Scioto County Commissioners are excited about what the future could hold for the out-of-service Peavine Railroad line. The line was nicknamed “Peavine” because of all the hills and curves encountered along the way, but Commissioners think it could make an amazing recreational trail.
“I think it’s a pretty exciting day,” Commissioner Scottie Powell said. “This is a project that we’ve chased for at least four years.”
The commissioners approved a donation agreement to transfer the land from the Norfolk Southern Railroad to the Scioto County Land Bank.
The completed rails to trails project would run between Rarden and Portsmouth.
Commissioners said transferring the property to the landbank would protect the county from EPA and other liability issues. “This starts the process of turning this Peavine that’s been sitting for 25 years into an asset for this county to highlight the beautiful nature.”
The commissioners said the project will take years to develop and require a lot of grant money. “What it does to the west side of the county is going to be immeasurable. This elevates Scioto County to having a top-20 trail. This instantly moves us up.”
Commissioner Cathy Coleman, who serves on the Land Bank, said there were a few liability issues to consider, but checking it all out, the rewards are greater than the risk.”
Commissioner Bryan Davis, who also serves on the Land Bank, said, “We’ve done a lot of great things over the years. I never thought we’d be buying a railroad. It feels like Monopoly. The Land Bank is the only entity that can take a property and not deal with the environmental risk that a county or a private land owner would. We don’t know what those risks are at this point.” He said Norfolk Southern would remove the rails and ties from the line and other equipment like signals and switches. “That will be a long process.”
Davis said the county was looking for a third-party non-profit to manage the project, or perhaps a new one should be created. “This is going to be a long trail. It’s going to connect Rarden to Portsmouth. This is a great thing.”
Davis said commissioners would have preferred the railroad to open the line back up rail traffic and bring more commerce through the area, but the company had terminated the line and sold the other end.