The Hillsboro Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

Shelby County, Alabama Shelby County is located in the Central Alabama, central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 223,024. The county seat is Columbiana, Alabama, Columbiana. The largest city is A ...

. The 12-foot-wide trail extends along the former roadbed of the Helena & Blocton branch line of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad, a subsidiary of the

Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

Historical rail use

Around July 1889, the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad completed a branch line off of the L&N controlled South & North Alabama Railroad from just northwest of

Helena, Alabama Helena () is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in the state of Alabama. Helena is considered a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. As of 2022 thUnited States Census Bureau estimates the population to b ...

to Gurnee Junction, Alabama. At Gurnee Junction, the line connected with Southern Railway predecessor Brierfield, Blocton & Birmingham Railway over which L&N had

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may con ...

, allowing L&N to access the rich mineral resources of the

Cahaba Basin The Cahaba Basin is a geologic area of central Alabama developed for coal and coalbed methane (CBM) production. Centered in eastern Bibb and southwestern Shelby Counties, the basin is significantly smaller in area and production than the larger ...

, particularly coal. As the mines were exhausted and economic pressures mounted in the mid-1900s, the line was abandoned and the rails removed.

Present trail

In 2008 the portion of the former rail bed in Helena between Appleford Drive and the operating

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Lineville Subdivision was turned into an asphalt paved walking trail as part of the Hillsboro housing development. By 2010 the asphalt-paved trail had been extended further west along the former railroad bed to the site of the present Helena Middle School. As part of the extension to the west, the trail passes under Shelby County highway 52 in tunnel measuring approximately 100 feet long, 10 feet high, and 24 feet wide with stone facades.
Thomas-Ogle, Marienne. "Part of parkway to open Thursday" Birmingham News; February 23, 2010. At the Lineville Subdivision, the Hillsboro Trail turns to the northeast off the former roadbed which continues past the Lineville Subdivision to the

S&NA South Subdivision. Visible remnants of the historical use of the right-of-way include a concrete railroad milepost on the west side of the trail and remnants of railroad ties. The trail lies opposite a 19th-century coke (fuel), coke oven historic site across a narrow wetland; future restoration of the coke oven site is planned. The trail runs primarily through new growth forest; the area was extensively mined for coal and timber cleared between the mid-19th and 20th centuries. Since abandonment of the railroad, the forest has been allowed to regrow.

References

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External links

Hillsboro Trail
Shelby County Tourism Rail trails in Alabama Protected areas of Shelby County, Alabama Hiking trails in Alabama

Historical rail use

Present trail

See also

References

External links