Green Mountain Railroad Alco RS1 No. 405 at Bellows Falls VT in 2006.
(NellsWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
The Green Mountain Railroad (reporting mark GMRC) is a Class III railroad operating in Vermont. GMRC operates on tracks that had been owned by the Rutland Railroad 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, GMRC controlled the tracks that were used for Steamtown's excursions between Riverside Station in Bellows Falls and Chester, Vermont. After Blount's death in 1967, GMRC changed hands, and a bitter relationship between the two organizations developed.
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 52 miles (84 km) 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 Rutland Railroad in Bellows Falls.
In 1966, the GMRC obtained trackage rights 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 on August 31, 1967, flying back to his home. 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 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 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 and fly ash had increased, making up for a decrease in traditional on-line traffic like talc. 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 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, one in New Hampshire, and one in New York.
Seven old passenger cars at White River Junction train station including car Macintyre, October 2016.
(ArnoldReinhold, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Locomotive fleet
As of July 2021, the GMRC's fleet consisted of the following:
| Type | Numbers | Manufacturer | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| GP40 | 302, 304, 305 | EMD | 1970-1971 |
| RS1 | 405 | ALCO | 1951 |
| GP9 | 803, 804 | EMD | 1955-1956 |
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.
| Number | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2-8-0 | Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as Oneida and Western Railroad No. 20 in 1916. Sold to the Rahway Valley Railroad in 1937. It last ran in revenue service in November 28, 1953, before being replaced by No. 17, a GE 70-ton switcher. No. 15 was then placed on the deadline for the next six years before it was sold to F. Nelson Blount in May 1959 and later became GMRC No. 15. Last ran in 1973 and was later reverted to Rahway Valley No. 15. Now on static display at Steamtown National Historic Site. |
| 89 | 2-6-0 | Former Canadian National Railway. Purchased by the Strasburg Rail Road in 1972. |
| 302 | GP40 | Sold to GMTX as No. 3008 with four other Vermont Rail Systems GP40s in late 2015 as deal for FEC SD70M-2s 431/432. |
| 303 | S4 | Former Delaware and Hudson No. 3036, later sold to the Quincy Railway. After serving on the GMR, sold to the Concord and Claremont Railroad in the 1980s. |
| 304 | GP40 | Built by Electro-Motive in January 1971, No. 36737, FN 7275-17, as Baltimore and Ohio Railroad No. 3756. It was renumbered No. 9756 in March 1980. It was then renumbered No. 6532 and became CSX Transportation No. 6532. It was retired on June 23, 1994, and sold to Helm Atlantic Leasing Corp as No. 400 on May 13, 1994. It was sold as GMRC No. 304 in December 1998. In late 2015, it was sold to GMTX as No. 3011 with four other Vermont Rail Systems GP40s as deal for FEC SD70M-2s 431/432. |
| 305 | S4 | Former Delaware & Hudson No. 3050. Became a People's Mover Mover and repainted black and white. Later became Washington County No. 406 and repainted back in GMR colors. Later sold to the Concord and Claremont Railroad as No. 102. |
| 305 | GP40 | Built by Electro-Motive in May 1970, No. 35907, FN 7229-11, as Seaboard Coast Line No. 1606. It became Seaboard System No. 1606 and renumbered No. 6760. It then became CSX Transportation No. 6760. It was sold as HATX No. 419 and GMRC and renumbered No. 305 in January 2000. Sold to GMTX as No. 3012 with four other Vermont Rail Systems GP40s in late 2015 as deal for FEC SD70M-2s 431/432. |
| 382 | GP60 | Formally Texas Mexican Railway No. 870. It was sold as Helm Leasing Corp 7701 and leased as GMCR 382 in February 2002. It was returned as Helm 7701 in September 2004 and sold to the BNSF Railway in August 2011 and renumber 169. |
| 400 | ALCO RS-1 | Former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio 1053. Bought by the Danbury Railway Museum in December 1995 and sent there in January 1996. Repainted as New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad No. 673. |
| 401 | RS1 | Former ITC 756, became GMRC in July 1976 and sold to the Catskill Mountain Railroad in June 1988. |
| 901 | GP9 | Cannibalized for parts, later scrapped. |
| 1064 | RS1 | Former Bay Colony Railroad 1064. Bought by the Green Mountain in the late 1990s as a part source locomotive for No. 405. Later scrapped by the early 2000s. |
| 1246 | Class G5c | Built in June 1946 as Canadian Pacific 1246. It was retired in January 1964 and was later acquired by the Steamtown Foundation. In June 1967 it was relettered GMRy No. 1246. It was sold back to Steamtown in July 1973 and moved to Scranton with the collection in 1984. It was sold to the Connecticut Valley Railroad in October 1988. Moved to the Railroad Museum of New England operated the Naugatuck Railroad in 2008, where it remains on static display. |
| 1848 | GP9 | Built in June 1954 as Bangor and Aroostook Railroad No. 76. It was bought by the Green Mountain Railroad in the 1980s as No. 1848 and later sold to the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway in November 1997. |
| 1849 | GP9 | Built June 1955 as Northern Pacific No. 223. Became Burlington Northern No. 1849 after merger. Purchased by Chrome Crankshaft in June 1983 and then by the Green Mountain Railroad in March 1984. It was then sold to the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway in April 1997. |
| 1850/803 | GP9 | Former Chesapeake & Ohio No. 6181, renumbered 803 in 1998, sold to the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway in 2006 and renumbered back to 1850. |
| 3026 | S2 | Former Delaware and Hudson No. 3026. Was going to be Green Mountain No. 302, but was in too poor condition to run. It was cannibalized for parts and scrapped in the 1980s. |
| 4261 | EMD E8 | Built by Electro-Motive in November 1952, No. 16787, as Pennsylvania Railroad 5761A, Class EP-22. It was renumbered No. 4261 in 1966 and became Penn Central No. 4261, Class EP-22, in 1968. It went to Conrail as No. 4261, Class E8A, in April 1976, and then to Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority as No. 4261. It was sold to the Green Mountain Railroad as No. 4261 in 1987, but was not used and sat in storage in the North Walpole yard. Later sold to Central New York Division, National Railway Historical Society, where it was painted as Delaware Lackawanna & Western No. 807. |
Overview
Headquarters: Burlington, Vermont
Reporting mark: GMRC
Locale: Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York
Dates of operation: 1964–present
Technical
Track gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Other
Website: www.rails-vt.com
