The Portsmouth and Concord Railroad (later the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad) was a railroad in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

(

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) that existed under various names from 1845 to 1945.

History and construction

By 1845 the state of New Hampshire had three north-south routes, all starting in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and leading, respectively, to the capital of

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, through southeastern New Hampshire to

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

by way of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, and along the coast via

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

to Maine. However, a large gap existed between the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-Concord line and the

Boston & Maine The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

line through Dover. In response, two railway companies were founded in July 1845: the Portsmouth, New Market and Concord Railroad, and the Portsmouth, New Market and Exeter Railroad. Both were given the concession to construct and operate a rail line from Portsmouth to a point on the Concord Railroad between

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and Concord called Bow Junction. The companies merged on December 23, 1845, forming the Portsmouth and Concord Railroad. On July 10, 1846 the railroad was granted a license for a branch line from Hooksett to Suncook, then on June 23, 1848 a license for a branch line from Manchester to Candia. The construction of the mainline from Portsmouth to Bow Junction began in Portsmouth in the summer of 1847. In August 1852 the approximately mainline was completed. The two branch lines were not initially built.

Further development

The route fell short of revenue expectations, and in 1855 declared bankruptcy. On May 1, 1855 the company took out a mortgage on their track, whereupon ownership passed to the creditors of the railway. On July 14 a new company named the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad was founded, and on September 1 the new company took over the railway. However, the financial situation did not significantly improve, and on September 11, 1858 the financially strong Concord Railroad leased the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad company for five years, then on January 1, 1862 extended the lease to 99. This railroad company abandoned the Candia-to-Suncook section, and instead the two already-licensed branch lines were built. The closure coincided with the opening of the route to Manchester, the rest of the feeder route from Bow Junction to Suncook, and the license for the branch line to Hooksett. The Concord Railroad was merged with other companies to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad on September 19, 1889, and the lease contract with the Concord & Portsmouth was transferred to this new company. On June 29, 1895, management of the route went to the Boston & Maine, having been leased to the Concord & Montreal in the meantime. The Boston & Maine bought a majority stake in the company in 1940 and achieved complete ownership four years later. In 1945 the Concord & Portsmouth dissolved. In 1982 the track between Rockingham Junction and East Manchester closed and is now owned by the state of New Hampshire and managed as a recreational trail. The Manchester to East Manchester segment was operated as an industrial spur and saw rail service until 1994. It was abandoned in 1995. The remaining section from Rockingham Junction to Portsmouth is now operated by

Pan Am Railways Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Clas ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmouth Concord Railroad Defunct New Hampshire railroads