HillerMilepost20191029Restoration of
Historic Granite Mileposts
on the Northern Railroad Line
Revised Oct 29, 2019
Edwin R. Hiller
Andover Historical Society
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Restoration of the Granite Mileposts
on the Northern Railroad Line
Edwin R. Hiller
Andover Historical Society
The Northern Railroad, constructed in 1847-48, extends 70 miles from Concord, NH to
White River Junction, VT. [See the attached map.] It was acquired by the Boston &
Maine Railroad in 1887. The last scheduled passenger train on this line was in January
1965, and the last freight train was in May 1982. In 1992 the use of this right-of-way was
abandoned and the tracks were removed for their scrap-iron value. The state of New
Hampshire then purchased ownership of most of this line and now operates it as a
recreational rail trail.
Around 1901 the B&M Railroad installed granite mileposts along their railroad lines, and
many remain in place to this day. They are impressive dressed-granite posts, one foot
square, standing 4 to 5 feet above ground, and weighing approximately 1,400 pounds.
On the Northern Line, one side of the post is painted with a “B” and the mileage to
Boston, and the other with “WRJ” and the mileage to White River Junction. Originally
they were positioned giving distances from Concord, NH, the southern terminus of the
Northern Line. But some time around 1920 when the B&M absorbed the Northern Line
into its total network, it repositioned these mileposts and repainted them to give distances
from Boston. Some posts still show vestiges of the earlier “C” indication.
Unfortunately, with the demise of active use of the most of line, many of these
milepostswere removed by private parties. Of the original 69 mileposts along the
Northern Line, only 39 remain in place. Their locations are documented in Appendix A.
In Grafton County almost all of the mileposts disappeared. Only 5 of the original 28
remain – three in Lebanon, one in Canaan and one in Grafton. As a result of widespread
publicity, one milepost was located in private hands and was restored to its original
position in Lebanon. The NH Dept. of Transportation provided 14 original mileposts
removed from a decommissioned rail line in upstate NH. These were repositioned at
missing sites. Seven missing mileposts were replaced with metal signs. One missing
milepost at the Mascoma River bridge in Lebanon remains unmarked.
Merrimack County was more fortunate – 33 of the original 41 remain. Danbury, Wilmot
and Andover have retained all of theirs. Franklin lost one, Boscawen lost 6 and Concord
lost one. Two posts located on private property were returned to their original locations.
The NH Dept. of Transportation provided an additional 3 original posts that were
installed at missing locations. Two missing mileposts have been replaced with metal
signs. One missing milepost at the Contoocook Bridge in Concord remains unmarked.
We continue to seek out the original posts that remain missing. Whenever original
mileposts are discovered - such as the two discovered along US Rte. 3 just north of the
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village of Boscawen, for example - we hope to negotiate with the landowners to
cooperate in furthering the historical integrity of the Trail.
Since the termination of active maintenance of the right-of-way, the markings on the
posts have faded, many almost beyond recognition. A project of restoration was
undertaken, utilizing the historical B&M specifications for the mileposts and for the
lettering fonts.
The granite mileposts are one foot square and
8½ ft. tall, extending 4½ ft. above ground (see
adjacent figure). Thus each one weighs about
1,500 pounds. They are positioned as near to 15
ft. from the nearest rail as possible, and placed
on the right side of the track as seen going
outbound from Boston.
The panels for the lettering on each side are
bush hammered. [This is a surface preparation
by hammering with a heavy tool having a head
of conical or pyramidal points that creates a
smooth texture that resembles naturally
weathered rock. This hammer was invented by
the French sculptor Henri Bouchard (1875-
1960), hence the name “bush”].
The B&M Standard Plans defined the font for
the mileposts. The letters are 5 in. tall, 3.75 in.
wide (most characters), and stroke width of 5/8
in. (See Appendix B).
Alan LePain, mechanical designer and computer aided design expert, has worked
extensively with the B&M RR Historical Society on restoration of mileposts on the
Boston-Northampton line in Massachusetts. He computerized this historic B&M font,
and supplied us with a full set of computerized scale drawings, from which stencils were
cut on Mylar sheets. These include the full set of numbers, plus the “B” and the “WRJ”.
[Appendix C]
The restoration of the painting on the mileposts consisted of a number of separate steps.
1. Clearing of brush around the post
2. Cleaning of the surfaces using a wire brush
3. Applying a coat of white paint to each face
4. Positioning the “B” and the “WRJ” stencils and painting with black paint
5. Positioning the number stencils and painting with black paint
5. Taping the 3 inch borders at the bottom and painting with black paint
6. Touching up of unavoidable bleeding of paint under the stencil with white paint
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The total time on site per post to accomplish these steps was 3½ to 4 hours. In addition,
three separate round-trip visits to the milepost site were required to allow for paint drying
time. By working alternately on two posts, the travel time was minimized.
The paints that we found suitable are:
Black: Benjamin Moore N09680 exterior acrylic latex
White: Benjamin Moore N10301 exterior acrylic latex
Use of water-based paints allows easier clean-up in the field, and appears to provide long
lasting paint coverage.
