Rail trail rest stop | News, Sports, Jobs

Rob Daley, a DEC forester in charge of Forest Preserve management in Region 5, said when the rail trail-adjacent building opens to the public, they expect it to get levels of daily public use it has not seen in a long time.

Keith Carrow, a DEC forester in charge of the rail trail corridor, said the state is the steward of the property. It is seeking a public or private partner to maintain and operate the Union Depot under a long-term agreement and has put out a “Request for Information” to get ideas from the public on what should go there.

The deadline for submissions for this RFI is Nov. 3. The site needs an estimated $2 million of improvements.

There are guidelines for what can be done with the building — in terms of what it should preserve and offer — but otherwise, the state is open to suggestions.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation led members of the public on tours of the Union Depot in Saranac Lake on Thursday. The state is looking for partners to operate amenities and historical exhibits at the former train station as it prepares to open the Adirondack Rail Trail, built on the corridor which trains used to enter Saranac Lake by. Here, people gather around a plaster sculpture made by several local homeschool students years ago, which somehow ended up in the Depot.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Daley said the state’s objectives with the depot are to provide services for trail users, preserve the historic architecture and serve the community. Carrow said it is one of the most well-preserved train stations of that era in the state.

The station is an “integral” part of the village, Daley said, and it is literally part of the 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail that connects the villages of Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. The two are “inseparable,” he added.

Daley said it is a unique property for the DEC since it is right in the heart of the community. Most other DEC-managed facilities are in the backcountry or on the outskirts of towns. Managing land right downtown is new for them, and they want a partner to maintain and operate it.

There will be public restrooms, which will need to be open for access often.

It will sort of be like a thruway rest stop and visitor center, but on a rail trail and in a historic location.

People gather around a plaster sculpture made by several local homeschool students years ago, which somehow ended up in the Depot.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

They envision it as a place walkers, bikers, snowmobilers, skiers and other users can get refreshments, rent or buy recreation equipment and get information about recreation opportunities around the area. There was talk of a coffee shop or restaurant there. Daley said there could be multiple businesses operating there.

John Dimon and Justin Oliver from the Human Power Planet Earth Bike Shop on Main Street in Saranac Lake were taking the tour on Thursday. They’re considering opening a satellite location of the bike shop there, but Oliver said they’d only need a bit of the space, not all of it.

Historic Saranac Lake Executive Director Amy Catania was also there, wanting her organization be a part of the historic preservation and presentation.

Carrow said the state plans to install historic interpretation panels at the depot, and a museum aspect of the building was discussed.

DEC Public Participation Specialist Kendra Ormerod said some public suggestions received so far have been very detailed, others are only one line. She said they want everyone to give their ideas and thoughts on this project. People can send comments to the state by emailing [email protected] by Nov. 3.

Keith Carrow, a DEC forester in charge of the rail trail corridor, shows off some of the 1904-era building’s unique architecture.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Interested parties can ask the DEC questions about the depot and the RFI process, make RFI submissions and request site tours, through Oct. 16 by emailing [email protected].

RFI submissions will also be accepted through the mail by sending them to “NYSDEC/Attn: Meaghan Yost, Program Aide/Re: Saranac Lake Union Depot RFI/1115 State Route 86, PO Box 296/Ray Brook, NY 12977-0296.”

The full RFI can be found at tinyurl.com/29wnyyjk.

Rail trail update

Carrow said it’s likely Phase 1 of the rail trail, from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake, will be completed by Nov. 20, in time for the snowmobile and cross-country skiing season.

From Dec. 18 to March 31, construction of the other two phases will stop to allow for snowmobiles and winter use. The other phases — from Saranac Lake to Floodwood Road in Santa Clara and from Floodwood to Tupper Lake — are scheduled to finish in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The first phase was initially projected to be finished earlier, but was delayed for a variety of reasons.

“The first phase has been interesting to say the least,” Carrow said.

Chiefly, there are lots of bridges along the trail through Saranac Lake. There’s also been redesigns of parking areas as heavy rains this summer showed they needed better drainage.

And people using the trail before they are supposed to has caused some slowing of the work, too.

