New Hampshire Central Railroad (NHCR) Discussion

NHCR moving the new dome car down to Hazens for Conway Scenic with GMTX 205.

Freight doesn't run on a schedule, especially not on the Groveton-Whitefield section. This is the first move all year down the line. They moved two locomotives for Conway Scenic last fall, other than that, no freight moves since September 2019.

DOT painted fresh RR Crossing lines at the intersection of Route 116 and Route 3 in Whitefield... Any idea as to why? I know the old B&M line is abandoned and being removed up to Wing Road.

Because it's not abandoned and required by MUTCD. It is Out of Service for normal movements.

Normal movement? More like no movements at all, Seems like a waste of time to me in my opinion.

Considering how little time it probably took, and the fact it is required by law, doesn't make it all that wasteful.

That is the point of the track being OOS, there are no regular movements, but the line is not formally abandoned east of MP 119.

Drewby27 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:07 am Normal movement? More like no movements at all, Seems like a waste of time to me in my opinion.

No movements that you are aware of. Inspections that we are required to do still take place on OOS track, and OOS track is just that OOS, not abandoned so if it needs to be put back in-service for whatever reason it can be done very quickly. When you don't have to worry about pavement markings being done, its a heck of a lot easier.

Getting the RR pavement markings done is a PITA. I have almost 3 weeks over a period of 4 months tied up just for the markings alone for crossings as it's a nightmare to get it bid, scheduled, and done. Most of the markings done on the state roads are being done by a NJ contactor this year as NICOM in VT did not seem to either bid or win the contract. All in all, it takes about 20-25min to hot plasti the markings IF everything goes smoothly.

Well thank you for your time and dedication! Hope you and everyone else on the forum has a safe and happy holidays!

Without pavement markings, they would have to stop & protect I imagine. Still, if the line is going to remain OOS for years it is kind of a waste of time doing pavement markings that last 10 years.

Unless something crazy happens, I don't see anything going west of the diamond anytime soon. Those two SJL hoppers tucked away on the siding west of NH 116 are probably too far rotted to move at this point.

Keeping the lines painted etc will help keep the line alive as a railroad line in people's minds, which could help defend it against any attempts to take it for a trail or whatever, and also reduce any opposition to greater use of the line in the future if it ever develops.

There's only about 7 or 8 miles of track left between that crossing and where the trail starts, and the state is looking to pull up another mile or so within a few years.

Are there still any talks about doing a passenger train from Groveton to St. Johnsbury or was that just a hoax?

What talks?

The Mountain Division is in need of a complete overhaul between Whitefield and St. J, and has been washed out in a few spots for quite a few years. No passenger startup is going to fund such a massive repair job. The state has put out two RFPs for that section, nobody has offered to operate it in active service.

CSXT owns the Vernont portion, I don't see anything happening to activate it anytime soon.

Time flies- this coming summer will mark 40 years since the last YR1 and YR2 passed through. I took
a ride up there last summer for a look-see and its amazing how full grown trees have completely
take over to the point that the right of way is unrecognizable in many places unless you know where
to look. A logging contractor would be busy for quite some time before anything else concerning
rehab could even be attempted and there would have to be a really good reason to spend that kind
of money. In many places the largest trees seem to growing between the rails!

September 3rd was the day of the last one, which falls on a Sunday this year. It would be pretty cool if the Conway Scenic, operated a photo freight special on that day with 252 and 255. Of course, they won't do that on their own, since there's no revenue involved, the train would have to be chartered by a photographer.