The Air Line State Park Trail is a
rail trail and linear
state park located in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
. The trail is divided into sections designated South (25 miles:
East Hampton to
Windham), North (21 miles: Windham to
Putnam) a piece of the East Coast Greenway, and the
Thompson addition (6.6 miles: Thompson to the
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
state line).
An additional 3.6 mile spur to
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
is sometimes designated as part of the Air Line trail. At the Massachusetts state line, the trail connects to the Southern New England Trunkline Trail, a 22 mile long trail to Franklin, MA built on the same right-of-way. Since 2018, the town of
Portland, CT has also maintained a 2.3 mile portion of the Airline Trail, connecting to the southern end of the state park at the town line with East Hampton.
The
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
recognized the southern section of the Air Line State Park Trail as a national recreation trail in 2002.
History
Air Line
Envisioned as a high speed passenger railroad line from New York to Boston, the
New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
(NHM&W) got its name from the towering iron viaducts constructed to create a level track bed suitable for rapid travel. Opened in 1873 as part of the
Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
(BH&E) system, it ran from
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
northeast via
Middletown to the BH&E at
Willimantic. The BH&E went bankrupt that same year, becoming the
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
(NY&NE), but the NHM&W stayed separate, failing in 1875. It was reorganized as the
Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad
The Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad (commonly known simply as The Air Line, known as the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad before 1875) was a railroad in Connecticut. Envisioned as a direct route between New Haven and Boston, i ...
and was operated by the New Haven from 1879, being leased on October 1, 1882. Part of this line (the NY&NE Blackstone division to Franklin via Norwood and Walpole) still survives as the Franklin Branch of the MBTA/MBCR.
In Connecticut, part of the line from New Haven (Air Line Jct) to Middletown and Portland, Connecticut survives as part of the
Providence and Worcester Railroad
The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence, ...
. In Willimantic, the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum has reconstructed the original roundhouse and restored the turntable pit (with a replacement for the original turntable), as well as some original NY&NE and NH buildings. In between
East Hampton, Connecticut
East Hampton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,717 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). East Hampton includes the boroughs of Cobalt, Middle Had ...
and the Massachusetts state line, most of the abandoned rail corridor has been converted as a
rail trail known as the Air Line Trail State Park. Notable features of the line are the
Rapallo Viaduct
The Rapallo Viaduct is a buried railroad trestle in East Hampton, Connecticut which carries the Air Line Trail across Flat Brook.
The viaduct was built as part of the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad's line from New Haven to Will ...
and the
Lyman Viaduct
The Lyman Viaduct is a buried railroad trestle built over Dickinson Creek in Colchester, Connecticut in 1873. Along with the nearby Rapallo Viaduct, it is one of the few surviving wrought iron railroad trestles from the first generation of such str ...
in East Hampton and
Colchester, Connecticut
Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...
, which are two of the longest rail viaducts in the U.S.
Trail development
The abandoned rail corridor between East Hampton and the Massachusetts state line was acquired by the Connecticut State Park System with the section from
Route 66 in Windham to
US Route 44
U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkso ...
in Pomfret opening to the public in 1969 as a bridle trail. In 1976, the trail designation was extended north to Town Farm Road in Putnam. The southern section from East Hampton to Willimantic was opened as a trail in 1986. The Thompson section was opened in 1992. The bridge over the
Willimantic River
The Willimantic River is a tributary of the Shetucket River, approximately 25 mi (40 km) long in northeastern Connecticut in the New England region of the United States.
It is formed in northern Tolland County, near Stafford Springs ...
to Bridge St. was opened in 2015, and an extension south to Portland opened in 2018.
Air Line State Park Trail is divided into three sections:
* South section (from Middle Haddam Road in Portland to Bridge Street in Windham, with a connection to Columbia Avenue)
* North section (from Milk Street in Windham to Kennedy Drive in Putnam)
* Thompson section (from
Route 12 (Riverside Drive) in Thompson to the MA state line)
The North section of the trail from Windham to Putnam is part of the
East Coast Greenway
The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits.
The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...
, which will stretch from Florida to Maine.
The South and North sections are connected by the Veterans Greenway, a short town-owned rail trail on the northeast side of Willimantic, which is partially incorporated into the North section itself. The connection is not complete, as no trail connection has yet to be made through downtown Willimantic from the bridge to the Veterans Greenway. However a street connection is available joining the two sections by going onto Bridge Street for 250 feet, then turning right onto Main Street for 0.5 miles then turning left on Jackson St. for 150 feet then turning right on Union St. 50 feet.
