Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6The new StJ&LC. needed to modernize if it was to be successful. The old engines needed to be replaced with the new diesel engines but that presented several problems. The light rail along the line was in bad shape and the covered bridges that made the StJ&LC. iconic couldn’t support the increased weight. Through the 1950s and into the 60s, they used multiple light diesel engines to work within the constraints of the railroad, but it wasn’t enough. By 1965, the line was no longer profitable and was going to be abandoned. In 1967, the railroad was purchased by Sam Pinsly, who owned several other short line railroads in Vermont. He kept the line in operation, but the decision was made to upgrade the track and do away with the covered bridges. As there weren’t many railroads left with covered bridges, a few were spared. Only the Fisher bridge remains today. Even with the new, heavier diesel trains, the line floundered and was to be abandoned in the early 1970s until the Right of Way (ROW) to the rail line and several facilities were purchased by the State of Vermont in 1973. Under state ownership, the rail line was operated by several different companies and in 1978 became the & Ogdensburg Railroad as the Vermont Division. In December of 1869, the first shovel of dirt was dug and it wasn’t until July 17, 1877 that Governor Fairbanks drove in the silver spike in Fletcher, completing the 96 mile railroad. Even with all the celebration upon completion, the railroad had financial troubles in early 1880 and was restructured as the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad (StJ&LC.). The rail line was infused with some new capital and began desperately needed repairs to the tracks and bridges. Just as things were looking up and money was flowing in, there was a change in management in 1884. The new directors held interests in other railroads and began diverting traffic away from the StJ&LC. which had become known as “the Lake Road.” Without the through traffic needed to sustain operation, the line company began to languish again. One year later it was sold to the Boston & Lowell (B&L), Railroad. Under the ownership of B&L, traffic increased and the future became optimistic again for the rail line. In 1886 a proposal was put for to extend the line and connect through to Montreal. However, this turned out to be nothing more than leverage in negotiations with another rail line. Soon the Lake Road was no longer needed and B&L terminated their lease. While B&L retained stock control, the line once again became the StJ&LC. As the century turned, the rail line struggled to turn a profit. Granite out of Hardwick played a large part in revenues as did dairy product being shipped south and east to Boston. Unfortunately this was not enough to sustain the line. By the 1920s the StJ&LC. was losing too much money and the parent company B&L (now Boston and Maine Railroad) had taken notice as it was struggling financially itself. The decision was made to turn management control over to Vermonters as they could find more business for the line on a personal basis. Passenger traffic had begun a steady decline with the advent of early automobiles, but the Vermont management team worked hard to bring more business to line. As traffic across the line began to increase, disaster was just around the next bend. The flooding in 1927 damaged much of New England but hit Vermont particularly hard and for the StJ&LC., the damage was severe. There were 160 washouts ranging from small to massive as well as 24 slides covering the tracks and 12 bridges damaged. The State of Vermont loaned the line money to fix it but it wasn’t nearly enough. There was much celebration in each town as the line was restored, but it took a full year for traffic to resume as normal. Through the 1930s, passenger traffic became almost nonexistent and only ran from Cambridge to St. Johnsbury. The introduction of refrigerated cars allowed the transport of milk which added business, but not enough to make the line profitable. By 1944, the railroad was $3,000,000 in debt and had to file for bankruptcy. It took over three years to finally restructure the line and in 1948, the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad (also abbreviated StJ&LC) was created. Veteran conductor DL Creighton watches breakman Ray Gaffney couple car #33 to the train in 1946. (Photo courtesy Phillip R. Hastings)