Boston and Lowell Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Boston and Lowell Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in Massachusetts
. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad
's Southern Division.
the Boston Manufacturing Company
- the first integrated textile mill in the United States. After Lowell's death in 1817, his partners searched for a new location with greater waterpower to expand textile production and add calico printing. In 1821 they purchased property adjoining the Pawtucket Falls
on the Merrimack River
and in 1823 the Merrimack Manufacturing Company began producing cotton cloth in the village of East Chelmsford
. In 1826, the area was incorporated as the town of Lowell, Massachusetts
, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell.
Before the railroad, there were several ways of moving goods between Lowell and Boston. The Middlesex Canal
, opened in 1804, linked Concord, New Hampshire
and Boston, Massachusetts was usable except during the winter months. Stagecoach
es ran on the road between Boston and Lowell. Large horse-drawn wagons carried freight. These sufficed for some time, but as Lowell grew and more industrialists built mills
there, problems with both modes soon overwhelmed them.
The canal
was a very efficient way of moving large amounts of heavy goods cheaply and with minimal labor. Unfortunately, the canal would freeze in the winter and the towpath was muddy in spring and late fall. This made it impractical for a burgeoning mill town that needed year-round freight transportation.
Stagecoaches provided the passenger aspect of the transport, moving 100 to 120 passengers per day. There were six stagecoaches in operation at the time of the building of the railroad, for a total of 39 fully loaded round trips per week. This was sufficient passenger service for people who had to make an occasional trip but was much too expensive for daily use or what we would now call commuters
.
One of the first railroads in North America was the Granite Railroad in nearby Quincy, Massachusetts
, in 1826. It was a 3 miles (5 km), horse-powered railroad, built to move large granite stones from the quarries in Quincy to the Neponset River
in Milton
. As was believed to be the most sturdy method at the time, it was built on a deep foundation of granite, setting a precedent for all railroads that could afford it.
The investors in the Lowell textile companies decided they needed to do something about their transportation situation. They looked toward the railroad in England for inspiration. A railroad could run year round, was expandable with as many tracks as they might need, and could use the new locomotive
s that were being highly praised in England
.
led the task of convincing the state legislature that a railroad was a good idea, and later building the railroad itself. The former proved very difficult, as the investors of the Middlesex Canal were very much against building a new form of transportation designed to replace their canal.
Because there was no provision in Massachusetts State law for charter
ing railroads prior to 1872, all railroads had to be chartered by special acts of legislature. This made it slow and inefficient to charter a railroad because the politicians had to agree; the issue would become partisan. This also meant that the legislature would not let the investors build the line unless they could show it was completely necessary.
The investors were successful because they convinced the legislature that the Canal was inherently incapable of providing what they needed: reliable, year round freight transport. Investors in the Boston and Lowell Railroad received a charter on June 5, 1830, with no provision for reparations to the Middlesex Canal's investors. It was a favorable charter because in addition to the right to build and operate a railroad between Lowell and Boston, it gave a thirty-year monopoly on the right to have a railroad there. The people along the road and in terminal end cities bought large amounts of stock
, financing half the company.
, son of Col. Loammi Baldwin
, who had engineered the Middlesex Canal
, to do the surveying, and charged him with finding a gently sloped path from Lowell to Boston, with few grade crossings
and well away from town centers. This latter point ended up being quite inconvenient later on. No one had any idea of the future possibility of railroads acting as public transportation, or if they did they were not paid any attention by the builders or financiers of the road.
The right-of-way
that Baldwin surveyed did well in each of these characteristics. The path sloped up at a gentle ten feet per mile at the maximum and there were only three grade crossings over the entire 26 miles (41.8 km) distance. The path was close to the older Middlesex Canal path, but was straighter - as boats can turn sharper than trains. To achieve this superior linearity it needed small amounts of grade elevation in places. The route ignored Medford
center entirely, going through West Medford instead, and totally bypassed Woburn
and Billerica
. This would have to be corrected later with various spurs (the one to Medford being built off the Boston and Maine Railroad
) but were always sources of annoyance to both the riders and the operators.
The proposed route was accepted by the Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and work began the on building phase. The road was begun from both ends at once and some sources say that they both started on the right hand side of the right-of-way, missing in the middle and having to put in an embarrassing reverse curve to tide them over until they built the other side. Yankee and Irish
laborers were hired to construct the railroad, which was made especially difficult and because the Directors wanted to make the road using the best techniques then known. This, for them, meant laying imported British
iron
rails with a 4 feet (1.2 m) wall of granite
under each rail. They did this because it was commonly believed that the train would sink into the ground if the rails did not have strong support.
The first track of the road was completed in 1835 and freight service began immediately. The solid granite roadbed proved to be much too rigid, jolting the engine and cars nearly to pieces. Repairs on the locomotives (there were two at the time) would sometimes take most of the night, trying to get them ready for the next day's service. The much poorer Boston and Worcester Railroad could not afford a granite bed and so was built with the modern wooden ties. This turned out to be far superior so the owners of the Boston and Lowell decided they would upgrade their entire roadbed to wood when they added a second track. The original Boston terminal was at the north corner of Causeway Street and Andover Street (halfway between Portland and Friend Streets), at the westernmost edge of the current North Station
. The bridge over the Charles River
to access it was the first movable railroad bridge in the United States. http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1100/ma1194/data/003.tif The original Lowell terminal was at the south corner of Merrimack Street and Dutton Street.
The Boston and Lowell was faced with a new problem; it had a reputation for speed which made it very popular and highly competitive with stagecoaches. Many people wanted to go not only from Lowell to Boston but to places in between. The Boston and Lowell ordered another locomotive and cars for local passenger rail in 1842, and had them make six stops along the route. Passenger rail proved to be almost as profitable as freight.
, through a bit of southern New Hampshire
, to Haverhill
in northeastern Massachusetts, connected to the Boston and Lowell in Wilmington
, and then used Boston and Lowell track to Boston. This route was conceptualized in 1834, but took a long time to be built, mostly because, unlike the Boston and Lowell, it did not have a secure base of funding like the Lowell textile companies. It took two years to get to Andover
, another to get to Haverhill, Massachusetts
three more to get to Exeter
, and did not get to Portland
until 1852.
