Rosendale trestle
Encyclopedia
The Rosendale trestle is a 940 feet (286.5 m) continuous truss bridge
and former railroad trestle
in Rosendale Village
, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale
in Ulster County
, New York
. Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its rail line from New Paltz
to Kingston
, the bridge rises 150 feet (45.7 m) above Rondout Creek
, spanning both Route 213
and the former Delaware and Hudson Canal
. Construction on the trestle began in late 1870, and continued until early 1872. When it opened to rail traffic on April 6, 1872, the Rosendale trestle was the highest span
bridge in the United States.
The trestle was rebuilt in 1895 by the King Bridge Company
to address public concerns regarding its stability, and it has been repeatedly reinforced throughout its existence. Concern over the sturdiness of the trestle has persisted since its opening, and was a major reason Conrail
closed the Wallkill Valley rail line in 1977. After the rail line's closure, Conrail sold the bridge in 1986 for one dollar
to a private businessman who tried unsuccessfully to operate the trestle as a bungee jumping
platform in the 1990s. A similar attempt was made the following decade. The trestle was seized by the county in 2009 for tax nonpayment
, and is being renovated as a pedestrian walkway
for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
.
and New Paltz
, and began building a 413 feet (125.9 m) bridge south of Rosendale, at Springtown Road, to cross the Wallkill River
. The Springtown bridge was completed by 1871, and the rail line was opened north to the town of Rosendale
. The town of Rosendale had issued $92,800 in bonds
on May 13, 1869 to finance the Rosendale portion of the railroad.
Though the trestle was difficult to build, and viewed as weak by modern standards, it was remarkable for its time, and can be considered the "most awesome part" of the Wallkill Valley rail line. Construction on the bridge's abutment
s began in August 1870 by A. L. Dolby & Company, but work on the superstructure
by the Waston Manufacturing Company did not begin until the following year due to problems with quicksand
during the excavation. Sections of the superstructure were built in Paterson, New Jersey
. The bridge originally had seven wrought-iron spans and two shorter wooden spans; the longer spans were each 105 feet (32 m) in length. The bridge cost $250,000 to build, and followed a Post truss design. Roughly 1000 short tons (907.2 MT) of iron and 420000 board feet (991.1 m³) of timber went into its construction. At the time of its completion in January 1872, it had the highest span of any bridge in the United States. Due to its height, it could "scarcely be crossed for the first time without something like a feeling of terror". The bridge allowed the rail line to continue north to Kingston
.
, Orange
, and Dutchess
counties. One of the spectators was James S. McEntee, Esq
., an engineer who had worked on the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1825. He was the only person to have seen both "the passage of the first loaded boat through the canal and the first train over the bridge which spans it". A 4-4-0 locomotive
with five boxcar
s and two passenger cars made the inaugural run. Many spectators doubted the strength of the bridge, and believed that the trestle would collapse under the weight of the train. The bridge appeared unaffected by the strain, and an increasing number of people rode over the bridge during the second and third runs.
A. L. Dolby & Company was contracted to complete the rail line between the bridge and Kingston. The track reached the Kingston Union Station in November 1872. By this time, trains were running regularly to and from Kingston.
By 1885, the bridge supports were reinforced and the track was converted from broad gauge
to standard gauge
. In 1888, the Wallkill Valley Railroad received a permit from the town of Rosendale to "construct and maintain abutments to support [the] trestle" as long as such work did not interfere with traffic along the underlying highway (present-day NY 213
). That same year, the Delaware and Hudson Canal
allowed the railroad to temporarily use some of its property by the Rondout Creek
to place bents
for bridge repairs. The waterway beneath the trestle could be quite treacherous; so many people drowned that the area became known as "Dead Man's Stretch". There have been reports of ghostly "apparitions" in the area, particularly of a white dog.
The bridge, while remaining in use, was rebuilt by the King Bridge Company
between 1895 and 1896; the trestle is the only railroad bridge featured in the King Bridge Company catalogs of the 1880s and 1890s that remains standing. The renovation converted the bridge's structure from iron and wood to steel to allay public concerns about its strength; the height of the bridge evoked collapses such as the Tay Bridge disaster
. The steel was provided by the Carnegie Steel Company
. The renovation raised the bridge's piers
by 8 feet (2.4 m) and made the bridge straighter; the original design had a curve on the southern terminus. One of the northern spans was completed by February 1896, and the entire reconstruction was finished by June. The layout of the spans was unchanged from the original 1872 design. Following its reconstruction, the bridge was unaffected by the shock of a large cave-in at a nearby Rosendale cement
quarry on December 26, 1899, though it was shaken by a nearby boiler explosion
that occurred days before the collapse.
From the time of its reconstruction to its eventual closure, passengers continued to have concerns over the trestle. The "speed, weight, and positioning of rolling stock
on the bridge" was monitored, and it was repeatedly reinforced to "carry the ever heavier loads of modern railroading". In the 1940s, steam engines carrying heavy loads over the bridge caused the catwalk on the west side of the bridge to shake. By 1975, the rail line had deteriorated to the point where federal regulations allowed only 8 miles per hour (12.9 km/h) traffic over the trestle, though engineers were instructed to only go as fast as 5 miles per hour (8 km/h). The sturdiness of the bridge, specifically the stability of its piers, was a deciding factor when Conrail
(then-owner of the Wallkill Valley rail line) closed the Wallkill Valley Railroad in 1977.
of the trestle and corridor on July 11, 1986. Included in Rahl's purchase was a train station
in Rosendale's hamlet of Binnewater; the station was a part of the Binnewater Historic District
. A Rosendale homeowner association had tried to purchase the properties before Rahl, also for one dollar, but Conrail declined their offer.
Rahl, born around 1948 in Washingtonville
, was a construction worker
and auto mechanic
. He lived near the trestle, in a "converted warehouse, whose support beams had once formed the scaffolding for the trestle crews". Rahl's reason for buying the rail line was originally to open a "dining car restaurant" along the corridor, and to establish a tourist railroad
from Kingston to the trestle. He claimed the purchase granted him the right to "restore rail service on the whole Wallkill line", and joint ownership of Conrail. Plans to restore service subsequently "didn't pan out". Within one year of the purchase, Rahl sold 11 acres (4.5 ha) of the property to a housing developer. On May 16, 1989, a storm caused such severe damage to the Binnewater station that part of it broke off and fell into the road; the building was subsequently demolished by the town of Rosendale's highway department.
Between 1989 and 1991, Rahl installed planking and guard rails on the southern half of the bridge, which was then opened to the public. He allowed bungee jumping
off the bridge until a January 1992 court order held that it violated zoning
laws. One person tried to bungee jump off the bridge without a restraining cord. The bridge was slightly damaged by a fire in summer 1999, but it was repaired by September of that year.
Douglas Hase, an entrepreneur
who had run bungee jumping and hot air ballooning
companies, tried unsuccessfully in 2003 and 2004 to get a variance
for another bungee jumping venture. During a public hearing about Hase's proposal, a county legislator began screaming to simulate the effects of jumping off a bridge.
After Rahl failed to pay $13,716 in property taxes over a period of three years, Ulster County foreclosed on the entire 63.34 acres (25.6 ha) property on April 15, 2009. The Wallkill Valley Land Trust and Open Space Conservancy
placed a bid on the seized land on April 22, 2009. The purchase was authorized by the county in July, and completed in late August 2009. The Land Trust agreed to pay all outstanding taxes before receiving full ownership and adding it to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
. Ownership of the trestle will be transferred to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Association and the town of Rosendale.
Following an engineering survey by Bergmann Associates – the same firm that inspected the Poughkeepsie Bridge
prior to its conversion to a walkway – the bridge was closed to the public in June 2010 for repairs. Renovations were originally expected to cost $750,000 and begin in spring 2011, with a 12-month completion time. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
granted $150,000 toward the renovation. By November 2010, an additional $300,000 had been raised from private donors, and other sources. By the end of 2010, over 10+1/2 ST of tire
s were removed from the Rosendale section of the rail trail.
The surface of the walkway will be either wood or concrete. When the renovations are complete, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail will be continuous for almost 24 miles (38.6 km) from Gardiner
to Kingston, and the trestle will be fully open to the public for the first time since the rail line closed. On February 17, 2011, a Bergmann Associates employee used the trestle as a case study
in a seminar on adaptive reuse
of defunct railroad bridges. By late March 2011, the estimated cost of renovating the trestle had risen to $1.1 million, and the expected time to completion increased to two years.
A campaign to raise $500,000 for the renovation began on March 27, 2011; by June 30, about $50,000 had been raised, and a lawsuit brought by John Rahl over the ownership of the trestle was pending before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
. Rahl claims that he retains ownership of the property because only the state, and not the county, has the right to seize the trestle, which is "forever railroad under 19th century eminent domain legal doctrines – long forgotten by modern jurisprudence". The trestle has been the site of numerous picnics, barbecues, and at least one wedding.
