Ice jam cancels snow trains
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » An ice jam on the upper Hudson River has forced cancellation of snow trains from Saratoga Springs to North Creek for the rest of this month.
Crews are inspecting tracks for damage, with hopes of resuming service in February, or possibly running shorter excursions from Saratoga to a point below where flooding has occurred.
The ice jam has also delayed plans by rail company Iowa-Pacific Holdings to bring more outof-service rail cars to the Adirondacks for long-term storage, a move strongly opposed by environmental groups and the state.
“A section of track is out of service,” said David Michaud, Iowa-Pacific general counsel. “Cars can’t move in or out. They’re going to be delayed because of the flooding. It does have an impact.”
Iowa-Pacific owns and operates the Saratoga & North Creek Railway under a lease agreement with Warren County and the town of Corinth.
On Jan. 6, the railway ran this winter’s first snow train along the line. Plans called for snow trains to travel each Saturday through March.
But an unusual warm-up and heavy rains last Friday created a massive ice jam and flooding in Thurman, which forced the cancellation of this past Saturday’s trip.
“The tracks are currently being inspected and we hope to know
the extent of damage, if there is any, by the end of this week,” said Anna
Gomez-Domenech, railway spokesperson.
A long section of River Road, on the west bank of the river in Thurman, was entirely washed out by flood waters. The railroad runs parallel to the road in that area.
Apart from the Saratoga & North Creek Railway, Iowa-Pacific also owns 30 miles of track from North Creek north to Tahawus. Last fall, it began storing rail cars owned by other companies, and brought in from the Midwest, on this line.
Leasing track space gives Iowa-Pacific a way to generate revenue for ongoing track maintenance and repairs. The company is responsible for track maintenance all the way from Saratoga to Tahawus, including portions owned by Warren County and Corinth.
But environmentalists, backed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, say large numbers of unused rail cars don’t belong in the Adirondacks. Tracks that cars are stored on runs through the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
One company has said it would comply with state wishes and have its rail cars removed, which was planned for mid-January.
More than 60 cars were present as recently as last month. It’s unclear if any have been removed and how many remain.