Bethlehem Junction – Profile House railway line
| Bethlehem Junction NH - Profile House NH, status 1999 |
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| Society: | last BM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | approx. 15.5 km | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 914 mm / 1435 mm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks: | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The railway Bethlehem Junction profile House is a former railroad in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is around 15.5 kilometers long and connects the Wing Road – Mount Washington railway with a hotel on Profile Lake . The line is completely shut down and dismantled.
history
A hotel resort was built on Profile Lake as early as 1853. To make it easier for tourists to reach the hotel, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad were asked to build a branch line from their newly opened Wing Road – Mount Washington railway in 1874 . Since the expected income was not high, the railway company refused. However, the Gale River Lumber Company opened a narrow-gauge forest railway in the same year , which led to the vicinity of the Profile House. After the company stopped the deforestation in 1878, the line was closed again, but the newly founded Profile and Franconia Notch Railroad secured the route and rebuilt the line. On June 25, 1879, the three-foot (914 mm) track went into operation.
The route was only operated in the summer season and had no intermediate stations. 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. They built a third rail on this route to Zealand Transfer so that passenger trains could pass from Profile House to where passengers could transfer to the Maine Central Railroad . 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 .
In the 1921 season, the line was no longer in use and officially closed in July of that year and later dismantled. Just a month later, the hotel on Profile Lake burned down completely.
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 Bethlehem . The train to Profile House initially turns south and shortly afterwards it reaches US Highway 3 , which today covers the route to Profile Lake.
Sources and further information
- Individual evidence
- ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.
- literature
- 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)