To the Editor:
The Adirondack Railroad is more than a toy train. Some people called Dr. Webb’s dream a fairy-tale railroad. One local legend claimed it never made any money even when it took great loads of ice and logs to market.
Today, the railroad could be used to fight forest fires at remote places of the woods. It could carry firemen, equipment and water to places where there are no roads.
Also, it could be used for mass evacuations should the need arise.
So much for the safety argument.
The railroad has historic value. Historic tourism is a piece of the economic pie in the Town of Webb.
Narrated trips to remote and isolated—almost ghost town—stations would help to enlarge that piece of the pie.
One of the first things you see when you enter the Town of Webb is Thendara Station. It has great historic value and could be enhanced by replacing the old water tower and repainting the station its original gray color.
As my wife Barb says, “There are hundreds of miles of hiking trails in the Adirondacks, but only one railroad.”
Reed Proper, Thendara
