Railroad trestle on R.E.M. album faces demolition

The partially demolished 1880s railroad trestle is pictured on R.E.M.'s first full-length album, "Murmur," released in 1983. (R.E.M. Photo)

article taken from 11alive.com news article


(Athens, Ga.) -- The railroad trestle on the first R.E.M. album faces demolition.

The partially demolished 1880s railroad trestle is pictured on R.E.M.'s first full-length album, "Murmur," released in 1983. However, the Wall Street Journal reports, it could soon come down completely.

Members of the cash-crunched local government say they can't afford to maintain it and have deemed the wooden structure unsafe. The trestle has not been used since 1984.


Some of the Athens-based band's avid fans argue that the trestle should be saved. "For me it's more of a romantic thing. I want to keep everything about R.E.M. and the early Athens scene intact," Justin "J." Niimi, a 41-year-old R.E.M. fan from Chicago told the WSJ.

But even R.E.M., which broke up in September and has been a generous supporter of Athens' charities over the years, isn't pushing to save the track.


"We have always loved that image and it represented something essential about our band and our town at the time," members said in a statement obtained by the WSJ, adding, "We have never been on the Save The Trestle bandwagon, so to speak, figuring it might be a bit unseemly to advocate for a monument to ourselves."

A plan in 2000 to demolish the trestle brought protests from fans who raised several thousand dollars to save it. The city government combined that money with government funding to purchase the trestle for $25,000.

(Atlanta Business Chronicle)