“A Railroad Ran Through It” at Grenier Field
Photos courtesy of Steve Labonte
On Saturday, November 16, 2019, Newsletter Editor Rick Kfoury presented at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, covering the history of the Boston & Maine’s Manchester and Lawrence Branch at and around Grenier Field and its later successor, the Manchester Municipal Airport. The presentation covered the role the railroad played at the military installation located there as well as the freight service to the airport and further down the line following the base’s redevelopment as an airport industrial park in the 1960s and 1970s. Also covered were the various abandonment stages of the branch, beginning with the Salem to Derry segment in 1983 and concluding with the line’s eventual demise in the early years of this century. Following the presentation, Pollyann Winslow of Londonderry Trailways presented updates on the effort to bring the current-day trail from Harvey Road as far as Kelly Avenue in the industrial park, terminating right behind the museum.
Thanks are in order for B&MRRHS members and Aviation Museum staff members Jeff Rapsis and Dick Faucher for helping to coordinate this fantastic collaborative effort! Visit the Aviation Museum’s website at https://www.nhahs.org/.
