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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?
 
#3 ·
Rail Bed

Have good friend in Madison that is very active with the atv club. He said that they are working out the final details on the multi-use trail on the rail bed that would connect right through to Bingham. Came through there in mid November and it doesn't look like it will be this year. Hopefully it will be open for sleds next year. Major issue is the rails as scrap value is low and they must be removed and discarded off the rail bed, major work!!
 
#8 ·
Spoke with Bingham club member and was informed that no additional rail bed use would be allowed until they finalize the entire rail bed use agreement. I have calls in to friends in North Anson and Madison to find out additional info, I will keep you posted of my findings.
Eliminating the Seavey farm river crossing would be awesome as this is one of the worst crossings on the entire ITS system and lately has gone out multiple times during the winter and ends spring riding when there is still plenty of snow left!!
 
#12 · (Edited)
From Maine.biz:

"The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry will receive $436,000 to buy a 32-mile rail corridor to be developed as a multi-use trail. The project will connect six towns in Kennebec and Somerset counties, become the main artery for ATV and snowmobile trail systems, and eliminate unsafe water crossing for trail users."



.
 
#19 ·
I Looked at the north anson bridge recently, the barrier on the bridge is welded straight to the steel tracks and would need someone with a set of cutting torches to get it off there. The wooden bridge timbers are in bad condition, most of them are rotted and some move when stepped on. They are going to have to completely replace the bridge decking when they start work on the trail this summer.
 
#20 ·
I’ve been told the the anson club plans to be using the north anson railroad bridge next winter. The state should own the railbed this spring or summer and the north anson bridge is the 1st bridge they will start on. The bridge in Madison could also be open next year but the norridgewock bridge will likely not be open until 2 years from now.
 
#23 ·
In response to the comment that the bridge in Norridgewock needs "structural repair" I don't quite understand that. Three or four falls ago when the last train went behind my house in Norridgewock, the train passed over the bridge in town and until then I had never seen or heard of any problem with the bridge. The discontinuation of the train run seemed to be connected with the closing of the mill in Madison. Surely if a bridge can support a train, even a dozen sleds don't compare. Of course modifications would have to be made.
 
#24 ·
I think that by structural work they could mean replacing the bridge deck.
I heard that last year that the norridgewock bridge needs a bit of work.
I’ve looked at the bridges in north anson and Madison recently and the north anson bridge will probably need to be redecked but the Madison bridge seemed fine. I haven’t looked at the norridgewock bridge so I don’t know the condition of that bridge.
 
#25 ·
Update on this. I’ve heard from several clubs that the state may already own this trail. They said according to Joe Higgins the state purchased the railbed this past fall. It will likely be around 2 years until the entire trail is open all the way to Oakland. But they should have the north anson bridge open for snowmobiles next season.
 
#26 ·
It appears that they’ve begun removing the railroad tracks in the Madison/Anson area. Looks like they’ve taken most of the tracks off the trestle in Madison and piled them up across the street. I didn’t see any signs of action yet on the North Anson trestle though. But it’s good nonetheless to see this project starting to happen.
 
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