| The Marion River Carry is a portage around the
rapids in the Marion River to Utowana Lake. The carry was shortened by
a dam, that raised the level of the river and then by the Marion
River Carry Railroad; at 1,320 yards (1,210 m), it was the
shortest standard-guage railroad line in the United States. Efforts
to save one of the from the railroad in 1947 led to the creation of
the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, where the engine may
still be seen. It was also unusual in connecting to steamboat routes
on either end, rather than other railways. |
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| The Marion River is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) river that connects Blue
Mountain Lake via Utowana Lake and Eagle Lake to Raquette Lake in Hamilton
County in the central Adirondacks. New York State has classified the Marion
as a Scenic River. |
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| The Marion River played an important part in the development of the
central Adirondacks. Both Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake were acquired
by Thomas Durant, developer of the Union Pacific Railroad, as part of the
building of the Adirondack Railway to North Creek in the 1870s. Durant, his
son, William West Durant, and other family members built hotels and great
camps on both lakes. W.W. Durant dammed the river at the Utowana end in
1879, and operated a sawmill there; this also allowed steamboats to travel
most of its length. This was followed in 1900 by the Marion Carry Railroad,
which operated until 1929. Efforts to save one of the from the railroad in
1947 led to the creation of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake,
where the engine may still be seen. It was also unusual in connecting to
steamboat routes on either end, rather than other railways. |
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The Steamship Adirondack along the Marion River |
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