The St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad (StJ&LC) was a railroad located in northern Vermont. It provided service to rural parts of the state for over a century, until track deterioration and flood damage made the line unusable and uneconomical to repair, which forced the line to close in 1995. Vermont is in the process of converting the roughly 96-mile route from St. Johnsbury to Swanton into a rail trail, known as the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. Once completed it will be the longest rail trail in New England.
History
The railroad began construction in December 1869 as part of the Vermont Division of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway to connect the Great Lakes with the seaport of Portland, Maine. It would be completed on July 17, 1877, with Governor Horace Fairbanks driving in the silver spike in Fletcher. Although the railroad had plans on expansion to Lake Ontario, the line originally ended at Swanton. The Vermont Division was extended to Rouses Point in 1883, allowing it to connect to the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad and provide a direct connection to the Great Lakes.
The eastern end of the Vermont Division was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1912, and the remainder of the line became a subsidiary of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The Boston & Maine operated their segment as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad after 1925. This segment was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad in 1948.Lewis (1974) pp.6-39
Freight traffic of the late 1940s was 30% inbound commodities, 20% outbound dairy products to Boston, 15% outbound forest products, and 25% outbound stone products (such as limestone, talc and asbestos). The remaining 10% was bridge line traffic (westbound paper and eastbound feed) for the Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division. Six 70-ton General Electric Diesel locomotives replaced steam locomotives by 1950. Passenger service ended in 1956. Trucks had taken all of the milk traffic by 1961, but bridge line traffic had increased six-fold following the 1953 dissolution of Maine Central's joint operating agreement with Boston and Maine Railroad. Light-duty rail and covered bridges prevented the line from accepting new heavier "incentive" freight car loadings. The covered bridges were replaced or reinforced so worn out light diesel locomotives could be replaced by larger locomotives; but track conditions deteriorated under the heavier loads.Lewis (1974) pp.39-51
The State of Vermont purchased the line from Samuel Pinsly in 1973. The line was then operated by Morrison-Knudsen as the Vermont Northern Railroad for a time. In 1978, local shippers took over the operation and it became the Lamoille Valley Railroad. In 1989, the line was leased to a Florida company and was operated by them until major flooding in 1995 and 1997 damaged the line so much that it was not profitable to repair the track. In 2002, the state of Vermont started converting the 96-mile route into a recreational trail and created the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, under a railbanking arrangement. This process was completed in May 2023.
Rail trail The State of Vermont created the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Committee in 1997 to begin the conversion of the old route into a recreational trail. In 2002 the federal Surface Transportation Board allowed the decommissioning of the old right of way into a trail, with then representative Bernie Sanders earmarking over $5 million in federal funding for its construction. Work began in 2006, with work slowly progressing with funding availability and the labor-intensive rehabilitation of old stone supports and bridges. As of 2023, construction of the 93 mile trail has been completed, from downtown St. Johnsbury to downtown Swanton, tracing the course of the Lamoille River and the Sleepers River.
Route and Station listing +MilepostTown / CityStationImageNotePosition0.0St. JohnsburySt. JohnsburyInterchange with Maine Central Railroad and Canadian Pacific Railway.Lewis (1974) p.1131.4Fairbanks Scales factory11.48DanvilleDanville14.85West Danville16.30Joe's Pond19.7WaldenWaldenLewis (1974) p.11423.87Dow27.80GreensboroGreensboroIn the village of Greensboro Bend, so named for the large arc of the track as it turned south to follow the Lamoille River.31.0HardwickEast Hardwick34.73Hardwick98-foot covered bridge built 1909 over the Lamoille River burned 1959.Lewis (1974) pp.60&11535.7Granite JunctionJunction with Hardwick and Woodbury Railroad. 39.0WolcottFisher Covered Railroad BridgePreserved 90-foot bridge built in 1908 over the Lamoille River. It was strengthened in 1968 to be the last covered railroad bridge in service.Lewis (1974) p.60120-foot covered bridge built 1909 over the Lamoille River. Replaced by Baltimore Truss steel bridge about 191741.03Wolcott48.88MorrisvilleMorrisvilleLewis (1974) p.11551.56Hyde ParkHyde Park56.35JohnsonJohnson64.26CambridgeCambridge JunctionJunction with Central Vermont Railroad. 113-foot covered bridge built 1899 over the Lamoille River replaced by steel bridge about 1968.68.81FletcherFletcher74.24FairfieldEast Fairfield78.44FairfieldLewis (1974) p.11683.05SheldonSheldon84.56Sheldon JunctionJunction with the Missisquoi Railroad line87.40HighgateEast Highgate90.91Highgate94.73SwantonEast SwantonSwanton Covered Railroad BridgeThree-span 369-foot covered bridge over the Missisquoi River built in 1898 was on the main line between East Swanton and Swanton. It was preserved by routing StJ&LC trains over the Central Vermont Railroad.Lewis (1974) pp.60&11696.10SwantonStation now houses Swanton Historical SocietyFonda JunctionSwanton Lime Works and interchange with Central Vermont Railroad
