Boston and Maine Railroad - (en)
The Boston and Maine Railroad (AAR reporting marks BM), also known by the
abbreviation B&M, was the dominant railroad of the northern New
England region of the United States for a century. It is now part of the
Pan Am Railways network.
History
The Andover and Wilmington Railroad was incorporated March 15, 1833 to
build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington,
Massachusetts north to Andover. The line opened to Andover on August 8,
1836. The name was changed to the Andover and Haverhill Railroad on April
18, 1837, reflecting plans to build further to Haverhill (opened later
that year), and yet further to Portland, Maine with the renaming to the
Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New
Hampshire state line in 1840.
The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27,
1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was
incorporated March 12, 1839 in Maine, both companies continuing the
proposed line to South Berwick, Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to
Exeter, New Hampshire, and on January 1, 1842 the two companies merged
with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad.
On February 23, 1843 the B&M opened to Agamenticus, on the line of the
Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On January 28 of
that year the B&M and Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to both
lease the PS&P as a joint line to Portland.
The Boston and Maine Extension Railroad was incorporated March 16, 1844,
due to a dispute with the Boston and Lowell Railroad over trackage rights
rates between Wilmington and Boston. That company was merged into the main
B&M on March 19, 1845, and opened July 1, leading to the abandonment
of the old connection to the B&L (later reused by the B&L for
their Wildcat Branch). In 1848 another original section was abandoned, as
a new alignment was built from Wilmington north to North Andover in order
to better serve Lawrence.
A new alignment to Portland opened in 1873, splitting from the old route
at South Berwick. The old route was later abandoned.
As the B&M grew, it also gained control of its former rivals. These
acquisitions included the following:
Eastern
The Eastern Railroad was leased by the B&M on December 23, 1883. This
provided a second route to Maine, as well as many local branches, ending
competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland.
Worcester, Nashua and Portland
The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was organized in 1845 (opened 1848) and
the Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1847, forming a line between
Worcester, Massachusetts and Rochester, New Hampshire via Nashua. The
W&N leased the N&R in 1874, and the two companies merged into the
Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1883. The B&M leased the
line on January 1, 1886. This acquisition also included the continuation
from Rochester to Portland, Maine, incorporated in 1846 as the York and
Cumberland Railroad. It opened partially in 1851 and 1853, was reorganized
as the Portland and Rochester Railroad in 1867, and opened the rest of the
way in 1871. It was again reorganized in 1881 and then operated in
conjunction with the line to Worcester.
Boston and Lowell
On April 1, 1887 the B&M leased the Boston and Lowell Railroad, adding
not only trackage in the Boston area, but also the Central Massachusetts
Railroad west to Northampton, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad
into northern New Hampshire, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad
to northwestern Vermont, and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers
Railroad from White River Junction into Quebec. However, the BC&M was
separated in 1889 and merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord
and Montreal Railroad, which the B&M leased on April 1, 1895, gaining
the Concord Railroads direct line between Nashua and Concord.
Additionally, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the
B&M through stock, was leased to the Maine Central Railroad by 1912.
The Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did
the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (as the Passumpsic
Division).
Northern
The Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in 1884, but
that lease was cancelled and the Northern was on its own until 1890, when
it was released to the B&L, then part of the B&M. The Northern
owned a number of lines running west from Concord.
Connecticut River
On January 1, 1893, the B&M leased the Connecticut River Railroad,
with a main line from Springfield, Massachusetts north along the
Conencticut River to White River Junction, Vermont, where the Connecticut
and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (acquired in 1887) continued north.
Concord and Montreal
As discussed above, the B&M acquired the Boston, Concord and Montreal
Railroad in 1887, but gave it up in 1889, allowing it to merge with the
Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad. That company
did poorly on its own, and was leased by the B&M on April 1, 1895,
giving the B&M the majority of lines in New Hampshire.
Fitchburg
The B&M leased the Fitchburg Railroad on July 1, 1900. This was
primarily a main line from Boston west via the Hoosac Tunnel to the
Albany, New York area, with various branches.
At one point, the B&M also owned a majority of stock of the Maine
Central Railroad, stretching from Quebec via northern New Hampshire to
southern and eastern Maine.
The B&M flourished with the growth of New Englands mill towns in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, but still faced financial struggles.
It came under the control of J. P. Morgan and his New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad around 1910, but anti-trust forces wrested control back.
Later it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the
cost of acquiring the Fitchburg Railroad, causing a reorganization in
1919.
Beginning in the 1930s, freight business was hurt by the leveling off of
New England manufacturing growth, and by new competition from trucking.
The popularization of the automobile doomed B&M as a passenger carrier.
It cut its Troy, NY to Boston passenger service back to Williamstown, MA
in January 1958 and gave up on long distance passenger service completely
by 1965. It was able to continue Boston commuter service only by the aid
of subsidies from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. In 1973
the MBTA bought the rolling stock and tracks near Boston from the ailing
B&M. The B&M filed for bankruptcy in December 1970. During
bankruptcy, the B&M reorganized, rebuilding its existing fleet of
locomotives, leasing new locomotives and rolling stock, and securing funds
to upgrade its track and signal systems. It limped along through the
1970s, and reportedly was on the brink of liquidation during 1973-1974.
The B&M was offered to merge its properties into the new Conrail but
opted out.
By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around
thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch
lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service
also helped. In 1983 the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was
purchased by Timothy Mellons Guilford Transportation Industries for $24
million. This was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine
corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as the labor issues
which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost cutting such
as the 1990 closure of B&Ms Mechanicville, NY site, the largest rail
yard and shop facilities on the B&M system.
