RUTHERFORD, N.J. (PIX11) - It's a trail of two boroughs, a long-abandoned rail line that split Rutherford and East Rutherford is set to chug on into the future as the 1.2 mile-long, rails-to-trails Carlton Hill Greenway.

"It gives 11 acres of space, of beautiful land, a walkway for people down here in Rutherford and East Rutherford and Southern Bergen County to be able to enjoy and to get out and to do it safely," said Tedesco.

Bergen County closed on the nearly $2 million purchase of the railroad tracks that Norfolk Southern owned. Now that the wheels are turning, the first step is to pull the rails out and do some environmental cleanup.

"All of that will take some time over the next few years," said Tedesco, "and then we'll start to build out the trails."

You can imagine the history that lies within the steel of these railroad tracks. After all, East Rutherford was a hub for steam trains long before it was actually East Rutherford.

"We were called originally Boiling Springs Township," said East Rutherford Mayor Jeffrey LaHullier. "There was a boiling spring that bubbled out of the ground like an artesian well, so it made it perfect for the locomotives to stop here."

"It's going to provide green mobility opportunities for residents of southern Bergen County to get from the Passaic River and Memorial Park all the way to the commercial districts," said Dene Lee from Open Space Institute.

It's not known how long this train will take to enter the station, but officials said the ride has begun.

"It's going to take time," said Tedesco. "But in the end, what you're going to get out of this and what the people are going to get out of this is something spectacular."