The White River Railroad was an intrastate railroad in southeastern

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 ...

. It ran from

Bethel, Vermont Bethel is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2020 census. The town includes the locations of Bethel village, Bethel-Gilead, East Bethel, Lilliesville, Lympus (formerly Olympus), and West Bethel. ...

Rochester, Vermont Rochester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,099 at the 2020 census. The central village is delineated as the Rochester census-designated place. Set on the edge of the Green Mountain National Forest, th ...

, a distance of approximately 19 miles.

History

Planning for the White River Valley Electric Railroad began in 1896, and the line was charted along the course of the White River. The name was changed to White River Valley Railroad and finally White River Railroad before construction began in 1899. Built on a shoestring budget, the first train arrived in Rochester in December 1900. Because the railroad followed the course of the White River closely, it was frequently damaged by floods and was often referred to as "The Peavine". Like most railroads in Vermont, it was heavily damaged by the great Flood of November, 1927. Though the railroad was fully rebuilt the following year, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

reduced traffic to fatal levels, and the railroad was abandoned in 1933.

Stations

The railroad stopped at the following locations from east to west: *

(interchange with the

Central Vermont Railway The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Connect ...

and the

Bethel Granite Railway The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Conne ...

) * Lillieville, Vermont (informal flagstop) * Gaysville, Vermont (station) * Riverside (informal flagstop) *

Stockbridge, Vermont Stockbridge is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States, which contains the village of Gaysville. The population was 718 at the 2020 census. Stockbridge was one of thirteen Vermont towns isolated by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in ...

(station) * Tupper's, Vermont (informal flagstop) * Emerson, Vermont (informal flagstop) * Talcville, Vermont (informal flagstop) *

(station)

Locomotives

References

Jones, Robert C., ''Railroads of Vermont, Volume II'', 1993. Herwig, Wes, ''A Whistle Up the Valley : The Story of the Peavine, Vermont's White River Railroad'', 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:White River Railroad Vermont Defunct Vermont railroads