Saltville Branch

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

One of the catches to the "Rails to Trails Program" is this:  It also "preserves" the right of way for future use, should it be needed.  So, a lot of localities can use this catch phrase to get these trails pushed through.  Not that I'm opposed to having old rail beds for trails.  I'm rather fond of them.
   
  But, as for the Saltville Branch situation, there's a unique difference here.  The original right of way across the old US Gypsum property is fenced in, partially buried, and in an extremely unstable area.  It will NEVER be able to take the weight of a train.  Therefore, you'd never be able to reclaim the right of way, even if you did need it.  
   
  Saltville will have to route a couple of miles of this trail beside the highway to circumvent this area.  Plasterco is completely fenced in now and it belongs to USG.  Now, I don't know why the town didn't have the right of way moved when USG moved the roads away from the area.  Looks like they could have engineered that in the plan, but they didn't.  Now, they'll have to pay to get the trail added to the side of the highway.
   
  Personally, I don't know where I stand on this issue.  In a way, I'd like to see it become a trail, but in another way, I can see why people don't want it in their back yard.  I'll let the bureaucrats and lawyers decide.
   
  Ben Blevins
  
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:
      It must be a nationwide problem, for here in Seattle the BNSF returned  a right of way back to the county who wanted to turn it into the "East Lake Sammamish Trail". In many cases this right of way bisected folks property between their home and their lake front. After several years in the courts, the trail recently opened. One reason the county did not want the land to go back to the property owners is that in the future the trail can be converted back to right of way for the use of a light rail system.
   
  Don Trettel
   
   
    
  -----Original Message-----
From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 4:16 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: Saltville Branch


  Wow!  This certainly is NOT the case with the Virginia Creeper trail.  I can remember when I could walk for miles and not see a soul.  Now, you can't get on it without seeing someone somewhere close by!  That trail is never deserted.  The folks in Saltville are hoping for similiar success with the Saltville branch project, but I seriously doubt they can duplicate Abingdon's success.  
   
  But, the main problem is, the records do not indicate whether the property was purchased or condemned, so no one knows if it reverts to the land owners or remains Saltville's property.  Therefore, the courts will have to decide.
   
  Ben Blevins

nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:
      We had a similar situation here in Pwnnsylvania with the so-called Radnor trail.  Adjoining land owners fought it for years but finally lost out and the trail project went through.  The western most end is about three blocks from our home and I often pass it.  Like the rails to trails project reported by my friend in Northern New Jersey, even before it was "officially" opened it was frequented by dog owners and to quote my friend: "We all know why owners walk their dogs."
   
  There is a similar rails to trails project on what was the old rail line from Savannah to Tybee Island, Georgia.  When we visited our son over the past few years we often passed one of the entrances to that trail.  The trail always seemed to be deserted.
   
  Rails to trails projects remind me of the students who fought diligently for a class to be included in their college's curriculum regarding "black history".  They were so disruptive tha t the college finally caved in and at great expense provided such a class.  I guess you know the kick line.  Only a few students signed up for the class and as a result the much demanded class was unceremoniously dropped !
   
  Neil K. Yerger
  7 Farm Road
  Wayne, PA 19087-3303
   
  audreyly at aol.com
   
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