Adirondack Railway (1976–1981)

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The Adirondack Railway (ADIR) was a short-lived tourist railroad in northeastern New York. Based in Old Forge, it used a 118-mile line owned by New York State since 1974. The company, founded in 1976, began passenger service on October 9, 1979, running from Utica to Lake Placid for the 1980 Winter Olympics. The trip could take over five hours and usually ran at about 30 mph. However, seven derailments damaged confidence, and after a period of suspension and brief resumption, the service ended for good in February 1981. The Adirondack Railway owned four diesel locomotives and 21 steam-heated passenger cars, including coaches, a parlor car, a dining car, and a club car.

Route history and operations: The line was originally opened in 1892 by the Mohawk and Malone Railway, then became part of the New York Central Railroad as the Adirondack Division. Passenger service ended in 1965, and freight service between Remsen and Lake Placid ended in 1972. New York State bought the line in 1974. Conrail owned the Remsen–Utica portion but allowed the Adirondack Railway to operate there, and the company invested about $2.5 million to rebuild the track north of Remsen.

Today, the route is operated by the Adirondack Railroad from Utica to Thendara and Big Moose, with plans to extend to Tupper Lake after track work northeast from Big Moose. That extension had been planned for 2021–2022.