Despite the state telling the public to stay off the trail until it’s done, pedestrians, bikers and dogs can be seen using it around town daily. Carrow said it gets heaviest use on the weekends when construction crews aren’t on the job, but there’s also a lot of use going on while they move heavy machinery around.

Daley said the use is a good sign for the trail’s future — they want it to be well-used — but right now, it’s use slows construction, and, Ormerod added, creates serious safety issues.

Carrow said the workers are all worried about this. They had a close call with a cyclist in Saranac Lake about a month ago.

“We had a guy on a bike who just came inches from a bulldozer that was in the process of continuing to back up,” Carrow said. “(The driver) just in the nick of time saw the guy coming.

“They were shaken,” he added, saying the biker “buzzed by” and avoided getting hit by a matter of inches.

Carrow said people are sometimes going right up to, and through, construction sites.

“They’ll go tap guys on the shoulder that are actively working. It’s ridiculous,” Carrow said.

He’s glad to see the enthusiasm, “but give us time,” he said.

Ormerod said they are asking everyone to stay off the trail. They can’t presume users are exercising absolute caution, because it is obvious to the state they are not.

Dump truck drivers can’t see behind their trucks easily and back up for long periods along the trail.

This is really a Phase 1 problem — or more precisely, a Saranac Lake problem. From now on — from Floodwood to Tupper Lake — Ormerod said rail trail workers will have to be on the lookout for more moose than misbehaving people.

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Site conditions

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The Union Depot is a one-story, 3,900 square-foot wood-framed structure. The DEC’s RFI lists the building as in generally “fair condition” but in need of updating, renovations and repairs.

It was operated as a passenger station until 1965. In 1979, it was renovated for use during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid.

Catania said HSL did a renovation in the early 1990s. Most the wear and tear has come since then.

In 1997, the state Department of Transportation oversaw another multi-million-dollar renovation of the depot. The building was used intermittently for excursion rail trips by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad until 2015, when the last excursion trip stopped at the building.

Daley said most everything in the building is original.

The building has been used for many things over the years since it stopped welcoming trains — haunted houses, storage, the Adirondacks Railbike Adventures company. Ormerod attended a wedding there once around 2012. From 2009 to 2014 it was the site of the Hobofest music festival.

In the middle of the spacious main room sits — literally sits — a white plaster sculpture of two people reading a book together. This was an art project replicating the artist George Segal’s style from several local homeschool students — Schuyler and Summer Cranker, Hannah Gochenaur, Noah King, and Daniel, Elizabeth, Emily and Sarah Livergood. Photos show it initially installed outside what is now ADK ArtRise.

Ormerod said she is not sure how it ended up in the Union Depot.

The property also houses a 1,200-square-foot Freight Building, an ancillary structure built around two decades after the depot which the state lists as being in “fair to poor condition.” There are 40 parking spaces on the state-owned property.

In 2022, the DEC conducted as survey of the site and produced an estimated budget summary for the improvements it is recommended.

According to this study, the bid for this would need to be around $2,068,500. It estimates the renovations could be accomplished in approximately 12 months and that construction documents could be prepared in six to eight months. The full budget study can be found at tinyurl.com/22jp9bn2.

The heating will need upgrading. The building does not have a ton of insulation.

Carrow said the state plans to replace the roof next summer. The shingling has been leaking and water has been getting in. Carrow said the leaks have been patched but not fixed. The state plans to replace the roof with a faux tile for a more similar look to its original construction. This material is also supposed to last for 50 years, he said.

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Union Depot history

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The Union Depot was built in 1904 by the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. It became the largest station on the Adirondack Division line north of Utica.

“At its prime, the station handled up to 20 trains per day,” according to the DEC’s RFI.

The Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor is in the New York Central Railroad, Adirondack Division Historic District, part of the National Register of Historic Places. This historic value means there are limits on what can be altered at the site.

“The district was listed in the New York State and National Register of Historic Places in 1993 where it was found to be primarily significant ‘for its role in shaping the social and economic history of the Adirondack-Northern New York region between 1891 and the Second World War,’” according to the DEC’s RFI.