A rail trail...

[JCitron]

As much as I have some disdain for these things, I had to include one on a route I've been working on since the TRS2004 days. This particular section is built around an imported TransDEM route of Stratham, NH and Exeter vicinity. Using my usual method of building a railroad where none existed before, I created a new line on the opposite side of the Squamscott River running parallel to the for real former B&M mainline. The new line has a branch to the mills, and a good sized yard, which will manage the mill branch. Coming off the yard, is also the Stratham branch, which runs up to the Stratham Center.

The short Stratham branch saw it's last train around 1922, and the rails were lifted during WWII and donated to the war effort. The ROW remained empty and unused, though still owned by the railroad, until the local chamber of commerce purchased the ROW from the Enfield and Eastern, which inherited the ROW from their predecessor Pan Am Railways.

In 2010 the Stratham Chamber of Commerce built the "Stratham Woods Rails Trail". This short trail, maybe 1/2 mile in length, is quite popular with the locals and sees frequent riders in the summer months.

Located in what used to be the Stratham Center freight yard, is a new station building with a donated B&M passenger car and caboose. There's a small museum, gift shop and ice cream parlor here which sees a fair amount of business.

The route. The mills are located in the lower right part of the map. The Stratham branch is shown in the upper right.


The yard, or what's left of it and end of track.







Along the line:

 

[cascaderailroad]

I usually replace a torn up rail trail, with new rail, and reactivate long torn up abandoned lines

 

[JCitron]

I usually replace a torn up rail trail, with new rail, and reactivate long torn up abandoned lines

I do that too, but in this case I wanted something different. In the area I'm modeling, I've included a few abandoned lines both real and fictional. Where this yard and branches are on the right side of the river in the top view, is all swamp, power lines, and farmland in real life.

A little bit of imagination and creativity can go a long way sometimes.