The Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is a , gravel mixed-use

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

in central

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

that is currently under construction, under control of the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail (FCLSRT). It roughly follows the course of the

Concord and Claremont Railroad The Concord and Claremont Railroad was an American railroad company during the mid-nineteenth century in New Hampshire spanning from Concord to Claremont. History Chartered on June 24, 1848, the Concord and Claremont Railroad was established ...

line, starting in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

and passing through the towns of Hopkinton,

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, and

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, and ending in Newbury at

Lake Sunapee Lake Sunapee is located within Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Sullivan County and Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County in western New Hampshire, the United States. It is the fifth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. Th ...

. The trail is being designed for use by walkers, cyclists, equestrians, and cross-country skiers.

History

The Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail sits on the former

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

Branch of the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

. The line was originally part of the Concord and Claremont Railroad that connected Concord and Claremont, which was opened on September 21, 1848. The Boston & Maine Railroad took over the line in 1887 and referred to it as their "Claremont Branch". The line was eventually sold to Samuel Pinsly in 1954 who set up the Claremont & Concord Railway, operating a brief passenger service (ending in 1955) and regular freight as far as Contoocook and West Henniker. Passenger rail on the line had a surprising rebirth for eight weeks in the summer of 1961. Between July 22 and September 17, the tracks between Bradford and Sunapee were used by F. Nelson Blount and his Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad, a tourist excursion railroad. The operation utilized a former

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

4-6-4T steam locomotive, #47, and several former

Boston & Maine The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

wooden coaches. The steam operation came to an early end on August 25 when the locomotive was removed from service on account of missing maintenance paperwork, which had been disposed of by the Canadian National when they retired #47 in 1958. A diesel replacement was used for an additional seven days, but was not popular. This was the last regularly-scheduled passenger service on the Claremont Branch. After World War II, with the decline of rail transportation and increased usage of the automobile, freight use of the line diminished. Claremont and Concord Freight service last ran as far as Contoocook in 1961, Bradford in 1964, and Newport in 1977. Some concrete signal bases, rail rests and mile markers can still be seen. The Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail formed in early 2018 and began negotiating easement rights on properties where the original right-of-way ran. Work is ongoing with various sections being completed.

Features

The Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail travels along a flat and scenic landscape through wetlands, ponds, woods, farmlands, and for several miles travels along the

Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire th ...

. Improvements to completed trail sections include bench seating, informational kiosks, bicycle repair stations, historic mile-marker repairs, railroad bridge re-decking and vehicular gates.

References

External links

Official website
{{Protected Areas of New Hampshire Rail trails in New Hampshire Boston and Maine Railroad

History

Features

See also

References

External links