Biking

"In the field" railroad history adventures...
Showing posts with label St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain RR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain RR. Show all posts

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Retracing the Railroad - Morrisville to St. Johnsbury Vermont


Crappy overcast and rainy weather but with a forecast for a clearer afternoon made me get started late and detour up to Morrisville to check on any remaining railroad vestiges before I ventured east to ride the rail trail.

Morrisville

The Morrisville Train Station has been wonderfully restored as a coffee shop and also serves as a trailhead for the rail trail northward.
Nicely restored/preserved
Looking Westward
Looking Eastward
East of the Station
Looks like a pretty serious BBQ!


West Danville

I stopped at West Danville to start my rail trail ride but it started to rain so I ducked onto this quaint spot: a post office and a general store - where I had a homemade beef stew while wanting for the rain to subside.

Danville

Still looking lousy outside, I decided to drive to Danville and start my trek there but first….
I checked out the train station!


Riding the Rail Trail

I started my ride at Marty’s. The sky look ominous but the rain never returned!

Once riding, I did notice this tie plate but otherwise there were very few remnants of the railroading days present.

Once I saw this, I immediately burst into the Beatles Song! :-)

There are quite a few rock cuts on this section of the rail trail (I really enjoy the sensation of riding thru a rail cut).

I have made a brief "one-handed" video of some of the highlights of ride- ENJOY!

On my return back up to Danville, I noticed this pile of ties off to the side.

Trail End (St. Johnsbury)

The trail ends in this nondescript site so I just turned around and rode straight back (but going up the entire way took a little longer).



St. Johnsbury Depot

After my ride, I drove down to St. Johnsbury and visited the railroad station. It is now a welcome center and museum.
Museum Photo - in the heyday of railroading
This was marvelous - see the B&M design etched in the leather?
A map of the yard area in the railroads heyday