Suncook Valley Railroad

Suncook Valley RR, incl. SV Extension RR
Legend from Portsmouth by Hooksett 0.00 Suncook NH to Bow Junction Concord Tram (Main Street) 2.85 Blodgett NH 8.80 Allenstown NH 13.94 Short Falls NH 16.13 Epsom NH 21.20 Chichester NH (formerly North Chichester) 24.22 Webster's Mills NH 27.44 Pittsfield NH 33.41 Barnstead NH 36.07 Center Barnstead NH (formerly Barnstead Center)

The Suncook Valley Railroad (SV) is a former railroad company in New Hampshire ( United States ). It existed from 1849 to 1952 and operated a standard gauge branch line through the Suncook Valley east of Concord , the capital of the state.

Construction of the route

The Suncook Valley Railroad was founded on January 4, 1849. Originally, the valley was to be connected to the north of the railway network and to connect to the Dover and Winnipiseogee Railroad at Alton Bay . As a further company, the Suncook Valley Extension Railroad was founded on July 6 of the same year , which was supposed to build the route further into the valley. Due to some protests and disputes about the route, the plan for a railroad through the Suncook Valley initially failed, both companies were dissolved.

During and after the civil war , the desire for the railway reappeared. On July 1, 1863, another company was founded, renamed it Suncook Valley Railroad and the line was actually built. However, the original plans were completely overturned and the railway led from the south into the valley, where it branched off from the Concord Railroad (CR) route in Suncook Village . Due to the topography, the route could not be introduced directly into Suncook station. Since the line from Suncook to Portsmouth had been closed in 1862, a track stump of this line could be used as a hairpin. The 17 miles long route to Pittsfield was finally opened on December 6, 1869 after twenty years of planning and construction.

Time of operational management by other railways

A few weeks later, on New Year's Day 1870, the CR leased the small railway company for an initial 42 years. Later, the CR also took over the management. The trains usually went through to Concord. In 1889, another Suncook Valley Extension Railroad was established, which belonged in equal parts to the Concord and Montreal Railroad (C&M) and the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad (M&L). C&M was created on September 19, 1889 through the merger of CR with other companies and had also taken over the leasing contract with SV. In the same year, the 8.6-kilometer extension line to Center Barnstead was opened.

On June 29, 1895, operations were transferred to the Boston and Maine Railroad , which had taken over C&M on the same day. However, the leasing contract remained with C&M. On January 1, 1912, the original leasing contract expired and was then renewed every two years. On January 1, 1916, C&M extended the contract indefinitely, but with an exit clause. On an application submitted 60 days in advance, the SV was able to terminate the contract. It was not until April 1, 1921 that Boston & Maine itself took over the leasing contract from C&M. Due to the economic situation and the loss of business, Boston & Maine planned in 1924 to shut down the branch line. Since this was seen as a disadvantage for the valley, SV terminated the leasing contract with Boston & Maine with effect from September 28, 1924 and from then on operated the route again under its own management.

The end of the train

Since the trains no longer went through to Concord, but the passengers had to change trains in Suncook Village, the number of journeys fell in the following years. The transport of mail and milk was the most profitable business of the railway, which meant that from 1925 to 1927 and 1929 black numbers could be written. Another very lucrative business of the railway during the season was the transport of blueberries, which earned the railway the nickname Blueberry Express . On March 30, 1925, SV acquired the Suncook Valley Extension Railroad from Boston & Maine, on which it had been operating since the end of the lease.

After the global economic crisis , however, the volume of transport continued to decline and the railway made considerable losses. After the beginning of 1935, the Boston & Maine passenger on the Suncook Loop ceased, the route to which the SV in Suncook Village joined had to act the SV and rented it, namely parallel to the main route Manchester leading -Concord section between Suncook and Bow Junction from Boston & Maine. Furthermore, the railway acquired rights to use the route between Bow Junction and Concord. From May 12, 1936, the SV trains ran through to Concord again.

In 1943, traffic between Pittsfield and Center Barnstead ceased. The official shutdown of the Suncook Valley Extension Railroad took place on March 31, 1947. On April 22, 1949 the steam operation ended and a diesel locomotive took over the train services. In July 1951 a second diesel locomotive was procured. After a bridge over the Suncook River had become dilapidated, Boston & Maine imposed a transport embargo on the SV in April 1952. The last train between Pittsfield and Concord ran on December 20, 1952. The line was then dismantled.

Accidents and natural disasters

The first accident worth mentioning occurred in November 1924, shortly after the railway became independent, between Barnstead and Center Barnstead, when a mixed train derailed. The misfortune was attributed to the poor maintenance of the railroad tracks at the time of Boston & Maine.

On March 19 and April 2, 1936, severe floods destroyed bridges and facilities at Suncook. On July 24, 1937, the engine shed in Center Barnstead burned down. Two freight cars were destroyed. A hurricane destroyed the tracks of the Suncook Loop on July 5, 1938. Until August 5, no train could run on this route.

credentials

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/Suncook.htm

literature

• John C. Hutchins (Ed.): The Blueberry Express - A History of the Suncook Valley Railroad , Littleton MA, Flying Yankee Enterprises.

Web links

• Well illustrated article on the web (English)
• Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society (English)