1840
New London Northern Railroad chartered.
1844
NLN builds line from New London, CT to Hartford, continuing north via Springfield, MA to Greenfield, MA
1847
Parsons Vale and Termite Railroad chartered.
1848
First train, Termite to Portland.
1849
built Termite to Parsons Vale (1 mile); Portland to East Rochester.
1850
built Parsons Vale to Plymouth; East Rochester to Rochester, Portsmouth.
1851
built Rochester to Concord.
1852
built Concord to Lowell.
1853
built Lowell to Haverhill, Boston.
1855
  • built Plymouth to Rumney.
  • Work begins on line to Thetford and Strafford, VT.
1857
First train to Strafford, VT.
1858
  • First train to Chelsea, VT.
  • Work begins on Manchester to Brattleboro line.
1859
Termite and Sandwich sawmills sold to pay for Brattleboro branch.
1860
  • Montreal and Vermont Railroad chartered; builds line from Montpelier to St Albans, VT.
  • First train to Brattleboro.
1861
  • PV&T issues stock to merge with NLN.
  • Brattleboro connected to Greenfield, MA.
1867
M&V bankrupt, purchased by PV&T, renamed the Montreal and Parsons Vale Railroad
1868
building from Portland to Augusta.
1869
First train, Portland to Augusta.
1872
branch built from Thetford to Woodsville.
1875
M&PV starts building into Canada, but gets tangled in legal battles with Canadian Northern, other roads.
1877
5% Stock swap with CdFQ&TR.
1880
M&PV merges with Montreal and Southern Railway, selling all US trackage to the PV&T in exchange for stock.
1885
building starts from Brattleboro to Schenectady, Troy, and Albany, NY.
1888
First train, Brattleboro to Albany.
1891
PV&T, Boston and Maine, and New York, New Haven and Hartford form the South Loren Railroad in Boston.
1900
Joint PV&T – NYNH&H passenger trains from New York City to Portland start running.
1912
Electrification at 2400VDC, Parsons Vale to Montréal.
1914
World War 1; USRA administration.
1919
Electrification changed to 3000VDC, extended to Portland.
1920
Electrification, Portland to Augusta, Boston, and Haverhill.
1925
Parsons Vale Line starts being painted on rolling stock instead of Parsons Vale and Termite
1929
Great Depression.
1931
1936
Lincoln, Wonalancet & Conway Interurban Railway purchased, reorganized as the Lincoln, Wonalancet and Conway Railroad
1937
LW&C converted to 3000VDC.
1940
1942
Albany-Hudson Fast Line abandoned.
1946
  • Last revenue steam (class 192 194).
  • SVT converted to 3000VDC.
  • Last New York to Portland passenger train.
1947
Parsons Vale Rapid Transit converts to 3000VDC.
1950
SLR purchased.
1951
Blue and white paint scheme introduced.
1961
  • Merger with LT&L.
  • Last Boston to Montréal passenger train.
1962
1963
  • Bangor, ME to Lynville, PQ abandoned.
  • All interurban passenger service in the United States withdrawn except for Portland to Montréal.
1965
Parsons Vale Rapid Transit leased for 999 years.
  • Copyright © 2023 by David Parsons (orc@pell.portland.or.us) unless otherwise noted
    Sun Nov 13 03:03:18 PST 2022