New route idea for me.

[goddrauG]

I am slowly nearing the completion of my new route, the West Hallsbury railroad. (I'm thinking of renaming it something like 'St. Lawrence and Atlantic Hallsbury Division", since they are also included on the majority of the route)
Now, my next route idea will include once again sidelining the NEGS (I'll get it done after I do this route, I promise.)
This route will not only be for the third time set in NH, but this one will also be real.
The M&L (Manchester and Lawrence) branch of the Boston and Maine railroad/Guilford Transportation Industries/MBTA/NHDOT

Now. I will make two versions, partially based off of what Rick K. did with his CV Champlain Division, with going between different years.
First one will be the late 70's. That was the last time the B&M ran the whole route from Manchester to Lawrence.

Next one is going to be a bit different. See, I'm more of a modern man, who likes modern trains and routes. Only problem with the M&L is it's all abandoned. Not a single part of it is active.
Now, I could say that it's a fictional version set in modern times, but I like truth better than fiction. So I decided to look further. Much much further.

Fuuuuutuuuure

Now, the future is uncertain. I could tell you at 8:30 tonight I will have potato salad and instead at 8:25 I'll go outside and murder a man. No one truly knows what will happen. Sure, we can speculate, but we can't exactly pinpoint exactly what will happen.
So, pack your bags, kids. We're going to the 2030's for this one. (I-93 study said that the M&L did not currently have enough ridership, but it also said that things would probably change enough that by 2030 a restudy could be warranted)

So, let's see what will have changed by then on my route.
1. Capitol Corridor would finally have been up and running. NH rail supporters have been fighting for this for a looooong time. I think it's plausible that commuter trains would be running to Concord by then.

2. Boston Montreal high speed rail has been established on the NH Mainline. Could you believe the FRA actually ID'ed the NH mainline and the Northern rail trail as a High Speed Route between Boston and Montreal? I didn't. Apparently it had a lot of support, however phase 2 of the study has yet to be started.

3. Obviously, the M&L would be rebuilt as a commuter line, while also acting as a secondary route for Pan Am to avoid the High speed corridor for a little bit. Also, a little bit of industrial switching. Not a lot, though.

I will start on this as soon as the route I'm working on is finished. I think it will be fun, due to the fact that the middle town (Windham, NH) is actually where I live.
I hope you will enjoy looking (again) at what has to be the most wooded, hilly state in the US!

[goddrauG]

On a side note, anyone know stats of the M&L? Gradients, Bridges, that kind of thing?

[RickKfoury]

First one will be the late 70's. That was the last time the B&M ran the whole route from Manchester to Lawrence.

Looking forward to this, the late 70's to the late 80's is one of my prime areas of interest and the M&L during this period is one of my biggest railroading interests.

I'd be happy to dig through my photos and information to help with the 70's version, as that is what most of my content focuses on. We should be able to get an accurate idea of where all the sidings, industries and bridges were. Gradients will be a little more difficult but I have an old railroad magazine from the 70s that describes a trip on the M&L and goes into detail about where sidings, grades, etc. were. Take a look at historicaerials.com and that will give you a good idea of where things were

Send me a PM with your email address and i'll start putting a folder together with reference material!

[goddrauG]

Thanks, Rick!
Meanwhile, I've started the route at home.

Mitchell pond, Windham, NH in the late 70's. This was the first part to be closed, but the B&M promised to return service. That never happened, because Guilford rolled through and abandoned it.

[goddrauG]

Meanwhile, back to the future (heheheheh)
MBTA commuter train above Mallard road in Windham.
Also, good news. Jpeter has apparently agreed to do some custom buildings, so look out for depots and freight depots on the RWA file library.

[goddrauG]

While I deviate from this route to work on my St. Lawrence and Atlantic railroad, here's some info of the route.

Lawrence:
Former mill city. Home to the last rail served industry before it was finally abandoned in early 2015, Eastern Packaging. Used to have a lot more industries on the M&L back in the day. Future version will have Polartec, Eastern Packaging, and Colony Foods. I-93 study said build a station in North Lawrence, since the main Lawrence station is too hard for M&L trains to get to.

Methuen: Not really home to any rail served industries. Future version will have an active commuter station. Also home to bird sanctuary.

Salem: Home to Rockingham mall. Last active rail in NH was in this town. Future version will have commuter station and three small industries: Dodge Grain, Sulzer Mixpac, and something on Cuomo way.

Windham: Lotta Marsh. Not really important in the 70's only used to get to Derry from Lawrence. Future version will have small station and small spur serving Cyr Lumber.

Derry: Has a big downtown. Future version will have commuter station and one industry, Granite Industrial Gases.

Londonderry: Alright, things get interesting in terms of freight service. Back in the 70's, this place had a lot of industry. Still does today. Not rail service, though. Future version will have a commuter station and lots of industries: Kamco Supply Corp, Wallboard Supply Company, Inc., Alcumet, The Granite Group, Granite State Plastics, Textiles Coated, and Northstar Steel & Aluminum.

Manchester: Largest city in NH. Back in the 70's, had a large yard. Future version will have expanded yard than what today looks like, a passenger station where M&L commuter trains terminate, a little bit of the Mainline, and a few industries: Empire Sheet Metal, Redimix, And whatever is on Driving Park road, unles that huge building isn't occupied.

Most of the industries we're actually listed on a list from the NHRRA (New Hampshire railroad revitalization association). I know this because I asked Peter Griffin, the owner of the group, this for a school report. Half of them don't make sense to me, but maybe they know something we don't?

[goddrauG]

Roulston road, South Windham.