This extra traffic on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, especially with the line still over granite, provided the extra impetus to double track and upgrade. In 1838, the B&L began two years of extensive track improvements, first laying a second track on wood, and with that one built, going back and re-laying the old track on the more forgiving wood as well. Boston and Lowell traffic continued to increase and even with double tracks, the schedule became tight enough that the Boston and Maine trains, as renters, began to be pushed around to annoying hours, often having to wait over an hour in Wilmington before being allowed to proceed on to Boston.
The B&M soon tired of what they perceived as selfishness and decided to build its own track to Boston from Haverhill so that it would not have to rely on the B&L. The B&L tried to fight the B&M in court but failed because the monopoly granted in its charter was only good for traffic between Boston and Lowell. The shortcut, part of today's Haverhill/Reading Line
, was started in 1844 and was in use by 1848. While the B&M was building it, they were still running their trains to Boston on the B&L. This made for a lot of conflict, with the B&L trying to squeeze every last penny out of the B&M before it lost the opportunity. The B&M tried to deal with this in court, and got the judge to forbid the B&L from raising rates until the case was done, but by the time they were close to an agreement, the bypass was complete.
With B&M business gone, the B&L realized how much they had been relying upon their renters. Additionally, the Lowell mills began to decline somewhat and there was less freight traffic for the line to move. Over the next four decades, the B&L declined until the more successful B&M leased it on April 1, 1887.
in 1886.
Charlestown
The Charlestown Branch Railroad was not itself taken over by the B&L, but as originally built in 1840 it was a short spur from the B&L to wharves in Charlestown. In 1845 the Fitchburg Railroad
leased it and incorporated it into their main line.
Mystic River
The Mystic River Branch served the Mystic River
waterfront on the north side of Charlestown.
Woburn Loop
The Woburn Branch Railroad
(aka: The Woburn Loop) opened in 1844, connecting Woburn
to the main line towards Boston. The Horn Pond Branch Railroad was a short freight-only branch off the Woburn Branch to ice houses on Horn Pond. The northern loop, built in 1885, continued the line back north to the main line at North Woburn Jct in South Wilmington. The Horn Pond branch line was abandoned in 1911, the northern loop in 1961 and the original line in 1982.
Stoneham
The Stoneham Branch Railroad was built in 1862 to connect to Stoneham.
Lowell and Lawrence
The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad
was chartered in 1846 to build a line between Lowell and Lawrence, which opened in 1848. In 1858 the B&L leased the line.
Salem and Lowell
The Salem and Lowell Railroad
was chartered in 1848 as a branch from the Lowell and Lawrence at Tewksbury
Junction to the Essex Railroad
at Peabody, along which it used trackage rights
to Salem. The line was opened in 1850 and operated by the Lowell and Lawrence until 1858, when the B&L leased it along with the Lowell and Lawrence.
Wilmington (Wildcat) Branch
The Wilmington Branch, now known as the Wildcat Branch
, was built just west of the original Boston and Maine Railroad
alignment to connect the main line at Wilmington to the Salem and Lowell at Wilmington Junction, providing a shorter route between Boston and Lawrence.
Lexington and Arlington (Middlesex Central Railroad)
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad
was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, connecting the Fitchburg Railroad
at West Cambridge to Lexington, although the "West Cambridge" in the name referred to what is now the town of Arlington
. It was operated by the Fitchburg from opening, and leased to the Fitchburg from 1847 to 1859. The line was reorganized as the Lexington and Arlington Railroad in 1868, following the renaming of Arlington. The B&L bought the line in 1870 and built a new connection to their main line at Somerville Junction
.
The Middlesex Central Railroad was chartered in 1872 and opened in 1873, extending the line from Lexington to Concord
. It was leased from completion to the B&L. An extension west to the Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad at Middlesex Junction was built in 1879. http://www.bedforddepot.org/RRHistory.html
Billerica and Bedford
The Billerica and Bedford Railroad was built in 1877 as a narrow gauge line between the Middlesex Central at Bedford and the B&L at North Billerica
. It was sold and abandoned in 1878, and the rails were taken to Maine
for the Sandy River Railroad
. A new standard gauge
branch was built by the B&L in 1885, mostly on the same right-of-way. http://www.bedforddepot.org/RRHistory.html
Lowell and Nashua
The Lowell and Nashua Railroad was chartered in 1836 as an extension of the B&L from Lowell north to the New Hampshire
state line. The Nashua and Lowell Railroad, chartered in 1835, would continue the line in New Hampshire to Nashua
. The two companies merged in 1838 to form a new Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the road opened later that year. In 1857 the B&L and N&L agreed to operate as one company from 1860, and in 1880 the B&L leased the N&L.
Stony Brook
The Stony Brook Railroad
was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1848, connecting the Nashua and Lowell at North Chelmsford
with Ayer
. The N&L leased the Stony Brook in 1848.
Nashua to Keene
The Wilton Railroad was chartered in 1844. It opened a line from Nashua west to Danforth's Corner in 1848, to Milford
in 1850 and to East Wilton in 1851. Since completion it was operated by the N&L.
The Peterborough Railroad was chartered in 1866 to continue the Wilton Railroad northwest to Greenfield
. In 1873 the N&L leased it; the road opened in 1874.
The Manchester and Keene Railroad was chartered 1864 and opened 1878, continuing the Peterborough Railroad west from Greenfield to the Connecticut River Railroad
in Keene. In 1880 the company went bankrupt, and it was operated by the Connecticut River Railroad until 1882, when it was bought half-and-half by the B&L and the Concord Railroad.
The Massachusetts Central Railroad was chartered in 1869 to build a line east-west across the middle of the state, between the Boston and Albany Railroad
and the Fitchburg Railroad
. The first section opened in 1881, splitting from the B&L's Lexington
and Arlington
Branch at North Cambridge Junction
, and the company was reorganized as the Central Massachusetts Railroad
in 1883. The B&L leased the line in 1886, a year before the B&M leased the B&L.
