Your picture is actually of active, well-used railroad tracks. Old unused tracks are rusty and weed-grown. If the rails are shiny it means that trains pass regularly and knock the rust off. If there's no weeds it's because the railroad actively sends out crews to maintain the tracks.
It's the 1970s car friendly town - so car friendly noone wants to go there anymore, because there is nothing than car infrastructure and car pollution. It doesn't have to be like this, take back your towns folks!
I occasionally take the bus from NYC to a town in the Finger Lakes, and this is so true. I have been through so many towns that check off every one of these boxes.
Rural Iowa here, the only one I can't find within walking distance of me is the bottom middle, and probably because I haven't walked the entire town yet.