Hundreds come out to welcome Sunday’s train at milestone event here

by Dan McClelland

The Adirondack Railroad train rolled into town right on time Sunday at 1p.m., after blowing its telltale whistle several times as it crossed Underwood Bridge and approached the station.

There were reportedly 230 passengers aboard who had paid the price of a ticket for the ride which started at the Utica station that morning at 8:30a.m. There were nearly 200 people to welcome what the railroad officials called the first “revenue-train” into Tupper Lake since the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In the photo above some of the passengers hang out the window as the train pulls into our station and in the photo below by Jim Lanthier some of the crowd welcomes the arriving passengers.

The special event for both the Utica and Tupper Lake communities was also a milestone for the volunteers and staff of the Adirondack Railroad, who were in good numbers on the ride, and who have worked diligently for the past 30 years to make Sunday’s event happen.

Included among the passengers were members of the Central New York and Mohawk Valley chapters of the National Historic Railroad Society who chartered the last run on September 25, 1965, before the New York Central Railroad officially abandoned the line.

As part of the welcome reception, the Regional Office Of Sustainable Tourism, under the stewardship of Michelle Clement, did a great job pulling a fitting Tupper Lake welcome together with a new event here called the “Junction Function,” in just a few short weeks.

A complete story of the event with photographs and including interviews with some of the passengers will be carried in our issue next week.