Ever fall in love with a trail?

[N8YX]

One with ghosts of steam locomotives past running its length?

We just discovered the Olde Muskingum Trail this past spring, courtesy of a coworker:

http://www.starkparks.com/park.asp?park=16&view=9

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The trail is constructed on the old Pennsy RR/Penn Central/Conrail right-of-way which ran from Massillon into Clinton. This stretch is about 6 miles long and parallels the Tuscarawas River (to the left) and the ex-B&O mainline/RJ Corman shortline trackage (to the right, behind the trees). Along its length you might find an abandoned milepost sign...whistlepost...remnants of a collier layover...traces of the tie bed...even a long-discarded, rusty air brake cylinder.

Turn 180 degrees to the north from where this photo was taken and there is another 6 miles of right-of-way, now cleared and ready for conversion into a hiking/cycling trail. One can only hope this comes to pass: Riding the Olde Muskingum is a serene experience, much more pleasant than traversing the Ohio-Erie Towpath Trail which parallels it roughly 200yds to the east.

It's not too difficult to let the mind wander back in time and imagine a K3 or T1 with a full consist of heavyweight Pullmans trailing behind blasting through the countryside, accompanying you on your journey through the forest.

[NA4BH]

We have a "Rails to Trails" road that starts in the town South of me and continues into the Heart of Atlanta.

http://www.silvercometga.com/chief-ladiga-trail/index-ladiga.shtml

[N8YX]

Neat.

Ohio has converted a lot of abandoned trackage lanes into multi-use trails but nothing is readily accessible save the Towpath Trail - we live around 200yds from one of the trailheads. Downtown is the southern end of the old Akron-Barberton Belt RR; when in operation, it interchanged with the former Norfolk & Western in Copley Twp and serviced the B&W plant in Barberton, allowing its various products to make their way to customers. The line was abandoned many years ago - I would love to see it converted for bicyclists and hikers to enjoy.

[N2CHX]

Very cool!

Here in Lancaster rail history is extensive and rich. The Erie railroad line is still active and runs literally a block and a half from my house. The old New York Central is the main line and is about 1/4 mile further south. In between those two is the old DL&W line, which is still in use for local factories but ends right here in the village. The tracks past Walter Winter were torn up about 8 years ago and it was a great mountain bike trail. Then two years ago they paved it into a really nice bike/walking path. It's exactly four miles long and then the bed turns back into a nice mountain bike trail again.

I LOVE steam and yes, when traveling these trails I often think about the trains and passengers that used to ride the rails on them. Last year the kids and I found a piece of an old signal arm along the DL&W bed. It's on a shelf here in my parlor.

[N2CHX]

Linky: http://www.traillink.com/trail/lancaster-heritage-trail.aspx

[NA4BH]

If mountain biking or hiking fancies you.

http://purebound.com/trails/pinhoti/

[N8YX]

It would be a stretch to cart some of this stuff 16mi back home, but next time we ride the trail I'll take pictures of the interesting sights then post them. A farm sits between the trail, the river and a township road at one point; even though it's somewhat low in terms of elevation, if it ever comes up for sale I'm going to buy the place. Party will then be at Fred's, as the joint looks like it could sleep several hundred.

[W3WN]

The old Montour RR shut down for good about 15 years ago or so, and the bulk of the mainline has been turned into the Montour Trail. They just opened two new bridges a week or so ago. I really need to get down there and do some biking.

And I'm sure many of you know what happened to the old Erie Lackawanna mainline in northern NJ. Today, you call that right of way I-80.

Sure would love to see a steam engine on the W&LE one day. It's kind of fun to see a Rio Grande engine running on it from time to time!

[HUGH]

Turning these into trails rather than building on them ensures that the trackbed is still available for future transport use.

Take care when out after dusk in case one of these ghost trains takes you by surprise.

[WØTKX]

Cool trails. Some of the best around here are stagecoach routes.

[N2CHX]

Turning these into trails rather than building on them ensures that the trackbed is still available for future transport use.

Take care when out after dusk in case one of these ghost trains takes you by surprise.

I've always been sad about these railbeds being torn up and tried to look on the bright side that they're being put to good use, but I have to admit I never thought of that angle before. Good point, but I wonder how much of a fight people would put up if using them as tracks again were ever actually tried?

As an aside, if you like Spielberg, check this out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0511096/

Kinda cheesy by today's standards, but I enjoyed it.

[NQ6U]

Take care when out after dusk in case one of these ghost trains takes you by surprise.

Especially if it's one of these Big Boys:

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/4019b.jpg

[KG4NEL]

To be honest, I'd prefer a technical trail up a mountain for the scenery, but the rails-to-trails system here is coming along. It's good for a lot, if somewhat flat, mileage :)

There just aren't too many places around here that you can feel safe running 5+ miles in one direction without being hit by a car.

[WØTKX]

Fallen in love with a trail, yes. Troll, no. ;)

[KG4NEL]

Fallen in love with a trail, yes. Troll, no. ;)

Nothing beer and/or turning off the lights won't solve.

[N8YX]

I would like to see both mountain and flat trails in the area, as the current stable includes a full-suspension 29er, hardtail 29er (set up primarily for towpath/goat trail work) and a yet-to-be-completed Salsa Fargo...hardtail and rigid fork, although it rides on 29x2.2" mountain tires.

Hugh isn't alone in his thinking when it comes to roadbed preservation via trail conversion, and it's a concept a number of organizations have pitched to the railroads. If the land is going to be tied up for any reason, the cyclists and other non-commercial users can benefit from a cleared pathway...the railroads can lease (rather than sell) the land to a conservancy if they wish to retain it for future use. It's also kept relatively clear of brush and they get tax breaks for leasing to a non-profit program - what's not to like?

