Saco Valley Railroad

Last updated
Saco Valley Railroad
Locale Carroll County, New Hampshire
Dates of operation 18921898
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 6.5 miles (10.5 km)
Saco Valley Railroad
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Numerous
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Logging
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Camps
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U.S. Route 302
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Conway Scenic Railroad

The Saco Valley Railroad was a short-lived logging railroad that followed the Dry River in New Hampshire. The short line extended northward from a junction with the Mountain Division. The slope is a steep one and the railroad had to stay very near, or even between the banks of the Dry River on wooden trestlework. Washouts were a regular occurrence. The Saco Valley Railroad only ran for six years before the area was logged out. Without maintenance, all trace of the line was washed away by 1907.

The Dry River is a 9.0-mile (14.5 km) long river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. For nearly its entire length, it is within the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness of the White Mountain National Forest.

New Hampshire State of the United States of America

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. New Hampshire is the 5th smallest by area and the 10th least populous of the 50 states. Concord is the state capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state. It has no general sales tax, nor is personal income taxed at either the state or local level. The New Hampshire primary is the first primary in the U.S. presidential election cycle. Its license plates carry the state motto, "Live Free or Die". The state's nickname, "The Granite State", refers to its extensive granite formations and quarries.

Mountain Division railway line

The Mountain Division is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and White Mountains of New Hampshire, ending at St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the Northeast Kingdom. The line was abandoned in 1983 by MEC's successor, Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). Guilford retained a stub between Portland and Westbrook. A section in New Hampshire remains in use by heritage railway Conway Scenic Railroad.

The railway had only one locomotive, a Shay locomotive, well suited to steep grades and low-quality track. Locomotive # 1 was built by Lima Locomotive Works in March 1892 as their builders number 390. The locomotive was shipped to Wisconsin after the Saco Valley Railroad was dismantled, and worked on several logging railroads in Bayfield, Park Falls, Washburn, and Cusson, Minnesota. [1]

Shay locomotive geared steam locomotive with offset boiler, vertical cylinders and bevel-gear drive

The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays.

Lima Locomotive Works defunct American locomotive manufacturer

Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line and the Nickel Plate Road main line and shops.

Wisconsin A north-central state of the United States of America

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, which is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The state is divided into 72 counties.

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References

  1. Koch, Michael (1971). The Shay Locomotive Titan of the Timber. The World Press. p. 395.