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Rails to Trails

RestedTraveler

By RestedTraveler
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vwsam Whistle-Stop

vwsam

Posted
Posted

The company has six months to remove the rails.

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../611220390/1004

The National Salvage & Service Corp. has been selected to remove the steel railroad rails so the planned Tram-Trail project can proceed. Known as the Greenville and Northern Railroad and established in the 1880s, the line extends from just north of Travelers Rest to downtown Greenville.

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Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but this section of the trail in falls parks back open. The trail connection to County Square looks nice.

gman430
gman430

Didn’t see this coming.  Great to see either way:  “With the approval of a federal grant for more than $17 million dollars, bridges over West Blue Ridge Drive and Sulphur Springs Road, along with

Danmire
Danmire

Bridge is up

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GSP Tiger Burg

GSP Tiger

Posted
Posted

I have noticed crossings from Old Roe Ford Road up to Travelers Rest have been paved over and signs removed. The next phase for removal head down to Cedar Lane Road (SC-183). The overhead train signals at Watkins Bridge Road, Sulphur Springs Road, and West Blue Ridge Drive are in good condition to be used again. Several Norfolk Southern crossings could really use them.

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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Posted (edited)

Reminder....

Event tonight offers 'big picture' on rails to trails

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../701300432/1004

Learn more about the rail-trail linking Greenville, Furman University and Travelers Rest at a 5 p.m. session today at the university.

I'm sitting there right now. I'm in the back of the room with a beige jacket in case anyone else is here! I probably won't be able to post live updates however since I only have about 10% battery left.

but here I go posting what I can...

mentioned how this can "link" communities

now showing a map and explaining the route from downtown to T.R. - planned termination point is Sunrift Adventures and starts in downtown Greenville

All railroads are federally regulated industries. this is the most difficult of the process. The line has had multiple ownerships. 200+ individuals cleared 10 miles of the line to see what was there with 2250 man hours of work - no lost time injuries. It yielded big savings to the county and shared vision of potential. The route gives us a way to look at our local history like nothing else.

a lot of rail lines that are abandoned and not kept up. This is a unique situation.

legally as it stands now the "line" is a legal rail line even if a trail is put on it and can be restored if the gov. deems.

every state except hawaii has a "rail-trail"

others have been put in Spartanburg, Oconee and other places but this will be the first one in Greenville.

Benefits - Service businesses, Urban revitalization, community development, liner park, linking neighborhoods, promotion of active living. aid in addressing regional air quality issues.

I've got to log off now ... will try to post later from memory.

Edited by linkerjpatrick
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g-man430 Town

g-man430

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I went to the meeting too. I wrote up three pages worth of notes:

Rails-to-Trails will run from Travelers Rest to Lake Conestee. The primary focus is from downtown to Travelers Rest though. It will be run by GCRD. 200+ people cleared 10 miles of line. 2250 man hours were volunteered.

1960's-32 mile elfroy state park trail in Wisconsin is the first rails-to-trails to open in the country

1985-Rails-to-Trails Conservancy formed. 100 rails-to-trails in all in the country when conservancy was formed.

2006-1,396 rails-to-trails in US, which is equivalent to 13,361 miles

-1,200 rails-to-trails projects proposed in 2006, which is equivalent to 14,168 miles

-every state in the country except Hawaii has at least one rails-to-trails

Currently, there are more than a dozen rails-to-trails in South Carolina.

2002 survey of home buyers ranked trails as the #2 highest community amenity. 2006 report says walking paths is #1 amenity for people in the Carolinas.

Next steps-Salvage and remove railroad ties along with bridges over trestles. Feasibility reviews of trams, roads, and bridges along proposed trail over the next 6-12 months.

Phase 1-Cost is $200,000 and will be funded by TRAC and local dollars. The bed will be made from crushed limestone. New crossings over streams and rivers where trestles were will be built and road crossings will be painted. Completion date is set for late 2007.

Phase 2-Cost is $2,000,000. This will be the only second tram in the country along a paved path that acts like a trail. The only other one is in Everglades National Park. This will be the only tram-trail system that has bikers, microbus, walkers, etc. all on one path in the entire nation when complete.The tram will be run by GTA and cost 50 dollars an hour to keep going. It will be able to hold 8-14 passengers along with bicycles. It will also be a hybrid-alternative fuel vehicle. When first starting out, it will only run on weekends and during special events. Completion is set for late 2008. It will be paved and paid for using TRAC plan money along with local, state, and federal dollars.

Phase 3-Cost is undetermined with implementation in one to several decades. Most likely it will consist of a BRT system and not a light rail system, even though it is possible. The reason is because BRT is cheaper and can pick up riders a lot quicker than light rail.

Furman University has 3.5 miles of public trails currently that will link to Rails-to-Trails, which will make the total distance of the proposed Rails-to-Trails 14.5 miles in all. Two access points at Furman for Rails-to-Trails will be on Duncan Chapel Road and Old Roe Ford Road (I think that's the name of that road next to Furman. Tell me if i'm wrong, so I can change it) Future is to link Paris Mountain State Park to Furman trail in several years.

