RTC TrailBlog : northeast regional office, new hampshire

For $40 a Foot, Londonderry Grows Rail-Trail Plans From the Grassroots

Jake Lynch — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Inspired by the great popularity of rail-trails all around them, the people of Londonderry in southeast New Hampshire continue an impressive volunteer-driven effort to build a rail-trail in their community.

Londonderry Trailways, a nonprofit group formed by local residents, has spent the last few years raising money and support to connect their community to a developing rail-trail project recycling the disused corridor between nearby Salem and Lebanon, almost 100 miles to the northwest.

Last week the group made a very physical statement of their support, cutting down and clearing about 2,000 feet of overgrowth on the railroad corridor, work done by volunteers with chainsaws, shears and shovels.

As well as contributing volunteer labor to the project, Londonderry Trailways has raised local funds to meet grant matching requirements, and continues to raise money for future planning and construction of what will soon be more than six miles of paved pathway through Londonderry. The nearby towns of Derry (left) and Windham have already developed segments of the corridor into paved trail, and as biking and walking grows in popularity in these areas Londonderry is keen to follow their lead.

The group is now offering supporters a unique opportunity to take ownership of the trail's development, one foot at a time. For just $40, people can adopt a one-foot section of the trail. The tax deductible donation will help Londonderry Trailways leverage grant funding to provide a public recreation and transportation facility to benefit the whole region.

For more information on Londonderry Trailways, visit londonderrytrails.org.

Photo of Londonderry Trailways volunteers working on the corridor courtesy derrynews.com

Photo of Derry Rail Trail courtesy Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire

With Strong Local Support, Rail-Trail Projects Move Forward in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania

Jake Lynch — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Excellent rail-trail news out of the Northeast this week, with communities in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania taking important steps toward opening new segments in their area.

In Salem, N.H., the Eagle Tribune reported that town selectmen voted unanimously to allow work to begin on converting a 2.6-mile section of the former Boston and Maine Railroad corridor into a multi-use trail (right).

The project, being referred to as the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor, has received strong local support since it was first suggested in the 1990s. The Granite State Wheelmen bicycling club, Rockingham Christian Church, the Salem Kiwanis Club, Eastern Mountain Sports and three anonymous donors have raised $25,000 to contribute to construction. And volunteer workers are waiting in the wings. The Iron Horse Preservation Society has been contracted to remove the old rail tracks and ties, work they do free of charge to the local municipalities, recouping their expenses by selling the salvaged steel.

This section in Salem will one day be part of a 120-mile trail between Lebanon, to the northwest, and Lawrence, just across the border in Massachusetts. This grand vision is being supported by federal Transportation Enhancements (TE) grants of more than $1.3 million.

In Manor Township, Pa., local officials have set 2013 as the completion date for 1.5 miles of trail along the former Enola Low Grade rail line from Turkey Hill to Safe Harbor Dam.

The public works crew has begun clearing brush and debris to prepare for laying the trail. Manor Township Public Works Director Mark Harris told Penn Manor News the municipality was exploring ways to reduce the financial impact of initial work.

"We want to do what we can in-house but maintain our level of service," he said. "We can build a mile and a half. We'll start at the dam and go north. It's conceivable that by mid-November we'll be laying trail."

Image courtesy of Friends of the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor

Strong Friends Group the Driving Force Behind Northern Rail Trail in New Hampshire

Jake Lynch — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Are you tired of hearing that resources are limited for your trail project? That it will take decades and cost millions of dollars to complete, or that you'll never be able to maintain the corridor when it's opened? Take heart, trail champions--around the country, stories abound of trails getting developed, extended and cared for with minimal resources.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Western Regional Office last month released a terrific report that gathers all these stories--of local groups and volunteers across America using their community strength to create incredible trails. It's called Community Built - Stories of Volunteers Creating and Caring For Their Trails, and you can download and read it now at www.railstotrails.org. If you are an advocate or volunteer for a trail in your area, this report will be a powerful resource on how it can be done, and an inspiration to keep you going when times are tough!

One of the great stories in Community Built features Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in rural New Hampshire. Now the longest rail-trail in the state, the corridor follows the right-of-way of the former Northern Railroad, which discontinued service in 1970. It is currently 49 miles long and will eventually cover 57.5 miles when completed.

After the right-of-way was abandoned, the trail was only usable in the winter, when a layer of snow allowed snowmobile users to ride on it. It was maintained as a one-season trail for many years until the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail was founded in 2004 to convert it into a year-round pathway.

New Hampshire is rather unique in that the state government espouses a "no taxes/no services" philosophy, and county governments often lack the financing or authority to take on large projects without a clear funding source. So the state lacked capacity to further develop the Northern Rail Trail. Aside from the department of transportation engineer who administers Transportation Enhancements (TE) grants, everything else is done by the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail.

The friends group has a good relationship with the three snowmobile clubs that use the Northern Rail Trail as a "corridor trail." The Andover Snowmobile Club, Lakes Region Snowmobile Club, and Town Line Trail Dusters originally removed the railroad ties when the right-of-way was acquired. The snowmobile clubs help maintain the trail in the winter by grooming the snow. The snowmobilers perform regular maintenance on the bridges, since snowmobile use causes significant wear to the decking.

The board of directors has been instrumental to the success of the Friends of Northern Rail Trail. A group of 10 members with diverse skills was assembled by Alex Bernhard. Bernhard himself has a legal background, the president of the board has good connections to the state government, and Charles Martin, another board member, is the author of New Hampshire Rail Trails. The board meetings, conducted inside a fire station, are businesslike, and there is an annual potluck dinner for the members to get to know each other in a more relaxed atmosphere. In addition to the dedicated long-term volunteers and board members, occasional volunteers are highly valuable for the success of the trail. They are willing to do substantial work, but they do not have to attend meetings or commit to long-term tasks.

