This trail is approximately 0.1 mile in length providing pedestrian access to the Hannah Duston Memorial located on an island at the mouth of the Contoocook River. Although this trail is of trivial length, it is included in this Web Site as a long-standing example of a 'Rail-with-trail'. Indeed, the currently dormant track must have been a busy railroad main line when the trail was built many decades ago!
Information about the current condition of this old railroad bed is presented as if it was one continuous trail. Unfortunately, this trail is a patch-quilt of different ownerships and different rules for use, and unfortunate gaps in the trail. Indeed, the extreme ends of this trail are merely abandoned railroad beds that would be suitable for trail purposes once the rails and ties are removed. Acordingly, potential trail users must examine the individual pages of this section to determine whether the sections that they have in mind are suitable for their intended purposes!
This potential trail would extend the Portsmouth Branch Rail-trail through the urban area to South Manchester.
This potential trail begins in West Manchester and runs about 8 miles along the Piscatqug River to the edge of Glen Lake, just across the bridge from downtown Goffstown.
Both trails can eventually be joined by means of a dramatic extension using the abandoned railroad bridge across the Merrimack River, crossing the active track across the waterfront, then using a short connecting section of Rail-with-trail. However this expensive project can be temporarily bypassed by means of a potential connecting bike route across the Queen City Bridge.
This potential trail begins near the riverfront, passes the end of the potential East Manchester Trail, and ends at Perimeter Road within the industrial area that runs along the eastern boundary of the airport. Rails and ties occupy this obviously abandoned line except for a short section under I-293. NH-DOT has reportedly acquired this line in this semi-intact condition with the thought could be used to provide carload freight service to the many industries along the line. If that does occur, a trail could still be constructed on otherwise unused land beside the active track using the 'rail-with-trail' concept.
The Cohas Brook page of the Manchester NH Urban Open Space Web Site outlines the special attractions of a brook crossing near the airport end of this potential rail-trail or rail-with-trail.
| Project Name | Year | City | County | Federal $ | Local $ | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acq./Develop Goffstown Branch RR | 1996 | Manchester | Hillsborough | $137,738 | $34,434 | $172,172 |
| Acq. Portsmouth Br. RR (Manch. Seg.) & Manchester-Lawrence Br. RR | 1998 | MANCHESTER 1265 | N/A | $1,200,000 | $300,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Develop 8 Ft. Trail in RR ROW | 2001 | MANCHESTER | N/A | $296,000 | $74,000 | $370,000 |
This list is drawn on April 8, 2000 from a database maintained by the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse. Direct questions to NTEC at 1-888-388-NTEC or by email to [email protected].
The Riverwalk will eventually involve a 2 mile walkway along the Merrimack River between Hesser College, located to the south of the city's Millyard, and the Amoskeag Dam at the Millyard's northern terminus.
The Riverwalk does not appear to involve any old railroad beds, and thus can not be classified as a 'rail-trail'. However, it is the most likely means of access from the downtown and Hesser College areas to the abandoned railroad bridge over the adjacent river and thus to the associated potential rail-trail between Manchester and Goffstown.
Goffstown Greenway (Page 4 - Summer 2001 - New England Rail-Trails)
Manchester Riverwalk gets a boost (01-17-01 - Union Leader)
Merrimack foot bridge needs your help (03-24-02 - Union Leader)
Bridging the Merrimack (03-20-02 - Union Leader)
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION - Authorized to enter into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the Boston and Maine Corporation to acquire a parcel of land comprising a portion of an abandoned railroad corridor in Goffstown for the purchase price of $6,000.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION - Authorized to enter into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the Boston and Maine Corporation to acquire two parcels of land comprising a portion of an abandoned railroad corridor in Manchester for the price of $209,340.
| Miles* | Svcs | Station Name | Municipality |
| 9.62 | --- | Parker | Goffstown |
| 12.28 | --- | Lang | New Boston |
| 14.81 | TFP | New Boston | New Boston |
* = Railroad Miles from Manchester
Italics = beyond the
limits of the current Rail-trail
Svc (in 1923): T=Telegraph, F=Freight
Accounts, P=Passenger Tickets
Dark face station name suggests presence of depot building in 1923
Trail to open near railroad (4/4/2001- Nashua Telegraph)
25 miles - a potential Rail-trail
This trail may not be suitable for
human and animal-powered usage west of Barrett during the warm-weather months!
