York's Civil War-era train closer to completion

(YDR) A sign hangs on a former feed store along the Northern Central Railway tracks in New Freedom, announcing the home of "Steam Into History." Renovations have been under way in the building at 2 W. Main St. as the nonprofit gears up to start a train excursion in June that will take travelers back in time to the Civil War era. The opening is scheduled to be in time for the 150th anniversary of the Confederate invasion of York in late June and the Battle of Gettysburg in early July. Continued

Washington Road trails in Westminster a hidden treasure

(Baltimore Sun) There is a peaceful atmosphere walking along the Washington Road Community Trail, despite the continual rumble of traffic.

A section of the wide, mowed trail rambles along behind the Carroll County Career and Technology Center, as well as Westminster High School before plunging into a wooded area that blocks buildings from view and also shields walkers from the ever-busy Route 97 to the east and Route 32 to the west.

To keep from getting lost, some 92 bluebird houses serve as markers along the trail, with arrows pointing the trail's direction painted on their sides. Continued

Join River Sweep and cleanup along the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Trail

(Aegis) Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway 12th annual River Sweep, a volunteer shoreline and roadside clean-up in honor of Earth Day, will take place in Havre de Grace, Perryville, Port Deposit and on Garrett Island on Saturday April 21.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with the cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. Continued

Hike along Gunpowder Falls and see ruins of mills

(North County News) Gunpowder Falls State Park ranger Robert Bailey will lead a Mill Hike on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Winter is the best time of year to see the ruins of mills that once operated along the Gunpowder Falls. The hike begins at the Paper Mill Road parking lot of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail. Participants will visit the site of Ashland Furnace, an anthracite-fired furnace active in the mid-19th century, as well as other buildings from that same time period. Continued

See a national park for free this weekend

(NPS) Start your new year with a free visit to a national park! All 397 national parks across the country will offer free admission from January 14 through 16 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
You can literally walk in Dr. King's footsteps at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – just a few of the many national parks that have direct ties to Dr. King or the Civil Rights movement.
Other parks that will hold special events honoring Dr. King that weekend include the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Tennessee, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, DC. Continued

Plan for accessible trail taking shape at Cromwell Valley Park

(Towson Times) The Cromwell Valley Park Council has begun development of the "Nature Trail for All," a scenic and educational trail that will be accessible to people of varying physical and intellectual limitations.
"There are very few places where someone with limited mobility can be around nature," said Alan Lake, chair of the buildings and grounds committee for the park council.
"Right now, the park is a series of hills. There are 16 miles of trails, but little of it is accessible to people with various limitations," he said. Continued

Photo: Photo: Barns at Cromwell Valley Park, Canon EOS 5D (Falmanac)

Harford, Cecil counties tell their stories from War of 1812

(Baltimore Sun) ... on May 3, 1813, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and set fire to Havre de Grace homes and businesses. The invaders razed the nearby Principio Furnace, which had manufactured some of the first cannons for the U.S. Navy.
The counties and their towns will tell such stories through their museums, battle recreations, site tours and a Star Spangled trail. Continued

Ma & Pa Trail group plans rally to promote trail connection

(Aegis) The nonprofit Ma & Pa Heritage Trail, Inc., is planning a rally Saturday to raise awareness about the effort to connect the Bel Air and Forest Hill sections of the trail, but Harford County remains at an impasse with one key landowner over the right-of-way.
The group announced a rally from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, at Williams and Ellendale streets in Bel Air that includes walking the trail.
Rod Bourn, president of the group, and Phil Hosmer, vice-president, said they hope the event, which will feature local musician Kurt Sudbrink and free refreshments, can get the word out about plans to connect the Ma & Pa. Continued

Photo: MA&PA Railroad in Forest Hill, Maryland, many years ago.

Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail dedicated

(somdnews.com) Under mackerel skies on Friday afternoon, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail was dedicated amidst festive fanfare including colorful balloons and train-themed music.
About 300 people socialized and nibbled on food catered by Heavenly Chicken & Ribs and Rod ‘N’ Reel Restaurant at the head of the trail.
Federal, state and local politicians, hosted by Mayor Bruce Wahl, made a grand entrance arriving from the trail on a three-seat golf cart after touring the trail. Continued

Groups speak out about possible abandonment of Stewartstown Railroad

(YDR) Preservation Pennsylvania wants a federal board to halt abandonment proceedings for 180 days so it can examine the historical significance of the right-of-way of the Stewartstown Railroad.
The York County Planning Commission says the abandonment of the railroad would be short-sighted and run counter to the state Department of Transportation's rail plan.
Hopewell Township supervisors want to join in the York County Rail Trail Authority's earlier request to use the corridor as a trail. Continued

Photo: Stewartstown Railroad Bridge, Stewartstown Railroad, spanning Valley Road, Stewartstown, York, PA (Library of Congress).

