Eastman Gelatin Rail Trail / South Reading Line
This is the remains of the South Reading Line of the Essex (and later Eastern) Railroad. This line connected the main Boston & Maine (B&M) line in South Reading (Wakefield) and Salem. It ran through West Peabody, onto Peabody Center, and then Salem. In the late 1990s it was also used by the Kodak-Eastman Gelatin manufacturing plant in Peabody.
The current layout of Route 128/I-95 in Lynnfield was built on the South Reading rail corridor but turned to the North in Peabody. This is the remaining section of line, running from West Peabody (the 128 rotary on the Peabody-Lynn line) to Centennial Park in Peabody. It opened recently (c. 2018) after being over-grown for decades. The section of track from Centennial Park to County Way is still abandoned an unusable as a trail. The rails are still there.
The West Peabody section is less than a mile. The trail straddles wetlands on both sides. There was a good amount of wildlife (a huge swan, chipmunks, and a turtle) and not many people.
This is a fantastic use of an old railway with a lot of great scenery and not much noise. With any luck the rest of the railway will be cleared and put to better use soon.
Read MoreThe current layout of Route 128/I-95 in Lynnfield was built on the South Reading rail corridor but turned to the North in Peabody. This is the remaining section of line, running from West Peabody (the 128 rotary on the Peabody-Lynn line) to Centennial Park in Peabody. It opened recently (c. 2018) after being over-grown for decades. The section of track from Centennial Park to County Way is still abandoned an unusable as a trail. The rails are still there.
The West Peabody section is less than a mile. The trail straddles wetlands on both sides. There was a good amount of wildlife (a huge swan, chipmunks, and a turtle) and not many people.
This is a fantastic use of an old railway with a lot of great scenery and not much noise. With any luck the rest of the railway will be cleared and put to better use soon.
