A brief  History of The central vermont railway

    Construction of the Central Vermont Railway (then the Vermont Central) began near Windsor ,Vermont on December 15, 1845.  The first train in Vermont ran on June 26, 1848 between White River Junction and Bethel.  Construction continued with large groups of Irish workers, fleeing the potato famine , under the direct supervision of the roads' first president,  Charles Paine, ex-Governor of Vermont.  At his direction and influence the line was built through Northfield rather than the State Capitol of Montpelier ,leaving the State House on a branch line.  

Charles Paine, President of the Vermont Central, 1845-1853.  (From "The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Volume I, Robert C. Jones "Jim Murphy Collection")

    The railroad struggled financially in the early years.  Despite this, the Vermont Central leased the Vermont and Canada in 1850.  The later railroad was constructed by John Smith of St. Albans, known for his business prowess.  The two lines connected at Essex Junction.  The Alburgh trestle was completed in 1851 giving the rail line connections to the North and West.  The poor economic situation of 1852 resulted in the Vermont Central falling into receivership.  The road remained under the control of a board of directors ,consisting of the first mortgage bondholders.  In 1854 the Vermont Central defaulted on lease payments to the Vermont and Canada and the Vermont Central was handed over to John Smith.  When John Smith died, in 1858, his sons J. Gregory Smith and Worthington C. Smith took over much of their late fathers responsibilities. In 1860 the headquarters of the Vermont Central in Northfield was consolidated with the Vermont & Canada facilities in St. Albans.   In 1861 the tunnel into the city of Burlington was built.   In 1864 the line connecting the Vermont roads with Montreal was completed.  This resulted in unprecedented traffic levels over both railroads as they became part of a primary bridge line between Boston and Montreal.

Johns Smith, the man behind the Vermont & Canada.  (From The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Volume I, Robert C. Jones, "Jim Murphy Collection")

    A period of rapid expansion followed the establishment of a mainline through Vermont.  The prospects of competition from the Rutland and Burlington Railroad convinced the Smith family to lease that line as well as the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain.  This included trackage to Brattleboro and a connection with the New London Northern Railroad.  

   The history of the New London Northern begins in that railroads' namesake city.   Frustrated by the prosperity of Norwich, twelve miles up river from New London, CT, a group of the town's maritime men constructed a railroad North hoping to revitalize their city.  The New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad provided much hope but produced little results for those who invested in it.  In 1860 the line was taken over by a new company called the New London Northern.  The New London Northern purchased the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer Railroad in 1864.  Steamer traffic between New London and New York City began the same year.  

   J. Gregory Smith leased the New London Northern in 1871 looking for an outlet to the sea and a route into the heart of industrial New England.  Also that year, the Richford Branch became part of Vermont Central system which was now the seventh largest railroad in the United States.

    The Central Vermont Railroad came into being in 1873 after bad economic times forced the Vermont Central into receivership.  As before, J. Gregory Smith was lines' president.  Smith remained president until 1891.  The Smith Dynasty continued as Edward C. Smith, a former Vermont Governor became the new president.  In 1898 the line was re-organized forming the Central Vermont Railway.  It was at this time that the lines forming the Rutland Railroad were dropped from the CV system ,along with the Sullivan County Railroad, creating a fifty mile gap in the CV mainline which would not be patched until Amtrak and the federal government intervened and gave the line back to the CV in the 1980's.  

 J. Gregory Smith was president of theVermont Central from 1855 to 1891. (From Central Vermont Railway, Edward H. Beaudette, "Central Vermont Railway Collection")

       Although Edward C. Smith was still the head of the Central Vermont ,the majority stockholder was the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada.  The Grand Trunk had capitol that was much needed by the CV.  The Grand Trunk saw the CV as an outlet to New England, the "workshop of the nation," as well as a link to Long Island Sound and New York City and thus continued to finance the CVs' ongoing improvement projects.  

    World War I saw the CV under the direct control of the United States Railway Administration (USRA).  After the war, the CV had finally "come of age..  Traffic was up, plant improvements continued and the economic boom of the 1920's rolled along at a never before seen pace.

    In November of 1927 rain showers began to spread across the state of Vermont.  The storms brought rivers up to un-seasonal levels.  Then, on the 3rd and 4th of November, a 48 hour downpour swelled the rivers adjacent to the CV.  The line was essentially destroyed between Essex Jct. and White River Jct., VT.  The parent Canadian company spared no efforts in rehabilitating the Central Vermont and just a little over three months later, on February 4, 1928, the CV was re-opened.

The CV mainline North of Montpelier after the Flood of 1927.  (From The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Robert C. Jones, "Jim Murphy Collection")

    Reconstruction of the Central Vermont proved to be more than the railroad could handle financially.  On December 12, 1927, the road was again bankrupt.  The Canadian National, instrumental in the rehabilitation of the ruined railroad and the majority stockholder, came to the rescue.  The Central Vermont Railway Incorporated was formed, purchasing the Central Vermont Railway for 22 million dollars.  

    The Central Vermont now had one of the most modern and well built mainlines in New England.    The CV's last steam locomotives arrived in November of 1928.  They were built by Alco as Texas-type 2-10-4's and numbered 700-709.  They were the largest regular service steam locomotives ever to operate in New England.  

Early in her life, the 704 at Oakland.  (From The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Robert C. Jones, "Jim Murphy Collection")

    The depression of the 1930's hit the CV not quite as hard as many of the other regions railroads.  Parent Canadian National took care of the CV throughout the decade.  Towards the end of the 1920's local passenger service on the CV began to feel the effects of the automobile and improved roadways.  In 1941 the CVs' first diesels, no's 7918 and 7919 arrived.  The units received mixed reviews from train crews, but the fate of steam locomotion had been cast.

    The war machine had been running for a long time when the official declaration of war on December 7, 1941 took place.  Once again, the USRA operated the nations railroads.  The CVs' major bridges had guards on duty 24 hours a day while war time traffic levels soared. 

    The CV maintained its signature mainline and a healthy plant throughout the 40's and 50's.  Traffic levels were high and the CV enjoyed a period of relative prosperity.  In 1957 the CV became completely dieselized with its last 19 steam locomotives being retired.  It was at this time that the CV began operating several EMD GP-9's, a locomotive that would eventually become the primary staple of the roads' power.

The 4553 was typical of the GP-9 units that replaced steam on the CV.  Some of these units remained on the roster for over 30 years.  (From The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Volume V, Robert C. Jones, "Jim McFarlane photo")

    In 1961, the Rutland railroad was completely abandoned.  The CV benefited some from the demise of one of its former competitor.  Throughout the 1960's, traffic on the CV continued to decline.  The abandonment of less than carload service by other railroads caused the CV to do the same.  At the same time, the CV's employee roster continued to shorten with the trains.  In 1963, despite the efforts of historical preservation groups, the CV train-shed in St. Albans was torn down.

    The 1970's saw the inclusion of the Central Vermont in the Grand Trunk Corporation, a holding company for Canadian National's American subsidies.  The CV was profitable in the early 1970's. Passenger service returned to the CV on September 29, 1972 in the form of  Amtrak's Montrealer.  Some improvements in management resulted in a little more independence for the CV.  In 1977 the CV began to repaint its road units in its own green and yellow paint scheme.  In the same year  11 GP 9's were taken from the CV and replaced with 10 RS-11's from the DW&P.  In 1978 the CV inaugurated its "Rocket" piggyback service.  In a strange way, the late 1970's and the early 1980's were good times for the CV.  When many other railroads in the Eastern United States were on the brink of collapse, the CV became a model of efficiency and profitability.  

