At the close of January 1965 Nelson Blount, Chairman Ernest W. Gibson III of the Vermont Public Service Board, attorneys John D. Carbine and Thomas P. Salmon traveled to Washington, D.C. to file papers with the ICC petitioning for the Green Mountain Railroad to operate service over the entire line between Rutland and Bellows Falls. Issues with the B&M had begun to settle as the Public Service Board continued to oversee negotiations between the B&M and the Blount interests.
On March 26 Governor Hoff announced ICC approval of Green Mountain freight service, which had been granted the day before. The Green Mountain prepared to begin operations immediately with the line now under ICC jurisdiction. A purchase agreement was reached on March 29 for Rutland Railroad Alco RS-1 405 and a ballast regulator, both of which had been used by the MS&N in 1964 under lease. The GMRC would interchange with the B&M at Bellows Falls and in Rutland with the Vermont Railway and the Delaware & Hudson.
Three of Blount’s steam locomotives, Canadian Pacific G5s #1246 and #1293 and Canadian National 2-6-0 #89 would be part of the initial GMRC capitalization. #89, which had been fired up on January 27, would be the first steam locomotive to run for the GMRC; #1246 and #1293 (the latter had briefly run in 1964 before the line’s ICC approval) had to sit out as they needed official ICC inspections despite good mechanical condition. Both were eventually used. Finally, the Green Mountain Railroad began freight operations on Saturday, April 3, 1965, after nearly three years of discussions and close to four years of no rail freight service to customers. Four empty boxcars for Eastern Magnesia Talc in Gassetts were delivered to Rutland by the D&H as the B&M was still working on the interchange agreement for Bellows Falls. Nelson Blount’s freight hauling shortline was realized at last and the line was firmly under control, allowing for secure operations by the MS&N and setting the stage for Steamtown, U.S.A. in Vermont.
In May of 1965, Nelson Blount purchased former Canadian Pacific G5d class 4-6-2 #1278, increasing his roster of that model of locomotive to three. This high-stepping passenger locomotive was similar in size to the New Haven I-class 4-6-2’s that he had marveled at as a child and #1278 became his favorite locomotive and “personal engine”. Nelson’s favorite proudly received the MS&N logo on the tender, the only locomotive to receive such treatment.
Departing once again from Riverside, the 1965 season operated weekends only from May 23 to June 20 (including Memorial Day on Monday, May 31), and daily from June 26 through October 12. Following Columbus Day weekend, the schedule again reverted to weekends only until October 31. The Steamtown collection was still on display at North Walpole but surely enough, on September 23, 1965, Blount revealed the Steamtown Foundation’s plans to move Steamtown, U.S.A. to Riverside.
Click the gallery below to view photos from 1965
Steamtown Historical Collective 