Pat wrote:

Indeed ... : Micheline Nilsen <[log in to unmask]> writes (I should have
quoted this the first time - much more explicit than my rememberance:

"For a paper on gardens adjoining railways, I would be interested in
any instances of gardens on or near railway lands in the US or
Western Europe you may be aware of. Also, any literature, even
unscholarly, would be welcome."

I asked her what she meant by a garden, and it includes the full run
from the allotment to the landscaped parkland, via the cemetery (I
commute to work on what was once the Necropolis Railway!).

Tim T. says - The Richmond (Virginia( Street Car system was one of the 
earliest electric systems in the country. It's 'powerhouse' was the 
beginning of the Virginia Dominion Power Co. I'm flying from memory, but it 
crossed the James River into Manchester, and it's initial destination was 
the Forest Hill Park, a landscaped park along the James River. City dwellers 
could escape the city to this bucolic setting, and the trolley quickly 
served the more important function intended by it's builders, of opening 
large tracts of land (that they owned) for suburban development. Don't have 
any standard references on the history of the city at hand, but there are 
several which cover this.

I vaguely recall something similar may have happened in Atlanta, as well, 
but recall no details.

Tim T.