Southern extensions
The trail as originally built ended next to a cranberry bog at Smith Street, east of the village center of East Hampton. The right of way remained intact and unused as far as the end of active track in Portland; some sections were used for unofficial trails with poor trail surface and frequent washouts.
In 1999, a bridge over Muddy Gutter Brook west of downtown East Hampton was designed and built by cadets of the
United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast G ...
under the supervision of
William O'Neill, an adjunct professor of engineering at the academy and former state governor. Due to confusion as to which state agency had ownership of the stretch of land, the bridge was built without the necessary permissions; it was almost demolished, but allowed to remain due to a lease agreement with the town. On November 1, 2002, the state DEEP acquired an additional section of railbed in East Hampton from
ConnDOT
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ; however, the trail was not actually improved over the section.
In 2011, a extension from Smith Street to Watrous Street was completed. A further section (including a bridge over the Pocotopaug Creek) was completed in June 2012, bringing the trail to
Main Street in downtown East Hampton. During construction, the original railroad bridge was found to have been buried in the embankment next to the right of way, forcing design changes to the trail.
Around that time, East Hampton and Portland began planning to extend the trail to downtown Portland, which would additionally provide a connection to Middletown over the
Arrigoni Bridge
The Arrigoni Bridge, also known locally as the Portland Bridge is a steel through arch bridge carrying Route 66 and Route 17 across the Connecticut River, connecting Middletown, Connecticut to Portland, Connecticut.
When it opened in 1938, the ...
. In January 2015, East Hampton received a $400,000 grant for Phase I, running from Main Street to Aldens Crossing; that section opened in 2017.
A second $538,000 state grant, awarded in March 2016, funded the Phase II from Aldens Crossing to the town line at Depot Hill Road.
Work on Phase II began in 2017.
[ , phase II was complete except for a section through protected wetlands, which may require a boardwalk.]
In June 2018, Phase I of the town-maintained portion of the trail in Portland, CT opened to the public,[ extending from the East Hampton town line to the YCMA Camp Ingersoll, a distance of . Unlike the rest of the trail, the 2.3 mile right-of-way in Portland is owned by ]Eversource Energy
Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to ap ...
In December 2015, the town approved an agreement with Eversource to allow the construction of a recreational trail on their property; a formal signing took place on January 20, 2016. On March 2, 2016, town voters approved the $172,000 acquisition of a former quarry Middle Haddam Road to serve as the trailhead; this served as the 20% local match for potential state funding. An existing quarter-mile access road to the quarry leads north from the trailhead parking area to the rail trail. Later that month, the extension was allocated $686,000 in the same round of grants that funded the East Hampton Phase II. The section was originally expected to open around April 2017; several delays ultimately resulted in an October 2018 opening.
Further phases in Portland are planned but not yet funded. Phase II will reach downtown Portland and the Arrigoni bridge, largely over the original rail route but with some deviations parallel to roads. It may also include a trail parallel to the active P&W tracks in Portland, and the purchase of the former train station. Following abandonment by the railroad in the 1960s, the remainder of the original Airline right-of-way in Portland reverted to private ownership by adjacent landowners, and would need to be leased or acquired by the town prior to construction of Phase II. Phase III will attempt to create a trail north parallel to the Connecticut River to reach Riverfront Park, the fairgrounds, and ultimately Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
.
South section
Trail description
This section of the trail has been completed. It has a smooth, hard-packed stone dust surface, benches for resting at more scenic locations, and bike racks. Brand new bridges constructed by cadets from the US Coast Guard Academy carry the trail across the Blackledge and Jeremy Rivers and Judd Brook. This section crosses the Rapallo
Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy.
As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiav ...
and Lyman Viaduct
The Lyman Viaduct is a buried railroad trestle built over Dickinson Creek in Colchester, Connecticut in 1873. Along with the nearby Rapallo Viaduct, it is one of the few surviving wrought iron railroad trestles from the first generation of such str ...
s, massive fills that carried the railroad and now trail across wide valleys. There is a short (less than ) on-road detour necessary where the Route 2 expressway blocks the railroad bed.
Willimantic River to Bridge St. (CT 32)
This section has a wooden plank crossing over the Willimantic River, using the old bridge as support, then shortly after that it becomes pavement and intersects with the end of the Hop River Trail and has an info sign describing the history of both of the trails. Then it takes a s-turn next to the Eastern Connecticut Railroad History Museum. Then the trail follows the driveway of the building leading up to the trailhead, just 900 ft. away from Bridge St. This section can be very loud at times due to being less than 100 ft. away from the Providence and Worcester Railroad
The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence, ...
