St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad

Overview
Reporting mark	SJL
Locale	Vermont
Dates of operation	1948 (1948)–1995 (1995)
Predecessors	Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad, St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad
Successor	Lamoille Valley Rail Trail
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	193.7 miles (311.7 km)
Route map mi 193.7 Maquam Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain RR (RUT) to Ogdensburg 96.10 Swanton Vermont & Canada RR (CV) to Essex Junction│to Rouses Point Missisquoi River 94.73 East Swanton Central Vermont Railway to Fonda Junction│to Saint-Jean I-89 90.91 Highgate 87.40 East Highgate 84.56 Sheldon Junction Missisquoi Railroad (CV) to St. Albans│to Richford Missisquoi River 83.05 Sheldon 78.44 Fairfield 74.24 East Fairfield 68.81 Fletcher Lamoille River Jeffersonville Burlington & Lamoille RR (CV) to Burlington 64.26 Cambridge Junction East Cambridge 56.35 Johnson Lamoille River 51.56 Hyde Park Lamoille River 48.88 Morrisville Lamoille River Wild Branch River Lamoille River 41.03 Wolcott Lamoille River (twice) Granite Junction Hardwick & Woodbury RR to Woodbury Lamoille River 34.73 Hardwick Lamoille River (twice) East Hardwick 27.80 Greensboro Lamoille River 23.87 Dows Crossing 67.10 Walden 16.40 Joe’s Pond 14.85 West Danville 11.48 Danville I-91 Sleepers River South Eastern Railway (CPR) to White River Junction 0.00 St. Johnsbury Union Station South Eastern Railway (CPR) to Portland Portland & Ogdensburg Ry (MEC) to Whitefield mi

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.^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Freight traffic was 30% inbound commodities, 20% outbound dairy products to Boston, 15% outbound forest products, and 25% outbound 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. 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.^[3]

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.^[1] 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.^[4][5]

Route and Station listing

Milepost	Town / City	Station	Image	Note	Position
0.0	St. Johnsbury	St. Johnsbury		Interchange with Maine Central Railroad and Canadian Pacific Railway.[6]
1.4				Fairbanks Scales factory[6]
11.48	Danville	Danville[6]
14.85		West Danville
16.30		Joe's Pond
19.7	Walden	Walden[7]
23.87		Dow
27.80	Greensboro	Greensboro[7]		In the village of Greensboro Bend, so named for the large arc of the track as it turned south to follow the Lamoille River.
31.0	Hardwick	East Hardwick
34.73		Hardwick		98-foot covered bridge built 1909 over the Lamoille River burned 1959.[8]
35.7		Granite Junction		Junction with Hardwick and Woodbury Railroad.
39.0	Wolcott	Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge		Preserved 90-foot bridge built in 1908 over the Lamoille River. It was strengthened in 1968 to be the last covered railroad bridge in service.[9]
				120-foot covered bridge built 1909 over the Lamoille River. Replaced by Baltimore Truss steel bridge about 1917[9]
41.03		Wolcott
48.88	Morrisville	Morrisville[10]
51.56	Hyde Park	Hyde Park
56.35	Johnson	Johnson
64.26	Cambridge	Cambridge Junction		Junction with Central Vermont Railroad. 113-foot covered bridge built 1899 over the Lamoille River replaced by steel bridge about 1968.[8]
68.81	Fletcher	Fletcher
74.24	Fairfield	East Fairfield
78.44		Fairfield[11]
83.05	Sheldon	Sheldon[11]
84.56		Sheldon Junction		Junction with the Missisquoi Railroad line[11]
87.40	Highgate	East Highgate
90.91		Highgate[11]
94.73	Swanton	East Swanton
		Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge		Three-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.[12]
96.10		Swanton		Station now houses Swanton Historical Society
		Fonda Junction		Swanton Lime Works and interchange with Central Vermont Railroad[11]

Locomotives

References

• Hartley, Scott (1984). New England ALCOS in Twilight. PTJ Publishing. ISBN 0-937658-10-3.
• Johnson, Ron (1986). New Hampshire and Vermont Railroads. Portland Litho.
• Lewis, Edward A. (1974). Vermont's Covered Bridge Road. The Baggage Car.
• https://vtvast.org/flipbook/LVRT/History/?page=1
• https://railtrails.vermont.gov/trails/lamoille-valley-rail-trail/

Notes