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Dutchess Rail Trail

Parks in Dutchess County, New YorkRail trails in New York (state)Tourist attractions in Poughkeepsie, New YorkUnited States trail stubs
Dutchess Rail Trail in the Fall
Dutchess Rail Trail in the Fall

The Dutchess Rail Trail is a 13-mile (21 km) rail trail that stretches from the former Hopewell Junction train depot, north to the Poughkeepsie entrance of the Walkway over the Hudson. It's a shared use rail trail open for pedestrians and bicyclers. The Dutchess Rail Trail forms part of the Empire State Trail.Construction was initially set to begin in July 2007. It was built in five phases. The final stage from Morgan lake in the Town of Poughkeepsie to the Walkway over the Hudson was completed in July 2013.Conrail's Maybrook Line was double tracked, allowing for a simultaneous paved and packed dirt trail. In January 2012, a 1-mile stretch of property was purchased from CSX Transportation. An effort was made to develop this stretch of property in 2013, resulting in connections with Walkway Over the Hudson and the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.The railroad line was built in 1892 by the Central New England Railway; it was severed by a fire on the Poughkeepsie Bridge on May 8, 1974. Dutchess County originally purchased the Maybrook Line to build a limited access highway to Interstate 84 but did not want to pay the monetary and environmental costs of connecting from Hopewell Junction to I-84. This trail, the Maybrook Trailway, was later completed in 2020 as part of the Empire State Trail project.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dutchess Rail Trail (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Dutchess Rail Trail
Dutchess Rail Trail, Town of La Grange

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Wikipedia: Dutchess Rail TrailContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.666666666667 ° E -73.855 °
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Dutchess Rail Trail

Dutchess Rail Trail
12603 Town of La Grange
New York, United States
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Dutchess Rail Trail in the Fall
Dutchess Rail Trail in the Fall
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Class of 1951 Observatory
Class of 1951 Observatory

The Class of 1951 Observatory is located near the eastern edge of the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, on Vassar College's campus. The observatory was built in 1997 and sponsored by the Vassar class of 1951 who donated funds for its construction on the occasion of their forty-fifth reunion. The new observatory replaced the Maria Mitchell Observatory, the first building completed on the college's campus. Roth and Moore Architects designed the new building which consists of three distinct segments: a central connecting area with a half round roof oriented southward, and two domes (one east and one west) that house the telescopes. The observatory facility houses two main telescopes: one 20-inch reflector used primarily for public outreach, and a 32-inch reflector used for teaching and research. It also houses a five-inch solar telescope and an eight-inch refracting telescope.The 32-inch telescope is tied with the Austin-Fellows telescope of the Stull Observatory at Alfred University for being the 2nd-largest optical telescope in the state of New York, the largest being the 40-inch reflector at SUNY Oneonta College Observatory.On its exterior the observatory is covered in aluminum sheathing, making the structure less of a heat polluter than its predecessor whose masonry walls absorbed a lot of daytime solar heat. The building's interior is additionally well insulated to give off as little thermal pollution as possible. The Class of 1951 Observatory also houses classrooms and offices which are furnished with laminated wood arches.On Wednesday nights from 9:00-11:00 pm during the school year, visitors from the community are welcome at the observatory for open nights, weather permitting.