Ashuelot Railroad

The Ashuelot Railroad (AR) is a former railroad company based in Massachusetts , Vermont and New Hampshire ( United States ).

The company was founded on December 27, 1844 and intended to build a line from South Vernon on the Connecticut River to Keene . Since this was to be the northern extension of the Connecticut River Railroad (CRR), construction could not begin until 1849 after this line opened. Since the section from East Northfield to South Vernon could not be used as intended, a separate line was finally built parallel to the existing Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad . The 39.4 kilometer standard gauge East Northfield – Keene railway finally went into operation in 1851. Keene was connected to the Cheshire Railroad from the start .

On December 7, 1849, the CRR leased the Ashuelot Railroad for an initial ten years. However, the AR made hardly any profits, so the contract was not extended. In 1860, the Cheshire Railroad leased the railroad and also took over its operations. In 1877, however, the AR had to file for bankruptcy, so on April 21 of that year a new Ashuelot Railroad was founded, which was leased by the CRR on the same day. The final merger with the Connecticut River Railroad took place on February 9, 1890. On 1893 this was in turn under the control of the Boston and Maine Railroad . The line has been completely closed since 1983.

literature

• George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5 .
• Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .