The is a
Railroad in
Vermont and eastern
New York . It is the designated operator of the former
Rutland Railroad trackage from
Burlington to
Bennington, Vermont under the direction of the State of
Vermont , which owns the line.
A crippling strike in 1961 shut down the
Rutland Railroad and the railroad was officially abandoned in 1963. Much of the western side of the state of Vermont was left without rail service as a result, though the need existed for continued service. The state had acquired the track prior to abandonment (in an effort to save the Rutland) and a new operator was found.
Jay Wulfson came to Vermont from New Jersey to create the Vermont Railway on the 6th of January, 1964. The line initially consisted of 125 miles of track from
White Creek, NY (an interchange with the
Boston & Maine ) to Bennington, Vt, and north to Burlington. Operations began in 1964, and immediately the railroad was such a success that the company had to order larger locomotives.
In 1967, VTR got into the intermodal business by purchasing a fleet of highway trailers. In 1972, the VTR purchased the
Clarendon & Pittsford from Vermont Marble Co. In 1983, VTR Purchased the
Delaware & Hudson 's
Whitehall, NY to
Rutland, VT branch and assigned it to the Clarendon and Pittsford.
The CLP's original line, parallel to VTR's main line, was torn up several years later with the exception of several spurs and a branch to
Florence, VT to serve a limestone quarry.
In 1997, Vermont Rail System was formed when VTR acquired controlling interest of the
Green Mountain Railroad . Since 2000, VRS has acquired the
New York And Ogdensburg Railroad , completing ownership of the last remaining miles of the original Rutland Railroad.
The
Washington County Railroad was recently acquired as was the trackage of the former
Northern Vermont Railroad , which is now the Connecticut River Division of the Washington County Railroad.
Vermont Railway, still owned by the Wulfson family, is now part of the Vermont Rail System, which also operates the Green Mountain Railroad, the New York & Ogdensburg Railroad, and the Washington County Railway.
The Vermont Railway was the first public-private partnership in the United States railroad industry, and it was one of the first railroads to be built from the ashes of an abandoned company. Tight financial controls and aggressive marketing for attracting customers has made the Vermont Railway a success.