The majority of the friends groups' funding comes from the federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and TE grants. The Friends of Northern Rail Trail received an RTP grant of $25,000 to $35,000 every year until 2012, when the Federal Highway Administration canceled New Hampshire's funding for the program. The TE funding consisted of a one-time grant of $270,000, plus a $60,000 local match. Annual mailings to their membership list generate between $6,000 and $10,000 a year.

With little paid labor, the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County was able to keep the construction costs down to $15,000 per RTP-funded mile.

Most of the budget is allocated for the costs of purchasing and trucking stone dust to the trail. A grader and roller are generously loaned to the friends group by a local lumber business, Durgan & Crowell. This donation was originally initiated by Peter Crowell, an active bicyclist who was excited about the possibility of a long-distance trail separated from traffic. Since Crowell's passing, the equipment loans have been continued by his sons. In addition, Durgan & Crowell haul the grader and roller to and from the site, and a qualified driver is employed for the operation of the grader during trail construction, which generally lasts for one week a year. All other work is performed by volunteers, who take care of the paperwork, clear out brush before construction, and even operate some heavy equipment such as the vibratory roller.

No paid staff are employed, so the group's budget is spent almost entirely on materials. The group's 990 tax form shows that about 97 percent of their funding is allocated to the construction of the trail, and only about 3 percent goes to various overhead expenses such as mailings.

The Friends of the Northern Rail Trail created the first rail-trail maintenance plan in New Hampshire, which was agreed upon in cooperation with the state government. This plan enumerates the kinds of tasks volunteers will be performing. Prior to the creation of this document, the friends group had to ask the state government for permission every time a new task was to be performed by volunteers.

The Friends of the Northern Rail Trail are poised for continued success with a membership program, events on the trail, and committed volunteers who maintain and use the trail.

To read more about VC Pathways, and similar groups doing very cool things across the country, read and download Community Built using our new flipbook application.

Photos courtesy of Friends of the Northern Rail Trail

Locals Embrace Rail-Trail Potential in Tennessee, New Hampshire

Jake Lynch — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:10:00 GMT

There is strong support in Johnson City, Tenn., for a rail-trail conversion along a 10-mile section of railbanked corridor once operated by the East Tennessee Railway.

Designated for interim trail use by the Surface Transportation Board in 2010, and later purchased by the city for $600,000, the corridor runs northeast out of Johnson City, connecting a number of residential neighborhoods on the way to nearby Elizabethton. Among the memorable features of the section are six rail bridges on the line (above right), some of which date back to the late 1940s.

The city has hired Alta + Greenways, which has previously worked on the American Tobacco Trail in North Carolina and the Chickamauga Greenway in Tennessee, among other projects, to generate a master plan for what is tentatively being billed the "Tweetsie Trail" (after the sound of the train whistle).

For more information on the project, and to submit public comment, visit johnsoncityrailstotrails.weebly.com/about-the-project.

Further on down the rail-trail construction process, the community of Derry in New Hampshire is this week celebrating the opening of a new section of the Derry Rail Trail (left). Evidence of the trail's popularity with a broad cross-section of the community, Pinkerton Academy construction students have teamed up with two local businesses to build a trailside information kiosk, which was unveiled during a grand opening ceremony on the trail on Saturday.

"Everybody loves the trail," Pinkerton instructor David Howes told the Derry News last week. "We're all working together."

The Derry Rail Trail Alliance, a local nonprofit organization, is working toward creating a trail system in the town that will connect to nearby communities.

For more information visit: www.derryrailtrail.org.

Photo of East Tennessee Railway corridor courtesy of Johnson City.
Photo of the Derry Rail Trail by RTC.

Signature New Hampshire Rail-Trail Continues Expansion

Jake Lynch — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:57:00 GMT

The Northern Rail Trail is already one of the most well-used and well-loved trails in New Hampshire. Combining sections in Merrimack and Grafton counties, the pathway runs for 46 miles through forests and valleys, past small towns and lakes, and is a huge draw for cyclists, hikers, horseback riders, skiers and snowmobilers from all across the region.

And it's only getting better.

Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County (FNRT-MC) this week announced the opening of an additional 2.5 miles of the Northern Rail Trail at the trail's eastern end in West Franklin. The new section of trail was made possible by a recent New Hampshire Recreational Trail Program grant, assistance from the city of Franklin and lots of volunteer help. This addition brings FNRT-MC closer to its ultimate goal of extending the trail southeast to the city of Concord.

An important part of the state's outdoor tourism landscape, the Northern Rail Trail was also featured in a book written by Dr. Charles Martin, a long-time friend and supporter of RTC. New Hampshire Rail Trails catalogues New Hampshire's diverse rail-trail offerings and sheds light on what Martin says are often little-known resources of the region. (In 2008, the New Hampshire TV station WMUR produced a video on Martin and the state's rail-trails as part of its New Hampshire Chronicle series.)

Martin has worked with RTC in the Northeast for many years. He is widely recognized as the go-to source of information on the landscape and history of rail-trails and railroads in the state. "I wish we had advocates as strong as Charles Martin in every state in the region," says Carl Knoch, manager of trail development for RTC's Northeast Regional Office. "He's helped organize a number of rail-trail groups in the state."

Knoch credits Martin with founding the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition, of which he is now president. Dr. Martin was also instrumental in organizing the first-ever New Hampshire rail-trail conference.

Now in its fifth year, the Statewide Rail Trails Conference will be held in Concord, N.H., on November 12 this year. No doubt the extension of the Northern Rail Trail will be a subject of proud reflection.

Photo of the Northern Rail Trail by Stephen Robinson/TrailLink.com.