Black Diamond Rail Trail Bridge

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was initially used to transport Pennsylvania coal to the Erie Canal and points west. Starting in 1896, the road's premier train was the luxurious "Black Diamond Express." It ran from Jersey City to Buffalo and Niagara Falls and was named for the most profitable commodity on the railroad: coal. By the 1950s transportation was changing with more private autos and better highways. Passenger trains were in serious decline, and by 1959, the Black Diamond no longer ran, and the railroad line from Ithaca to Trumansburg was abandoned by 1962.
A combination of volunteers, the County Highway Department, and funding from New York State enabled this disused rail line to be converted to an 8.4-mile trail that runs from the Ithaca Children's Garden to the Jacksonville Road Parking lot above Taughannock Falls State Park. This scenic path along the west side of Cayuga Lake contains multiple bridges over the numerous creeks that traverse the hillside.