The time has come for Warren County to consider all options for the 40 miles of railroad it owns along the Hudson River, says Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover.
“As a county, do we want to own a railroad? Do we want to be in that business? If so, we should nail down our real costs and budget for them. We should have a business plan. But if people have other ideas, we should hear them,” said Conover.
Those “other ideas” will get a hearing if Warren County is awarded state funds to conduct a study of the rail corridor – its assets and liabilities, its highest and best uses, its current and future potential.
“This is an opportune moment to pause and evaluate this public asset. We could never acquire land like this along the Hudson River today,” said Conover.
According to Warren County’s own “Outdoor Recreation Economy Strategic Plan,” county officials ought to prioritize the development “of a long-term strategy that considers potential scenarios for the recreational use of the corridor.”
A study of that sort, one examining, “potential scenarios for the recreational use of the corridor,” would also align with the recommendations of the county’s recently adopted Comprehensive plan, says Ethan Gaddy, Warren County Planner.
“Warren County currently has a productive relationship with Rev Rail, the North Creek-based rail bike firm offering tours on different sections of track leased from the county,” Gaddy told a committee of Supervisors on July 22. “The purpose of this study would be to look beyond the immediate horizon – down five, ten, fifteen years into the future – to better understand this 40-mile right of way and its possibilities.”
If the grant is awarded, half the funds for the $100,000 study would be provided by Empire State Development’s strategic planning programs, the other half by the county.
Replacing the 160-year-old rail line with a multi-use recreational trail is only one of several possible options, although it is the one favored by cycling advocates, recreation-oriented interest groups and outdoor enthusiasts, Gaddy acknowledged.
According to Kevin Hajos, the county’s Superintendent of Public Works, the costs of creating a recreational trail on the footprint of the rail line would fall between $25m and $55m.
Warren County currently earns $100,000 a year in revenue from Rev Rail in exchange for using varying lengths of the railroad, said County Administrator John Taflan.
The attraction is a major employer and a source of tourism in northern Warren County, said County Supervisor Mike Wild.
According to the owners of Rev Rail, the company’s Adirondack tours employ 50 people from April to late October. Some trips, such as combination rail bike, rafting or tubing excursions, are coordinated with other local firms, which supports their businesses as well. A rail bike package based in Hadley includes a Lake George steamboat cruise.
Warren County budgets $31,000 per year to maintain the railroad, although in 2024, the county was required to spend $673,000 repairing damage to the line caused by that year’s severe storms.
“(That level of spending) is something that will be required continually if we have washouts,” said John Taflan. “Looking forward, as Ethan Gaddy says, we may want to see what other options we have. Rail lines in Essex County and downstate have successfully transitioned to multi-purpose, multi-use trails. They appear to be successful tourist draws. On the other hand, we may wish to maintain this rail line.”
“The railroad is a great asset, but when you take into consideration its maintenance, there are liabilities as well,” Ethan Gaddy. “As of now, the taxpayers’ financial liability is quite significant, and there is no plan in place to address that.”
Rail biking tours and pedestrian and cycling paths are not necessarily mutually exclusive, said Gaddy.
“Certainly, alternatives to a complete conversion of the line to a multi-use trail could be explored,” said Gaddy. “Nothing has to be black or white.”
Nor is Warren County the only possible owner of the right-of-way, said Gaddy. In theory, it could be transferred to New York State or the Open Space Institute, which loaned Rev Rail $2.7 million in 2022 to acquire a rail line from North Creek to Tahawus.
According to Gaddy, the proposed study would include a review of current laws regulating railroads, a survey of the line’s infrastructure and an analysis of the economic impacts of a variety of scenarios.
“We are always considering the ways we can leverage our assets to support tourism and economic development,” said Gaddy.
Gaddy said the Planning Department has no preferred alternative among the possible uses for the right of way.
“The role of the planner is to present facts to policy makers and elected officials that will enable them make informed decision,” said Gaddy. “We’re not making decisions for them.”
Board Chair Geraghty Open to Multi-Use Trail
Warrensburg Supervisor Kevin Geraghty, chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, told reporter Thom Randall on August 1 that the idea of establishing a rail-trail through the county — and perhaps north to the abandoned mining hamlet of Tahawus — had considerable merit, citing the substantial success of the Adirondack Rail Trail that now stretches 25 miles through Essex and Franklin counties, between the villages of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and beyond.
Geraghty said he has heard from several area officials that the Adirondack Rail Trail is very popular and has been a boon for businesses along its route, through or beside hamlets and waterways, including Ray Brook, Saranac Lake, and Lake Clear.
A nine-mile stretch of the Adirondack Rail Trail, between Floodwood Road and the village of Tupper Lake, remains to be completed. By this fall, the entire 34-mile path is expected to be complete.
The rail trail accommodates bicycling, walking, running — and in winter, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.
“This rail-trail is doing very, very well — I’ve heard that people are really loving it — its use is amazing,” Geraghty said.
“I think we have to examine our railway corridor right-of-ways and see what we can do,” he continued, cautioning that the Revolution Rail rail-bike enterprise that conducts eight or so rail tours on the existing railroad tracks — needs to be “taken into consideration” because they draw thousands of people annually to Warren County.
