Union. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Moore, Kathleen (February 19, 2022). "New tourist train to roll through southern Adirondacks". Times-Union. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  16. ^ "Revolution Rail Purchases Former Saratoga North Creek Rail Line". Saratoga Today. January 6, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Surface Transportation Board (November 23, 2022). "Revolution Rail Holding Company, LLC—Acquisition Exemption—Saratoga and North Creek Railway, LLC" (PDF). Retrieved August 11, 2024.

References

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