Today we are coming back to New Hampshire. It's been a while since I've shared a photo from my native state, so I thought we'd visit it again. I shot this photo last year in the spring. This is in Laconia, close to downtown, where the tracks cross the Winnipesaukee River for the who-knows-how-many-th time. This was built by the Concord & Montreal Railroad, a predecessor to the Boston & Maine. Today it is owned by the Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad and does not see regular rail traffic.
The river flows away from Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in the state. The photo looks upstream. Downtown Laconia is in the background, and in the left of the photo just above where the bridge ends you can see a brick building that was once part of the Laconia Car Company, which built streetcars and was once the largest employer in the city.
The depot is also to the left, or railroad north, of the photo. North on this railroad line will take you to Weirs Beach, Meredith, Ashland, Plymouth, and eventually to Lincoln, where the tracks end. In the past, the tracks split in Plymouth and the line went to Montreal. Boston & Maine ran big name trains through here such as the Red Wing and the Alouette. However, these trains were rerouted through White River Junction, a more southerly route, and the line past Plymouth was torn up. Today both routes are torn up, the only connection to the "real world" on this line is to the south, where the tracks meet Pan Am's main line in Chelmsford, MA.
This line last saw regular passenger service in the 1960s, when the Boston & Maine ran RDCs here during the summer. Today the railroad line is owned by the Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad, which operates the Hobo Railroad and Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, two scenic railroads on this line, although neither goes through here. The Tilton caboose train comes through here on its monthly excursion for the caboose owners. Occasionally, New England Southern railroad runs a short train through here, although that is very rare. Usually they are bringing something to Lincoln for repairs. PLRR has a shop facility there and often does repairs for other railroads. Right now, New England Southern's own locomotive, GP39 2370, is there being fixed up after its February wreck in Concord, which I talked about before.
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