The NH Maine Line (Long Post!)

A recent post about Guilford started a rush of memories of the B&M in NH, specifically the NH mainline. This stretch of track started in Boston and worked its way through NH and went through such towns as Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Franklin, Canaan and terminated in White River Jct. VT. These are the tracks I grew up next to, the tracks where I saw blue Geep 7 and 9's shuffle balck and blue McGinnis PS1 boxcars, where I saw the Freedom train, where I spent many an evening watching for a train with my dad at the Hannah Dustin park.

I grew up in the small mill town of Penacook. Viewable on any B&M map, Penacook is located just north of the state capitol, Concord. Penacook was known at one time for its leather, giant empty buildings still scatter the lanscape. The B&M had a small yard in Penacook, right next to the Merrimack river. Just north of the small yard in Penacook was the first bridge, spanning a small inlet from the Merrimack. This bridge connected to the small island (and I do mean small) of Hannah Dustin. In the middle of this island is a large memorial made of concrete with a statue of Hannah Dustin. Who was Hannah Dustin? Well look it up on Google to get a more acurate history lesson, but if my memory of grade school NH history is right, the story goes like this.

The Dustin family were settlers from England and were with a group of settlers that had taken home in the Penacook valley in 1697. A group of savages of the Penacook tribe killed her husband and children. She along with other women and children were taken as captives by the tribe and were forced to walk up north. In the middle of the night she scalped most of the warriors and took the group to flee by water back down to Concord. It was said she was befriended of one of the warriors who showed her how to scalp. I'm sure who ever re-married Hannah made sure to stay on her good side.

Back to the B&M. The Dustin Island is only a few acres at best until the line crosses another smaller bridge bringing us back to mainland. Now as a kid this is where it gets interesting. At one time the main road, Rt 3 used to go in the valley, past the leather and flour mills, cross the B&M line right in front of the bridge, then cross the Merrimack and go through the town of Eastview then Concord. That was until the flood of 1936, when the bridge was swept away. By the time I showed up, Rt. 3 was a few hunderd yards north and above the valley away from the mill complex. Yet half of the old bridge was still there. This was a curiousity to me as a young kid to see the old grade crossing and the road leading to knowwhere. we called the bridge Broken Bridge. The few houses on the east side of the bridge were mostly abandoned as the road had been re-directed 500 yards or more to the north.

I have always thought Penacook would be an interesting place to model in N scale. Interestingly enough, I have never seen pictures of the B&M in that town in any of my books. If you ever happen to be in NH travelling north on highway 93, take exit 17 and hop north on Rt.3. About a mile and a half north of the highway, you will see a "Park and Ride" off to your left. Pull into the parking and walk west to the opening of the railings and follow the steep decaying asphalt path that will take you to the old Rt.3. To your left is what remains of the road over the Merrimack, the final portion of the bridge is now long gone, removed around 2000 if I remember right but the abrutments are still there. To the right of the bottom of the hill you will see the old B&M line and the old grade crossing. Follow the tracks west and you will see the bridge has a pedestrian walkway to it to Hannah Dustin. The park was somewhat decrepid the last time I was there in 1998, so do be careful.

 

Hank, glad you enjoyed my ramblings, er, memories:shade: . I ran some B&M this weekend at the Milwaukee Trainfest. The other line you are thinking of is still used up to Tilton by the New England Southern. Past Tilton and up to Lincoln the line is operated by the Hobo RR. They have a neat operation as I have riden it many times. The line south of Cantebury to Concord still has signal masts, but the signals have not seen service for decades, there is even an abandoned grade crossing where the road from my first post use to cross it before the highway was built. Kind of spooky back there:teeth:

 

Hank, unfortunately the Northern between Concord and White River is in horrible shape. They have ripped some parts up already, mainly in Boscawen were the station and road overpass was. The old road overpass in Boscawen still had telltales on either side of it until the town took them down. The last B&M train that went further than Boscawen was probably in the late 70's, maybe 1982. Even then, a highrail had to traverse in front of the train to help with track conditions and grade crossings. A wash out on the Conn. Valley directed a few trains on the Northern for a brief time I believe in 1982. I saw B&M and Guilford engines as far north as Penacook until the rail strike of 1987 between former B&M employees and Guilford management. Currently New England Southern uses this part but I have not seen a car there in 20 years, save some old flat cars that were ready for the scrape yard.

Oh yeah, Clarks Tradeing post is still there, it set the standard for "Tourist Traps." The trained bears are still there. I went as a child to see I believe the very engine you speak of. Interesting connection you have there.

 

Another point of intrest, this is the line where I saw the American Freedom train in either '75 or '76. I was either 2 or 3 so memory is a bit fuzzy but it made an impression on me. My dad took us up to the town of Potter Place, a small town north of Boscawen named after a then famous magician. His family cemetery is across the tracks from the Potter Place Station. Why the Freedom Train stoped in Potter is beyond me, other than to take on water, as even in 1975 Potter Place was all but a ghost town. We watched the steam engine, coupled with B&M #200 a bicentennial GP38-2 and the cars, pull out and we chased the train from Potter Place to Concord, where it was put on display. That was my first taste of railfanning and I liked it! For years I always thought that the SP #4449 was the Freedom train, but the train of my memory was not white or as big. I later found out that it was really the Reading T1 as the GS4 could not nogotiate the tight radius curves in New England.

 

Seems to me, about two-three years ago, I came across a web site about that Clark's operation.

Wasn't the Freedom Train T-1 Reading 2100?



Boxcab E50

 

Ken, the steam engine that pulled the Freedom Train was Reading T-1 #2101. She later was painted in Chessie painted and used for steam specials until a roundhouse fire almost destroyed her. I think she was restored but I don't know where she is now.

Another railroad scenic line of the old B&M was the Wolfboro RR. This was an interesting branch of the B&M with the station at a the termination of the branch. The Wolfboro RR went on until the late 1980's. The track is ripped up and last time I checked (1999) the great rr station had been converted to a day care. Gone were the nice maroon and cream B&M colors, only to be replaced with gaudy lime greens and purples:angry: .

 

2101 is on static display at the B&O Museum in Baltimore. Cosmetic restoration done.



Boxcab E50

 

Hank, the last time I was in Concord NH (2002) shw was still there. NEGS brought her down way back in 1997 or 1998, when Tina and I still lived out that way. The truck dealership is for Kenworths. Not too far from #250 is a McGinnis PS1 5o foot boxcar rotting away on a spur. I hope Edaville takes #250 soon, she looked worse for wear when I last saw her.

If you guys are interested in railfan fiction, check out today's blog about my JTW line. It is based on this very ex B&M line. I even included paint schemes with my time line.:shade: