west river trail

The West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust in the News
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The West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust in the News

west river trail signFrom the Brattleboro Reformer, May 4, 2013. Click <a title="brattleboro reformer wrt article" href="http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_23170574/west-river-trail-land-purchase-works?nstrack=sid:313768|met:0000300|cat:0|order:10&%2F%3Fsource=dailymeHERE to go to the full article.
The Vermont Land Trust and the Friends of the West River Trail are close to finalizing a deal to purchase 21 acres of land along the West River which would allow the conservation groups to add trails to the popular system and preserve land along the river.
The Vermont Land Trust is working with the local organization to purchase the land, which is on the northeast side of the river, across from the professional buildings on Route 30.
The trail has become a popular destination for bikers, walkers and runners since the Friends of the West River Trail improved the kiosk at the trail head and developed the access point near the Marina Restaurant.
Lester Humphreys, a member of the Friends of the West River Trail board, said the trail has seen an increase in use since the group put down crushed stone along the path last year. “People are hearing about it and they are definitely coming out,” he said. “They love it.”
The West River Trail has been developed over the past 15 years and the group has been slowly acquiring land along the river. Supporters hope to eventually develop the old railroad bed 36 miles, from Brattleboro all the way to South Londonderry.
Members of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps are expected to do work along the trail this summer.
Humphreys said the land deal is still a work in progress and the group is trying to raise the money needed to complete the transaction(follow this page for more information on what they are doing to raise money. If the deal goes through the group hopes to develop new trails and also do culvert and drainage repair and surfacing in the area. The Friends of the West River Trail has a grant request in with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. If the deal goes through the group will own the land and the Vermont Land Trust will hold the conservation easement to ensure that the land remains open to the public.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will be asked to endorse the land deal at its board meeting Tuesday.

Trail Work Day on Saturday, May 11th
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Trail Work Day on Saturday, May 11th

Spring has arrived—Hurray!  And so the time has come to get back out on the Lower Section of the West River Trail and continue cleaning it up and improving it!

Our next Volunteer Work Day  is scheduled for Saturday, May 11 from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Meet up with Jason Cooper and other volunteers at the Trail Head near the Marina. Please wear your work boots and bring work gloves, loppers, shovels, other tools you think would be useful. Bring water and snacks. We will have an ATV with a trailer and will continue to haul out debris from that “dump” area.  We will also do some drainage work in wet areas.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

50 Cups of Tea
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50 Cups of Tea

WRT morthers day teaPlease join us at the Depot in South Londonderry for an Afternoon Tea featuring scrumptious sweet and savory treats, fresh flowers and favors. Saturday May 11th, 2:30 – 4 pm at the Depot, Route 100, South Londonderry, VT.

Inspired by local clay artist Susan Leader. To benefit Friends of the West River Trail. $25 per person, limited seating. Advance tickets available at Neighborhood Connections, Mountain Marketplace.
Questions? Please call 802-548-8247

Run the West River Trail on June 1st
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Run the West River Trail on June 1st

TrailRunLogo The Collaborative will be hosting its first Trail Run on June 1st, 2013. This is an annual event to help the Collaborative to provide fun, healthy educational programs for youth in the Northshire and Mountain communities. Please check THE COLLABORATIVE WEBSITE for more information and to register.

Run 11 of the 36 miles of  the West River Trail along the beautiful West River in Southern Vermont. The run will start at Londonderry Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155 and end at Jamaica State Park, 48 Salmon Hole Lane, Jamaica, Vermont 05343

Relay teams of 3 or  individuals are invited to participate. Runners have the option to ride the bus from Jamaica State Park back to the start after awards ceremony. Relay teams are allowed one car during the run to transport. Teams are responsible for their own transportation.

Runner 1: 4 miles of flat trail. Runner is on the main rail-trail, which provides a more gentle grade and relatively easy travel. Trail follows the campground road through the campground and over a single-lane bridge crossing the Winhall River.

Runner 2: 4 miles of uphill and switchback, single trail. From the south trailhead of Winhall Campground, the surpack surface of the West River Trail continues along the river’s edge. Becoming a footpath through the forest, the single-track section of trail involves several short uphill jaunts and a variety of stream crossings. This is considered the most challenging section of the trail.

Runner 3: 3.5 miles of gradual downhill and flat trail. The switchback trail traverses back and forth across the steep face of the dam, arriving in the river valley as a footpath. The trail follows the river down stream, crossing the Cobb Bridge. The West River Trail continues along the old railroad grade. This section of trail is well-used and provides easy running with lovely views of the river.

