The rails of the Adirondack Company were the first to penetrate the central Adirondack Mountains. Construction began in 1865. The goals of the endeavor were to serve the iron mines at Sanford Lake, and more ambitiously, to connect with Great Lakes shipping at Ogdensburg.
Tomorrow, Monday, August 9th railroad historian and author Dr. Michael Kudish will offer a program entitled “Where Did the Tracks Go? Dr. Durant’s Adirondack Railroad Company” at the Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York.
Part of the museum’s Monday Evening Lecture series, the presentation will be held in the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge for museum members. Admission is $5.00 for non-members.
The illustrated program will cover the history of Dr. Durant’s railway line to North Creek, N.Y. and its effect on the region.
Dr. Michael Kudish received his PhD at the New York State college of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse, N.Y. As a professor in he Division of Forestry at Paul Smith’s College, he has written four books on the vegetation of the Adirondacks. His railroad books include: Where Did the Tracks Go (1985)- Railroads of the Adirondacks: A History (1996)- as well as four volumes devoted to the mountain railroads of New York State. Dr. Kudish is now retired.
Photo: Dr. Michael Kudish