When it comes to Rails to Trails most rail-fans dislike this.
Here is some background:
Here in the Northeast, there are a lot of abandoned railroad right-of-ways. Most haven’t seen service since the 1930’s. With better highway structures, more people and trucks would hit the highways rather than the rails. Railroads consolidated by eliminated secondary routes and branches that lacked use over a period of time. This railroad abandonment spanned from only few miles to hundreds of miles.
In the mid 1980’s, a group called “Rail to Trails” formed to convert these abandon right-of-ways so the public could use this lines for bike riding, walking, running, rollerblading, and even commuting. Most of these rail lines have been abandon and dormant for years, even decades.
My thoughts:
As a little boy, I was fascinated with rail lines; including the ones that are just mere paths in the woods.
I feel this is great way to find a use for these long forgotten right-of-ways, but I wouldn’t agree with removing an active rail line, for a bike trail.
I’m an avid cyclist, always looking for a place to ride, so I was able to check out a few of the rail trails near Attleboro. Most trails are done very well; highlighting the rail line’s history with plaques along the way. Sometimes you can spot an old depot or even cross over an old railroad bridge or two. While I’m riding, I wish I could take a trip back in time and see the right-of-way in its heyday.
I hate to see any railroad line become an abandoned one. I think rails-to-trails can be a good idea, considering rail fans such as myself never like to see a right-of-way becoming overgrown and forgotten.
Great books about New England Abandon Rail lines:
Lost Railroads of New England, 3d ed.
The Rail Lines of Northern New England
