The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-07-03
NEW RAILROAD
tIeboro-tiinsdaIe Extension Now
Ready for Traffic.


Ready for Traffic.
The Boston and Maine Railroad
has placed in use its newly construct
ed extension on the east bank of the
Connecticut River running from
Hinsdale, N. H., to Brattleboro, VT,
a distance of II miles.
Work on this extension of the Con-
necticut and Passumpsic division
was started in April, 1912. under a
contract with the Holbrook, Cabot
& Rollins Company Of Boston, and
at present the westerly track has
been fully completed and will be
placed In service, while the grading
and filing for the easterly track is
completed and the work of laying
the S5-pound rails with which this
line is equipped will soon be start \
| ed
This new line leaves the present
| line running from South Vernon,
VT. to Keene, N. H., about two
miles north of South Vernon in the
| town of Hinsdale on the New Hamp-
shire side of the Connecticut River,
| then runs along the east side of the
river for about eight miles to
point about one mile south of Brat
tleboro, then across the newly con
structed Connecticut River Bridge
TO Brattleboro.
This line has maximum grade OF
$40 per cent and a maximum cur
vature of four degrees. To attain
this low grade necessitated many ex-
tensiye cuts as we'll as drilling and
blasting large masses of solid rock.
1,450.000 cubic yards of excavation
were taken out, of which $4,000
cubic yards were rock, and this
amount was used for the necessary
filling.
In one cut alone, which was 80
feet deep, 100000 cubic yards of
earth were taken out; and to make
one fill alone, which was a mile
long. necessitated the use of 100000
cubic yards of filling. The peculiar
Vin/ng course of the Connecticut
River required in one section the
building of fill in the river 1000
feet long.
Two large bridges on the new
route were necessary, one spanning
the Connecticut River and the other
spanning the Ashuelot River. The
Connecticut River structure is 900
feet long consisting of two 250-foot
truss spans and FIVE 80-foot glrder
spans. There are six piers located
in the river and in two instances it
was necessary to go 80 feet
Of water to provide proper founda-
tons. There were over 1000 tons
OF steel used in its construction. The
Ashuelot River structure is 800 feet
Hong containing three girder spans.
Automatic block signals have been
installed for this entire line, thus
providing safe operation OF trains by
automatic signals from Springfield
to Windsor. In the town of Hins-
dale a new station has been erected
| which is to be known as Fort Hill
1t is situated near the old location
OF the River Tavern and Ferry Cross
ing of the Connecticut River. From
the northerly end OF the Connecticut
River bridge a fill along the west
side brings this road nearly up to
the station at Brattleboro. For the
present trains will run into Brattle
boro over the tracks of the Central
Vermont railroad, but station inn
lprovements are now under way and
1t is expected that within year a
new station with two tracks for the
Boston & Maine service and two
tracks for the Central Vermont ser
vice will have been completed.
Completion of this line will elimi-
nate the use of the Central Vermont
tracks which heretofore have been
used by the Boston & Maine between
South Vernon and Brattleboro. Thus
the Boston g. Maine by using this
new road is able to operate trains
over its own rails from Springfield,
Mass, to Windsor. VT, and the new
White Mountain trains will use the
Central Vermont tracks only be-
tween Windsor and White River
Junction, distance of IA miles.