Railroad Exploring - Southern VT and NY

On my way up to the Adirondacks to spent time with some old friends, I decided to go "the back way" and check out some railroad history.

Former Bennington Railroad Station

This former Rutland Station now is used by an engineering firm. Note--at the other end of the Rutland line--the Chatham, NY station was a fairly elaborate stone structure as well.

Nearing Walloomsac / North Hoosic

Eagle Bridge, NY

At one time, Eagle Bridge, the junction of the north-south D&H and the east-west B&M railroad lines, was a very prominent railroad town with multiple hotels and inns, an opera house, a creamery, and many fine houses along the tree-lined street.  Today there's still a small yard but sadly the station is boarded up and neglected.

Before arriving at the station area, I turned on a small farm road to check out the bridge, etc.

Once there was no ballast between the ties I turned around :-)

Here's the back (east) end of the yard.

I got down to the river's edge to take this photo

By the river's edge, there was an old abandonded barn that intrigued me.

At the station area...

Further Info

• Bennington Railroad Station (Wikipedia)
• Bennington Railroad Station (Nashua City Station)
• Eagle Bridge Railroad Station (Nashua City Station)
• High deck bridge over the Hoosic River (Railfan)

Stephentown, NY - Freight Way Bills

I had the strange combination of terrible misfortune (its a long story...) and good luck to meet up with Ethan Brown--a local from the Stephentown, NY area--who donated these old Freight waybills to me. Many thanks Ethan, these are very cool...

What's a Waybill?

A freight waybill is a receipt created by the railroad companies summarizing shipping instructions. The waybill shows the forwarding and receiving station, the names of consignor and consignee, the car initials and number, the routing, the description and weight of the commodity, instructions for special services, the rate, total charges, etc. These days, waybills are of course all digital.

Where is Stephentown?

Stephentown is a small town in Rensselaer County, New York, near the Vermont border. The Lebanon Springs Railroad ran through it which later became part of the Rutland Railroad,

Photo courtesy of the
Stephentown Historical Society

This stretch of Railroad was known as the "Corkscrew"

When wealthy North Bennington resident Trenor Park purchased the Bennington-Rutland Railroad, he found that the railroad "barons" of the Troy and Boston Railroad refused him access to the New York lines. Rather than fight this monopoly, Park built a rail line from Bennington to Lebanon Spring, NY, where he could transfer his trains to southbound rails while bypassing Troy. The dozens of turns over 40 miles of hilly terrain gave this stretch of railroad the name "Corkscrew." Passenger service was canceled in 1931 and the line was officially abandoned in 1953. 

 Further Info

• The Old Stephentown Railroad Station Is Demolished
• Poulin Rutland Railroad Collection - Stephentown (PDF)
• Local Railroad History
• Corkscrew Rails And Tales: 
  History Of The Rutland RR From North Bennington To Chatham
• Open Railway Map

Railroad History Snapshots (VT and NY) - 8-27-19

On my way from Stowe, VT to Scotia, NY--I decided to head to Poultney, VT and ride a bit of the Rail Trail there.

Bristol

On the way,  I stopped at Bristol for a coffee and a Danish. Its a nice town and I had done a study on its railroad history a few years back. [Thursday, September 3, 2015 - Bristol Railroad]

Poultney, VT

I was in the mood for something easier today and thought a ride along the river and a bit of railroad history would be fun. Sadly the trail was really boring and there very almost no river views.

 I started my ride from the former station

The two photos above were taken the year before

The Ride...

Riding on the old D&H ROW was fun...

...however most of the trail is just a mowed cut thru fields

At this kiosk, there was a short spur...

...to the river

Pricklers in the field left their mark on me!

but finally the loop brings you back to the RR ROW

Heading to the station once again

Slate Valley

Last August I rode the D&H Rail Trail from Granville to West Pawlet. This area was known as Slate Valley and there's a proliferation of slate quarries all around...

Google Aerial View > 

Google Aerial View > 

Salem, NY

Once in Salem,  a stop to the old railroad station was of course a must!

A peak thru the window

It once was a major railroad hub !
(from kiosk across the street)

Salem, NY - Further Railroad Info

• Rutland & Washington Railroad Salem NY (YouTube)
• More Salem Station Photos

Cambridge, NY

Ages ago, our family had a get together here and stayed in the Victorian Hotel. I knew the hotel had fallen on hard times and closed and it was wonderful to see it reborn as an assisted living center!

The train area has been totally revitalized as well. The Argyle Brewing Co. has turned the passenger depot into a tasting room and the freight building complex is now all renovated as part of Hubbard Hall.  What they've done is fantastic!

This is the Map from their site

Close up of the hearth/furnace? in the photo above

Across the street may hopefully get renovated as well someday... :-)

Sadly, I had planned on visiting Hoosick Falls as well but due to an unbelievable amount of long waits in traffic because of one-lane-only construction delays, I had to forgo that visit... :-(