Bristol Railroad

Bristol Railroad
Locale Addison County, Vermont
Dates of operation 18921930
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 6 miles (9.7 km)
Headquarters Bristol
Bristol Railroad
Legend
0.0 New Haven Junction--Vermont Railway
1.5 New Haven
6.0 Bristol

The Bristol Railroad was a short-line railroad in Addison County, Vermont.

Businessmen in the town of Bristol chartered the railroad in 1890, and the grand opening was on January 5, 1892, although service had actually begun on November 25, 1891, when a car of potatoes was shipped out of Bristol.[1]

The railroad never did much business, and it is unlikely that it ever hauled more than a three-car train. Freight traffic was mostly agricultural. A trip could take as little as 18 minutes, if the locomotive had only one car to handle.[2]

The railroad was abandoned during the Great Depression. The last run was on April 12, 1930. One man, John S. Burt, rode both the grand opening train and the final train.[3] Both the Bristol and New Haven Junction stations survive.[4]

Locomotives

Number Image Type Builder Notes
1 Forney locomotive Rhode Island Locomotive Works 65 short tons (59,000 kg). Used until 1911
Doodlebug Formerly worked in Boston. 4-cylinder petrol engine. Used 1911-1922
11 4-4-0 Purchased from Southern Railway. 110 short tons (100,000 kg). Used after 1922

References

  1. Heffernan, Gerald. "Timeline - Bristol Railroad & Related History". Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  2. "Vermont's Bristol Railroad". Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  3. Heffernan, Gerald. "Timeline, Page 2". Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  4. Lindsell, Robert M. (2000). The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Pepperell: Branch Line Press. pp. 47–48.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/19/2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.