The Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad was incorporated on February 16, 1831. The founders were Henry Walton, John Clarke, William A. Langworthy, John H. Steele, Miles Beach, Gideon W. Davison, and Rockwell Putnam. The line was opened from

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

to Ballston Spa on July 12, 1832, and extended to

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

in 1833 for a total of . The

Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad The Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad was a railway company that operated in the states of New York and Vermont in the 19th century. At its peak it controlled a network. The Delaware and Hudson Railway leased the company in 1871 and formally ...

leased the line on January 1, 1851, and the lease was reassigned to the

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP, which would it ...

on May 1, 1871.

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

, 116 I.C.C. 611 (1926)
Valuation Docket No. 328, Delaware and Hudson Company et al.
p. 649 Initially, most of the business of the line was passenger travel in the summer. It lost money until the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad and the Saratoga and Washington railroad linked it into a continuous line between the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

and

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

by 1848.

Rail trails

Schenectady and Saratoga Railroad Viaduct

Much of the original right-of-way has been abandoned and adapted for recreation. * The ''Ballston Veterans Bike Trail'' runs for along the west shore of

Ballston Lake Ballston Lake is located in the hamlet of Ballston Lake, New York in the town of Ballston. This narrow -long lake with an unknown maximum depth in the south of the region, was called ''Shanantaha'' or ''Sha-nen-da-ho-ra'' by natives. It was kno ...

in the town of Ballston. *Since 2005, the ''James Tedisco Fitness Trail'' follows the route of the Saratoga and Schenectady for approximately through the village of Ballston Spa from Front Street to Prospect Street. *The ''Railroad Run'' trail in Saratoga Springs runs for between West Circular Street and Congress Avenue.

References

Schenectady, New York Saratoga County, New York Defunct New York (state) railroads Predecessors of the Delaware and Hudson Railway Railway companies established in 1831 Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) American companies established in 1831 {{US-rail-company-stub