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As the Adirondack Park Agency once again ponders the fate of the Tri-Lakes rail corridor, the return of a temporary, for-profit rail-bike business is being considered for the stretch of track between Saranac Lake and Lake Clear.
The popularity of these machines gives a hint of the potential benefits that will accrue from a bike path on this state-owned right-of-way once the tracks are removed. This much-discussed Adirondack Rail Trail now awaits a final okay from the APA and perhaps (here we go again!) a final round of hearings on the state’s Unit Management Plan governing use of the rail corridor.
Bicycling promises to be the Next Big Thing in the Adirondacks, an outdoor activity that will be hugely enhanced by this 34-mile trail connecting Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. Cyclists will no longer have to risk their lives braving traffic, especially on the hair-raising stretch of NY 86 between Placid and Saranac. Locals and tourists of all ages and physical abilities will be able to enjoy the Adirondack Rail Trail on a regular basis, in every season and free of charge. And not just for bicycling. This safe, peaceful, scenic pathway will also lend itself to walking, jogging, skiing, and communing with nature.
The local economy will certainly benefit from this recreational amenity, something my wife Rachel and I have seen firsthand as we explore rail trails in other parts of the country. Everywhere along these rail-to-trail conversions we see new businesses springing up, including restaurants, B&Bs, motels, art galleries, bike retail and repair shops, you name it. Former station houses have also been adapted for every conceivable purpose, from tourist- information centers to libraries, snack bars, bike rentals, museums, and overnight accommodations.
A major challenge facing rural communities are aging populations and falling school enrollments. To help counter this worrisome trend, the Adirondack Rail Trail will appeal to younger couples looking for a healthy, community-minded, naturally beautiful place to live and raise their children. With the advent of telecommuting, more and more people can now live where they chose as they conduct their business via the internet. The presence of an inviting rail trail could prove irresistible to many young telecommuters when combined with everything else the Tri-Lakes has to offer: a lovely setting, friendly small-town character, good schools, flourishing art scene, excellent libraries, a range of restaurants and (in Saranac Lake) a beautifully remodeled centerpiece hotel.
Public health also benefits from the regular use of rail trails, which provide an easy and pleasant way to enjoy regular exercise while getting out in nature. It’s telling that two of our favorite rail trails — the Swamp Rabbit Trail connecting Greenville and Travelers Rest in South Carolina, and the western section of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail in Vermont — are sponsored by local hospitals.
Speaking of the Lamoille Valley RT, here’s an excerpt from the current issue of Stowe Magazine about the progress being made on this rail-to-trail conversion that will extend all the way across northern Vermont.
“Let’s say you’re a normal person who owns a bicycle. You love riding your bike — inhaling the rich smells of a Vermont summer, slowing down or stopping when you find something interesting, getting that good feeling when your muscles ache just a little.
“But you’re not fond of biking along roads with fast-moving traffic, and mountain biking seems a little too kamikaze. Have we got the ticket for you — the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail!
“Trains are big and heavy and not good at climbing, so railroad lines were always as straight and flat as possible. What’s left when a railroad is abandoned is a reasonably straight, level right-of-way. Pull up the track and ties and you have a flat-as-a-crepe recreation trail.
“The Lamoille Valley RT was once the route for the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad Co. The line, constructed in 1877, transported passengers and freight between St. Johnsbury and Swanton for nearly a hundred years. Service stopped in 1973, when the railroad went bankrupt. Vermont acquired the right-of-way, and in 1997 the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers began using it as a snowmobile trail.
“The Lamoille County section of the trail winds through forests, open fields, farmland hills, and wetlands. The trail offers stunning views of the Lamoille Valley, and opens up snapshots of the Lamoille River, Elmore Mountain, and the Green Mountains that weren’t available before. The trail crosses more than 40 bridges and runs through more than 900 wetland areas, great places to see birds and other wildlife.
“The target year for completion is 2021. When finished it will be 93 miles long, travel through 18 towns, and span Vermont from the Connecticut River to Lake Champlain. The trail is closed to motor vehicles, although snowmobiles use it in the winter, along with cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and fat-tire bikers. In the summer, cyclists, runners, walkers, and horseback riders flock to it…”
The Lamoille Valley project is one of thousands of rail trails that have cropped up throughout the United States during the last 30 years, with new ones opening all the time. When the Adirondack Rail Trail is completed, hopefully within the next two years, it promises to be one of the best of them.
Photo of tourist train by Susan Bibeau.
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I am going to preface my remarks by saying that I have never had anything other than pleasant and respectful personal interaction with Dick Beamish, and I very much appreciate his devotion and care for the Adirondacks, so it’s a challenge to write vehemently against a concept, while avoiding what might seem like a personal attack. I hope it will not be taken that way.