, an active freight railroad with a stop in Willimantic.
Access points
The trail crosses the following roads, providing access:
North section
Trail description
Though open to the public for its entire length, different segments of the trail are in different stages of development. Some sections are complete and have a finished, stone-dust surface and signage. Other sections have been cleared and had drainage work done, but still have a somewhat rough, unfinished surface that is not suitable for road bikes. Other parts are totally undeveloped and overgrown.
There are no major obstructions of the North section of the trail in the form of missing or unsafe bridges. Though some parts of the trail may be undeveloped, this area does not have the many river crossings of the southern section.
The trail continues west of Route 66 as the Veterans Greenway, a town-owned bike route that leads to downtown Willimantic.
Route 66, Windham to South Brook Road, Hampton
This section has seen many upgrades in recent years. The section's first was paved as part of the US 6/Route 66 interchange reconstruction project. The state and the towns of Windham and Chaplin cleared, graded, installed signage and put down a smooth stone-dust surface on this section of the trail. This included the construction of a trail bridge over Boulevard Road.
South Brook Road, Hampton to Lewis Road, Hampton
This section was cleared and graded by the National Guard in the mid-1990s. The surface was not finished and is still rough in sections and there are drainage issues in areas that sometimes flood the trail. There has not been much maintenance done on the trail in the last few years, so even the areas that were cleared have become somewhat grown in. Still, the trail is passable for hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. The town of Hampton and the DEEP have plans to add signage and finish the surface of the trail with stone dust. This work has not yet been started. An abandoned overpass which formerly carried Parker Road over the line collapsed in May 2016; the trail section was briefly closed during cleanup.
Lewis Road, Hampton to Wrights Crossing Road, Pomfret
This section is under construction by the DEEP, DOT and town of Pomfret. The stretch from Lewis Road to Covell Road is currently being worked on to improve drainage and finish the surface. The trail is completed between Covell Road and Route 169, with smooth stone-dust surface. The section from Route 169 to Wrights Crossing Road is essentially complete, with some drainage improvements planned.
Wrights Crossing Road, Pomfret to Kennedy Drive, Putnam
This section of trail is completely undeveloped. It has not been cleared and is overgrown, with a rough surface, tree falls, and several wet areas with drainage problems. It is necessary to climb embankments to cross some roads where former bridges have been filled in. It is not really passable, and must be done on foot if attempted. The DEEP and the towns of Pomfret and Putnam have plans to clear and improve this section as part of the next phase of trail improvements. Currently a DOT state hired contractor is improving this section, with a budget of $5.5 million. Two pedestrian bridges are proposed: a 100-foot span over Routes 169 and 44 at the old train depot and another on Needles Eye Road near the Audubon Center. Three box culverts on Holmes Road, Modock Road and River Road are also proposed. Estimated completion is Fall 2020.
Access points
The trail crosses the following roads, providing access:
Thompson section
Trail description
Major work has been completed to upgrade this section of trail. The rails and ties have been removed, and the surface of the trail for much of its length consists of hard packed dirt and gravel. However, as of 2021 the trail is largely unimproved between Lowell Davis Road and Sand Dam Road. New parking areas with signage and information kiosks have been constructed where the trail crosses East Thompson Road, Sand Dam Road, Lowell Davis Road, and at the southern terminus at Route 12. Work still planned includes improvements to the Route 193 crossing .
The trail continues north and east into Massachusetts through the town of Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
as the Southern New England Trunkline Trail, part of the Massachusetts State Park System.
Access points
The trail crosses the following roads, providing access:
Colchester Spur
Trail description
The spur to Colchester consists of the same hard-packed gravel as the rest of the South section. The Route 85 crossing is at a marked crosswalk, while the two other crossings are unmarked over minor local roads. The trail terminates just east of downtown Colchester at the former depot and freight house.
Access points
The trail crosses the following roads, providing access:
References
External links
Air Line State Park Trail
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
The Air Line Trail: Guide & Map for the Towns of East Hampton, Colchester, Hebron and Lebanon
East Hampton Parks & Recreation
RailsToTrails.us: Bike Trails Created from Abandoned Railroad Lines
history and photo resource
{{authority control
Rail trails in Connecticut
State parks of Connecticut
East Coast Greenway
Parks in Windham County, Connecticut
Protected areas established in 1969
New York and New England Railroad
Parks in New London County, Connecticut
Parks in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Parks in Tolland County, Connecticut
1969 establishments in Connecticut