Woodsville – Groveton Railway

Woodsville NH – Groveton NH, as of 1999
Society:	NHVT
Route length:	85.12 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend from Wells River 0.00 Woodsville NH after Concord White Mountains Transfer (in the Gleisdreieck) Ammonoosuc River 8.35 Bath NH Ammonoosuc River 17.16 Lisbon NH 20.44 Sugar Hill NH (summer only) 25.96 Gale River NH (formerly Barrett, North Lisbon) ? South Littleton NH 34.09 Littleton NH Ammonoosuc River Ammonoosuc River 35.92 Apthorp NH Ammonoosuc River ? Alder Brook NH 43.58 Wing Road NH to Mount Washington 51.37 Whitefield Junction NH to Berlin Johns River Connection curve to Lunenburg Portland – Lunenburg line 56.28 Scotts NH (crossing station) 59.19 Dalton NH 62.23 Mountorne NH (formerly South Lancaster) Israel River 69.62 Lancaster NH 70.96 Coos Junction NH (crossing station) Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge route Connecting curve from Quebec Junction 79.18 Northumberland NH (formerly Northumberland Falls) Upper Ammonoosuc River ? Groveton NH (formerly Northumberland) from Island Pond 85.12 Groveton NH (also Groveton Junction) to Portland

The railway Woodsville-Groveton is a railroad in New Hampshire ( United States ). It is approximately 85 kilometers long and connects the cities of Woodsville , Littleton , Whitefield , Lancaster and Groveton . The Woodsville to Littleton and Whitefield Junction to Coos Junction (near Lancaster) sections have been closed and dismantled. The remaining parts of the route belong to the state of New Hampshire, which has leased it to the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad .

history

Once in the 1840s in the valley of the Connecticut River railway lines were planned and also the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad (BC & M) central stretch of Concord built to Connecticut, the plan was to these routes to the railway Portland Iceland Pond of the Grand Trunk Railway to connect . For this purpose, the White Mountains Railroad was founded on December 24, 1848 . With financial support from BC&M, construction of the railway began and on August 1, 1853, the first section from Woodsville to Littleton was completed. BC&M ran the business from the start. However, further construction was delayed for financial reasons. After the White Mountains Railroad got into financial difficulties, it had to file for bankruptcy and was formally re-established on February 1, 1859 under the old name.

After the extension to Whitefield Junction was opened in July 1869, the line was extended to Lancaster on December 1, 1870. The remainder of the route to Groveton was finally opened in 1872. In 1873 the company was finally taken over by BC&M. Initially there was no track connection in Groveton, as the main line, the Grand Trunk, was built with a gauge of 1676 mm and was not switched to standard gauge until 1874. From 1884 the railway was under the direction of the Boston and Lowell Railroad . In 1889, however, BC&M merged with other companies to form Concord and Montreal Railroad , which now operated the route itself again. This was taken over by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1895 .

In 1932, Boston & Maine ceased all traffic between Whitefield Junction and Lancaster after it had acquired a right of use over a section of the parallel Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge railway owned by the Maine Central Railroad . The section was not officially closed until 1941. Freight trains ran between Lancaster and Coos Junction until around 1980. Passenger traffic between Coos Junction and Groveton ended in 1938. Last used by Budd Rail Diesel Cars , the rest of the route from Woodsville to Whitefield Junction was also discontinued on December 2, 1961.

In 1983 Guilford Transportation took over the railway line. After the new owner wanted to shut down the route, the New Hampshire and Vermont Railroad (NH&VT) leased the remaining sections from November 21, 1989. After a bridge damage at Wells River, the NH&VT ceased operations between Woodsville and Littleton in 1995, the following year The official shutdown took place in the year. The Guilford sold the remaining route to the state of New Hampshire, which it continues to lease to NH&VT. The Littleton – Whitefield Junction section has not been used since 1997, but has not been officially closed. Nevertheless, the tracks on some level crossings were dismantled.

Route description

The railway line connects in Woodsville in a triangular track to the Concord – Wells River railway line . The trains usually went to and from Wells River, but through cars from Concord in Woodsville were attached. The route initially follows the Ammonoosuc River upstream in a northeasterly direction. She crosses the river several times. After the tracks were dismantled here in 1997, the route was converted into a hiking trail, which meant that the river bridges were preserved. Passing through Bath and Lisbon , the train reaches Littleton after 34 kilometers. The tracks begin here today, but they are no longer used.

Further in the Ammonoosuc valley, the route now runs to the former Wing Road branch station, where the Wing Road – Mount Washington railway branched off in a triangular track. The route to Groveton leaves the river valley here and continues over a ridge in a north-easterly direction parallel to State Road 116 to Whitefield. The railway line passes the city to the west, and the line to Berlin branches off at Whitefield Junction station . From here the railway systems are dismantled, the route is barely recognizable. North of Whitefield at Scotts station, the Portland – Lunenburg railway crosses at the same level at an acute angle. From here the route is preserved, but not used.

A few kilometers further north is the valley of the Connecticut River, on the east side of which the railway now continues. The line leads through Lancaster to Coos Junction, another junction station. Here, too, it crossed the Quebec Junction – Lime Ridge railway at an acute angle . A connecting curve was set up here in 1932, today only this connecting curve is available as a continuous track, the track crossing itself has been dismantled. The route continues north along Connecticut, but turns northeast at Fort Wentworth to reach the end point Groveton a few kilometers further. Here the railway joins the Portland – Island Pond line , the former main line of the Grand Trunk 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/White-Mtns-Main.htm