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-1- Bennington Pathway Project Table of Contents Table of contents. Page 1. Project overview and introduction. Page 2. A Short History of the Rutland Railroad. Page 3 A Short History of the Corkscrew Division. Page 5. A Short History of the Bennington & Glastenbury Railroad Page 7. A Snippet of Industrial History of Bennington Page 8. Remembrances along the Bennington Pathway: Exchange Club Trips Page 11. Francis T. Poulin, a Visionary with a Camera Page 13. Poulin’s and others images of Bennington, VT. Page 14. Important Dates and Statistics of the Rutland Railroad Page 27. A Chart Showing the Traffic Levels for Various Shippers and Commodities in Bennington Page 28. Sources Page 29. Maps Page 30. Above: Sanborn Insurance Map (Base map ca. 1925 with update ca. 1957). [From the collection of and courtesy of the Bennington Museum] Cover photo: Rutland Railroad bunkhouse in Bennington ca. 1953, near the end of the steam locomotive era. [From the Poulin Collection courtesy of the Rutland Railroad Historical Society] -2- Bennington Pathway Project Project Overview And Introduction he Town of Bennington Vermont T contracted with Vanasse Hangen and Brustlin, Inc. to provide profes- sional design and engineering services for a project known as the Bennington Pathway. This 3 kilometer long, multi-use trail will extend from the Bennington Ele- mentary School on Park Street to the Molly Stark School on Willow Road. The treadway for the trail will utilize a segment of the right-of-way of the old Rutland Railroad’s corridor within the village. The State of Vermont (VTrans) owns the corridor today and the Ver- mont Rail Systems holds the lease to operate on the corridor. The rail, ties and other railroad infrastructure is still intact, but largely unused for over 20 years. The track structure will not change. The Bennington Pathway project will not negatively impact any future resto- ration of rail service. The rail corridor used to have at least two tracks for much of the distance within the scope of this project and the trail will use one, allowing the other to be easily used for rail transport in the future. I was contracted to provide the project with the following items: 1. Text & pictures for historic con- Southern most area served by the Rutland Railroad ca. 1934. [Courtesy of the text so that future informational Rutland Railroad Historical Society] kiosks might be easily built along the trail. 2. Public outreach into the neighborhoods and schools along the trail thus bringing the forgot- ten corridor back to life again by providing a unique window into the recent past of Bennington. Craig P. Della Penna -3- Bennington Pathway Project A Short History of the Rutland Railroad he idea of a railroad summer, a daily train between Bos- By the late 1890s, and after a couple T through Vermont began in ton and Burlington was advertised. of other short-lived corporate mar- 1831 when talk of a line con- The cost of such a journey was $6 riages to both the New York Central necting Boston with Ogdens- dollars and it took 11 hours to com- and the Delaware and Hudson Rail- burg, New York was taken seri- plete. At the same time, the compet- roads, the Rutland became a sepa- ously. Such a line, if ever con- ing VC RR was building their line rate entity and the competitor Cen- structed, would take traffic from and they in fact built out a unique tral Vermont became owned by the the Great Lakes, (then going by floating bridge to cross Lake Cham- Grand Trunk Railroad, a Canadian ship), to the “Hub”, (as Boston plain at Rouses Point. The Vermont held company. was known as), with much Central Railroad was operational by greater speed. Perhaps most January 1852. When finally owned by Vermonters importantly, the Massachusetts who cared about the communities and New York components of By the mid 1850s though, both rail- served by the railroad, the Rutland’s such a line was already under roads were in dire finan- construction. cial straits and the R and B Railroad was eventu- In Vermont, two routes were ally reorganized by 1867, proposed and both had powerful into a new entity, the backers. The first proposed route Rutland Railroad. Around was to follow the White and this time the VC RR be- Onion Rivers from the Connecti- came worried by the cut River Valley to Lake On- growth of its major com- tario. It had the political benefit petitor, and so they leased of passing through the capital, the entire Rutland in Montpelier as well. The lead 1871. This created the proponent here was Charles largest railroad in New Paine. The other route was from England with over 900 