Inventory of the North Carolina Rail-Trails Records, 1987-ongoing

Descriptive Summary

Title: North Carolina Rail-Trails Records, 1987-ongoing
Call Number: MC 265
Creator: North Carolina Rail-Trails
Extent: 1.0 Linear Feet
Repository: NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Research Center
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Information for Users

Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.
Copyright Notice: The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], North Carolina Rail-Trails Records, MC 265, NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Research Center.
Provenance: Gift of Anthony Reevy, July 23, 1999
Processing Information: Processed by Jane V. Charles; Nancy J. Kaiser

Completed July, 1999; October 2000

Historical Note

North Carolina Rail-Trails, a volunteer organization supported by dues, gifts, and grants, began as a steering committee at the North Carolina Greenways Conference in Charlotte on June 3, 1988. North Carolina Rail-Trails (NCRT), headquartered in Durham, became incorporated on March 12, 1990. NCRT is a charter member of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits and the Environmental Federation of North Carolina, a Durham-based organization that endeavors to both protect and preserve the state's natural resources. NCRT's purpose is threefold: to monitor the state's rail system, to pursue corridor preservation, and to both retrieve and convert rail corridors to public trails. NCRT coordinates projects among local, state, and federal agencies and organizations.

Since 1989 NCRT has published a quarterly newsletter called "Little Toot," which informs members and interested citizens about activities of the organization, as well as the status of rail-trail projects throughout the state. NCRT's Board of Directors meets quarterly at various project locations in North Carolina. Members of the Board represent a variety of interests, including bicycling, hiking, equestrian, historic, conservation, preservation, and economic. NCRT, along with the North Carolina Railroad Company, Friends of the State Parks, and the North Carolina Sierra Club Chapter, has introduced railbanking legislation through the state Rails Council, legislative research committees, and the North Carolina General Assembly.

The following organizations have given grants to the NCRT: the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, the Mary Duke Biddle and Bryan Family foundations, and the North Carolina Rural Center.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of organizational records and reference material that North Carolina Rail-Trails (NCRT) both created and used to facilitate the operation of the organization. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, NCRT meeting minutes and agendas, brochures, flyers, several newsletters, including "Little Toot," newspaper and magazine articles, essays for "Little Toot" by Anthony Reevy, past historian and vice chair of NCRT, work plans, proposals, maps, essays on North Carolina rail-trails and railways, legal documents, and copies of ratified senate and house bills.

Organizational records include plans and updates on the American Tobacco Trail, correspondence between members of the NCRT Board of Directors, "Little Toot" articles, newspaper, magazine, and journal articles about greenways and rail trails throughout North Carolina and the United States, a copy of the 1991 North Carolina Greenway Advisory Board report, and North Carolina rail corridor updates. Also included are lists of the NCRT Board of Directors from 1990 until 1999, information on the Land Trust Alliance, various legal documents, NCRT meeting minutes from 1990 until 1999, a collection of "Little Toot" newsletters from 1989, with few gaps, flyers and brochures that pertain to both local and national rail trails and greenway and rail trail organizations, and various North Carolina rail trail proposals and plans. Copies of ratified Senate and House bills that pertain to the approval of land and rail corridor preservation, the provision of rail revitalization funds, and the regulation of leasing rail corridors are also housed here. Records are arranged alphabetically according to subject matter. Placement of papers within each folder reflects chronological arrangement.

Online Catalog Terms

The following terms have been used to index the guide to the collection in the NCSU Library's online catalog.

City planning--North Carolina.
Conservation of natural resources--North Carolina.
Environmental protection--North Carolina.
Environmentalism--North Carolina.
Environmentalists--North Carolina.
Greenways--United States.
Land use--Law and legislation--United States.
Land use--Planning.
Outdoor recreation--North Carolina.
Public lands--Recreational use--United States.
Railroad law--United States.
Railroad stations--North Carolina.
Regional planning--Citizen participation--Law and legislation.
Urban beautification--United States.
Wildlife conservation--North Carolina.

Detailed Description of Collection

American Tobacco Trail-Plans and Updates, 1991-1999 [MC 265 Box1]
Brochures and Flyers-NC Rail-Trails [MC 265 Box1]
Coastal Carolina Trail Master Plan, 1999 [MC 265 Box1]
Correspondence, 1987-1993 [MC 265 Box1]
Correspondence, 1994-1999, n.d. [MC 265 Box1]
Essays on NC Rail Trails and Railways for "Little Toot" [MC 265 Box1]
Newspaper, Magazine, and Journal Articles, 1987-1998, n.d. [MC 265 Box1]
NC Greenways and Advisory Panel, January, 1991 [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail Corridors-Preservation and Updates, 1990-1995 [MC 265 Box1]
NC Railways-Essays and Articles, 1989-1996, n.d. [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail-Trails-Annual Reports, Work Plans, and Grant, 1989-1999 [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail-Trails-Board of Directors Lists, 1990-1999 [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail-Trails-General, 1988-1997, n.d. [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail-Trails-Land Trust Information, 1998-1999 [MC 265 Box1]
NC Rail-Trails-Legal Documents, 1990 [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails-Meeting Agendas, 1991-1999, n.d. [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails-Meeting Minutes, 1990-1992 [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails-Meeting Minutes, 1993-2000 [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails Newsletters-"Little Toot", 1989-1993 [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails Newsletters-"Little Toot", 1994-2000 [MC 265 Box2]
NC Rail-Trails-Project Guide, n.d. [MC 265 Box2]
Photographs, Slides, and Negatives, n.d. [MC 265 Box2]
Rail Trail and Greenway Flyers and Brochures-National [MC 265 Box2]
Rail Trail Newsletters and Maps-North Carolina, 1993-1996 [MC 265 Box2]
Rail Trail Projects and Proposals-North Carolina, 1991-1996 [MC 265 Box2]
Ratified Senate and House Bills, 1989-1991 [MC 265 Box2]
Transition to Intermodel Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) [MC 265 Box2]
Transportation:Public Participation Starter Kit, 1992 [MC 265 Box2]