BNSF7173
November 10th, 2006, 06:43 PM
A recent post about Guilford started a rush of memories of the B&M in NH, specifically the NH mainline. This stretch of track started in Boston and worked its way through NH and went through such towns as Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Franklin, Canaan and terminated in White River Jct. VT. These are the tracks I grew up next to, the tracks where I saw blue Geep 7 and 9's shuffle balck and blue McGinnis PS1 boxcars, where I saw the Freedom train, where I spent many an evening watching for a train with my dad at the Hannah Dustin park.
I grew up in the small mill town of Penacook. Viewable on any B&M map, Penacook is located just north of the state capitol, Concord. Penacook was known at one time for its leather, giant empty buildings still scatter the lanscape. The B&M had a small yard in Penacook, right next to the Merrimack river. Just north of the small yard in Penacook was the first bridge, spanning a small inlet from the Merrimack. This bridge connected to the small island (and I do mean small) of Hannah Dustin. In the middle of this island is a large memorial made of concrete with a statue of Hannah Dustin. Who was Hannah Dustin? Well look it up on Google to get a more acurate history lesson, but if my memory of grade school NH history is right, the story goes like this.
The Dustin family were settlers from England and were with a group of settlers that had taken home in the Penacook valley in 1697. A group of savages of the Penacook tribe killed her husband and children. She along with other women and children were taken as captives by the tribe and were forced to walk up north. In the middle of the night she scalped most of the warriors and took the group to flee by water back down to Concord. It was said she was befriended of one of the warriors who showed her how to scalp. I'm sure who ever re-married Hannah made sure to stay on her good side.
Back to the B&M. The Dustin Island is only a few acres at best until the line crosses another smaller bridge bringing us back to mainland. Now as a kid this is where it gets interesting. At one time the main road, Rt 3 used to go in the valley, past the leather and flour mills, cross the B&M line right in front of the bridge, then cross the Merrimack and go through the town of Eastview then Concord. That was until the flood of 1936, when the bridge was swept away. By the time I showed up, Rt. 3 was a few hunderd yards north and above the valley away from the mill complex. Yet half of the old bridge was still there. This was a curiousity to me as a young kid to see the old grade crossing and the road leading to knowwhere. we called the bridge Broken Bridge. The few houses on the east side of the bridge were mostly abandoned as the road had been re-directed 500 yards or more to the north.
I have always thought Penacook would be an interesting place to model in N scale. Interestingly enough, I have never seen pictures of the B&M in that town in any of my books. If you ever happen to be in NH travelling north on highway 93, take exit 17 and hop north on Rt.3. About a mile and a half north of the highway, you will see a "Park and Ride" off to your left. Pull into the parking and walk west to the opening of the railings and follow the steep decaying asphalt path that will take you to the old Rt.3. To your left is what remains of the road over the Merrimack, the final portion of the bridge is now long gone, removed around 2000 if I remember right but the abrutments are still there. To the right of the bottom of the hill you will see the old B&M line and the old grade crossing. Follow the tracks west and you will see the bridge has a pedestrian walkway to it to Hannah Dustin. The park was somewhat decrepid the last time I was there in 1998, so do be careful.
I grew up in the small mill town of Penacook. Viewable on any B&M map, Penacook is located just north of the state capitol, Concord. Penacook was known at one time for its leather, giant empty buildings still scatter the lanscape. The B&M had a small yard in Penacook, right next to the Merrimack river. Just north of the small yard in Penacook was the first bridge, spanning a small inlet from the Merrimack. This bridge connected to the small island (and I do mean small) of Hannah Dustin. In the middle of this island is a large memorial made of concrete with a statue of Hannah Dustin. Who was Hannah Dustin? Well look it up on Google to get a more acurate history lesson, but if my memory of grade school NH history is right, the story goes like this.
The Dustin family were settlers from England and were with a group of settlers that had taken home in the Penacook valley in 1697. A group of savages of the Penacook tribe killed her husband and children. She along with other women and children were taken as captives by the tribe and were forced to walk up north. In the middle of the night she scalped most of the warriors and took the group to flee by water back down to Concord. It was said she was befriended of one of the warriors who showed her how to scalp. I'm sure who ever re-married Hannah made sure to stay on her good side.
Back to the B&M. The Dustin Island is only a few acres at best until the line crosses another smaller bridge bringing us back to mainland. Now as a kid this is where it gets interesting. At one time the main road, Rt 3 used to go in the valley, past the leather and flour mills, cross the B&M line right in front of the bridge, then cross the Merrimack and go through the town of Eastview then Concord. That was until the flood of 1936, when the bridge was swept away. By the time I showed up, Rt. 3 was a few hunderd yards north and above the valley away from the mill complex. Yet half of the old bridge was still there. This was a curiousity to me as a young kid to see the old grade crossing and the road leading to knowwhere. we called the bridge Broken Bridge. The few houses on the east side of the bridge were mostly abandoned as the road had been re-directed 500 yards or more to the north.
I have always thought Penacook would be an interesting place to model in N scale. Interestingly enough, I have never seen pictures of the B&M in that town in any of my books. If you ever happen to be in NH travelling north on highway 93, take exit 17 and hop north on Rt.3. About a mile and a half north of the highway, you will see a "Park and Ride" off to your left. Pull into the parking and walk west to the opening of the railings and follow the steep decaying asphalt path that will take you to the old Rt.3. To your left is what remains of the road over the Merrimack, the final portion of the bridge is now long gone, removed around 2000 if I remember right but the abrutments are still there. To the right of the bottom of the hill you will see the old B&M line and the old grade crossing. Follow the tracks west and you will see the bridge has a pedestrian walkway to it to Hannah Dustin. The park was somewhat decrepid the last time I was there in 1998, so do be careful.