Adirondack Tourist Trains

Old Forge & North Creek, New York

September 16 & 17, 2006

Fall is a beautiful time to enjoy New York State's bountiful fall colors.  It is also a good time to visit two of the tourist trains of the Adirondack Mountain region of the state.  On September 16 & 17, 2006, I ventured forth with my friends Sue and Jack Cranney to ride two of these trains.  The fall colors did not disappoint us as they were out in full fall foliage.  This made the trip even more enjoyable!

Our first stop was in Old Forge, New York.  We left home early on Saturday Morning with high hopes for the adventure riding trains.  We arrived in Old Forge just before noon and enjoyed a very nice lunch at one of the local restaurants.  Our ticketed train ride was scheduled to depart the Thendara Station just south of Old Forge at 12:30 pm.  Our trip would take us south of Old Forge to Otter Lake.  The train schedule indicated it is a one and half hour trip down to Otter Lake and back to Thendara.

We have arrived!

Thendara station.

The Cranney's are ready to board the train to Otter Lake.

A large diesel locomotive will haul our train.

Just outside of the station these bright colors greeted us.

The train follows the Moose River to Otter Lake.

The scenery was a photographer's dream.

As one can see it was a great day to sit back and enjoy the scenery or take pictures as we rode along.

Canoer's and Kayaker's can put in at the Moose River boat launch site near Thendara and float and paddle down the river to this railroad whistle stop.  The railroad will stop to load canoeists and Kayaker's when flagged down after their float trip.  The train has a baggage car connected which is used to transport the canoes and kayaks. 

Let's load up!

Some of the rapids found in the river.

Someone's summer home off the beaten track.

An animal farm located near Otter Lake.  It was closed for the season.

We have arrived at Otter Lake.  The locomotive was switched around our train for the return trip to Thendara.

More great scenery as we ride back north.

We have arrived back at the Thendara Station after a wonderful, colorful train ride along the Moose River.

After our train ride we drove up to Saranac Lake, where we spent the night before our next day train ride adventure.

It is now Sunday afternoon, and we have arrived at North Creek, New York Station for our second train ride of the weekend.  The building in the rear of this photo is the North Creek station and Gift Shop.

The train ride is billed as a two hour railroad excursion.  The route travels down the west side of the Hudson River.

I hope they let be the engineer!

Another locomotive resting while waiting for its next train duty.

The Hudson River flowing south to New York City eventually.

Looking up river.  The colors are not changed color as much as in the Old Forge area.

Rounding a curve.

Hudson River Rapids

The trip to the Riverside Station is 8 miles long following the Hudson River.

This bridge crosses the Hudson River at Riparius, New York. 

The Riverside Station.

The Caboose refreshment stand at the station.  They served really great ice cream cones on this warm Sunday in September.

Our train waiting at the station for the passengers to return for the trip back to North Creek.

While the passengers were being refreshed, the locomotive was using a short siding to move along so it can be attached to the other end of the train for the trip up the river.

Traveling back up river.

Traveling back up the tracks to North Creek.

The Hudson River trip rail was very picturesque as we rode along.

Our weekend of train rides was over.  While the colors were not out as much in the Hudson River area we had a great train ride experience! 

I would recommend these train rides to anyone who loves the scenery of New York State!