SARATOGA UNION STATION: A FIVE-WAY MEET! Though the sun had dipped below the horizon, I couldn't resist this once-in-a-lifetime view as five trains with power from Alco, GE, and EMD spontaneously arrived at the station at around 6:30 p.m. The meet was totally unrehearsed. Most prominent in the view is the Saratoga & North Creek Railway, which sometimes keeps an Alco S-2 switcher at Saratoga to facilitate runaround moves. The SNC passenger train with lightning-striped GE no. 8524 is getting ready to head back to North Creek with the evening dinner train. Next over and in the extreme distance is a northbound Canadian Pacific/Delaware & Hudson freight en route from Kenwood Yard in Albany to Whitehall and a connection with the Vermont Railway. The train, with an ICE/DM&E EMD SD40-2 in charge, is holding behind the signal for the congestion to clear. Next over are two Amtrak trains — the Ethan Allen and the Adirondack — one traveling down from Montreal, the other traveling to Rutland, Vt. A third late-running Amtrak had just cleared the station on its way south moments before I snapped this incredible photo. Digital photo. Thanks to Railpictures contributor Tim Stockwell for backup assistance.