Why Rails-to-Trails makes sense:

-Cost effective use of local funds

-Practical but forward thinking

-Active living and economic growth opportunities

-One county in country with tram-trail network system. It will be one of a kind like Liberty Bridge at Falls Park is.

-All funds have been allocated thanks to local, state, and federal dollars. Also, money from TRAC and area sponsors will help fund this too.

Edited by g-man430
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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the updates guys ! :thumbsup:

How many folks in attendance?

I have to differ with the 'no lost time injuries' part. During one of the work days, I got stung by a couple of bees, in about 30 minutes, I had to leave. Breaking out in hives. I think several others were too that day, as I recall.

It will be SOOOO worth it though when this thing is finished !! :silly:

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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gman pretty much filled in the gaps so I won't bother posting from memory the remainder. Yes, I would say at least 150-200 people were there. A good many were Furman students but a significant portion was outsiders. I go to Furman a good bit to walk or run the trails and I don't live far at all from the line itself so it would be fun to walk from my house to the line and then to Furman and up to T.R. They do need to get this info out to the public in a better way.

As far as injuries. When I posted that I was reposting from his Powerpoint Presentation but later he did say that they were some insect sting incidents. I think by injuires he meant broken limbs, bleeding wounds however stings can be very serious if someone is allergic. Something else to watch out for is snakes, especially copperheads in this region.

I would have hung around but my wife and I had to be at a planning meeting for a new church we are helping to start in the Travelers Rest area. I'm going to try and find out how to be on the volunteer team for this project in the near future.

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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Posted

Thanks for the info guys! This sounds fantastic! :thumbsup: Nice to see live reporting from the scene linkerjpatrick. :)

This will run from Travelers Rest to Lake Conestee. Is that entire length included in Phase 1, to be complete by the end 2007?

Yes, the entire length is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007 but that is a very basic set up - i.e. railroad ties are removed, rocks put down and bridges covered so people don't slip through the cracks. Phase 2 is when it is paved, road crossing are painted, bridges will have rails, etc. Just removing the ties will be very nice as I walked part of the line that goes behind the Furman lake a couple of months ago and walk over all the ties was pretty slow moving and annoying to say the least.

The speak did suggest we write and thank the government officials who have voted to fund this and carry it forward. I didn't catch who they were. Anyone have a list. It is true that we don't thank some officials enough. We complain when things are going on we don't like but we really need to encourage them when they do the right thing. One reason I don't want to get into politics myself is so I don't have to put up with the public grief and scrutiny. I'm sure many others feel the same way. He also mentioned a web site called the Swamp Rabbit Forum but I could find it but here are some other sites of interest.

http://www.railstotrails.org/index.html

http://travelersrestsc.com/trails/

http://www.greenvilleforward.com/TRAC%20PL...0Components.htm

http://abandonedrailroads.homestead.com/sc_gn.html

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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Does that connect with the existing section that starts at the Children's Park downtown? I've heard rumors that sections in TR are already open, true?

I'm not sure. It should. I drove by the Lofts this morning and the equipment was digging up the ties and rails. I haven't noticed in sections in T.R. being open. I do go by Furman a good bit and I'm walking distance from a trail access point on Watkins Bridge Road and haven't seen anything going on at that point.

Does anyone know what's going on with the volunteer efforts? I have gone to a couple of meetings concerning the Rails to Trails and put my name on lists both times but have yet to receive any information via USPS or e-mail concerning volunteer days, etc. I feel like I'm being left in the dark and I do want to be involved with this project.

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vwsam Whistle-Stop

vwsam

Posted
Posted

The rails are finally coming up in TR -

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...359/1004/NEWS01

Work has started on the removal of the railroad line in Travelers Rest that will clear the way for the planned Tram-Trail project.

According to Lee Polowzcuk, spokesman for Greenville County, the National Salvage & Service Corp. started the removal in Travelers Rest. They have four months to complete their work.

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RestedTraveler Metropolis

RestedTraveler

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The rails are finally coming up in TR -

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...359/1004/NEWS01

Work has started on the removal of the railroad line in Travelers Rest that will clear the way for the planned Tram-Trail project.

According to Lee Polowzcuk, spokesman for Greenville County, the National Salvage & Service Corp. started the removal in Travelers Rest. They have four months to complete their work.

YES!!! I somehow thought I'd return home to find them gone. BTW...there's a housewarming present in my garage for you...was waiting until Spring to give it to ya, but since I'm not there, check with Mrs. RT...she'll know what it is. :thumbsup:

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vwsam Whistle-Stop

vwsam

Posted
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YES!!! I somehow thought I'd return home to find them gone. BTW...there's a housewarming present in my garage for you...was waiting until Spring to give it to ya, but since I'm not there, check with Mrs. RT...she'll know what it is. :thumbsup:

Thanks RT! :thumbsup:

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Danmire Hamlet

Danmire

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Posted

From the Greenville end they have now proceeded over Cedar Lane Road and are over 253 which is west Blue Ridge Drive. It's coming along nicely. I wonder how they plan on getting pedestrians across those 2 roads. they are pretty major roads with a lot of traffic.

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