KLAMATH
RAILS-TO-TRAILS
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December 2000 |
KLAMATH
RAILS-TO-TRAILS
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December 2000 |
General Meeting: January 10th
Our next meeting will be
Wednesday, Jan 10th, 6:30 pm
At Old Town
Pizza 722 Main St.
For Information call Art Sevigny (884-3050)
The caboose is really looking great. In July, the final bodywork and paint was applied. The end platforms and details were painted green. Jack Neilson’s Commercial and Fleet Repair did an outstanding job of turning the exterior from an old rundown, neglected railcar into a showpiece. Sign Pro installed the decals giving the caboose an identity again. The trail side lets everyone know this is now a state trail and the side facing away from the trail provides a wonderful photo opportunity for the rail enthusiast.
Weather permitting, we intend to install the side deck and ramp this fall. I also need someone to construct some simple shadow boxes for the window displays, so if you can help I’d appreciate it (I only need four boxes).
Side Facing Away From Trail Photo by Art Sevigny
I must apologize for this late newsletter and the late date for group elections. Unfortunately, tragedy struck my family last month. On October 1st my mother suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side and speechless. I traveled to Florida joining my sister to help my dad get my mother on her feet again. I headed home on October 11th, but only got as far as Washington D.C. when word reached me that my dad had died of a sudden heart attack, so it was back to FL.
I spent the next month trying to put my mother’s life back together. To make maters worse I was struck down twice with kidney stones requiring several procedures and a few still to come.
I got back on November 12th and am now ready to catch up on trail issues.
Our first order of business is to carry out new elections. I KNOW you are all tired of hearing about ELECTIONS, but it is so important for our organization to maintain a full roster of officers, so please run for office if you can.
For the most part the trail work
season is over, but there may be some projects during the winter. I’m looking for someone to work on
converting one or two log carts into benches.
The work requires just basic woodworking skills. Give me a call if you can help (884-3050).
Work is well underway on the trail’s maintenance building. The driveway and area around the building have been paved. New, wider gates providing access to the building compound have been installed. Uprights, roof beams, crossmembers and support rods have been installed for the building. A temporary fence on the north side of the right of way has been installed. The fence was necessary to keep automobiles out of the area to prevent damage to the improvements. The temporary fence will soon be replaced
with wooden bollards (as used on the rest of the urban part of the trail). Signs designating the area as off limits to unauthorized vehicles have been installed.
We have taken advantage of the free compost offered by the city water treatment plant. We have brought in over one hundred loads of compost. The compost has been added over the old rail yard surface to improve the soil so we can plant grass, trees and shrubs. The compost is also helping to loosen up the compacted surface to allow more absorption of water and less run off. We have also used the compost to mark off the area where the trail passes through on its way to E. Main St. Despite not being paved this area has been getting a lot of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. I can’t wait to see this section paved. It will provide a safe alternative to using S. 6th Street.
As weather permits Ranger Caye Houk, with the assistance of KRT, will continue to assemble the building. The goal is to have it up and running in time for next summer.
Mileposts have been
installed all the way to Bly. I have
also installed the name plaques for those who donated mileposts up to MP
8.5. I have the remaining nameplates
and will install them as soon as I can.
This winter I will be assembling the mileposts for the Woods Line Branch
and hope to install them in the spring.
Mileposts can still be adopted. I encourage you to do so. KRT paid for the MP plaques. By adopting a milepost you help offset our costs and allow us to fund more project. Additionally, you get recognized as a supporter of this great trail and, more importantly, show the grass roots support for this project. There are still over 150 milepost left, many in some really beautiful areas, so give me a call they are $25.00 ea.
We have installed five more gates on the trail (Bly). Gates have been installed on the east side of Ivory Pine Rd. and we repaired the one on the west side. Additionally, we installed four gates at MP 61.8, 62.7, 62.9, 63.15. Gates were installed with the help of Community Service Workers supervised by OPRD and KRT. These gates eliminated stretch gates that were very difficult to open. Now we have lockable gates that are easy to operate by all users. In the spring there will be a little work needed to permanently tie them into parallel fencing.
Surface upgrade work was finished on August 21st. The entire trail has had the majority of ballast removed leaving a surface with a mix of fine material and some ballast.
We have compacted the trail from Klamath Falls to Bly and from Beatty to the Fremont National Forest Boundary (MP 10) using a vibrating roller. We were unable to roll beyond MP 10 due to extreme fire conditions within the Fremont (USFS stopped all industrial work on August 12th).
We will resume compacting the surface in the spring once the snow is gone. Additionally, we will re- roll the main trail. Results on the main trail were not quite as good as expected due to the lack of moisture in the surface (as a result of the late start of the project).
As a result of the project the trail is greatly improved and rideable by any fat tire bike and will be even better after this spring’s compaction. I will again be asking for help in running the roller this spring.
We hope to be able to roll the trail each spring to maintain and continue to improve the surface. We may look to buy a vibrating roller to save on rental fees in the long run, if funds (grants) can be found.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter SOPT (Southern Oregon Public Television) will be starting a new series, much like the “on the road series with Charles Kurault”. Shooting was to have been in October, but due to my family emergency taking me away we have had to put it off until January or February with another shoot in April/May. As a result, we will be the second in the series. It should be about a two-minute segment.
Mr. Bill Campbell (Director of SOPT) hopes to have the segment air just before our National Trails Day Event to give us maximum benefit in attracting people to the event.
The OC&E Woods Line State Trail has received recognition as one of the nation’s Community Millennium Trails. This recognition is part of the White House Millennium Trails initiative.
The purpose of the
initiative is to engage all Americans in marking the new millennium in
ways that will leave a lasting legacy. President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton created the White House
Millennium Council to organize a number of national millennium projects. The
millennium projects being spurred by this effort are guided by the unifying
theme to "Honor the Past - Imagine the Future." Millennium Trails is a partnership between
the White House Millennium Council, U.S. Department of Transportation and
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in cooperation with other agencies and
organizations.
As one of the national millennium projects, Millennium Trails will recognize, promote and support trails as a means to preserve open spaces, interpret history and culture and enhance recreation and tourism. Under this initiative, more than 2,000 trails across America will be recognized, enhanced or built. These will include hiking trails, bicycle paths, greenways and scenic byways through rural and urban landscapes and cultural and heritage trails that preserve and commemorate major events in our nation's history.
Today, the use
of trails strains the capacity of existing facilities. Rail-trails alone are
used more than 100 million times per year. Every trail use is an opportunity to
take a journey of discovery into our history and culture. With this strong
demand, the promise and challenge of Millennium Trails is to preserve and enhance
a precious part of our national heritage for future generations of Americans to
treasure and enjoy.
Yes it is once again time for our elections. Several of our past officers will not be able to continue due to relocation. I can’t ask you strongly enough to please step up and hold office. Many of our officers have been holding office for far too long. In the past, few have stepped up to run for office, so many have stayed year after year because someone has to do it. It’s time for some new blood to share in the governing of our group.
None of the offices are very difficult. President: Acts as the leader and spokesperson for the group, works with OPRD in developing and implementing plans to develop the trail, maintains the membership data base, and currently publishes the news letter; Vice President: main duty is to help the President when possible or step in when the President is not present; Treasurer: Maintains financial records, pays bills, files the annual report to the Oregon Department of Justice (very easy one page form (we don’t take in more than $25,000 or have assets more than $50,000) to fill out since our income is small); Secretary: maintain meeting minutes; Members at Large: Attend meetings and help out where they can.
One of the main jobs of the Board is to give input as to what direction we should take as a group. The only other job is to help with planning National Trails Day. The event has gotten to the point where there is very little planning to do. The process is much easier now that we have the event in the same location each year.
Please volunteer to hold an office. I am more than willing to continue as president but I need you HELP in filling these positions. Please give me a call if you are willing to hold an office.
The OC&E Woods Line State Trail is mentioned or featured on several web pages. Listed below are those pages:
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department page for the trail contains basic information about the trail:
http://slm-dbserve.prd.state.or.us/showpark.phtml?id=230
Fremont National Forest page for Woods Line Branch features information about the trail with maps and photos including details about Horse Glade Trailhead:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fremont/trails/r2t.html
Dennie Dunkeson’s web page for the trail. This page has photos along the entire length of the trail. Just click on a section of the map and the photo will download. Additionally, he has old OC&E time tables:
National Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Traillink web page. The address is quite long, but it takes you directly to the OC&E part. If you just use the http://www.traillink.com you can navigate to the trail using their search menu.
http://www.traillink.com/TL_Active_Pages/TrailSearch/b-right.asp?Action=DisplayDetails&ID=1053&Keyword=
Klamath
Rails-to-Trails Group
Membership
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MEETINGS:_________________
I want to continue receiving this newsletter. Yes-Ž No-Ž
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Dues 1 Year ($ 10.00 family/$ 5.00 Student): $___________
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Please send your membership dues to: Klamath Rails-to-Trails Group
Oretech P.O. Box 2102
Klamath
Falls, OR 97601
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NOTE:
RECYCLE THIS NEWSLETTER. LEAVE IT AT YOUR BARBER SHOP, HAIR DRESSER,
DENTIST’S OFFICE FOR OTHERS TO LEARN ABOUT OUR GROUP.
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Klamath Rails-to-Trails Group
Oretech P.O. Box 2102
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
