The Upper Hudson River Railroad was a

heritage railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

that operated from 1999 to 2010 in the upper

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

. Primary motive power consisted of Southwind Rail Travel Limited ex- Delaware & Hudson locomotive No. 5019.

History

The Upper Hudson River Railroad uses the Adirondack Railway line built by

Thomas C. Durant Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Sum ...

in 1871 to North Creek. North Creek station is where

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

learned he was to become president of the United States of America after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With th ...

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing ...

, and

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

were shipped by rail from Tahawus by the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H). The D&H, which acquired the Adirondack Line from

William West Durant William West Durant (1850–1934) was a designer and developer of camps in the Adirondack Great Camp style, including Camp Uncas, Camp Pine Knot and Great Camp Sagamore which are National Historic Landmarks. He was the son of Thomas C. ...

in 1889, ran through this region until 1989 when the mine at Tahawus closed. The D&H last operated Monday through Saturday scheduled passenger service in the 1950s; reduced to summer service by the mid-1950s. Regular service having entirely ended by 1957, with only freight service remaining. In 1998 the right of way was purchased by

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

with plans to operate an excursion train to improve tourism and economic development in the area. In 1999, the Upper Hudson River Railroad was formed and introduced an excursion train that ran south from North Creek to Riverside Station in Riparius. The track from Riverside Station south to Hadley was rebuilt by 2007. The Upper Hudson River Railroad celebrated its tenth year with a run, dubbed "40 Miler", that started at the high trestle in Hadley and ended at the restored turntable in North Creek. The 2007 season included excursions to Ranch, the 40 miler to Hadley, and a Payroll Robbery. Various actors playing the roles of clowns, hobos, and a musician/storyteller join the excursions.

End of operations

The Upper Hudson River Railroad lost their contract with Warren County on December 31, 2010. On April 8, 2011, it was announced that

Iowa Pacific Holdings Iowa Pacific Holdings was a holding company that owned railroad properties across North America and the United Kingdom, as well as providing services such as railcar repairs, leasing, management and consulting services to other operators. The comp ...

would take over operation of the route effective July 1, 2011. As part of the agreement, the Iowa Pacific agreed to operate a minimum of 182 tourist-oriented passenger trains over the line. Iowa Pacific began operating trains on July 12, 2011 as the Saratoga and North Creek Railroad. Unlike the Upper Hudson River Railroad, the Saratoga and North Creek operates over the entire distance between the Upper Hudson River Railroad's former terminal in North Creek and the station in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

, which allows connections with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's '' Adirondack'' and ''

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north-south route with a 7 hour 35 minu ...

'' services. An article dated May 14, 2012 in the ''Post Star'' titled ''Federal board OKs rail freight line between North Creek and Newcomb'' stated, "The operator of the Saratoga & North Creek Railway can move forward with plans to reopen the Tahawus rail line between North Creek and Newcomb and offer freight service, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Monday. The federal Surface Transportation Board on Monday approved a request for 'common carrier' status on the line, which allows Iowa Pacific Holdings, the rail line operator, to reopen the line." This action will result in freight traffic running over the former UHRR line.

Stations

* North Creek –

North Creek, New York North Creek is a census-designated place and hamlet in the Adirondack Park, in the town of Johnsburg, in Warren County, New York, United States. It is an area known for skiing ( Gore Mountain), hiking and other outdoor recreational activities. ...

* Riverside Station – Riparius, New York (NRHP)

References

External links

Upper Hudson River Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Hudson River Railroad Heritage railroads in New York (state) Hudson River Tourist attractions in Warren County, New York Defunct New York (state) railroads Railway companies established in 1999 Railway companies disestablished in 2010 1999 establishments in New York (state)