History
The planning for the Metro-North Port Jervis Line intended to use the former Erie Main Line through Monroe and Goshen and Middletown on the way to Port Jervis as a commuter railroad.
Local opposition to the plan caused Metro North to instead use the Erie's newer freight bypass line over the Moodna Viaduct in order to avoid these towns. This new route, being a bypass, naturally added six extra miles to the length and removed access to the commuter railroad from these towns.
The abandoned right-of-way from Harriman to Middletown was converted into the Orange Heritage Trailway rail trail.
The trail earned the designation of "National Recreation Trail" in June 2007. The designation was handed down by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
In 1999, Paul Harnisch, an assistant district attorney for Orange County, was charged with murder for striking two skaters, killing one of them, while driving illegally on the Heritage Trail in the Chester area. Harnish drove for a half-mile with the dead skater on the hood of his vehicle. He was found not guilty for reason of insanity and remanded to the custody of a psychiatric hospital for a period of years.
Read more about this topic: Orange Heritage Trailway
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