Recently our local newspaper showed a photo of a paving machine and told about a local section of rail trail that was being paved. I thought that a paved rail trail would be a great place to ride a bike so I went to see it. The above photo shows what I found; a trail that had been graded and had some gravel added to it, but wasn’t paved. Paving by definition means a road or path has been covered by a hard surface like concrete, asphalt, stones, or bricks but this trail obviously hasn’t seen any of those, so I’m not sure what the reporter was thinking.
This isn’t a sign that you expect to see on a rail trail. The Virginia creeper that is slowly covering it tells me that it has been here for a while.
The trail had been widened and the original drainage ditches that were laid out by the railroad had been dug out and looked like they were working well.
I saw a few bicyclists who weren’t having any trouble riding on the now well packed gravel but I spoke with some who said it was terrible at first; so soft and loose that it was difficult to even walk on. Of course many of these rail trails are maintained by snowmobile clubs, paid for by donations, and in January it won’t matter how loose the gravel is to them. Since the rest of us benefit from their hard work and dedication it’s hard to complain about anything they do to improve the trails and keep them open.
When on a rail trail you often don’t realize how much higher or lower you are than the surrounding terrain, so it can be quite a surprise to find yourself 30 or 40 feet above a road you just drove on.
Railroads did all they could to keep the rail beds as level and straight as possible and if that meant filling in low spots with thousands of tons of soil, then so be it. In this photo the rail bed is way up above this tunnel that runs underneath it; just where I was standing in the previous photo. I think they built the tunnel for the road to run through first and then filled in around it to create the rail bed. It was a job well done; this tunnel has been here for well over a hundred years and not a stone has moved. Shortly after it was built the Old Chesterfield Road, laid out in the 1700s, was renamed Arch Street in honor of the beautiful stonework.
You can find the same quality of workmanship out in the middle of nowhere. When a stream was in the way of a rail bed the railroad engineers just bridged it with what are sometimes beautiful stonework culverts. These men took pride in their work and did the best job they could do, not because someone was watching but because of the pride they had in their abilities and the self-respect that simply wouldn’t let them do shoddy work.
This white pine had been hit by something that peeled its bark about 8 feet up its trunk and left a gaping wound that will let fungi, insects, and diseases infiltrate it. If it were me I would have cut the tree down.
Because I was on a bike I didn’t see much of interest in the way of plants but I did notice these pinesap plants (Monotropa hypopitys) when I took a break. Pinesap looks vaguely similar to Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora) at a glance but a close look shows that they are more honey or amber colored and have multiple flowers on each stem instead of the single flower found on Indian pipes. Their common name comes from the way they like to grow under pine trees, but I find them under hardwoods too. Neither Indian pipes nor pinesap have chlorophyll and both get their nutrition in part from the mycelium of certain mushroom species.
I saw many other interesting things besides plants, like this old switchbox lying beside the trail. Fellow blogger Jim Corner from the Country Corners blog warned me last year when I did a post about this place that switch boxes like this one were often full of asbestos, so I look but don’t touch.
This one looked pretty clean but those asbestos fibers are tiny and it could be full of them, ready for a good breeze to come along and blow them around. I don’t suppose that you ever really know for sure.
Eventually you come to the end of what was the original rail bed. From this point on it becomes a “deep cut” through solid rock and is very wet, as if the drainage ditches have filled and failed. This is what all of our rail trails would look like without regular maintenance so I’ll say again that we who use them owe a debt of gratitude to the people who work so hard to keep them open. In my opinion a donation of a few dollars each year is money well spent.
The redirected trail goes up hill around the deep cut and you can see down into it from up here. The hill wasn’t much fun going up but it sure was fun flying down it on my bike. It was only afterwards that I realized that hitting a patch of soft gravel at this point probably would have sent me over the handlebars and into the woods.
Rail trails go on and on and never seem to really end but the end of this improved section ends at Hurricane Road in Keene. From here if you cross the road and continue on you can see what the trail looked like before the improvements.
And here it is. The forest is closing in making it very narrow and rain has washed away parts of it here and there. In fact the entire trail has sunken below grade and is now in a U shape, and the drainage ditches have grown over and can no longer be seen. The condition of this section of trail is a good illustration of how important regular maintenance is.
I keep coming back to the rail trails because they are where my two favorite subjects, botany and history, come together in what are sometimes surprising ways. There’s really no telling what you might find on them; I’ve seen plants that I didn’t know existed in this area and by researching the railroads for posts like this one I’ve learned more about how they were built than I ever thought I’d need to know. If you’re looking to see parts of the landscape that you wouldn’t normally see, a good taste of local history, or just a pleasant stroll or bike ride, they can all be found on rail trails.
To wander is to be alive. ~Roman Payne
Thanks for coming by.
Looks like a fine day out. 🙂
Yes, it was and I met a few people.
Which can also be fine.
They have done a great job on the trail even if it isn’t really what you’d call paving. It would be nice if they did more things like that here. Most of our trails are badly neglected.
Yes, that section of trail is much easier to walk and ride on, but it costs a lot of money to fix one in that way. I think it’s all paid for by donations, which is why I often mention that a little giving helps us all.
I can see why you appreciate these trails as they open up the countryside that few would otherwise be able to reach. I do regret the passing of the railways, especially on the busy roads in Europe which are full of enormous lorries. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. I agree; I used to love to watch the trains here too.
Great post, Allen. Want to join us this coming Monday at Rye Pond for some amazing wildflower viewing?
Kathy
Thank you Kathy. If I can I’ll be there with my kayak.
I found the pinesap to be intriguing. I think it is native here too, but I’ve not seen it yet.
It seems early this year but Indian pipes are also up and blooming so I could be wrong. I look for pinesap as soon as I see them. You might see one pinesap for every 25 or 30 Indian pipes though, because they’re not as common.
