90th Anniversary of the First North Creek Snow Train
Photo Credit North Creek Depot Museum
There was no Alpine ski racing at the first Lake Placid Olympics in 1932 – the first downhill competition in the winter games was held four years later at Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of enthusiasm for winter sports in the US at the time and it was shared by skiers throughout the Northeast.
One group that was especially active was based in Schenectady N.Y. where the General Electric Company had gathered engineers and other scientists from throughout the world. Notable among them was Nobel Prize winning chemist and avid outdoorsman Irving Langmuir and his protege at GE, atmospheric scientist Vincent Schaefer who became the first president of the newly organized Schenectady Wintersports Club.
From the start, skiing was a part of the group’s focus and trails were cleared on local hills. Looking farther afield, Langmuir, with Schaefer alongside, flew his plane over the region looking for a place where there was was snow and train tracks. There was little snow in the winter of 1933 but at the suggestion of a Delaware and Hudson Railroad executive, the pair scouted hills near train tracks that ran alongside the Hudson River leading to the hamlet of North Creek NY.
Following the 1932 Olympic Games the local American Legion had cleared several trails on local hills, and after several postponements, on March 4, 1934, the first snow train traveled from Schenectady to North Creek carrying 378 passengers who paid $1.50 for the same day round trip ticket.
The first trip was Sunday only. But starting in 1936, the trains originated in New York City, loading at 11:59 PM Friday evenings and arriving in North Creek at 8 AM Saturday. From there, it was “Ride Up, Slide Down”, the popular slogan coined by Wintersports Club member Bill Gluesing. People were transported by car, or truck, or school buses with ski racks attached, from the village up to the nearby Barton Garnet Mines where they skied back down, mostly on logging roads 10- 20′ wide.
In addition to area hotels, accommodations were often provided by local residents who would meet passengers on arrival at the railroad station offering rooms for the night.
An early hero of this adventure was Schenectady nurse Lois Perret who formed the Safety Committee on site. A precursor to the National Ski Patrol, the committee provided first aid at the site and swept the trails when it was time for the train to leave in the afternoon. The train trip home was often a highlight with baggage cars cleared and musicians and dancing on board for entertainment.
The ski trains continued through the 1930s but were halted with the start of World War II. After the War, busses replaced trains for group travel to North Creek and The North Creek Ski Bowl, known as “Little Gore” . New York State opened the current “Big” Gore Mountain ski area just outside the village in 1964 and skiing remains a popular activity in North Creek today.
The 90th anniversary of the first snow train has been featured throughout the winter with the highlight set for a three day celebration March 2-4 in North Creek. An extensive collection of snow train history is maintained by the North Creek Depot Museum located on the site of the original train terminal in the village. It is open to the public daily from May through October.
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I see you are from Leominster, Ma. and enjoyed your story of the first ski train…..possibly you could expend and do a story on the old B&M Ski Trains from Boston…One went 6to North Conway and Maybe one went to western Ma. BTW Colorado has revived a ski train from Denver to Winter Park.