Premature abandoments(?)

While we're on the subject of the most futile railroads ever built (or not) in New England, I would like to initiate a thread on the reverse:What rail line abandonments should, in hindsight, never have happened? I'm thinking in terms of branches and, in some cases, even whole divisions that were strategically located and which, had they survived longer, might have enjoyed revivification.

For example (just my thoughts):
The New Haven's Air Line and Highland Divisions from Hartford/Middletown to Willimantic to Putnam to Boston. Increased population from the '80s onward could have meant commuter service farther out on the northeastern end of the line; also a possible alternate passenger route to NYC via Hartford.
The Rutland from Burlington to Rouses Point (one of the most scenic railroad routes in the East) - if for no other reason than for excursion runs. Same could have been done with the Chatham (Corkscrew) Division.
The B&M's Northern Division or Cheshire Branch - Possibilities for revived Boston-to-Montreal passenger service.
The B&M's Eastern from Newburyport to Portsmouth, for commuter service. Ditto the Central Mass. to Berlin, though the NIMBYs will never allow it.

The stretch of proposed south coast rail line that runs between Stoughton to Taunton. Probably only about 10 miles but it basically severs any chance of ever running passenger trains between Boston and Fall River/New Bedford. I guess when they abandoned it in the 60's? they didn't realize how difficult it would be to get it rebuilt 40 years later.

How about the Old Colony branches. They were abandoned and brought back. Another parallel idea is the single tracking of the Western Route. I'm sure having two tracks from Haverhill all the way to Boston would be a nice thing. Of course we're paying to replace much of this right now.

Not sure if the Air Line east of Portland to Willimantic would've been worth saving. Definitely agree on the Highland though from Manchester to Willimantic. A commuter route today between Hartford and Willimantic would've helped alleviate some of the problems of "Suicide Six".

Definitely the Northern Line from Concord to White River Jct shouldn't have been abandoned, as this would have been a good route for Boston-Montreal service, moreso than the former Cheshire, as it would have touched more population centers (the big 3 in NH, then over to VT).

I could totally see the old Rutland causeway as an excursion line, but from an economic standpoint, I can see why it was abandoned, especially with a parallel route (CV/NECR) in good condition and with a lot less infrastructure to maintain.

The Eastern Route from Newburyport up to Portsmouth. If it survived and was still in use today, you'd most likely see Portsmouth-Boston commuter trains. Well, given NH, maybe not... but an interesting "what-if". An east/west route from Manchester to Portsmouth surviving may have been nice to have retained as well.

And then there's the one that is slipping away as we speak... the New Britain-Newington (CT) section of the Highland, for that Busway.

As sad as it was to see the Lamoille Valley disappear, I'm not sure if it could have made much $$$ had it been retained. It was a scenic line but most likely too far north to survive as an excursion line... not much industry on the line, and little if any bridge traffic. The Woodstock Railroad/Railway would have made a nice excursion run as well, especially if there was a way to concurrently run the tracks over the Quechee Gorge bridge with US 4 (though originally the present bridge was a railroad bridge).

shadyjay wrote:Not sure if the Air Line east of Portland to Willimantic would've been worth saving. Definitely agree on the Highland though from Manchester to Willimantic. A commuter route today between Hartford and Willimantic would've helped alleviate some of the problems of "Suicide Six".

Definitely the Northern Line from Concord to White River Jct shouldn't have been abandoned, as this would have been a good route for Boston-Montreal service, moreso than the former Cheshire, as it would have touched more population centers (the big 3 in NH, then over to VT).

I could totally see the old Rutland causeway as an excursion line, but from an economic standpoint, I can see why it was abandoned, especially with a parallel route (CV/NECR) in good condition and with a lot less infrastructure to maintain.

The Eastern Route from Newburyport up to Portsmouth. If it survived and was still in use today, you'd most likely see Portsmouth-Boston commuter trains. Well, given NH, maybe not... but an interesting "what-if". An east/west route from Manchester to Portsmouth surviving may have been nice to have retained as well.

And then there's the one that is slipping away as we speak... the New Britain-Newington (CT) section of the Highland, for that Busway.

As sad as it was to see the Lamoille Valley disappear, I'm not sure if it could have made much $$$ had it been retained. It was a scenic line but most likely too far north to survive as an excursion line... not much industry on the line, and little if any bridge traffic. The Woodstock Railroad/Railway would have made a nice excursion run as well, especially if there was a way to concurrently run the tracks over the Quechee Gorge bridge with US 4 (though originally the present bridge was a railroad bridge).

