New Hampshire Railroading and Railfanning In "The Granite State"

New Hampshire railroading no longer has an operating Class I within its borders although several shortlines and tourist railroads still operate within the state. At one time the Granite State featured such fabled Northeastern railroads as the Maine Central and Boston & Maine although that is no longer the case today. While New Hampshire may only operate a few hundred miles of railroad in the 21st century it offers some spectacular views of New England railroading at its finest.

New Hampshire railroading has its beginnings dating back to 1835 when the Nashua & Lowell was chartered and by the 1838 the little railroad had completed its main line between its namesake cities (the railroad became part of the B&M system and today it remains in use under Pan Am Railways). In the later years the B&M and Maine Central would build or purchase routes into New Hampshire although the former offered most of the service in the state reaching all of its large cities.

To give a brief history of the Boston & Maine, the growth of the railroad was a result of a heavily industrialized Northeast which existed for many years until following World War II when businesses slowly began to move away (most notably from the 1960s through the 1980s). During this time the B&M was a very profitable operation and although never a large operator of passenger trains the railroad did run commuter services and its more well known named trains include the Ambassador (Concord, New Hampshire to White River Junction, Vermont), Alouette (Boston and Wells River, Vermont), Green Mountain Flyer (Bellow Falls, VT to Montreal via CN and the Rutland Railroad), and the lightweight streamliner Flying Yankee a near identical sister to the famous Burlington Zephyr 9900.

Like most Northeastern carriers, following WWII (and especially the latter 1950s) the Boston and Maine Railroad began to see profits drying up and it did not help any that during the late 1950s and early 1960s the railroad had a president unable to effectively manage the railroad (one problem of which was deferring maintenance and allowing the railroad to deteriorate to critical conditions). It was almost inevitable then that the B&M went bankrupt on February 1, 1970 (a time period when almost all of its surrounding competitors were throwing in the towel as well).

Miraculously, however, it was able to avoid inclusion into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), which began operations on April 1, 1976. A new president kept this from happening whose name was Alan B. Dustin. Dustin rescued the railroad from the brink and through aggressive management, marketing, and sound railroading the B&M began to once again see black (which, considering the Northeast rail grid during these years its amazing the railroad was able to accomplish such a feat).

Now a successful Regional operation it’s not surprising that someone would be interested in purchasing the B&M. After recently emerging from its 1970 bankruptcy, the Boston and Maine Railroad was purchased by Timothy Mellon, founder of Guilford Transportation Industries in 1983.

Today the Boston and Maine Railroad is still officially on the books at the ripe old age of 173 (the oldest railroad still on paper in North America), although it survives now mostly in name only and it is unlikely the railroad will ever be spun off from the Pan Am system, which has a significant presence in New Hampshire today.

Aside from the Pan Am’s operations other railroads operating in New Hampshire include the St. Lawrence & Atlantic (part of the Genesee & Wyoming family of shortlines), the historic Claremont Concord Railroad, Milford-Bennington Railroad, New England Central Railroad, New England Southern Railroad, New England Central Railroad, and the New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation.

In total, these railroads, plus what the State of New Hampshire owns (including 300 miles of railbanked right-of-way), operate a little over 400 miles of trackage although at one time the state was home to over 1,200 miles. For more information on New Hampshire railroading, in terms of route mileage over the years please refer to the chart below.

While New Hampshire railroading has never known famous passenger trains like the Super Chief or 20th Century Limited there have been trains like the B&M’s Day White Mountains and Maine Central’s Mountaineer operated in the Granite State. Today, passenger operations are exclusively the domain of Amtrak and include the daily Vermonter, with stops at Claremont Junction and the Downeaster, with stops at Exeter, Durham and Dover.

Aside from passenger and freight trains you may want to also ride one of the state’s tourist railroads that can take you through the breathtaking New England countryside or through New Hampshire’s gorgeous White Mountains, like on the White Mountain Central Railroad. New Hampshire is also home to the famous Mount Washington Cog Railway, which goes straight up Mount Washington! If, however, you’re not into excursion trains be sure and visit one of the state’s museums like the Sandown Historical Society and Museum.

All in all, whether it is a ride up Mount Washington or watching the Pan Am Railway serve the state’s coastal regions, New Hampshire railroading is most definitely an interesting and unique experience that will not be forgotten!