Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge railway line

Quebec Junction NH – Lime Ridge QC, as of 1999
Society:	NHVT , NHCR
Route length:	approx. 173½ km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend from Portland 0 Quebec Junction NH to Lunenburg Connection curve to Berlin 4th Waumbek Junction NH (formerly Jefferson Junction) Whitefield Junction – Berlin route Whitefield connecting curve Connection curve from Berlin 8th Baileys NH (formerly Jefferson, Star King) 13 Riverton NH Israel River 19th Lancaster NH Kilkenny Railroad ( Forest Railway ) Connection curve according to Groveton 21st Coos Junction NH (formerly C&M Junction) Woodsville – Groveton route Connecticut River 29 Guildhall VT 33 Stevens VT 39½ Maidstone VT Connecticut River Portland – Island Pond route 44½ Masons NH 52½ North Stratford NH Portland Rail Link 57 Eaton's NH 58 Georges NH 63 Cones NH (formerly Columbia House) 67 Columbia Bridge NH 70 Columbia Valley NH 73 Colebrook NH 82 Piper Hill NH 86 West Stewartstown NH Connecticut River 88½ Beecher Falls VT State border USA / Canada 89½ Hereford QC (formerly Comins Mill) 102 Paquetteville QC Connecticut River (state line) Connecticut River (state line) 110½ Malvina QC 117½ Saint Malo QC 124½ Saint-Isidore-d'Auckland QC 127½ Clifton QC 135 Sawyersville QC 140½ Eaton Corner QC from Brookport 146½ Cookshire QC according to Mattawamkeag Rivière Saint-François 167½ Dudswell Junction QC Sherbrooke – Lévis route Connection from Sherbrooke ? Lathrop's QC ? Dominion QC 173½ Lime Ridge QC

The railway junction Quebec Lime Ridge is a railway line in New Hampshire and Vermont ( United States ) and in Quebec ( Canada ). It is around 174 kilometers long. Most of the line has been closed and dismantled. A short section from Waumbek Junction to Coos Junction owned by the state of New Hampshire is leased to the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad but is not used regularly. The section from North Stratford Junction to Columbia also belongs to the state, which leases it to the New Hampshire Central Railroad .

history

In the early 1880s, the George Van Dykes logging company planned to develop the wooded areas in the border region of New Hampshire, Vermont and Québec by railroad in order to be able to transport the wood faster. The Coos Valley Railroad was therefore founded in Vermont, an Upper Coos Railroad in New Hampshire and Vermont and the Hereford Railway in Canada . Construction began in 1887 and on September 15, 1888, the first section from North Stratford to West Stewartstown was opened. Regular traffic on the route began in November of the same year. On January 6, 1889, the line from Beecher Falls to Cookshire in Canada went into operation. It was extended to Dudswell Junction in November 1889 and to Lime Ridge terminus on May 1, 1890. In the course of 1889 the gap between West Stewartstown and Beecher Falls also went into operation. The operation initially led the Upper Coos Railroad, which was founded in New Hampshire.

On May 1, 1890, the Maine Central Railroad leased the railway line, which now also wanted to build the southern extension to Guildhall, which had been planned in 1882, and also wanted to connect the line to its Portland – Lunenburg line . At the end of February 1891, the company opened the section from North Stratford to Coos Junction, where there was a connection to the Concord and Montreal Railroad . The remaining stretch from Coos Junction to Quebec Junction went into operation in May 1891.

On October 31, 1925, Maine Central ceased operations north of Beecher Falls and broke the lease with the Hereford Railway. This was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1926 and reopened between Cookshire and Malvina. The sections from Beecher Falls to Malvina and from Cookshire to Dudswell Junction have been closed and dismantled. Passenger traffic between Cookshire and Malvina finally ended around 1940. The line from Sawyerville to Malvina was closed in 1945, followed by the Cookshire – Sawyerville section in 1977 and the line from Dudswell Junction to Lime Ridge in 1989.

