HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — The effort to turn the former Saluda Grade into a hiking and biking trail has received an additional boost with $12 million in funding from the state of North Carolina, the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal reports.
The North Carolina state budget approved Sept. 22 includes that funding over a two-year period toward purchase of the 16-mile portion in that state of the former Southern Railway route, once the steepest mainline railroad in the U.S. That’s according to Conserving Carolina, one of the three nonprofit groups involved purchasing 31.5 miles in North and South Carolina from Norfolk Southern for conversion to a trail under a deal reached earlier this year [see “Norfolk Southern to sell Saluda Grade …,” Trains News Wire, March 16, 2023]. South Carolina has already set aside $15 million for the trail; the full cost has not been announced under a confidentiality agreement between the railroad and the three nonprofit groups.
The first meetings to solicit public comment on plans for the trail are coming up later this month, the Herald-Journal reports. The first will be Oct. 17 at the Inman, S.C., public library; the second will be Oct. 19 at Polk County High School in Columbus, N.C. Both meetings scheduled to run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
$12 million here, $15 million there, what the hell, it’s only taxpayer money. That’s a lot of money just to for someone to go hiking.
In complete agreement.
There is one marker at the crest of the grade in Saluda, NC. I agree there should be another marker at the runaway track at the bottom of the steep grade in Melrose, NC. Perhaps also some photos and descriptions of the difficulty operating the grade along the way between Saluda and Melrose and the reason for the runaway track.
So the Saluda Grade Train will become a hiking and biking trail FINE! but lets not forget the history and heritage of this former right of way by at least erecting a plaque or two or concrete marker along the trail reminding people and the hikers and bikers of its rich railroading history. Perhaps a railroad museum at the end of the trail would be nice also. We can’t save every railroad line or track but we can at least keep the memory alive by reminding people and future generations of the history and legacy of railroads and trains that once served the areas and right of way by keeping that history alive
Joseph C. Markfelder