The Railroads of Manchester

Tuesday, July 13 from 5:30 – 7:00pm via Zoom

Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) is excited to partner with the Manchester Historical Society to present this talk about the history of the Manchester railroads. Local historian G. Murray Campbell wrote in 1961: “There was a time when echoes of the whistles of three separate railroads could be heard in the daily life of Manchester.” First was the Western Vermont Railroad, later known as the Bennington & Rutland. The other two have long since become silent. The Manchester, Dorset & Granville (MD&G) ran five miles of railroad from Manchester Depot to the South Dorset quarries. The Rich Lumber Company, which felled large spruce stands up Lye Brook and around Bourne Pond and Bourne Brook from 1914 – 1919, operated a bustling logging railroad with 16 miles of standard gauge track. Material in the Manchester Historical Society archives has turned up a fourth rail operation. Although not a common carrier railroad, a Manchester lumber mill strung some wire and ran a small electric rail line on their property. Join railroad history expert Bill Badger and curator Shawn Harrington for a look at these important chapters of Manchester history. Registration is $15 per person in advance. For more information or to register, please call 802-867-0111 or visit our website at greenmtnacademy.org.