From 1875 to 1933, the 14-mile Woodstock Railway carried people and goods between Woodstock and White River Junction, bringing thriving commerce, tourism, and community prosperity to the region. Plans for a rail line to Woodstock dated back to 1847, and in 1863 the Vermont legislature authorized the Woodstock Railway. Twelve years and more than $450,000 later, the engine Winooski crossed Quechee Gorge as thousands cheered, and at 9:00 a.m. on September 29, 1875, the first train arrived at Woodstock station with 300 passengers aboard. For 58 years, trains arrived twice a day, unloading summer visitors, baggage, and dry goods, while helping connect nearby businesses, the Woodstock Inn, and the wider regional economy through White River Junction, where major railways converged. Revenues declined after World War I and the rise of automobiles, and rail service ended on April 15, 1933, with an emotional final ride that included 14 passengers from the railway’s first trip 58 years earlier; leaving Woodstock station at 11:00 a.m., the train reached White River Junction an hour late after a prankster greased a sloping section of rail.