First of all, why is the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, the current lease holder of the Railroad Corridor, being referred to now as a for profit business? It is a not for profit business. One of the big talking points against the railroad has been that it doesn’t make enough money ( Just for the record, contrary to ARTA’s claims, the ASR has serviced it’s past debts, operates in the black, and is self-supporting for operating expenses)
With the bankruptcy of the NY Central RR, back in the 1970’s, the State purchased the Right of Way, using railroad bonds, for the specific purpose of maintaining the possibility of restoring rail service in the future. The clear intent of the APA’s designation of the ROW as a “Travel Corridor” was to preserve and facilitate that option.
Now the APA, against a significant majority of public comments which favor the fulfillment of the 1996 Unit Management Plan, calling for restored rail service with side by side recreational trails where possible, is attempting to re-write the State Land Master Plan to aid with the destruction of the railroad. Let’s be very clear about this: if the APA proceeds with this short sighted plan, it will take two sessions of the State legislature to approve it, before overthrowing the NY State Supreme Court’s ruling that the plan is illegal. That would put any action at least two years away.
However, the definition of the Travel Corridor is only one of three major areas in which Judge Maine found the the DEC’s plan to be “arbitrary and capricious”.
The DEC has falsely represented that the State owns the underlying private land throughout the right of way, at one time claiming to have taken the land via eminent domain, a claim now removed from their web site. The State doesn’t own the land, and will have to settle for new easements on over 50 parcels of land along the route if the rails are removed. This will take considerable time, and millions of taxpayer dollars to do.
Presently downtown Saranac Lake has over 28 closed business fronts, with several more prepared to close soon. Without a doubt, the restoration of the Hotel Saranac is bringing tourists and shoppers back to our village, but over 40,000 per year are missing since the State forced the Adirondack Scenic Railroad and Rail Explorers out of the local business scene. The negative economic impact is felt by many businesses, from shops to restaurants, hotels, and gas stations.
While the matter is being resolved, one way or another, the Adirondack Scenic Railroad is planning to utilize the tracks to return what was the #1 tourism and ecotourism in the Northern Adirondacks, according to TripAdvisor; rail bikes on the railroad. In 2016, Rail Explorers, the company then operating on the rails carried 21,873 paying passengers on the section of rail from Saranac Lake to Lake Clear. I know, because I was standing by the computer when the last sale was made , and read the year end total.
Without arguing out the long term economic, environmental, historic, cultural, and social merits of restored rail service connecting the Tri-Lakes area with the nation’s mass transit system, I think it should be obvious to folks on either side of this issue that, while this matter plays out in the courts and in the legislature over the next few years, using the rails for what is now a proven solid eco-tourism attraction is a sensible and judicious use of a current resource.
Respectfully, Keith Gorgas Saranac Lake
Interesting points, although I’m confused as to why the Hotel Saranac is included as one of the things that will supposedly lure young telecommuters to move to the Tri-Lakes area. If they move here they won’t be staying at a hotel, and if they’re telecommuters they’ll already have jobs and won’t be working at the hotel, either.
The hotel has a beautiful bar on the second floor and a restaurant on the first floor.
And don’t forget the luxury spa in the basement. They take people by appointment.
Of course, the rail station is within walking distance of the hotel too. Seems to me those young telecommuters would like the option of being able to travel without having to use a car for everything. If they’re coming from the big cities, they expect to have choices – including rail
Why does Mr. Beamish assume the rail bikes will be only temporary? The ASR and the Rail Explorers shared the rails for two years before the state drove them both out. The Rail Explorers share the rails on some of their other operations. If the ASR is running trains as well as rail bikes, sharing the rails should be even easier.
At least Mr. Beamish admits rail bikes are popular – but somehow he translates that into a demand for cycling. Is it because they use pedals? Riding a rail bike is nothing like cycling. You can sit back, you can take in the scenery – because you don’t have to steer. You don’t have to dodge rail bikes going the other way, worry about ruts or wash outs.
If thousands of rail trails have popped up in the United States in the last 30 years with more on the way, as he claims, he is hardly being deprived. Why must the last railroad into the central Adirondacks be sacrificed for his personal convenience? The rest of the world is willing to invest in trails and rails – and other transport modes. It’s not an either – or choice. What Mr. Beamish fails to mention is that there are also many successful trails with rails.
Take out the railroad and that traffic he hates will only get worse, because cars will be all that is left to get around with. His demand for a bike path comes with a heavy price. If someone can only get to a bike trail by driving to it, that’s part of the problem, not the solution. It’s about having choices – why take them away?
Rial bikes, trail bikes and tourist trains along the same corridor makes multi-using sense, Anything less is pure selfishness.
Is bringing bike/hiking trails to increase economic gain to the area a pipe dream? We look at other rail to trail ventures being abandon. There are miles and miles of bike/hike paths along the Mohawk valley that have been abandon due to lack of use. The Finger Lakes trails typically have less than a dozen visitors a week. According to the caretaker at Pixley Falls Park, he sees only one or two bikers per week. These are close to populated areas where the biker can be riding within an hour. Also, all articles I read compare these potential trails to those that are close to very large metro areas.Tourist already in the area may use the trails. But, realistically, will they draw additional visitors from distances to bike or hike for a few hours? The trails may be a nice addition, but I feel the economic gain is just a dream.
I live an hour from the Pine Creek rail trail in NC Pennsylvania, a very wild area much like the Adirondacks. The Pine Creek rail trail is very well used and has been utterly transformative to the valley. Increasing tourism, local shops, restaurants, property values etc. I think a similar boost can be expected for Tupper and Saranac.
The one along Oil Creek near Titusville is very nice and quite busy as well. It is the site where oil was discovered and first extracted via wells. It was shipped via huge wooden barrels – 2 to a car as I recall. A bike trail follows an old grade on one side of the river and a short excursion train on the other. The park is quite rich in history.
Interestingly, when you fish you can still see oil seeping out of the ground into the river – as it always has. As usual, Native Americans discovered this long before Europeans set foot on this side of the water. They simply sopped up the oil with blankets and used it for medicinal (?) and other purposes.
Truth is, there aren’t miles and miles of so called abandoned trails hiking/biking trails in the mohawk valley. Just a couple miles from my house is the Rayhill trail (built on an abandoned rail line) in whitesboro that is packed every day with people (walking, biking, jogging, etc), often to the point of not being able to park. Your claim about Pixley park is completely without merit in this discussion. Of course the caretaker would not see bikes because it’s not a bike trail like the proposed rail trail. The primary use of the CANAL towpath is xcountry skiing maintained by BREIA. Mt. Biking is encouraged but that path is not a long community connector like the adirondack railroad. Lastly, the adirondacks are within a half day’s drive of millions of people so there is no issue with access to the masses.
Rail Bikes will only run if the DEC/DoT/APA give them a permit to operate. And why would they give a permit to an organization when they intend to rip out the rails! But then again the state does some pretty stupid things to begin with; they continue to let the ASR survive. Should have put that dog out to pasture a long time ago!
I recently completed the GAP/C&O Pittsbugh to DC. This has a significant positive economic effect on the through towns. Yes it is seasonal but speaking to merchants it is growing every year. One does not need to be super fit to ride a rail or canal trail just used to riding a bicycle for 5 or 6 hours a day. The majority of the through riders we met were couples aged 55 to 70 and stayed in b&b’s and hotels and ate in restaurants. Exactly the demographic with the most disposable income.
Do the research. West Newton, a trail town on the GAP, is boasted by the parent trail organization as being “revitalized” by the trail. After 30-plus years and more than $80 million in trail development costs, West Newton has ONE bed-and-breakfast, ONE bike shop, and ONE new restaurant on the trail side of the river. A new Subway was opened last year in town. All four businesses were financed with special terms by a trail lending partner; in other words, propped up. The hotel tax revenue from the B&B in 2017, the highest year received, was less than $6,400. The truth is 85% of GAP users are local, beginning and ending their trail use from the same trail head. Local users = zero economic growth.
Four new business owners in more than 30 years of development with special financing assistance. It is no wonder last year West Newton raised taxes on its citizens by more than 20%. US Census records show the small borough has been losing population every year continuously since 1970. The non existent trail economy has not come even close to revitalizing or replacing the manufacturing economy that once existed.
One has just has to look across Lake Champlain to Burlington, VT to find an extremely high usage bike trail stretching from Burlington to the bike ferry that takes you over to the Hero Islands. Runners, skaters, walkers, bikers in abundance all year round. A rail trail with its manageable grades would be a wonderful recreational asset to the Adirondacks.
And even better if you have the railroad and the trail, too, as so many of the commentators here have expressed.
The notion that a single track RR will bring new business to the Adirondacks is absurd, plain and simple. It’s a good example of inside out thinking; looking inward, inside the adirondacks, to determine what prospective visitors will value as opposed to looking outward, outside the adirondacks, to understand and determine what prospective visitors will value again, again and again. The scenic railroad flopped. Rail bikes are a red herring. It’s way past time for what could be the most popular rail trail in America. Build it and they will come!
They come but they don’t spend money. They are mostly local users and this does not create economic growth.
James,
I don’t want to offend you but your comment is not based in fact. Cyclists spend money on rentals – hotels or vacation properties; food in or out; entertainment, personal products and expensive cycling related gizmos. I know this because I’m a cyclist and my vacation rental routinely hosts cyclists. Perhaps they won’t use the merry-go-round in SL but that’s not much of a metric to use.
Please stop spreading misinformation.
