Community Response Locomotive Details Location/Date of Photo
Views: 6,910 Favorited: 18 Since added on August 19, 2015
» Adirondack Scenic Railroad (more.. (more.. » Unknown(more..
Locomotive No./Train ID Photographer
» ADIX 6076 (more.. » Aaron Keller (more.. Contact Photographer Photographer Profile
Remarks & Notes
After a lengthy and fierce debate, the State of New York decided that this stretch of railroad should be scrapped and turned into a rail trail. Indeed, several years after this photo was taken, scrapping occurred; this image is but a memory now. Anti-rail groups for several years argued that hiking, biking, and snowmobiling would help the northern Adirondack economy more than than an active railroad connection to the outside world, and this state-rehabilitated track was subsequently removed by the same state that paid to rebuild it. Here, with but a tiny sliver of the High Peaks Wilderness Area visible in the background, privately-owned GP-9 no. 6076 powers a short weekend excursion between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. The line follows the terrain, and here, the train is moving due north by compass despite being a timetable southbound. Rail remains intact between Utica and Tupper Lake, N.Y., as part of a compromise plan between the railroad and the trail advocates. Penn-Central abandoned freight service on this former New York Central line in 1972. Private investors operated the line for less than two years surrounding the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. The Adirondack Railroad — formerly the Adirondack Centennial and the Adirondack Scenic — continues on, but without reaching its goal of becoming a through route to Lake Placid. Image ©2015 Aaron Keller. Image may not be reproduced without written permission from the photographer.
Photo Comments (3)
