Osseo Trail

[Forester Jake]

New Evidence of Incline Railway on Osseo Trail!

For those curious exactly where J.E. Henry's incline railway was located on Mt Flume I strongly urge you to check out the very gentle grade of the first two miles of the Osseo Trail! With the recent flooding from Irene, in many spots along the trail the nice fine gravel of the treadway has washed out revealing this amazing (but BRIEF) discovery- sorry the pics are of poor quality (cell phone) but one can clearly discern hundreds of feet of the "Fossilized" remains of where the ties once were set. VERY COOL!! No ties actually remain except for the darkened "shadows" of where they once were set. Once the trail gets some regular foot traffic I assume all traces of the ties will quickly disappear...

 

[Fisher Cat]

When FJ told me about this, it's an incredible find, considering this was the only narrow gauge logging railroad in the Whites. Great find! Anybody (DougPaul) have any idea why these ties decayed, or seem to have decayed, as opposed to others in the area, notably Lincoln Woods trail?

 

[DougPaul]

Anybody (DougPaul) have any idea why these ties decayed, or seem to have decayed, as opposed to others in the area, notably Lincoln Woods trail?

I can only guess. Some possible reasons:
* Different wood
* Different treatment
* Different drainage
* Different soils
* Removed?

Is there a reference for the incline railway? (I googled and also found nothing in a quick scan of "Logging RR of the White Mtns", by C. Francis Belcher.)

Doug

 

[dclynch]

The state of the ties might also reflect when they were placed. I think the Lincoln Woods railway was used much later (perhaps late 1940s) than some of the branch lines and the ties might be replacements of the original early 1900s placements.

 

[TDawg]

Is there a reference for the incline railway?

From "J.E. Henry's Logging Railroads. A History of the East Branch & Lincoln and Zealand Railroads" by Bill Gove. Pg 84 & 85.

"J.E. Henry always used standard gauge tracks and equipment because of the convenience of interchange with other railroads, and also the frequent purchase of used equipment available elsewhere. However, there was one exception to the standard gauge. In 1901, at Camp 8, there was a narrow gauge track put up a steep slope in the east side of Osseo peak to reach some timber at high elevations. A series of switchbacks cut down on the grade for the wooden tracks laid at a two-foot gauge. Today's Osseo trail uses part of this narrow gauge railroad bed.

On this narrow gauge line, the power was supplied by gravity after the empty cars were hauled up the hill by three horses. Cars loaded with spruce logs were then rolled down the tracks with two men on each car to operate the hand brakes. The operation was abandoned after two years of use when a bad accident brought a violent death to one of the brakemen. In this accident, the loaded cars had gained too much momentum to control and went careening down the steep grade. One brakeman was able to jump to safety, but the last time the other brakeman was seen alive, he was in a crouching position on top of the speeding car, hatless, his hair flying in the wind, and a look of helpless terror on his face as he sped by other stunned woodsmen.

There is also a report that a 25-ton narrow gauge Shay locomotive was unsuccessfully tried out on this short-lived line, but whether that was truly the case cannot be confirmed in this day and age."

 

[dclynch]

Cool!

Thanks for the information.

 

[Fisher Cat]

I can only guess. Some possible reasons:
* Different wood
* Different treatment
* Different drainage
* Different soils
* Removed?

Is there a reference for the incline railway? (I googled and also found nothing in a quick scan of "Logging RR of the White Mtns", by C. Francis Belcher.)

Doug

My speculation is along similiar grounds, I reason perhaps different wood and different, if not inferior treatment.

Here is a picture of what we believe was a section of the narrow gauge track. Last year FJ was doing some exploring and was pretty confident that the staging area was found. As a matter of fact, the trail crosses right through it. Right now I can't remember the name of the fellow (think last name starts with an "L"), but the property on the western side of Franconia Ridge was owned and logged by a seperate owner. He did not have his own rail system, and for a time, paid Henry to take his wood out via Henry's rails ( am sure this cost him $$$$ ). Conjecture only, but we have wondered if his timber travelled out on the narrow gauge.

 

[DougPaul]

FC+TD: Thanks for the info.

The metal pieces shown in the pic look to me like the clamps used to join two sections of rail. (Just a guess--I'm no expert on RR hardware.)

Doug