Which reminds me, I must ride the South Shore through Michigan City, Indiana this summer. The line is scheduled to be rerouted; so soon no more riding over the city streets.
I met a fellow cleric from the Chicago area who said he and his wife hike over what was the North Shore Line roadbed.
There are a number of abandoned lines not too far from where I grew up. Most of them were active while I was growing up. The most notable abandoned line in my youth was the old connection of the Chicago & Calumet River with the South Shore Line west of Torrence Ave. Most of it was through a marshy area and the ramp up to the South Shore remained in place even after the South Shore was moved for the new Calumet River bridge.
I remember discovering the Corkscrew division of the Rutland when I was a 13 year old kid in Bennington, VT in 1965. That was only 12 years after it's being abandoned. I imagine more than 50 years later, even fewer traces remain.
Sure, we used to play in the woods, but small town Vermont in the 50's and 60' s was a far cry from conditions today. My son and his wife would never let the kids go trick or treating by themselves, and I don't blame them. And they live in a respectable Detroit suburb. Well, times have sure changed!
"Don't kids go out and play in the woods anymore?"
That's the $64,000 question D-B-D. There's a lot of young families in my neighborhood but most of the time, and even on weekends, it's like that Discovery Channel show "Life After People!" Nobody to be seen. Downright creepy at times.
Video games? Or something else? I don't know.
But on the other hand, concerning abandoned rights-of-way, remember every square inch of ground in this country is owned by somebody. Maybe you can do a little exploring, maybe you can't, it all depends.
Needless to say, if you see a "No Tresspassing" sign stay the hell out!
I did find an "urban exploration" video of the abandoned old Erie mainline in Rutherford NJ and was going to post it, but the camera work is so lousy I didn't bother. Just because I got a headache from it doesn't mean you all should.
Use it or lose it.
I knew of RR right of ways that were visible for 35 years or more...As kids we hiked,sledded,hunted,camped and ATVed on them in the rust belt....There is a RR right of way that has been only gone 5 years close by here and is now totaly overgrown and impassible. Dont kids go outside and play in the woods anymore?
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