Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad summary
The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad (CLP) is a short line railroad that operates in Vermont and New York. It’s a subsidiary to Vermont Rail System, a privately held firm that is owned by the Wulfson family for more than 50 years. Heading west from Rutland, Vt., to Whitehall, N.Y., the railroad operates 24 miles of standard-gauge track, while a separate one-mile line operates out of Florence, Vt.
History
In 1972, Vermont Railway purchased the one-mile Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad out of Florence from the Vermont Marble Company. This section of track was from the original 1885 charter of the railroad. The CLP experienced a significant expansion when it acquired the Rutland-Whitehall line of the former Delaware and Hudson Railway in 1983. Beginning in 1997, Vermont Rail System was established as a parent company to the Clarendon and Pittsford.
Operations
The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad serves OMYA, a limestone processing plant in Florence that is also the railroad’s biggest shipper. The facility produces finely ground limestone for manufacturing of products including paint, plastics, paper, automobile parts, and floor tiles. The Rutland-Whitehall line is essential in hauling fuel oil and gasoline as a principal inbound commodity for the entire Vermont Rail System. Nearly 90% of the inbound and outbound freight serves the businesses in the Green Mountain State.
The railroad’s diesel locomotive fleet comes from its parent company’s roster pool ranging from EMD GP38-2s to GP40FH-2s. The motive power rotates among the Clarendon and Pittsford and its five affiliate railroads. Since 2022, repainting of the units has taken place in the scheme of Vermont Railway’s bright red with white stylized mountain peaks logo reading “Vermont Rail System.”
Besides connecting with the affiliate Vermont Railway in both Rutland and Florence, the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad interchanges with the Canadian Pacific Railway in Whitehall. Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express has trackage rights on the CLP from Whitehall to Rutland as it carries passengers daily from New York City to Burlington, Vt.
Read more about the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad in Trains’ June 2013 issue.
