Railroad Forums 

  • The Cocheco Railroad revisited

  • Discussion relating to the pre-1983 B&M and MEC railroads. For current operations, please see the Pan Am Railways Forum.
Discussion relating to the pre-1983 B&M and MEC railroads. For current operations, please see the Pan Am Railways Forum.

Moderator: MEC407

 #1549120  by Manalishi
 
1892 map of the old Gonic brick yard with the location of the Gonic station off of Railroad Ave.
Gonic 1892, New Hampshire.jpg
Gonic 1892, New Hampshire.jpg (97.54 KiB) Viewed 1907 times

Gonic station circa 1908.
DSCN0174.JPG
DSCN0174.JPG (1.06 MiB) Viewed 1907 times

Not much of a comparison shot but the Gonic depot would have stood just within the green fence.
DSCN0123.JPG
DSCN0123.JPG (2.64 MiB) Viewed 1907 times
 #1549170  by Manalishi
 
The Old Dover Rd. crossing in the Gonic section of Rochester, just beyond Gonic station. Bridge is now gone. Photos courtesy of Scott Currier.
gonic old dover rd.jpg
gonic old dover rd.jpg (217.87 KiB) Viewed 1868 times
old dover.jpg
old dover.jpg (59.09 KiB) Viewed 1868 times
gonic5.jpg
gonic5.jpg (70.5 KiB) Viewed 1868 times
 #1549206  by Manalishi
 
Rochester station. There were 3 railroads that traveled through Rochester but I don't if there were 3 stations.
DSCN0178.JPG
DSCN0178.JPG (2.45 MiB) Viewed 1840 times
 #1549208  by Manalishi
 
I picked the following 3 photos because the caption mentions the Lakeport Branch so there is a Cocheco connection. The Lakeport Branch side, I'm guessing, is the left side where the boxcars are parked. Photos were taken by Alan Thomas.
DSCN0136.JPG
DSCN0136.JPG (1.42 MiB) Viewed 1839 times
DSCN0137.JPG
DSCN0137.JPG (1.38 MiB) Viewed 1839 times
DSCN0138.JPG
DSCN0138.JPG (1.43 MiB) Viewed 1839 times
 #1549225  by Manalishi
 
Heading north out of Rochester, the Cocheco River crossing.
DSCN0101.JPG
DSCN0101.JPG (4.29 MiB) Viewed 1794 times
DSCN0102.JPG
DSCN0102.JPG (4.52 MiB) Viewed 1794 times
DSCN0104.JPG
DSCN0104.JPG (4.37 MiB) Viewed 1794 times
 #1549388  by jbvb
 
I've been interested in the Cocheco ever since my mother and grandmother first drove me up NH 11 from Rochester past Alton Bay (destination Ellacoya State Park). In the 60s the abandoned RoW along 11 was much less overgrown and past Alton Bay the old highway was close to the water and more of the RR was evident. I can still pick out the former grade crossings through Farmington and New Durham, but I've never stopped in Alton Bay to figure out how the RR got down to the lakeside.
 #1549412  by Manalishi
 
On into Farmington. The Cocheco, which was on the east side of Rt.11 (Farmington Rd. back in the day), crosses over to the west side near Places Cross Lane. Places depot, at the rear of a farmhouse, was not too far from the crossing, also known as Walkers Crossing. The farmhouse was still standing in the 1980s (probably the 90s too) but I couldn't find it when I looked earlier this year.
DSCN0225.JPG
DSCN0225.JPG (1.27 MiB) Viewed 1711 times

There was a quote from member "Steam" in another thread about the Cocheco: "As a girl, my mother used to travel with her family to visit relatives up there and they got off the train at Places as the family homestead (Trask) was across the road."

Here's a section of a map of Farmington from 1892 showing the RT. 11 crossing and the location of the Trask house. From the map it can be easily determined where Places was located.
trask.jpg
trask.jpg (70.19 KiB) Viewed 1708 times
Last edited by Manalishi on Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
 #1549415  by Manalishi
 
On July 22, 1928, 6 people were killed when a circus train carrying the performers and equipment of “Bernardi Greater Shows” which was a traveling carnival and animal exhibition, derailed near where the tracks crossed Meeting House Hill Road. The twenty-car train was carrying 368 passengers from Lakeport, New Hampshire to Gloucester, Massachusetts when the crash occurred in rainy conditions. All of the men killed were laborers of the traveling carnival troupe and were lying or sitting under and among the wagons and other show equipment to escape the drenching rain.

