by F-line to Dudley via Park
Northern Power Systems next to the quarry also has a siding which used to be a Bombardier railcar assembly plant, but I'm pretty sure NP itself isn't taking any deliveries these days.
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smsullivan11 wrote:Noticed this morning that the Bennington line has been shoved full of cars behind Home Depot and under the Bennington Bypass. I'm curious how far south anything has come since this branch closed in the 30's or 50's.
Safetee wrote:With the demise of the corkscrew in 1953?? the rutland and after the vtr continued to switch bennington proper well into the 1970s.After Phase II of the Western Corridor passenger upgrades brings Amtrak up through N. Bennington to Rutland et al someone will undoubtedly propose running a Berkshire Scenic/North Adams-style RDC dinky from N. Bennington AMTK to downtown Bennington during peak tourist season. It may not get further than recurring vaporware because the Bennington Branch needs a bit more in upgrades to be viable for a tourist skunkworks op than the very much active Adams Branch did for Berkshire Scenic. But it's a mortal lock to at minimum be That Local Proposal™ that keeps going in front of the local media and town Board of Selectmen with buzz. Whether longshot or not it's at least plausible enough a real-world concept given shortness of the branch and certainty of the eventual Amtrak stop in NB to justify VTrans' and VRS's foresight in keeping the branch and its crossings a going preservation concern during all the years of inactivity.
with the shut down of the xmas paper mnfg company in ??, use of the bennington yard was cut way back but still had some loads of plastic pellets into the 80?s .
with the repair/rehab of the track from manchester down to the B&M/GFD in late 80s early 90s?, and the replacement of the turnout on the B&M allowing interchange again, things changed especially with regard to omya traffic.
Subsequent to the ml rehab, you could say that the long quasi abandonment of the bennington branch effectively ended with some improved track work from the wye pushing down to lake paran and slightly beyond.
from time to time there has been talk of tourist passenger service or complete tear out for a bike trail. vtr has fought the good fight to keep the branch in place if not quite alive in bennington if any industrial development should happen.