We are the Friends of the Upper Hudson Rail Trail, a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to foster the development of a rail trail along the Upper Hudson. It was formed in 2010.
It's initial mission was focused on the 29.7-mile Tahawus Extension, also known as the Sanford Lake section. This corridor extends from the North Creek Rail Station to the old mine in Tahawus, which ceased all operations in 1989 and was demolished in 2005. Once past North River, it follows along remote stretches of the Hudson, Boreas River and Vanderwhacker Creek until it rejoins the Hudson in the Town of Newcomb.
Iowa Pacific put that effort on hold in 2011 when they purchased the corridor. They had hopes of hauling significant freight from the old mine (tailings, useful as stone) and a product under development by Barton Mines in North River.
In March of 2015, Iowa Pacific revealed that they'd had little success for this freight business, or any at all in the corridor that they were operating under contract with Warren County and the Town of Corinth. Passenger revenue was declining, they said, and they were losing more than $1 million per year.
This news prompted us to renew our efforts, and expand our mission to include the entire rail corridor, all the way to Saratoga Springs. Our efforts were unsuccessfful - the contract was extended to 2021. We came close, though, despite some dubious maneuvering by rail supporters. Private polling of the supervisors revealed that a majority favored the trail. The structure of Warren County government is being challenged, and this is good evidence that something is wrong.