The Railroads That Ran Along the Edge of the Road

Book excerpt: There was a point in American history when every town was connected by a rails. Whether it was a small electric line winding along city streets or a multi-track mainline separating the business district from the residential areas, every community had a hometown railroad that it relied on for commerce, transportation, and identity.Accomplished railroad author Frank Kyper spent many of his formative years in towns and cities like this throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, spending the 1940s through the 1970s moving around the area with his family. His free time was spent exploring local railroads like the Springfield Terminal, Claremont & Concord, Montpelier & Barre, Clarendon & Pittsford, and even the Mount Washington Cog Railroad. His travels and interests in the region also put him in contact with the Rutland and the various branch lines of the Boston & Maine, and placed him front and center for the early formation of Steamtown and the Conway Scenic Railroad. His personal contacts with several railroad officials at the time, including the president of the Rutland, gave him access to information as events unfolded that would drastically alter the landscape of New England railroading.This book is a firsthand account of a historian whose presence-of-mind to record events in real-time has created a virtual time capsule over 172 pages of text. A mix of over 160 color and black and white photos, many taken by Kyper himself, illustrate the stories that are woven together to paint a picture of Vermont and New Hampshire railroading in its classic era. This title is Frank Kyper's seventh book on railroading in the northeast.