Bids so far include Open Space Institute, Revolution Rail
By Tim Rowland
Thirty miles of railroad track in the heart of the Adirondacks will go on auction block next month, an event that could determine whether the corridor remains viable for hauling freight or develops into a recreation-only rail trail.
Qualifying bids are due by Feb. 23, with the auction to be held by video conference on March 3 in Denver.
Colorado is home to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad, a holding company for Iowa Pacific Railroad, which owned the Saratoga and North Creek Railway between North Creek and Tahawus, an old mining community in the Town of Newcomb. Both San Luis and Iowa Pacific have filed for bankruptcy, and the Tahawus line is currently controlled by court trustee William Brandt, Jr.
Two bidders for the SNCR assets have been made public, the Open Space Institute and Revolution Rail, a rail-biking company currently operating out of North Creek.
RELATED: Rail-bike company partners with freight company in bid for Tahawus line READ MORE
OSI’s bid, at $1.5 million, is more than twice Revolution Rail’s, but Revolution Rail has said it would keep the line open to commercial traffic, which carries weight with federal regulators. The court seeks to maximize compensation for the lines’ creditors, but also takes “public interest” into account, or in this instance the value of maintaining commercial rail service.
OSI’s plan would be to temporarily “railbank” the line, allowing recreational use, but leaving the door open to commercial use if the need arose.
Although the state has not offered to buy the line, the Department of Environmental Conservation prefers the rail-trail option, and is seeking to have the U.S. Surface Transportation Board declare the route abandoned.
OSI and the state have argued that the rail trail would be an economic engine in its own right.
“OSI believes that a possible outcome exists that will result in greater year-round recreational options along the line, expanded local economic activity, and the long-term protection of the park’s natural resources,” said Eileen Larrabee, OSI’s Senior Vice President for Communications. “That being said, an OSI bid that goes well beyond the existing stalking horse offer is under active consideration.”
The stalking horse, or baseline, bid of $700,000 is from Revolution Rail, which says its plan allows it to expand its railbiking operation, while contracting with a short-line railroad to haul occasional loads from Barton International, producer of industrial abrasives, and Mitchell Stone Products, which recycles waste rock from the old Tahawus mine.
Rob Harte, owner of Revolution Rail, said his company is environmentally sensitive, and recreation would be a primary focus of the corridor. Trains would only run now and then, on an on-call basis. “Revolution Rail Co. has been operating since 2017, with hopes to expand its very popular rail-biking excursions throughout the line,” Harte said. “In addition RRC will work with a nearby rail freight company to provide freight services upon reasonable request of local shippers.”
Harte said the wilderness character of the line would be maintained, and there would be no repeat of 2018, when Iowa Pacific created a furor by mothballing tanker cars on Tahawus Line sidings.
“No tanker cars would be stored on our tracks; that practice is incompatible with our vision for the future of these tracks,” Harte said.
I would like to see filling of pits and removal of tailings as a priority. I admire Mitchell Stone for working to remove the tailings, but I feel a 20 year horizon is not in the best interest of the area. And if Mitchell is not required to fill the pits, how will they be filled once the tailings are gone?
I would prefer a 5-year horizon with Mitchell continuing their work – hopefully at an increased pace, and another contractor, perhaps financed by NYS, filling the pits at the same time – with filling the pits given the priority.
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/digging-into-tahawus-mine
Unfortunately, we cannot predict how long Mitchell Stone will have customers. This is why I feel the sooner the tailings are removed and the pits filled, the better. Without trains hauling the material, 20+ years is more realistic. I would think increased Eastern coastal flooding would spur a demand for un-crushed tailings and fill such as this for flood remediation, but it seems the tailings still aren’t valuable enough to ship large-scale. Perhaps the new governor needs to “advertise” this opportunity a little to other Eastern seaboard states.
Very good insights, Boreas. That would be a legitimate environmental rationale for leaving the tracks. This case illuminates an interesting aspect of the rail vs. rail trail debate: the impetus to keep infrastructure in place for future industrial activity often trumps other interests (i.e., environmental, residential. recreation). Indeed, heavy industry has almost attained a parastatal status in the post-war United States, and perhaps rightly so for an industrialized nation. However, if there was ever a justification to override that sort of rationale, and the apparent secret raison d’etat for rail bikes, the Adirondack Park would be it. Here is an example where the grassroots Adirondack recreation “rainbow coalition” (hikers, bikers, snowmobilers) can really shine. Prioritizing heavy industry in the Adirondacks sets a bad precedent. What happens when they want to start mining, e.g., rare earths?
JB,
I have posted this opinion in several places and I forgot to mention an important point – to remove the tracks AFTER the tailings are removed! At least the northern section up to Tahawus. Should a decrepit mine complete with tailings and a restricted river be the proper termination of any rail-trail?
My feeling is, if you remove the tracks first then build the rail-trail, the first thing recreationists are going to want to see removed is the mine and tailings. Then, it will have to be accomplished as it is now – slowly, by trucks, over a small road, that will likely take decades, if it is ever finished. By committing to a set time period for site remediation BEFORE converting the trail, you don’t put the cart before the horse.
I am definitely ALL FOR a recreation corridor once the freight aspects of the mine are behind us. But RR freight is definitely the quickest way to remove that amount of material and to bring in/out heavy equipment for the job. I feel the state should be playing a major role in “re-wilding” the site or developing it for recreation. Waiting another 20-30 years for remediation seems foolhardy with a project of this scope. The remediation work isn’t likely to get cheaper another generation down the road.
Boreas, agreed. The Hochul administration has probably upwards of $100 million slated for economic revitalization in the Adirondack Park! It would be nice to at least see a proportionate amount going towards projects that have the (purported) intention of protecting its environmental integrity! As we have seen, the economic development monies often disappear nether into the abyss. In my uncouth opinion, virtually all appropriated funds should primarily serve the mandates of APA Act.
Was there ever any follow-up to the USGS investigation (reported in AE in December 2020) as to the potential rare earths value of the tailings? If the content were high enough to make them worthwhile, that might make it more financially feasible to ship the tailings out on an expedited basis.