We have an old railway track leading out of the town but the railway company blew up two viaducts on it a few years ago for no very discernible reason so it would be very hard to get back into use as trail now.
That’s too bad. They must have had a reason for it other than just sour grapes. Maybe they were afraid that they’d fall on people or that people would fall from them.
I think that health and safety was the ostensible excuse but not having to maintain them was probably more like it.
As Julie said earlier, we have a number of old rail lines that have been converted into cycle tracks or paths for walking. We now are beginning to have problems because some groups of enthusiasts are reopening railways and are wanting to change the trails and tracks back to railway lines!
You are right in saying that in the past most workmen and craftsmen had real pride in their work and no matter how menial the task they tried to do their best. Speed and cost-cutting mean more these days.
Most of the paths I walk look like the shot of the trail before improvements. We often think we should bring knives or shears to hack our way through the undergrowth! The pinesap plant is beautiful.
Thank you Clare. I miss the trains so I’d be happy to see them run again but I’m not sure how I’d feel about giving up the rail trails. I spend quite a bit of time on them!
I know, these days quality seems to be sacrificed in the name of greed. It’s hard to even hire people who take real pride in their work anymore.
It’s too bad that you don’t have groups of volunteers who take care of the trails like we do. They really do a great job and we’d be lost without them. Maybe carrying some shears wouldn’t be a bad idea!
Many of our footpaths cross farmland and the farmers don’t have the time or inclination to clear the paths. The long distance paths and the former rail tracks are usually kept very well.
That’s understandable. Farmers don’t have a lot of free time on their hands!
I don’t know if you meant to do it or not, but you pointed out the differences between the pride people used to put into their work, as the stone masons obviously did, and now, the lazy reporter. I’m sure that the reporter read a press release about improvements made to the trail, then, went online for a generic, public domain photo of the paving machine, without ever checking the facts, or even reading the press release closely. That’s what passes for journalism these days.
Anyway, I did like seeing the old stone work, along with the old equipment, and pinesap plants.
We’ve got miles and miles of the rail to trail trails here, but I don’t care to walk them. They’re typically too crowded for me to sneak up on any birds along the trail, and being flat and straight, they do seem to go on forever. But, that’s me, in the flatlands of Michigan. I could see how they would a treat to cycle or walk in more varied terrain as you have there.
Thanks Jerry! I don’t know if the reporter was lazy or honestly didn’t know what paving was but either way, maybe a few more years of school is in order.
You don’t see many people on the rail trails here. I think this one was so busy because of the newspaper story.
I sure heard a lot of birds along this one, but didn’t actually see any.
Have we ever biked this rail trail???? Might be fun.
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I’m not sure. It runs from Whitcomb’s Mill Road to Hurricane Road in Keene. I started at the Whitcomb’s Mill Road end. It is fun!
Guess they forgot to take their construction sign with them when they finished way back when.
No they’re actually still working on it, but are almost done.
If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise…. I especially like the old stone tunnel. It is beautiful, and obviously well-built, to last this long.
Thank you Cynthia. I did go into the woods today but didn’t get any unexpected surprises. I love that tunnel too! I think it’s probably as good as the day it was built.
wonderful post how can i find some rail trails near me here in bethlehem?
Thank you Katrina. There is a map of NH rail trails which you can see by following this link: http://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/NH_RecRailTrailMap-web.pdf
awesome tyty still want to go on a hike with u whenever woohoo!
Just let me know if you’re going to be in Keene!
I enjoyed the post, Allen, as always. I almost think I’d prefer to walk along the trail that hasn’t been “improved” and is underway at being overtaken by nature again…to walk it, anyway, as opposed to riding a bike on it. We don’t have any of the rail-trails out here, that I’m aware of, and certainly not ones that will take us through such rich landscape. I recognized the bridge and tunnel from previous posts…fantastic workmanship on the blocks.
Yes, to wander is to be alive…well quoted.
Thanks Scott. I also like the less improved trails but it really depends on what you want to do. For bike riding this trail is better than the unimproved ones so I’m sure bike owners will appreciate the effort. You can ride on the unimproved trails too of course but it’s a very different, bumpier experience.
You’re welcome, Allen, and yes, I’m sure the trail preference depends on what one is doing there, being on bike or foot can make a significant difference.
Many of our old abandoned railroad right of ways have become bike paths and are typically covered with asphalt.
They must be great for biking but are probably expensive to maintain.
Interesting to see your world from a bike point of view. We have trails here converted from our rail tracks, I love cycling on them as usually they are flat. My husband loves the steepest hills possible though. I do not think I have seen a pinesap plant before, its quite beautiful.
Thanks Julie. I spend a lot of time on rail trails and usually walk them but I do occasionally ride. I also like their flatness. I’ll leave the hills to your husband!
Pinsesap plants aren’t as common as the Indian pipe but they grow in the same areas, so if you see Indian pipes you might want to watch for pinesap.
I love walking the rail trails. I’m always pleasantly surprised when I come across a section of it when touring a new town. According to the NH Parks and Rec website ( http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/bureau-of-trails/recreational-rail-trails.aspx ) there are 362.3 miles of rail trail in NH, with only 70 designated ‘winter use only’ Love the “Construction Ahead” sign – perhaps you didn’t walk far enough to find the construction (or the “Men Working”)
Thanks Laura. I didn’t know we had that many miles of rail trail and that some of them were winter use only. I wonder how they keep people off of them in the summer.
No, they’re still working on that section of trail and left the signs up. There are no other rail trail improvements going on in that area and I followed this section from start to finish.
How interesting, I loved the stone work and all the details of the old railway.
Thank you Susan. The stonework is my favorite part of this section of trail too.