Keene – Greenfield railway line

Keene NH – Greenfield NH, as of 1999
Society:	MBRX
Route length:	48.18 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend from Bellows Falls from East Northfield 0.00 Keene NH to South Ashburnham ? South Keene NH M&K Otter Brook 11.26 Marlboro NH (formerly Marlboro Village) 17.17 Chesham NH 22.03 Harrisville NH 26.71 Dublin NH (formerly East Harrisville, Eastview) 34.11 Hancock NH Moose Brook ? Coolidge Crossing NH Connection curve according to Contoocook Contoocook – Peterborough route Connection curve from Peterborough 39.47 Elmwood Junction NH (formerly Hancock Junction, Elmwood) Connection curve to Hillsboro Powder Mill Pond 41.31 South Bennington NH 48.18 Greenfield NH to Nashua

The Keene – Greenfield line is a rail link in New Hampshire ( USA ). It is approximately 30 miles long and connects the cities of Keene , Hancock and Greenfield . Most of the route has been closed and dismantled. The section from Elmwood Junction to Greenfield belongs to the Milford-Bennington Railroad , but is not operated as planned.

history

The Manchester and Keene Railroad was founded in 1864 to connect the city of Keene to the city of Manchester and thus to other markets for the woolen goods produced in Keene. It was not until the beginning of the 1870s, however, that the funds for the railway construction were available. Meanwhile, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad intended to extend their leased line from Nashua to Wilton to the west. In order to avoid unnecessary parallel traffic, it was agreed to build on each other. The connection point should be greenfield. For financial reasons, it took until November 29, 1878 for the first trains to run from Keene to Greenfield. The line turned out to be unprofitable and operations ceased in March or April 1879.

From September 6 to December 31, 1879, the Nashua & Lowell operated the section from Greenfield to Harrisville. Since the line had some potential as a crossover between two major main lines, the Concord Railroad and the Boston and Lowell Railroad each bought half of the line and agreed to operate together, which resumed in 1880. The management was incumbent on Boston & Lowell. On July 1, 1884, Concord finally leased its share to Boston & Lowell. Both companies went a few years later in the Boston and Maine Railroad , which now owned all shares and operated the railroad as a branch line. The trains ran mostly through to Nashua .

On January 9, 1934, heavy rainfall washed away two bridges between Hancock and Elmwood. Due to the low transport performance, this meant the end of the Keene – Coolidge Crossing section, which was officially closed in 1938. The passenger trains from the direction of Nashua now drove via Elmwood to Peterborough , but were completely stopped in September 1935. In 1939 the Boston & Maine also closed the section from Coolidge Crossing to Elmwood. However, part of this route was retained as a siding, as the freight trains that were to travel from Nashua to Hillsboro had to make head in Elmwood. In 1948 Elmwood station was rebuilt and a new turning track replaced the stump in the direction of Coolidge Crossing. In September 1952, the railway company finally built a direct connecting curve towards Hillsboro and the now superfluous track systems at Elmwood station were dismantled. From the beginning of the 1980s, there was no longer any scheduled freight traffic, the route was only served when required. From 1983, Guilford Transportation was in charge of operations after it had taken over Boston & Maine. The closure was requested, but the state bought the line and leased it in 1992 to the Milford-Bennington Railroad , which has not yet resumed scheduled operations on the Elmwood-Greenfield section.

Route description

The railway line runs perpendicular to the valleys, which are mostly in a north-south direction, and was therefore rich in curves and inclines. It branches off just before South Keene from the South Ashburnham – Bellows Falls railway line and initially heads east. Since it was not possible to cross the Otter Brook here, the route first led northwards on the west bank shortly afterwards, crossed the creek about three kilometers further and ran all the way back. The detour was necessary due to the different elevations of the valley sides. About Marlborough and Harrisville , the route now continues eastwards to turn northeast just before Hancock. The railway line continues west around Norway Pond , crosses Moose Brook to Hancock, and then turns to the southeast. The bridge over Moose Brook and a smaller yoke bridge just before Coolidge Crossing were destroyed in the 1934 flood. In Elmwood, the railway line crosses the Contoocook – Peterborough railway line, which is also closed south of the connecting curve . Connecting tracks initially only existed from Keene to Hillsboro and from Peterborough to Greenfield. The connecting curve from Greenfield to Hillsboro that still exists today was only installed in 1952. After Elmwood, the route crosses Powder Mill Pond and continues to curve in a south-easterly direction to Greenfield, where it merges into the Nashua – Greenfield railway line . A large part of the disused section of the route is now used for the Abandoned Railroad Grade , an unpaved hiking trail.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.
2. ↑ Distance kilometers from http://www.trainweb.org/nhrra/Mileage-Charts/BM-RR/Keene.htm

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)