The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-11-18
POSSIBLE R. R. FROM
MARSHFIELD TO HARDWICK
Boston & Maine Engineers Look Over
Territory Interyening-Would
Shorten Distance to West.

The Hardwick Gazette in this weeks
issue publishes the following;
Messrs. f. s. Darling, engineer Of
maintenance Of way, s. Keenlo, locating
engineer and VI. A. Corthell, SON of A. B.
Corthell, chief engineer OF the extensive
Boston & Maine and New Haven sys-
TENS, were in town Monday in a special
car and went over the route of pros
pective connecting link between the
Montpelier q Wells River and the st.
Johnsbury & Lake Champlan railroads,
with points al Marshfield and Hardwick
as functions Of the new line.
The B. 4 NJ. since assuming control
of the Montpelier a Wells River road
have been catering to very large ton
mage of granite going to western points
from Montpelier and Barre that must
now travel a roundabout way to get to
direct lines west. For example, over the
M. & w. r. to Bellows Falls, to Rut
land and up the east or west side Of
Lake Champlain, or TO Wells River and
ST. Johnsbury and over the Objectionable
grade of Walden heights, and the pro.
posed short line 20 Alburg, whore a di-
rect outlet west is had.
A line between here and the Mont
pelier & Wells River road distance OF a
little more than a dozen miles, would
do away with the heavy grade and also
would mean a saving Of several days
time, items OF first consideration in the
railroad business The connecting link
appears to be feasible solution Of the
problem the b. & NJ is bound TO work
out TO get on equal terms TO meet com
petitive freight rates for the western
tonnage and keep it on its own lines.
Along with the immense traffic from
Barre and Montpelier. this new scheme
would be able TO secure from the stead
lily growing granite industry of this
place additional business to the West.
And more, il would tap number OF inn
mense granite deposits in Calais and
Woodbury. yet uudeveloped because Of
distance from shipping facilities, besides
running through fertile agricultural
section, and over a course that cannot
be equalled for scenic beauty.
While Hardwick has been sitting still
and listening to projected railroad
schemes by spirited citizens in
other sections OF the state, il seems one
has been thrust upon us, and what is
more il bids fair to become more than
dream. A new railroad project calls
for business as main feature, and II is
well known that no other section of the
state can show more inducements along
that line This section touched bv the
proposed route is a logical one for a
railroad line and il is a good guess that
one viii be built through il before long.
The route Travelled over encounters a
grade Of only one and fraction per
cent.
The new line would also open a mar
ket for Hardwick granite in Montpelier
and Barre because of the short haul and
no doubt would be of mutual benefit to
the granite producing belt as a whole.
The milegate rate on the Montpelier
& Wells River win be reduced and new
train service put on. mention Of which
change is made in another item in The
Gazette this week, and if the proposed
line should become certainty il would
be a welcome change to passenger service
in this section
II is a we'll known fact that the Ros-
ton & Maine surveyed a route from
White River Junction. through Bethel
and the Williamstown Gulf to Barre last
summer, and il may mean that this
short line from Hardwick to Marshfield
viii be an extension Of this survey.
This project would Of course mean even
more direct service to New England and
New York markets.