Short-lived but Important!

Wikipedia tells us that in 1975, the Boston & Maine Railroad Corporation filed to abandon its 73-mile (117 km) "White Mountain Branch" stretching between Concord and Lincoln, New Hampshire. 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.

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. The picture on the front of this post card is of one of the locomotives that were used by the Weaver Bros. Construction Company while it operated on the right of way. It is seen here at Lakeport, New Hampshire on February 10, 1978. Following the demise of the Goodwin contract, the North Stratford Railroad stepped in as an interim operator until the state could find a dependable and permanent long-term operator. This website (of the Weaver Bros. Construction Company today) gives us a great big hint about why the railroad would have been named the “Goodwin Railroad”. https://wbcc.biz/about-us/our-story/ Weaver Brothers was Incorporated in 1946 by Carlton and Halsey Weaver. The Weaver Brothers were extremely important in the construction of the highways system in the State of New Hampshire. With their John Deere bulldozer, their 1.5-yard P&H shovel, and rented equipment, they built two pieces of I-89 in Warner, parts of I-93 in Campton and Franconia, stretches of the Kancamangus Highway, and portions of Route 106 in Belmont. In 1951, Herb Goodwin joined Weaver Brothers and eventually took ownership control of the company in 1973 along with partners Richard Smith and Roger Bates. Weaver Brothers Construction was very involved in construction and reconstruction of railroads under Herb’s leadership. In 1994, the Bates brothers, Mark, Peter and Jeff, completed the buyout of the company, Mark acting as President until his passing in 2011. Jeff and Peter Bates are the current owners of the firm and have guided the work required by the State of New Hampshire for the very ambitious I-93 widening project which has represented a large part of the company's efforts in the last decade.

The photo on the post card is courtesy of Ronald N. Johnson. It was published by Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialities, Inc. December 15, 1985 Mrs. Mary Jayne Rowe, age 82, of Covington, died Thursday, October 8, 2015, at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke after a long illness. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, John Zern Rowe. Mrs. Rowe was born July 15, 1933 in Ackermanville, PA, the daughter of the late Stanley and Helen S. Wasser. A member of this community since 1979, Mary Jayne was a homemaker and assisted with office work for the land surveying company she and her husband owned. She taught Sunday school and was church treasurer at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hollywood, FL.