SARANAC LAKE — Jim McCulley of Lake Placid, working for National Salvage, used a machine to unbolt railroad tracks Friday morning in Saranac Lake, near the Cedar Street crossing.

Another National Salvage worker said the rails could be removed with an excavator as soon as next week.

McCulley, a snowmobiler, was for many years a leading advocate for the now-underway plan to replace the tracks with a trail for biking, snowmobiling and other uses. He said he was especially enjoying the removal.

New York state, which owns the tracks, is replacing the rails with a trail between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid, and started the replacement work at the Tupper Lake end last year.