No offense taken Mr. Worthington, but let’s make sure we understand who the users of the trail are before you accuse me of spreading misinformation.
All users are are not necessarily cyclists. If you are a cycle enthusiast you are in the minority when it comes to the average user. I will tell you that 85% of all users start and end their trip on the Great Allegheny Passage from the same trail head. Those users are not likely to be renting rooms in the trail towns.
In 2015 NYS did an analysis of the users on 15 trails across New York and found only 2% of those surveyed included an overnight stay, and 7 out of 10 of those that did stayed with a relative or a friend and did not pay for their lodging.
If you need links I’ll be happy to post them. The truth is most rail trails are patronized by local users and their expenditures are already accrued to the regional economy; local users = zero economic growth.
I’m quite familiar with the Great Allegheny Trail (in PA, not NYS) and its beginning trail head. To use it, my spouse and friends drove from Philadelphia. We spent 2 nights in a hotel in Somerset, PA; a truck stop over an hour from the trail head. Unfortunately, the starting trail head you mention is very remote and there’s virtually no place to stay or spend money near it. This is in significant contrast to The Pine Creek Trail that has helped revive the economy of Tioga County, PA. and the same would be true for the proposed adirondack rail trail.
What I suggest to doubters about the drawl of the proposed trail is to take some time on any summer day and observe traffic entering the Park off of I87 or along RT 3. Count the cars or SUVs with cycles attached to them. They’re all candidates for rail trail use. Contrast this to scenic RR users. I’m certain you’ll observe a signifcant difference in favor of cyclists and everyone of them has driven for hours to get where they are going. Last, and I promise this to be my last post on this subject, imagine a family of four with all their gear spending the time and money to take a train ride from Old Forge or Utica to Tupper Lake. Think of the hassle of packing up a vehicle to get to the train, unpacking the vehicle, loading a baggage car and then undoing it upon arrival 3 to 4 hour later, having traveled maybe 80 miles. (My pulse goes up just contemplating it.) But it’s not practical,likely to be very expensive and the I-generation would have nothing to do with it. So who’s left? Old farts like me (66)? Not likely either because the reason we go to the adirondacks is for revitalization of body and soul. A slow train ride just doesn’t fit that bill.
I appreciate your perspective, but it is not about doubting the drawl, it is about understanding real non-advocacy produced data collected from existing trails for decades that show the promised economic return is not materializing.
All those bikes on the roof of the cars…do you know for sure the primary purpose of arriving in your town was to cycle? And if those vacationers have been doing the same routine for years, on existing bike venues, another new trail will still fail to generate economic results unless a lot of new people come to the area.
But I’m sure you’re okay with trying to cram everything into as few suitcases as possible, dealing with baggage fees, and security hassles if you are going to fly somewhere, not to mention spending hours in airports between connecting flights.
Different modes of travel come with different demands. How fast would a train ride have to be, to be fast enough to suit you? How many hours are you willing to sit behind the wheel – for no pay – and with the rest of the family trapped in the car with you, unable to get up, stretch, move around, use a bathroom? How much of the scenery do you get to enjoy when you have to watch for traffic all the way?
I get it. You hate being on a train and the ride would be nothing but an ordeal for you. Not everyone feels that way – and some people find being to sit back and relax while traveling revitalizes their body and soul. Some of them bring their bikes on the train too. Different strokes for different folks.
Mr Worthington – I am outside the Adirondacks looking in, and I want rail service. Single or double track is irrelevant – it’s service that matters.
I have multiple trails within a short distance of where I live. Why should I drive 3-4 hours to do a trail when I’d rather have option of the train taking me to the trail – so I can relax and enjoy the trip – and extend the trip to really enjoy it by being more than a day visitor?
Your argument is absurd. It is based on the idea that this one trail among many in the Adirondacks will magically draw visitors like no other.
Usually I am chastised for having an opinion on an area I don’t live in – but the good opinion of visitors is what you should be seeking.
If you can’t answer your own question, why would I travel 3 – 4 hours to do a trail, you are unaware of your own lack of knowledge.
And single or double track makes a huge difference. If you don’t realize that, see first sentence.
Mr Worthington – if you can’t understand the concept of a rhetorical question, further communication with you is pointless.
And single versus double track is a function of how much traffic there is on the line – and how many passing sidings are available. Your knowledge of railroading is superficial, to put it kindly.
Larry, you make it seem like rail service into the Adirondacks is going to end. I know this may be hard for you to believe, but train service will continue to Old Forge, with or without a trail from Tupper Lake going north. And if the trail is built, the plan was to have the train run all the way to Tupper Lake so your goal of riding a train to get to the trail would be a reality.
Hello,
My son is looking to interview someone regarding the rail-trail issue in saranac Lake for his eagle merit badge. Is there someone I could contact directly?
Thank you,
Bill Wilson