White Mountain Central Railroad

Climax geared locomotive from 1920

Route

Route length:

2 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Legend


		Interstate 93


		Pemigewasset River
		Engine shed

		Engine shed
		Clark's Trading Post

The White Mountain Central Railroad (WMCRR) is a two-kilometer museum railway at Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln , New Hampshire .

history

The railway line was built from 1955 and opened on July 30, 1958. It is one of the few New England railways that still operates regularly with steam. It is a newly built standard gauge line with 1435 mm gauge for tourism , unlike most amusement or leisure parks that normally use narrow-gauge railways .

Route

The station also serves as the entrance building to the open-air museum and theme park called Clark's Trading Post. It originally came from the Freedomland USA theme park , which closed in 1964. From there, the trains travel north through the open-air museum, past two engine sheds and then into a forest. Most journeys follow a fixed program with a detour to a siding. Alternately, water for steam generation is taken from the water tower or firewood is loaded into the tender of the geared steam locomotive at the locomotive shed .

Covered wooden bridge from 1904

The train crosses one of the area's typical covered wooden bridges , originally built in 1904 for the Barre & Chelsea Railroad in Montpelier , Vermont and acquired by Clark's in 1960. All parts were individually numbered, and then dismantled and rebuilt on the bank from 1963 to 1965. She was then pulled to its final location with an old Lynn half-track . The bridge is 36.5 m long, weighs 200 tons and has a load capacity of another 200 tons.

A werewolf followed the train to its claim to defend

In a wooded area called Wolfman's Territory , an actor disguised as a werewolf often follows the train in an old car. It is about an old prospector who found the rare and valuable Unobtainium ore in his claim and is afraid that the rail travelers have come to mine it. Finally, the train crosses Interstate 93 in a tunnel and drives back to the station from the end of the route.

Each trip takes a total of half an hour. Up to 6 trips are made per day from the end of May to the beginning of October. The tickets are included in the entrance fee to the park. Special railway days with special trains are usually held on a weekend in September.

Locomotives

number	Type	Manufacturer	Construction year	origin	acquisition	Status	Remarks
1	0-4-0T	HK Porter, Inc	1931	Koppers # 1	1957-1958	Only in operation for special trips.	The smallest steam locomotive used on the route. Used in the railway sleeper factory in Nashua until 1954 .
2	Petrol locomotive	Vulcan Iron Works		Granite quarry in Barre , Vermont	1964	Occasionally used in track construction.	Too small for passenger traffic.
4th	Heisler steam locomotive	Heisler Locomotive Works	1929	International Shoe Company	1958	Out of order. Is only issued on the railway days.	In operation on the line since 1961. From 1964–1976 as the main locomotive and 1977–1984 as a backup. Not powerful enough to pull 5-car trains. 1984–2006 only used occasionally. Boiler undergoing a major overhaul at the Boothbay Railway Village in Maine .
5	2-4-2 T	Baldwin steam locomotive	11-1906	1966–1969 East Branch and Lincoln Railroad , then as a memorial at Loon Mountain Ski Resort	1999	Only in operation for special trips.	Logging locomotive for 40 years, 1906–1946. Logging mill switcher for 23 years. With WMCRR since September 26, 1999.
Shay	Shay B class steam locomotive	Lima Locomotive Works	12-1917	Woodstock Lumber Company , Franconia Paper Company	1951-1952	Out of order. Is only issued on the railway days.	50 t, serial number 2958. Purchased in 1919 from Woodstock Lumber Co. of Woodstock, New Hampshire , NH as a shunter .
6th	Climax locomotive	Climax Locomotive Works	1920	Beebe River Lumber Company , East Branch and Lincoln Railroad	1951	Operational. Mainly used locomotive.	Serial number 1603. Restoration completed in 1976.
1943	GE 65 t diesel-electric shunting locomotive	GE Transportation	8-1943	Newport Dinner Train		Operational. Occasionally used as a backup	Serial number 17886.
B1	Rail bus	Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad	1930	Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR, 1930-1937, thereafter Starbird Lumber Company		Only in operation for special trips.	Was used temporarily in the off-season, but the rail bus is now too old for that too.