Chester – Derry tram

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The tram Chester - Derry was a Regional tramway in New Hampshire ( United States ).

history

On April 7, 1891, the Chester and Derry Railroad Association was founded with the aim of providing transport links to Chester. This place was off the railway lines and was not accessible by rail at the time. Also on the route was Beaver Lake , which is an important destination. The concession allowed the company to build and operate a horse-drawn tram or electric tram, single or double track, from West Derry Station on the Manchester – Lawrence railway line to Chester.

On May 1, 1896, construction began from West Derry. On October 1st of the same year the electric tram started its regular operation after the opening ceremony on September 22nd. The route was 7¾ miles (around 12.5 kilometers) long, and single-track with a total of five switches. The timetable was coordinated with the departure times of the trains in West Derry, so that nine journeys were made in each direction on weekdays and eleven on Sundays. Further trips ended at Beaver Lake or Derry Village. From March 13, 1898, the railway also carried mail that was carried in sacks in the railcars.

After the transport numbers fell sharply, especially after 1925, the railway company applied for the line to be closed and operations ended on June 4, 1928. The tracks were dismantled and, like the vehicles, scrapped.

Route

The line began on the east side of West Derry station, where there was a connecting track to the railroad. Today the area is built over, and the railway has also been shut down. There was no track connection to the Manchester tram , which also ended at West Derry station, the terminus was on the other side of the line. The streetcar turned onto East Broadway, in the middle of which it initially ran to the intersection of Park Avenue. Here she swung to the right or south-eastern edge of the road. The first turnout on the route was at Hoodkroft County Club. Shortly thereafter, the route reaches the center of Derry, where it turns into Main Street and ran west on its southern edge. At the intersection of Main Street and Thornton Street was the narrowest curve on the line, as the train turned into Thornton Street at an acute angle. The route ran on the northern edge of this road, just before the East Derry Road, first to pivot to the southern roadside and then turn left into East Derry Road, where it was on the southern edge. Directly after this intersection was the three-track depot on the northern edge of the road and the two-track workshop on the southern edge. One of the depot tracks was only accessible via a transfer platform. The second turnout of the route was also located at the depot.

The route to Chester now continued on the southern side of the East Derry Road. The third turnout was at the East Derry Post Office, at the Cemetery Road junction. In East Derry, the route turned onto Old Chester Road, about half a kilometer along the eastern edge of the road, before turning left onto its own track. Past the northeast corner of Beaver Lake, the railway line crossed the North Shore Road. Directly after the intersection was the fourth turnout of the train. At about Adam's Pond, the route met the Back Chester Road, which it now followed northwards. The train ran on the western side of the road, but changed north of the Old Auburn Road to the eastern side of the road. About where Back Chester Road merges into East Derry Road, on the outskirts of Chester, was the fifth and last turnout of the railway. At the confluence of State Road 102, the route initially changed back to the western edge of the road, in order to swing north of the Senator Bell Farm again to the eastern edge. Shortly before Chester, the train crossed Wilson Brook on its own bridge right next to the road. Shortly thereafter, the line turned left onto its own track parallel to Chester Street and reached the terminus at Chester next to Wilcomb's store. The terminus was designed as a two-track covered station, where cars could also stay overnight. The second track was only used in the early years of the railway.

literature

  • OR Cummings: Trolleys to Beaver Lake. A History of the Chester & Derry Railroad Association 1891-1928. Forty Fort PA: Harold E. Cox, 1990.