jadebullet
might be back?
Well, I was bored, so I figured that I would fact check and type up the history of the fictional shortline that I have been working on. I figured that I would post it here to see what you guys thought of it, and to make sure that I didn't make any factual mistakes. Please let me know what you think. Also, sorry about the length. Also, one more thing. I have only done up to 1976 yet. I don't know what happens after that year yet.
Well here it is.(Locomotive roster is at the bottom.)
May 22, 1917- A gravel pit is contracted for construction outside of the town of Mayburry, Vermont. The gravel pit would be owned by the newly formed Mayburry Gravel Company and would supply the cement plant in nearby Victoria with aggregate as well as supplying the Boston and Maine with ballast material. The Boston and Maine would handle the transportation of the goods, paying for the ballast, and being paid for the transportation of the aggregate to the cement plant, or wherever it was needed.
July 14, 1917- The gravel pit ships out its first load of aggregate
November 20, 1920- George Beck, president of the Mayburry Gravel Company, decides that it would be cheaper in the long run to haul aggregate themselves. The Mayburry Gravel Company Line (MGCL) was founded, and immediately bought the trackage rights to the gravel pit from the B&M, as well as an older 0-8-0 steam engine which was numbered 262. Coaling and maintenance was temporarily leased from the B&M’s yard in Victoria. The hoppers and ballast gondolas were also leased from the B&M.
November 29, 1920- Construction of a small engine servicing depot begins North of Mayburry. Cheap housing is built for the servicing employees. Though it was about a mile away from the original town, it is considered part of the borough of Mayburry. A flag station is set up and the point is labeled Mayburry Junction.
January 12, 1921- The yard at Mayburry Jct. is completed. The small service yard consisted of a small turntable, a three stall engine house, a water tower, and a coaling track. Since the service yard would be used for a small amount of locomotives, the Mayburry Gravel Company decided to forgo building an expensive coaling tower. Instead they moved a small clamshell to the yard. Twice per week, a gondola load of coal would be delivered to the yard and emptied by the clamshell. The clamshell would also fuel the locomotive. Sand was filled manually by the bucketful.
June 9, 1923- In order to increase revenue, Mayburry Gravel Company purchases tow combine coaches and begins a short transportation service between the towns in the area, as well as servicing the local industries and businesses.
April 30, 1928- The Boston and Maine begins construction of a small interchange yard just north of Mayburry. The yard was meant to serve as an interchange between the Canadian National and the Boston and Maine, as well as providing a small freight depot for the town of Mayburry. Mayburry Gravel was contracted to lay the ballast, as well as providing the yard work once it was completed. Mayburry gravel purchased a 0-6-0 saddleback locomotive to provide these services. At the same time, the B&M decided to begin plans to bypass the tunnel through White Mountain in order to allow for faster speeds.
June 13, 1932- The depression has taken its toll. The B&M canceled the plans to complete the interchange, and abandons the spur. The yard and freight building have already been completed though. Though the cut has been made around the side of the mountain, the B&M also postponed the plans on bypassing the tunnel.
1932-1939- The great depression continued to hit the area hard. Freight shipping dropped considerably, while passenger traffic rose. The large industries took a hit, but it was the smaller businesses that suffered the most. Severl closed down, whil even more were on the verge. The Mayburry Gravel Company was one of these businesses. Gravel shipping was at an all time low, and the little freight and passenger traffic that the railroad provided was barely enough to keep the company afloat. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy when FDR’s New Deal took hold, and turned things around for the small company. Due to the large scale of the public works projects started, the demand for cement and other building materials skyrocketed. This boos to gravel transport kept the Gravel Company afloat, and even made it one of the more prosperous businesses in the region, allowing them to purchase more hoppers.
1940-1945- The rumors of going to war in Europe were fueled by the increase of rail traffic as the country began to sluggishly mobilize without actually commit to mobilization. Peal Harbor changed that of course. WWII provided a boom for the local industries and railroads in the area. Troop trains rumbled through to the mainline, and the dairy and grain industries were in high gear, and the rails were the means to get products to the front. Everywhere, industries did their part to the war effort. The local engine part fabricator stopped making tractor parts, and started making tank parts. The local scrap yard held scrap drives, and shipped the needed metal out by rail. The New York Central started running special passenger trains through the area in order to facilitate the increase in passenger traffic. Due to the 1943 wreck of engine 8841 outside of Mayburry(see below), the B&M sold the line through White Mountain, and finished the bypass line around White Mountain. The Mayburry Gravel company cut away at the embankment and created a new gravel pit.
