The Green Mountain Railroad is a

class III railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...

operating in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. GMRC operates on tracks that had been owned by the

Rutland Railroad The Rutland Railroad was a railroad in the northeastern United States, located primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York at both its northernmost and southernmost ends. After its closure in 1961, parts of the ...

and Boston and Maine Railroad. The railroad operates on a rail line between North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Rutland, Vermont. GMRC's corporate colors are green and yellow. Once owned by F. Nelson Blount, the founder of

Steamtown, USA Steamtown, U.S.A., was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount. T ...

, GMRC controlled the tracks that were used for Steamtown's excursions between Riverside Station in Bellows Falls and

Chester, Vermont Chester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census. History The town was originally chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth as Flamstead in 1754. The terms of the charter were n ...

. After Blount's death in 1967, GMRC changed hands, and a bitter relationship between the two organizations developed.Steamtown Seeks Increased Control Over Tracks
Lewiston Daily News. October 5, 1976. Pg. 10 Accessed July 14, 2010

History

The Green Mountain Railroad was formed in early 1964 when F. Nelson Blount, who also operated a museum of steam locomotives, called Steamtown, USA, in North Walpole, New Hampshire. Blount convinced the State of Vermont to acquire of track between Bellows Falls and Rutland, which he would operate as the Green Mountain Railroad. Also in 1964, incorporation papers were filed for the "Steamtown Foundation for the Preservation of Steam and Railroad Americana". The first order of business for the non-profit charitable and educational organization was to acquire the Blount collection at North Walpole and relocate it to property once owned by the

in Bellows Falls.Sawyer, Mina Titus.'
Maine's 'Iron Horses' Head For Their Last Dramatic Round-up
'. Lewiston Evening Journal. February 1, 1964. Accessed July 12, 2010 In 1966, the GMRC obtained

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...

over Boston and Maine track between Bellows Falls, Vermont and North Walpole, New Hampshire: just across the Connecticut River, allowing the GMRC access to servicing and storage facilities for locomotives, which had previously been lacking. Blount was killed when his private airplane hit a tree during an emergency landing in

Marlborough, New Hampshire Marlborough is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 census. The town is home to the Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary at Meetinghouse Pond. The primary settlement in town, where 1,066 people ...

on August 31, 1967, flying back to his home.Millionaire Dies in Plane Crash
''The Milwaukee Journal'', September 1, 1967. Pg. 2. Accessed July 14, 2010 He had held the controlling interest in the GMRC, owning 746 of the 750 shares of the company. In 1968, in response to Blount's death, 49% of the railroad's shares were sold to private investors, with the remainder being held by Robert Adams, president of the railroad from 1968 until 1978. By 1976, the relationship between Steamtown and GMRC was strained as the two organizations fought over maintenance of the tracks, which were owned by the state of Vermont. Steamtown relocated to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

in 1983, and, shortly afterward, GMRC began offering its own passenger excursions with diesel-powered trains over the same stretch of track. During the 1980s, the GMRC struggled to maintain consistent profits, relying largely on on-line traffic. Despite a position as a bridge carrier between the

Delaware and Hudson Railroad The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

and the Clarendon and Pittsford Railway at Rutland, and the Boston and Maine at North Walpole, this traffic was limited, as the Boston and Maine was consistently unfriendly toward the Green Mountain. Reflecting this uncomfortable position, the GMRC's traffic during the 1980s was generally less than 2000 cars moved per year. In 1986, a strike at the Delaware & Hudson led to the evaporation of what little overhead traffic the railroad was handling. During the early 1990s, however, overhead traffic like

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and fly ash had increased, making up for a decrease in traditional on-line traffic like

talc Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent a ...

. By the mid 1990s, traffic had increased to upwards of 4,000 annual carloads, and has increased today to upward of 5,000 annual carloads. When the

New England Central Railroad The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding comp ...

commenced operations in 1995, this allowed the GMRC to offer service southward on the NECR, which had previously been prohibitively-expensive when the route was owned by the Central Vermont Railroad. In 1997, the GMRC was acquired by the Vermont Railway, forming the basis for the Vermont Rail System, which would grow to include five railroads in Vermont and one in New York.

Locomotive fleet

As of July 2021, the GMRC's fleet consisted of the following:

Former units of the Green Mountain Railroad fleet

These units are no longer in service on the Green Mountain Railroad. They have either been sold to other railroads or have been scrapped for parts.

References

External links

*
Rutland Railway Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Mountain Railroad New Hampshire railroads Vermont railroads New York (state) railroads Spin-offs of the Rutland Railroad Railway companies established in 1964 Transportation in Rutland County, Vermont Transportation in Windham County, Vermont Transportation in Windsor County, Vermont Transportation in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Heritage railroads in Vermont Heritage railroads in New Hampshire