But they could damage switches and crossings
Ice and snow buildup between the rails of a railroad track can cause derailment by causing the flanges on the locomotive and railroad car wheels to ride up and over the rail. Special plow attachments, called flangers, are attached to the snow plow to clear away the ice and snow from that area. To do […]
Warned engineers to sound the whistle
Whistle posts were positioned at approaches to grade crossing intersections to order the locomotive engineer to sound his whistle as a warning. These posts were positioned one quarter mile before the crossings and on the right side of the track to be visible to the engineer. At a typical speed of 30 miles per hour, […]
What the heck is this, and what was it used for? It’s about three feet long, one foot maximum width, strong wooden frame with iron straps on the ends, old canvas pieces hand-stitched on wide rawhide, 24-inch-long chains on each end. Previous owner unknown. If you know its purpose, please contact the Andover Historical Society, […]
Another East Andover road history article
Note: This is the second companion article to the extensive set of articles on East Andover road history written and published by Rita Norander. Valley Road in East Andover was laid out in 1788 as a private driftway to provide a route to drive livestock to the upland pastures on Tucker Mountain. In 1821, the […]
The Northern Railroad became the Rail Trail in 1992
The Northern Railroad, constructed in 1847-48, extends 70 miles from Concord, New Hampshire to White River Junction, Vermont. It was acquired by the Boston & Maine Railroad in 1887. The last scheduled passenger train on this line was in January 1965, and the last freight train was in May 1982. In 1992 the use of […]
This article is part of a set about East Andover roads
Sam Hill Road starts at Jerry Hersey’s farmstead on the Franklin Highway. It proceeds north about 3/4 mile to the Boisvert farmstead. The road then extends east over Cilley Hill, across the northwest corner of Franklin, and north into the Town of Hill. It had been known as Cilley Hill Road for years. But the […]
Historical documents show creation of Road Agent role
This photo of the massive amount of effort involved in removing snow after a large snowstorm is believed to have been taken on Sam Hill Road, formerly known as Cilley Hill Road. Photo: copied from Robie Family photo album When I came across these pictures, I was reminded of Andover’s recent Town Meeting with its […]
Unique history of the Portsmouth Schoolhouse
This picture of East Andover Village is from a post card in my collection which probably belonged to my mother, and possibly her parents or grandparents before her. The picture was most likely taken from an upstairs window in what is now the Highland Lake Inn. On the right is Maple Street which is heading […]
Published in 12-page spread about Andover
After saying last month, in my article in the March issue of the Beacon, I hadn’t previously seen a picture of the Portsmouth School in its original setting, I was surprised to rediscover this early photo – and it was right in my own Andover history files! The picture appears in a twelve page article […]
Organized by local Historical Societies in 17 towns.
Want to learn more about the dramatic impact on New Hampshire’s people and places caused by the coming of the railroad in the 19th century? Then plan to attend the kickoff of a coming six-month-long, multi-town exhibition at 7 PM on Thursday, November 7, in the Warner Town Hall. And bring along any railroad-related memorabilia, […]