Manchester, Dorset and Granville Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Manchester, Dorset and Granville Railroad was an intrastate railroad in southwestern Vermont
. It ran from Manchester, Vermont to Dorset, Vermont
, a distance of approximately 5 miles.
. The line was built in 1903 from a connection to the Rutland Railroad
near the depot in Manchester north to a quarry in the southern part of the town of Dorset. The line was never completed to the main village in Dorset, nor was it completed beyond Dorset to Granville, New York
. It primarily moved marble
from the quarry to a finishing plant in Manchester, though passenger service was provided as well. Traffic on the line stopped in 1918, but was revived briefly in 1924 and 1925. The rails were removed in 1934.
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. It ran from Manchester, Vermont to Dorset, Vermont
Dorset, Vermont
Dorset is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2000 census. Dorset is famous for being home to America's oldest marble quarry and for being the birth place of Alcoholics Anonymnous co-founder Bill W...
, a distance of approximately 5 miles.
History
The company was incorporated as a common carrier in 1902 as a subsidiary of the Norcross-West Marble Company, which had a contract to supply materials for the New York Public LibraryNew York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
. The line was built in 1903 from a connection to the Rutland Railroad
Rutland Railroad
The Rutland Railway was a small railroad in the northeastern United States, primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York. The earliest ancestor of the Rutland, the Rutland & Burlington Railroad, was chartered in 1843 by the state of Vermont to build between Rutland...
near the depot in Manchester north to a quarry in the southern part of the town of Dorset. The line was never completed to the main village in Dorset, nor was it completed beyond Dorset to Granville, New York
Granville, New York
Granville is a town on the eastern border of Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. It primarily moved marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
from the quarry to a finishing plant in Manchester, though passenger service was provided as well. Traffic on the line stopped in 1918, but was revived briefly in 1924 and 1925. The rails were removed in 1934.