If you have ever traveled throughout northern New England, you may have heard of this small Vermont village called White River Junction (WRJ). This small community is at the major interchange for Interstates I-91 and I-89. But this isn’t why this community is called White River “Junction”. In the mid 1800 this small village became the hub for five railroads; awarding the town its name.
Those original five railroads include:
The Connecticut River Railroad – Red
The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad – Brown
The Northern New Hampshire Railroad – Green
The Vermont Central – Red
The Woodstock Railroad – Yellow
At one point, this railroad community had nearly 50 passenger trains traveling through it daily. Once the interstate highway systems took shape, passenger travel on the railroads declined significantly. Today this village isn’t booming with railroad activity as it was in its heyday.
Amtrak’s Vermonter
Passenger Service is still alive and well in Vermont with Amtrak’s Vermonter. This train provides service between Washington, DC and St Albans, VT. The Vermonter travels nearly 200 miles along historic rail lines in Vermont, including the Vermont Central Rail Line which runs north between East Northfield, VT through White River Junction before making a northeasterly turn to Burlington; a total of 174 miles. Then in Burlington, it heads down the Vermont & Canada Line to St Albans, VT; a total of 20 miles. These lines were built back in the mid 1800s.
The Vermonter travels over 600 miles with 30 stops between Washington, DC and St. Albans, VT. The train has one northbound and one southbound daily trip. The Northbound stops at White River Junction at 11:16AM and the southbound at 6:29PM.
New England Central Railroad
NECR handles freight service; this railroads reaches far north at the St Albans VT and as far south as Western Mass and Central Connecticut. NECR shares the same historical routes as Amtrak’s Vermonter.
Vermont Rail System
This is the primary freight service for the state of Vermont. This rail system bring freight in and out of White River Junction via the Connecticut & Passumpsic River Rail Line. This line runs north between White River Junction and Newport, VT; a total of 104 miles.
Green Mountain Railroad
The “White River Flyer” is a scenic railroad that takes riders on a 2 ½ hour round trip ride to Montshire, VT via the Connecticut & Passumpsic River Rail Line. The Flyer operates in the summer and fall months only.
Some of the forgotten rail lines
Woodstock Line – (The Woodstock Railroad)
This branch was built in the mid 1800’s; running 13 ½ miles southwest from White River Junction to Woodstock, VT. One of the challenging parts in building this line was crossing the Quechee Gorge. The first bridge constructed was a wooden bridge, but later in 1911 this bridge was replace by an arched truss bridge. For almost 60 years, this line provided freight and passenger services in and out of Woodstock. In 1933, the railroad was dismantled and most of the right-of-way became what its known today to be Route 4. The Quechee Gorge Bridge was converted from a rail to a highway bridge. Most people wouldn’t even know this was an old railroad bridge, unless they see the road side sign telling the history of the bridge.
Northern Line – (The Northern New Hampshire Railroad)
This line was also build in the mid 1800’s, running 70 miles southeast from White River Junction to Concord, NH. Less than five miles of the right-of-way is still in use between White River Junction and West Lebanon, NH. This area is handle by Claremont Concord Railroad; this short line railroad provides freight service to its customers in the West Lebanon area. They operate out of the Westboro Yard in West Lebanon, NH. While I explored this line, I was able to see the Westboro Yard and the roundhouse. Some local railroad historians want to save the roundhouse along with the neighboring structures but unfortunately it would cost millions to do so. As for the Lebanon portion, a “rails-to-trails” group is working to convert this abandoned right of way into a rail trail.
Railroad Scanner
All railroads traveling through White River Junction Communicate on 160.7700 MHz.
