CIVIL HISTORY. 



63 



RAIL ROADS IN VERMOKT. 



MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. 



nearly the entire length of the state. 



The first rail road commenced in this 

 state was the Vermont Central, and the 

 ground was first broken for the construc- 

 tion of that road in the spring of 1S4G at 

 Windsor. The Rutland and Burlington 

 road was commenced in the spring of 1847, 



and both of these roads were opened from 

 Connecticut inver to Burlington in Decem- 

 ber, 1840. 



The following table exhibits the names, 

 the terminations, the lengths, and the times 

 of opening the several railroads, in opei'a- 

 tion in April, 1853. 



Several others are in contemplation with- : 

 in the state, and no great length of time 

 will probably elapse before the Connecticut 

 and Passumpsic Rivers road will be con- 

 tinued northward from St. .Tohnsbury to j 

 Canada Line. The effects which these roads 

 have produced upon the towns thi'ough and | 

 near which they pass, are marked and ob- 1 



493 



vious, but I have not room to particularize 

 them. 



■This is a section of the rail way designed to con- 

 nect Portland, ile , with Montreal, C. E. It is now 

 opened (April, lSo3,) from Portland to Island Pond 

 in Brighton and from ^Montreal to Sherbrooke. The 

 intermediate portion from Sherbrooke to Island Pond 

 is nearly ready for the rails and is expected to be 

 opened in the course of a few months. The length 

 here given is only an estimate from the Map. 



MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. 



The Magnetic Telegraph, which seems to ! 

 be essential to the safe management of rail i 

 roads, sprang into being very soon after! 

 the time when railroads themselves had ; 

 their origin; and they were introduced 

 simultaneously into Vermont. The first line ; 

 of telegraph in Vermont,forms a part of the I 

 Troy a iid Canada Junction Line, and was j 

 commenced in 1847. It was opened for 

 communication, from Troy to Burlington, j 

 on the 2d of Feb. 1848, and was soon after ' 

 carried through to Montreal. This line i 

 enters the state at Bennington, passes thro' 

 Manchester, Rutland, Castleton, White- 

 hall, Orwell, Brandon, Middlebury, Ver- 

 gennes, Burlington and St. Albans, and 

 leaves the state at Highgate. The length 

 of this line, within the state, is 200 miles. 



The JSTorthern Telegraph Line connects 

 Boston with Rutland. Proceeding from 

 Boston by way of Fitchburg and Keene it 

 enters the state at Bellows Falls and fol- 

 lows the line of the Rutland and Burling- 

 ton rail road through Chester and Ludlow 

 to Rutland. Length within the state 50 

 miles. 



Vermont and Boston Telegraph Line. — 

 Proceeding from Boston by way of Lowell 

 and Concord, this line enters the state at 

 White River .Junction, and, after going to 

 Woodstock and back, 20 miles, follows the 

 line of the Central rail road, passing thro' 



South Royalton, West Randolph, Northfield 

 Montpelier,Waterbury, and Essex .Junction 

 to Burlington. From Burlington it follows 

 the Vermont and Canada rail road through 

 St. Albans and Swanton to Rouse's Point, 

 where it leaves the state, and proceeds in 

 two branches, one to Montreal and the oth- 

 er to Ogdensburgh. Connected with this 

 line and crossing it at White River .Junc- 

 tion, the same company have a line along 

 the valley of the Connecticut, reaching 

 from St. Johnsbury to Springfield, Mass. 

 From St. Johnsbury it follows the rail road 

 through Newbury and Bradford to Norwich, 

 where it crosses over to Hanover and back, 

 and then proceeds down to White River 

 .Junction. From the Junction it proceeds 

 to Windsor, crosses over to Claremont, N. 

 H., then back to WeatherefieldBow, thence 

 to Springfield — then by way of Charlestown 

 bridge to Charlestown, and down the Sulli- 

 van rail road to Bellows Falls. From Bel- 

 lows Falls it proceeds down the Connecticut 

 on the Vermont side thro' Brattleborough 

 into Massachusetts. The whole length of 

 telegraph line belonging to this company 

 is about 700 miles, of which more than 300 

 are in Vermont. The whole length of tel- 

 egraph Avire in the state is little less than 

 <J00 miles, and the cost of building, inclu- 

 ding appurtenances and patent privileges 

 has been about ^215 per mile. 



