UTICA, N.Y. — After two years of reduced pandemic offerings, the Adirondack Railroad has already kicked off a season packed full of events and celebrates its 30th anniversary this July. “It was difficult to get through,” Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, Inc. board member and marketing committee member Vince Sperrazza says of the past two years […]
UTICA, N.Y. — After two years of reduced pandemic offerings, the Adirondack Railroad has already kicked off a season packed full of events and celebrates its 30th anniversary this July.
“It was difficult to get through,” Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, Inc. board member and marketing committee member Vince Sperrazza says of the past two years when the railroad’s activities were either paused or modified due to COVID-19 restrictions. The society, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, operates the railroad. A loan, since paid off, helped keep things afloat during the pandemic, and the organization just tightened its belt to get through, he says.
“Rail bikes really helped us get through,” Sperrazza recalls. For a time early in the pandemic, they had to park the trains, and once the society had permission to operate them, it had to follow COVID protocols.
The railroad’s “Polar Express” train did run in 2021, but with fewer actors on board and changes like handing out mugs and packets of cocoa for passengers to take with them rather than serving the hot chocolate on board.
The rail bikes — four-seater “bikes” that people can pedal up and down the tracks — proved to be a great pandemic-friendly option, Sperrazza says. During the pandemic, the railroad rented bikes to just one party at a time. The downside of that was that if a party was less than four people, they still had to rent all four seats.
“Now we are back to where you can get two seats and maybe two people you don’t know are in the other two seats,” he says. The Adirondack Railroad runs two different rail bike routes. One runs from Thendara to Big Moose and back, while the other runs south from Thendara along the Moose River before turning around and heading back.
There are many returning favorites. Tickets are already on sale for this year’s Polar Express. The railroad also has a bunch of new offerings on the schedule this year.
“We started this season running winter trains for the first time,” Sperrazza says. “For the first time ever, we ran a dinner train in February. It sold out completely.”
Following on that success, the railroad will offer dinner trains this summer. The railroad is also partnering with Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute to bundle a curated tour of the institute’s Normal Rockwell exhibit with a beer and wine train from Utica to Remsen and back. Finally, the railroad extended its line this year and will run trains from Thendara to Beaver River.
It’s all about getting people back out there and providing opportunities for them to ride the rails and enjoy themselves, Sperrazza says.
The first revenue run of the railroad was July 4, 1992, after a group of volunteers cleared track to make the run possible. On July 9, the railroad will honor those volunteers along with train crews and others who helped launch what has now become the second largest tourism attraction in Oneida County, according to the railroad.
The 30th anniversary events begin at noon at the railroad’s Thendara station at 2568 State Route 28, following the arrival of the regular excursion train from Utica. There will be tributes, railroad-themed music, and refreshments. The railroad will sell commemorative items celebrating the milestone.
“Our success during the past 30 years of providing service is due to the hundreds of volunteers who have contributed tens of thousands of hours of time,” board president Frank Kobliski said in a news release. “Many of those being honored have volunteered time and effort since our beginning. Keeping the right of way clear, answering questions from passengers on trains, operating locomotives, and helping make smiles for children on the Polar Express are all part of making the Adirondack Railroad experience memorable.”