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caption, page 6:
It's Official!
Ribbon cutting at the Air Line Trail Pavilion and information kiosk, left to right: State Senator Tony Guglielmo, Connecticut Audubon Society's Sarah Heminway, Pomfret First Selectman Jim Rivers, State Rep. Mike Alberts, NECCOG's John Filchak, Pomfret Selectman Maureen Nicholson, DEP Park Supervisor John Folsom.
Pomfret
welcomes
pavilion
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
POMFRET --- Perhaps they cut a gold ribbon in the 1872, when the first railroad station was pressed into service.
Fast forward through two more versions of the tiny wooden railroad depot to the station's latest incarnation --- the Air Line Trail Pavilion and information kiosk.
Made of brick and soaring wooden rafters --- its design a tip of the hat to the original depot design --- the pavilion Oct. 9 was celebrated as a new waystation for tourists, hikers and more.
Jim Rivers, first selectman, said the center is "what we are in Pomfret. We're about outdoors, wild life, protecting the land." Using a $100,000 state Small Town Economic Assistant Program grant the pavilion was created next to the recently renovated section of the Air Line Trail, near the Connecticut Audubon Society's property. Rivers thanked state officials, including State Senator Tony Guglielmo and State Representative Mike Alberts for providing funding to keep the former railroad station property from becoming a housing development. He also recognized the assistance of the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, the state Department of Environmental Protection system, the Connecticut Audubon Society and countless volunteers. "It was a collaborative effort with several organizations in town, as well," he said.
As more than 200 conservation/nature flags, hand decorated by children of Pomfret, flapped in the stiff wind, Representative Alberts said the ribbon cutting epitomizes what the town and state can accomplish when they work together. He added that he and Guglielmo will be working with the state Department of Transportation to get pavilion signage installed.
Guglielmo called the pavilion, at the intersection of Railroad, Rt. 169 and Rt. 44, a "special place and this helps keep it that way."
DEP Park Supervisor John Folsom complimented the town for "looking outward" for something the town and visitors can use.
Walter Hinchman, town historian, gave those attending a brief rundown of the history of the railroad stations' history in Pomfret, noting that the original wooden depot was replaced with a brick station and that station was then painted white. The building burned in October 2000 and the property fell into disrepair.
According to the Pomfret Historical Society, the rail line was conceived by the New York & Boston Railroad Company in 1846. They envisioned a rail line that would follow a path "as if a line had been drawn through the air" between the two cities. The railroad line was completed in 1873 and in 1885 the New England Ltd. began service. It was a 213-mile run that took six hours and it pulled elegant white Pullman cars. The rest of the train was painted white and it was then known as the "White Train" or the "Ghost Train." The trains got heavier and couldn't negotiate the twisting turns of the Air Line and the last passenger service between Boston and New York was in 1902. Freight runs followed and fish and peaches traveled up and down the lines. When the Flood of 1955 wiped out the Air Line rail bridge in Putnam, thru service was wiped out.
DEP, Audubon, historical information and more grace the walls of the pavilion. Rivers said the town is looking into creating a farmers' market in the space as well.
"This is what we're all about," he added.