When train transport fell into disuse in the 1950s and ’60s, a movement began to transform those abandoned industrial corridors into recreational space.
In the early 20th century, the patchwork of the United States was quilted together by almost 300,000 miles of railroad lines. When train transport fell into disuse in the 1950s and ’60s, a movement began to transform those abandoned industrial corridors into recreational space. Those miles of track had the potential to be ideal bike paths, thanks to limited incline and their proximity to towns which stood to benefit from a new kind of tourism.