This track began its life as the eastern end of the planned Essex County Railroad in 1864. It ended its useful life as the western end of the Twin State Railroad spur line in 1999. Here's a timeline of most of the various mergers and buyouts and takeovers that occurred in between:
- 1864 Essex County Railroad chartered, construction begins
- 1875 Consolidation with the Montpelier & St. Johnsbury Railroad
- 1875 Consolidation with the Lamoille Valley Railroad
- 1875 Bought out by the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad, operating it as their Vermont Division
- 1877 Bankruptcy
- 1880 Reorganized as the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad
- 1882 Taken over by the Boston & Lowell Railroad
- 1888 Leased by the Maine Central Railroad, operating it as their Mountain Division
- 1912 Remainder of line leased by Maine Central
- 1934 Joint Operating Agreement with the Boston & Maine Railroad
- 1955 B&M partnership dissolved
- 1981 Purchased by Guilford Rail System (later renamed Pan Am Railways)
- 1983 Closed between Lunenburg and St. Johnsbury
- 1984 Leased by Twin State Railroad
- 1999 Last train leaves Lunenburg as paper mill closes
- 2004 Twin State formally files for abandonment of line
The tracks themselves remain in place until a salvage operation is agreed upon. Apparently no one is eager to make that happen; at this rate the trees growing up in between the rails will be ready for logging operations before the land gets railbanked and the steel gets pulled up.
Enjoy this glimpse of old industrial history!