Abandoning the former BR&P through Orchard Park

^I think those pics are on the spur to the West Valley plant.

You can see the washout in the Bird's Eye view at Bing Maps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0vtsqBzQmU

The tracks end just north of Jewett Holmwood Rd , they still cross the bridge over Rt 240/277, and are still behind the depot.

Interesting link to Bing Maps. I didn't know maps included singing.

I can see a couple of places along the West Valley spur where there might have been washouts (since repaired), and I can't see any place along the main where there was a recent washout. You'd think that with the line OOS, they wouldn't bother repairing a washout just to salvage the tracks.

I hope that the idiot communities who don't want a rail-trail come to their senses. I've not seen a single community which didn't love their trail once it was built. Walkers, mothers pushing strollers, runners, bicyclers, all use the trail. At least it looks like they left every single one of the bridges and fenced them off, which is a good sign. That will keep out the ATVers who destroy the railbed for everyone else.

I have 5 pic. I took, yesterday 9.3.2012 of the track from the Depot south, by the golf course, as it looks now. Just E-mail me & I will send them as small attachments to your E-Mail. jpeg

John T.

http://www.ecattrail.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is the website of the Erie Cattaragus Rail Trail organizaion.

I too would love to see a trail for this row. But there are nimbys out there. But I'd have to say, as I've driven along rt 240 alot this past winter, there are several homes where the row goes right through their back yard. If you consider the WS path from Transit Rd east to Akron there is some space between the row and the home.

The West Falls depot looks to be a private home. Can't say I'd want to walk out my front door and get hit by a biker or the depot admirers[sp] viewing it within touching distance. There is another home at a recently modified curve where the line just about matches the driveway into one residence and right in front of another. Perhaps a reroute of the path can be planned out in specific areas.

Snowmobilers have been on the ROW all winter. Just depends on where a bridge is and its proximity to all the others.

A rail-trail right next to your property is an amenity, which will either raise the price of your house, or cause it to sell more quickly. So *you* may not like having a rail-trail, but whomever buys your house will.

They fear a criminal element creeping around the trail. That's their reasoning. The problem is, there's more possibility of criminal activity when the right of way is an overgrown mess. Once a trail is installed, the police can monitor it & you have pedestrian traffic that helps keep the rif raf away. I've been on the DL&W trail in Lancaster & seen the bike cops out riding.

Any news on this subject? I have been out of the loop.

POTSDAM????? WHY IS A GUY FROM POTSDAM PROMOTING A RAIL-TRAIL IN MY BACKYARD?? 300 miles away... Really Russ?

I live in OP and I wouldn't mind seeing this abandoned corridor turned into a rail trail. I agree with many others in the belief that having a maintained r.o.w. may deter people from doing illegal things and be a buying/selling point to certain people. Not to mention, I wouldn't mind walking or bicycling down the old rail bed without worrying about trespassing. This isn't in directly my back yard but do I live close enough to promote a rail trail sir?

chrisfabs wrote:POTSDAM????? WHY IS A GUY FROM POTSDAM PROMOTING A RAIL-TRAIL IN MY BACKYARD?? 300 miles away... Really Russ?

Why does it matter if he's from Potsdam, Buffalo, Siberia or Timbuktu? Does the ROW start and stop within
the confines of YOUR backyard? I don't think so.

People from all over the state and United States travel to use rail-trails, ever consider that?

Pretty obvious you are one of the uppity snobs in Orchard Park that are called NIMBYs.

Charlie

chrisfabs wrote:POTSDAM????? WHY IS A GUY FROM POTSDAM PROMOTING A RAIL-TRAIL IN MY BACKYARD?? 300 miles away... Really Russ?

It's not your backyard. It's the railroad's property. You're welcome to have an opinion as to its use, as am I. Or possibly it's an easement through your land, in which case, again, you don't have the right to stop transportation use, so you're welcome to your opinion, as am I. Doesn't mean your opinion will carry the day, but you're welcome to express it. As am I. So if you're done trying to suppress my opinion, do you have a substantive objection to a rail-trail (besides all the usual ones of lost privacy, increased crime, litter, and all the other things that people fear but never happen. Why is everybody so fearful these days, anyway? What happened to bravery?)

Personally, I wish they would put the tracks back down and run noisy smelly trains past your backyard. Of course THEN you would be in favor of a quiet odor-free rail-trail.

I don't see any sense in feeding the trolls.

Not really. In most cases landowners didn't have a choice in selling off their property to the railroads. The land was "needed" for a new and growing system to transport goods and people in a quickly growing country. That land should revert back to the current land owners or left alone. These people want us to believe that because it is abandoned the rapists and theives will be lurking in the weeds.... Ridiculous. Mother nature will reclaim the land and before you know it one will be hard pressed to tell that it was even there. In your case, it appears that the majority of folks in Orchard Park want a rail-trail. That's fine! Build a trail on Orchard Parks section. It has been made clear however that the people of Colden DO NOT want the trail. So keep it in YOUR neighbors backyard. Have you ever been to a town park in Clarence?? Probably not because the signs tell you that they are for Town of Clarence RESIDENTS. How about the Hamburg beach park and boat launch? I'm pretty sure you need a proof of residence sticker there too. People usually choose the town they live in for the available amenities and programs, not for what they THINK should be available in the NEXT town over, OR the town 300 miles away. I'm sure there are a TON of families in the City of Buffalo that would love to take advantage of your towns perks and bus their kids to Orchard Park Schools and summer youth programs. NOT GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF O.P. WOULD HAVE A STROKE. By the way, how many great parks are already available to you? You've got the huge Chestnut Ridge RIGHT IN YOUR TOWN. There are also, Como, Emery, Knox Farm, Green Lake/Yates, Erie County Forestry nearby, I could go on and on.... The difference here is that a lot of people in O.P. want, and think they are entitled to, everything. The folks in Colden just want what they have without some selfish "out of towner" ruining it.......