Vermont Railway

Vermont Railway
Reporting mark VTR
Locale Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York
Dates of operation 1964 to present (1964 to present)–
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters Burlington, Vermont
Website www.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 shut it down 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 Oct. 25, 1963, began operations on January 6, 1964.[3] The company's first president was Jay Wulfson, who came from the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad.[4]

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 leased leasing 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.[4]

In 1982, VTR repaid the State of Vermont for the trackage the State 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 Railroad 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 their acquisition of the D&H).[4]

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.[4]

VTR planned to construct a new 3.3-mile (5.3 km) spur line in Middlebury, Vermont to serve a quarry.[5] 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.[5] The quarry cancelled the project in August 2012 because it was no longer economically viable.[6]

Routes

The VRS owns and operates the following rail lines:

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.[4]

Locomotive Fleet

As of August 2015, the Vermont Railway's fleet consisted of:[4][7]

Number Type Power Manufacturer and date manufactured Notes
201 GP38-2 2,000 hp EMD, 1972
202 EMD GP38-2 2,000 hp EMD, 1974
203 EMD GP38 2,000 hp EMD, 19xx ex MEC 256
204 EMD GP38 2,000 hp EMD, 1973 Ex CSX 2528 Ex SCL 528
205 EMD GP38 2,000 hp EMD, 1971 Ex CSX 2158 Ex L&N 4028
206 EMD GP38-3 2,000 hp EMD, unknown build date
207 EMD GP38-3 2,000 hp EMD, 1969 Ex NS 2718 Ex SOU 2718
303 EMD GP40-2 3,000 hp EMD, 1977 Ex B&M 314
307 EMD GP40-2 3,000 hp EMD, 1984 Ex SSW 7255
308 EMD GP40-2 3,000 hp EMD, 1977 Ex B&M 303
310 EMD GP40-2WB 3,000 hp EMD, 1976 Ex CN 9650
311 EMD GP40-2WB 3,000 hp EMD, 1976 Ex CN 9662
312 EMD MP15 1,500 hp EMD Leased from GATX
316 EMD MP15 1,500 hp EMD Leased from GATX
318 EMD MP15 1,500 hp EMD Leased from GATX
431 EMD SD70M-2 4,300 hp EMD, 2006 Ex-FEC 101
432 EMD SD70M-2 4,300 hp EMD, 2006 Ex-FEC 103
801 EMD GP18 1,800 hp EMD, 1961 Ex TP&W 600
802 EMD GP16 1,600 hp EMD, 19xx Ex xx
804 EMD GP9r 1,xxx hp EMD, 19xx Ex N&W

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. ↑ Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, p. 322
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jones, Robert C. (2006). Vermont Rail System: A Railroad Renaissance. Evergreen Press. ISBN 0-9667264-5-6.
  5. 1 2 ""Otter Creek Railroad" to Build Middlebury Spur in 2013". Vermont Rail Action Network. 7 February 2011. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Bruce (28 August 2012). "Omya rail spur sidetracked indefinitely". Times Argus. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Vermont Rail System acquires six-axle EMD power". Trains Magazine. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
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