Northern Division
The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad was chartered in 1844, and opened in stages from 1848 to 1853, eventually running from Concord to Woodsville, New Hampshire
. That railroad, along with its branches, became part of the B&L Northern Division in 1884, when the B&L leased the BC&M.
The Northern Railroad was also chartered in 1844, opening in 1847 from Concord to Lebanon, New Hampshire
and later extending to White River Junction, Vermont
. The B&L leased it in 1884 as another part of its Northern Division.
The only connection between the Southern and Northern Divisions was at Hancock Junction
, where the Manchester and Keene Railroad (Southern) and Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad (Northern) met.
In 1889 the BC&M merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad, taking it out of B&M control until 1895, when the B&M leased the C&M.
White Mountains Division
The White Mountains Railroad was chartered in 1848 and opened a line from Woodsville
to Littleton, New Hampshire
in 1853. Along with extensions and branches, it was leased to the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1859 and consolidated into it in 1872, becoming its White Mountains Division. In 1884 the B&L leased the BC&M and the old White Mountains Railroad became the B&L's White Mountains Division.
The Northern and White Mountains Divisions were connected at Woodsville
.
Vermont Division
The Essex County Railroad (chartered 1864), Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad (chartered 1866) and Lamoille Valley Railroad (chartered 1867) were consolidated into the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad in 1875 as their Vermont Division. The line was finished in 1877, and in 1880 it was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, which was taken over by the B&L as their Vermont Division. The line did not stay in the B&M system, and the easternmost part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad
in 1912.
The White Mountains and Vermont Divisions were connected at Scott's Mills, New Hampshire.
Passumpsic Division
The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad was organized in 1846 and opened a line from White River Junction on the Northern Railroad to the border with Quebec
, Canada
in 1867, junctioning the Northern and White Mountains Divisions at Wells River
and the Vermont Division at St. Johnsbury
. The Massawippi Valley Railway, leased in 1870, continued to Sherbrooke, Quebec
, where it junctioned the Grand Trunk Railway
among others. The B&L leased the line on January 1, 1887, three months before the B&M acquired the B&L.
In the early 20th century the economics of railroading began to change. With the advent of the internal combustion engine
, trains slowly began to lose their advantage as a transportation option. Automobiles and trucks began to increase in popularity as highways improved, siphoning ridership and freight traffic off railroads. The advent of the Interstate Highway System
tipped the economic balance by increasing mobility as factories and offices were now able to be located further away from the fixed routes of the railroads. The decline in both passenger and freight traffic occurred at a point when the B&M, like most other railroads, had just switched over to diesel locomotives, meaning that they had large debts. The pressure from the debts and the large infrastructure costs associated with operating a disparate passenger and freight network amongst declining traffic forced the B&M to cut costs. The most noticeable effect, to the general public, was the reductions in passenger operation. In the late 1950s the B&M began to eliminate routes and substituted Multi-Unit diesel-powered passenger cars on many of its routes. The effort did not succeed, as the B&M was bankrupt by 1976.
As it fortunes declined, the B&M shed its passenger operation in 1973 by selling the assets to the MBTA
. The new state agency bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other commuter operations in the Greater Boston area. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its commuter rail
contract under the protection of the Federal Bankruptcy Court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly-formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983.
When GTI bought the B&M, commuter rail service was in jeopardy. The MBTA had owned the trains and the tracks since 1973, but it had outsourced the operation to the B&M. When GTI bought the B&M in 1983, it had to honor the B&M contract, but GTI management was very much against passenger rail, and, in 1986, as soon as the contract expired, they let the job go to Amtrak
.
From 1986 until 2003, Amtrak managed the entirety of Boston's commuter rail. It did decently, though at times had strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, numbers of conductors per train, and who takes responsibility when trains are late. Because of these bad relations and Amtrak's repeated announcements that the contract was unreasonable, few people were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again for the commuter rail contract when it came up for renewal in 2003.
When the MBTA asked for new bids on the commuter rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid, but Guilford and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company did. The MBCR ended up getting the contract, and began operating the commuter rail in July 2004.
Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine
and Mechanicville, New York
now uses the Stony Brook Branch
and the old main line north of Lowell. At Lowell it shifts to the B&M's original Lowell Branch
to get to the B&M main line towards Maine.
During the years since B&M bankruptcy, roadway congestion has increased significantly resulting in growing demand for passenger and freight options. During this time frame, the MBTA has been slowly investing in some infrastructure changes in its rail operations. In 1995 a new North Station was opened. In 2001 it opened the Anderson Transportation Center on the Boston & Lowell to centralize ridership and provide a superstation with convenient access to Interstates 93
and 95
(Route 128). In southern Maine, frustration with bus service drove the state to explore restarting passenger service, resulting in contracting with Amtrak to operate the Downeaster
, which runs from North Station to Haverhill and up to Portland
. Due to scheduling conflicts with the MBTA, the Downeaster runs up the Lowell Line to Wilmington
and then out the old B&M Wildcat Branch
to the Haverhill/Reading Line
. This route allows the Downeaster to pass a commuter train on the Haverhill/Reading Line without schedule conflicts. The route is also historically significant because it is the same route that the original B&M used to Portland.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
's Southern Division.
Beginnings
In the early 19th century, Francis Cabot Lowell and his friends and colleagues established in Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
the Boston Manufacturing Company
Boston Manufacturing Company
The Boston Manufacturing Company was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership a group of investors known as The Boston Associates, for the manufacture of cotton textiles. Boston Manufacturing Company gathered many of their trade secrets from the earlier...
- the first integrated textile mill in the United States. After Lowell's death in 1817, his partners searched for a new location with greater waterpower to expand textile production and add calico printing. In 1821 they purchased property adjoining the Pawtucket Falls
Pawtucket Falls (Massachusetts)
Pawtucket Falls is the name of a waterfall on the Merrimack River at Lowell, Massachusetts. The waterfall and rapids below it drop a total of 32 feet in a little under a mile., and was an important fishing ground for the Pennacook Indians in pre-colonial times.This location was used as a benchmark...
on the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
and in 1823 the Merrimack Manufacturing Company began producing cotton cloth in the village of East Chelmsford
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 33,802. The Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the town was 34,409, ranking it 14th in population among the 54 municipalities in...
