Upstate short line rail sees resurgence

NORTH CREEK -- A railroad company is renovating rusty, overgrown tracks to get at millions of tons of waste rock at an abandoned iron and titanium mine near the source of New York's Hudson River and the highest peaks of the Adirondacks, part of a widespread resurgence of short line and regional freight lines.

The planned reopening of a 30-mile rail link is being driven by high oil prices that make rail shipping more economical than trucking. Backers hope the Adirondack line will bring an economic boost to faded towns along its route by providing a new shipping option for products such as minerals, logs and paper products.

In the past 30 years, the number of short line railroads has grown from about 70 to about 550, said David Whorton, a spokesman for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Short lines are typically mom-and-pop businesses serving two to six customers, usually connecting with another short line, regional, or major freight railroad such as CSX Transportation or the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Increased fuel costs and congested highways have made rail shipping more attractive. "A railroad can move a carload carrying three to four trucks worth of goods 300 miles on a gallon of diesel," Whorton said.

The federal Surface Transportation Board on June 14 cleared the way for the New York freight line to be operated by the Saratoga and North Creek Railway. The railway is owned by Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings, which also operates two Texas short line railroads that it says are booming as a result of oil and gas drilling.

The rail company will reopen the abandoned tracks from North Creek to Tahawus, 100 miles north of Albany. The first phase of the project, to be completed this summer, will reopen six miles of tracks between North Creek and North River, where the rail company is negotiating with Barton Mines to ship garnet. The company expects to reopen the tracks to Tahawus within a year.

"We're optimistic the opening of the rail line will be a boost to existing businesses in the Adirondacks and lead to new business and job growth," said Robert Albano, vice president of human resources at Barton Mines. "We're exploring whether it will help us reach existing markets more economically, or potentially aid in developing new markets."

Several environmental groups, including a local Sierra Club chapter, sued unsuccessfully to derail the project because 13 miles of the tracks go through state Forest Preserve land, where motors of any kind are prohibited under the state constitution's "forever wild" clause.

"We're not concerned about the environmental impact of one train a day hauling crushed rock," said Charles Morrison, who on June 25 appealed the Surface Transportation Board director's decision. "What we're concerned about is that the Forest Preserve, which is a national historic landmark, will be violated again as it was in 1942 when the government took the easement to build the railroad."

Ed Ellis, president of Iowa Pacific Holdings, said his company will spend "six or seven figures" to restore the tracks to Tahawus.