The Sawyer River
Railroad of New Hampshire
A Bulletin Staff
Report - Photos from the NRHS Collection
One
of the last logging railroads to operate in the White Mountains
was the Sawyer River Railroad, which existed from 1877 to about
1937. Construction of this line became feasible when the Portland
& Ogdensburg Railroad was built through Crawford Notch in
New Hampshire. By comparison with other logging roads of the day
in the White Mountains, this was a small one, running only eight
or so twisting, lonely miles up the narrow valley of the Sawyer
River above Bartlett at the south end of Crawford Notch.
The Sawyer River Railroad
was part of the story of the Saunders family logging operation
in the 75,000-acre township of Livermore. Its owners were the
only rail operators of their era to follow a continued policy
of selective tree cutting. The little line was under the control
of one management over a longer continuous period than did any
other similar line - in fact, it was the second logging road built
in the mountains and second from last to discontinue operations.
The railroad was constructed
in 1876 in connection with the organization of the Livermore Lumber
Company, which erected a sawmill at Livermore, N.H. It operated
from Sawyer River Station on the mainline of the Portland &
Ogdensburg Railroad (later the Maine Central's Mountain Division)
to Livermore, four miles south, and extended beyond into the forest.
The total length varied at times, but was between eight and ten
miles. The end of the Sawyer River's line was only about four
miles from the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad which ran northeast
from Lincoln, N.H., but the two roads were always separated by
an intervening mountain range.
The company had a station,
brick engine house, general office and yard at Livermore, and
a spur track at Sawyer River Station on the Maine Central. One
train a day was operated between April and November connecting
with a northbound and a southbound train at the MEC station. The
railroad never had a mail contract, and so the rural mail carrier
made his way over an almost impassable road from the Bartlett
Post Office to Livermore.
The mill and railroad
operations ceased in 1927-28. In 1935 the United States government
decided to extend its forest holdings in this territory and its
purchases included all of the land served by the Sawyer River
Railroad, as well as the town of Livermore and the mill. The lumber
equipment had already been scrapped and in two years a camp of
Civilian Conservation Corps workers removed every trace of the
railroad and village.
SRR's original locomotive
was the C. W. Saunders, No. 1. This 0-4-0 was
built by the Portland Company in 1876 with the builder's number
of 347; it had 15" x 16" cylinders and 48" drivers. The locomotive
served for more than four years. Frequently it was wrecked, periodically
jumping the track on some sharp curve and plowing its way into
the forest - usually taking the whole train with it. Three different
tenders were used during its period of usefulness; on its last
trip it was using a converted logging truck to carry its supply
of wood. In 1920 it left the tracks at Livermore and fell into
the Sawyer River, ending its career.
The second locomotive
was Peggy, No. 4 - a 2-4-2T built by Baldwin
in 1886, with builder's number 7794. This engine was purchased
from the Henry Lumber Company in 1920, which had operated it on
the Zealand Valley Railroad, off the Boston & Maine at Twin
Mountain, N.H. It had double-flange wheels, which were very convenient
if the rails at some points along the line were farther apart
than normal. This teakettle was operated until the mill in Livermore
closed and the property was taken over by the government. Some
say its rusting hulk lay at Livermore until 1947.
In 1876 the Sawyer
River Railroad purchased from the Portland Company 35 rail logging
trucks with link-and-pin couplings, which comprised the entire
roster of rolling stock until 1885 when two four-wheel flatcars
were purchased from the same company. In 1916, 14 additional rail
trucks were purchased from the Maine Central Railroad when the
Swift River and East Branch logging railroads were abandoned.
The rolling stock near the end in 1935 consisted of 35 logging
trucks and two flatcars. The flats carried both supplies and people
to Livermore from Sawyer River, passenger comfort not being a
high priority.
We have only touched
on the story of the Sawyer River Railroad and Livermore, but what
happened to the tiny railroad hamlet and its inhabitants? Today's
visitor to the forest will find little evidence of any civilization
in this area. It is even difficult to find the location of Main
Street, let alone any sign that a town existed there. It's hard
to believe that the town once had 150 to 200 citizens and a steam
sawmill that supported 50 to 60 employees and upwards of 150 to
200 loggers in the hills beyond. The Sawyer River Railroad's junction
with the Maine Central is about four miles west of today's Bartlett,
near U.S. Route 302. Is there a trace? Listen when you cross the
Sawyer River - is that a lonely steam whistle whispering through
the trees?
