Whitefield Junction – Berlin railway line

Whitefield Junction NH – Berlin NH, status 1999
Society:	NHVT , CSRR
Route length:	approx. 48 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend from Woodsville 0.00 Whitefield Junction NH after Groveton 0.87 Whitefield NH Portland – Lunenburg line Connection curve from Lunenburg 5.01 Hazen's NH Connecting track to Portland Connection curve to Lime Ridge Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge route 9.04 Waumbec Junction NH (formerly Cherry Pond, Jefferson Jct.) Connecting curve from Quebec Junction Connection curve from Lime Ridge 13.10 Cherry Mountain NH (formerly Meadows, Jefferson) after Jefferson 16.00 Highlands NH 19.51 Boy Mountain NH South Branch Junction NH South Branch Railroad ( Forest Railway ) 23.93 Bowman NH Israel River 28.63 Appalachia NH (formerly Randolph) 30.59 Randolph NH (formerly Glen Road) Moose Brook 33.20 Mt. Madison Springs NH (formerly Gorham Mineral Spring, Mineral Springs) Moose Brook (2 ×) 37.90 Gorham NH Portland – Island Pond route Androscoggin River Androscoggin River Reservoir Berlin Mills Railway 46.96 Berlin NH approx. 48 Berlin Mills Berlin Mills Railway

The Whitefield Junction – Berlin line is a rail link in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is around 30 miles long and connects the cities of Whitefield , Jefferson , Gorham and Berlin . Most of the line has been closed and dismantled. A short section from Whitefield Junction to Waumbek Junction belongs to the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad . However, regular traffic between Whitefield Junction and Whitefield is idle.

history

After the Woodsville – Groveton railway was opened in 1870 , the Johns River Railroad built a narrow-gauge forest railway from Whitefield Station (later Whitefield Junction) east to Jefferson (later Cherry Mountain). The tourist traffic in the area around Jefferson grew strongly, so that in 1878 the Whitefield and Jefferson Railroad was founded, which took over the route and converted it to standard gauge by July 1879 . The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad (BC&M), which also owned the line at Whitefield Junction, was in charge of operations. From 1884 to 1887, the Boston and Lowell Railroad briefly ran the business before BC&M merged with other companies to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad . The new owner intended to extend the route to Berlin in order to better connect the local industry. The extension went into operation on June 10, 1893. In 1895 the Boston and Maine Railroad took over operations. From 1897 to 1906, the South Branch Railroad operated a forest railway along the South River that transported wood to Berlin.

Last only carried out with Budd Rail Diesel Cars , passenger traffic ended on December 2, 1961. From 1983 the route belonged to Guilford Transportation , which had taken over Boston & Maine. The new owner wanted to shut down the route, but sold it to the state of New Hampshire, which leased it to the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad. However, in 1996 the company closed the Waumbek Junction – Berlin section for reasons of profitability. The remaining section is only used from Whitefield to Waumbek Junction. Operations between Whitefield Junction and Whitefield ended in 1997.

Route description

The line branched off in a triangular track from the Woodsville – Groveton railway. Today only the connecting curve towards Woodsville is left. The railway runs east through Whitefield. This is where the Portland – Lunenburg railway crossed , which now runs for a few kilometers right next to the railway to Berlin. In 1998 a connecting track was installed in Whitefield and Hazens and the track on the line to Portland was dismantled on this section, so that the Conway Scenic Railroad has since shared a short section of the railway. After Hazens, the route runs along Mount Washington Regional Airport to shortly afterwards reach Waumbek Junction . In the past there was only a track crossing with the Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge railway line with stops for changing trains, but connecting curves were built in by 1932 at the latest.

A few kilometers further on is Cherry Mountain Station, which was initially called Jefferson and was the end of the railway from 1870 to 1893. From 1895 to 1925, a short branch line branched off here to the actual village of Jefferson . The route to Berlin now runs further east along the Israel River . The Moose Brook rises near Randolph , in the valley of which the railway now runs to Gorham. In Gorham, the Portland – Island Pond railway line and the Androscoggin River are crossed by a large bridge . The bridge is still standing, but the section has been raised above the railway line so that double-decker container trains can fit under it. The railway line turns north after the bridge and runs along the east bank of the Androscoggin to Berlin. At the level of Coos Street in Berlin was the passenger station on the line, which continues about one and a half kilometers to the Berlin Mills freight yard , where it joins the tracks of the Berlin Mills Railway .

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)

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/Whitefield-Jefferson.htm