Locomotives NumberBuilderTypeDateWorks numberNotes11Baldwin Locomotive Works2-6-0190933394ex-Montpelier and Wells River Railroad #11 purchased 1926Lewis (1974) p.12321ALCO Manchester0-6-0190946339ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #286 purchased 1947 scrapped 194922ALCO Manchester0-6-0190946338ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #285 then Montpelier and Wells River Railroad 2nd #11 purchased 194423ALCO Manchester0-6-0190845125ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #272 then Montpelier and Wells River Railroad 2nd #9 purchased 1940 sold 194424ALCO Manchester0-6-0190845131ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #278 purchased 1930 scrapped 194925ALCO Manchester0-6-0190845118ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #265 purchased 1929 scrapped 194126ALCO Manchester2-6-0190638990ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #1419 purchased 19291st #27ALCO Manchester2-6-0191047629ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #1485 purchased 19292nd #27Baldwin Locomotive Works0-6-0192356033ex-McKeesport Connecting Railroad #27 purchased 1949 scrapped 195528ALCO Manchester2-6-0191048961ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #1491 purchased 192930Baldwin Locomotive Works0-6-0192438990ex-McKeesport Connecting Railroad #30 purchased 1949 scrapped 195331Schenectady Locomotive Works4-6-018995171ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2040 purchased 192932Schenectady Locomotive Works4-6-018984714ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2035 purchased 193033ALCO Schenectady2-8-0190125052ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2350 purchased 1930 wrecked 194434ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191149001ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2421 purchased 193035ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191149007ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2427 purchased 1930 scrapped 193836ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191047648ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2404 purchased 1932 scrapped 194937ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191149005ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2425 purchased 193238ALCO Schenectady2-8-0190225073ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2357 purchased 1934 wrecked 194439ALCO Schenectady2-8-0190225072ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2356 purchased 193640ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191149000ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2420 then Montpelier and Wells River Railroad #18 purchased 193941ALCO Schenectady2-8-0190742843ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2388 purchased 1946 scrapped 1948Lewis (1974) p.12442ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191047645ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2401 then Montpelier and Wells River Railroad #19 then Barre and Chelsea Railroad #19 purchased 194643ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191047656ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2412 then Barre and Chelsea Railroad #22 purchased 194744ALCO Schenectady2-8-0191149003ex-Boston and Maine Railroad #2423 then Montpelier and Wells River Railroad #20 then Barre and Chelsea Railroad #20 purchased 194746General Electric70-ton194829297sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 1973Lewis (1974) p.12647General Electric70-ton194829298sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 195648General Electric70-ton194829299sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 197349General Electric70-ton194830022scrapped 196350General Electric70-ton194930184sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 195751General Electric70-ton195130844sold Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad 197252General Electric70-ton194729087ex-Barre and Chelsea Railroad #13 purchased 1955 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 197353General Electric70-ton195131168ex-Mississippi Export Railroad #48 purchased 1958 sold 196054General Electric70-ton195331724ex-Mississippi Export Railroad #50 purchased 1958 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 197355General Electric70-ton194930175ex-Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad #11 purchased 1963 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 197356General Electric44-ton194317929ex-Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company #5 purchased 1965 sold 19661st #200General Electric70-ton194729092ex-Unadilla Valley Railroad #200 purchased 1960 scrapped 19652nd #200EMDGP9195620973ex-New York Central Railroad #5960 purchased 1967 sold 1973201EMDGP9195723589ex-New York Central Railroad #6056 purchased 1967 sold 1973202American Locomotive CompanyRS-3195178937ex-Reading Railroad #523 purchased 1968 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 1973203American Locomotive CompanyRS-3195380498ex-Great Northern Railway #229 purchased 1968 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 1973204American Locomotive CompanyRS-3195078292ex-Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad #4 purchased 1970205American Locomotive CompanyRS-3195078369ex-Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad #10 purchased 1971 sold Montpelier and Barre Railroad 1973. In 1976 it was sold to the Vermont Railway as #605, and in 1984 it was sold to Batten Kill Railroad as #605.206American Locomotive CompanyRS-3195280163ex-Delaware and Hudson Railroad #4073 purchased 1972
References
https://vtvast.org/flipbook/LVRT/History/?page=1 https://railtrails.vermont.gov/trails/lamoille-valley-rail-trail/
Notes