102-471: The Westmoreland Heritage Trail is a partially completed rail trail in southwestern Pennsylvania. As of 2019, 18.0 miles of the 21.9 planned miles of trail are complete, including an 8.7 mile section from Saltsburg to the fringe of Delmont as well as a 9.3 mile section from Trafford to Export . The trail as proposed follows a 21.9 mile long right-of-way that was once the Turtle Creek Branch of
204-427: A bay window caboose, the crew monitoring the train sits in the middle of the car in a section of wall that projects from the side of the caboose. The windows set into these extended walls resemble architectural bay windows , so the caboose type is called a bay window caboose. This type afforded a better view of the side of the train and eliminated the falling hazard of the cupola. It is thought to have first been used on
306-494: A bright red, though on many lines it eventually became the practice to paint them in the same corporate colors as locomotives. The Kansas City Southern Railway was unique in that it bought cabooses with a stainless steel car body, and so was not obliged to paint them. Until the 1980s, laws in the United States and Canada required all freight trains to have a caboose and a full crew for safety. Technology eventually advanced to
408-609: A corridor to be " Rail Banked " or placed on hold for possible conversion back to active status when or if future need demands. While many rail trails have been built, other proposals have been cancelled by community opposition. The stature of the conversion organization, community involvement, and government willingness are key factors. On the other hand, there are a growing number of cases where existing rails and infrastructure, in service or not, are being called to be torn up for trails. Two cases of this are in New York State , against
510-487: A cut about 1/4 mile west of route 819 . From there the trail descends toward its western terminus at 856', where it merges into the West Penn Trail . This descent eastward from Slickville represents the steepest gradient on the track chart at 2.08%. Between Delmont and Saltsburg the trail departs from the rail grade for several road crossings previously made on rail overpasses which have since been removed, meaning that
612-479: A drover's caboose was much more like a combine, as well. On longer livestock trains in the American West, the drover's caboose is where the livestock's handlers would ride between the ranch and processing plant. The train crew rode in the caboose section while the livestock handlers rode in the coach section. Drover's cabooses used either cupolas or bay windows in the caboose section for the train crew to monitor
714-438: A further 3.4 mile section from Murrysville to Export was completed in the summer of 2019. Which section will be built next and when is not yet certain. The future connection between Export and Delmont is complicated by the need to cross PA route 66, a busy highway once traversed by a railroad tunnel that is now buried. In 2018 a grant was awarded to fund a study of the possible development of the trail on this ~4 mile segment. On
816-439: A historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit group that advocates for rail trails and has many documents and advice on building a rail trail. Per their records, the U.S. currently has 22,107 miles of rail trail complete. As of 2015 , Michigan has the most total mileage (2,381) of any state. Germany has
918-512: A number of cities disused rail tracks have been converted into linear parks . One example is the High Line (also known as "High Line Park"), a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) elevated linear park created on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad . Inspired by the 3-mile-long (4.8 km) Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993,
1020-484: A pedestrian and bicycle trail. The development of rail trails in southeastern Australia can be traced to the gold rushes of the second half of the 19th century. Dozens of rail lines sprang up, aided by the overly enthusiastic " Octopus Act ", but soon became unprofitable as the gold ran out, leading to a decreased demand for timber in turn. Decades later, these easements found a new use as tourist drawcards, once converted to rail trails. Dozens exist in some form, like
1122-748: A plaque and display stand by the trail in Murrysville, honoring the gas well tapped by the Haymaker brothers in 1878, though the exact location of that well is not known precisely. Finally, the ruins of a railroad bridge and the turn of the century brickyard once serviced by it lie across the creek from the trail in Monroeville near TCKR milepost number 2 in Trafford. The trail also runs by and through several parks and recreational areas. The trail begins in Saltsburg next to
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#17332029326911224-601: A point where the railroads, in an effort to save money by reducing crew members, stated that cabooses were unnecessary. New diesel locomotives had large cabs that could house entire crews. Distant dispatchers controlled switches, eliminating the need to manually throw switches after trains had passed. Improved signaling eliminated the need to protect the rear of a stopped train. Bearings were improved and lineside detectors were used to detect hot boxes, which themselves were becoming rarer with more and more freight cars gaining roller bearings. Better-designed cars avoided problems with
1326-568: A rail corridor that was originally built for the now-abandoned Kettle Valley Railway . The trail was developed during the 1990s after the Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned train service. The longest rail trail in Canada is the Newfoundland T'Railway that covers a distance of 883 km (549 mi). Protected as a linear park under the provincial park system, the T'Railway consists of
