Another Alco at Work

In 1975, the Boston & Maine Railroad Corporation filed to abandon the operation of the Concord to Lincoln 117 kilometer (73 miles) rail line, known as the “White Mountain Branch”. Recognizing the need of the on-line customers and the potential of the line for a sewer right-of-way, the State of New Hampshire purchased the branch and sought a shortline railroad to carry out operations. The first to assume this responsibility was the Wolfeboro Railroad, which operated the line as their "Central Division" in 1976, but soon thereafter ended operations. In early 1977, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) entered into an agreement with the Goodwin Railroad to take over the operation. Under the terms of the operating agreement, Goodwin Railroad agreed to provide rail freight services, and the PUC agreed to subsidize the operation. Goodwin Railroad was to be subsidized based on the "differences between revenue earnings of the line . . . and the necessary costs of providing services," plus an annual management fee.

The engine shown on the front of this post card was owned by the Goodwin Railroad. It is the railroad's Number 1 engine, an ex-MEC (number 557) and ex-Wolfeboro (number 101). This picture was taken on February 10, 1978. The photo is courtesy of Ronald N. Johnson. The Goodwin Railroad, an extension of Weaver Bros. Construction, was created in 1977 to operate the trackage, and did so until it too ended operations in 1980. Following the demise of the Goodwin, the North Stratford Railroad stepped in as an interim operator until the state could find a dependable and permanent operator. Peter Dearness approached the State of New Hampshire with a bid to operate the trackage with his newly formed New England Southern Railroad. Dearness' railroad won the bid, and in 1982 the operating contract was awarded to the New England Southern, which began freight operations on September 3, 1982, using State of New Hampshire-owned ALCO S1 1008. The railroad also leased a GE 44-ton switcher, #2, also state-owned. The first freight run consisted of a tanker for Home Gas in Northfield, a boxcar for Blue Seal Feeds (H.K. Webster) in Lakeport, and another boxcar of casting sand for Arwood Manufacturing in Tilton. On May 10, 2020, it was reported that the Vermont Rail System was to acquire New England Southern Railroad. In June of 2020, the sale was finalized and VRS became the immediate owner of NEGS. Its sole engine (2555) was patched with GMTX logos and renumbered to 1505. Currently, the New England Southern operates under Vermont Rail Systems and regularly only on the state-owned White Mountain Branch in central New Hampshire. The railroad's sole interchange point is with Pan Am Railways at Concord, from which loaded cars come inbound and empties depart.

The post card was published by Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties (I have 243 post cards in my collection from her) with a little help from Alleghany Publishers. What is of note is that the post card was sent to the receiver by a person named Ron. I am wondering if the same Ron was the person who took the picture. The post card was sent without a stamp, as if it was part of a larger communication package. It would be very convenient to have a handful of these post cards on hand to use as personal notes!