Logging Railroads, White Mountains


Logging railroads in the New Hampshire White Mountains date back to the 1870s, when the first logging railroad to operate in the White Mountains was built – the John’s River Railroad. Some railroads lasted only for a few years, while others, such as the legendary East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, lasted many years. Now in the 21st-century, some consider the railroad logging era to be the most interesting part of White Mountains history. This work focuses on the history of these abandoned logging railroads, and it also showcases them in their current state.


Bartlett and Albany Railroad

Bartlett and Albany Railroad - Bartlett, New Hampshire
Bartlett and Albany Railroad, New Hampshire - The Bartlett and Albany Railroad was a logging railroad in the White Mountains towns of Bartlett and Albany. On October 21, 1887, the New Hampshire legislature approved an act to incorporate the Bartlett and Albany Railroad. The incorporators of the railroad were H.N ...

Beebe River Railroad

Plymouth Diesel Locomotive - Lincoln, New Hampshire
Beebe River Railroad, New Hampshire - In 1917, the Publishers Paper Company sold the Beebe River land tract (around 22,000 acres) to the Parker-Young Company. And in March 1917, the New Hampshire legislature approved the incorporation of the Beebe River Railroad. Also in 1917, the Woodstock Lumber Company, an affiliate ...

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad - Lincoln, New Hampshire
The East Branch & Lincoln Railroad (1893-1948), ScenicNH Photography has an extensive image collection that showcases this legendary railroad in its current state. Built by timber baron James E. Henry, the East Branch & Lincoln was a logging railroad in the towns of Lincoln and Franconia, New Hampshire with much ...

Gordon Pond Railroad

Kinsman Notch - White Mountains, New Hampshire
Owned by the Johnson Lumber Company (George Johnson), the Gordon Pond Railroad was a logging railroad in operation from 1907-1916 in the towns of Lincoln and Woodstock, New Hampshire. Johnson Lumber Company's first sawmill was located in North Lincoln, and a small settlement formed around the North Lincoln sawmill known ...

Sawyer River Railroad

Mount Carrigain - White Mountains, New Hampshire
Sawyer River Railroad, New Hampshire - The Sawyer River Railroad, operated by the Daniel Saunders Family, was a ten-mile long logging railroad in the New Hampshire White Mountains. It was in operation from 1877-1928 and was one of the last logging railroads to operate in New Hampshire...[Continue reading] ...

Swift River Railroad

Boulder Loop Trail - Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire
Operated by the Conway Company, the Swift River Railroad was a logging railroad that operated from 1906-1916 in the Swift River valley of the New Hampshire White Mountains. The railroad began in Conway, at the Conway Company’s sawmill, and traveled alongside the Swift River (following much of today’s Kancamagus Scenic ...

Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad

Tripoli Road - Woodstock, New Hampshire
Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad - Incorporated in March 1909, this short-lived logging railroad, operated by the Woodstock Lumber Company, a subsidy of the Parker-Young Company, began at the Woodstock Lumber Company’s sawmill (built in 1906 by the Publishers Paper Company) on the western bank of the Pemigewasset River in ...

 


Books
 

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad Book by Erin Paul Donovan
East Branch & Lincoln Railroad Book
by Erin Paul Donovan With the use of black and white and color photographs, this book explores the history of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, while showing the abandoned ...
Franconia Notch Book (Images of America) by Erin Paul Donovan
Franconia Notch Book
by Erin Paul Donovan In 1805, a member of a survey crew working on building a road through New Hampshire's Franconia Notch walked down to Ferrin's Pond (today's Profile Lake), ...