. In 1826, the area was incorporated as the town of Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell.
Before the railroad, there were several ways of moving goods between Lowell and Boston. The Middlesex Canal
Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet long and between 10 and 11 feet wide...
, opened in 1804, linked Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
and Boston, Massachusetts was usable except during the winter months. Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
es ran on the road between Boston and Lowell. Large horse-drawn wagons carried freight. These sufficed for some time, but as Lowell grew and more industrialists built mills
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
there, problems with both modes soon overwhelmed them.
The canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
was a very efficient way of moving large amounts of heavy goods cheaply and with minimal labor. Unfortunately, the canal would freeze in the winter and the towpath was muddy in spring and late fall. This made it impractical for a burgeoning mill town that needed year-round freight transportation.
Stagecoaches provided the passenger aspect of the transport, moving 100 to 120 passengers per day. There were six stagecoaches in operation at the time of the building of the railroad, for a total of 39 fully loaded round trips per week. This was sufficient passenger service for people who had to make an occasional trip but was much too expensive for daily use or what we would now call commuters
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
.
One of the first railroads in North America was the Granite Railroad in nearby Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, in 1826. It was a 3 miles (5 km), horse-powered railroad, built to move large granite stones from the quarries in Quincy to the Neponset River
Neponset River
The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The headwaters of the Neponset are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near the Gillette Stadium...
in Milton
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
. As was believed to be the most sturdy method at the time, it was built on a deep foundation of granite, setting a precedent for all railroads that could afford it.
The investors in the Lowell textile companies decided they needed to do something about their transportation situation. They looked toward the railroad in England for inspiration. A railroad could run year round, was expandable with as many tracks as they might need, and could use the new locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s that were being highly praised in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Getting chartered
Patrick Tracy JacksonPatrick Tracy Jackson
Patrick Tracy Jackson was a United States manufacturer, one of the founders of the Boston Manufacturing Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, and later a founder of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company whose developments formed the nucleus of Lowell, Massachusetts.-Biography:He was born in...
led the task of convincing the state legislature that a railroad was a good idea, and later building the railroad itself. The former proved very difficult, as the investors of the Middlesex Canal were very much against building a new form of transportation designed to replace their canal.
Because there was no provision in Massachusetts State law for charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
ing railroads prior to 1872, all railroads had to be chartered by special acts of legislature. This made it slow and inefficient to charter a railroad because the politicians had to agree; the issue would become partisan. This also meant that the legislature would not let the investors build the line unless they could show it was completely necessary.
The investors were successful because they convinced the legislature that the Canal was inherently incapable of providing what they needed: reliable, year round freight transport. Investors in the Boston and Lowell Railroad received a charter on June 5, 1830, with no provision for reparations to the Middlesex Canal's investors. It was a favorable charter because in addition to the right to build and operate a railroad between Lowell and Boston, it gave a thirty-year monopoly on the right to have a railroad there. The people along the road and in terminal end cities bought large amounts of stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
, financing half the company.
Building the railroad
The Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, armed with a charter, now had the task of surveying and building the line. They brought in James Fowle BaldwinJames Fowle Baldwin
James Fowle Baldwin was an early American civil engineer who worked with his father and brothers on the Middlesex Canal, surveyed and designed the Boston and Lowell Railroad and the Boston and Albany Railroad, the first Boston water supply from Lake Cochituate, and many other early engineering...
, son of Col. Loammi Baldwin
Loammi Baldwin
Colonel Loammi Baldwin was a noted American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War....
, who had engineered the Middlesex Canal
Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet long and between 10 and 11 feet wide...
, to do the surveying, and charged him with finding a gently sloped path from Lowell to Boston, with few grade crossings
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
and well away from town centers. This latter point ended up being quite inconvenient later on. No one had any idea of the future possibility of railroads acting as public transportation, or if they did they were not paid any attention by the builders or financiers of the road.
The right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
that Baldwin surveyed did well in each of these characteristics. The path sloped up at a gentle ten feet per mile at the maximum and there were only three grade crossings over the entire 26 miles (41.8 km) distance. The path was close to the older Middlesex Canal path, but was straighter - as boats can turn sharper than trains. To achieve this superior linearity it needed small amounts of grade elevation in places. The route ignored Medford
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
center entirely, going through West Medford instead, and totally bypassed Woburn
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
and Billerica
Billerica, Massachusetts
Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,243 at the 2010 census. It is the only town named Billerica in the United States and borrows its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.- History :...
. This would have to be corrected later with various spurs (the one to Medford being built off the Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
) but were always sources of annoyance to both the riders and the operators.
The proposed route was accepted by the Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and work began the on building phase. The road was begun from both ends at once and some sources say that they both started on the right hand side of the right-of-way, missing in the middle and having to put in an embarrassing reverse curve to tide them over until they built the other side. Yankee and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
laborers were hired to construct the railroad, which was made especially difficult and because the Directors wanted to make the road using the best techniques then known. This, for them, meant laying imported British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
rails with a 4 feet (1.2 m) wall of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
under each rail. They did this because it was commonly believed that the train would sink into the ground if the rails did not have strong support.
The first track of the road was completed in 1835 and freight service began immediately. The solid granite roadbed proved to be much too rigid, jolting the engine and cars nearly to pieces. Repairs on the locomotives (there were two at the time) would sometimes take most of the night, trying to get them ready for the next day's service. The much poorer Boston and Worcester Railroad could not afford a granite bed and so was built with the modern wooden ties. This turned out to be far superior so the owners of the Boston and Lowell decided they would upgrade their entire roadbed to wood when they added a second track. The original Boston terminal was at the north corner of Causeway Street and Andover Street (halfway between Portland and Friend Streets), at the westernmost edge of the current North Station
North Station (Boston)
North Station is a major transportation hub located at Causeway and Nashua Streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the city's two terminals for Amtrak and MBTA commuter trains, the other being South Station...
