Northern Railroad for a time. In 1978, local shippers took over the operation and it became the Lamoille Valley Railroad. In 1989, the line was leased to a Florida company and was operated by them until major flooding in 1995 and 1997 damaged the line so much that it was not profitable to repair the track. In 2002, the state of Vermont started converting the 96-mile route into a recreational trail and created the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, under a railbanking arrangement. Rail trail The State of Vermont created the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Committee in 1997 to begin the conversion of the old route into a recreational trail. In 2002 the federal Surface Transportation Board allowed the decommissioning of the old right of way into a trail, with then representative Bernie Sanders earmarking over $5 million in federal funding for its construction. Work began in 2006, with work slowly progressing with funding availability and the labor-intensive rehabilitation of old stone supports and bridges. As of 2020 two disconnected sections have been constructed; one 15 miles long from downtown St. Johnsbury to Joe's Pond in West Danville , and the second 17 miles from Cambridge to Morrisville tracing the course of the Lamoille River. Route and Station listing Locomotives References https://vtvast.org/flipbook/LVRT/History/?page=1 Notes Defunct Vermont railroads Railway companies established in 1948 Railway companies disestablished in 1973 American companies established in 1948