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  • Abandoned ROW in VT

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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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 #958748  by steveh
 
The map on pg 70 of Ronald Dale Karr's book, "Lost Railroads of New England" [3rd edition] shows an abandoned ROW running from Manchester, VT to Dorset, VT. The description of this line on pg 98 says, "Abandoned 1918...Length 6 mi...Railroad: MDG...owned by Vermont Marble Co...existed mainly to haul rocks, provided local passenger service."

Anyone know what "MDG" stands for...and also where one might look to find this ROW in Manchester? Is it passable, by walking, by bike, etc

Thanks,
Stephen
 #958804  by BowdoinStation
 
Manchester, Dorset and Granville (as in Granville NY). Not sure if anything is left of the ROW, used to look for things like that when I lived in the area..
 #958843  by dcm74
 
BowdoinStation wrote:Manchester, Dorset and Granville (as in Granville NY). Not sure if anything is left of the ROW, used to look for things like that when I lived in the area..
Locally known as the Mud, Dirt & Gravel.
 #958940  by MikeVT
 
The road by the quarry off hwy 30 (north of Dorset) could have been a ROW. Its set back for a road but its hard to tell.
 #959107  by steveh
 
Thanks for the replies...interesting!
MikeVT wrote:The road by the quarry off hwy 30 (north of Dorset) could have been a ROW. Its set back for a road but its hard to tell.
I've thought this as well...the angle of that road looks like a ROW...but it doesn't appear to continue on the other side of Rt 30...maybe Rt 30 was built on part of the MDG ROW?

Stephen
 #959170  by CarterB
 
"The Manchester, Dorset and Granville Railroad (locally known as the Mud, Dirt and Gravel line) was incorporated in 1902, to transport marble from the west valley quarries to the mill in Manchester Deport. The first train ran the 5.09 miles to Manchester Depot in 1904. Demand for marble decreased after the completion of the New York library in 1911, and the railroad never was completed past the Norcross-West Quarry in South Dorset."

“The Norcross-West Marble Co.’s Valley quarry is a mile north-northwest of South Dorset village, and about 2 ½ miles S. 79° W. from the top of Green Peak, the southern outlier of Dorset Mountain, in the southwestern part of Dorset Township. (See map of Equinox quadrangle, U. S. Geol. Survey, and geologic map, Pl. I.)" N 43.23626 W 73.08286

http://wikimapia.org/6777259/Norcross-W ... ble-Quarry

http://www.historicalpages.com/pdfs/Dorset427.pdf

http://www.nyysa.com/archive/code/doSea ... &x=10&ao=0 Built: Taunton 32 June/1849

Marble MD & G Railroad Abutments
Dorset, VT 05251
About halfway down the slope from Rte 30 are marble blocks somewhat camouflaged in foliage which are the remains of abutments for a trestle crossing of the small gully by the Manchester, Dorset and Granville Rail Road.

Disused Inclined Railway
Dorset, VT 05251
An inclined rail line, powered by gravity, provided for transport of marble from the quarries above the main rail line in the valley below, and later to the Freedley marble mill. The vertical difference from the quarry to the millsite is 1200 feet.
 #1474435  by smsullivan11
 
Felt like it was worth bringing this thread back from the dead to say that there is now a bike trail on a good portion of the Manchester, Dorset, and Granville. There's a Facebook group for the trail and they seem to usually run tours on the weekends. If anyone has anymore information about this line and where/how it goes into the mainline I'm very interested.