That Colorful Conway Branch
After finishing up their work at Tri City and leaving the two classic GP18s behind there New Hampshire Northcoast Railroad train D8 from Ossipee to Dover is highballing south behind GP38-2s NHN 3825 (blt. Sept. 1978 as CR 8244), leased FURX 5509 (blt. Mar. 1970 as high nosed straight GP38 SOU 2801) and NHN 3823 (blt. Sept. 1978 as CR 8242). They are approaching the Old Milton Road crossing as they roll thru the colorful the marshland surrounding Heath Brook near MP 81.8 on the former Boston and Maine Railroad's Conway Branch.
For those who are less familiar with this route here is a concise history excerpted from a June 2004 report to the NH State Legislature by the state DOT's Bureau of Rail and Transit on the feasibility of reopening the line to service all the way to Conway.
'Several railroad histories describe the formation and construction of the Conway Branch rail line, most recently The Rail Lines of Northern New England (Robert M. Lindsell, Branch Line Press, 2000). After several attempts to form railroad companies and construct the southern segments of this line, the Portsmouth, Great Falls, and Conway Railroad was chartered in 1865. Construction of the line was completed to West Ossipee in 1871 and to North Conway in 1872.
Initially, the line initiated at Jewett in Maine, through Salmon Falls to Somersworth. This
alignment was replaced by the current line from Rollinsford to Somersworth. Passenger service from Boston to the new North Conway station began in 1872. A connection with the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad (later Maine Central’s Mountain Division) at Intervale was made in 1875.
The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway was part of the Eastern Railroad, which merged with the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1890. The railroad served manufacturing plants in several communities and lumber mills and sand and gravel operations in the Conway area. Freight service north of Ossipee ended in 1972. During the 1980s, the Boston Sand & Gravel Co. initiated service on the line for its subsidiary, Ossipee Aggregates by a new railroad, the New Hampshire Northcoast. This included the purchase of the line from Rochester to Ossipee and a major rehabilitation project that was partly funded by the state of New Hampshire through capital budget appropriations, federal Local Rail Freight Assistance funds, and the state’s revolving loan program for short line railroads. In 1994, the New Hampshire Northcoast purchased the balance of the line from Rollinsford to Rochester from the B&M.
The rehabilitation of the Conway Branch to Ossipee was a major undertaking, involving a large investment by the New Hampshire Northcoast and expenditure of $989,000 in state capital budget funds, $656,000 in LRFA funds (with railroad matching funds), and $606,000 in revolving loan funds now being repaid by the railroad. The railroad’s ability to handle heavy loads of sand and gravel has removed approximately 30,000 trucks per year from the highway system between Ossipee and Boston.
The Boston and Maine and its predecessors operated passenger service on the Conway Branch from 1872 to 1961. The Interstate Commerce Commission approved abandonment of the line from Mt. Whittier (West Ossipee) to Intervale in 1972. Abandonment, a process now handled by the federal Surface Transportation Board, the successor to the ICC, relieves a railroad of its obligation to provide freight service to a shipper. In 1974, the railroad corridor within the town of Conway was sold to the Conway Scenic Railroad.
Efforts to preserve the Conway Branch as a railroad corridor have included the purchase of most of the line within the town of Madison by the town in 1987, and its subsequent sale to the state in 1995. The state of New Hampshire purchased the balance of the line owned by the Boston & Maine in 2001. Today, the New Hampshire Northcoast owns the railroad corridor from its junction with the B&M main line in Rollinsford to Route 28 in Ossipee, the state owns it from that point to the Albany-Conway town line, and the Conway Scenic owns the balance of the corridor in the town of Conway to Intervale.'
Rochester, New Hampshire
Wednesday October 8, 2025
That Colorful Conway Branch
After finishing up their work at Tri City and leaving the two classic GP18s behind there New Hampshire Northcoast Railroad train D8 from Ossipee to Dover is highballing south behind GP38-2s NHN 3825 (blt. Sept. 1978 as CR 8244), leased FURX 5509 (blt. Mar. 1970 as high nosed straight GP38 SOU 2801) and NHN 3823 (blt. Sept. 1978 as CR 8242). They are approaching the Old Milton Road crossing as they roll thru the colorful the marshland surrounding Heath Brook near MP 81.8 on the former Boston and Maine Railroad's Conway Branch.
For those who are less familiar with this route here is a concise history excerpted from a June 2004 report to the NH State Legislature by the state DOT's Bureau of Rail and Transit on the feasibility of reopening the line to service all the way to Conway.
'Several railroad histories describe the formation and construction of the Conway Branch rail line, most recently The Rail Lines of Northern New England (Robert M. Lindsell, Branch Line Press, 2000). After several attempts to form railroad companies and construct the southern segments of this line, the Portsmouth, Great Falls, and Conway Railroad was chartered in 1865. Construction of the line was completed to West Ossipee in 1871 and to North Conway in 1872.
Initially, the line initiated at Jewett in Maine, through Salmon Falls to Somersworth. This
alignment was replaced by the current line from Rollinsford to Somersworth. Passenger service from Boston to the new North Conway station began in 1872. A connection with the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad (later Maine Central’s Mountain Division) at Intervale was made in 1875.
The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway was part of the Eastern Railroad, which merged with the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1890. The railroad served manufacturing plants in several communities and lumber mills and sand and gravel operations in the Conway area. Freight service north of Ossipee ended in 1972. During the 1980s, the Boston Sand & Gravel Co. initiated service on the line for its subsidiary, Ossipee Aggregates by a new railroad, the New Hampshire Northcoast. This included the purchase of the line from Rochester to Ossipee and a major rehabilitation project that was partly funded by the state of New Hampshire through capital budget appropriations, federal Local Rail Freight Assistance funds, and the state’s revolving loan program for short line railroads. In 1994, the New Hampshire Northcoast purchased the balance of the line from Rollinsford to Rochester from the B&M.
The rehabilitation of the Conway Branch to Ossipee was a major undertaking, involving a large investment by the New Hampshire Northcoast and expenditure of $989,000 in state capital budget funds, $656,000 in LRFA funds (with railroad matching funds), and $606,000 in revolving loan funds now being repaid by the railroad. The railroad’s ability to handle heavy loads of sand and gravel has removed approximately 30,000 trucks per year from the highway system between Ossipee and Boston.
The Boston and Maine and its predecessors operated passenger service on the Conway Branch from 1872 to 1961. The Interstate Commerce Commission approved abandonment of the line from Mt. Whittier (West Ossipee) to Intervale in 1972. Abandonment, a process now handled by the federal Surface Transportation Board, the successor to the ICC, relieves a railroad of its obligation to provide freight service to a shipper. In 1974, the railroad corridor within the town of Conway was sold to the Conway Scenic Railroad.
Efforts to preserve the Conway Branch as a railroad corridor have included the purchase of most of the line within the town of Madison by the town in 1987, and its subsequent sale to the state in 1995. The state of New Hampshire purchased the balance of the line owned by the Boston & Maine in 2001. Today, the New Hampshire Northcoast owns the railroad corridor from its junction with the B&M main line in Rollinsford to Route 28 in Ossipee, the state owns it from that point to the Albany-Conway town line, and the Conway Scenic owns the balance of the corridor in the town of Conway to Intervale.'
Rochester, New Hampshire
Wednesday October 8, 2025