For nearly 30 years, the Director of Municipal Services at C.S. Davidson has been working to turn rails to trails in York County. His current project will bring the Hanover Trolley Trail one step closer to connecting with York County’s Heritage Rail Trail County Park.
When Jeffrey Shue, PE, began working for civil engineering firm C.S. Davidson in 1987, what’s now known as York County’s Heritage Rail Trail County Park was a 26-mile stretch of abandoned railroad track. The Hanover Trolley Trail, a former rail line that is the most recent to be converted to recreational use in the county, was but an optimistic idea.
A decade earlier, in 1977, the York County Rail Trail Authority had signed an agreement with electricity provider Met-Ed to someday establish a recreational trail along Hanover’s once-thriving trolley line. Work on the first section of the trail wouldn’t begin until 2020 though. That initial stretch was completed in 2022.
In 2023, nearly half a century after that initial spark, C.S. Davidson completed another section of the Hanover Trolley Trail stretching from the previously built Spring Grove portion of the trail eastward to Sunnyside Road.
Thinking back to when he started engineering and overseeing the Heritage Rail Trail and later the Hanover Trolley Trail, Jeffrey never imagined the impact he would have on York County’s recreational landscape. He grew up in York, and when he graduated from college, C.S. Davidson offered him employment at a time when the economy was struggling and jobs were scarce.
“Once I came here, I really enjoyed the work we were doing with municipalities,” he says.
Connecting communities on the Heritage and Hanover trails
Jeffrey graduated with a degree in structural engineering, but all of his summer work experiences had been on survey crews and performing land development work. As an engineer, he worked primarily on water treatment plants, stormwater systems and other infrastructure projects until the opportunity arose for him to take on the rails to trails project.
Now the Director of Municipal Services at C.S. Davidson, Jeffrey began working with the York County Rail Trail Authority in 1996 when the Heritage Rail Trail was midway through construction. The trail, which stretches 21 miles from the Maryland state line to John C. Rudy County Park in East Manchester Township, sparked Jeffrey’s desire to expand accessible recreational trails throughout the county.
“The idea of developing a trail takes the background we have with infrastructure and allows us to re-create it to fit a very small infrastructure design,” Jeffrey says. “It gives us the ability to think outside the box but still solve the same problems with some of the tools from our past experience.”
After completing work on Heritage Rail Trail County Park, Jeffrey turned his attention to the trail that he hopes one day will stretch from the Heritage Rail Trail in York to Hanover Borough.
Off-road engineering prowess
Transforming old rail corridors into walkable and bikeable trails requires more than engineering expertise and stormwater management. It demands patience, the ability to negotiate, and a deep understanding of community dynamics. Each mile costs, on average, $800,000 to develop and often requires years of negotiations with every party involved, including private landowners, energy companies, municipalities, and governmental authorities.
Jeffrey’s uncanny ability to transform opposition into support helped him overcome an array of difficulties as he started the Hanover Trolley Trail project. One hurdle he has faced is local concerns about privacy and safety. Many residents initially resisted the idea of a trail near their properties, fearing a loss of privacy and increased foot traffic.
“Often, people don’t realize that there was a lot of nefarious stuff going on back there,” Jeffrey says, referring to the old corridors. “When you put the trail in, that goes away. Most people who were anti-trail at the start became the biggest users. Why wouldn’t you be? It’s an incredible thing to have in your backyard.”
‘The prettiest stretch of trail’
An avid runner and outdoors enthusiast, Jeffrey often uses the trails he has helped create. His dedication is reflected in the quality and thoughtfulness of the trails’ designs, prioritizing natural beauty and sustainable features.
Oil Creek runs parallel to a newly completed section along one stretch of the Trolley Trail. Over the decades, the creek had eroded parts of the abandoned railbed. Jeffrey worked hand in glove with another company to restore the stream to a stable condition.
With the previous section complete, he’s working on a similar project for the next stretch of the Trolley Trail to be developed. When completed, it will meander through a naturalized open floodplain filled with wildflowers and wild grasses, giving trail users the opportunity to glimpse local flora and fauna.
“The section we recently built is probably the prettiest stretch of trail that I’ve been involved in,” Jeffrey says. “It’s very pristine, beautiful, and open enough that you can see a lot of wildlife.”
While much has been accomplished, Jeffrey’s vision for York County’s trails is far from complete. The goal is to connect the 5.5-mile Hanover Trolley Trail to the Heritage Rail Trail, creating an interconnected network that will serve the community and offer recreational opportunities for generations.