Last Saturday, I happened upon the grand opening of the Eastern Slope Aviation Academy and was transported back in time.
When I leave Fryeburgâs Mountain Division Trail for that short frantic pedal on Route 5 before turning right on wide Lyman Drive for the mile up to the Eastern Slope Regional Airport, I often remember a brief meeting I had with a flight attendant wearing chic embroidered shoes decorated with martini glasses.
Several years ago, a single-engine plane-flying buddy called to ask if I wanted to see the Quebec folk band Le Vent du Nord in concert that night at Bangor, Maineâs waterfront pavilion. I replied thatâs a long way to drive. He said weâd fly from Fryeburg.
FRYEBURG, Maine â Legislators in Maineâs transportation committee last week heard a proposal to study extending the Mountain Division Trail, a paved recreation path, from Fryeburg to Standish.
A group called the Mountain Division Alliance would like to see the trail run 50 miles from New Hampshire to Portland. It would follow the old Mountain Division Railroad tracks that havenât been used in decades.
A 4-mile stretch has already been completed in Fryeburg, along with a 5-mile stretch from Windham to Gorham and a 1-mile section in Portland.
The Mountain Division Alliance in recent days was urging the public to support a bill, LD 672, pending in the legislature that calls for a study of expanding the Mountain Division Trail 28 miles from Fryeburg to Standish through the towns of Brownfield, Hiram and Baldwin.
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If completed, the line would eventually span 52 miles.
Associated Press
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A trail advocacy group wants to expand Mountain Division Trail in Windham into a trail that stretches from Fryeburg to Portland.
The trail, which tracks alongside railroad tracks, currently spans about 10 miles across three separate sections. If completed, the line would eventually span 52 miles, WGME-TV reported.
“If I could ride my bike from the New Hampshire border into Portland and stay overnight if I wanted to, go out to eat, and ride back the next day, I think there would be a lot of people who would like to do that also,” Mountain Division Alliance President David Kinsman said.
Mountain Division Trail Could Be Extended To New Hampshire Border
A bill before the Maine legislature is proposing to extend the popular Mountain Division walking and biking trail In Windham and Portland from 10 miles to 52 miles.
The Mountain Division Trail is named after the rail line operated by the Maine Central Railroad that ran 131 miles from Portland to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. In 1981, the Maine Central was bought by Guildford Transportation, now Pan Am Railways and soon to be CSX, who stopped service on it from Westbrook west. The tracks and the land they sit on within Maine were purchased by the State in 1993 the State to keep the route available for any future freight or passenger service.
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