Adirondack Council Calls on County, State to Again Stop Plan to Store Junked Rail Cars in the Adirondacks
For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-441-1340 (cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, September 25, 2017
NORTH CREEK, N.Y. – The Adirondack Council today called on Warren County and state officials to once again turn back a proposal by a local rail road operator to use a portion of its line to store junked, decaying railroad cars inside the Adirondack Park near the wildest stretches of the Hudson River.
These abandoned and vandalized rail cars have spent years sitting on a side track
of the Saratoga & North Creek Railroad just north of the picturesque hamlet of
North Creek. The company plans to bring hundreds more into the Adirondack Park
and leave them to rot on a track between North Creek and the hamlet
of Tahawus in Essex County
“The scenic beauty of the Adirondack Forest Preserve and the success of the Adirondack Park as a tourism destination are threatened by this outrageous proposal,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway. “The Governor has invested many millions of dollars into promoting the park as a world-class wilderness experience for visitors, and as a place where pure waters will be protected. Dumping hundreds of worn-our rail cars here would degrade the Park’s beauty and could lead to water pollution in the Hudson River.”
Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, which owns the Saratoga and North Creek Railroad, created a storm of controversy in 2015 when it prosed storage of hundreds of worn-out oil train cars on the tracks between North Creek in Warren County and Tahawus in Essex County. That plan was abandoned when the Governor and county officials intervened to halt the idea.
The Chicago-based railroad announced the new plan last week at a meeting with Warren County officials, from whom the railroad leases a portion of the line between North Creek and Saratoga.
“As will be documented on this year’s State of the Park Report when it is released shortly, this company promised Warren County not to store junked cars on its tracks when the county renewed its operating agreement and lease for this year,” said Janeway. “It has already punished North Creek by parking abandoned, vandalized passenger rail cars on the tracks north of the hamlet. It is an eyesore that the community doesn’t deserve. The tracks leading to Sanford Lake in Tahawus run along the Hudson River in one of the most scenic areas of New York. This plan should be stopped too.”
In response to the previous proposal the Adirondack Council hired counsel from both Washington and Albany to submit legal materials as to why the proposal was not exempt from state and / or local regulation. That proposal to dump rail cars in the Adirondacks was subsequently withdrawn.
The Adirondack Council is a privately funded not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The Council envisions a Park with clean water and clean air, comprised of core wilderness areas, surrounded by farms and working forests, and vibrant, local communities.
The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Adirondack Council members live in all 50 United States.
