Vermont Railway
A Vermont Railway locomotive with a hopper car in White River Junction, Vermont.
Overview
HeadquartersBurlington, Vermont
Reporting markVTR
LocaleVermont, New Hampshire, and New York
Dates of operation1964 (1964)–present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Other
Websitewww.vermontrailway.com

The Vermont Railway (reporting mark VTR) is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellows Falls. The trackage is owned by the Vermont Agency of Transportation except in New York, where VTR operates a line owned by the Boston and Maine Corporation.[1] The rail line employs about 150 people in Vermont.[2]

History

The Rutland Railway was the only north-south line through western Vermont. A strike in 1953 precipitated the company's ending passenger service.[3][4] Another strike shut down freight operations on September 25, 1961. The government of Vermont purchased the main line south of Burlington, as well as a branch to Bennington, 128.6 miles (207.0 km) total, and the new Vermont Railway, incorporated on October 25, 1963, began operations on January 6, 1964.[5] The company's first president was Jay Wulfson, who came from the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad.[6]

During the early years of the Vermont Railway, money was spent replacing old locomotives and rolling stock the railroad had inherited from the Rutland. It bought several locomotives, both new and used. It also leased several hundred freight cars.

The railroad continued to expand, entering the intermodal business in 1965, and acquiring the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad in 1972, which gave VTR access to a limestone plant near Florence, Vermont. VTR retained the Clarendon and Pittsford name as a separate legal entity operating the acquired trackage. In the late 1970s several senior officials died, including Wulfson. The railroad grossed more than $2 million in revenues for the first time. Net earnings were about $20,000 a year, which was spent in improving the railroad.[6]

In 1982, VTR repaid the state of Vermont for the trackage the state had bought in 1964 to allow VTR to begin operations. A year later, VTR bought 23.7 miles (38.1 km) of track between Rutland and Whitehall, New York from the Delaware and Hudson Railway and assigned it to its Clarendon and Pittsford subsidiary. The track was severely deteriorated at the time of purchase, with track speeds as low as 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) over the entire line. During the first years after the purchase, a rehabilitation project was begun, upgrading the roadbed as well as the track and ties. Since the line was upgraded to higher standards, Whitehall has become a major interchange point between VTR and the D&H (now Canadian Pacific after its acquisition of the D&H).[6] Since 1996, Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express has been operating on the Rutland - Whitehall section.

In 1997, the Vermont Railway purchased the Green Mountain Railroad, which ran 52.2 miles (84.0 km) from Rutland to Bellows Falls. This led to the formation of an umbrella company, named the Vermont Rail System, which owned both railroads, as well as several other shortlines in Vermont and New York.[6]

VTR has been the designated operator of the New York & Ogdensburg Railway for over a decade (as of 2021) . This short line was once the western end of the Rutland Railway Ogdensburg Division and operates over the 26-mile line segment between Ogdensburg and the CSX connection at Norwood, NY.[7]

VTR planned to construct a new 3.3-mile (5.3 km) spur line in Middlebury, Vermont, to serve a quarry.[8] In early 2011, the company created a new subsidiary railroad called the Otter Creek Railroad to purchase land and construct trackage in preparation for construction to begin in early 2013, with a late 2014 completion date.[8] The quarry cancelled the project in August 2012 because it was no longer economically viable.[9]

Routes

The VRS owns and operates the following additional rail line:

Traffic

The Vermont Railway moves a wide variety of freight, as well as furnishing track to an Amtrak passenger train, the Ethan Allen Express. VTR moves large amounts of stone products from quarries in western Vermont, largely limestone in the form of slurry from OMYA mines north of Rutland. VTR also moves large amounts of petroleum products into Vermont, including unit trains of fuel oil from Albany, New York, to Burlington.[6] VTR operates the Champlain Valley Dinner Train, which runs from Burlington to Middlebury.[10]

Locomotive fleet

As of July 2021, the Vermont Railway's fleet consisted of:[6][11][12]

Type Numbers Manufacturer Built Notes
GP38-2 201, 202 EMD 1972-1974
GP38 204 EMD 1969
GP40 301, 3003 EMD 1967-1969 3003 leased from LLTX.
GP40-2 303, 306-311, 313 EMD 1972-1984
GP40-3 312, 381 EMD 1967 Rebuilt from GP40s in 1990.
SD70M-2 431, 432 EMD 2006
SW1500 501 EMD 1966
GP9 751 EMD 1954
GP18 801 EMD 1951
GP16 802 EMD 1950

Former fleet

Type Numbers Manufacturer Built Notes
GP38-2203EMD1964Sold to Conway Scenic Railroad in 2021 and renumbered back to its original number 255.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Vermont Agency of Transportation, Vermont Rail Network, accessed February 2009
  2. 1 2 Usatch, Brad (November 23, 2016). "Railroading sees a bit of rebirth". The Chronicle. Barton, Vermont. pp. 1A. 27A. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ "An Eastern Regional Railroad - 1930's - 1940's, Rutland Railroad" http://www.r2parks.net/RUT.html
  4. ↑ Lindsell, Robert M. (2000). The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 35–46, 175. ISBN 0942147065.
  5. ↑ Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th edition, Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, p. 322
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jones, Robert C. (2006). Vermont Rail System: A Railroad Renaissance. Evergreen Press. ISBN 0-9667264-5-6.
  7. ↑ "NYOG Railway". Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.
  8. 1 2 ""Otter Creek Railroad" to Build Middlebury Spur in 2013". Vermont Rail Action Network. 7 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Edwards, Bruce (28 August 2012). "Omya rail spur sidetracked indefinitely". Times Argus. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Champlain Valley Dinner Train". plan.vermontvacation.com. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  11. ↑ "Vermont Rail System acquires six-axle EMD power". Trains Magazine. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Vermont Rail System". www.thedieselshop.us. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  13. ↑ "Conway Scenic Acquires Second Maine Central GP38". 19 October 2021.
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