High Green Episode 18: "From Ashuelot to Ashes" with Scott Whitney
Keene, NH, 1982 – Engineer Scott Whitney prepares depart Keene with ALCO S-4 #305 and train. Scott J. Whitney photo.
By 1982, the city of Keene, New Hampshire – once a rail major rail hub – had only one rail connection to the outside world left: the Boston & Maine's Ashuelot and Fort Hill Branches. Seeking to keep freight to the Elm City viable, the Boston & Maine leased these branches to the Green Mountain Railroad and for just under two years they provided the last gasp of freight to the area. Join us as former GMRC employee Scott Whitney describes this colorful operation and his experiences as one of the last railroad employees to run freight to and from Keene.
The Keene Sentinel from Nov. 13, 1982 noted the last Green Mountain train to depart Keene, hauling empty 40-foot boxcars that had been stored in town. The Boston & Maine did run several scrap trains up into Keene in 1983 and 1984.