To register, click HERE. Registration closes on Friday, May 24, 2013. Registrations may be mailed to The Collaborative c/o Trail Run, PO Box 32, South Londonderry, VT 05155.

The Run will start at 9 am on June 1st.
Packet-pick up:
May 31, 6-8:30pm: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155
June 1, 7-7:45am: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155

Thank you to our sponsors and partners: Friends of the West River Trail, Jamaica State Park, Ball Mountain/Townsend Lakes.
For more information and to register, check EVENT WEBSITE.

Report of the Friends of the West River Trail Annual Meeting
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Report of the Friends of the West River Trail Annual Meeting

Greg Meulmans, Glenn Annis & Bill Badger (photo by Chrissy Blaylock)
Kathleen & Lester with the old Santa Fe RR bell that was donated (photo by Chrissy Blaylock)
A little friend of the WRT, blowing a toy train whistle (photo by Chrissy Blaylock)
RR buff carrying a very old WRT mile post sign (signpost will be used as a model for smaller signposts to be put along the trail) (photo by Chrissy Blaylock)
RR buff carrying a very old WRT mile post sign (signpost will be used as a model for smaller signposts to be put along the trail) (photo by Chrissy Blaylock)
Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972

The Friends of the West River Trail Annual Meeting on February 12 at the Depot was a treat!
Having never been to the renovated South Londonderry Depot, I was curious to see it. I also wanted to meet more of our fellow Friends of the West River Trail from further north. Lester, Alex, Jason and I, from the Lower Section, traveled together. Upon arrival, we found a cozily lit open room with new, exposed post and beam construction. There was a display of Railroad memorabilia, a FWRT display, a table full of delectable looking h’or-doeuvres, and friendly faces. After a little socializing, a brief informal meeting was called to order by Fred Haartman, the president. Sherry Crossman reported on interesting updates from the upper section, the lower section gang added our news, and a quick election of officers ensued. At 6 PM, more people arrived for nibbling and schmoozing. At the tolling of the old train bell, our attention was directed to hear about the beautiful old RR bell and meet William Peele, who along with his wife Agnes, generously donated the bell to the FWRT Depot for safe keeping. We then took seats and watched the 7 ½ minute video of the West River Trail, presented by its creator, Tim Lawrence. This upbeat, fun journey on the trail with Tim and his Siberian Husky, shows viewers where to park at the various trail accesses and what type of conditions to expect. This video can be found on our FWRT Facebook page and You Tube. We will get it on the website ASAP!
The Annual Meeting event was fun, informative, and affirming for all. FWRT and friends are a good group of folks with a great mission and an ever improving product—the Trail! We hope to get the upper section folks down here this spring for a picnic and hike on the lower section.
NEWS from the Upper Section: a long planned pedestrian bridge over the river near the Winhall Campground will SOON be a reality! It will be built across the old RR bridge abutments within the next year or so!
Submitted by Kathleen White, Lower section steering committee

AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN HOUSE
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AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN HOUSE

AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN HOUSE
Doings at the Depot!
The public is invited to attend an Open House and social hour, with refreshments provided, hosted by the Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT), to be held on Tuesday, February 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, in the South Londonderry Depot on Route 100.

At the Open House, visitors will be updated on the current projects involving both the West River Trail (South Londonderry to Brattleboro when completed) and the Depot itself. Recent significant advances in trail development in the Brattleboro area by the Southern Section of the Friends will be recognized.

During the social hour, the latest prize of memorabilia at the Depot will be formally introduced: a locomotive bell generously donated by William and Agnes Peele. It is believed that the bell came from one of the last regularly operated steam locomotives on the Santa Fe Railroad.

Tim Lawrence will also be on hand to present a narrated video depicting his recent experience hiking on a rail trail, one of a series he is producing, and will also, as a rail historian, update us on the status of his “Forgotten Railroads” project. Timothy W. Lawrence is Founder and Videographer, I.M.R. Films, created in 2003. Since that time, he has worked on numerous projects from online advertising for Coca-Cola and Comcast to corporate videos for companies such as Skyhorse Publishing, Living WRAP and more. He resides locally, in Windham, VT.

The Open House will be preceded at 5:30 PM by a short business meeting of the FWRT Board, which visitors are welcome to attend if they choose.

Please plan to join your friends and the Friends of the West River Trail for an enjoyable and informative evening.