Newington Branch, Pease Spur use over the years

Is there anyone who remembers/knows much about the spur into the former Pease Airforce Base? Was the spur used simply to facilitate construction of the facility, or did the use continue through activation of and after the decommissioning of the Base? I remember even as recently as 2003 you could still see the rails on either side of the turnpike fairly well, but these days they are hard to spot. I can't imagine driving down the turnpike and having to stop for a train crossing. Must have been very different "back then."

Also, can anyone take a stab at the furthest a train has made it through Newington in the last decade? I've biked through a few of the neighborhoods tucked in between all the big industries along the river and those tracks look like they've been neglected quite a long time (not surprised of course). I believe the whole branch is still technically "active"?

That is a tough one. Take a look at this aerial photograph. Unknown year.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

Note the trackcar and the siding with what appear to be covered hoppers up next to the building.

You can follow the line by scrolling.

Maybe you can determine the date by scrolling around and finding something familiar. If you know someone who lives in the area, ask them to find their house and estimate what the year was by what the house looked like and what was in the yard.

Have a nice weekend.

The spur paralleled the main drag down past the old steam plant (gone now) at least as far as the current passport office. Several buildings there had loading docks though I do not know what cargo was handled in or out, but the engine and I think airframe shops were located nearby.
The spur left when SAC did, but several years ago a gas pipe line was laid along the ROW.
I am told that there is a mothballed pipeline under the section of track that still exists, for moving jet fuel from the river to the air guard tank farm, should the need ever arise.

I lived in New Castle and New Market from 1974 to 1979 and I think the spur to the base was dormant even then. I served in the Army Reserve and we flew out of Pease a couple of times and there was no evidence I remember of railroad use. There was grass and weeds on the spur that could be seen from both sides of the highway. The B&M ran west from Portsmouth to a dock where moderately sized ocean going ships were unloaded just before where the spur turned south from the Piscataqua River into Pease. Aviation fuel and weapons came into by truck or air, not by train.

Not according to firsthand stories from two former Air Force vets whom I know well that were stationed at Pease AFB. JP-4 was shipped in by tank cars on occasion during the heady days of the cold war. It certainly wasn't a heavily used line, but I can recall seeing a train crossing the turnpike at least once in the early 80s. As can my father several times, who commuted that way every day for 20 years. Also, I can also recall seeing tank cars near the aviation fuel depots during open houses and air shows. The AFB campus was a bit more freely accessed in those days before 9/11. I'm not trying to argue, just giving a different viewpoint.

As far as the grade crossing at Spaulding Turnpike, the tracks and signals were finally ripped up during the late 1990s all the way back to the ancient Dover & Portsmouth main near Sprague Energy. About a quarter mile south from Newington Station. It's hard to believe in a 15 mile span, there used to be two grade crossings on the Spaulding Turnpike. One at Pease in Newington. The second being the stub leftover from the WN&P realingment in Rochester, serving Eastern propane until the mid 1980s. This crossing was about 150 yards north of Rochester toll plaza. Can you imagine a 8 MPH local tying up all those SUVs at 5:30 on a Friday? I'd pay to see that.

Heres a pretty basic document with the Pease ROW in it.
http://www.newington-dover.com/pdf/5142 ... 00-opt.pdf

You can see the ROW to atleast where it starts to come into the main road of the Base. I can remember at one point driving along some buildings on the West side of New Hampshire Ave, and I believe I saw some rails in the street in a few locations.