The Portsmouth and Concord Railroad (later the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad) was a railroad in

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 ...

(

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) that existed under various names from 1845 to 1945.

History and construction

By 1845 the state of New Hampshire had three north-south routes, all starting in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and leading, respectively, to the capital of Concord, through southeastern New Hampshire to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

by way of

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, and along the coast via

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

to Maine. However, a large gap existed between the

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 ...

-Concord line and the Boston & Maine line through Dover. In response, two railway companies were founded in July 1845: the Portsmouth, New Market and Concord Railroad, and the Portsmouth, New Market and Exeter Railroad. Both were given the concession to construct and operate a rail line from Portsmouth to a point on the Concord Railroad between

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Concord called Bow Junction. The companies merged on December 23, 1845, forming the Portsmouth and Concord Railroad. On July 10, 1846 the railroad was granted a license for a branch line from Hooksett to Suncook, then on June 23, 1848 a license for a branch line from Manchester to

Candia The name Candia can refer to: People * The House of Candia, a noble family from Savoy (14th-16th) * Alfredo Ovando Candía, 56th president of Bolivia * Antoinette Candia-Bailey, American academic administrator * Cecilia Maria de Candia, British-It ...

. The construction of the mainline from Portsmouth to Bow Junction began in Portsmouth in the summer of 1847. In August 1852 the approximately mainline was completed. The two branch lines were not initially built.

Further development

The route fell short of revenue expectations, and in 1855 declared bankruptcy. On May 1, 1855 the company took out a mortgage on their track, whereupon ownership passed to the creditors of the railway. On July 14 a new company named the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad was founded, and on September 1 the new company took over the railway. However, the financial situation did not significantly improve, and on September 11, 1858 the financially strong Concord Railroad leased the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad company for five years, then on January 1, 1862 extended the lease to 99. This railroad company abandoned the Candia-to-Suncook section, and instead the two already-licensed branch lines were built. The closure coincided with the opening of the route to Manchester, the rest of the feeder route from Bow Junction to Suncook, and the license for the branch line to Hooksett. The Concord Railroad was merged with other companies to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad on September 19, 1889, and the lease contract with the Concord & Portsmouth was transferred to this new company. On June 29, 1895, management of the route went to the Boston & Maine, having been leased to the Concord & Montreal in the meantime. The Boston & Maine bought a majority stake in the company in 1940 and achieved complete ownership four years later. In 1945 the Concord & Portsmouth dissolved. In 1982 the track between Rockingham Junction and East Manchester closed and is now owned by the state of New Hampshire and managed as a recreational trail. The Manchester to East Manchester segment was operated as an industrial spur and saw rail service until 1994. It was abandoned in 1995. The remaining section from Rockingham Junction to Portsmouth is now operated by

Pan Am Railways Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmouth Concord Railroad Defunct New Hampshire railroads