Montpelier – Wells River railway line

Montpelier VT – Wells River VT
Route length:	60.1 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend from Montpelier Junction 0.0 Montpelier VT to Williamstown (Coffeehouse Junction) Montpelier – Barre tram Connection to Barre Connection from Montpelier Junction from Barre approx. 3 Barre Transfer VT Winooski River about 6 Fairmont VT 9.2 East Montpelier VT 15.3 Plainfield VT 24.8 Marshfield VT ? Edgewater VT 30.1 Lanesboro VT ? Rocky Point VT 37.8 Lakeside VT 40.1 Rickers VT Wells River 45.5 Groton VT Wells River 50.5 South Ryegate VT Wells River (3 ×) 55.2 Boltonville VT Interstate 91 Wells River from Lennoxville to White River Junction 60.1 Wells River VT ( wedge station ) Connection from White River Junction after Concord

The railway Montpelier Wells River is a railway line in Vermont ( United States ). It is 60.1 kilometers long and connects the cities of Montpelier , Plainfield , Groton and Wells River . The route is largely closed and dismantled, only in the urban area of ​​Montpelier and at the former Barre Transfer junction is the route still used by the trains of the Washington County Railroad .

history

On November 6, 1867, the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad (M&WR) received a concession to build and operate a railway line between its eponymous locations in order to connect the state capital more directly to the main line in the Connecticut River valley and via Concord to Boston . Construction began in late 1870 from both endpoints. The first section went into operation on September 15, 1873 between Wells River and Groton. The route between Montpelier and Plainfield followed two days later. On November 1 of the same year, the middle section of the line between Plainfield and Groton went into operation. Operations on the entire route officially began on November 24th.

In 1879 the railway company replaced the cast iron rails with steel ones. Some of the previously wooden bridges were also replaced by steel structures. From July 2, 1884, the White Mountain Express ran on the route in summer . He drove from Saratoga, New York , Burlington and Montpelier to the excursion areas near Bretton Woods in New Hampshire. Due to the increased traffic between Montpelier and Barre, the line between Montpelier and Barre Transfer was expanded to two tracks in the spring of 1891. However, with the opening of the Montpelier – Barre tram in 1898, traffic fell again significantly. In the summer of 1903, the railway company erected 38 granite milestones along the north side of the line, some of which are still standing today. Along with passengers, mail and wood, granite was the main freight transported by the railway.

Passenger traffic on the route became increasingly sparse. In order to improve transfer relationships, all trains ran from around 1930 on the Concord – Wells River line to and from Woodsville, where the Boston & Maine trains to Boston, Springfield and the White Mountains and the Canadian Pacific Railway to Montreal also stopped . From 1936, only mixed trains ran on the M&WR. In 1947 the steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives. One of the two mixed pairs of trains on the line was discontinued on February 1, 1952. On October 29, 1955, the mail transport over the route ended and on New Year's Eve of the same year the last mixed train left. From January 1, 1956, only freight trains ran. As early as December 13, 1955, the Barre and Chelsea Railroad , which had taken over the route in 1945, applied for its closure, which was approved on September 19, 1956 and completed on November 15 of that year. All that remained was an industrial connection in Barre Transfer, to which a connecting track of the Montpelier Junction – Williamstown railway line was installed, as well as the section in Montpelier shared by the trains on this railway line. These short sections have been served by the Washington County Railroad since 1981 .

Accidents

On August 23, 1876, west of East Montpelier, a mixed train to the Wells River and a mail train to Montpelier collided head-on. The locomotive crew was able to jump off in time. Since the passenger car of the mixed train drove at the end of the train, no one was killed in the accident. On September 25, 1876, there was another head-on collision on the route. A mixed train of the M&WR in the direction of Wells River collided near the Montpelier station with a passenger train of the Central Vermont Railroad traveling in the direction of Montpelier Junction , which also used the route between the branch Coffeehouse Junction and Montpelier. Again, everyone involved got away with injuries. In the same year, due to the accidents, a telegraph line was installed along the route through which train handling could be significantly improved.

A severe forest fire destroyed the town of Groton on May 12, 1883, as well as about ten kilometers of the railway line including two stations. The residents used rafts to get to safety on Lake Groton , and the wagons of a freight train burned with the Groton station. In early 1887, a mixed train carriage derailed on the way from Montpelier to Wells River at the switch at the Coffeehouse Junction. The last three cars on the train, including the passenger car, overturned. Only one of the eight passengers was seriously injured. On February 7, 1907, the M&WR locomotive shed in Montpelier burned down, one locomotive and several wagons were destroyed, the other vehicles were rescued by the employees. However, two of the rescued locomotives burned down three months later when they were parked in the roundhouse on the Boston and Maine Railroad in Woodsville . A heavy flood damaged the route on November 3rd, 1927. Traffic could not be resumed until November 28th.

Route description

The route began in the M&WR Montpelier station, which was east of Main Street. The route initially leads along the Winooski River . There was a track triangle at the former Barre Transfer junction station. Today there is only one connecting track to the route to Williamstown. After Barre Transfer, the railway crossed the Winooski and ran south of the river uphill in a north-easterly direction through East Montpelier. Today, Power Plant Road lies between Barre Transfer and the Fairmont stop, and US Highway 2 is east of the no longer existing river bridge on the railway line. South of East Montpelier, the Old Railroad Lane is reminiscent of the railway line on which it lies. The route initially continues along the Winooski, but leaves the valley at Marshfield, where the northernmost point of the route is. The station was about a mile south of the city. Between Plainfield and the intersection of State Forest Road (State Route 232) behind Lanesboro Station, there is now a cycling and walking path on the railway line.

The highest point of the route was in Lanesboro with a height of 423 meters above sea level. The route fell to Montpelier 276 and to Wells River 291 vertical meters. After Lanesboro, the railway line continues southeast through unpopulated forest area. Along Lake Groton and Ricker Pond , where the railway line has been partially converted into a cycling and hiking trail, the route runs parallel to State Road 232 to Groton. Today there is also a hiking trail over the railway line from Scott Highway to South Ryegate station. Between South Ryegate and Wells River, two sections of US Highway 302 were built on the railway line. In Wells River, the line first crossed the river of the same name over a no longer existing bridge and then merged with the White River Junction – Lennoxville railway line . The Wells River station area begins immediately after the connecting switch. The M&WR trains use the northern section of the wedge station , which was part of the Concord – Wells River line .

Sources and further information

literature

• Robert C. Jones: Railroads of Vermont, Volume II. New England Press Inc., 1993. ISBN 978-1881535027
• Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 2010.
2. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1941. Page 61.
3. ↑ Jones 1993, p. 99.