Planted:            September 28, 2006       

Length:             Amston to Cook Hill Road; 5.8 miles.

                           Amston to Letterbox; 2.4 miles.

                           Leonard Bridge Road to Letterbox; 0.3 miles                         

Difficulty:         Easy. Flat rail trail with stone dust surface.

Directions:

To start in Amston: Take Route 85 between Hebron and Colchester to the Amston section, this is about a half mile south of Route 207. There is a parking area located on the western side of Route 85, next to the "Route 85 Lumber" store.

To start from  Leonard Bridge Road; Take Route 85 to Route 207.  Leonard Bridge Road will be a left turn off of Route 207. The trail crosses the road just before the Hebron town line. Limited parking.

To start from Cook Hill Road; From the junction of Routes 66 & 87, take Route 87 south. Just past where the trail crosses the road turn left on Cook Hill Rd. Keep an eye to your left for a small gravel parking area where the trail ends.

The Air Line Trail follows the rail bed of the former Air Line Railroad which was built to connect Boston and New York City in the shortest distance possible - as if by a "line" drawn through the "air" via the city of New Haven. The railroad climbed from Middletown to East Hampton, and then went over the Lyman Viaduct, a spectacular 1,100 foot long iron trestle over a deep and wide gorge. The railroad then continued on through North Westchester and Amston in the southern part of Hebron. The line passed along the boundary of Lebanon and Columbia before dropping steadily down the Ten Mile River valley to Willimantic. The final portion of this section was completed in 1873. The Air Line is remembered for its fast express trains. There was a succession of these beginning with the New England Limited in 1884. This was succeeded in1891 by the White Train, popularly known as the Ghost Train. It was made up of gleaming white coaches trimmed with gold. The parlor cars' interiors were finished in mahogany and furnished with velvet rugs, silk curtains and upholstered plush chairs. The train's schedule was so well advertised that people came from miles around to wait at stations or crossing to see it go by. The fast express was replaced in 1895 by the Air Line Limited. The decline of the Air Line route came about when passengers and shippers began to prefer the Shore Line Route. For more information visit; AIRLINE TRAIL  . Another Letterbox is located along the southern section of the Airline Trail. See;  Airline Trail South Letterbox .

Starting in Amston; Follow the trail northeast across Route 85. Use caution as there is a crosswalk, but no cross-light. The stone-dust trail starts out a bit narrow until you cross the next road. Here, the trail widens as it goes along a small berm. Next, you come to Route 207 and a map board. Again, use caution crossing over this road to a dirt parking lot at 0.7 miles. The trail passes by a large swamp to your left where I spotted a Blue Heron. At 1.2 miles a small stream is down to your left. You pass beneath some power lines and come to a rock outcrop at 1.9 miles. A dirt trail network used by ATV's is too your left. You'll cross over a high berm with steep drop offs and a view of Lake Williams below on your right. A dirt trail crosses ahead, after which another dirt trail comes in from the left, blocked by two large rocks at 2.4 miles. From the two rocks, take 5 paces (2 steps = 1 pace) along this dirt trail and look left down into a gully. You'll spot two large boulders. Go to the first boulder, backside and spot a small rock on top of a flat rock. Remove only these two rocks to reveal the Airline Trail North Letterbox tucked up under the boulder. Continuing along the trail, you come to Leonard Bridge Road after 2.7 miles. Cross the road and bear right. The trail continues down past the yellow gate. You cross over your first wooden bridge at 2.8 miles and your second at 3.1 miles. You come to Chesbro Bridge Rd at 3.6 miles. As of September 2009, the next sections have been graded and a hard packed gravel base is down, but not the final coat of stone-dust. Very ridable however. This next section travels through deep woods with many berms. You come to Route 87 at 5 miles. Follow the cross-walk across the road and head down a short paved road and past the gate to return to the trail. A lot of old junked cars and a bus here. You'll cross a culvert diverting Tenmile River under the trail and come to Cook Hill Road after 5.8 miles. An on-road detour of 1.5 miles will get you to the next section of trail. A sign gives you the directions. This is where I stopped, so I dont' know the condition of the final stretch of trail to the Willimantic River. 

LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON

SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION