The Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad is a class III

shortline railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

operating on the

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 ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

rail line 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 ...

, United States. The railroad consists of two distinct passenger operations, the Granite State Scenic Railway, which offers passenger excursion trains in the White Mountains, and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, which operates passenger excursion trains along the shore of

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. In addition to passenger operations, the railroad owns the Lincoln Shops, a railroad equipment maintenance and repair facility located in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

History

On June 15, 1987, the Plymouth and Lincoln Railroad was formed with the purpose of operating a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

and railroad out of Lincoln, New Hampshire. Edward Clark and his wife Brenda Reynolds Clark were the owners. Trains have been operating since then between Lincoln and

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, a distance of . After a few years of operating the railroad in Lincoln under the "Hobo Railroad" name (which would later be renamed "Granite State Scenic Railway"), the railroad was invited to bid on the lease for the state-owned trackage from Tilton to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. They won the bid, and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad was formed, with trains running from Meredith to Lakeport, with a stop in Weirs Beach. The railroad now holds the passenger rights on the entire state of New Hampshire-owned track running from Lochmere to Lincoln, a total of . This additional mileage allows the operation of many special excursion trains. The state owns another of track from Lochmere to

, which is used by the

New England Southern Railroad The New England Southern Railroad is a Railroad classes#Class III, Class III shortline railroad that operates out of Canterbury, New Hampshire, and serves industries in central New Hampshire, in the United States. History In 1975, the Boston an ...

for freight customers. Edward Clark, founder of the railroad, died in the summer of 1998. Benjamin, his only son, assumed the post of President and promoted the business heavily. The

Patriot Rail Company Patriot Rail Company LLC (Patriot Rail) is a holding company for a number of short-line railroad, shortline railroads across the United States. In June 2012, Patriot Rail was acquired by SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners (SteelRiver). On August ...

assumed ownership of the two passenger services and the rail bike operations in August 2023. In April 2024, the railroad was renamed as the Granite State Scenic Railway.

The Lincoln Shops

From the mid-1990s, the Lincoln Shops have grown to be a major source of off-season revenue through its refurbishing and repair of numerous pieces of customer railroad equipment. Two Russell

snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to ref ...

s and some subway

tamp A tamper is a device used to compact or flatten an aggregate or another powdered or granular material, typically to make it resistant to further compression or simply to increase its density. Examples * Small, handheld tampers are used to compre ...

ers were rebuilt for the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

. The privately owned ex-

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

'' was in for major restoration to like-new condition, along with four or five

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...

repaintings. The company's reputation increased the demand for the facility enough to make the business a 12-month operation. In 2005, they brought the three-car set of the ''

Flying Yankee The ''Flying Yankee'' is a diesel-electric streamliner built in 1935 for the Boston and Maine Railroad by Budd Company and with mechanical and electrical equipment from Electro-Motive Corporation. It was the third streamliner train in North A ...

'', under restoration, to the Lincoln Shops for completion. In 2021, 2 major locomotive repaints to PLLX 105 and 1590 were done as well as interior on 105.

Current activities

The railroad has some of the most diverse and scenic

fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon ...

trains in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, whether lakeside or on a journey along the

Pemigewasset River The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoas ...

to the mountains. Since 2003 the railroad has promoted heavily this important season for tourism. It also benefits from its -hour travel time from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Bus groups, sometimes eight per day, converge in Meredith in the fall due to the town's location and to the offering of a full roast turkey dinner on the train catered by Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant, also located in Meredith. In winter 2005, the "Believe in Books Literacy Foundation" contracted with the railroad to provide a " Polar Express" out of Lincoln, to supplement the growing demand from the North Conway operation run by the Conway Scenic Railroad. The

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of the same name was released in the 2004-2005 season, sparking even further interest. In June 2021, Rail Bike Adventures began offering 2-hour tours out of Laconia Station along the shores of Lake Winnisquam. Three

ALCO S1 The ALCO S-1 and S-3 were diesel-electric switcher locomotives produced by ALCO and their Canadian subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The two locomotives differed only in trucks, with the S-1 using ALCO's own Blunt trucks, and the S- ...

switcher A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive (Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distanc ...

s (all of them are currently out of service; one switcher is from the

Portland Terminal Company The Portland Terminal Company was a terminal railroad notable for its control of switching (shunting) activity for the Maine Central Railroad (MEC) and Boston & Maine (B&M) railroads in the Maine cities of Portland, South Portland, and Westbr ...

and two are from the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

), an ALCO S3 switcher from 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 ...

, 2 EMD SW1000's, 1

EMD SW1001 The EMD SW1001 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between September 1968 and June 1986. A total of 230 were constructed, mainly for North American railroads and industrial operations. The SW1001 was ...

, and a former

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

EMD GP7 The EMD GP7 is a four-axle (AAR wheel arrangement#B-B, B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973) pp. 53 The GP7 was ...

provide the motive power for the two railroads. Four former

Erie Lackawanna Railroad The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

cars and six former

Budd RDC The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), also known as the Budd car or Buddliner, is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The car ...

s from the

in Boston comprise the railroad cars that they use for operations.

References

External links

Hobo Scenic Railroad/Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad official website Flying Yankee Restoration GroupClark's Trading PostFoliageTrains.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobo Railroad Heritage railroads in New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Belknap County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Grafton County, New Hampshire Transportation in Belknap County, New Hampshire Transportation in Grafton County, New Hampshire Meredith, New Hampshire Lincoln, New Hampshire

History

The Lincoln Shops

Current activities

See also

References

External links