From June 26, 1933, only a mixed train ran between Lancaster and Beecher Falls on the route section located in the United States , after passenger traffic was suspended south of Lancaster. At the end of 1948 all traffic between Coos Junction and North Stratford ended. The section was dismantled the following year. Passenger traffic between Lancaster and Coos Junction ended at the same time, so that the mixed train only ran between North Stratford and Beecher Falls. Passenger transport was also stopped on this section in April 1955.

After a severe flood in the summer of 1973, freight traffic between North Stratford and Beecher Falls ended and Maine Central wanted to shut down the route. This was not approved and so the company repaired the route and resumed traffic on November 19, 1974. In June 1976, Maine Central sold the route to the state of New Hampshire and stopped traffic on February 17, 1977. The line from Quebec Junction to Waumbek Junction was then closed. The state leased the two still operational sections from Waumbek Junction to Coos Junction and from North Stratford to Beecher Falls to the North Stratford Railroad , which resumed service on March 23, 1977. Due to the poor track position, operations had to be stopped on March 9, 1989, and the lease agreement was terminated. On November 21, 1989, the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad leased the Waumbek Junction – Coos Junction section. However, since autumn 1999 there has been no more regular traffic. On June 2, 1993, the New Hampshire Central Railroad leased the North Stratford – Columbia Bridge section, and the remaining part to Beecher Falls was officially closed in around 2000.

Route description

The line branches off in the middle of the forest in a spacious triangular track from the Portland – Lunenburg railway line. The railway, which has been disused here, initially heads northeast. After about four kilometers, the Whitefield Junction – Berlin railway crossed at the same level. The track crossing itself is no longer used, but the section of the track that is still in operation begins here from the confluence of the connecting curve from the direction of Whitefield. Immediately after the intersection, the route passes Cherry Pond , which initially gave the crossing station its name before it was renamed Waumbek Junction . Shortly thereafter, the route crosses Bailey Road and turns north. It now continues along the Israel River to Lancaster , where it crosses the river. In the north of the city just before the Coos Junction junction station was the branch of a forest railway , the Kilkenny Railroad , which was operated at least until the 1930s.

The Woodsville – Groveton railroad crosses in Coos Junction and the existing track leaves the route of the railroad to Lime Ridge here. The following section of the route was dismantled in 1949. North of Coos Junction, the route first crosses US Highway 3 and immediately afterwards the Connecticut River and with it the border to Vermont. The border was also a property line until 1932, since the Vermont section had belonged to the Coos Valley Railroad until then . The route now runs winding along the river. Part of the route is now used by State Road 102. About 20 kilometers after the first bridge, the train crosses Connecticut again and changes back to New Hampshire. Shortly after the bridge, it also crosses the Portland – Island Pond railway line , next to which it now runs to North Stratford .

There is a connecting track to this line in North Stratford, which is still used today. This is where the operational section to Columbia Bridge begins. The railway continues to run northeast along the Connecticut River. After the Columbia Bridge freight yard, you will cross the city of Colebrook . Here the railway line turns north again and crosses a few kilometers further, after the West Stewartstown station , the Connecticut and thus again the border to Vermont. About two kilometers further the route reaches Beecher Falls , where the border crossing to Canada was.

The route continues northeast along Connecticut through nearly unpopulated land. It crosses the river and thus the state border a few kilometers further twice. About 1.2 kilometers of the route are here in the United States, but without a station or freight connection. After this river crossing, the route leaves Connecticut and heads north. Shortly thereafter, Malvina station follows, which was the terminus on the line from the north from 1925 to the 1980s. The tracks were dismantled after the closure. The route now winds further northwards past the towns of Saint-Malo , Saint-Isidore-d'Auckland , Clifton and Sawyersville to join the Brookport – Mattawamkeag railway near Cookshire . It leaves this route north of the city and continues north to Dudswell Junction , where it crosses the Rivière Saint-François on this path . In Dudswell Junction, the main route of the former crosses Quebec Central Railway to Quebec . A few kilometers further, the Lime Rock terminus is reached.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.

literature

• Derek Booth: Railways of Southern Quebec. Volume II: From the Richelieu to the Chaudière. (2nd edition) Railfare / DC Books, Pickering / Montreal, 2008, ISBN 978-1-897190-31-9 .
• 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)