1428-509: A rail to trail conversion. Even residents who are not encroaching on railway lands may oppose conversion on the grounds of increased traffic in the area and the possibility of a decline in personal security. Because linear corridors of land are only valuable if they are intact, special laws regulate the abandonment of a railroad corridor. In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regulates railroads, and can allow
1530-464: A rebuild program for their cabooses in which the cars were painted bright red, with an eight-foot-diameter Santa Fe cross herald emblazoned on each side in yellow. Some railroads, chiefly the Wabash Railway , Pennsylvania Railroad , Norfolk and Western and Illinois Central Gulf , also built or upgraded cabooses with streamlined cupolas for better aerodynamics and to project a more modern image. In
1632-604: A ship's storeroom and to the North-American railcar. Camboose as a cook shack was in use in English at least by 1805, when it was used in a New York Chronicle article cited in the New English Dictionary describing a New England shipwreck, which reported that "[Survivor] William Duncan drifted aboard the canboose [ sic ]." As the first railroad cabooses were wooden shanties erected on flat cars as early as
1734-461: A small playground. Export has plans to build a new park next to the trail that is set to extend through the borough. Farther west the trail runs alongside Murrysville's Duff Park, which has a biking trail and several hiking trails. Neighboring Monroeville owns several parcels of land across the water from the trail, including Alpine Park and Valley Park, however a lack of nearby bridges over Turtle Creek currently limits access to them. The last major park
1836-483: A small subset of rail trails in which a railway right-of-way remains in use by trains yet also has a parallel recreational trail . Hundreds of kilometers of rails with trails exist in Canada, Europe, the United States, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. Caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train . Cabooses provide shelter for crew at
1938-519: A small windowed projection on the roof, called the cupola . The crew sat in elevated seats to inspect the train from this perch. The invention of the cupola caboose is generally attributed to T. B. Watson, a freight conductor on the Chicago and North Western Railway . In 1898, he wrote: During the '60s I was a conductor on the C&;NW. One day late in the summer of 1863 I received orders to give my caboose to
2040-539: A total of 1,200 km (750 mi) , a significant figure considering the size of the country. The gradient is never more than six per cent, and the tracks are open to all forms of non-motorised travellers, including cyclists, horse-riders, hikers and even roller-bladers. There is also the Vennbahn , which runs along an unusual border between Belgium and Germany. Baana is an old cargo rail track in Helsinki converted into
2142-432: A transfer caboose are left open, with safety railings surrounding the area between the crew compartment and the end of the car. A recent variation on the transfer caboose is the "pushing" or "shoving" platform. It can be any railcar where a brakeman can safely ride for some distance to help the engineer with visibility at the other end of the train. Flatcars and covered hoppers have been used for this purpose, but often
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#17332029326912244-594: A unique change to the extended-vision cabooses. They added a miniature bay to the sides of the cupola to enhance the views further. This created a unique look for their small fleet. Seven of the eight Monon-built cabooses have been saved. One was scrapped after an accident in Kentucky. The surviving cars are at the Indiana Transportation Museum (operational), the Indiana Railway Museum (operational),
2346-533: Is also part of the Rough Diamond Trail Project, a circuit of completed and proposed trails between Pittsburgh, Freeport , Saltsburg and Trafford that is being promoted by locally born actor David Conrad He has produced and starred in two videos thus far about this project. The first shows the WHT only briefly, while the second features Conrad riding through a few different sections of the trail, which includes
2448-531: Is convenient to have a brakeman at the end of the train to operate switches, on long reverse movements, and are also used on trains carrying hazardous materials. CSX Transportation is one of the few Class 1 railroads that still maintains a fleet of modified cabooses for regular use. Employed as "shoving platforms" at the rear of local freight trains which must perform long reverse moves or heavy switching, these are generally rebuilt bay-window cabooses with their cabin doors welded shut (leaving their crews to work from
2550-402: Is dictated by the free market value of the land, so that land in urban and industrial cores is often impractical to purchase and convert. Therefore, rail trails may end on the fringes of urban areas or near industrial areas and resume later, as discontinuous portions of the same rail line, separated by unaffordable or inappropriate land. A railroad right-of-way (easement) width varies based on
2652-770: The Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad in 1923, but is particularly associated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , which built all of its cabooses in this design starting from an experimental model in 1930. The bay window gained favor with many railroads because it eliminated the need for additional clearances in tunnels and overpasses. On the West Coast, the Milwaukee Road and the Northern Pacific Railway used these cars, converting over 900 roof top cabooses to bay windows in