Continuous truss bridge
A continuous truss bridge is a truss bridge which extends without hinges or joints across three or more supports. A continuous truss bridge may use less material than a series of simple trusses because a continuous truss distributes live loads across all the spans; in a series of simple trusses,...
and former railroad trestle
Trestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...
in Rosendale Village
Rosendale Village, New York
Rosendale Village is a hamlet and census-designated place within the town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York, United States, with a population of roughly 1,500 people...
, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
in Ulster County
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its rail line from New Paltz
New Paltz (village), New York
New Paltz is a village in Ulster County in the U.S. state of New York. It is about north of New York City and south of Albany. The population was 6,818 at the 2010 census.The Village of New Paltz is located within the Town of New Paltz...
to Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, the bridge rises 150 feet (45.7 m) above Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
, spanning both Route 213
New York State Route 213
New York State Route 213 is a state highway located entirely in Ulster County. It runs from the eastern Catskills to downtown Kingston....
and the former Delaware and Hudson Canal
Delaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which later developed the Delaware and Hudson Railway...
. Construction on the trestle began in late 1870, and continued until early 1872. When it opened to rail traffic on April 6, 1872, the Rosendale trestle was the highest span
Span (architecture)
Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge.A span can be closed by a solid beam or of a rope...
bridge in the United States.
The trestle was rebuilt in 1895 by the King Bridge Company
King Bridge Company
The King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company was a late-19th-century bridge building company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Zenas King in 1858 and subsequently managed by his sons, James A. King and Harry W. King and then his grandson, Norman C. King, until the mid-1920s...
to address public concerns regarding its stability, and it has been repeatedly reinforced throughout its existence. Concern over the sturdiness of the trestle has persisted since its opening, and was a major reason Conrail
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
closed the Wallkill Valley rail line in 1977. After the rail line's closure, Conrail sold the bridge in 1986 for one dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
to a private businessman who tried unsuccessfully to operate the trestle as a bungee jumping
Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...
platform in the 1990s. A similar attempt was made the following decade. The trestle was seized by the county in 2009 for tax nonpayment
Tax deed sale
A tax deed sale is the forced sale, conducted by a governmental agency, of real estate for nonpayment of taxes. It is one of two methodologies used by governmental agencies to collect delinquent taxes owed on real estate, the other being the tax lien sale....
, and is being renovated as a pedestrian walkway
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a rail trail and linear park that runs along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor in Ulster County, New York. , it stretches from Gardiner through New Paltz, crossing the Wallkill River as it reaches Rosendale...
.
Construction
In 1870, the Wallkill Valley Railroad operated trains between MontgomeryMontgomery (town), New York
Montgomery is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 20,891 at the 2000 census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec....
and New Paltz
New Paltz, New York
New Paltz is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston, New York. New Paltz contains a village also with the name New Paltz...
, and began building a 413 feet (125.9 m) bridge south of Rosendale, at Springtown Road, to cross the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
. The Springtown bridge was completed by 1871, and the rail line was opened north to the town of Rosendale
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. The town of Rosendale had issued $92,800 in bonds
Municipal bond
A municipal bond is a bond issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds includes cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, special-purpose districts, school districts, public utility districts, publicly owned airports and seaports, and any...
on May 13, 1869 to finance the Rosendale portion of the railroad.
Though the trestle was difficult to build, and viewed as weak by modern standards, it was remarkable for its time, and can be considered the "most awesome part" of the Wallkill Valley rail line. Construction on the bridge's abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s began in August 1870 by A. L. Dolby & Company, but work on the superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
by the Waston Manufacturing Company did not begin until the following year due to problems with quicksand
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...
during the excavation. Sections of the superstructure were built in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
. The bridge originally had seven wrought-iron spans and two shorter wooden spans; the longer spans were each 105 feet (32 m) in length. The bridge cost $250,000 to build, and followed a Post truss design. Roughly 1000 short tons (907.2 MT) of iron and 420000 board feet (991.1 m³) of timber went into its construction. At the time of its completion in January 1872, it had the highest span of any bridge in the United States. Due to its height, it could "scarcely be crossed for the first time without something like a feeling of terror". The bridge allowed the rail line to continue north to Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
.
