The Concord and Claremont Railroad was originally built during the heyday 1840s, went bankrupt in 1852, and re-emerged in 1874, or thereabouts, having merged with the Sugar River Railroad and Contoocook Valley Railroad, under the aegis of the Northern Railroad. It became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1887. The line was freed up as an independent once again in 1954, this time named the Claremont and Concord Railroad.
The abandonments of the route took place east to west:
- 1960: 9 miles, West Concord west to Contoocook
- 1961: 17.6 miles, Contoocook west to Bradford
- 1964: 16+ miles, Bradford northwest to Newport
- 1977: 11 miles, Newport west to Claremont
- 1988: 1.5 miles within Claremont
The last abandonment in 1988 also included and a 3-mile north leg that had been opened as the electric Claremont Railway beginning in 1903.
The Claremont and Concord still operates on a short stub between Claremont Junction on the main line east into Claremont.