Green Mountain Railroad

The first railroad to operate at this location was called the Champlain & Connecticut River Railroad Co. in Nov. 1843. It later became known as the Rutland & Burlington Railroad Co. Construction on the “Island” at Bellows Falls began in Feb.1847. The rails were laid from Bellows Falls to Burlington in April 1849. Service between Bellows Falls and Burlington began in Dec. 1849. The Rutland Railroad was reorganized a few times over the years. It finally went out of business in the early 1960’s. F. Nelson Blount started Green Mountain Railroad in 1964. He later went on to create “Steamtown”, now located in Scranton, PA. Blount passed away in 1967 due to a plane crash. Freight service continued and there was still interest in having a tourist train operating out of Bellows Falls. After “Steamtown” left the Vermont Historical Railroad was created to preserve and continue excursion rides that lasted only for one season, then Green Mountain Railroad agreed to take over in 1984 offering train rides to tourists and locals. Freight service runs 6 to 7 days a week.