Hampton branch activity tracker

I know the Eastern is pretty much dead straight, but I didn't think about the profile (?) of the Western. I thought "train Portsmouth to Boston", not even of intermediate stops, and concluded Ports to Rock was fewer miles and no bridge at Newburyport. I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say those Newburyport trains are, relatively, quiet. Not much warning as they approach, a burst, the rapidly receding sound of steel wheels on steel.

This isn't the best picture, but I wanted to prove I've been near trains passing at speed along the Eastern. A good few places to walk along the route in Mass.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/newmundane/3492381157

I just thought of it- 1977-78 I lived across from the station in Hampton and would stop in Colt News for a roll of Necco wafers and go up on the bridge and watch the switchers.

Was walking some of the old track down in Hampton Falls today from Depot Road and wondered how long it has been since it saw trains down there? I know trains to Foss stopped in 2008.

Late 70's, maybe early 80's. Components for the nuke plant. I remember watching a unit train of gears and turbine parts pass through Exeter. I even remember the power. Gp-38-2's, 208 and 207 respective.

Thanks for the info. That's a great memory you have there!

There used to be a road off rte. 1 that gave access to the R.O.W. People would go down and fish from the bridge at the Hampton end of the marsh. One night, around 1983, four delinquents in a hopped up Chevy tried to jump the gap where the span for the second track had been. They didn't make it.

At least one load came out of Seabrook, in the late 80's. After the cooling tunnels for the plant were completed, crews managed to retrieve the tunnel boring machine, or at least the cutting head. Original plan was to leave the machine in the tunnel. The cutting head sat on a flat car for a few weeks on the old Griffin spur while routing was worked out. I have a photo of the load somewhere. I would have liked to see that move.

Thanks. Would be very interesting to see that picture and other pictures of what the area used to look like.

Found the photo's. There were actually two flatcars with boring machine parts. If I overlap the two prints, I have an acceptable image of the loads together. Still waiting for final approval from joining the Nerail photo site . Then I'll try to figure out how to post them there. I wasn't doing much scenic stuff back then, mostly roster shots documenting what came to town. (Portsmouth). Those were the days, early Guilford, almost always two Geeps based there, with enough traffic to do the Rockingham, Portsmouth , Newington, Hampton tour 5 days a week, once in a while, six.

Is the Hampton Branch part of the old Eastern Row, or is it actually a branch?

Its the old Eastern railroad main line to Portland. It became a branch when the Newburyport draw went OOS in the 60's.

truman wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:45 am Not to discount Mr.Bolt's report of a washout, but I'm beginning to suspect that it is a story cooked up by management and fed to the good people at Foss. The track gang continues to inspect the branch via Hi-rail on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

I know this post is 12 years old but since this thread has been reopened.... I took this awhile back, though I'm not sure it was 2008. This is a stones's throw from Breakfast Hill Rd. on the N. Hampton/Rye border showing a marsh which has overflowed its banks and flooded the tracks. Perhaps this is the washout referenced earlier?

The picture isn't the greatest, it was taken using my old 35mm which was clearly on its last legs.

arthur d. wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 4:30 am There used to be a road off rte. 1 that gave access to the R.O.W. People would go down and fish from the bridge at the Hampton end of the marsh. One night, around 1983, four delinquents in a hopped up Chevy tried to jump the gap where the span for the second track had been. They didn't make it.

Hmmm, that Taylor River bridge is a decent length - 70-80 feet? You'd need a hemi Charger like the Duke boys were driving to make that jump! Such a gross act of stupidity surely would have made the Hampton Union?

Manalishi wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:08 pm Hmmm, that Taylor River bridge is a decent length - 70-80 feet? You'd need a hemi Charger like the Duke boys were driving to make that jump! Such a gross act of stupidity surely would have made the Hampton Union?

Yep.

arthur d. wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 4:30 am There used to be a road off rte. 1 that gave access to the R.O.W. People would go down and fish from the bridge at the Hampton end of the marsh. One night, around 1983, four delinquents in a hopped up Chevy tried to jump the gap where the span for the second track had been. They didn't make it.

They still fish there. I was there walking two weeks ago when the stripers were running.

When I first moved up here in the late 80's, I remember driving on Rte. 1 south of the 101 interchange, glancing over toward the marsh, and seeing people fishing from that bridge.
My first thought was, 'You goddamned fools! You could get hit by a train!'
Only later, when I became interested in that branch while flying out of Hampton Airfield (which still hosts a grade crossing in its driveway), and began to read into its history, did I realize that the bridge hadn't seen a live movement in over a decade at that time.