2754-628: The Beltline Trail and the West Toronto Railpath . In central Ontario, the former Victoria Railway line, which runs 89 kilometres (55 mi) from the town of Lindsay, Ontario , north to the village of Haliburton, in Haliburton County , serves as a public recreation trail. It can be used for cross country skiing, walking, and snowmobiling in the winter months, and walking, cycling, and horse riding from spring to autumn. The majority of
2856-757: The Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston, New York , and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Old Forge, New York . In Connecticut, the not-in-service section of track on the Valley Railroad has been proposed by locals to be converted to trail. Though perceived by residents to be, as it has not carried a train since the 1960s, the railroad has never been formally abandoned. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection acquired
2958-617: The Illinois Railway Museum with 19 examples and the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California , with 17. Many shortline railroads still use cabooses today. Large railroads also use cabooses as "shoving platforms" or in switching service where it is convenient to have crew at the rear of the train. Cabooses have been reused as vacation cottages, garden offices in private residences, and as portions of restaurants. Also, caboose motels have appeared, with
3060-560: The Kentucky Railway Museum (fire damaged), and the Bluegrass Railroad Museum (unrestored but serviceable). The remaining three are in private collections. A transfer caboose looks more like a flat car with a shed bolted to the middle of it than like a standard caboose. It is used in transfer service between rail yards or short switching runs, and as such, lacks sleeping, cooking or restroom facilities. The ends of
3162-873: The Middlewood Way in Cheshire and the Ebury Way in Watford . Notable rural rail trails include the Dava Way , running along the route of the former Highland Railway between Grantown and Forres in the Scottish Highlands , and the High Peak Trail in the English Peak District . In London , a more unusual scheme has been proposed to convert some disused London Underground tunnels into subterranean rail trails under
Westmoreland Heritage Trail - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-710: The Milton Keynes redway system runs throughout Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England, in parts using the former trackbed of the defunct Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line (closed 1962) and the Grand Union Canal towpath. Together, these paths form part of the long-distance National Cycle Network Route 6 and Route 51 . Other urban and suburban rail trails include the Fallowfield Loop Line in Manchester ,
3366-578: The National Arts Council . The disused railway consists of the main line from the Tanjong Pagar railway station to Woodlands, extending either 24 km (15 mi) or 26 km (16 mi), depending on the source. There is also the Jurong spur line, 14 km (8.7 mi) in length. The area occupied by the railways is at least 80 ha (200 acres), and up to 173.7 ha (429 acres) when
3468-610: The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) , a portion of which continued independent short-line operation as the Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad for decades after it was sold off by Conrail . The right of way proceeds from Saltsburg through Loyalhanna and Salem townships, alongside Delmont into the outskirts of Murrysville before passing through Export, the Murrysville business district, Monroeville and Penn Township , finally terminating in Trafford shortly before
3570-752: The Southern Pacific Railroad , St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , Katy Railroad , Kansas City Southern Railway , the Southern Railway , and the New York Central Railroad . In the UK, brake vans are usually of this basic design: the bay window is known as a lookout or ducket. In the extended-vision or wide-vision caboose, the sides of the cupola project beyond the side of the car body. Rock Island created some of these by rebuilding some standard cupola cabooses with windowed extensions applied to
3672-606: The Steel Valley Trail , a connection that members of both respective trail councils have expressed support in making. This would link the WHT with the Great Allegheny Passage , a 150-mile rail-trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland , which, along with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath trail, forms a continuous hiking and biking trail between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC . The Westmoreland Heritage Trail
3774-573: The Trans Canada Trail and other walking trails are abandoned railways. A small railway line from Musquodoboit Harbour ( Musquodoboit Trailway ) to Dartmouth are nearly fully used by community members and tourists. Another extremely large section is used from Halifax to New Germany to Yarmouth to Grand Pre . A considerable part of the Trans Canada Trail are repurposed defunct rail lines donated to provincial governments by CP and CN rail rebuilt as walking trails. The main section runs along
3876-611: The Westinghouse Interworks Railway once ran. At its eastern terminus, the WHT connects seamlessly to the West Penn Trail , which is part of the 320 mile Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway. On its western end the Westmoreland Heritage Trail has no connections as of yet, however continuing the trail downstream along Turtle Creek and through Braddock would allow the WHT to connect to
3978-524: The conductor's office, and on long routes, included sleeping accommodations and cooking facilities. A similar railroad car, the brake van , was used on British and Commonwealth railways outside North America (the role has since been replaced by the crew car in Australia). On trains not fitted with continuous brakes , brake vans provided a supplementary braking system, and they helped keep chain couplings taut. Cabooses were used on every freight train in
