Marker A47.1-CO

Saturday morning, November 1, 2025. A crisp chill grips the Adirondack Mountains.

And we are all here. The friends and family. The comrades and acquaintances.

On this morning, we board the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railroad train for one morning excursion. An excursion to celebrate the passing of a good man.

I’m at the depot in Corinth. After checking in at the station, I receive two items – a stamped ticket and a program of remembrance.

It’s at this moment – seeing the words in elegant script, that I know this is not some mistake of time and travail.

This is a final ride for Chip Ordway, a man of many talents and interests and energies.

In these moments, one realizes Chip’s influence is everywhere in that station. The introductory music loop of train songs like “Hey! Porter” from Johnny Cash and “Take The ‘A’ Train” from Duke Ellington resonate throughout the depot yard, with Chip’s voice still announcing a welcoming message on the audio.

We board the train. Over the past few years, the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railroad has hosted everything from holiday fundraisers to World War II re-enactments; from foliage trips to moonlight excursions. Today … the train is a conveyance of honor and glory.

I listen intently as everyone tells stories about Chip. Wonderful memories and recollections about every amount of joy and energy and humility Chip brought to the world. Stories about how Chip would cook meals for workers on the Batten Kill Railroad, and then later would roll a few strings at a candlepin bowling center in Bennington.

Or how Chip spent time re-editing and improving his high school reunion class’ remembrance video, always wanting to add something or adjust something to make it even better.

Or how Chip went to visit his mentor at a Long Island radio station, and within a week he helped build his mentor a home radio broadcast station.

Or how Chip, while working as a projectionist at a drive-in theater in Hoosick Falls, took the time to find vintage drive-in advertisements and snipes to create an entertaining collage between the double feature.

The stories spread about his love for Moxie soft drinks and White Castle sliders. His passion for film photography and his deep interest in railroadiana.

Many of his personal belongings and collectibles were displayed in one of the cars, including a tabletop jukebox that he retro-fitted to play MP3’s.

The train arrives at Kings Station in Greenfield Center. We disembark.

A box that contains Chip’s mortal remains is placed atop a straw bale altar. A reverent arrangement of autumn mums and railroad lanterns grace his rest.

The services are once again a mixture of blessings and memories. The cloudy, chilly morning is graced with thin crepuscular rays of sunshine. A bagpiper plays Amazing Grace.

After the service, we walk along the tracks for Chip’s committal.

The Adirondack Branch has several mile markers, each one designated with the letter “A” – meaning the distance in miles from Albany. On November 1, 2025, a new mile marker designation was created – Mile Marker A47.1, designated A47.1-CO. The mile marker overlooks a calm, peaceful pond – a place of meditation and reflection.

A communications phone box from the Batten Kill Railroad now stands at that point. A portion of Chip’s ashes, stored in three 35mm film canisters, were interred in phone box, along with some handwritten notes and other items of memory.

SC&H family and friends then said their final goodbyes to their brother and friend.

Then it was back to the train and a return to Corinth Station.

Let me say this now. Chip touched the lives of so many people – not just in railroading, but in broadcasting and the hobby world and in twenty-five other interests. He lived every moment with learning and wonder and joy. If Chip was your friend, he was your friend from that day forward, no question. And you grew to appreciate all that he enjoyed.

Chip Ordway will be missed. But in the hearts of all of us, he will never be forgotten.

High greens, my friend.