Washington County Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Washington County Railroad is a shortline railroad
operating in Vermont
, forming part of the Vermont Rail System. The WACR began operating in 1980 over the old Montpelier and Barre Railroad in Washington County, which the state acquired to ensure the continuance of rail service, and ceased operations in early 1999. Later that year, after interim service by other companies, operations were transferred to a new WACR subsidiary of the Vermont Rail System. In 2003, operations were greatly expanded through acquisition by the state and operation by the WACR of a former Boston and Maine Corporation and Canadian Pacific Railway
line between Newport
and White River Junction, which had most recently been operated by subsidiaries of the bankrupt Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
.
The original line, now known as the Granite District, connects the New England Central Railroad
(NECR) with Montpelier, Barre, Websterville, and Graniteville. Its primary commodities have been lumber
, granite
, and silicon carbide
since the Bombardier
transit car plant in Barre was closed in 2002. The Connecticut River Division includes haulage rights from White River Junction south to Bellows Falls on the NECR, where it connects to the affiliated Green Mountain Railroad
. It also has direct connections to the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
at Newport and Pan Am Railways
at White River Junction.
(B&M) system until 1926, when the Barre and Chelsea Railroad (Barre to Graniteville) and Montpelier and Wells River Railroad (Barre and Montpelier to Wells River) were sold to local interests. The latter was consolidated into the former in January 1945, but in 1957 the entire Barre and Chelsea Railroad was abandoned. The Montpelier and Barre Railroad took over operations of the Montpelier and Barre-area trackage, but the line east to Wells River was abandoned. In 1980 that company abandoned its trackage, and the state bought it in November and designated the new CSF Acquisition, Inc. subsidiary Washington County Railroad to operate it. The WACR assigned its lease to the New England Central Railroad
in February 1999, but that company ceased operating the lines in September, and the Vermont Railway
took over temporarily until its new affiliate began under the Washington County Railroad name.
In early May 2010, after having been mostly dormant for some time, an official from the Barre government said that a contract for shipments of scrap granite bound for Florida would begin late the same month. Ten-car trains were planned to operate twice a day between Berlin and Montpelier Junction, as well as separate five-car trains from the granite quarries and Barre. The trains were to operate for the three months it would take for the 54,000 tons of granite the contract requested to be moved south. Further traffic of scrap granite was also considered possible, as further contracts for the material, of which 40 million tons was accessible, were being sought, and industries along the line had expressed interest in having rail service if the line was upgraded for granite shipments.
leased the line between Wells River and Newport, and its lessor Quebec Central Railway
leased the line north of Newport (including the connecting Massawippi Valley Railway to Sherbrooke). The Newport and Richford Railroad acquired the former portion in November 1946, continuing the lease to the CP. (The B&M retained operations south of Wells River.) Iron Road Railways
subsidiary Canadian American Railroad
, through the newly-created Quebec Southern Railway and Northern Vermont Railroad
, took over operations of the portion north of Wells River in September 1996, and in 1999 the state acquired the remainder from the B&M, contracting first the Green Mountain Railroad
and then in 2000 the Northern Vermont Railroad
to operate it. After Iron Road Railways
went bankrupt (CDAC, B&A, QS/NV) in fall 2002, it sold most of its lines to Rail World, Inc.
which organized them under a newly-formed subsidiary, the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
. However, the segment between Newport and White River Junction was not included in the transaction and instead was acquired by the state of Vermont which contracted freight service to the Washington County Railroad. Both companies began operating their new lines in January 2003.
Shortline railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...
operating in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, forming part of the Vermont Rail System. The WACR began operating in 1980 over the old Montpelier and Barre Railroad in Washington County, which the state acquired to ensure the continuance of rail service, and ceased operations in early 1999. Later that year, after interim service by other companies, operations were transferred to a new WACR subsidiary of the Vermont Rail System. In 2003, operations were greatly expanded through acquisition by the state and operation by the WACR of a former Boston and Maine Corporation and Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
line between Newport
Newport (city), Vermont
Newport is a city in and the shire town of Orleans County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,005. The city contains the largest population of any government in the county, yet encompasses the smallest area....
and White River Junction, which had most recently been operated by subsidiaries of the bankrupt Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
.
The original line, now known as the Granite District, connects the New England Central Railroad
New England Central Railroad
The New England Central Railroad is a subsidiary of RailAmerica that began operations in 1995. It runs from New London, Connecticut, to Alburgh, Vermont, a distance of .-History:...
(NECR) with Montpelier, Barre, Websterville, and Graniteville. Its primary commodities have been lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, and silicon carbide
Silicon carbide
Silicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...
since the Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
transit car plant in Barre was closed in 2002. The Connecticut River Division includes haulage rights from White River Junction south to Bellows Falls on the NECR, where it connects to the affiliated Green Mountain Railroad
Green Mountain Railroad
The Green Mountain Railroad is a class III railroad operating in Vermont.GMRC operates on tracks that had been owned by the Rutland Railroad and Boston and Maine Railroad. The railroad operates on a rail line between North Walpole, New Hampshire and Rutland, Vermont. Corporate colors are green...