Authority seeks possible trail along Stewartstown railroad line

(YDR) The York County Rail Trail Authority has sent a request to the a federal board to be able preserve the Stewartstown Railroad corridor and use it for a trail.
The authority voted unanimously Monday to file the request to the Surface Transportation Board. It would be negligent not to do so, said Don Gogniat, vice president of the authority.
The estate of George M. Hart has asked the federal board to declare the railroad abandoned. Continued

Travel the York - Hanover Trolley Line: Abandoned PA

The York Hanover Trolley Line was operated as a passenger trolley line from 1908 until 1939. The historic line, which is approximately 16 miles in length, provided a transportation connection for many outlying communities such as Graybills, Bairs, Sunnyside, and Menges Mills.Take only pictures; leave only footprints.

Underground railroad park trail in Maryland opens for the season

SANDY SPRING, Md. (AP) Visitors to a park in Maryland will be able to experience what it was like to travel the underground railroad. Saturday marks the start of this year's free guided hikes of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park in Sandy Spring. Continued

Photo: Brooklyn Museum - A Ride for Liberty -- The Fugitive Slaves - Eastman Johnson (Wikipedia)

Rail trail authority turns over completed section to York County

(YDR) The York County Rail Trail Authority recently approved turning over phase 1A, which is now complete, of the northern extension of the York County Heritage Rail Trail to county commissioners and the county parks department.
The Heritage Rail Trail County Park is intended to extend the rail trail northward along the Codorus Creek, ultimately making a connection between the existing trail terminus in York and John C. Rudy County Park in East Manchester Township. ... In other authority news, members voted to name C.S. Davidson Inc. as the engineer for two sections of the Hanover Trolley Trail planned for development in 2011. Continued

Havre de Grace's updated Lafayette Trail features more historic properties

(TheRecord) There are more than 800 historic buildings in Havre de Grace, and the city’s preservation commission is determined to make a dent in chronicling them for those touring the city.
An updated version of the commission’s guide to the Lafayette Trail has 20 new historic properties, on top of the 37 mentioned in the revised 1998 edition of the guide.
Ron Browning, chairman of the commission, said he hopes the new self-guided tour gives people more options to explore along the white, painted trail winding through downtown Havre de Grace.
“We wanted to show some of the different types of architecture, and also some commercial and industrial buildings,” he said. Continued

Railway hugs river, but greenways might find room

(Lancaster Online) Riverside railroads, a 19th-century creation, clash with a 21st-century initiative to create greenways along the same water, says Michael Helfrick, riverkeeper for the lower Susquehanna. "Railroads restrict hundreds of miles of waterway access throughout the commonwealth," says the York resident who spends his days monitoring and promoting the river. "You have to beg to get access to something that belongs to all the people of the commonwealth," he adds. Continued

Photo: Norfolk Southern Railroad at Washington Boro, PA (Kim Choate/MDRails).

Harford, Cecil waterfront poised for federal parks aid

(Baltimore Sun) A stretch of Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay waterfront between Harford and Cecil counties could be among the first areas to win federal funding for the construction of "water trails." The National Park Service has identified the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway as a priority segment of what will be the first combined land and water trail in America. The national designation will help the non-profit group that runs the heritage area to secure federal funding for its plan to link existing trails along the Susquehanna River and build more, ultimately into a 40-mile network of waterside walkways through the two counties. Continued

Image: Rock Run Tollhouse

Rail trail plan includes pedestrian/bike bridge in Manchester Township

(YDR) The York County Rail Trail Authority plans to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge and approach ramps from Crist Memorial Fields in Manchester Township across the Codorus Creek at Emig Road.
The board gave unanimous approval to bid the work at its recent meeting.
Initially, the bridge was going to be included in the larger Phase II project of the northern extension of the Heritage Rail Trail County Park. Continued

My Summer Home

(Timothy Egan) ... With my friend Tim Williams, I stuck my thumb out on a freeway toward the Rockies, east from our West; two Tims on the road. We saw mountain ranges in Montana named Beartooth and Big Horn, and rivers honoring presidents Madison and Jefferson. We traveled over one road labeled Going-to-the-Sun, and heard whispered stories about another heading toward Craters of the Moon. ... The immensity often gets lost in the superlatives stirred up by the most outrageously scenic sites. But in the aggregate, this is what every citizen owns: 530 million acres, of which 193 million are run by the Forest Service, 253 million by the Bureau of Land Management and 84 million by the National Park Service. The public land endowment is more than three times the size of France. Continued

Image: WPA/LoC

Amenities coming to the Susquehanna River

(YDR) Hikers, boaters and visitors may soon find it easier to explore land and water trails along the Susquehanna River in Lower Windsor Township.
The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office recently awarded $100,000 to the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area for new visitor attractions at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage.
Plans include a floating dock for boats, a canoe and kayak launch area, a boardwalk and a new trail head for the Native Lands County Park and Heritage Trail, which are part of the Susquehanna Heritage Park and Mason-Dixon Trail system. Continued