This Shot IS Level!
While these images look horribly crooked look again. Yes the train is listing badly but the horizon is dead on. That should tell you how little used and less maintained these tracks are.
GMCR GP9 804 and VTR GP40-2 307 have dropped their train behind them at MP 3.15 on Washington County Railroad's M&B Division and are seem making an ultra rare move to the east on what is now known as the M&WR spur. These rails they are on once led another 35 miles east to a junction with the Boston & Maine / Canadian Pacific Conn River Mainline at Wells River. Built in 1873 it was a through route operated by the Montpelier & Wells River and later Barre & Chelsea Railroads. But in November 1956 the last train ran the length of the line and the rails were removed. All that remained on this end was about an 1800 ft stub from this switch to a couple of customers in East Montpelier. With those customers long since closed even this stub was out of service for years and overgrown with trees. Recently cleared by present operator Vermont Railway, they have been loading company material here and this is why the crew had to make the rare move up the old M&WR mainline to switch a couple tie gons.
The location of the junction where they diverged was once known as Barre Transfer because here the rails of the Central Vermont, Barre Railroad and Montpelier & Wells River all met. The particular rails their train is sitting on are ex Central Vermont, first laid in 1875 when the 1849 branch into the capital city was extended to Barre. In 1957 Sam Pinsly's Montpelier & Barre purchased them and he quickly consolidated the parallel CV and old Montpelier & Wells River (later Barre & Chelsea) routes between this point at Barre. The state purchased these rails in 1980 when the M&B petitioned for abandonment and they've had multiple contract operators over the years until finally setting on Vermont Rail System's Washington County Subsidiary about two decades ago.
One historical tidbit that this image got me thinking about was the similarity to two other long abandoned but one time east west thru routes cutting across northern New England. While nearly all the historic North South routes in New England still survive nearly intact only the Green Mountain's ex Rutland line, SLR's ex Grand Trunk and the former CP International of Maine east-west routes remain. The old Mountain Sub is a tourist operation and half out of service. This line is long abandoned and similar fates befell the Northern, the old Concord and Montreal. the Claremont and Concord and the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Routes.
The later two are particularly interesting in that like the M&WR route here both the C&C and StJ&LC came into the fold of the Boston & Maine in the early 20th century then were spun off to local interests within decades. In the middle 20th century all would end up in the Pinsly family of shortlines in some form or fashion before ultimately losing traffic and being abandoned. While Pinsly never owned the line between here and Wells River, his company did save the remainder of the M&WR and operate it for nearly two decades after the Barre & Chelsea petitioned for abandonment.
Montpelier, Vermont
Friday April 24, 2020
This Shot IS Level!
While these images look horribly crooked look again. Yes the train is listing badly but the horizon is dead on. That should tell you how little used and less maintained these tracks are.
GMCR GP9 804 and VTR GP40-2 307 have dropped their train behind them at MP 3.15 on Washington County Railroad's M&B Division and are seem making an ultra rare move to the east on what is now known as the M&WR spur. These rails they are on once led another 35 miles east to a junction with the Boston & Maine / Canadian Pacific Conn River Mainline at Wells River. Built in 1873 it was a through route operated by the Montpelier & Wells River and later Barre & Chelsea Railroads. But in November 1956 the last train ran the length of the line and the rails were removed. All that remained on this end was about an 1800 ft stub from this switch to a couple of customers in East Montpelier. With those customers long since closed even this stub was out of service for years and overgrown with trees. Recently cleared by present operator Vermont Railway, they have been loading company material here and this is why the crew had to make the rare move up the old M&WR mainline to switch a couple tie gons.
The location of the junction where they diverged was once known as Barre Transfer because here the rails of the Central Vermont, Barre Railroad and Montpelier & Wells River all met. The particular rails their train is sitting on are ex Central Vermont, first laid in 1875 when the 1849 branch into the capital city was extended to Barre. In 1957 Sam Pinsly's Montpelier & Barre purchased them and he quickly consolidated the parallel CV and old Montpelier & Wells River (later Barre & Chelsea) routes between this point at Barre. The state purchased these rails in 1980 when the M&B petitioned for abandonment and they've had multiple contract operators over the years until finally setting on Vermont Rail System's Washington County Subsidiary about two decades ago.
One historical tidbit that this image got me thinking about was the similarity to two other long abandoned but one time east west thru routes cutting across northern New England. While nearly all the historic North South routes in New England still survive nearly intact only the Green Mountain's ex Rutland line, SLR's ex Grand Trunk and the former CP International of Maine east-west routes remain. The old Mountain Sub is a tourist operation and half out of service. This line is long abandoned and similar fates befell the Northern, the old Concord and Montreal. the Claremont and Concord and the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Routes.
The later two are particularly interesting in that like the M&WR route here both the C&C and StJ&LC came into the fold of the Boston & Maine in the early 20th century then were spun off to local interests within decades. In the middle 20th century all would end up in the Pinsly family of shortlines in some form or fashion before ultimately losing traffic and being abandoned. While Pinsly never owned the line between here and Wells River, his company did save the remainder of the M&WR and operate it for nearly two decades after the Barre & Chelsea petitioned for abandonment.
Montpelier, Vermont
Friday April 24, 2020