Rollinsford – Somersworth railway line
| Rollinsford NH – Somersworth NH, as of 1999 |
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| Society: | NHN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 4.36 km | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks: | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The railway Rollinsford-Somersworth is a railway line in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is 4.36 kilometers long and connects the main Boston – Portland line with the Jewett – Intervale Junction line . The standard gauge line is now operated by the New Hampshire Northcoast in freight traffic.
history
In the early 1840s, the Boston and Maine Railroad built its main line from Wilmington, Massachusetts to Agamenticus (Maine). It runs through Dover and south of Great Falls (now Somersworth ). To connect the city of Great Falls to this route, a branch route was built at the same time. It was opened on July 24, 1843, a few months after the main line was completed. Another railway company was planning to connect Great Falls to the Portsmouth railway network at the same time , but it was not opened until 1855. The connection to the north at Great Falls went into operation in 1849. The route was initially referred to by Boston & Maine as the Great Falls Branch and after the city was renamed as Somersworth Branch .
The passenger trains mostly ran only between Rollinsford and Somersworth with connection to other trains at both terminals. There were occasional continuous trains only after the takeover of the railway line in Somersworth by Boston & Maine in 1883. A continuous express train ran from Boston to Intervale Junction on the route from around this time. As of April 25, 1936, all northbound trains ran through Rollinsford and most of the trains ran through to Dover or Boston. On December 3, 1961, passenger traffic was stopped.
After the bankruptcy of Boston & Maine, Guilford Transportation took over operations on the Somersworth Branch in 1983. The new owner applied for closure in 1985. The state of New Hampshire bought the route and leased it from May 27, 1986 to the New Hampshire Northcoast , which has been operating freight on the route since then.
Route description
The line branches off at Rollinsford from the Boston & Maine main line. There used to be a track triangle here, but the connecting curve towards Maine has been dismantled. The route is almost straight and runs in a north-northwest direction. From around kilometer 1, the Jewett line, which has been closed since 1941, is within sight of the line . However, a track connection only existed in Somersworth Station, which is located on the banks of the Salmon Falls River .
Sources and further information
- Individual evidence
- ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.
- ↑ Distance kilometers from www.trainweb.org
- 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)