Does anyone have a date for when this company ceased operations? And also for when the line was officially abandoned? In this instance, it should be seperate dates, as the LVRR was the operator, but not the owner. Boxcab E50
It's a long and tangled web, but they never really 'officially' abandoned service until THIS YEAR. Follow this link: http://www.stb.dot.gov/Decisions/readingroom.nsf/bbd647143480375885256ef6006dbe8a/8088a4589616a8d585256e19007a7244?OpenDocument
Guys- Thanks for the info. What a bummer! I dislike seeing rails lifted. Anywhere. So what happened? Poor service by the RR? Not enough customers? Customers relocated or switched to trucks? Sounds like it all just quietly faded away? Boxcab E50
The Lamoille Valley Railroad has had a lot of problems over the years. Too rural, not enough big paying customers, too much competion from trucking. The final straw was weather. Cannot give you an exact date but, late 1980's or early 1990's. A big rainstorm flooded the Lamoille river and took out a major bridge and miles of track were washed out. The railroad followed the river for a great portion. Reconstruction costs were prohibitive considering how little traffic rolled on those rails. Dave
I still remember reading about the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County, and liked the pictures of the line's GE 70-tonners pulling a freight thru a covered bridge. It's sad to see it go, but unfortunately economics did it in. If breathtaking scenery could pay the bills, UP's Tennessee Pass, NS's Saluda grade, the whole Colorado Midland, and yes, the "Saint J." would still be very active today. Sad thing is, there was/is no "last run" to marks its passing.
A bit more research on the Lamoille Valley Railroad Company. They were given a grant by the State of Vermont to repair and operate the line on January 1,1978. The repairs took longer than expected and the line was not operational until October 1979. See www.vtbikeped.org/what/history.doc . The line was operated, revenues dwindled due to the Maine Central changing their routes, and customers falling off the line. 1994 rail operations were ceased. Floods destroyed a lot of track mid nineties. The railroad from St. Johnsbury to Swanton was offically abandoned January 16, 2004.