4080-507: The 1830s, they would have resembled the cook shack on a ship's deck. The earliest known printed record of "caboose" used to describe the railcar appeared in 1859 in court records in conjunction with a lawsuit filed against the New York and Harlem Railway . The most common pluralization of caboose is "cabooses". Use of cabooses began in the 1830s, when railroads housed trainmen in shanties built onto boxcars or flatcars. The caboose provided
4182-591: The 37-kilometre (23 mi) Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail , but only a few – such as the 95-kilometre (59 mi) Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail — have been fully developed. Progress is frequently hampered by trestle bridges in unsafe condition, easements that have been sold off to farmers, and lack of funds. Funding is typically contributed in roughly equal parts from federal, state, and local governments, with voluntary labour and in kind donations contributed by local groups. The latest addition to
Westmoreland Heritage Trail - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-740: The High Line has been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway and rails-to-trails park. Railroads in North America were often built with a mix of purchased land, government land grants, and easements. The land deeds can be over a hundred years old, land grants might be conditional upon continuous operation of the line, and easements may have expired, all expensive and difficult issues to determine at law. Railroad property rights have often been poorly defined and sporadically enforced, with neighboring property owners intentionally or accidentally using land they do not own. Such encroachers often later oppose
4386-639: The Pennsylvania Railroad's track maps show the old right of way crossing under the route through a tunnel at 1181.1' above sea level, however this tunnel has since been buried rendering it unusable. Since the path by which the trail will cross Route 66 is not yet decided, the ultimate elevation of this crossing remains unknown. From here the trail descends towards the causeway across the Beaver Run Reservoir at an elevation of 1069.8', rising again to its current high point of 1193.5' as it passes through
4488-621: The Rail Trail scene in Victoria is The Great Victorian Rail Trail which is the longest rail trail in Victoria covering 134 km (83 mi). It has become popular with tourists as it meanders through steep valleys and open farm country. The Rail Trails Australia website is a good source of local information. about trails in Australia. A number of rail trails have been established through New Zealand;
4590-715: The Sarnia Bridge was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame . A railroad between Gateway Road and Raleigh Street (i.e. streets immediately parallel to the railway on each side) in Winnipeg , Manitoba , was turned into a 7 km (4.3 mi) asphalt trail in 2007. It is called the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, and there are plans for expansion into East St. Paul , and eventually to Birds Hill Park. In Nova Scotia , almost every section of
4692-1055: The Turtle Creek gorge before the railroad tracks were removed. Rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail , or streetcars ( rails with trails ), or with disused track. As shared-use paths, rail trails are primarily for non-motorized traffic including pedestrians, bicycles, horseback riders, skaters, and cross-country skiers, although snowmobiles and ATVs may be allowed. The characteristics of abandoned railways —gentle grades, well-engineered rights of way and structures (bridges and tunnels), and passage through historical areas—lend themselves to rail trails and account for their popularity. Many rail trails are long-distance trails , while some shorter rail trails are known as greenways or linear parks . The Bermuda Railway ceased to operate as such when
4794-473: The United States and Canada until the 1980s, when safety laws requiring the presence of cabooses and full crews were relaxed. A major purpose of the caboose was for observing problems at the rear of the train before they caused trouble. Lineside defect detectors and end-of-train devices eliminated much of this need. Older freight cars had plain bearings with hot boxes for crews to spot overheating – as freight cars replaced these with roller bearings , there
4896-666: The abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989, the government of Prince Edward Island purchased the right-of-way to the entire railway system. The Confederation Trail was developed as a tip-to-tip walking/cycling gravel rail trail which doubles as a monitored and groomed snowmobile trail during the winter months, operated by the PEI Snowmobile Association. In Quebec, Le P'tit Train du Nord runs 200 km (120 mi) from Saint-Jérôme to Mont-Laurier . In Toronto , there are two rail trails,
4998-459: The actual slope of the trail exceeds the rail gradient for brief stretches. These grades are higher than those of some other prominent rail trails in the area; for example the Great Allegheny Passage lists its maximum as 1.5%. However it is still well below the 5% limit set for the “running slope” of an accessible route under the Americans with Disabilities Act . Farther away from the highpoints where
5100-405: The axles, which charged a lead-acid storage battery when the train was in motion. The addition of the cupola , a lookout post atop the car, was introduced in 1863. Coal or wood was originally used to fire a cast-iron stove for heat and cooking, later giving way to a kerosene heater. Now rare, the old stoves can be identified by several essential features. They were without legs, bolted directly to
