It's time to change rails into trails

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June 18, 2010

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Fri Jun 18, 2010, 03:30 AM EDT

There was a slight crunch under the tires of our mountain bikes as we rode along the old railroad bed from Stamford to Grand Gorge.

The hard-packed cinder and crushed-stone base combined with the gentle grade made the pedaling very easy. Beams of golden sunshine filtered through the overhanging branches above as we passed another couple on a tandem bike. With a slight hand wave and a cheerful greeting, we continued on eastward while they pedaled west.

On that beautiful day, my wife, Pat, and I were enjoying part of the Catskill Scenic Rail Trail, which runs for 19 miles along the old Ulster Delaware Railroad. This once-abandoned rail bed was revitalized a few years ago and is available to hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers and horseback riders.

It's a wonderful place to ride, especially since traffic is only an issue in a couple of places where it crosses the highway.

We had ridden the section from Bloomville to Stamford before. It is a beautiful ride along the West Branch of the Delaware River. The only regret I have was not taking a fishing pole along. The trail would have given me great access to some good-looking spots along the river.

We'll continue the route and bike along the head waters of the Delaware's East Branch another day. The trail actually continues from Grand Gorge, parallel to Route 30 another 10 miles or so to Roxbury.

Recently there has been a controversy for the use of a similar rail line in the Adirondacks. A group of like-minded folks in the north country want to tear up part of the rails of the old Adirondack Scenic Railroad to make it a recreational corridor through the wilderness. This rarely used rail system ran from Utica to Lake Placid.

I may be wrong, but I think the last time trains followed the entire route was in 1980 to transport visitors to the Winter Olympics. A small section is presently used as a tourist attraction in the Old Forge area, and similar trains have run the eight miles between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

New Yorkers spend millions in tax dollars to maintain this seldom-used line. If the rails were taken up, millions of tourist dollars could be generated by using the rail bed for other purposes. The idea of a 25-mile Adirondack Rail Trail from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid is being discussed.

Hikers, bikers and horseback riders could use the trail in the spring, summer and fall, and snowmobilers could run the trail all winter. Thousands of people would flock to that area during the year.

With the economic conditions the way they are, these small Adirondack communities can use all the help they can get. These rail trails are proven revenue generators for communities.

A couple of years ago, we went down to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. The campgrounds and motels were full and dozens of people were enjoying the trail system. Pennsylvania claims the rail trail at the bottom of the gorge generates about $3.5 million a year for the area.

There is a proven track record of success like this all over the country. The nostalgia of the rail is a costly business. It's time to move on.

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.