Monson Railroad Begins Operations 128 Years Ago
October is always a special month not only because of the change of the seasons with all it’s brilliant colors, but it is also the month when the Monson Railroad started regular operations. The railroad was chartered on November 1, 1882 and by the end of the summer of 1883, it was “built”. “Built” can be a relative term!
The first run was on Wednesday, Sept 5, 1883 with great fanfare! Even though the railroad commissioners and parties had great things to say about the new two-footer, the little secret hardly mentioned in the newspaper clipping was that it was largely unballasted! Imagine that! Making a trip to Monson over freshly laid track with very little ballast! And with the railroad commissioners along for the ride! What would today’s WW&F track crew think of that?
Anyway, it took another month after the first run to get the track in better shape so the railroad could actually operate. On or about October 15th (which was a Monday in 1883) seems to be the date when regular operations began. Even though it is not the date when the railroad was organized or the corporation actually started existence, it seems to be a fitting date for its anniversary.
A future post will go into the first run in more detail.
