The Adirondack Scenic Railroad, Through Beautiful Upstate New York

Since their first trip in 1992 the railroad has grown by leaps and bounds, literally. Today, it operates two, unconnected sections of this former New York Central branch that once extended from Utica all of the way to Lake Placid to the north, a distance of over 150 miles. Their operations include a short 10-mile section of railroad between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, and another 50-mile section between the town of Utica and Thendara, where it all began. Plans for the railroad include hopefully reopening the section between Thendara and Saranac Lake, a nearly 100-mile stretch of railroad that operates through New York’s breathtaking Adirondack Park.

Still, today you can still glimpse the park aboard the railroad from its operations around Saranac Lake and about half of its route to Thendara. While the railroad does not operate any nostalgic steam locomotives it does provide you with cozy climate-controlled passenger cars. The Adirondack Scenic also offers several different special excursion trains throughout the year including their Wine Train, The Polar Express during the holidays, Halloween Trains, and even the very popular Murder Mystery trains!

Regardless of having no steam locomotives the railroad is home to a nice collection of diesel locomotives, one of which is an original New York Central unit. Below is a roster of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad:

· New York Central #705 - Original Louisville & Nashville EMD SW1

· #1500 – Original Bessemer & Lake Erie EMD F7

· #1502 – Original Gulf, Mobile & Ohio EMD F10

· #1508 - Original Alaska Railroad EMD F7

· #2007 – Original New Haven EMD FL9

· #2018 – Original New Haven EMD FL9

· #2029 – Original New Haven EMD FL9

· #2031 – Original New Haven EMD FL9

· #4243 – Original Spokane, Portland & Seattle American Locomotive Company (Alco) C424

· #6076 – Original Pennsylvania Railroad EMD GP9

· #8223 – Original New York Central American Locomotive Company (Alco) RS3

In the over 16 years since the Adirondack Scenic Railroad began from virtually nothing but a dream it has grown immensely in that time. What’s more is that the railroad has gotten local towns involved along its route and several have either restored their original, still-standing depots or elected to rebuild replicas of those torn down! The Adirondack Scenic Railroad has become a very popular tourist railroad (it has been featured in a number of national publications, including Trains, the magazine) and if it is able to restore the entire route between Utica and Lake Placid the railroad is certainly poised to becoming one of the most popular in the country, even rivaling others like the Strasburg Railroad and Durango & Silverton, due to its onboard services and stunning scenery of upstate New York.

So, for a fabulous trip by train on a super-scenic route in climate-controlled cars, a ride on the Adirondack Scenic is definitely something not to be missed if you have the chance. And, if you have time consider becoming a volunteer to help them in their effort to not only restore the track all of the way to Lake Placid but also keep their equipment and current railroad in good working order, they would certainly very much appreciate the help.

For more information on tourist railroads like the Adirondack Scenic Railroad you might want to consider the book Empire State Railway Museum's Tourist Trains 2006 from the Empire State Railway Museum. Given excellent reviews this guidebook covers nearly all of the tourist railroads and museums operating in the country in fine detail. So, if you’re interested in locating a tourist train or railroad near you, or simply want to know more about a particular one, you will certainly not be disappointed in Empire State Railway Museum’s guidebook to tourist railroads and museums. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".