Walking the Railroad Tracks

Yesterday, I took to an abandoned circuit of railroad tracks that pass through Wappingers \ Hopewell Junction. I only ventured about a mile into the tracks before becoming immersed. At parts, I found old gas cans, un-potted plants, and parts of discarded railroad ties. While hiking around and studying the layout of objects, I couldn't help but begin to see stories in my head of when the tracks were built. In doing some quick research, it appears that these tracks originally belonged to the Erie Lackawanna Railroad,  constructed between 1832 to1851 (Almost a 20 year project! - Ref -  http://www.american-rails.com/erie-lackawanna.html), and was designed to run from Piermont, New York to Dunkirk, New York. According to the available notes, over a hundred years into operation, it seems that most of the routes belonging to Erie Lackawanna Railroad were abandoned in the 1970's (Ref - http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1970s/agnes/). Hurricane Agnes (1972) wrought heavy flooding in New York, which caused the line to go bankrupt and give up it's independent business model. To stay alive, Erie Lackawanna Railroad merged with larger railroad systems, which opted to abandon a large percentage of the line's stops.

So that brings up to the present, leaving only a remnant of someone's dreams, hidden in plain sight and still speaking the tales of old.



To see the full adventure, please visit my Flickr feed - Wappingers Railroad Adventure
Enjoy!


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