Designing for Safety
Although chain-link fencing is one of the
most common barriers used, a number
of design options have been shown to
keep trail users off the tracks and trail
managers out of court. In Denton, only
a broad ditch separates the trail from
the live line. In downtown Pittsburgh,
a short fence and a wide buffer separate
the Three Rivers Heritage Trail from the
active freight line it parallels. Alongside
many trains, including the Reading
and Northern Railroad in eastern
Pennsylvania, riders and walkers happily
enjoy the trail separated from the trains
by nothing except the fresh breeze.
Things get complicated when the trail
has to cross the tracks, hence the cost
of Gerald Maier’s crossing lights and
signage. Crossings are a flash-point issue
in that bridges or tunnels are expensive,
while at-grade crossings present chal-
lenging design issues. Even railroad
companies that are supportive or tolerant
of rails-with-trails can object to at-grade
crossings, partly because they are con-
cerned that they are where an accident is
most likely to occur, despite their almost
impeccable safety record.
Stuart believes that concerns about cross-
ings are not reason enough to prevent con-
struction of a rail-with-trail. “I do wish the
railroad industry would work with commu-
nities to foster a culture of safely co-existing
with their neighbors,” she says. “Being will-
ing to accommodate public access under
some conditions is a step in that direction.”
All Aboard
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) in
western Maryland is an example of a
symbiotic relationship, where a trail has
benefited the train operation as much as
the train has benefited the trail. Picture
a recent October morning; the platform
of the Western Maryland Railway Station
in downtown Cumberland is packed
with hundreds of sightseers awaiting the
arrival of the restored 1916 Baldwin 2-8-
0
diesel engine and carriages, a handsome
old train that will carry them up into the
Allegheny Mountains to enjoy the spec-
tacular colors of the fall season.
Among them is the Foresman family,
from Fredericksburg, Va. The parents
and two children wait eagerly at the
front of the long line with their bikes
and helmets. The bikes will be loaded
onto the
Mountain Thunder
for the
10-
mile journey uphill to Frostburg, Md.
There, the family will offload and enjoy
a leisurely pedal back down the GAP to
Cumberland. For many, it’s the perfect
introduction to trail riding. “This is new
for us,” says Piper Foresman, adding,
however, that the adventure taps into a
distant memory. “I remember going on
a cross-country train trip when I was the
children’s age.”
The Foresmans’ visit to Cumberland
for the train and trail ride includes a stay
at a local hotel, a common visitor pattern
that both trail and train supporters point
to as evidence of the economic signifi-
cance of rail-with-trail tourism.
Some 250 miles to the northeast, in
Pennsylvania’s beautiful Lehigh Gorge,
the evolution of rail-with-trail partner-
ships continues. Paul Fogal, co-owner of
Pocono Whitewater in Jim Thorpe, Pa., is
finalizing an agreement with the Lehigh
Gorge Scenic Railway for a limited run of
bike-carrying trains in the spring and fall.
The railway line, operated by the Reading
Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad,
parallels the spectacular Lehigh Gorge
State Park Trail as it runs north along the
Lehigh River.
“
Unless you live in New York City
or another big city where you catch the
train every day, this would be a remark-
able experience,” Fogal says. “Many of the
people that come up here have a strong
interest in local history, and the railroad is
a big part of that. The goal is to encourage
people to visit the town and spend money
with us and the railroad and the restau-
rants and all the other businesses in town.”
A Way Forward
Marshall believes the strategy for the
rail-with-trail movement should be to
continue to develop trails in these more
favorable environments in order to build,
over time, a solid appreciation of the
safety benefits. Eventually, that will help
reassure major freight carriers and gener-
ate greater public support for such trails.
“
When the day comes, when rails-with-
trails are commonly supported and built,
that will represent a terrific victory for the
people of America,” he says.
A future encompassing rails-with-trails
is one that many are working hard to
realize. In September, RTC staff con-
vened a historic meeting of trail and rail
interests, bringing together for the first
time around one table representatives of
freight, transit and excursion rail indus-
tries with trail planners and advocates.
The result, says Tom Sexton, director of
RTC’s Northeast Regional Office, was a
step forward in acknowledging concerns
and constraints and in seeing where
opportunities for cooperation exist.
“
To hear rail and transit representa-
tives say that ‘Yes, trails may serve as a safe
and effective means of helping to man-
age people along railroad corridors’ was a
significant moment,” Sexton says. “That
statement represented an interesting shift
in how the major freight movers are even
prepared to think about rails-with-trails.”
Maybe Marshall’s America of the
future isn’t so far away.
Jake Lynch is the Editor-in-Chief of
Rails to Trails
magazine.
Schuylkill River Trail in
Pennsylvania
Photo courtesy Lane Fike, SRDC
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