LUNENBURG, Vermont Rail System is clearing and reconstructing a defunct section of railroad through Gilman, a village in Lunenburg, with plans to extend the line west to St. Johnsbury. The company, which operates more than 400 miles of track in Vermont and adjoining states, hopes to begin running trains into Gilman within a year, according to company president Selden Houghton.
The project has unsettled many residents whose property abuts the rail corridor. Annika Chaffee, whose backyard includes part of the 33-foot right of way on each side of the tracks, said she was “pretty pissed” when she learned the rail was returning. She worries about noise, chemical transport, accidents, and losing the quiet rural character that drew her family to the area a decade ago. “If the railroad is going to benefit us, great. But if it’s just going to tear the whole town apart, and you lose too many good people, then that’s problematic,” Chaffee said.
Others are cautiously optimistic. Jacob Fournier, a lifelong Gilman resident who recalls watching trains from his middle school in the 1990s, said he and other rail fans had assumed the tracks would be torn up. “The fact that VRS feels like they see a path forward to developing enough business to make it worthwhile to invest in the lines has certainly made us … we’d like to see the trains come back,” Fournier said, though he noted he does not live near the tracks.
Houghton said the company is negotiating with rail giant CSX to purchase the 20-mile stretch from Gilman to St. Johnsbury. Federal infrastructure grants may be sought to rebuild that more overgrown section. Initially, trains would run through Gilman several times a week during daylight hours, but frequency depends on customer needs. The company has not directly contacted adjacent property owners about encroachments, but Houghton acknowledged the corridor is private property and encroachments will need to be addressed.
The mill property, once the village’s economic anchor, now primarily hosts a hydroelectric dam and solar fields, but its owner is seeking tenants that might use rail service.
NEK will be looking into the status of Vermont Rail System’s negotiations with CSX and any future federal grant applications for the line.
Originally reported by VTDigger.
Photo: Chris F via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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