NY - Harlem Valley Rail Trail

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA) has reached an agreement to acquire 14 miles of abandoned railroad bed in Columbia County for inclusion in the trail it initiated in the early 1980s.

While many smaller parcels along the route remain in private hands, the trail could eventually stretch 46 miles south from Chatham to the Metro North Railroad station at Wassaic. It follows a former rail route abandoned by the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad.

http://www.midhudsoncentral.com/site/ne ... 2341&rfi=6

Hope there are many people like the Metz's along the ROW!

Fred

I visited Wassaic on Sunday and saw the new start of the rail trail. It starts at the grade crossing by the depot, runs alongside the fence next to the track, then eventually joins up the roadbed of the former Harlem.

I will say this about the rail trail. It opened up a new photo oppotunity for me at the north end of the yard.

-otto-

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Dutchess County just got longer.

County and local officials yesterday dedicated the new 2.6 mile stretch that connects Amenia to Millerton. This brings the total length to about 11 miles. The next step will be to extend the trail to the Columbia County line.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/HV_Ra ... 8May05.htm

Construction of the new section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail north of Millerton (NY) has been tied up in bureaucratic red tape for some time. The Lakeville Journal reports that the major obstacles have now been overcome, and that work is scheduled to begin in Nov. 2008.

What are the numbers included on the mile markers on the HVRT?

For example, the 86 mile marker includes "STA. 454+080" The first number goes up by 5 every mile but the second number seems to go up and down as the miles go up.

Re: Harlem Valley Rail Trail - Amenia, NY

On May 5th, work is scheduled to begin on a realignment of the HVRT where it crosses Rt. 343 in Amenia, NY. They are going to make the crossing at a 90 degree angle to the road, instead of on a slant, as it is now. This should significantly improve safety.

To answer my own question, the numbers are the miles represented in feet. Milepost 86 shows 454+080. 454,080 divided by 5,280 equals 86.

I rode this trail (both sections) in June of last year. http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1307798172.html Also rode the Putnam County rail trail, which is the Old Putnam Branch.

Thought I'd add the web-site: http://hvrt.org/

Welcome to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, two sections totaling 15 paved miles through stunning rural Dutchess and Columbia County landscapes. Since the mid-1980's, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association has dreamed of a 46-mile rail trail in the Harlem Valley and Taconic Hills of eastern New York. The first segment of the trail opened in 1996.

Since then, the trail has grown in 1997, 2000 and 2005. Another eight miles of abandoned rail bed are in the development stages, and most of another 23 miles have been acquired in Columbia County that will lead the trail north into the Village of Chatham

I've also attached the trail map:

I rode the upper part of the trail a few years ago. It's a pleasant, easy ride, as you'd expect from a former railroad ROW.

What I heard about the disconnection between the north and south sections is that there's a wetland with beaver activity, so the railbed is constantly wet and thus impassable. But if they can extend the north section north to Chatham, that would be totally awesome.

https://tricornernews.com/millerton/har ... -september

MILLERTON — The Harlem Valley Rail Trail arrived in Millerton from Amenia in the fall of 2000, about 20 years after the last freight train pulled away. Since then the trail has expanded by 5.5 miles at the Taconic State Park in Copake Falls and 1.5 miles coming south from Hillsdale.

Currently a project is underway to construct nearly 9 miles of trail connecting Millerton with Copake Falls. In mid-July, trail work reached Main Street in Millerton and the route through Railroad Plaza has become clear. Along Route 22, just north of Millerton, the work is quite evident. It is not possible to see the work being done through the incredible wetlands the trail will traverse where the rail bed bends into the middle of the valley between Route 22 and the Taconic/Berkshire Mountains. Here several short concrete bridges are being put in place to allow water to flow beneath to keep the wetlands habitat healthy on both sides of the trail. In about 1850, the New York and Harlem Railroad moved tons of earth to create the raised rail bed that the trail is now being built upon.
...
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA) was formed in the mid-1980s, with a mission to work to complete a trail between the Metro-North Railroad Station in Wassaic and Chatham in central Columbia County. HVRTA has recently completed design work on a link between Copake Falls and Hillsdale that will include a new pedestrian bridge over Route 22. HVRTA assisted New York State Parks in receiving a grant to fund construction of this trail link and the organization has begun a campaign to raise the local matching funds to activate the $1.9 million grant.

HVRTA is also working on converting half of a double wide railroad bridge in the village of Millerton to a “Bridge to Nature,” which will help folks explore the natural wonders along the trail and appreciate the forces and processes that formed today’s landscape. Find more about all this at www.hvrt.org.
...

I was through Millerton last week on my way back from shopping in Canaan. They've got a "trail closed" sign where they're working on the northern extension, but you can certainly see progress if you travel north on 22; look behind NAPA and Four Brothers.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out. We were up in Chatham the other week to pick up a part at the John Deere dealership, and I was surprised how much of the Harlem still exists up there.

That's amazing news. Looking forward to riding the whole thing end to end.