Active rail service
The bridge was opened on April 6, 1872 in a ceremony attended by 5,000 people, including prominent men from across UlsterUlster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
, Orange
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, and Dutchess
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
counties. One of the spectators was James S. McEntee, Esq
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
., an engineer who had worked on the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1825. He was the only person to have seen both "the passage of the first loaded boat through the canal and the first train over the bridge which spans it". A 4-4-0 locomotive
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
with five boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
s and two passenger cars made the inaugural run. Many spectators doubted the strength of the bridge, and believed that the trestle would collapse under the weight of the train. The bridge appeared unaffected by the strain, and an increasing number of people rode over the bridge during the second and third runs.
A. L. Dolby & Company was contracted to complete the rail line between the bridge and Kingston. The track reached the Kingston Union Station in November 1872. By this time, trains were running regularly to and from Kingston.
By 1885, the bridge supports were reinforced and the track was converted from broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. In 1888, the Wallkill Valley Railroad received a permit from the town of Rosendale to "construct and maintain abutments to support [the] trestle" as long as such work did not interfere with traffic along the underlying highway (present-day NY 213
New York State Route 213
New York State Route 213 is a state highway located entirely in Ulster County. It runs from the eastern Catskills to downtown Kingston....
). That same year, the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Delaware and Hudson Canal
The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which later developed the Delaware and Hudson Railway...
allowed the railroad to temporarily use some of its property by the Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
to place bents
Bent (structural)
A bent is a framework composed of several structural members that defines the cross-section of a timber frame building or supports a trestle. The term bent is probably an archaic past tense of the verb to bind, referring to the way the timbers of a bent are joined together...
for bridge repairs. The waterway beneath the trestle could be quite treacherous; so many people drowned that the area became known as "Dead Man's Stretch". There have been reports of ghostly "apparitions" in the area, particularly of a white dog.
The bridge, while remaining in use, was rebuilt by the King Bridge Company
King Bridge Company
The King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company was a late-19th-century bridge building company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Zenas King in 1858 and subsequently managed by his sons, James A. King and Harry W. King and then his grandson, Norman C. King, until the mid-1920s...
between 1895 and 1896; the trestle is the only railroad bridge featured in the King Bridge Company catalogs of the 1880s and 1890s that remains standing. The renovation converted the bridge's structure from iron and wood to steel to allay public concerns about its strength; the height of the bridge evoked collapses such as the Tay Bridge disaster
Tay Bridge disaster
The Tay Bridge disaster occurred on 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge, which crossed the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Wormit in Scotland, collapsed during a violent storm while a train was passing over it. The bridge was designed by the noted railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch,...
. The steel was provided by the Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
. The renovation raised the bridge's piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
by 8 feet (2.4 m) and made the bridge straighter; the original design had a curve on the southern terminus. One of the northern spans was completed by February 1896, and the entire reconstruction was finished by June. The layout of the spans was unchanged from the original 1872 design. Following its reconstruction, the bridge was unaffected by the shock of a large cave-in at a nearby Rosendale cement
Rosendale cement
Rosendale cement refers to a type of natural cement produced in and around Rosendale, New York from argilaceous limestone. The fast-setting Rosendale natural cement mortars proved to be more efficient than the traditional mortars based on lime and sand...
quarry on December 26, 1899, though it was shaken by a nearby boiler explosion
Boiler explosion
A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. As seen today, boiler explosions are of two kinds. One kind is over-pressure in the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. The second kind is explosion in the furnace. Boiler explosions of pressure parts are particularly associated...
that occurred days before the collapse.
From the time of its reconstruction to its eventual closure, passengers continued to have concerns over the trestle. The "speed, weight, and positioning of rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
on the bridge" was monitored, and it was repeatedly reinforced to "carry the ever heavier loads of modern railroading". In the 1940s, steam engines carrying heavy loads over the bridge caused the catwalk on the west side of the bridge to shake. By 1975, the rail line had deteriorated to the point where federal regulations allowed only 8 miles per hour (12.9 km/h) traffic over the trestle, though engineers were instructed to only go as fast as 5 miles per hour (8 km/h). The sturdiness of the bridge, specifically the stability of its piers, was a deciding factor when Conrail
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
(then-owner of the Wallkill Valley rail line) closed the Wallkill Valley Railroad in 1977.
Modern use
Conrail had begun taking bids on the trestle as early as 1983. An initial offer was made to the town of Rosendale, which refused, unwilling to accept the liability. Conrail sold the bridge, along with 11.5 miles (18.5 km) of the Wallkill Valley rail corridor, in 1986 to a private businessman, John Rahl, for one dollar. Rahl took titleTitle (property)
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership...
of the trestle and corridor on July 11, 1986. Included in Rahl's purchase was a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
in Rosendale's hamlet of Binnewater; the station was a part of the Binnewater Historic District
Binnewater Historic District
The Binnewater Historic District is a national historic district located at Rosendale in Ulster County, New York. The district originally included nine contributing buildings built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. A Rosendale homeowner association had tried to purchase the properties before Rahl, also for one dollar, but Conrail declined their offer.