A photo montage of some of the restored posts is included in Appendix D. Mileposts B-
74 through B-79 are on Pan Am railroad property in Concord, and have not been painted.
The photo below gives some idea of the care that has been taken in restoring these
historic monuments.
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Northern Line – Concord to White River Junction
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Appendix A - Northern Railrod Milepost Survey
Milepost Location found?
142.930 WHITE RIVER JUNCTION STATION
142.667 CONNECTICUT RIVER 43 38 49.5 72 18 50.6
B142/WRJ01 above Lake Sunapee Bank on S. Main St. w. graffiti √43 38 18.9 72 18 49.3
B141/WRJ02 near Glen Rd. [Section 211/290 marker found]√43 38 04.3 72 17 54.7
B140/WRJ03 140 ft E of Mascoma river bridge missing 43 38 26.6 72 16 50.9
B139/WRJ04 above Mechanic St., by Jakes Mkt. (w. "C66" visible)√43 38 18.8 72 15 41.8
138.660 Trail head at Mechanic St.kiosk 43 38 29.3 72 15 20.5
138.270 Trail head at Spencer St.kiosk 43 38 40.4 72 14 58.5
B138/WRJ05 1/4 mi E of trail-head at Spencer St. [donated by Guy Plume, Lebanon]restored 43 38 42.7 72 14 39.6
B137/WRJ06 61 ft E of E abuttment of Mascoma River bridge 137.03 replaced 43 38 20.3 72 13 36.8
B136/WRJ07 101 ft E of farm crossing replaced 43 38 18.9 72 12 25.9
B135/WRJ08 28 ft E of abutment of bridge 135.01 replaced 43 38 40.2 72 11 24.0
B134/WRJ09 86 ft E of stone bometal culvert replaced 43 38 54.3 72 10 27.7
133.745 ENFIELD-LEBANON TOWN LINE post 43 38 50.3 72 10 09.1
B133/WRJ10 422 ft E of culvert 133.08 replaced 43 38 21.7 72 09 42.3
B132/WRJ11 50 ft W of Mascoma River bridge replaced 43 38 25.3 72 08 56.2
B131/WRJ12 444 ft W of roadway replaced 43 38 28.7 72 07 47.1
130.177 CANAAN-ENFIELD TOWN LINE post 43 38 34.7 72 06 49.5
B130/WRJ13 600 ft E of Mascoma River bridge 130.12 replaced 43 38 38.2 72 06 37.4
B129/WRJ14 0.25 mi E of South Rd.replaced 43 38 58.2 72 05 31.2
B128/WRJ15 300 ft W of Mascoma River bridge 127.95 [Section 210/211] replaced 43 38 54.7 72 04 23.3
B127/WRJ16 0.2 mi W of Potato Rd replaced 43 38 45.4 72 03 11.6
B126/WRJ17 0.16 mi W of Indian River bridge replaced 43 38 46.2 72 01 59.8
B125/WRJ18 500 ft W of Canaan Freight House √43 38 43.4 72 00 49.9
B124/WRJ19 280 ft N of town line marker, 205 ft N of culvert 123.96 replaced 43 38 14.7 71 59 53.3
123.947 ORANGE-CANAAN TOWN LINE post 43 38 13.5 71 59 51.3
B123/WRJ20 0.3 mi S of Rte 4 overpass (tunnel) by Rte. 4 replaced 43 37 52.9 71 58 49.6
122.209 GRAFTON-ORANGE TOWN LINE (est)post 43 37 18.8 71 58 30.0
B122/WRJ21 190 ft N of culvert 121.85, 1,026 ft S of T/L metal 43 37 07.4 71 58 26.0
B121/WRJ22 0.2 mi N of Rte 4 overpass (tunnel)metal 43 36 21.8 71 57 54.7
B120/WRJ23 0.4 mi N of Bullock's Crossing Rd metal 43 35 33.0 71 58 11.8
Latitude Longitude
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B119/WRJ24 500 ft N of Grafton Center, by Grafton Center Cemetery metal 43 34 44.2 71 58 31.5
B118/WRJ25 0.8 mi W of Prescott Hill Rd.metal 43 34 04.6 71 57 49.6
B117/WRJ26 500 ft W of Grafton Station metal 43 33 34.7 71 56 51.3
B116/WRJ27 850 ft E of Sargent Hill Rd metal 43 33 37.9 71 55 41.2
B115/WRJ28 0.61 mi N of Zaccaria Rd, 553 ft N of TL post [Section 206/210 marker found]√43 33 34.0 71 54 30.1
114.895 DANBURY-GRAFTON TOWN LINE post 43 33 31.4 71 54 25.2
B114/WRJ29 0.2 mi N of Ford Mill Rd √43 32 58.9 71 53 36.6
B113/WRJ30 0.8 mi S of Ford Mill Rd √43 32 14.6 71 53 02.5
B112/WRJ31 1500 ft S of High St, 0.5 mi N of Danbury Ctr √43 31 44.2 71 52 07.1
