Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad

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The Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad (WNR) is a former railway company in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ( United States ). It existed as an independent company from 1845 to 1911.

history

The company was founded on March 5, 1845 as the Worcester and Nashua Railroad of Massachusetts . For the section in New Hampshire, the Nashua and Groton Railroad had already been founded on December 24, 1844 . Both companies merged on November 6, 1846 to form the Worcester and Nashua Railroad . Construction had already started and on December 18, 1848, the entire line from Worcester to Nashua went into operation.

In 1847 Worcester & Nashua acquired the Worcester Branch Railroad , which had built a connecting line between the railway companies ending in Worcester. The northern continuation of the route beyond Nashua to Rochester had built the Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1874 . Since they wanted a continuous operation, Worcester & Nashua leased Nashua & Rochester on April 1, 1876. The two companies finally merged on December 1, 1883 to form the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad , which operated exclusively the Worcester – Rochester railway .

Shortly thereafter, on New Year's Day 1886, the Boston and Maine Railroad leased the WNR and bought it for good in 1911. The Worcester – Ayer line is still in operation and is used by Pan Am Railways for freight traffic. The rest of the section to Rochester has been closed.

Special events

On December 15, 1855, a boiler explosion occurred on the Dewitt Clinton locomotive , the third locomotive built in the USA. The engine driver and the stoker died.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence
  1. ^ Frank Leslie: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. (1855-1922) (reprint).
literature
  • George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
  • William D. Middleton, George M. Smerk, Roberta L. Diehl (Eds.): Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN / Indianapolis IN 2007. ISBN 978-0-253-34916-3
Web links