Companies compete to operate New York shortline

First up was a $100-million company that operates eight railroads in two countries, a firm that brought four of its top executives to town to try to answer any question posed to them, the Glens Falls, N.Y., Post-Star reports. Next was a train conductor from Pennsylvania who has no funding, no equipment and no experience running an operating railroad.

Warren County, N.Y., supervisors
spent far more time on Nov. 12 listening to the former than the latter, as they
tried to figure out who should run a railroad on the county-owned rail line
next year. It was the board’s first public meeting with the two companies,
which submitted formal proposals to replace the group that has run the
controversial Upper Hudson River Railroad for the past 12 years.

The first company to
speak at the meeting, Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC. of Chicago, gave a
presentation that lasted nearly 90 minutes, and its principals then spent 30
minutes in a closed-door executive session with supervisors. Company President
Ed Ellis told supervisors the company believes it can make money by operating a
railroad on the county-owned line. He said the connection to Saratoga Springs
and freight rights on the line are necessary, and that there are opportunities
for freight movement that he did not want to discuss publicly for proprietary
reasons. The company would take care of railroad maintenance at its own cost.

"Our goal is for the
railway not to cost Warren County a dime but to be a benefit," Ellis said.

He said freight
transportation of logs and products from Barton Mines in Johnsburg were only
part of the freight operation the company envisioned. But he said he did not
want to publicly elaborate. Freight train traffic is going to increase in the
coming years as the government imposes new regulations on trucking companies
and restoring freight train service on the line will generate new jobs, Ellis
said.

Iowa Pacific had proposed
operating a ski train between Saratoga Springs and North Creek, where Gore
Mountain Ski Center is located, that could start this year. But Ellis said that
his company would likely start work in April or May if it is chosen. It also
would bring popular, full-length "dome cars" with see-through roofs
to the line.

Don Kress, president of
Codorus Creek Railway of Pennsylvania, gave the second presentation. The long-time
train conductor explained that he is waiting for funding in order to start
service on the Codorus Creek line in central Pennsylvania, but that he would
work with his father, a retired Wall Street executive, to raise money to get
the Warren County operation off the ground. He proposed three passenger trains
a day between Saratoga Springs and North Creek, as well as tourist trains.

"I know how to move
people, and I know how to move people well," he said.

More than two dozens
business leaders and railroad supporters attended the meeting and several said
afterward that they were excited by Iowa Pacific’s proposals. They were
particularly excited about the possibility of dome car travel on the line.

"I was very
impressed. He has his act together," said Helen Miner, president of the
North Creek Depot Museum.

Two leaders of the county
board were particularly impressed with Iowa Pacific’s presentation but added
that county officials plan to research both companies fully before making a
decision.

Fred Monroe, the Chester
Supervisor who is chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said Iowa
Pacific "covered all the bases" in his eyes.

"They seemed
extremely knowledgeable, and I think they’d be a great choice," he said.

"If they can deliver
what they say they can deliver, it could be great for Warren County,"
Queensbury Supervisor Dan Stec said.

No date was set for a
follow-up meeting on the subject, but county leaders hope to have an agreement
in place by the end of the year.