A CV company Christmas Card in 1984.  (From The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition, Robert C. Jones, "Alan Irwin photo")

       Times were good and in 1982 and 1983 the CV assigned pushers to trains operating over the Roxbury Hill.  The New England Rail scene changed dramatically in 1984 when the Delaware and Hudson officially became a merger partner with Guilford Transportation Industries.  This union of the B&M and the D&H was destined to be short lived.  However, it proved to be a huge competitor with the CV 'between Massachusetts and Canada.  As Northern Division bridge traffic began to decline, the Southern Division continued to pick up new on-line industries which helped offset the loss.  In addition to this , a new marketing deaI with Burlington Electric's "woodchip train" provided the CV with stable income.  In 1987 the CV lost much of its newsprint traffic to Conrail.  In addition to this, Amtrak's Montrealer was cancelled due to poor track conditions on the B&M portion of the mainline.  It had reduced train speeds to ten miles per hour.  The CV and Amtrak worked together to try to gain control of the track between Brattleboro and Windsor VT.  Also in 1987, the Southern Division Offices were moved to Palmer, Mass.  causing the existing office facilities in New London to undergo a significant down-sizing.  In 1988 the ICC authorized the purchase of the questionable trackage from the B&M.  The line was immediately transferred to the CV and money allocated for re-habilitation.  After many years the CV was a complete railroad again.  

    The CV continued to flounder through the early 1990's.  GP-38's began to replace the aging fleet of GP-9's and the green and yellow paint scheme was not applied to the new units.  In 1991, the CV, along with all of Canadian National's subsidiaries ,became part of the "CN North America" system.  Many of CVs locomotives were taken off site as CN motive power began running to Palmer.  Despite a profitable year for the CV, Canadian national had decided to sell in 1993.  CV began hauling intermodal traffic again in 1993.  This traffic came from Canada and terminated at Palmer ,Mass. at the junction with the Massachusetts Central.    On February 3,, 1995, the Central Vermont Railway was taken over by the New England Central Railroad, a Railtex company.  The transition was a tough one , many CV employees were forced to leave railroading as the New England Central was to employ only 112 people.  The New England Central became Rail-Tex's 25th  North American Railroad.  The demise of the CV ended 150 years of service to New England and Canada.   The New England Central became the "1995 Shortline of the Year", a fact that is proudly proclaimed on the sides of company locomotives.  Although Amtraks Montrealer was discontinued ,a new daytime service, the "Vermonter" began operation shortly after.

NECR Dispatcher "Roy" at the controls in ST. Albans, November 1999. (D. Bishop, Photo)

    Today the NECR operates between Canada and New London CT, with NECR power running to Montreal. The railroad has been quite successful.  By most accounts traffic is up.  The shops in ST. Albans service NECR equipment as well as equipment from other roads. NECR hosts Amtraks' daily Vermonter as well as a the usual freight trains.  The old CV maintenance philosophies apparently stuck with the line, as the roadbed in most places looks as good as ever.  The dispatchers office in St. Albans dispatches the NECR as well as other Rail-Tex lines.  At the time of this writing Rail-Tex is in the process of being bought by Rail-America, another railroad holding company.  While the future is uncertain, today there is greater possibility for a bright future then there has been for a long time.  There are many of us who will miss the old CV for the rest of our lives, but fortunately for all of us, the railroad is still there, running trains every day, just like it always has been.

NECR Caboose 4044 sits in Italy Yard, St. Albans VT, November 1999.  (D. Bishop, Photo)

References:

1.    Jones, Robert C. "The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition", Vols. 1-6, Sundance Publications Limited, Silverton Colorado, 1981.

2.    Jones, Robert C.  "The Central Vermont Railway, A Yankee Tradition", Vol. 7, The New England Press, Shelburne Vermont, 1995.

3.    Beaudette, Edward H.  "Central Vermont Railway", Carstens Publications Inc, Newton, New Jersey, 1982.

4.    Hartley, Scott  "New England ALCOs in twilight", PTJ Publishing Inc., Homewood Ill., 1984

5.    Phelps, George  "New England Rail Album, A Traveling Salesman remembers the 1930's" George Phelps, Laguna Hills, California, 1989.