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Rail bed, Waterville through Norridgedwock

25K views 77 replies 13 participants last post by  polarisxc700 
#1 ·
So Iv'e been hearing rumors that the inactive rail bed from Waterville through Oakland and on up to Madison has or will be purchased by the state and made into a recreation trail. That would be great if it included the bridge spanning the Kennebec in Norridgewock.



That could connect to the existing rail bed in Anson and beyond and be a game changer for those southern towns that have to contend with the rivers to get up north throughout the season.



Does anyone have any confirmation or additional info on this?
 
#32 ·
I did notice that someone has cleared a bunch of trees off the tracks from just off Martin Stream Rd heading south towards Fairfield and Oakland. Someone collecting firewood or a conserded effort to advance snowmobiling? A couple years ago when we had snow (lol) there was a considerable amount of work done to make riding the bed to Oakland pretty good. Was able to shoot right down to D&L store on East pond road from Norridgewock.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Finally there is some good news regarding this rail-trail project. The state now officially owns the entire “Madison branch” railroad line from Oakland to Embden. I’ve yet to hear anything official about when the railroad bridges will be made available for snowmobiling and when the rails themselves will be removed. But this is obviously a very important first step.
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#36 ·
This might be redundant but I just found this post shortly after reading this thread.....https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/sports/outdoors/new-central-maine-rail-trail-will-connect-to-thousands-of-miles-of-atv-snowmobile-trails-madison-branch-kennebec-somerset-interconnected-trail-system/97-50f314db-973b-4663-a7b3-41d2aa1345bb?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&fbclid=IwAR0iIQVnWvAgkko_dtGZQXNRyzC2f9FyxvGl5KFsjWUeEvc89NF1zb5zVIk
 
#37 ·
Now that the state finally owns this railbed, hopefully either the state or local clubs will get the carrabassett river bridge in North Anson open for snowmobiling this season. The river crossing in North Anson is not only unsafe, but is also simply not adequate for a major east-west Its trail.
 
#38 ·
Just got the official word from the club trail master. The north Anson trestle will not be open this year. The ties are rotten and the entire deck needs to be rebuilt from the steel up. This will require lots of money and time. One more year dealing with the worst river crossing in the state.
 
#39 ·
Thats a bummer. Pretty sure the Anson club got the ok and re-covered that bridge several ears back only to then be told things changed and they had to remove it all…sand couldnt use the bridge.

At least its official now and will stick. It will make a big difference compared to that steep crossing now that they have to close and reopen several times a season.
 
#41 · (Edited)
I’ve seen and looked at the bridge in North Anson myself. I can say that although the bridge decking is fairly rotted, if the bridge was boarded over it would definitely be a safer alternative to the river crossing. The biggest issue with the bridge as of now, is the large steel railroad bumper/barrier that is welded down to the bridge, and most likely require cutting torches and heavy equipment to be removed.
 
#44 ·
Hello

I've been following this discussion. Last year we rode ITS 87 to 84 out of Bingham to go to Rangeley. We stopped at what I think was a silo, see attached picture. When we crossed the street we had to cross a river. Pretty scary but we made it OK. Can anyone tell me if this is the river crossing being discussed in this topic? What club maintains this trail? Is there an option to crossing the river to be able to continue to Rangeley? We'll be back in Bingham in February and may want to make this trip again.

Thanks for the help
Norm
 

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#46 ·
Hello

I've been following this discussion. Last year we rode ITS 87 to 84 out of Bingham to go to Rangeley. We stopped at what I think was a silo, see attached picture. When we crossed the street we had to cross a river. Pretty scary but we made it OK. Can anyone tell me if this is the river crossing being discussed in this topic? What club maintains this trail? Is there an option to crossing the river to be able to continue to Rangeley? We'll be back in Bingham in February and may want to make this trip again.

Thanks for the help
Norm
Norm
Check out GPS Trailmasters GPS Trailmasters Interactive Snowmobile Map . Couple of years ago we did a ride over from Bingham (cross over the river via the bridge in Bingham) via local trails and 115 by Flagstaff . If you want to avoid the river you could park at Casey's store in Anson and start your ride from there, shoots you right up to 84 on the old rail road bed, turns before the Railroad bridge in Nth Anson and follows the river to the other side of the WIndmill crossing.
cer
 
#45 ·
Looks like it. Right at Rt 16. Good news is the river is just a couple feet deep where the crossing is. The hill up and down to it can vary each time as far as being hairy. At times it is not bad at all. Its maintained by Anson-North Anson Snowmobile Club and they are good about posting its open/closed status. Very good club.

At one time if closed you could stay on smaller trails the north side of 16 and cross up toward Kingfield, but thats been closed for years. Not sure other options. Others here may know….or ask the club.
 
#48 ·
I can confirm that the photo shown above is the North Anson crossing. The crossing is definitely more than a few feet deep though, especially so on the Rt 16 side of the river. I know there always has been a side trail that went from the railroad bed in Embden, back to the ITS trail in New Portland.
 
#49 ·
I've seen that up rt 16 from the windmill carrabasset crossing fields are marked to the north. Up to New Portland so could likely go to Kingfield from there. The bigger issue is Carrabasset tribal land from there. The river by the windmill, like all rivers has been trending lower the last several years and this year no difference. In fact, there was an island in the middle of the river there this summer. We bought pumpkins from the farm by the windmill this fall and he was praying for rain for his wells. Again I believe the tribal land closure is a bigger problem then crossing the river there. Would suck to go through but would not likely drowned due to deep water. Just my opinion, do your homework.
 
#55 ·
Little update on the railbed project Oakland to North Anson. As many must know state closed the deal, next opsticle was cleaning up the tracks and ties. Was sent to bid with 1.3 mil in the till, turns out many bidders and state is getting paid for company to pull tracks etc. which has already begun from south end. This means significant funds to retrofit the tressles. Great news!
 
#57 · (Edited)
The bridge over the Kennebec in Madison has new wooden railings along its entire length. Norridgewock officials asked snowmobilers if they wanted a covered bridge approach to the train trestle, or if they'd rather leave it open but with added rails. I'm not sure what the final answer was. 97trip, have you heard anything about that?
 
#58 ·
I attended a meeting of the Norridgewock Sportsman Association first part of October. Brian Bronson, director or president of ATV Maine was a guest. He stated that the covered bridge idea was nixed, (thank god). I know our town manager in Norridgewock was for it, but most I spoke with were against it for reasons such as additional cost, snowmobile cooling issues, increased chance of vandalism and the additional time it would take to complete. Brian spoke of the cost and how those moneys could be spent elsewhare on the rail project. So in summery no covered bridge is what I understand to be the newest info.
 
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