Dick Beamish

In this 2013 file photo, Paul Erena, a volunteer conductor for the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, rides on an engine as it is switched to the front of the train at the Lake Placid station, which will be closed if a decision on a pending lawsuit goes against the railroad.

(Mary Esch/ AP)

Despite a pending court decision that could permanently end part of its North County operations, the Utica-based, Adirondack Scenic Railroad is set to begin its season July 1 with regular runs from Utica to the greater Old Forge area.

The railroad will also feature trips from the Thendara (Old Forge) station to Otter Lake and Big Moose Lake. However, the stretch from Big Moose to Tupper Lake will be closed this season due to needed track repairs, said Mark Piersma, the railroad's marketing director.

In addition, the railroad has alreadt had several 3 1/2 hour "wine and beer" train trips already this year on its tracks from Utica to Remson. The once-a-month excursions feature local beers and wine, along with a live band on the train. The next scheduled trip is July 21.

However, the railroad is on "pins and needles" this month, Piersma said, awaiting a decision on a lawsuit filed by the railroad against New York State, challenging its controversial plan to rip all the railroad tracks between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid for a "rails to trails" plan. Franklin Superior Court Judge Robert Main was slated to give his decision on June 6.

"It's been a very frustrating process. There has been so many delays," Piersma said.

The plan, which has the backing of the Cuomo administration, includes removing some 34 miles of railroad tracks from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid to create a multi-use trail for bikers and hikers during most of the year - and snowmobilers and cross country skiers during the winter months.

It also involves renovating 45 miles of train tracks between Big Moose and Tupper Lake. The work between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid would cost an estimated $8 million; renovating the tracks between Big Moose and Tupper, $17 million.

Supporters of the plan, which include a host of communities and local government leaders, say it will provide a new, economic boost to a popular area of the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Park Agency has also given its approval.

Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which has used the track for nearly two decades to provide railroad rides for tourists, alleged in its lawsuit that the state's plan was put together in an arbitrary and capricious manner, that the state's economic analysis supporting the plan was flawed and was carried out by a firm that previously was used by advocates of the trail plan - and that land ownership issues along the rail route were not adequately addressed.

In addition, the economic impact statement ignored the highly successful, Saranac Lake-based, Adirondack Rail Explorers business, which used special, pedal-driven railroad bikes to tour sections of the track between Tupper Lake and Lake Clear, Mahar said.

The business has since shut down its Adirondack operations and is offering rides this summer in Rhode Island. A proposed Catskill operation in Ulster County was also suppose to open this summer, but due to the conditions of the tracks, will not offer rides until 2018, according to the company's website.