Railroading in Bartlett holds a rich and deep history; it above all put Bartlett on the map, helping it grow fiscally, physically and historically.

 

The first railroad to reach Bartlett was the Portland and Ogdensburg, crossing into Bartlett in 1872 and reaching the village of Bartlett in 1873. A large 2 storied station was built, along with a freight house, car houses, section-men’s buildings, signal maintainers buildings, a water tower and a 6 bay engine house with a turntable. The station was replaced four times, each time it had been destroyed by fire.

 

The first station was lost on July 13, 1893 in the town fire. The station was rebuilt and was rewarded a singular distinction by the Railroad Commissioners of the State of New Hampshire, as it being the most attractive and having the best interior layout in the ENTIRE state.

 

The roundhouse maintained a fleet of locomotives to help heavy freights up the steep grades through Crawford Notch.

 

The P&O was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1888. Farmers and local businesses shipped goods and produce from the freight agency in Bartlett. G.K. Howard had a siding that held a boxcar for this general store on Albany Avenue, and the famous Kearsarge Peg mill was once connected to the railroad by a spur to its yard, shipping product out from there to places unknown.

 

Passenger travel bolstered the village’s economy as people needed things to do and places to shop, sleep, and dine. In the village alone the P&O and later he Maine Central employed nearly 100 people. The station and roundhouse was in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

Three logging railroads also came on the scene, these railroads did not last long but they provided jobs and brought in revenue for the town. The Bartlett and Albany RR (1887-1893) operated 13 miles of track and served the Bartlett Land and Lumber Company sawmill in the Village. The East Branch RR (1916-1920) operated in Glen (or Beal’s) pit, across route 302 and through the woods from where Hartmann Model RR Museum is located now, bringing out logs over their 13 miles of track that extended north to Black Mountain. Cars loaded with logs were stored at the siding in Glen pit. The Rocky Branch RR (1908-1913) operated 11-½ miles of track, following the Rocky Branch of the Saco River. Logs were brought down to their staging area. That staging area is where Grant’s Supermarket now sits. Once the cars were ready, the Maine Central would move them and the cars for the East Branch, to their interchange point with the Boston and Maine at Intervale. This combined labor force numbered over 100. There are only scant traces of these lines now, they are all gone. Time has passed.

 

The last regularly scheduled passenger train on the Maine Central Railroad was in 1958. The roundhouse still stands today; its turntable was removed in 1913. It was sold to the State of N. H. in 1958. They used it as a sand and salt depot until the early 1980’s. Freight service continued to dwindle and on September 3, 1983 the last regularly scheduled freight ran over the line, closing out a century of service through Bartlett. The freight house was regularly used until early 1984, it still stands today.