1961

It was 1961 that would be the inaugural year for F. Nelson Blount’s Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad. Nelson Blount had originally hoped to operate his steam-powered tourist trains on the Cheshire Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad between North Walpole and Keene, but the B&M could not draw up a lease and labor agreement in time. Blount was able to quickly secure rights to operate on the tracks of the nearby Claremont & Concord Railway between Bradford and Sunapee, New Hampshire. He hoped these excursions would build excitement for a permanent steam railroad and museum, Steamtown, U.S.A., in the area. Opening day was July 22, 1961. For the operation the MS&N utilized #47, a 4-6-4T commuter locomotive formerly owned by the Canadian National Railway, and several of the MS&N’s ex-Boston & Maine wooden coaches painted bright yellow.

Unfortunately, the Canadian National had disposed of the paperwork for 4-6-4T #47 upon retiring the engine in 1958. As such, the MS&N did not have four recent maintenance dates for the locomotive, and was forced by the ICC to remove it from service on August 25, 1961. Copies of the paperwork were eventually sourced from the Board of Transit Commissioners in Canada. Unfortunately they revealed that despite #47’s good condition and positive tests by the MS&N, it had been retired by Canadian National before boiler work was done and would therefore require it before service could resume. After a brief seven days using a Claremont & Concord diesel replacement, the season ended prematurely on September 17. Blount went back to the drawing board, hoping to finally operate near Keene in 1962.

For all its eccentricities, the 1961 season marked several important occasions: the first revenue runs of the Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern; the first standard-gauge steam tourist operations for Nelson Blount; the final runs of 4-6-4T #47 (or any Canadian National tank engine, for that matter); the final steam operations on the Claremont Branch and in the Sunapee Region; and the beginning of extensive standard-gauge tourist railroad operations in northern New England.

Click the gallery below to view photos from 1961