| |
In 1835 the Boston & Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire to build a line across southeastern New Hampshire to connect Maine with Boston. Soon after, the Andover & Haverhill Railroad started constructing a line to connect the B&M with the Andover & Wilmington Railroad, which had a line into Boston. The Andover & Haverhill was renamed the Boston & Portland Railroad and was being operated in conjunction with the Boston & Maine. On January 1, 1842, the entire line in New Hampshire and Massachusetts was merged into the B&M. Near the end of 1842, the Boston & Maine reached South Berwick, Maine, where it was able to connect to the newly constructed Portland, Saco & Portsmouth Railroad, which had the connection to Portland. By 1900 the Boston & Maine had consolidated many shortlines and had an extensive network, with main lines and branch lines in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and even Canada!
Boston & Maine #166 |
|
Boston & Maine #1366 |
|
Before the Great Depression, the Boston & Maine had already started abandoning parallel lines in the system, but when the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, the railroad accelerated the number of abandonments. The B&M had to compete with autos, buses, and trucks, which were becoming more and more popular. To counteract, the Boston & Maine reduced or eliminated passenger service on branch lines. By the 1930s, the B&M had hit its lowest point and was in bankruptcy. After World War II, increased traffic meant more income for the railroad and abandonments ceased. Millions of dollars were spent to convert steam power to diesel, and also to purchase new equipment for passenger service.
The prosperity that the nation's railroads enjoyed had had little affect in New England. More and more products in New England were being shipped by truck, reducing freight shipments on the railroad. The introduction of the commercial airplane and the construction of toll roads and freeways reduced passengers on long distance trains. The next event affected the Boston & Maine greatly, the Rutland Railroad, New England's weakest major carrier, was hit with a strike and suspended operations in 1961 and later was abandoned in 1962, causing large decreases in northeastern freight traffic on the B&M. Another famed collapse of a railroad was the Penn Central in 1969, the largest railroad failure in the U.S. The Boston & Maine followed the Penn Central into bankruptcy.
B&M #3808 running through Rigby |
|
B&M #1567 leading NA-1 in Nashua |
|
In 1983 Timothy Mellon took control of the Boston & Maine, along with the Maine Central and Delaware & Hudson Railroad in the 1980s, and consolidated them into Guilford Rail System. Today the Boston & Maine still retains some of its identity, as its a corporate identity of Guilford, its name appearing on engines and other rolling stock and on property. In 2006, Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways, and like before, the B&M reporting marks and the name continue to be found on the railroad.
Some equipment from the Boston & Maine has been preserved or has found new homes on other railroads, while some have been scrapped or left to sit in freight yards and forgotten. Railroad stations of the Boston & Maine have become homes for businesses and also unique private residences. The Boston & Maine Railroad may be gone, but the name will live forever.
B&M #6000: The Flying Yankee - The first streamlined train east of the Mississippi
Boston & Maine Transportation Co. - Bus and trucking company, subsidiary of the railroad
- B&M Transportation Co. #784 - Coach preserved by the Seashore Trolley Museum
Elmwood - A busy rural junction in Hancock, N.H.
Hillsboro Branch - A scenic branchline out of Nashua
Manchester & Milford Branch - 1900 to 1929 - Yup, it only lasted 26 years
New Hampshire Commuter Rail: 1980-81 - "Two-year" commuter rail trial
- Leyland Experimental Vehicle 2 - One of the railbuses used for N.H. commuter rail
Rockingham - Junction on the B&M main line in Newfields
|
|
