Bethlehem Junction – Bethlehem railway line
| Bethlehem Junction NH – Bethlehem NH, status 1999 |
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| Route length: | 5.46 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | initially 914 mm later 1435 mm |
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| Maximum slope : | 32 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society: | last BM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The railway junction Bethlehem Bethlehem is a former railroad in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is around 5.5 kilometers long and connects the Wing Road – Mount Washington railway with the small town of Bethlehem . The line is completely shut down and dismantled.
history
After the Profile and Franconia Notch Railroad in the gauge of 914 mm had been opened in 1879 , the railway company tried to find more income opportunities. Bethlehem was off the Ammonoosuc River , in whose valley the Wing Road – Mount Washington railway had run since 1874. In order to connect the place to the railway network, the company built a branch line, also in narrow gauge. Since there was little money available, the route was laid out as cheaply as possible, which resulted in tight curves and a steep stretch with a 3.2% gradient. The line was opened in July 1881 and soon the existing locomotives of the Hinckley type with the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement proved to be too weak for the route. A machine with a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement was procured that handled the route better.
The route was only operated in the summer season. It proved its worth and in 1893 the line was taken over by the Concord and Montreal Railroad , which now owned the line connecting to Bethlehem Junction. From 1895 on, the Boston and Maine Railroad was in charge of operations after it had bought Concord & Montreal. After the end of the 1896 season, the new owner converted the line to standard gauge . After the end of the 1924 season, however, the railway company stopped all traffic and was shut down in the following year. The tracks were dismantled.
Route description
The route branches off the Wing Road – Mount Washington railroad at the Pierce's Bridge settlement and initially crosses the Ammonoosuc River. Behind the bridge is the junction of the route to the Profile House . The train to Bethlehem continues south of US Highway 302 west to the center of Bethlehem. The route is largely overgrown and built over by a golf course near Maplewood. The Maplewood train station building still stands but is in ruins.
literature
- Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB) 1999.
- Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .
Web links
- Boston & Maine Historical Society (English)
- Route description (kilometrage)