I never got out to eastern CT along the missing section of the Midland. I heard the rails were in place until within the last 20 years or so. When were they taken up for the trail?
Engineer Spike wrote:I never got out to eastern CT along the missing section of the Midland. I heard the rails were in place until within the last 20 years or so. When were they taken up for the trail?A very nice trail, to be exact. With several bridges restored over the last few years to make it contiguous. The only portion of the Midland 'gap' still railed is this stub that runs for 1/2 mile west of the junction with NECR to the first Hop River bridge to serve 1 customer. There's a 3/4 mile trail gap behind that before the trail starts at Krugs Rd. and goes all the way west to the current end of CSO track at Parker St. Manchester.
The Charter Oak Greenway, which runs alongside I-384 for most of its length from Forbes St. in East Hartford at the 84/384 interchange to Porter St. in Manchester, has only a 2.5 mile gap to fill before it can connect to the trail at Bolton Notch from the due west direction. If they can squeeze it further west along the power line ROW's that line 84 through East Hartford they'd actually have a viable near-grade separated bike route from downtown Hartford over the Founders Bridge, to Bolton Notch along this 84/384 trail, to Willimantic on the Midland, and to Massachusetts on the Air Line.