Manchester – Henniker railway line

Manchester NH – Henniker NH, as of 1999
Society:	last BM
Route length:	approx. 41 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend by Concord 0.00 Manchester NH to Nashua Merrimack River 1.64 West Manchester NH (formerly Bedford) Piscataquog River about 6 Pinardville NH to East Milford 6.76 Grasmere Junction NH 8.38 Grasmere NH 11.83 Shirley Hill NH (formerly Shirley) Piscataquog River 13.07 Goffstown NH (formerly Goffstown Center) 15.48 Parkers NH (formerly Parker) to New Boston 17.03 Riverdale NH (formerly Oil Mills) 19.81 Sargent NH 23.93 South Weare NH (formerly Everett) 25.93 East Weare NH 30.93 North Weare NH 35.44 Colby NH Connection curve to Hillsboro 40.28 Contoocook – Peterborough route Contoocook River approx. 41 Henniker NH Crescent Street

The Manchester – Henniker line is a former rail link in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is around 41 kilometers long and connects the cities of Manchester , Goffstown , Weare and Henniker . The line has been completely shut down and dismantled since 1981.

history

The New Hampshire Central Railroad , founded in 1848, intended to build a link between the two main lines in New Hampshire running north-south. It should run between Manchester and Claremont . Construction began in Manchester in 1849. On February 19, 1850, the first section to North Weare went into operation. On December 10th of the same year Henniker was reached on the Contoocook River . This is where the Contoocook – Peterborough railway crossed the year before, but initially there was no track connection. The construction beyond Henniker was delayed for financial reasons. From 1853 the Merrimac and Connecticut Rivers Railroad was the owner and operator of the railway line. Even this company could not raise the funds for the further construction. Since this company had leased the line crossing in Henniker, they built a connecting curve.

In 1858 the Concord Railroad leased the railway line, but only under the condition that the North Weare – Henniker section was closed, as otherwise Henniker and Contoocook trains could bypass the Concord main line. The closure took place in the summer of 1858 and the tracks were dismantled. It was the first line closure in New Hampshire. In 1868, Concord bought the now insignificant route and incorporated it into its network. In addition to passengers, mainly agricultural goods were transported. With the Concord Railroad, the line went to the Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1889 . She rebuilt the line to Henniker, but without the bridge over the Contoocook and the former Henniker terminus. The trains ran at the former crossing point on the railway line to Hillsboro. In 1893 the railway line was reopened. In 1895 the Boston and Maine Railroad bought Concord & Montreal and thus the Manchester – Henniker railway line.

After heavy storms caused flooding in mid-March 1936, traffic between Goffstown and Henniker had to be stopped. At the same time, passenger traffic ended on the entire route. Due to the low income, the Boston & Maine applied for the closure of the destroyed section, which was approved in 1937. After a fire destroyed the bridge over the Piscataquog River in Goffstown, a new goods handling point was set up on the east bank of the river in 1976 and the section over the bridge to the former station was closed. In 1980 all traffic on the remaining section ended and the following year it was shut down.

Route description

The line branches off south of Manchester station from the Nashua – Concord railway line and runs over the Merrimack River and northwest in the valley of the Piscataquog River , which is also crossed in West Manchester and later in Goffstown. After Goffstown, the route leaves the valley and turns north. In the vicinity of Everett, the route is now flooded by Everett Lake , a reservoir. From here the route runs northwest again through Weare. To the southeast of Henniker lies the former Henniker Junction crossing point, which was only a junction on the open road from the reopening in 1893. The line, closed in 1858, continued over the Contoocook River to Henniker Station on Crescent Street.

Timetable

The timetable of September 28, 1913 provided for two pairs of passenger trains on workdays and one on a Sunday. The trains went to and from Hillsboro . There was also a weekday pair of trains from Manchester to New Boston . The travel time from Manchester to Henniker was 65 to 83 minutes. In addition, the two weekday trains to Milford used the line between Manchester and Grasmere Junction.

In the timetable of January 15, 1934, there was only one weekday train pair Manchester – Hillsboro. The travel time to Henniker was 60 (there) and 58 (back) minutes.

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/North-Weare.htm
3. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1913. Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 34. page 192.
4. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued February 1934. Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 22. page 77.

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)