5202-596: The best known are the Hauraki Rail Trail (linking Thames, Paeroa, Te Aroha and Waikino/Waihi), Otago Central Rail Trail and the Little River Rail Trail . The New Zealand Cycle Trail project, a Government-led initiative, will greatly accelerate the establishment of new trails. The first seven projects (not all of them rail trails, though) were announced in July 2009 and will receive NZ$ 9 million in funding of
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#17332029326915304-626: The border from Malaysia. Government agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) have taken responsibility for developing and implementing ideas and activities for the former rail lands. The URA has a dedicated web site on Rail Corridor. An example of activities permitted include street art on a section of the disused railway, supported by the SLA, URA, Land Transport Authority and
5406-872: The caboose include "special" trains, where the train is involved in some sort of railway maintenance; as part of survey trains that inspect remote rail lines after natural disasters to check for damage; or in protecting the movement of nuclear material within the United States. Others have been modified for use in research roles to investigate complaints from residents or business owners regarding trains in certain locations. Finally, some are coupled to trains for special events, including historical tours. The Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad in Mexico still uses cabooses to accompany their motorail trains between Chihuahua and Los Mochis . Cabooses have also become popular for collection by railroad museums and for city parks and other civic uses, such as visitor centers. Several railroad museums roster large numbers of cabooses, including
5508-422: The caboose. For longer trips, the caboose provided minimal living quarters, and was frequently personalized and decorated with pictures and posters. Early cabooses were nothing more than flat cars with small cabins erected on them, or modified box cars. The standard form of the American caboose had a platform at either end with curved grab rails to facilitate train crew members' ascent onto a moving train. A caboose
5610-465: The city, but this scheme has not been officially approved. With more than 2,500 kilometers of rail trails (Via Verde) in a network of 117 cycling and walking itineraries, Spain ranks high in the European greenways scene. The trails are managed or coordinated by the Spanish Railways Foundation, an institution created in 1985. Many of the converted tracks were originally built for the mining industry, connecting remote mountain sites with port locations on
5712-457: The coast, now offering picturesque rides from wild interior landscapes to the seaside, following near-flat routes with long-spanning viaducts and bridges, plus a number of tunnels. Cuts to Ireland's once expansive rail network in the mid 20th century left Ireland with a vast network of disused railways. While many lines were ripped up and the sections of the land acquired by private owners, a number of former railways do exist intact, thus providing
5814-413: The conductor of a construction train and take an empty boxcar to use as a caboose. This car happened to have a hole in the roof about two feet square. I stacked the lamp and tool boxes under the perforation end and sat with my head and shoulders above the roof ... (Later) I suggested putting a box around the hole with glass in, so I could have a pilot house to sit in and watch the train. The position of
5916-419: The cupola varied. In most eastern railroad cabooses, the cupola was in the center of the car, but most western railroads preferred to put it toward the end of the car. Some conductors preferred to have the cupola toward the front, others liked it toward the rear of the train, and still others had no preference. ATSF conductors could refuse to be assigned to a train if they did not have their cabooses turned to face
6018-403: The end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting ; as well as in keeping a lookout for load shifting , damage to equipment and cargo, and overheating axles . Originally flatcars fitted with cabins or modified box cars , they later became purpose-built, with bay windows above or to the sides of the car to allow crew to observe the train. The caboose also served as
6120-503: The engineer. A 1982 Presidential Emergency Board convened under the Railway Labor Act directed United States railroads to begin eliminating caboose cars where possible to do so. A legal exception was the state of Virginia, which had a 1911 law mandating cabooses on the ends of trains, until the law's final repeal in 1988. With this exception aside, year by year, cabooses started to fade away. Very few cabooses remain in operation today, though they are still used for some local trains where it
6222-426: The federal government passing legislation promoting the use of railbanking for abandoned railroad corridors in 1983 which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990. This process preserves rail corridors for possible future rail use with interim use as a trail. By the 1970s, even main lines were being sold or abandoned. This was especially true when regional rail lines merged and streamlined their operations. As both
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#17332029326916324-412: The floor, and featured a lip on the top surface to keep pans and coffee pots from sliding off. They also had a double-latching door, to prevent accidental discharge of hot coals caused by the rocking motion of the caboose. Cabooses are non-revenue equipment and were often improvised or retained well beyond the normal lifetime of a freight car. Tradition on many lines held that the caboose should be painted
6426-429: The food preparation cabin on a ship's main deck and its stove . Camboose may have entered English through American sailors who had come into contact with their French allies during the American Revolution . It was already in use in U.S. naval terminology by the 1797 construction of the USS Constitution , whose wood-burning food preparation stove is known as the camboose. In modern French, cambuse can refer both to