Most of this reflects my sentiments too. The Rutland north of Burlington had very little traffic and was expensive to maintain and operate. Drawbridges do not come cheap. The Rutland between Bennington and Chatham ditto although this line did not have any drawbridges it had very little traffic even in 1953 and probably would not have any local business today. I agree that Concord -White River Junction should have been kept but nobody had any interest in it at the time and it again had very little local business to contribute to its operation. I do not think the Air Line between Middletown/Portland and Willimantic was needed even when it was abandoned and probably even less today, however, the line between Hartford - Willimantic - Putnam - Blackstone and Franklin could have been kept in the 50's, 60's and 70's as a through freight route and maybe local passenger service as well but again it was not. Don't forget the New Haven had McGinnis as its president in 1955 and he was not interested in keeping any branches or passenger trains either so the floods played right in to his scheme of things. Later on the New Haven paid dearly for this shortsight when the "Ford Train" went into operation between Maybrook and Readville and this missing link meant a detour through Plainfield and a back up move to get to the line to Putnam. Saving some of the lines just for excursion trains would probably not work because there was no local freight business to pay the bills and the excursion trains would not raise enough to pay for their costs. Unfortunately today an express bus service using an interstate highway can probably make better time than the trains would even if the track was still in good enough condition for the train to make a decent schedule. T There are any number of things that could have happened differently way back when, had this occurred maybe one or two more lines would have been with us today.
Noel Weaver

Red Wing wrote:How about the Old Colony branches. They were abandoned and brought back. Another parallel idea is the single tracking of the Western Route. I'm sure having two tracks from Haverhill all the way to Boston would be a nice thing. Of course we're paying to replace much of this right now.

And if the Greenbush south of Greenbush had remained long enough that the ROW was preserved, it'd probably have been restored too...

Not likely, really. By 1932 the only service past Greenbush was a single South Duxbury round trip, so after the '38 hurricane cutting past Greenbush made a lot of sense. Restoration would be expensive due to the large causeway (and possibly bridge) over the North River, and Marshfield and Duxbury have good access to Route 3 and the elbow of the line doe snot.

One possible "what-if", if the Air Line east of Portland had been retained, is that it may have been a more suitable candidate for Amtrak's Boston-New York high speed route. I had a copy of a report issued in the late 1970s/early 1980s evaluating the three New York to Boston routes for Amtrak high speed service including electrification. One was the present Shore Line route, one was the Inland Route, and one was the Air Line. If the Air Line had survived east of Portland, it could very well be a double-track electrified route hosting Amtrak. It is after all, the shortest NY-Boston route. Granted, a lot of infrastructure improvements would have been required, even if the rails had remained intact, though several of the bridges along the line were designed for future second track installations which never came to be.

shadyjay wrote:One possible "what-if", if the Air Line east of Portland had been retained, is that it may have been a more suitable candidate for Amtrak's Boston-New York high speed route. I had a copy of a report issued in the late 1970s/early 1980s evaluating the three New York to Boston routes for Amtrak high speed service including electrification. One was the present Shore Line route, one was the Inland Route, and one was the Air Line. If the Air Line had survived east of Portland, it could very well be a double-track electrified route hosting Amtrak. It is after all, the shortest NY-Boston route. Granted, a lot of infrastructure improvements would have been required, even if the rails had remained intact, though several of the bridges along the line were designed for future second track installations which never came to be.

Air Line east of Portland? Are we talking Portland, Maine? The old Eastern went West from Portland. Is this the same line you are calling the Air Line?

miketrainnut wrote: Air Line east of Portland? Are we talking Portland, Maine? The old Eastern went West from Portland. Is this the same line you are calling the Air Line?

Portland, CT.

Another candidate, based solely and anecdotally on a trip from Groveton to Gorham October 5th: the B&M "branch" from Woodsville to Berlin. I ran out of fingers and toes on myself, my wife, and our two dogs keeping track of the semis grinding up hills along Route 2. The Whitefield - Berlin section was taken up around 1997, followed by the state commissioning a study in 1998 of whether rail lines should be abandoned, infrastructure removed, railbanked, allowed to revert to abutters, or sold off. You can't make this stuff up.

PBM

One possible "what-if", if the Air Line east of Portland had been retained, is that it may have been a more suitable candidate for Amtrak's Boston-New York high speed route.

Only with a MASSIVE amount of expensive regrading. The Air Line via Middletown was a twisting, turning, uphill-and-down piece of track, which is why it ceased to be a through route for Boston-New York trains once the New Haven's Shore Line Route was completed by the construction of bridges at New London and Old Saybrook.

Cutting through the CT hills is also not ideal for a line. There's a lot of narrow cuts and lengthy viaducts (plus possibly a handful of tunnels) that would have been incredibly expensive to make suitable for high speed double track.

Another big issue here is that an inland route would skip major traffic sources. Stamford, New Haven, New London and Providence are all major NEC stops and I doubt if any points on any other route would equal these points in ridership. There is a lot more to the NEC than just New York and Boston.
Noel Weaver

One that was abandoned long ago but would be useful today-- the original Housatonic main from Bridgeport to Newtown via Stepney and Botsford. When the NH pulled the rails in 1938 or so, it was a freight-only spur through marginal dairy-farm country, but if it were extant today it would link the heavily-populated suburban towns of Monroe and Trumbull to the New Haven Line.