Burlington to the Williams River miles of lines from Og- to the Connecticut River. The densburg New York and connection to New York was to St. Jean Quebec to New made by way of a steam boat London Connecticut. across Lake Champlain. The lead proponent of this second This merger was a mis- route was a steam boat operator take and the combined by the name of Timothy Follet. system was a drag on the corporate coffers of the Interestingly, both ideas were Vermont Central Rail- given a charter from the state of road. By 1873, the VC was bankrupt new owners attempted one last gran- Vermont in 1843. Paine’s route and it was reorganized as the Central diose building project. They bought became the Vermont Central Vermont Railroad. Around this same the line at Ogdensburg, in order to Railroad and the other became time, a connection was built to the connect with both the New York the Champlain and Connecticut south out of Bennington, Vermont to Central and Lake Ontario. To get to River Railroad. Shortly after reach Chatham, New York. This was this new extension, the Rutland construction of the C&C RR known as the ‘Corkscrew Division’ needed to share some of the mileage began, it became the Rutland in reference to the tight curves and and revenue with the CV on their and Burlington RR. On Decem- steep grades needed to make the line to Rouses Point. In order to ber 18, 1849 the R and B be- route. bypass the CV, the Rutland decided came operational and by the next (Continued on page 4) -4- Bennington Pathway Project (Continued from page 3) limped along in receivership, nearly petitioned the Interstate Commerce to build a new line to get to going out of business a couple of Commission for permission to aban- Rouses Point. They built a times, until reorganized as the Rut- don the entire railroad. This was the causeway into Lake Champlain land Railway in 1950. largest abandonment request ever out of marble blocks and got to seen by the ICC and it set off alarm Rouses Point the hard way, hop With this new, local, (and capable), bells all the way from Montpelier to scotching all the islands of the management, things looked good for Washington DC. After many public lake. This project was one of the the Rutland. One of the first things hearings and meetings, the ICC largest water crossing of a rail- they did was to stress efficiency and agree to let the abandonment take road in the country and was not this meant converting to diesel loco- place except for the portions of the only an engineering marvel, but motives as soon as possible. To help Rutland Railway in New York also a maintenance headache. finance this major purchase, the which were sold to other railroads Corkscrew Division was abandoned or the communities themselves. The The year 1909 saw the first milk in 1953 and the rails sold as scrap. right-of-way through the islands of train on the Rutland. This train Lake Champlain was largely sold to would be made up by stopping One of the efficiencies of converting adjoining landowners, but the state at scores of small dairies along to diesel from steam, meant that not of Vermont bought the causeways the way from Ogdensburg to as many employees would be needed themselves. Rutland and picking up milk to run the railroad. The layoffs containers from the farmers. caused a strike in 1953. The first in In August of 1963, the portions in Sometimes the train would have the company’s history. After the Vermont were purchased by the 40 cars by the time the train strike was settled in a few weeks, the state of Vermont and two new enti- reached Rutland and was di- Rutland was given permission to ties, the Green Mountain Railroad vided—some cars for the Boston cease passenger train operations. and the Vermont Railroad were the market, while the majority being Ironically, this caused an even larger designated operators. They pro- routed to New York City by way job loss, than the conversion to die- ceeded to start up service and never of the Corkscrew Division. sels. looked back. By the 1920s, it became appar- In the mid 1950s, things looked very These two entities themselves ent that the company had too good indeed with little debt to carry merged in 1999 as Vermont Rail many miles of line to maintain and even some dividends being paid Systems and today it continues to for the revenues received so to investors. Then the wheels fell off. provide quality service to the indus- some trimming became the order In 1958, the Federal government tries of Vermont. They still have a of the day. The Addison Branch decreed that Vermont milk could not couple of the old Rutland Railway’s with its unusual—and unsafe— be sold in New York.