Twin State Railroad

The state owns the property, NHCR is just the operator. They had, or maybe still have a lease from the diamond to the state line. As mentioned above, this is all coming from the Vermont side, and is separate from the Ammonusuc trail corridor, which is entirely NHDOT owned.

Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that, they will go to the ball signal if they want to hook up to the Ammonoosuc/Presidential rail-trails. Complacency is the reason why active rail lines across the country have lost the battle to rail-trail lobbyist. NHC is just the lessee, with no online business and haven't operated a train past Hazen in quite sometime. If something doesn't change on the Berlin line, the battle to also rail-trail Wing Rd to downtown Whitefield is coming, you can count on it.

I mean I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of the rail trail expansions if they don't plan on doing anything with the tracks anyway. As much as I love trains and the history of the area, money talks and if the rail trails can bring in money to businesses in the area then that'll be why it happens.

I agree, that's also why the effort to save the ball signal, diamond and shack, should start now. Designated it as an historic landmark, at least at the state level.

Even if they do install the rail trail, I don't see the Diamond ball signal being an issue.

Why run the risk? If it is given a designated historic status for preservation, there will be funds and grants available for maintaining it. Right now, it has only NHC willingness to maintain it.

I would like to think that the State of NH or the town of Whitefield would make sure it'd be maintained and not tampered with.

Neither party has ever done so, the shack and signal only look the way they do because of Ed and his people. The town has nothing to do with it, especially since they hold no liability or obligation for the property.

Drewby27 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:16 am I mean I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of the rail trail expansions if they don't plan on doing anything with the tracks anyway. As much as I love trains and the history of the area, money talks and if the rail trails can bring in money to businesses in the area then that'll be why it happens.

If you look at how many rail lines covered the "greater Whitefield" area, its amazing they last as long as they did. A few years back, VRS was semi-interested but the mill at Gilman I don't think reopened (or if it did, it just uses trucks), so that was the end of the western end of the Mtn Division. Honestly, if VRS couldn't make a go of it, who could? And at this point, the last train on the St J-Whitefield section was, geez... late 90s? Yeah, its been long enough... time for a rail-trail. And hopefully it gets a descent surface for bikes and not ATVs like the Androscoggin R/T (Berlin Branch out by Rt 16... that was rugged on my bike this summer).

For Conway Scenic's sake, I hope the NHCR doesn't give up on their line from Groveton to Hazens. It would be neat to see another "Ball Signal special" (I rode the last one and would ride another), but I know there's "issues at foot" there.

Jay, that mill has been dormant as long as the railroad; they went down together in 1999/2000. There's a reason we have so many Gilman/Dalton/Lunenburg/Concord folks on our payroll, gotta go somewhere.

I still don't know where the VRS interest rumor came from, given the lack of traffic to move over such a gateway, beyond the 1x a week 40-50 car slurry unit trains which ceased to exist themselves a few years ago.

The state owns that line, and has an operator, it isn't going anywhere. They have a car to move down the line in a few months.

As I mentioned several times already, the car will move when it moves. There is no set date.

shadyjay wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:11 pmFor Conway Scenic's sake, I hope the NHCR doesn't give up on their line from Groveton to Hazens. It would be neat to see another "Ball Signal special" (I rode the last one and would ride another), but I know there's "issues at foot" there.

NHCR is not going anywhere, at least not as far has Hazen's is considered; it's an important connection for the CSRX, one they can't afford to lose. Beyond Hazen's that might be a different story, there has been very little train traffic since 1999, and I feel time might be running out. It felt like the Red Ball specials the CSRX had in 2017 & 18, were the last hurrahs for what should be an historic landmark.
In a perfect world, I would love to see the Conway Scenic's lease extended west on the MEC side, to include the diamond and the small railyard. The CSRX could keep alive the opportunity for people to experience and witness a piece of railroading history for generations to come, even if only done a couple times a year.

Hello,
I have been reading this discussion with interest and had a few facts to add:

1) The Gilman mill did reopen as Dirigo Paper from 2004 to 2007, but they never used rail and have not reopened since then (and I have not heard any rumors of it reopening since then). The only active part of the mill is the hydroelectric dam, which is generating electricity for Ampersand Gilman Hydro.

2) The Vermont section of Twin States Railroad is currently owned by CSX after their purchase of Pan Am. This track is now heavily overgrown with trees and has numerous washouts. Although there were rumors that VRS might be interested in operating this line many years ago, I have heard nothing recently and can't think of what business might use this routing.

3) The New Hampshire section is owned by the State of New Hampshire. I have no idea what plans they might have for this section.

4) NHCR used to store many rail cars on their section of track between Whitefield and Hazen and also some in Lancaster, but all of those cars were pulled several years. The only online customer (Pressby Plastics) has been sold to another company and, as far as I can tell, they no longer receive covered hoppers of plastic pellets by rail.

And, yes, the ball signal is cool and should be protected. As noted by others, we can thank Ed Jeffrey and his crew for taking such good care of the signal currently!
All the best,
Fritz

The big cantilever crossing signal over Cottage Street in Littleton has been taken down.

Noooooo! That is really sad to see.