In my area there are a few more major lines that have been removed over the years. The Manchester and Lawrence (M&L Branch) was built in 1841 and is one of the oldest lines in the region. This line ran between the name-sake cities in its entirety to the early 1980s then it was pulled apart in sections. The first part to go was from Manchester, to Derry, even though there are a substantial number of warehouses and plastics companies in and around Manchester and Londonderry. It didn't help that Manchester Airport was built right across the ROW shortly afterwards, which now precludes ever reopening the line again should that come to pass. The remaining part served some smaller industries along the line, but typical of Guilford (again) they didn't want small switching jobs and focused on the through freight.
The line then got pulled up between Derry and Salem and Windham, NH. In Salem, New Hampshire, the line served a small steel fabrication company, Coca Cola, Agway Grain and Feed, and a Grossman's Lumber yard. This was a bit of busy switching at the end with an occasional run up to Cluff's Crossing on the Windham line to an industrial park. On the southern end, the line served Kaufman Plastics Corp. (KPI), a distribution warehouse and a slew of other industries in Methuen and Lawrence. In Lawrence proper, this line served another Agway on West Street, a steel recycling and milling operation, the old mills including the Malden Mills, and some operations in and out of there plus at one point the businesses along the canals.
In 2001 Guilford put an end to all operations on what was left of the branch after letting the infrastructure rot. After a series of washouts, they claimed due to lack of business that they chased away, the line wasn't worth rebuilding and was closed. The tracks up to the New Hampshire line were owned by the MBTA, but a group of rail-to-trail lobbyists came in and convinced the "T" to sell the line for scrap. The rails were torn up and now Methuen pays a substantial amount for the trail maintenance up to the New Hampshire border. The parts south of the town, while are still a trail, are unsafe for use due to the bad neighborhoods it passes through. During the 1970s and 1980s, there were some system maps drawn that showed commuter service up to Route 213 which is a cutoff between Interstate 93 and Interstate 495.
The line finally connected to the B&M mainline at South Lawrence after crossing over the Merrimack River on a dual-tracked wooden trestle. By the time I saw the trains running, the bridge had been single tracked with a switch put in for canal side running down Canal Street and along the North Canal.
Just past the South Lawrence wye, was a switch a spur for a cement distributor. I think it was Wilson's Cement which was so common in the area at the time. There was also a switch off the line to serve the South Canal along Merrimack Street.
Here's the South Lawrence wye. We will then follow the line up to Manchester in detail with a short side trip down by the canals.
https://goo.gl/maps/sXZmVwDDN77tn78U8
Located in the middle was the cement company, which was actually located where there was once an engine house and small turntable. I saw on an old city map. To the right used to be the east yard which today has been reduced to a few passing sidings with the main yard located due south of the wye near Andover Street. You can also see where the tracks ran along the South Canal at this end. There were some arson insurance jobs which took out many of the buildings on this side of the canal years ago.
Crossing over the Merrimack, and we see Canal Street and Water Street intersection. Look at that spiderweb of girders. These once supported a maze of switches for spurs into the mills. The tracks used to cross over North Canal Street and follow the canal all the way down to the mills. The mills at this end used to have loading docks and sidings along the canal. Just on the north side of this intersection on the M&L branch was an operating semaphore signal that was still being used until the very end.
https://goo.gl/maps/framE8gU4Ahm2xDD7
This skewed truss bridge used to have tracks on it. Today, it's a trail.
https://goo.gl/maps/xL5LWteCbtFemXbU9
Located next to this bridge is a substantial mill building with a white roof. In the upper level, just off the canal, was a spur that entered into the building that served some inside loading docks. I saw the trestle once inside the building and it was amazing. There was a company I used to deal with that had its offices on that floor. By then, the spur to inside was abandoned.
At the bridge, was a spur that continued down to the end of the canal where it meets up with the Spickett River and the Merrimack River.
On the opposite side of the canal, on Canal Street proper, there used to be multiple industries including a paper company which burned down in the 1980s due to a static electricity spark, General Tire Corp., and a warehouse plus other bigger industries. Much of this is all gone now. The remaining Old Stone Mill still exists and is one of the oldest textile mill buildings in the US, dating back to about 1840 when Lawrence was built. The rest is a bunch of non-descript modern buildings and parking lots.
The line continued up hill. Yes, it climbed up the side of Canal Street which is much changed and ended at the gas company at the end on Marston Street. The branch was quite steep at this end. I remember a lonely SW1200 pushing or pulling a single car or two and barely making it up the hill!
Back at the branch again at Water Street and Broadway...
We can see the steel mill complex that handled scrap steel and did some metal rolling. There used to be a number of flatcars coming in and out of here with rolled steel plates on it up until the early 2000s. This area is interesting. Before the Lawrence passenger station was moved from North Lawrence to South Lawrence, this was also the yard for the big substantial passenger terminal. This big Victorian station complete with a glass roofed platforms served a substantial number of trains including those from the now abandoned Manchester and Lowell. In the 30s' the station was moved to the east of the wye mentioned above. That building is now private businesses, and the station has moved again farther east towards North Andover.
https://goo.gl/maps/rAFipCYhCXRjJNtq5
Used to get train service.
https://goo.gl/maps/94pkWR8VQ3RhPMLt6
The Methuen rail trail starts at the Lawrence border and runs to the New Hampshire border.
Here's the beautiful Methuen Depot.
https://goo.gl/maps/5xD2J897yL7nvGjP8
There used to be occasional boxcars parked on the spur here for the industrial park located a bit north.
Moving on to New Hampshire, and this is now a trail as well forever never to see rails again. New Hampshire is not rail friendly and will not spend a dime on rails at all. They don't even pay anything for the Amtrak Downeaster or any other trains that pass through to Vermont and Montreal in the west.
This is where KPI used to get hoppers of plastic pellets. The curved road where the trucks are now used to also have rails in it with the spur running against the building.
https://goo.gl/maps/hF1SJMYRcgS1KdBAA
This used to be the Rockingham Park racetrack.
https://goo.gl/maps/2GyWUQQ5Q4rS59zFA
There used to be a spur into the park and one that crossed the street to the Coke a Cola plant.