6528-488: The former Galway to Clifden railway into a greenway, but negotiations are still underway with landowners regarding its routing. A section of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway railway line, from Claremorris to Collooney has been touted for redevelopment as a greenway, but has met with some recent opposition from groups wishing for reestablishment of the railway itself. The RAVeL network in Belgium combines converted tracks, byways and towpaths , adding up to
6630-477: The former railway that the Westmoreland Heritage Trail follows is a complex one. Rather than simply paralleling a single river as many rail-trails do, it instead runs alongside and over multiple waters, twice approaching 1200' as the right of way transitions between different watersheds . Beginning at the planned eastern terminus at 772.1' by the location of the former Trafford North Station, the trail follows Turtle Creek toward its headwaters near PA Route 66 . Here
6732-516: The history of the railroad. Their primary revenue is tourist operations, so rail traffic is seasonal; though all three have been granted rights to carry freight, should customers show interest. Though rare, there are several cases in which trails convert back to active railroads. One example occurred in 2012 in Clarence, Pennsylvania , where the R.J. Corman Railroad Company received permission to rebuild 20 miles (32 km) of railbanked line to serve new industries. Conrail had ceased operating over
6834-434: The land around the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and other nodes are included. Given the location of the railway lands in land scarce Singapore, there was concern that the lands would be developed. Organisations such as the Nature Society Singapore developed comprehensive plans to maintain the rail lands for nature-related pursuits. The Green Corridor web site is a campaign website dedicated to preserving its natural form. In
6936-433: The largest number of rail trails in Europe, with 677 rail trails with a total length of 5,020 kilometres (3,120 mi) (as at February 2015). 80 more projects are being planned or under construction. Some of the longest rail trails are in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . These are the Maare-Mosel-Radweg with 39 kilometres (24 mi) on the old rail track, the Ruwer-Hochwald-Radweg with 44 kilometres (27 mi) on
7038-432: The late 1930s. Milwaukee Road rib-side bay window cabooses are preserved at New Lisbon, Wisconsin , the Illinois Railway Museum , the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Cedarburg, Wisconsin , among other places. The Western Pacific Railroad was an early adopter of the type, building their own bay window cars starting in 1942 and acquiring this style exclusively from then on. Many other roads operated this type, including
7140-458: The line from Penn Central in 1969, and subsequently signed a long-term lease with the railroad. The railroad has been continually working to bring this section of the line back into service. Both Departments strongly support the preservation of the line, and have provided support to the railroad with property encroachment from abutters and the provision of railroad ties . All three of these examples are heritage railroads , which serve to protect
7242-540: The line in 1990, and 10 miles (16 km) was converted to the Snow Shoe Rails to Trails. Most original rail lines were surveyed for ease of transport and gentle (often less than 2%) grades . Therefore, the rail trails that succeeded them are often fairly straight and ideally suited to overcome steep or awkward terrain such as hills, escarpments, rivers, swamps, etc. Rail trails often share space with linear utilities such as pipelines, electrical transmission wires, and telephone lines. Most purchase of railway land
7344-433: The loads which helped as well. The railroads also claimed a caboose was a dangerous place, as slack run-ins could hurl the crew from their places and even dislodge weighty equipment. Railroads proposed the end-of-train device (EOT or ETD), commonly called a FRED (flashing rear-end device), as an alternative. An ETD could be attached to the rear of the train to detect the train's air brake pressure and report any problems to
7446-451: The locomotive by telemetry . The ETD also detects movement of the train upon start-up and radios this information to the engineers so they know all of the slack is out of the couplings and additional power could be applied. The machines also have blinking red lights to warn following trains that a train is ahead. With the introduction of the ETD, the conductor moved up to the front of the train with
7548-725: The majority of rail trails are maintained by either the local authority or charitable organisations such as Sustrans , the Railway Ramblers or Railway Paths . A 31-mile (50 km) section (between Braunton and Meeth ) of the Tarka Trail in Devon is one of the longest of these. Many of these former railway lines form part of the British National Cycle Network , connecting with long-distance paths and towpaths along Britain's extensive network of canals . For example,
7650-487: The obsolete Middle Low German word Kabuse , a small cabin erected on a sailing ship's main deck. This was absorbed into Middle Dutch and entered the Dutch language circa 1747 as kabhuis , the compartment on a ship's main deck in which meals were prepared. In modern Dutch, kombuis is equivalent to galley . Eighteenth century French naval records also make reference to a cambose or camboose, which described both