. The bridge over the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
to access it was the first movable railroad bridge in the United States. http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1100/ma1194/data/003.tif The original Lowell terminal was at the south corner of Merrimack Street and Dutton Street.
Early operation
The quantity of freight traffic on the Boston and Lowell Railroad was large from the first, as it was expected to be, with Lowell's textile companies bringing in raw materials and sending out finished goods. The level of passenger traffic, however, was not anticipated. People were fascinated with the "cars", and loved that they could travel from Lowell to Boston in forty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes meant travelling at over sixty miles per hour and on unwelded track on a granite roadbed, which was extremely bumpy. Passenger complaints about the rough ride were another reason that the Boston and Lowell Railroad switched to wooden ties.The Boston and Lowell was faced with a new problem; it had a reputation for speed which made it very popular and highly competitive with stagecoaches. Many people wanted to go not only from Lowell to Boston but to places in between. The Boston and Lowell ordered another locomotive and cars for local passenger rail in 1842, and had them make six stops along the route. Passenger rail proved to be almost as profitable as freight.
The Boston and Maine Railroad
Another railroad was chartered in the early 1840s whose fortunes would be closely tied to those of the Boston and Lowell. This was the Boston and Maine Railroad. This railroad ran down from Portland MainePortland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, through a bit of southern New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, to Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
in northeastern Massachusetts, connected to the Boston and Lowell in Wilmington
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
, and then used Boston and Lowell track to Boston. This route was conceptualized in 1834, but took a long time to be built, mostly because, unlike the Boston and Lowell, it did not have a secure base of funding like the Lowell textile companies. It took two years to get to Andover
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, another to get to Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
three more to get to Exeter
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
, and did not get to Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
until 1852.
This extra traffic on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, especially with the line still over granite, provided the extra impetus to double track and upgrade. In 1838, the B&L began two years of extensive track improvements, first laying a second track on wood, and with that one built, going back and re-laying the old track on the more forgiving wood as well. Boston and Lowell traffic continued to increase and even with double tracks, the schedule became tight enough that the Boston and Maine trains, as renters, began to be pushed around to annoying hours, often having to wait over an hour in Wilmington before being allowed to proceed on to Boston.
The B&M soon tired of what they perceived as selfishness and decided to build its own track to Boston from Haverhill so that it would not have to rely on the B&L. The B&L tried to fight the B&M in court but failed because the monopoly granted in its charter was only good for traffic between Boston and Lowell. The shortcut, part of today's Haverhill/Reading Line
Haverhill/Reading Line
The Haverhill Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns ofMalden,Melrose,Wakefield,Reading,Wilmington,Andover,...
, was started in 1844 and was in use by 1848. While the B&M was building it, they were still running their trains to Boston on the B&L. This made for a lot of conflict, with the B&L trying to squeeze every last penny out of the B&M before it lost the opportunity. The B&M tried to deal with this in court, and got the judge to forbid the B&L from raising rates until the case was done, but by the time they were close to an agreement, the bypass was complete.
With B&M business gone, the B&L realized how much they had been relying upon their renters. Additionally, the Lowell mills began to decline somewhat and there was less freight traffic for the line to move. Over the next four decades, the B&L declined until the more successful B&M leased it on April 1, 1887.
Branches
The B&L built or leased many branches to serve areas not on its original line. Immediately before its lease by the B&M in 1887, it had five divisions - the Southern Division (including the original line), the Northern Division, the White Mountains Division, the Vermont Division and the Passumpsic Division. Additionally, it leased the Central Massachusetts RailroadCentral Massachusetts Railroad
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad running west from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, as a parallel competitor to the Boston and Albany Railroad and Fitchburg Railroad...
in 1886.
Southern Division
The main part of the Southern Division was the mainline between Boston and Lowell.Charlestown
The Charlestown Branch Railroad was not itself taken over by the B&L, but as originally built in 1840 it was a short spur from the B&L to wharves in Charlestown. In 1845 the Fitchburg Railroad
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...
leased it and incorporated it into their main line.
Mystic River
The Mystic River Branch served the Mystic River
Mystic River
The Mystic River is a river in Massachusetts, in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river." In an Algonquian language, "Missi-Tuk" means "a great river whose waters are driven by waves", alluding to the natural tidal nature of the...
waterfront on the north side of Charlestown.
Woburn Loop
The Woburn Branch Railroad
Woburn Branch Railroad
The Woburn Branch Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Lowell Railroad that connected the city square in Woburn, Massachusetts to the main line....
(aka: The Woburn Loop) opened in 1844, connecting Woburn
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
to the main line towards Boston. The Horn Pond Branch Railroad was a short freight-only branch off the Woburn Branch to ice houses on Horn Pond. The northern loop, built in 1885, continued the line back north to the main line at North Woburn Jct in South Wilmington. The Horn Pond branch line was abandoned in 1911, the northern loop in 1961 and the original line in 1982.
Stoneham
The Stoneham Branch Railroad was built in 1862 to connect to Stoneham.
Lowell and Lawrence
The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad
Lowell and Lawrence Railroad
The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was a small independent railroad that was chartered in 1846 to build a rail line linking the two giant Merrimack River Valley cities of Lowell, Massachusetts to Lawrence, Massachusetts....
was chartered in 1846 to build a line between Lowell and Lawrence, which opened in 1848. In 1858 the B&L leased the line.
Salem and Lowell
The Salem and Lowell Railroad
Salem and Lowell Railroad
The Salem and Lowell Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and ran off the Essex Railroad in Peabody, Massachusetts to Tewksbury, Massachusetts where it met the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad at Tewksbury Jct....
was chartered in 1848 as a branch from the Lowell and Lawrence at Tewksbury
Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Tewksbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,961 at the 2010 census.- History :Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated in 1734 from Billerica. Like Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, it is named after the town of Tewkesbury,...
Junction to the Essex Railroad
Essex Railroad
The Essex Railroad was a small independent railroad in the United States that connected Salem, Massachusetts to North Andover, Massachusetts and was named for Essex County as the traversed the county....
at Peabody, along which it used trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
to Salem. The line was opened in 1850 and operated by the Lowell and Lawrence until 1858, when the B&L leased it along with the Lowell and Lawrence.
