BRATTLEBORO — The nonprofit group Friends of the West River Trail has recently acquired ownership of the West River Railroad bed, from near the Marina Restaurant on Putney Road to the old quarry in West Dummerston.
Friends of the West River Trail is a 501c3 organization which was formed in 1992 and has successfully been working since then to make the upper 18 miles of the old West River Railroad bed, from South Londonderry to Townshend via Jamaica State Park, available to the public for non-motorized use.
The West River Railroad, built in 1879, once stretched from Brattleboro to South Londonderry. Known by its patrons as “36 miles of trouble,” the winding narrow gauge route saw many derailments, washouts, and accidents, and was an economic failure almost from the moment it was built. It was abandoned in 1936.
For more then 10 years, preliminary work has been done investigating the potential for turning the Brattleboro to Dummerston section of the West River Railroad bed into a trail as part of the Vermont Trail System. The group said the acquisition of the rail bed is a huge step in this process.
Friends of the West River Trail is now ready to move forward in improving access to the lower section of the trail. Walkers and bicyclists have already been using this trail for years, and the current goal is to clean it up, publicize, manage and maintain the trail, and install proper signage about permitted uses and trail policies.
The group said it is very excited about this opportunity to provide a public trail for residents of Brattleboro, Dummerston, and beyond, as well as visitors to our area. They believe that this trail will be an important amenity for our region. Trails like this have also been shown to have significant benefits to surrounding properties. As part of the Vermont Trail System, there will be improved maintenance, supervision and liability protection for neighboring property owners.
The mission of Friends of the West River Trail is to develop and maintain a publicly accessible trail along the West River corridor for recreation, transportation, and education purposes; promote public awareness and enjoyment of the recreation trail system and the history, geology and biology of the West River Valley; and coordinate local, state and federal interests in planning, funding, construction, management and use of this trail system.
Friends of the West River Trail – Lower Section members include Jason Cooper, Lester Humphreys, Kathleen White, Paul Cameron, and Alex Wilson.
For more information about the project, email westrivertrail@gmail.com.