Abandoned Railroad Tracks' Removal Underway in Hampton, N. Hampton

Efforts to repurpose the abandoned railway that connects Hampton with Portsmouth are underway, as crews have been out the past couple of weeks removing miles of rusty iron tracks, railroad spikes and other remnants of a forgotten era.

Workers from A&K Railroad Materials, Inc., worked Tuesday to remove a section in North Hampton just south of the Cedar Road bridge and north of the Hampton Airfield.

Melody Hoberek, an A&K employee, said her company has been removing pieces of the Pan Am Railways-owned system since April 16, and said the work will likely continue for the next "two months" as they work to complete a 9.8-mile section between downtown Hampton and Portsmouth.

The state has received federal funds to acquire the right-of-way for the railroad, which runs along Route 1 and has abandoned for several years, with the purpose of possibly bringing a rail-to-trail project to the area and connecting New Hampshire's Seacoast area to the East Coast Greenway.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation Project Manager Tom Jameson couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday about the status of any possible projects or progress since the acquisition of federal funding, although Pan Am's contracting of A&K and the A&K's presence in town comes shortly after the state received those funds on March 29.

Members of Pan Am's media relations department also couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Hoberek said the dismantled railroad parts will be brought to Pan Am's facility in Portsmouth before being sold or repurposed.

The area is currently being monitored because abandoned railroad thefts are common, and because Hoberek said an individual was found stealing iron two days into A&K's removal work. Hoberek said that individual was arrested, and that thefts of this nature are considered federal offenses.