November 29, 1943- One of the dark marks on the town of Mayburry's history. An NYC express train led by engine 8841 was heading into the town at about 45mph during a very severe thunderstorm. About a half a mile before it reached Mayburry yard, the train had to cross a small wooden bridge across White's creek. Unfortunately, the flooded stream had washed out the bridge. In the dark, the engineer saw the washout too late as his engine steamed out of the tunnel. At 10:52pm, the sound of crushing and twisting metal was heard in the town of Mayburry. The locomotive left the track at 45mph and plunged into the streambed. Three of the loaded Pullman passenger cars piled into the creek behind the locomotive, pushing it up the embankment, before it rolled back down into the water. The other six Pullman coaches buckled, and left the tracks, taking out several trees, with two of them, ending up on their sides.
When the first of the emergency crews arrived at the scene, they found a pile of twisted passenger cars, spilled coal, and the twisted form that was engine 8841 spewing steam from its many wounds, and boiling the water which she sat in. Rescue crews worked hard into the night, and by the light of the next morning, 34 people had died, including the engineer and fireman, along with almost triple that wounded.
The line at the site of the crash was severely damaged, and the Boston and Maine, which owned the trackage rights, decided to close the line that lead through the tunnel, opting instead to lay track around the end of the mountain, which would allow for better visibility in the event of a wash out. About a month later, the Mayburry Gravel Company, having exhausted its gravel pit at the time, decided to buy the old mainline from the B&M along with the land around the tunnel for use as a gravel pit. They repaired the area of the wreck, replacing the track and the bridge, and thus saved the old mainline from becoming scrap. Another thing that came out of the tragedy was the emplacement of a 10mph speed limit on approach to and while crossing bridges on the mainline, as well as on the newly bought gravel rail line.
On November 5th, 1948, the 5th anniversary of the wreck, a memorial was erected in Mayburry, in remembrance of the 34 people who lost their lives that tragic night.
Well here it is.(Locomotive roster is at the bottom.)
May 22, 1917- A gravel pit is contracted for construction outside of the town of Mayburry, Vermont. The gravel pit would be owned by the newly formed Mayburry Gravel Company and would supply the cement plant in nearby Victoria with aggregate as well as supplying the Boston and Maine with ballast material. The Boston and Maine would handle the transportation of the goods, paying for the ballast, and being paid for the transportation of the aggregate to the cement plant, or wherever it was needed.
July 14, 1917- The gravel pit ships out its first load of aggregate
November 20, 1920- George Beck, president of the Mayburry Gravel Company, decides that it would be cheaper in the long run to haul aggregate themselves. The Mayburry Gravel Company Line (MGCL) was founded, and immediately bought the trackage rights to the gravel pit from the B&M, as well as an older 0-8-0 steam engine which was numbered 262. Coaling and maintenance was temporarily leased from the B&M’s yard in Victoria. The hoppers and ballast gondolas were also leased from the B&M.
November 29, 1920- Construction of a small engine servicing depot begins North of Mayburry. Cheap housing is built for the servicing employees. Though it was about a mile away from the original town, it is considered part of the borough of Mayburry. A flag station is set up and the point is labeled Mayburry Junction.
January 12, 1921- The yard at Mayburry Jct. is completed. The small service yard consisted of a small turntable, a three stall engine house, a water tower, and a coaling track. Since the service yard would be used for a small amount of locomotives, the Mayburry Gravel Company decided to forgo building an expensive coaling tower. Instead they moved a small clamshell to the yard. Twice per week, a gondola load of coal would be delivered to the yard and emptied by the clamshell. The clamshell would also fuel the locomotive. Sand was filled manually by the bucketful.
June 9, 1923- In order to increase revenue, Mayburry Gravel Company purchases tow combine coaches and begins a short transportation service between the towns in the area, as well as servicing the local industries and businesses.
