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Technically called classification, the author utilized the last
return of aerial lidar data from the National 3D Elevation
Program. He imported millions of remotely sensed lidar
data points, classified them, and created a bare earth three-
dimensional model. The data was collected in 2019 as part
of a nationwide collaboration of various agencies like the
United States Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to name a few. The data is light waves
sent out by a sensor mounted in a manned aircraft flying at
a speed of 175 mph at an altitude of 7000 feet. The vertical
accuracy in the National Park is around 4 inches. The findings,
when viewed, are nothing short of amazing. Fenicle and
National Park archeologist Grant Day walked the route one
wet fall day in 2023. Day was fascinated that this topographical
anomaly existed this whole time with no one noticing for well
over a century. Local hikers may recognize the flatness of the
ancient railroad bed as they hike a very straight portion of the
Cross Country Trail in the Kendall Lake Area. With the trained
eye you can look to both sides and see the engineered cut and
almost hear the whistle of the train that never went by.

Clinton Railroad Sandstone Bridge Abutment along the banks of Tinker Creek
Northeast of Hudson, Ohio. Photo courtesy of the author.
1 tinyurl.com/2sdpstwe
2 tinyurl.com/3733thxb.
Various 3DEP classified Lidar data with Multidirectional Hillshade showing hidden
railroad bed from 1852 in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Sources
Courtesy of the author.
• “Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal
Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library”
collections.leventhalmap.org/search/
commonwealth:cj82kn75h

• “Map of Summit Co., Ohio”
loc.gov/resource/g4083s.la000679a/
?r=0.52,0.53,0.18,0.114,0
• tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2023/09/the-railway-that-
never-was-tracked-through- kinsman/
• trumbullcountyhistory.com/clinton-air-line/

24 EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 60 • NO 4 / 2024 • JULY/AUGUST