Railrunner130
Well-Known Member
The Rutland was real, as was the White River. However fact and fiction intermingle on my railroad.
The non-fiction part of the backstory deals with the flood of 1927 and subsequent stock market crash of 1929. IIRC the White River nearly succumbed as a result of the 1927 flood, but managed to rebuild and hold on until 1931.
My thought is that in the fictional world, the Rutland, wanting to take advantage of the agriculture, marble and timber industries of central Vermont to up their cargo loads, purchased the White River, paid for a higher quality of track to be installed, improved trackage rights and upgraded equipment in order to keep the White River going so it could support local industries as a feeder service to the Rutland. Sort of the premise behind Fedex Home service.
Truth be told, the Rutland barely held on itself. It could not financially support such an endeavor. This would have brought the Rutland head-to-head with the Central Vermont railroad at Bethel and White River Junction. And that opens another can of worms.
The non-fiction part of the backstory deals with the flood of 1927 and subsequent stock market crash of 1929. IIRC the White River nearly succumbed as a result of the 1927 flood, but managed to rebuild and hold on until 1931.
My thought is that in the fictional world, the Rutland, wanting to take advantage of the agriculture, marble and timber industries of central Vermont to up their cargo loads, purchased the White River, paid for a higher quality of track to be installed, improved trackage rights and upgraded equipment in order to keep the White River going so it could support local industries as a feeder service to the Rutland. Sort of the premise behind Fedex Home service.
Truth be told, the Rutland barely held on itself. It could not financially support such an endeavor. This would have brought the Rutland head-to-head with the Central Vermont railroad at Bethel and White River Junction. And that opens another can of worms.
Last edited: