[2] The Green Mountain Railroad was formed in early 1964 when F. Nelson Blount, who also operated a museum of steam locomotives, called Steamtown, USA, in North Walpole, New Hampshire.

Blount convinced the State of Vermont to acquire 52 miles (84 km) of track between Bellows Falls and Rutland, which he would operate as the Green Mountain Railroad.

The first order of business for the non-profit charitable and educational organization was to acquire the Blount collection at North Walpole and relocate it to property once owned by the Rutland Railroad in Bellows Falls.

Blount was killed when his private airplane hit a tree during an emergency landing in Marlborough, New Hampshire on August 31, 1967, flying back to his home.

[2] Steamtown relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1983, and, shortly afterward, GMRC began offering its own passenger excursions with diesel-powered trains over the same stretch of track.