Wilmington (Wildcat) Branch
The Wilmington Branch, now known as the Wildcat Branch
Wildcat Branch
The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line at Wilmington Junction...
, was built just west of the original Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
alignment to connect the main line at Wilmington to the Salem and Lowell at Wilmington Junction, providing a shorter route between Boston and Lawrence.
Lexington and Arlington (Middlesex Central Railroad)
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad
Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981....
was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, connecting the Fitchburg Railroad
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...
at West Cambridge to Lexington, although the "West Cambridge" in the name referred to what is now the town of Arlington
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. It was operated by the Fitchburg from opening, and leased to the Fitchburg from 1847 to 1859. The line was reorganized as the Lexington and Arlington Railroad in 1868, following the renaming of Arlington. The B&L bought the line in 1870 and built a new connection to their main line at Somerville Junction
Somerville Junction
Somerville Junction was the name of a railroad junction and station in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The station was located at the site of the present-day park near the intersection of Centre and Woodbine Streets. Nearby, a westward connector split off from the main line of the...
.
The Middlesex Central Railroad was chartered in 1872 and opened in 1873, extending the line from Lexington to Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. It was leased from completion to the B&L. An extension west to the Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad at Middlesex Junction was built in 1879. http://www.bedforddepot.org/RRHistory.html
Billerica and Bedford
The Billerica and Bedford Railroad was built in 1877 as a narrow gauge line between the Middlesex Central at Bedford and the B&L at North Billerica
North Billerica, Massachusetts
North Billerica is a unincorporated village of the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, one of the nine sections that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Train Depot...
. It was sold and abandoned in 1878, and the rails were taken to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
for the Sandy River Railroad
Sandy River Railroad
The Sandy River Railroad was built to serve the towns of Strong and Phillips in the Sandy River valley upstream of Farmington. The Sandy River Railroad was the first narrow gauge common carrier railroad built in the State of Maine.- History :...
. A new standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
branch was built by the B&L in 1885, mostly on the same right-of-way. http://www.bedforddepot.org/RRHistory.html
Lowell and Nashua
The Lowell and Nashua Railroad was chartered in 1836 as an extension of the B&L from Lowell north to the New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
state line. The Nashua and Lowell Railroad, chartered in 1835, would continue the line in New Hampshire to Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
. The two companies merged in 1838 to form a new Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the road opened later that year. In 1857 the B&L and N&L agreed to operate as one company from 1860, and in 1880 the B&L leased the N&L.
Stony Brook
The Stony Brook Railroad
Stony Brook Railroad
The Stony Brook Railroad was a short line railroad that ran off the Nashua and Lowell Railroad's main line from the village of North Chelmsford to Ayer where it connected to the Fitchburg Railroad.-History:...
was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1848, connecting the Nashua and Lowell at North Chelmsford
North Chelmsford, Massachusetts
North Chelmsford is an unincorporated village in the town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, United States. Although North Chelmsford has its own zip code , library, post office, police station, fire station, and local calling area, it is run by the same local town government and is part of the same...
with Ayer
Ayer, Massachusetts
Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871 and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War...
. The N&L leased the Stony Brook in 1848.
Nashua to Keene
The Wilton Railroad was chartered in 1844. It opened a line from Nashua west to Danforth's Corner in 1848, to Milford
Milford, New Hampshire
Milford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States, on the Souhegan River. The population was 15,115 at the 2010 census. It is the retail and manufacturing center of a six-town area known informally as the Souhegan Valley....
in 1850 and to East Wilton in 1851. Since completion it was operated by the N&L.
The Peterborough Railroad was chartered in 1866 to continue the Wilton Railroad northwest to Greenfield
Greenfield, New Hampshire
Greenfield is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,749 at the 2010 census. Greenfield is home to the Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, to Greenfield State Park, and to part of the Wapack Trail.- History :...
. In 1873 the N&L leased it; the road opened in 1874.
The Manchester and Keene Railroad was chartered 1864 and opened 1878, continuing the Peterborough Railroad west from Greenfield to the Connecticut River Railroad
Connecticut River Railroad
The Connecticut River Railroad was formed in 1845 by the merger of the Northampton and Springfield Railroad with the unbuilt Greenfield and Northampton Railroad....
in Keene. In 1880 the company went bankrupt, and it was operated by the Connecticut River Railroad until 1882, when it was bought half-and-half by the B&L and the Concord Railroad.
Other divisions
Central Massachusetts RailroadThe Massachusetts Central Railroad was chartered in 1869 to build a line east-west across the middle of the state, between the Boston and Albany Railroad
Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail and CSX. The line is used by CSX for freight...
and the Fitchburg Railroad
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...
. The first section opened in 1881, splitting from the B&L's Lexington
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
and Arlington
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
Branch at North Cambridge Junction
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and the company was reorganized as the Central Massachusetts Railroad
Central Massachusetts Railroad
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad running west from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, as a parallel competitor to the Boston and Albany Railroad and Fitchburg Railroad...
in 1883. The B&L leased the line in 1886, a year before the B&M leased the B&L.
Northern Division
The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad was chartered in 1844, and opened in stages from 1848 to 1853, eventually running from Concord to Woodsville, New Hampshire
Woodsville, New Hampshire
Woodsville is a census-designated place in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S., along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,126 at the 2010 census...
. That railroad, along with its branches, became part of the B&L Northern Division in 1884, when the B&L leased the BC&M.
The Northern Railroad was also chartered in 1844, opening in 1847 from Concord to Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
and later extending to White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States...
. The B&L leased it in 1884 as another part of its Northern Division.
The only connection between the Southern and Northern Divisions was at Hancock Junction
Hancock, New Hampshire
Hancock is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,654 at the 2010 census. Hancock is home to the Welch Family Farm Forest....
, where the Manchester and Keene Railroad (Southern) and Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad (Northern) met.
In 1889 the BC&M merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad, taking it out of B&M control until 1895, when the B&M leased the C&M.
