Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad

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The Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad (VT&MA) is a former railroad company in Massachusetts and Vermont ( United States ). It existed as an independent company from 1843 to 1919.

history

prehistory

The Fitchburg Railroad had completed its route from Boston to Fitchburg in 1845 . Even during construction, plans were made to extend the route further west to the Connecticut River . Brattleboro was chosen as the end point of the route . For this reason, the Brattleboro and Fitchburg Railroad was founded in Vermont on October 31, 1843 . On March 15, 1844, the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad followed , which was initially only founded in Massachusetts. On November 21, 1844, Vermont & Massachusetts was formally established. The two companies merged the following day.

Construction of the network

Immediately after completion of the Fitchburg Railroad, construction began on the VT&MA from Fitchburg. In September 1847, the section to Baldwinsville went into operation. The Cheshire Railroad , which opened in October of the same year, had negotiated a right of use for the VT&MA route between Fitchburg and South Ashburnham . In April 1849 the line to Brattleboro was completed. In addition, in 1848 the railway company acquired the concession for a route from Grout's Corner to Greenfield from the Greenfield and Fitchburg Railroad Company , which opened in late 1850. The 90 kilometer long Fitchburg – Greenfield railway line became the main line of the railway. The 34-kilometer branch from Grout's Corner to Brattleboro remained important, however, it was the northern extension of the New London Northern Railroad (NLNR), which opened in 1867 to Grout's Corner / Millers Falls. In 1870, the VT&MA opened an approximately nine-kilometer branch line to Turners Falls , where important industrial facilities were located. The total length of the VT&MA was 133 kilometers.

Further development

Vermont & Massachusetts led operations on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad from 1868 , which had extended the main line from Greenfield to the Hoosac Tunnel , which was under construction . From December 1, 1870, the Rutland Railroad leased the branch from Millers Falls to Brattleboro from VT&MA, initially for 15 years. One month later, the Rutland was leased by Central Vermont Railroad (CV), which also took over the contract with VT&MA. Since the CV also leased the NLNR, the branch to Brattleboro was connected to this railway in terms of timetables. The NLNR finally acquired the Millers Falls – Brattleboro route on May 1, 1880.

Even before that, on New Year's Day 1874, the Fitchburg Railroad leased the remaining part of the VT&MA, namely the main route Fitchburg – Greenfield and the branch to Turner's Falls. After the Boston and Maine Railroad had leased the Fitchburg in 1900 , they also took over the lease for VT&MA, which was finally bought by Boston & Maine on January 1, 1919.

The main line and the branch to Brattleboro are still in operation today. The main route is operated by Pan Am Railways , the route to Brattleboro by the New England Central Railroad and passenger services by the Amtrak . The branch to Turners Falls is closed.

Sources and further information

literature
  • George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
  • Robert C. Jones: Railroads of Vermont, Volume II. New England Press Inc., 1993. ISBN 978-1881535027
Web links