7752-684: The old rail track and the Schinderhannes-Radweg with 36 kilometres (22 mi) on the old track of the Hunsrück Railway . Up to date, the 23 km long Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal is still the rail trail with the highest standard in Germany and is a prime example of conversion of an abandoned railway track into a multiuser cycling path. With almost 150 lines in use, the United Kingdom has
7854-458: The old railroad and the industries that grew around it. The corridor of the eastern half of the trail is dotted with mine ruins and piles of slate left over from the coal industry; one of the most prominent of which is adjacent to the trail in Slickville, where the town's name is spelled out atop it. In the borough of Export sits a newly restored 1939 railroad caboose . A model derrick as well as
7956-589: The only carrier to exist in Bermuda folded in 1948. Some of the former right of way were converted for automobile traffic, and in 1984 18 miles were converted to a rail trail, reserved for pedestrian use and bicycles on paved portions. The rail bed spans the length of the island, and connected Hamilton to St. George's and several villages, though several bridges are derelict, causing the trail to be fragmented. The Kettle Valley Rail Trail in British Columbia uses
8058-631: The option for the development of many rail trails in the future. The rail-trail on the former Westport to Achill Island line, known as the Great Western Greenway , was completed in 2011. Much progress has been made on the development of a rail-trail on the former Limerick to Tralee / Fenit line, in the form of the Great Southern Trail . As of 2013, a 36-kilometre (22 mi) section from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale has been completed. Planning permission has been granted to redevelop
8160-456: The pushing platform is a caboose that has had its windows covered and welded shut and permanently locked doors. CSX uses former Louisville & Nashville short bay window cabooses and former Conrail waycars as pushing platforms. Transfer cabooses are not to be confused with Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) cabooses, as their cabooses were fully functional. Drover's cabooses looked more like combine cars than standard cabooses. The purpose of
8262-628: The rail industry led to the closure of a number of uneconomical branch lines and redundant mainlines. Some were maintained as short line railways , but many others were abandoned. The first abandoned rail corridor in the United States converted into a recreational trail was the Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin , which opened in 1967. The following year the Illinois Prairie Path opened. The conversion of rails to trails hastened with
8364-626: The rail trail passes through sparsely populated areas of the Canadian Shield , with historic trestle bridges crossing several rivers. The old Sarnia Bridge in St. Marys, Ontario , was re-purposed as part of the Grand Trunk Trail . The former Grand Trunk Railway viaduct was purchased from Canadian National Railway in 1995. The Grand Trunk Trail was opened in 1998 with over 3 km (1.9 mi) of paved, accessible trail. In 2012, The re-purposing of
8466-427: The railbed of the historic Newfoundland Railway as transferred from its most recent owner, Canadian National Railway , to the provincial government after rail service was abandoned on the island of Newfoundland in 1988. The rail corridor stretches from Channel-Port aux Basques in the west to St. John's in the east with branches to Stephenville , Lewisporte , Bonavista , Placentia and Carbonear . Following
8568-485: The rear platform). BNSF also maintains a fleet of former wide-vision cabooses for a similar purpose, and in 2013 began repainting some of them in heritage paint schemes of BNSF's predecessor railroads. The form of cabooses varied over the years, with changes made both to reflect differences in service and improvements in design. The most commonly seen types are: The most common caboose form in American railroad practice has
8670-479: The remaining tracks merge into the Pittsburgh Line , which is still active. The portions of the trail that have thus far been constructed follow the former rail line rather faithfully. Ties and rails have been replaced primarily with crushed limestone (asphalt was used in short sections near road crossings), and old railroad bridges have been re-decked for use by cyclists and pedestrians. The elevation profile of
8772-802: The second-largest network of rail trails in Europe after Germany. The development of rail trails in the United Kingdom grew after a major programme of railway line closures in the 1960s known as the Beeching cuts . The scheme, named after Dr. Richard Beeching , the then chairman of British Railways , decommissioned approximately 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of railway lines all over Great Britain. Many rural and suburban lines were closed along with selected main line trunk routes. Since then, approximately 1,200–2,200 miles (1,900–3,500 km) of disused railway lines in Britain have been converted to public leisure purposes, and today
8874-545: The second-longest, extending for 321 miles (517 km), the longest being the Ohio to Erie Trail in Ohio at 326 miles (525 km). The BeltLine , in Atlanta , Georgia, is currently under construction. In 2030, its anticipated year of completion, it will be one of the longest continuous trails. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along
8976-485: The sides of the cupola itself, but by far, the greatest number have the entire cupola compartment enlarged. This model was introduced by the International Car Company and saw service on most U.S. railroads. The expanded cupola allowed the crew to see past the top of the taller cars that began to appear after World War II , and also increased the roominess of the cupola area. Additionally, Monon Railroad had