White Mountains Division
The White Mountains Railroad was chartered in 1848 and opened a line from Woodsville
Woodsville, New Hampshire
Woodsville is a census-designated place in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S., along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,126 at the 2010 census...
to Littleton, New Hampshire
Littleton, New Hampshire
Littleton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,928 at the 2010 census. Situated at the edge of the White Mountains, Littleton is bounded on the northwest by the Connecticut River....
in 1853. Along with extensions and branches, it was leased to the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1859 and consolidated into it in 1872, becoming its White Mountains Division. In 1884 the B&L leased the BC&M and the old White Mountains Railroad became the B&L's White Mountains Division.
The Northern and White Mountains Divisions were connected at Woodsville
Woodsville, New Hampshire
Woodsville is a census-designated place in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S., along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,126 at the 2010 census...
.
Vermont Division
The Essex County Railroad (chartered 1864), Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad (chartered 1866) and Lamoille Valley Railroad (chartered 1867) were consolidated into the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad in 1875 as their Vermont Division. The line was finished in 1877, and in 1880 it was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, which was taken over by the B&L as their Vermont Division. The line did not stay in the B&M system, and the easternmost part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad
Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
in 1912.
The White Mountains and Vermont Divisions were connected at Scott's Mills, New Hampshire.
Passumpsic Division
The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad was organized in 1846 and opened a line from White River Junction on the Northern Railroad to the border with Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1867, junctioning the Northern and White Mountains Divisions at Wells River
Wells River, Vermont
Wells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 325 at the 2000 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S...
and the Vermont Division at St. Johnsbury
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
St. Johnsbury is the shire town of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,571 at the 2000 census. St. Johnsbury is located approximately northwest of the Connecticut River and south of the Canadian border.St...
. The Massawippi Valley Railway, leased in 1870, continued to Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where it junctioned the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
among others. The B&L leased the line on January 1, 1887, three months before the B&M acquired the B&L.
Life as a B&M line
Over the next 70 years or so, things were reasonably stable and constant for the Lowell Line as a part of the B&M's Southern Division. Passenger train round trips per day hovered in the low 20's and while freight from Lowell itself did not last too long, the Lowell line got some traffic from railroads that connected from the west.Modern times
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
, trains slowly began to lose their advantage as a transportation option. Automobiles and trucks began to increase in popularity as highways improved, siphoning ridership and freight traffic off railroads. The advent of the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
tipped the economic balance by increasing mobility as factories and offices were now able to be located further away from the fixed routes of the railroads. The decline in both passenger and freight traffic occurred at a point when the B&M, like most other railroads, had just switched over to diesel locomotives, meaning that they had large debts. The pressure from the debts and the large infrastructure costs associated with operating a disparate passenger and freight network amongst declining traffic forced the B&M to cut costs. The most noticeable effect, to the general public, was the reductions in passenger operation. In the late 1950s the B&M began to eliminate routes and substituted Multi-Unit diesel-powered passenger cars on many of its routes. The effort did not succeed, as the B&M was bankrupt by 1976.
As it fortunes declined, the B&M shed its passenger operation in 1973 by selling the assets to the MBTA
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
. The new state agency bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other commuter operations in the Greater Boston area. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its commuter rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...
contract under the protection of the Federal Bankruptcy Court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly-formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983.
When GTI bought the B&M, commuter rail service was in jeopardy. The MBTA had owned the trains and the tracks since 1973, but it had outsourced the operation to the B&M. When GTI bought the B&M in 1983, it had to honor the B&M contract, but GTI management was very much against passenger rail, and, in 1986, as soon as the contract expired, they let the job go to Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
.
From 1986 until 2003, Amtrak managed the entirety of Boston's commuter rail. It did decently, though at times had strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, numbers of conductors per train, and who takes responsibility when trains are late. Because of these bad relations and Amtrak's repeated announcements that the contract was unreasonable, few people were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again for the commuter rail contract when it came up for renewal in 2003.
When the MBTA asked for new bids on the commuter rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid, but Guilford and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company did. The MBCR ended up getting the contract, and began operating the commuter rail in July 2004.
Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine
Mattawamkeag, Maine
Mattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 825 at the 2000 census.-Railroad history:Mattawamkeag's history is inextricably linked to the railroad....
and Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population is 5,196 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
now uses the Stony Brook Branch
Stony Brook Railroad
The Stony Brook Railroad was a short line railroad that ran off the Nashua and Lowell Railroad's main line from the village of North Chelmsford to Ayer where it connected to the Fitchburg Railroad.-History:...
and the old main line north of Lowell. At Lowell it shifts to the B&M's original Lowell Branch
Lowell and Andover Railroad
The Lowell and Andover Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad and was organized in 1873, after the Boston and Lowell Railroad's monopoly on Boston to Lowell service ended in 1865...
to get to the B&M main line towards Maine.
During the years since B&M bankruptcy, roadway congestion has increased significantly resulting in growing demand for passenger and freight options. During this time frame, the MBTA has been slowly investing in some infrastructure changes in its rail operations. In 1995 a new North Station was opened. In 2001 it opened the Anderson Transportation Center on the Boston & Lowell to centralize ridership and provide a superstation with convenient access to Interstates 93
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91...
and 95
Interstate 95 in Massachusetts
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Maine. The Massachusetts portion of the highway enters from the state of Rhode Island in Attleboro and travels in a northeasterly direction to the junction with Route 128 in...
(Route 128). In southern Maine, frustration with bus service drove the state to explore restarting passenger service, resulting in contracting with Amtrak to operate the Downeaster
Downeaster
The Downeaster is a 116-mile regional passenger train service managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and operated by Amtrak, connecting North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine...
, which runs from North Station to Haverhill and up to Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. Due to scheduling conflicts with the MBTA, the Downeaster runs up the Lowell Line to Wilmington
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
and then out the old B&M Wildcat Branch
Wildcat Branch
The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line at Wilmington Junction...
to the Haverhill/Reading Line
Haverhill/Reading Line
The Haverhill Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns ofMalden,Melrose,Wakefield,Reading,Wilmington,Andover,...