Rahl, born around 1948 in Washingtonville
Washingtonville, New York
Washingtonville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, was a construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
and auto mechanic
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...
. He lived near the trestle, in a "converted warehouse, whose support beams had once formed the scaffolding for the trestle crews". Rahl's reason for buying the rail line was originally to open a "dining car restaurant" along the corridor, and to establish a tourist railroad
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
from Kingston to the trestle. He claimed the purchase granted him the right to "restore rail service on the whole Wallkill line", and joint ownership of Conrail. Plans to restore service subsequently "didn't pan out". Within one year of the purchase, Rahl sold 11 acres (4.5 ha) of the property to a housing developer. On May 16, 1989, a storm caused such severe damage to the Binnewater station that part of it broke off and fell into the road; the building was subsequently demolished by the town of Rosendale's highway department.
Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...
off the bridge until a January 1992 court order held that it violated zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
laws. One person tried to bungee jump off the bridge without a restraining cord. The bridge was slightly damaged by a fire in summer 1999, but it was repaired by September of that year.
Douglas Hase, an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who had run bungee jumping and hot air ballooning
Hot air ballooning
Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet , the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view...
companies, tried unsuccessfully in 2003 and 2004 to get a variance
Variance (land use)
A variance is the process by which an applicant can request deviation from the set of rules a municipality applies to land use and land development, typically a zoning ordinance, building code or municipal code. The manner in which variances are employed can differ greatly depending on the...
for another bungee jumping venture. During a public hearing about Hase's proposal, a county legislator began screaming to simulate the effects of jumping off a bridge.
After Rahl failed to pay $13,716 in property taxes over a period of three years, Ulster County foreclosed on the entire 63.34 acres (25.6 ha) property on April 15, 2009. The Wallkill Valley Land Trust and Open Space Conservancy
Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute is a conservation organization and think tank with an extensive mission statement. It seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment...
placed a bid on the seized land on April 22, 2009. The purchase was authorized by the county in July, and completed in late August 2009. The Land Trust agreed to pay all outstanding taxes before receiving full ownership and adding it to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a rail trail and linear park that runs along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor in Ulster County, New York. , it stretches from Gardiner through New Paltz, crossing the Wallkill River as it reaches Rosendale...
. Ownership of the trestle will be transferred to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Association and the town of Rosendale.
Following an engineering survey by Bergmann Associates – the same firm that inspected the Poughkeepsie Bridge
Poughkeepsie Bridge
The Poughkeepsie Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York on the east bank and Highland, New York on the west bank...
prior to its conversion to a walkway – the bridge was closed to the public in June 2010 for repairs. Renovations were originally expected to cost $750,000 and begin in spring 2011, with a 12-month completion time. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation operates :*168 state parks*35 state historic sites*76 developed beaches*53 water recreational facilities*27 golf courses*39 full service cottages*818 cabins...
granted $150,000 toward the renovation. By November 2010, an additional $300,000 had been raised from private donors, and other sources. By the end of 2010, over 10+1/2 ST of tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
s were removed from the Rosendale section of the rail trail.
The surface of the walkway will be either wood or concrete. When the renovations are complete, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail will be continuous for almost 24 miles (38.6 km) from Gardiner
Gardiner, New York
Gardiner is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 5,238 at the 2000 census.The Town of Gardiner is in the south-central part of the county.- History :...
to Kingston, and the trestle will be fully open to the public for the first time since the rail line closed. On February 17, 2011, a Bergmann Associates employee used the trestle as a case study
Case study
A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find...
in a seminar on adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
of defunct railroad bridges. By late March 2011, the estimated cost of renovating the trestle had risen to $1.1 million, and the expected time to completion increased to two years.
A campaign to raise $500,000 for the renovation began on March 27, 2011; by June 30, about $50,000 had been raised, and a lawsuit brought by John Rahl over the ownership of the trestle was pending before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
. Rahl claims that he retains ownership of the property because only the state, and not the county, has the right to seize the trestle, which is "forever railroad under 19th century eminent domain legal doctrines – long forgotten by modern jurisprudence". The trestle has been the site of numerous picnics, barbecues, and at least one wedding.
External links
- Wallkill Valley Land Trust – current owner of the trestle
- Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Association – maintains the adjoining rail trail