Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: adirondacks

This was taken at the 1998 National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) National Convention, although not in Syracuse, where the convention was based. Rather, I took this in Thendara, NY, at that time the northern end of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, after having worked (as a Trainman) on the first public passenger train (at least to NRHS members from around the country) to run from Utica to Thendara since 1981. The locomotive (this one, as well as ex-NYC #8223) had been run around, and I took this picture of the cab before reboarding for the trip back to Utica.

The modern Adirondack Scenic Railroad originated with the Adirondack Centennial Railroad, a project of the Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter of the NRHS, in 1992, and was transferred to the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society in 1994, becoming the Adirondack Scenic. I was involved in the project as early as 1990, circulating fliers advocating the preservation of the line, and was very surprised to see our small, relatively informal preservation effort balloon first to the idea that we could restore the line ourselves, and then further to the reality of running a tourist railroad, then to hauling 62,526 passengers in the first year with 4.5 miles of track, four coaches, and two locomotives, to hauling 76,803 passengers in the second year, making us the most successful tourist railroad in New York State and ranking us very high nationally. The Adirondack Scenic is still around today, although I'm no longer involved with it, but when I took this I still was. This was former New York Central #8223 with a special Utica-Thendara move at Woodgate, as the sun was going down. Note that the copyright date on this photo is wrong. That's because my records were wrong when I posted it.

This would have been one of my first ever rail-oriented black and whites, as this is not merely a black and white scan, but a black and white scan of a photo shot with Tri-X 400. I took this at the headquarters of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Thendara, NY, as you'll notice from the title, and I in fact I was on their EMD SW1 #705. This photo was taken so long ago that I still worked there at the time, so getting a cab ride was no problem. This whole yard, last I knew, has since been renovated, so this end of the yard is mostly paved over with the rails embedded in the pavement as on tram lines. It's obviously a lot cleaner and safer that way, but this older dirt and ballast roadbed is more historically accurate for the station.

The 1998 NRHS Convention was based in Syracuse, New York, and hosted by the Central New York Chapter. Nevertheless, because of Syracuse's close proximity to Utica, the Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter also played a key role, along with the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society (ARPS). The biggest event was, in my opinion, the re-opening of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad from Utica-Thendara, which had only been run once before since restoration, in 1997, when it was run for volunteers and dignitaries (the railroad is run completely by volunteers from the ARPS and NRHS). This was on the way back at Nelson Lake, a station that's privately owned, and while on the employee timetable, no longer an active station.