B111WRJ32 1000 ft S of Rte 4 overpass, near Spear Hill Rd √43 31 01.1 71 51 54.9
B110/WRJ33 900 ft E of Rte 4 overpass, near Juniper Meadow Rd (sits on stone platform)√43 30 15.7 71 52 24.5
B109/WRJ34 900 ft N of Roy Ford Rd underpass (sits on stone platform)√43 29 35.0 71 52 58.3
B108/WRJ35 500 ft S of South Danbury Cemetery √43 28 44.6 71 53 14.3
107.364 WILMOT-DANBURY TOWN LINE post 43 28 12.5 71 53 09.7
B107/WRJ36 500 ft N of Eagle Pond Cemetery (visible from Rte 4)√43 27 54.0 71 53 02.1
106.168 ANDOVER-WILMOT TOWN LINE post 43 27 11.3 71 52 52.0
B106/WRJ37 0.21 mi S of Eagle Pond Rd √43 27 02.8 71 52 50.7
B105/WRJ38 0.46 mi N of Rte 11 overpass (behind #241 Depot St)√43 26 26.8 71 52 03.8
B104/WRJ39 Behind Lenny Caron gravel pit, off Depot St √43 26 09.7 71 50 58.2
B103/WRJ40 0.33 mi E of Bridge Rd √43 26 02.7 71 49 47.6
B102/WRJ41 0.27 mi W of Blackwater River bridge near N. Short St [Section 204/206 marker not found]√43 26 04.0 71 48 36.5
B101/WRJ42 50 ft W of Mountain Brook bridge √43 26 14.2 71 47 26.5
B100/WRJ43 750 ft W of Plains Rd √43 26 31.5 71 46 19.3
B99/WRJ44 100 ft W of Icehouse Lane √43 26 57.2 71 45 17.9
B98/WRJ45 800 ft E of Maple St √43 27 42.6 71 44 50.9
B97/WRJ46 0.25 mi W of Sam Hill Rd √43 28 25.1 71 44 20.5
B96/WRJ47 0.23 mi E of Dyers Crossing Rd √43 28 12.1 71 43 14.9
95.084 FRANKLIN-ANDOVER TOWN LINE post 43 27 58.6 71 42 13.2
B95/WRJ48 500 ft W of Marston Hill Rd √43 27 57.5 71 42 07.5
B94/WRJ49 800 ft W of Chance Pond Rd √43 27 37.5 71 41 01.6
B93/WRJ50 0.3 mi S of Carr St √43 27 02.4 71 40 09.7
B92/WRJ51 185 ft N of Depot St underpass, at Franklin Depot √43 26 18.2 71 39 32.2
B91/WRJ52 0.1 mi S of Rte 3 overpass √43 25 30.8 71 39 09.7
B90/WRJ53 75 ft N of Punch Brook bridge √43 24 41.4 71 39 23.5
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B89/WRJ54 0.5 mi S of Webster Place [Section 202/204 marker found]√43 23 56.3 71 38 51.4
B88/WRJ55 275 ft N of town line replaced 43 23 10.1 71 38 55.7
87.948 BOSCAWEN-FRANKLIN TOWN LINE post 43 23 05.4 71 38 58.3
B87/WRJ56 0.4 mi N of Gerrish Station (original was broken off, replaced)replaced 43 22 17.6 71 39 08.2
B86WRJ57 500 ft.N of Glines Brook bridge replaced 43 21 32.6 71 38 34.7
B85/WRJ58 1,000 ft S of Forest Lane √43 20 52.3 71 38 02.9
B84/WRJ59 behind NH Veterans Cemetery [donated by Cindy Richardson, Boscawen]restored 43 20 00.9 71 37 50.5
B83/WRJ60 2,000 ft N of Depot St metal 43 19 13.0 71 37 26.1
B82/WRJ61 300 ft N of Jones' Pond bridge metal 43 18 34.5 71 36 39.7
B81/WRJ62 0.28 mi N of farm crossing [donated by Dane Malcolm, Hopkinton]restored 43 17 52.3 71 35 57.6
80.680 NH-DOT end approx. 128 ft S of farm crossing no mark 43 17 38.9 71 35 44.1
80.064 CONCORD-BOSCAWEN TOWN LINE (S. bank Contoocook River)no mark 43 17 12.1 71 35 24.0
B80/WRJ63 #52 203 ft S of Contoocook River bridge, by Penacook freight house missing 43 17 07.2 71 35 21.3
B79/WRJ64 #51 middle of causeway, 0.7 mi N of Sewall's Falls Rd.√43 16 29.2 71 34 35.5
B78/WRJ65 #50 0.63 mi N of Second St.√43 15 55.2 71 33 41.6
B77/WRJ66 #49 0.37 mi S of Second St √43 15 04.3 71 33 37.5
B76/WRJ67 #48 opposite NH State Prison √43 14 13.9 71 33 35.7
B75/WRJ68 #47 opposite Calvary Cemetery √43 13 29.8 71 32 59.9
B74/WRJ69 #46 behind N end of Concord Center bldg, non-standard post √43 12 50.2 71 32 18.4
73.415 CONCORD yard limit (survey 0+00)43 12 22.1 71 31 58.8
73.33 CONCORD STATION 43 12 17.4 71 31 56.1
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