Mon, Jul 06 2009
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Published August 11, 2006 07:23 am - Bill Luoma paused just north of the Clay Street bridge and studied the trees arching over the Western Reserve Greenway Trail as it reached toward the Munson Road staging area. "This is one of my favorite stretches," Luoma said. "This time of day, it's very peaceful." Luoma and I had just walked the short se ... Proud to be a WRGT 'Trail Bum' Star Beacon
Western Reserve Back Roads: Trail user creates Web site to celebrate local resourceBy CARL E. FEATHERLifestyle Editor Bill Luoma paused just north of the Clay Street bridge and studied the trees arching over the Western Reserve Greenway Trail as it reached toward the Munson Road staging area. "This is one of my favorite stretches," Luoma said. "This time of day, it's very peaceful." Luoma and I had just walked the short segment from the Austinburg parking lot north to the bridge. It was morning, his favorite time to be on the trail, and on the way to the bridge we'd stopped at a couple of WRGT landmarks that hold special significance: the water tower and pump house of the former railroad. "I remember this when it was a railroad," Bill said. "I and a friend of mine, back in 1972, would come down here and throw stones at the water tower." Luoma still remembers the unique sound the tower made when stuck by the stones and ore shook lose from the passing hopper cars, but these days he treats the artifact with greater respect. At 49, he has a reverence for the past and the men who labored to clear the land, lay the rails and make the railroad run. As he ride his bicycle on the WRGT, especially in the spring, he notices the many vestiges of those days: rusty spikes and fishplates, rails tossed aside in the woods, old buildings like the pump house, and even a section of curved rail that hints of a derailment on the otherwise straight-shot line. "I always like to see those signs that this was once a railroad," he says. His WRGT nickname, Trail Bum, even hints of the railroading connection. "This used to be a railroad track and who lives along the railroad track? Bums. Plus, my wife didn't want to be known as a trail tramp," says Luoma in explaining how he got his nickname. Luoma's trail moniker exists in cyberspace, as well, where it introduces Web surfers to the wonders of the WRGT at www.trailbum.com. The Web page is a labor of love Luoma created and maintains outside the blessings of the Ashtabula County Metroparks. Nevertheless, the park Web site links to Luoma's page because of the many resources available there. For starters, Luoma used his GPS unit to map the entire trail and create accurate mileage charts between the various parking lots, intersected roads and features. The charts can be downloaded and printed without additional software. His site also includes a photographic journal of the trail through the seasons, including a gallery of wildflowers, his favorite natural feature of the trail. 
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