. It also has direct connections to the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Its Canadian subsidiary is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company. The entire system is owned by Rail World,...
at Newport and Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. , known as Guilford Rail System before March 2006, is a holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Rotterdam Junction, New York...
at White River Junction.
Granite District
The majority of the Granite District was part of the Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
(B&M) system until 1926, when the Barre and Chelsea Railroad (Barre to Graniteville) and Montpelier and Wells River Railroad (Barre and Montpelier to Wells River) were sold to local interests. The latter was consolidated into the former in January 1945, but in 1957 the entire Barre and Chelsea Railroad was abandoned. The Montpelier and Barre Railroad took over operations of the Montpelier and Barre-area trackage, but the line east to Wells River was abandoned. In 1980 that company abandoned its trackage, and the state bought it in November and designated the new CSF Acquisition, Inc. subsidiary Washington County Railroad to operate it. The WACR assigned its lease to the New England Central Railroad
New England Central Railroad
The New England Central Railroad is a subsidiary of RailAmerica that began operations in 1995. It runs from New London, Connecticut, to Alburgh, Vermont, a distance of .-History:...
in February 1999, but that company ceased operating the lines in September, and the Vermont Railway
Vermont Railway
The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellows Falls...
took over temporarily until its new affiliate began under the Washington County Railroad name.
In early May 2010, after having been mostly dormant for some time, an official from the Barre government said that a contract for shipments of scrap granite bound for Florida would begin late the same month. Ten-car trains were planned to operate twice a day between Berlin and Montpelier Junction, as well as separate five-car trains from the granite quarries and Barre. The trains were to operate for the three months it would take for the 54,000 tons of granite the contract requested to be moved south. Further traffic of scrap granite was also considered possible, as further contracts for the material, of which 40 million tons was accessible, were being sought, and industries along the line had expressed interest in having rail service if the line was upgraded for granite shipments.
Connecticut River Division
The Connecticut River Division was built by the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, a predecessor of the B&M which completed its line from White River Junction to Newport in October 1863 and to the Canadian border in May 1867. In June 1926, the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
leased the line between Wells River and Newport, and its lessor Quebec Central Railway
Quebec Central Railway
The Quebec Central Railway was a railway in the Canadian province of Quebec, that served the area of Quebec called the Eastern Townships, south of the St. Lawrence River. Its headquarters was in Sherbrooke. It was originally incorporated in 1869 as the Sherbrooke, Eastern Townships and Kennebec...
leased the line north of Newport (including the connecting Massawippi Valley Railway to Sherbrooke). The Newport and Richford Railroad acquired the former portion in November 1946, continuing the lease to the CP. (The B&M retained operations south of Wells River.) Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways Incorporated was a railroad holding company which owned several short line railroads in the U.S. state of Maine, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia....
subsidiary Canadian American Railroad
Canadian American Railroad
The Canadian American Railroad was a railroad that operated between Brownville Junction, Maine and Lennoxville, Quebec between 1994 and 2002...
, through the newly-created Quebec Southern Railway and Northern Vermont Railroad
Northern Vermont Railroad
Northern Vermont Railroad was a former class III railroad that operated in Vermont from 1996-2002.The Northern Vermont Railroad was created by holding company Iron Road Railways on and began operations on 28 September, 1996 on the former Canadian Pacific Railway's Lyndonville Subdivision and the...
, took over operations of the portion north of Wells River in September 1996, and in 1999 the state acquired the remainder from the B&M, contracting first the Green Mountain Railroad
Green Mountain Railroad
The Green Mountain Railroad is a class III railroad operating in Vermont.GMRC operates on tracks that had been owned by the Rutland Railroad and Boston and Maine Railroad. The railroad operates on a rail line between North Walpole, New Hampshire and Rutland, Vermont. Corporate colors are green...
and then in 2000 the Northern Vermont Railroad
Northern Vermont Railroad
Northern Vermont Railroad was a former class III railroad that operated in Vermont from 1996-2002.The Northern Vermont Railroad was created by holding company Iron Road Railways on and began operations on 28 September, 1996 on the former Canadian Pacific Railway's Lyndonville Subdivision and the...
to operate it. After Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways
Iron Road Railways Incorporated was a railroad holding company which owned several short line railroads in the U.S. state of Maine, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia....
went bankrupt (CDAC, B&A, QS/NV) in fall 2002, it sold most of its lines to Rail World, Inc.
Rail World, Inc.
Rail World, Inc. is a rail transport holding company. Its specialties include railway management, consulting, investment, privatizations, and restructurings. Its purpose is to promote rail industry privatization by bringing together government bodies wishing to sell their stakes with investment...
which organized them under a newly-formed subsidiary, the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Its Canadian subsidiary is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company. The entire system is owned by Rail World,...
. However, the segment between Newport and White River Junction was not included in the transaction and instead was acquired by the state of Vermont which contracted freight service to the Washington County Railroad. Both companies began operating their new lines in January 2003.