Bennington and Rutland Railway

Rutland Railroad

Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Rutland & Burlington Railroad
Founded	1843
Defunct	1963
Headquarters	Rutland, Vermont , United States
Area served	Vermont, New York, Quebec (Canada)
Products	Passenger and freight rail services

The Rutland Railroad primarily served regions within Vermont and New York. Operations ceased in 1961, but in 1963, the State of Vermont acquired portions of the line, which are currently operated by Vermont Railway.

Construction and early years

Initially chartered in 1843 as the Rutland & Burlington Railroad with the goal of linking Rutland to Burlington, Vermont, the enterprise transformed into the Rutland Railroad by 1867. Charles Linsley, who played a significant legal and governance role during its early development, was appointed as the first state railroad commissioner. From 1871 until 1896, the railroad was leased to Central Vermont; however, it regained autonomy following Central Vermont’s receivership. Control briefly shifted to the New York Central Railroad beginning in 1904, which subsequently divested half its ownership to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1911.

In 1901, the Rutland Railroad finalized a vital causeway and trestle system traversing Lake Champlain via the Champlain Islands. This construction secured a direct Canadian connection independent of rival lines. A shared gauntlet track on the Richelieu River bridge enabled seamless cross-border train movements without requiring switches. These infrastructure enhancements significantly bolstered Rutland’s position in international freight transportation.

The railroad’s network stretched from Rutland southeastward to Bellows Falls and southward to North Bennington and Chatham, New York—an essential hub linking to markets in New York City and Massachusetts until branch line closures commenced in the early 1950s. Passenger operations included the daytime Green Mountain Flyer and nighttime Mount Royal services running between Montreal and New York City.

Freight operations were heavily concentrated on dairy products, particularly milk, across an approximately 400-mile route shaped like an inverted "L" extending from Chatham northward to Alburgh and westward to Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence River. The northernmost point reached Noyan, Quebec. In 1925, the railroad reported hauling 259 million net ton-miles of revenue freight over 413 miles of track; by 1960, this figure had declined to 182 million ton-miles over 391 route miles.

Decline

Financial instability led Rutland into receivership in 1938. To improve fiscal health, cost reductions including wage cuts were enacted. In March 1939, Vermont suspended tax obligations for two years to support recovery efforts. While World War II brought a temporary surge in traffic and revenues, postwar declines soon resumed, necessitating further operational cost reductions. The loss-making Chatham Division—nicknamed the "Corkscrew"—running from North Bennington, VT to Chatham, NY was abandoned and dismantled in 1953, severing links with New York Central’s Harlem Division and Boston & Albany mainline; freight was redirected through Troy, NY.

A corporate restructuring in 1950 resulted in renaming the company as Rutland Railway. A strike in 1953 ended longstanding passenger services; that same year marked the retirement and scrapping of all revenue steam locomotives. Early in 1961, additional strikes over unaffordable wage demands compelled Rutland to request Interstate Commerce Commission approval for total abandonment—a request granted swiftly. These labor disputes arose from employee opposition to operational shifts relocating headquarters from Rutland to Burlington and extending run times due to added overnight stops—changes that union resistance prevented from being implemented at that time.

In 1961, Vermont persuaded bankruptcy court judges to postpone liquidation sales of the railroad’s assets for scrap metal recovery, obtaining a two-year window to identify a new operator. Ultimately, much of the line was purchased by the state in 1963. Following formal abandonment that year, Vermont acquired significant portions of right-of-way and facilities. However, a 132.4-mile stretch between Burlington’s Union Station and Norwood, NY was closed in 1961, abandoned two years later, and dismantled by 1964—resulting in Malone, NY losing rail service after prior reductions.

The westernmost segment of the Ogdensburg Division—26 miles between Ogdensburg and Norwood—remains intact under operation by Vermont Railway, consolidating all surviving Rutland trackage under one entity. Ownership of former railbeds between Norwood and Burlington has become fragmented; a 21-mile portion from Norwood to Moira has been converted into the multi-use Rutland Trail. Additional abandoned sections have been repurposed as parts of the Hudson and Delaware Rail Trail, Corkscrew Rail Trail, and Alburg Recreation Rail Trail.

Passenger service along this corridor resumed in summer 2022 when Amtrak extended its Ethan Allen Express route from Rutland through to Burlington.

Steamtown

Prior to its relocation to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamtown Foundation operated heritage train services near the Bellows Falls terminus, running between the museum location and Chester, Vermont. Following Steamtown’s transition, a number of tourist trains continued utilizing the original Rutland Railroad equipment.

See also

• Phineas Gage

External links

• Rutland Railroad Historical Society
• The Rutland on George Elwood's Fallen Flags site
• The Rutland Railroad, 'The Green Mountain Gateway'