. This route allows the Downeaster to pass a commuter train on the Haverhill/Reading Line without schedule conflicts. The route is also historically significant because it is the same route that the original B&M used to Portland.
Station listing
| Milepost | City | Station | Opening date | Connections and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Boston | North Station North Station (Boston) North Station is a major transportation hub located at Causeway and Nashua Streets in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the city's two terminals for Amtrak and MBTA commuter trains, the other being South Station... |
Orange Line Orange Line (MBTA) The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green... and Green Line Green Line (MBTA) The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying... MBTA Commuter Rail MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate... north-side lines Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... Downeaster Downeaster The Downeaster is a 116-mile regional passenger train service managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and operated by Amtrak, connecting North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine... service to Maine |
|
| Boston Engine Terminal | A flag stop with a wooden platform for MBTA employees only | |||
| MBTA Fitchburg Line Fitchburg Line The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. It is one of the... , Haverhill/Reading Line Haverhill/Reading Line The Haverhill Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns ofMalden,Melrose,Wakefield,Reading,Wilmington,Andover,... and Newburyport/Rockport Line Newburyport/Rockport Line The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg serves Chelsea, Lynn, Swampscott, Salem, and Beverly. From there, a northern branch of... split |
||||
| Cambridge Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent... |
East Cambridge | closed on the old alignment, west of the current route |
||
| 1.9 | Somerville Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in... |
Prospect Hill | closed originally Milk Row |
|
| 2.4 | Winter Hill | closed | ||
| 2.8 | Somerville Junction | closed originally Somerville split with Lexington and Arlington Branch Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981.... |
||
| 3.6 | North Somerville | closed | ||
| 4.0 | Medford Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173... |
Tufts University | November 1976 (had been open previously) | closed October 1979 originally College Hill |
| 4.6 | Medford Hillside | closed | ||
| 5.5 | West Medford West Medford (MBTA station) West Medford station is located at 481 High Street as it passes through West Medford Square in Medford, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. It is on the MBTA Lowell Line.... |
|||
| 7.3 | Winchester Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb... |
Wedgemere Wedgemere (MBTA station) Wedgemere is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Lowell Line. Wedgemere and the following station, Winchester Center, are, according to town legend, two of the closest-together railway stations in the world. The two stations are about 2500 feet apart... |
originally Mystic | |
| 7.8 | Winchester Center Winchester Center (MBTA station) Winchester Center is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Lowell Line.-External links:* * *... |
split with Woburn Branch Woburn Branch Railroad The Woburn Branch Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Lowell Railroad that connected the city square in Woburn, Massachusetts to the main line.... |
||
| 9.0 | Winchester Highlands | closed June 1978 | ||
| 9.8 | Woburn Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :... |
Montvale | closed split with Stoneham Branch |
|
| Lechmere Warehouse | 1979 | closed 1996 http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.transportation/browse_frm/thread/51a230c6a0a3617b/1b811b9e1c56d5d4 | ||
| 10.5 | Walnut Hill | closed January 17, 1965 | ||
| 11.6 | Mishawum Mishawum (MBTA station) Mishawum is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Lowell Line. Currently trains only stop at the station 6 times a day Monday through Friday, there are no stops on Saturday or Sunday.Here is the current schedule:... |
September 24, 1984 (had been open previously) | originally East Woburn | |
| 12.7 | Anderson Regional Transportation Center Anderson Regional Transportation Center Anderson Regional Transportation Center is a train and bus station located at 100 Atlantic Ave., off Commerce Way in Woburn, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. It can be accessed from Exit 37C off Interstate 93 or the Washington Street exit off Interstate 95/Route 128. It opened on April 28, 2001,... |
April 28, 2001 | Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... Downeaster Downeaster The Downeaster is a 116-mile regional passenger train service managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and operated by Amtrak, connecting North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine... service to Maine originally South Wilmington (had been open previously) |
|
| Wilmington Wilmington, Massachusetts Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm... |
North Woburn Junction | not a station merge with Woburn Branch |
||
| 15.2 | Wilmington Wilmington (MBTA station) Wilmington station is located at 405 Main Street at its intersection with Church Street Wilmington, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The station serves trains on the MBTA's Lowell Line, and some trains from the Haverhill Line via the Wildcat Branch... |
split with Wildcat Branch Wildcat Branch The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line at Wilmington Junction... , carrying the Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... Downeaster Downeaster The Downeaster is a 116-mile regional passenger train service managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and operated by Amtrak, connecting North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine... service (without stopping here) |
||
| 17.0 | Silver Lake | closed June 27, 1965 | ||
| Billerica Billerica, Massachusetts Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,243 at the 2010 census. It is the only town named Billerica in the United States and borrows its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.- History :... |
East Billerica | closed June 27, 1965 | ||
| 21.8 | North Billerica North Billerica (MBTA station) North Billerica is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Lowell Line, located in North Billerica, Massachusetts and serves close to 300,000 commuters.-History:... |
junction with Billerica and Bedford Branch | ||
| 24.6 | Lowell Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County... |
Bleachery | closed junction with Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Lowell and Lawrence Railroad The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was a small independent railroad that was chartered in 1846 to build a rail line linking the two giant Merrimack River Valley cities of Lowell, Massachusetts to Lawrence, Massachusetts.... , Lowell Branch (B&M B&M B&M may refer to:* B & M, a chain of discount stores in the UK* B&M an acronym of Burnham & Morrill, a brand of baked beans now owned by B&G Foods* Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss roller coaster manufacturer* Boston and Maine Railroad* Brick and mortar... ) and Framingham and Lowell Railroad Framingham and Lowell Railroad The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was a railroad in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1870 to provide a rail connection between Framingham to Lowell through the towns of Sudbury, Concord, Acton, Carlisle, Westford and Chelmsford... (NYNH&H) |
|
| 25.5 | Lowell Lowell (MBTA station) Lowell is a rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Lowell, Massachusetts. The station forms part of the Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal, which also incorporates the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center.- Terminal and services:... |
originally Middlesex Street junction with Nashua and Lowell Railroad (B&L) |
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| Merrimack Street | closed |