This recently proposed trail passes through the towns of Franklin, Northfield, Tilton, Sanbornton, Belmont, Gilford, Laconia, Meredith, Center Harbor & Moultonborough on a sewer easement.
January 2nd, 2001 to March 19th, 2001 only
Beginning December 20th, 2000 and ending March 31st, 2001, snowmobile use will be permitted on the Conway Scenic Rail Line. Snowmobiles will be allowed on the section of the rail line beginning at the Albany/Conway Town Line in the south to the concrete barrier at Artist Falls Brook Bridge in the Town of Conway to the north. Snowmobile use beyond that barrier is strictly prohibited.
Also, in the Town of Conway, beginning December 20th, 2000, and ending March 1st, 2001, a section of the Mountain Division Rail Grade will be open for snowmobile use from Bartlett Village to Sawyer River Road.
[Al Smith at the Bureau of Trails in Concord, New Hampshire <[email protected]> - December 29, 2000]
A planned rail-trail within Dover from the Depot at Chestnut St. to Sawyer's Mills.
Salmon Falls end open for an unknown distance on an informal basis.
Salmon Falls Village Park opens in Rollinsford (October 25, 2001 - Fosters)
Listed trails are open to the general public for non-motorized usage only.
| Project Name | Year | City | County | Federal $ | Local $ | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acq. Conway Br. RR row | 1998 | OSSIPEE-MADISON | N/A | $327,200 | $81,800 | $409,000 |
This list is drawn on April 8, 2000 from a database maintained by the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse. Direct questions to NTEC at 1-888-388-NTEC or by email to [email protected].
A 230-mile-long trail from Massachusetts to Canada. Some segments are open to public use, others are still in the route selection and planning stages.
With the exception of the first quarter-mile, this trail follows a service road along portions of an old railroad embankment, then uses a long stretch of the abandoned State Highway through the center of the historic Hill village that was abandoned in 1941 due to the construction of the massive flood control dam at Franklin Falls.
This section of the heritage trail on the East side of the Pemigewasset River
is open for hiking purposes only. There is no basis for including it in a list
of Rail-trails except as a temporary expediency until a more appropriate Web
Site can be found for this hiking trail.
The Castle in the Clouds estate contains a carriage road that is similar in construction to the carriage roads of Acadia National Park in Maine and the new Marsh-Billings National Park in Woodstock, Vermont. The estate is operated as a tourist attraction, and also contains the Castle Springs Bottling Plant. An admission fee may be charged to use the carriage road.
| Project Name | Year | City | County | Federal $ | Local $ | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acq. various RR rows | 2000 | STATEWIDE | N/A | $400,000 | $100,000 | $500,000 |
This list is drawn on April 8, 2000 from a database maintained by the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse. Direct questions to NTEC at 1-888-388-NTEC or by email to [email protected].
The State-wide system of 'on-road' bike routes.The system is intended as a navigational aid to assist cyclists who are unfamiliar with New Hampshire’s roads. Roads on this system are considered to be the best available roads for bicycling to major destinations. For example, if you are looking for the safest route to take you from Keene to Concord, the route shown on the map is the recommended route, based on input from New Hampshire’s cycling community.
A table listing the projects from the NH DOT NH DOT Ten Year Transportation Improvement Program 1999-2008 dated July 1997, and the current NH DOT Project Advertising Schedule, that might affect Rail-trails in the State.
This table lists the abandoned railroad roadbeds that are presumably protected under state law and thus potentially available for interim use as Rail-Trails.
This table lists all of the Transportation Enhancement projects that were funded with Federal ISTEA funding in New Hampshire.
This table lists the Rail-Trail and Bikeway projects listed by NH Department of Transportation in their Ten Year Transportation Improvement Program 1999-2008 for submission to the Legislature in December 1997.
Sign images are from the Manual of Traffic Signs by Richard C. Moeur.
Updated on May 28, 2002 by Kenyon F.
Karl <[email protected]>.
Unintentional errors are likely!
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