Originally Posted by UniChris

Thanks for the info, and for your efforts on the Danbury portion which sounds like it's going to be a lot harder to achieve. It would be tempting to argue about all that awaits once the connection is made (Danbury to the Middle Branch Reservoir would be scenic and relaxed, down to the Croton Reservoir Bridge more determined but still something many could do) and in a way you get direct access to the most scenic parts. But unfortunately, NYC's own end of the putnam rail trail is the perfect example of how having a great trail to the city limits doesn't necessarily get people locally inspired by the opportunity for city residents ready to be tapped by building (or in our case, fixing) the last little bit.

So probably my nearer term interest in the Maybrook would simply be to "have ridden from NYC to Connecticut" - even if only to a put a foot over the line and then head back to the train in Brewster. Sounds like that might be more possible next year. And yes, I really hope it doesn't dead end at a chain link fence 10 feet short of the state line.

For that matter it's been a few weeks now since I've made it up to Brewster, as I've shifted focus from doing one way rides with train return towards trying for round trips partway up - Yorktown made a nice 100km, but I'm not sure how much further I'll manage to loop this season. Finally rigged a cycle computer this evening for some brief experiments and discovered my pacing is instinctively erratic as while I'm comfortable cranking right along at a pace which would work, I keep habitually and unthinkingly slowing to a rate where I run out of daylight, especially if I've gotten going faster than need be and reached crank wobble territory, so my next ride will probably just be about steadiness not distance. Of course that all files under "unicycle problems" rather than Maybrook Trail.

The ride I might still try to do in CT this summer would be to take the train to New Haven and ride up the canal trail to Massachusetts... but that's also a different topic.

Hmm, returning to the Maybrook, I just looked up the Housatonic RR and their page is full of plans or dreams to run trains from Massachusetts down to Danbury, west on what we're calling the Maybrook to Southest then either cross platform transfer or even actually into Grand Central with a Metro North crew. I guess I support that in concept... but I'd like the trail, too. From what I've heard, the NY portion now has a fence between the line that still has tracks, and the part that will be rail trail. Wonder if they can do that on the CT side too. Or if the Housatonic RR's plans would require turning the trail back into a track. But it looks like while the Maybrook line comes within 500 feet of the Southeast station, the actual rail connection to the Harlem line is a bit north - not sure if they'd build a new connection or go north and then reverse back into Southeast.