Almost since the day the last coal train rolled down the Saluda Grade 21 years ago, the idea of converting the rail bed to a bicycle and hiking trail has captured the imagination of Polk County’s leading citizens. At first, the scheme wasn’t much more than a fantasy. The railroad, Norfolk Southern, repeatedly insisted that it had no intention of abandoning its right of way, and there were others who would have liked to see the grade turned into a seasonal excursion line for tourists, like the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad over in Bryson City.
When I first heard such talk, I thought a a service that hauled cyclists up the 1500 feet of elevation gain to Saluda so they could cruise back down was not a bad idea. Not everyone’s in good enough shape to ride all the way up. But that was a long time ago. Although Norfolk Southern made $11 billion in revenue — and $4.5 billion in profits — last year, and although the company was supposed to take care of the tracks in return for its right of way, none of that money went back into maintaining the Saluda Grade. Substantial portions of the line are in now such poor shape that even if the anyone wanted to bring back the trains, their accounting department would have a fit.
All of a sudden, though, there’s a very real possibility that the rails-to-tra ils vision for the Grade will actually come about. This summer, we learned that Norfolk Southern has finally agreed to sit down and talk with an interested buyer. That buyer is a group of three nonprofits — Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever, and Spartanburg-based PAL. If they can reach a deal, the 31 miles of track from Inman, South Carolina, to Zirconia, North Carolina, will be ripped up, hauled away and replaced by a trail for cyclists and hikers.
Sounds great. But not everyone is convinced. Rails to trails are popular all over North America, especially in places like Polk County, which doen't have enough people for a commuter rail line. But each project is unique. The Thermal Belt trail in Rutherford County is very different from the Swamp Rabbit Trail between Travelers Rest and Greenville. Some people aren’t comfortable with the idea of getting a flat tire on certain sections of the Thermal Belt trail. And then there’s the fact that not all of the Saluda Grade is all that flat, which could make sharing the path a bit tricky.
So there are questions. If you want answers from someone close to the source in Polk County, that would be Mark Byington, who has long been a director of Conserving Carolina. I joined him on his porch at his home near Tryon earlier this month.
Further reading
Norfolk Southern finances:
http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southern-reports-fourth-quarter-2021-results.html
PAL:
https://www.palspartanburg.org
Conserving Carolina:
https://conservingcarolina.org
Upstate Forever
https://www.upstateforever.org
Hendersonville Times News story
https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2022/08/10/250-k-secured-to-support-saluda-grade-trail-north-carolina/10285305002/