[HUGH]

Especially if it's one of these Big Boys:

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/4019b.jpg

What is this? It looks as though it has two boilers/furnaces but just one firebox, and what's that in the middle? Lots of insulated steam pipes?

You'll Have to explain how it works!

[N2CHX]

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/?page=up

[WØTKX]

http://www.acespilotshop.com/images/products/gifts/bumper-i-love-to-drag-my-tail-b.jpg

Long ago, I got to fly an Aeronca Champion. What a Hoot!

[W1GUH]

Yes, I automatically fall in love with any rail trail I walk on. In addition to all the goodness you mentioned, there's the great characteristic that the grades are mild, to say the least -- something an OF can really, really appreciate. Enjoy!

Kelly, do you know anything about the old NYC (now CSX) mainline around Savannah, NY? There's a bridge over a river there known as "Fox Ridge." (The bridge has been reported to be haunted.) Just west of that bridge there's a trestle over some ground that looks like it can be wet in rain weather. The two remaining mainline tracks are there as always, but one of the old mainline tracks now has what looks like an old cart bridge. Doesn't look big enough for today's maintenance equipment. Wonder if you know about this? Incidentally, that's a SUPER place for train watching. It's very very beautiful there, there's a road close to the tracks that goes way into the countryside, and it doesn't seem like one will be hassled by hanging out and photographing trains there. Train frequency is good.

Here's a pic of what I was talking about up there...

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WTF?

Maybe something for Amtrak safety, so that if an Amtrak train got stuck there there'd be a way for the passengers to get off the train? The thing is, it's very narrow -- I'd be hesitant to take my Celica out on it.

[NQ6U]

What is this? It looks as though it has two boilers/furnaces but just one firebox, and what's that in the middle? Lots of insulated steam pipes?

You'll Have to explain how it works!

The Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 had one (very large) boiler but two separate sets of drivers and four cylinders. They were so big that they couldn't operate over much of the line and were used primarily to pull freight over the Continental Divide in Wyoming, where the curves were not extreme.

[HUGH]

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/?page=up Thank you for the link.

The Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 had one (very large) boiler but two separate sets of drivers and four cylinders. They were so big that they couldn't operate over much of the line and were used primarily to pull freight over the Continental Divide in Wyoming, where the curves were not extreme.

Thank you! Having fired a locomotive and used about 1.5 tons of coal in half an hour, the thought of shovelling nearly ten tons in an hour is somewhat daunting.

Anyway, I note some rail tracks in UK and Europe have re-opened and where there was dual track there is now one track and the cycle/hiking track is retained along with bridges, tunnels, viaducts and so on. Everyone is happy.
We have to bear in mind that population and passenger traffic in Europe is often greater than in the USA making re-opening for trains more financially viable.

[NQ6U]

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/?page=up Thank you for the link.


Thank you! Having fired a locomotive and used about 1.5 tons of coal in half an hour, the thought of shovelling nearly ten tons in an hour is somewhat daunting.

Anyway, I note some rail tracks in UK and Europe have re-opened and where there was dual track there is now one track and the cycle/hiking track is retained along with bridges, tunnels, viaducts and so on. Everyone is happy.
We have to bear in mind that population and passenger traffic in Europe is often greater than in the USA making re-opening for trains more financially viable.

Hugh, rail passenger traffic works in the U.S. too, but only where the population density is high. The routes up and down the west coast—between San Diego and Los Angeles in particular—are money-makers as are the ones between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Those routes help subsidize the entire rail network over the rest of the country.

BTW, I have spent some time as a fireman in a steam locomotive as well, but the one I fired was an oil-burner and so not nearly as much of a physical ordeal as a coal-burner. Still, it took a lot more thought and planning that I had imagined before I started.

[W3WN]

The old Pittsburgh & Lake Erie mainline, now CSX tracks, on the other side of the Monongahela & Ohio rivers from downtown, used to be four tracks wide. Now it's down to 2. Real shame that they didn't convert some of the real estate to a walking/biking trail.

A P&LE spur that went through the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Sheraden, and the communities of Crafton & Carnegie, was converted to a busway a few years ago.

There's what was once a spur off the Wabash RR, now the right-of-way of the Wheeling & Lake Erie, that went through a tunnel to pop up on the river, over by Station Square (the old P&LE headquarters and yard). That's now known as the Wabash Tunnel, and is a rush-hour HOV for vehicles; well, at least they're using it. At one time they were talking about rebuilding the bridge across the Mon to extend those HOV lanes into downtown, but it never happened (too many shekels).

When the Port Authority finally built a subway system under downtown for the LRT, they moved the trolley tracks off of the Smithfield Street bridge onto what's known as the Panhandle RR bridge. That bridge carried tracks from the old NYC RR mainline (parallel to the P&LE/CSX right of way), now Norfolk Southern, across the river, under a few buildings, and ending at the old downtown US Post Office & Federal Court building, 7th Avenue at Grant Street. When that building was the main Post Office facility, those tracks fed mail via rail in & out of the building. I'm pretty sure the line continued up to the PRR depot (now a "luxury" apartment building, the Pennsylvanian) and connected there with the PRR (now CSX) mainline.

Flashdance, the construction scenes all take place at the Pennsyvanian. The building was, by pure chance, undergoing conversion at the same time]

Rails-to-trails isn't the only way to preserve the rights of way, as you can see.

[WØTKX]

My favorite because of childhood memories is the Skunk Train.

http://ginniesblogspot.homestead.com/Skunk_Train.jpg

http://www.skunktrain.com/aboutus-photogallery.html

Dunno which was better, the cool trains or the amazing forest.