April 30, 1928- The Boston and Maine begins construction of a small interchange yard just north of Mayburry. The yard was meant to serve as an interchange between the Canadian National and the Boston and Maine, as well as providing a small freight depot for the town of Mayburry. Mayburry Gravel was contracted to lay the ballast, as well as providing the yard work once it was completed. Mayburry gravel purchased a 0-6-0 saddleback locomotive to provide these services. At the same time, the B&M decided to begin plans to bypass the tunnel through White Mountain in order to allow for faster speeds.
June 13, 1932- The depression has taken its toll. The B&M canceled the plans to complete the interchange, and abandons the spur. The yard and freight building have already been completed though. Though the cut has been made around the side of the mountain, the B&M also postponed the plans on bypassing the tunnel.
1932-1939- The great depression continued to hit the area hard. Freight shipping dropped considerably, while passenger traffic rose. The large industries took a hit, but it was the smaller businesses that suffered the most. Severl closed down, whil even more were on the verge. The Mayburry Gravel Company was one of these businesses. Gravel shipping was at an all time low, and the little freight and passenger traffic that the railroad provided was barely enough to keep the company afloat. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy when FDR’s New Deal took hold, and turned things around for the small company. Due to the large scale of the public works projects started, the demand for cement and other building materials skyrocketed. This boos to gravel transport kept the Gravel Company afloat, and even made it one of the more prosperous businesses in the region, allowing them to purchase more hoppers.
1940-1945- The rumors of going to war in Europe were fueled by the increase of rail traffic as the country began to sluggishly mobilize without actually commit to mobilization. Peal Harbor changed that of course. WWII provided a boom for the local industries and railroads in the area. Troop trains rumbled through to the mainline, and the dairy and grain industries were in high gear, and the rails were the means to get products to the front. Everywhere, industries did their part to the war effort. The local engine part fabricator stopped making tractor parts, and started making tank parts. The local scrap yard held scrap drives, and shipped the needed metal out by rail. The New York Central started running special passenger trains through the area in order to facilitate the increase in passenger traffic. Due to the 1943 wreck of engine 8841 outside of Mayburry(see below), the B&M sold the line through White Mountain, and finished the bypass line around White Mountain. The Mayburry Gravel company cut away at the embankment and created a new gravel pit.
November 29, 1943- One of the dark marks on the town of Mayburry's history. An NYC express train led by engine 8841 was heading into the town at about 45mph during a very severe thunderstorm. About a half a mile before it reached Mayburry yard, the train had to cross a small wooden bridge across White's creek. Unfortunately, the flooded stream had washed out the bridge. In the dark, the engineer saw the washout too late as his engine steamed out of the tunnel. At 10:52pm, the sound of crushing and twisting metal was heard in the town of Mayburry. The locomotive left the track at 45mph and plunged into the streambed. Three of the loaded Pullman passenger cars piled into the creek behind the locomotive, pushing it up the embankment, before it rolled back down into the water. The other six Pullman coaches buckled, and left the tracks, taking out several trees, with two of them, ending up on their sides.
When the first of the emergency crews arrived at the scene, they found a pile of twisted passenger cars, spilled coal, and the twisted form that was engine 8841 spewing steam from its many wounds, and boiling the water which she sat in. Rescue crews worked hard into the night, and by the light of the next morning, 34 people had died, including the engineer and fireman, along with almost triple that wounded.
The line at the site of the crash was severely damaged, and the Boston and Maine, which owned the trackage rights, decided to close the line that lead through the tunnel, opting instead to lay track around the end of the mountain, which would allow for better visibility in the event of a wash out. About a month later, the Mayburry Gravel Company, having exhausted its gravel pit at the time, decided to buy the old mainline from the B&M along with the land around the tunnel for use as a gravel pit. They repaired the area of the wreck, replacing the track and the bridge, and thus saved the old mainline from becoming scrap. Another thing that came out of the tragedy was the emplacement of a 10mph speed limit on approach to and while crossing bridges on the mainline, as well as on the newly bought gravel rail line.
On November 5th, 1948, the 5th anniversary of the wreck, a memorial was erected in Mayburry, in remembrance of the 34 people who lost their lives that tragic night.