Junction of Meeting House Hill Road and the Cocheco where the train wreck occurred.
farm.jpg
farm.jpg (187.99 KiB) Viewed 1705 times
Bernardi 1.jpg
Bernardi 1.jpg (232.37 KiB) Viewed 1705 times
Bernardi 2.jpg
Bernardi 2.jpg (265.75 KiB) Viewed 1705 times
 #1549416  by Manalishi
 
Bernardi 3.jpg
Bernardi 3.jpg (264.74 KiB) Viewed 1702 times


Well, not all rails have been removed from the Cocheco. Here's a short section of track at the Metal Farm just south of the old Davidson Rubber Plant.
DSCN0852.JPG
DSCN0852.JPG (6.27 MiB) Viewed 1702 times
 #1549463  by Manalishi
 
The Davidson Rubber Plant used a short section of the Cocheco, from Rochester to Farmington and made automotive instrument panels and other products from the 1960s through 2001 until, under a different name, it filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

At its peak, around 1985-86, the plant employed about 1,200 workers and served the big three auto manufacturers — Chrysler, GM and Ford. At one point, 80 percent of production was shipped to the South and Mid-West by rail from the factory.

From Foster's Daily Democrat, a former employee stated:
"Then they went to Just-in-Time [inventory system], so we converted to 100 percent trucking. Trains involved a lot on manual labor, with trucks, they could just back up to the dock and be loaded by a forklift."

The plant was just south of Paulson Rd. North of Paulson Rd. the ROW is intact for a few miles until it merges with RT. 11 just south of the old Farmington station location. The Davidson Rubber Plant was right behind me in the photo below.
DSCN0092 aaa.jpg
DSCN0092 aaa.jpg (4.38 MiB) Viewed 1652 times
DSCN0094.JPG
DSCN0094.JPG (3.95 MiB) Viewed 1652 times
DSCN0095.JPG
DSCN0095.JPG (4.7 MiB) Viewed 1652 times
 #1549473  by Manalishi
 
Mile post. Rt. 11 in the background.
DSCN0096.JPG
DSCN0096.JPG (4.7 MiB) Viewed 1640 times
DSCN0099.JPG
DSCN0099.JPG (5 MiB) Viewed 1640 times

In the distance the Cocheco merges briefly with Rt. 11. which you can just see through the trees.
rt11 merge.jpg
rt11 merge.jpg (2.15 MiB) Viewed 1640 times
 #1549545  by Manalishi
 
Just past the merge, approaching the Farmington depot with the freight house in the foreground.
DSCN0180.JPG
DSCN0180.JPG (1.18 MiB) Viewed 1620 times

Postcard sent in 1907 of the Farmington depot looking north towards Alton.
DSCN0179.JPG
DSCN0179.JPG (2.6 MiB) Viewed 1620 times

Postcard of the Farmington depot looking south towards Rochester.
DSCN0181.JPG
DSCN0181.JPG (1.67 MiB) Viewed 1620 times
 #1549585  by Manalishi
 
Overlay of a portion of an 1892 map of Farmington over a modern map of Farmington showing the location of the Farmington depot.
farmington overlay.png
farmington overlay.png (322.89 KiB) Viewed 1581 times

Farmington depot and its location today. A point of reference, the white house indicated by the red arrow in both photos. Farmington depot photo courtesy of the Farmington Historical Society.
Farmington yest & today.jpg
Farmington yest & today.jpg (4.06 MiB) Viewed 1581 times
 #1549662  by Manalishi
 
Just past the Farmington depot, the Cocheco splits off from RT. 11 and heads for the Mad River.

The Cocheco crossed the Mad River north of Farmington town center and I assumed I'd see the usual 2 abutments that would have supported a steel girder bridge. But, again, I was wrong. I walked through a short stretch of woods to get to the river then turned left and followed it for a bit until I saw what looked at first like a giant granite outcrop. As I got closer, I thought, no, not a granite outcrop but a dam? No, not a dam but a huge arch! I had found the Mad River crossing. I was surprised at how tall it was, perhaps 30 -40 feet high. Built around 1848/49 it appeared to be in the middle of the woods even though River Rd. was just south of it and a garden center was just north.
DSCN0482yyyy.jpg
DSCN0482yyyy.jpg (4.04 MiB) Viewed 1550 times

Top of the arch.
DSCN0483.JPG
DSCN0483.JPG (4.91 MiB) Viewed 1550 times
DSCN0488yy.jpg
DSCN0488yy.jpg (4.36 MiB) Viewed 1550 times