9078-416: The southern areas of Canada connecting most of Canada's major cities and most populous areas. There is also a long northern arm which runs through Alberta to Edmonton and then up through northern British Columbia to Yukon. The trail is multi-use and depending on the section may allow hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, cross country skiers and snowmobilers. In North America, the decades-long consolidation of
9180-413: The streams grow deeper, such as alongside Loyalhanna Creek , the trail becomes noticeably more level. Using a three-tiered evaluation system, Trans Allegheny Trails rates this section of the WHT as “easy”, while it rates the formerly mentioned steepest section near Slickville as “moderate” in cycling difficulty. The path of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail runs by several prominent landmarks associated with
9282-555: The supply of potential trails increased and awareness of the possibilities rose, state governments, municipalities, conservation authorities, and private organizations bought the rail corridors to create, expand or link green spaces . The longest developed rail trail is currently the 240 miles (390 km) Katy Trail in Missouri . When complete, the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska will become
9384-542: The terrain, with a 100 feet (30 m) width being ample enough where little surface grading is required. The initial 705 miles (1,135 km) stretch of the Illinois Central Railroad is the most liberal in the world with a width of 200 feet (61 m) along the whole length of the line. Rail trails are often graded and covered in gravel or crushed stone, although some are paved with asphalt and others are left as dirt. Where rail bridges are incorporated into
9486-693: The total project budget of NZ$ 50 million. On 24 May 2010, the Singapore and Malaysia governments agreed to move the Singapore terminus of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from the Tanjong Pagar railway station in southern Singapore to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in northern Singapore. This resulted in the railway lines in Singapore becoming surplus as the Woodlands terminus is just over
9588-490: The trail continued to grow, and a 3.7 mile westward extension towards Delmont was opened in 2013. The following year, trail developers set their sights on the Turtle Creek valley, when they raised the funds to purchase the right of way of the Turtle Creek Industrial Railway. Construction on a 5.9 mile section of this corridor between Trafford and Monroeville was completed in the fall of 2017, and construction of
9690-415: The trail runs through before its current western terminus is B-Y Park in Trafford, which has picnic pavilions and a pond that is used for fishing and ice skating, depending on the season. Nearly nine years passed between the time the discussion of the WHT began in 1998 and when the first section was built. With this first five-mile segment from Saltsburg to Slickville completed, momentum for development of
9792-480: The trail, the only alterations (if any) tend to be adding solid walking areas on top of ties or trestles, though bridges in poorer condition do receive new guardrails , paint, and reinforcement. If paved, they are especially suitable for people who use wheelchairs. Where applicable, the same trails used in the summer for walking, jogging, and inline skating can be used in the winter for Nordic skiing , snowshoeing , and sometimes snowmobiling . Rails with trails are
9894-400: The train crew with a shelter at the rear of the train. The crew could exit the train for switching or to protect the rear of the train when stopped. They also inspected the train for problems such as shifting loads, broken or dragging equipment, and hot boxes (overheated axle bearings, a serious fire and derailment threat). The conductor kept records and handled business from a table or desk in
9996-518: The train. The use of drover's cars on the Northern Pacific Railway , for example, lasted until the Burlington Northern Railroad merger of 1970. They were often found on stock trains originating in Montana . Although the caboose has largely fallen out of use, some are still retained by railroads in a reserve capacity. These cabooses are typically used in and around railyards. Other uses for
10098-462: The way they preferred. This would be a rare union agreement clause that could be used however it was not a regular issue. The classic idea of the "little red caboose" at the end of every train came about when cabooses were painted a reddish brown; however, some railroads (UP, and NKP, for example) painted their cabooses yellow or red and white. The most notable was the Santa Fe which in the 1960s started
10200-449: The western front, expansion from Trafford must first involve acquisition of the rights to the final fraction of a mile of the Turtle Creek Industrial Railway, currently owned by Norfolk Southern . From here the trail could continue alongside Turtle Creek through East Pittsburgh , and some proposed trail maps imply that this could be done along the abandoned East Pittsburgh Branch of the PRR, where
10302-412: Was also less need for cabooses to monitor them. Nowadays, they are generally only used on rail maintenance or hazardous materials trains, as a platform for crew on industrial spur lines when it is required to make long reverse movements, or on heritage and tourist railroads . Railroad historian David L. Joslyn (a retired Southern Pacific Railroad draftsman) has traced the possible root of "caboose" to
10404-413: Was fitted with red lights called markers to enable the rear of the train to be seen at night. This has led to the phrase "bringing up the markers" to describe the last car on a train. These lights were officially what made a train a "train", and were originally lit with oil lamps . With the advent of electricity, later caboose versions incorporated an electrical generator driven by belts coupled to one of
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