We look at our railroads today and we usually see a single company running thousands of miles of track. In the past this wasn't always the case. Recently I've started working, again, on a route I started many years ago. This is presently the eastern portion of the Boston and Maine between Portland and Wilmington, and then hopefully on to Boston and the west. Perhaps someday I can complete the full B&M, but that's another 5 Trainz versions in the future I'm sure.
The Boston and Maine was never a really large railroad, though it was once considered a Class 1 back in its heyday. Today it's more of a small regional run by Pan Am Railways, which has split ownership in Massachusetts where it only has running rights on state-owned tracks that are used for commuter rail service by the MBTA. The B&M its self had an interesting history of mergers, which is what I discovered. It started out as the Andover and Wilmington. A small segment of this line is still in operation today with the portion between Wilmington Jct. and North Andover long gone as that was abandoned during the 1840s in favor of the current B&M ROW.
Court fights, rifles, and pitchforks...
The rest of Boston and Maine's Western Division as it was called, was owned by a New Hampshire based company, and was considered an outsider in the region. The company had no direct connection to Boston and had to use trackage rights via the Boston and Lowell at a still existing connection in Wilmington Center where today the Amtrak Downeaster and commuter rail still run.
The Boston and Lowell was built during the early 1830s to connect the two namesake cities. The present day city of Lowell was named after the Lowell brothers who founded the mill city on land in Chelmsford that bordered the Merrimack and Concord rivers. There's a great waterfall there which became the source of power for the many of mills that sprang up in the city. The state charter for the Boston and Lowell stated that they had exclusive operation between the two cities and this was to last umpteen years.
Along came the B&M... A tiny orphan whose owners were far away and were toddling along on a much smaller less exclusive business. The B&M's owners of course had set their sights on much bigger business and longer railroad. In the early 1830s, the company built the line between Haverhill and Andover where the railroad connected to the Andover and Wilmington. The northern portions beyond Haverhill connected eventually to the Exeter and Dover, and then on to Portland.
This is pretty much the present day routing of the B&M. However, there's a problem. They were stopped dead in their tracks, no pun intended, at their final 16 mile run into Boston. The B&L effectively blocked their run at Wilmington Center because the B&M's original connection to Boston was by trackage rights over the B&L via a connection in Wilmington. Because the B&L had priority, they let the B&M trains languish as the parade of B&L trains moved along. The B&L was brought to court numerous times over this unfair practice to no avail. The state-sponsored charter stood and the other company had to concede to the B&L.
Company after company caved as they attempted to take on the giant B&L, but one of the more notable jabs at the lucrative Lowell market was the Lawrence and Lowell, which was built by the B&M. The present day city of Lawrence, MA like Lowell is also a mill city. It too was built by the Lowell brothers and on the same river a bit east. In the early 1870s, the B&M built a branch to Lowell. Due to some yelling and screaming by some wealthy people in Tewksbury, the original surveyed route was abandoned in favor of a much longer roundabout one via Tewksbury. When completed, this landed the B&M in court and they were allowed to operate after the court found in their favor.
With the B&M being blocked from Boston with trackage rights priority at Wilmington center, they decided it was time to build their own line to Boston. Starting at Wilmington Jct., where the Wild Cat branch, aka the original Andover and Wilmington line now ends, the company built their new Western Division mainline via Reading and Wakefield, MA. This line ran straight as an arrow via Melrose and Malden right into the Boston. Again the B&L screamed and brought the B&M to court on this. By this time, now the mid-1870s, the court sided in favor of the Boston and Maine, and the exclusive rights of the B&L were over. By the 1880s, the B&L like other competing railroads were all gobbled up by the now prosperous Boston and Maine.
Quite interesting, I think and as I come across other bits of history, I'll post it.
John
The Boston and Maine was never a really large railroad, though it was once considered a Class 1 back in its heyday. Today it's more of a small regional run by Pan Am Railways, which has split ownership in Massachusetts where it only has running rights on state-owned tracks that are used for commuter rail service by the MBTA. The B&M its self had an interesting history of mergers, which is what I discovered. It started out as the Andover and Wilmington. A small segment of this line is still in operation today with the portion between Wilmington Jct. and North Andover long gone as that was abandoned during the 1840s in favor of the current B&M ROW.
Court fights, rifles, and pitchforks...
The rest of Boston and Maine's Western Division as it was called, was owned by a New Hampshire based company, and was considered an outsider in the region. The company had no direct connection to Boston and had to use trackage rights via the Boston and Lowell at a still existing connection in Wilmington Center where today the Amtrak Downeaster and commuter rail still run.
The Boston and Lowell was built during the early 1830s to connect the two namesake cities. The present day city of Lowell was named after the Lowell brothers who founded the mill city on land in Chelmsford that bordered the Merrimack and Concord rivers. There's a great waterfall there which became the source of power for the many of mills that sprang up in the city. The state charter for the Boston and Lowell stated that they had exclusive operation between the two cities and this was to last umpteen years.
Along came the B&M... A tiny orphan whose owners were far away and were toddling along on a much smaller less exclusive business. The B&M's owners of course had set their sights on much bigger business and longer railroad. In the early 1830s, the company built the line between Haverhill and Andover where the railroad connected to the Andover and Wilmington. The northern portions beyond Haverhill connected eventually to the Exeter and Dover, and then on to Portland.
This is pretty much the present day routing of the B&M. However, there's a problem. They were stopped dead in their tracks, no pun intended, at their final 16 mile run into Boston. The B&L effectively blocked their run at Wilmington Center because the B&M's original connection to Boston was by trackage rights over the B&L via a connection in Wilmington. Because the B&L had priority, they let the B&M trains languish as the parade of B&L trains moved along. The B&L was brought to court numerous times over this unfair practice to no avail. The state-sponsored charter stood and the other company had to concede to the B&L.
Company after company caved as they attempted to take on the giant B&L, but one of the more notable jabs at the lucrative Lowell market was the Lawrence and Lowell, which was built by the B&M. The present day city of Lawrence, MA like Lowell is also a mill city. It too was built by the Lowell brothers and on the same river a bit east. In the early 1870s, the B&M built a branch to Lowell. Due to some yelling and screaming by some wealthy people in Tewksbury, the original surveyed route was abandoned in favor of a much longer roundabout one via Tewksbury. When completed, this landed the B&M in court and they were allowed to operate after the court found in their favor.
With the B&M being blocked from Boston with trackage rights priority at Wilmington center, they decided it was time to build their own line to Boston. Starting at Wilmington Jct., where the Wild Cat branch, aka the original Andover and Wilmington line now ends, the company built their new Western Division mainline via Reading and Wakefield, MA. This line ran straight as an arrow via Melrose and Malden right into the Boston. Again the B&L screamed and brought the B&M to court on this. By this time, now the mid-1870s, the court sided in favor of the Boston and Maine, and the exclusive rights of the B&L were over. By the 1880s, the B&L like other competing railroads were all gobbled up by the now prosperous Boston and Maine.
Quite interesting, I think and as I come across other bits of history, I'll post it.
John