The Adirondack Railway Preservation Society, Inc. (ARPS), is a membership, volunteer-based, not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization. The Adirondack Railroad is one of the services we operate on the former New York Central Adirondack Division in upstate New York. Since 1992, we have gradually expanded operations in partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, and the contribution of more than 400,000 hours of volunteer effort. Volunteers and staff have helped this railroad grow from a four-mile excursion in the Old Forge area to a business that carries tens of thousands of passengers annually. Since inception we have carried almost two million passengers.

We now provide a unique and memorable experience from the Mohawk valley in Utica, linking central New York with the northern Adirondacks, traveling through a region that cannot be seen any other way. In 2022, our 30th anniversary year, we will return to Tupper Lake with excursion passenger services absent since 1980, creating the longest excursion scenic railroad east of the Mississippi.

We helped restore and preserve the station in Thendara as a working piece of railroad history. We are also working with Next Stop! Tupper Lake, a community group of railroad enthusiasts, that built a replica of the Tupper Lake Depot in 2007, in anticipation of the return of excursion rail service.

Our mission and purposes include the preservation and continuing provision of excursion passenger rail services from central New York to the northern Adirondacks, providing opportunities for residents and visitors of all ages and physical capacities to safely access in an environmentally responsible manner the scenic beauty of the Adirondack region. We contribute to community economic development and activity, working with small businesses to provide our passengers with opportunities to hike, bike, and float in otherwise inaccessible parts of the Adirondack Park, seldom seen by the casual visitor.