Plymouth – Lincoln railway line

Plymouth NH – Lincoln NH as of 1999
Society:	WSR , HOBO
Route length:	34.79 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend by Concord 0.00 Plymouth NH to Wells River Baker River 3.72 Livermore Falls NH 4.94 Pemigewasset River 6.82 Blair NH Beebe River 9.04 Beebe River NH Forest railway Mad River 11.86 Campton NH (formerly Campton Village) Connection to Campton Village Pemigewasset River 14.37 Lyfords Siding NH 16.99 Thornton NH 21.73 West Thornton NH Forest railway approx. 22 West Thornton Golf Course 26.72 Woodstock NH Pemigewasset River 29.47 Mountain Park NH Woodstock and Thornton Gore Railroad 31.17 Fairview NH Pemigewasset River 33.17 North Woodstock NH Forest railway towards Franconia Notch 34.79 Lincoln NH East Branch and Lincoln Railroad

The Plymouth – Lincoln railway line is a rail link in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is around 35 kilometers long and connects the cities of Plymouth and Lincoln . The line belongs to the state of New Hampshire and is leased to the Hobo Railroad and its subsidiary Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad . The short stretch from North Woodstock to Lincoln has been closed.

history

The Pemigewasset Valley Railroad was founded on July 9, 1874 to establish a cross connection between the Concord – Wells River railway and the Wing Road – Mount Washington railway, which opened in the same month, via Franconia Notch , a mountain pass at 590 meters above sea level, and so on to offer a shorter connection into the White Mountains than was possible via the existing routes. When it became apparent that the finances would not be sufficient, the Profile and Franconia Notch Railroad was founded, which built a route from the north in the direction of the pass. Now the Pemigewasset Valley wanted to build the Profile House at the end of this route. Only with financial support from the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad could the first section from Plymouth to Woodstock be put into operation on March 1, 1883. Lincoln was reached in the same year. The construction was not continued and Lincoln became the end point of the route.

From April 1883, the company was operated by Boston, Concord & Montreal, which was taken over in 1889 by the Concord and Montreal Railroad and this in turn in 1895 by the Boston and Maine Railroad . Due to a flood in 1927, traffic on the route was interrupted for about a year until all bridges and underwashes were repaired. From 1892 to 1948 Lincoln was connected to the East Branch and Lincoln Railroad , a forest railway that delivered wood to Lincoln, which was then transported on the railroad. Even after the actual forest railway was shut down, the company continued to exist and carried out shunting operations at Lincoln station until 1972. Further forest railways connected along the route, but they were only short-lived.

Passenger traffic by rail to Lincoln ended on September 21, 1938, but Boston & Maine operated rail replacement services with buses along the route until 1952. However, freight traffic continued to be carried out by rail and it was not until a flood in the summer of 1973 that traffic came to a standstill. On October 30, 1975, Boston & Maine sold the line to the state, which repaired it and leased it in 1976 to the Wolfeboro Railroad , which now carried out the freight service and also operated an excursion train. After the paper mill in Lincoln closed in 1977, Wolfeboro stopped freight traffic and terminated the lease. From 1977 to 1981 the Goodwin Railroad operated an excursion train and since 1984 the Hobo Railroad has been running regularly between Lincoln and West Thornton and its subsidiary Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad on special occasions over the entire route and on to Tilton . The section from North Woodstock to Lincoln (approx. 1.5 km) has since been closed. The old Lincoln station building was relocated to North Woodstock, where the excursion trains end today.

Route description

The railway branches off in Plymouth from the Concord – Wells River railway, which leaves the Pemigewasset River valley here . The route remains in the valley and first crosses the Baker River, which flows here . It runs along the entire length of the Pemigewasset and crosses it several times, first at route kilometers 4.94, where the route changes to the eastern bank. Shortly thereafter, the route reached the Beebe River , into whose valley a 24-kilometer forest railway ran from 1917 to 1933. At the next train station in Campton, a short branch line branched off into the actual village of Campton, which was only used for freight traffic and was closed in the 1930s.

After Campton the train crosses the Pemigewasset again and shortly afterwards reaches Thornton . Here a short forest railway branched off to Mirror Lake . In addition to the golf course north of the former West Thornton station, the trains of the Hobo Railroad , which run from Lincoln to this point, are now moving. After the Woodstock station that follows , the line crosses the Pemigewasset again. Directly after the bridge is Mountain Park Station, where there was a hotel and again a forest railway, the Woodstock and Thornton Gore Railroad , connected to the line, which operated from 1909 to 1916. The last crossing of the Pemigewasset takes place immediately in front of the North Woodstock train station. The station is now the terminus for trains, the old Lincoln station building was relocated here and the station was renamed Woodstock . In the past, a forest railway branched off here, which transported wood from the Franconia Notch area. One and a half kilometers further is the former Lincoln terminus, which is now dismantled. The already mentioned East Branch and Lincoln Railroad formed the continuation of the route.

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/Pemigewasset-Valley.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)
• History of distance on the side of the Hobo Railroad (English)