Small Towns With Lots of Railroads

[Backshop]

I've always been fascinated by smaller towns that were thriving railroad towns.  Not so much those that had one railroad on a large scale, but those that had multiple railroads.  Here are three that I can think of--1. Connellsville, PA.  At one time it had B&O, WM, PRR, P&WV and P&LE.  2. Maybrook, NY--NH, Erie, L&HR, NYO&W, NYC and L&NE. The third is quite a bit smaller but still interesting.  White River Junction, VT--It served B&M, CV and CP. I know some of the railroads only reached these towns through trackage rights.  

Can anyone add any more to the list?

[rcdrye]

White River Jct VT was served by the B&M, CV and Woodstock Ry.  CP trains became B&M trains at Wells River, 35 miles north of White River Jct.  CP and B&M had various power pool arrangements which resulted in CP power being handled at B&M's Westboro roundhouse across the Connecticut River in West Lebanon, NH.

Some to add:

St. Johnsbury VT with MEC, CP And St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County. Wells River VT with B&M, CP and Montpelier & Wells River. Claremont NH with B&M, CV and Claremont & Concord.  Charlestown NH with B&M, CV and Springfield Terminal.  Bellows Falls VT, with B&M, CV and Rutland.  Brattleboro VT had B&M, CV and West River RR.

The line between White River Jct VT and East Northfield MA was jointly operated by B&M and CV.  CV owned between WRJ and Windsor, B&M between Windsor and Brattleboro. 

B&M and CV each had a line between Brattleboro and E. Northfield MA. B&M's  was on the east side of the Connecticut in NH. The lines were operated as paired track, CV north, B&M south, until B&M's bridge abutment at E. Northfield failed in 1969.  Lines operated under B&M dispatcher and rules except for CV between Brattleboro and E. Northfield.

[pennytrains]

Chicago was quite small ahead of the 1869 completion of the first transcon.  Without the railroads interchanging there, it very well could still be a small town.

[MidlandMike]

Silver Bow, MT. Had NP, MILW, BA&P, and UP. 

Grand Junction, ID had NP, MILW and SI.

Buena Vista, CO had D&RGW, CM, and C&S.  At the turn of the century CM was std gauge, C&S was narrow gauge, and D&RGW was 3-rail.

[Overmod]

Jackson, Tennessee

[greyhounds]

Pekin, IL.  C&IM, Peoria & Pekin Union, IC, NYC (Peoria & Eastern), GM&O, Santa Fe, Rock Island (With a bridge over the Illinois River.)    

C&NW, Illinois Terminal and TP&W got close.

C&IM, IC and NYC ran over P&PU double track between Pekin and the P&PU yard in E. Peoria.  

[rcdrye]

White River Jct VT still has New England Central, Pan Am Southern and Washington County (Vermont Rail System) replacing  Central Vermont (plus B&M in Westboro), B&M (Conn River south) and B&M (Conn River North) in historic terms, while Amtrak's Vermonter understudies for the Ambassador.

[mvlandsw]

   New Castle, Pa.   

B&O, PRR, P&LE, ERIE, Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler and New Castle, Mahoning & Shenango Railway interurbans.

[railfanjohn]

Greenwood, South Carolina (population in 1950 = 13,800;  in 1960 = 16,600), located in the western middle part of the state, once had: 

Seaboard Air Line  (Hamlet to Atlanta to Birmingham main line)  

Southern Railway  (Columbia & Greenville)

Atlantic Coast Line  (Charleston & Western Carolina)

Piedmont & Northern  (Heavy rail Interurban Greenwood to Spartanburg)

Georgia & Florida  (Extension from Augusta, Georgia)

Five [ at one time ] Class One railroads!

Greenwood boasts that it has the widest Main Street in the Country.  Over 500 feet wide, and the Southern / ACL depot was right in the middle of it.  Now all are gone except the SAL and ACL lines which are both part of CSX and still in operation.  

---

 

[daveklepper]

White River Junction, Spring 1950, with the NRHS "Roundf-the Mountains fan-trip, came from Boston via Clairmount Junction (two 2-6-0s (Concord - CJ). soon to leave for Boston.  The Pacific is ex-DL&W.:

[rcdrye]

The train is headed northeast on the since-removed connecting track between the B&M and the Central Vermont.  The back end is across the Conn River line, on a crossing protected by a ball signal.  The locomotive could go around the train either via the track to the left or by backing down the CV track on the right to the Conn River Line connector track.  The south wye track to the roundhouse at Westboro (West Lebanon) NH would get the locomotive pointed toward Boston on the New Hampshire Division (Northern) main line.  All of the track in the station area was jointly operated by B&M and CV, as was the CV line south of the Station towards Windsor VT.

Claremont Jct. only had a small engine service area and a very tight wye.  At one time the Claremont & Concord was in good enough shape for some classes of B&M Pacifics, though the Moguls and a  few ten-wheelers were usually assigned there.

Union Station itself, the ex-CV tracks, the Conn River Line and the bridge to Westboro are all still in service, used by New England Central (Amtrak Vermonter), and the Vermont Rail System.  NECR owns the remaining Claremont & Concord trackage and the ex-B&M wye and bridge to Westboro.  Some of the buildings on the right of the photo are still standing.  

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Michigan City, Indiana with South Shore, Monon, Pere Marquette/C&O, NYC, NKP and interurban Northern Indiana.

[wjstix]

Northfield MN at one time had the Chicago Great Western, Milwaukee Road, Rock Island, and it's own Minneapolis Northfield & Southern shortline. It was on the Rock Island mainline, so the Rocket and other CRIP name trains went through there.