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The , also known by the abbreviation '''B&M''', was the dominant
Railroad of the northern
New England region of the
United States for a century. It is now part of the
Guilford Rail System network.
The was incorporated
March 15 ,
1833 to build a branch from the
Boston And Lowell Railroad at
Wilmington, Massachusetts north to
Andover . The line opened to Andover on
August 8 ,
1836 . The name was changed to the '''Andover and Haverhill Railroad''' on
April 18 ,
1837 , reflecting plans to build further to
Haverhill (opened later that year), and yet further to
Portland, Maine with the renaming to the '''Boston and Portland Railroad''' on
April 3 ,
1839 , opening to the New Hampshire state line in
1840 .
The was chartered in
New Hampshire on
June 27 ,
1835 , and the '''Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad''' was incorporated
March 12 ,
1839 in
Maine , both companies continuing the proposed line to
South Berwick, Maine . The railroad opened in
1840 to
Exeter, New Hampshire , and on
January 1 ,
1842 the two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad.
On
February 23 ,
1843 the B&M opened to
Agamenticus , on the line of the
Portland, Saco And Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On
January 28 of that year the B&M and
Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to both lease the PS&P as a joint line to
Portland .
The was incorporated
March 16 ,
1844 , due to a dispute with the
Boston And Lowell Railroad over
Trackage Rights rates between Wilmington and Boston. That company was merged into the main B&M on
March 19 ,
1845 , and opened
July 1 , leading to the abandonment of the old connection to the B&L (later reused by the B&L for their
Wildcat Branch ). In
1848 another original section was abandoned, as a new alignment was built from Wilmington north to
North Andover in order to better serve
Lawrence .
A new alignment to Portland opened in
1873 , splitting from the old route at
South Berwick . The old route was later abandoned.
As the B&M grew, it also gained control of its former rivals. These acquisitions included the following:
;Eastern
The
Eastern Railroad was leased by the B&M on
December 23 ,
1883 . This provided a second route to Maine, as well as many local branches, ending competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland.
;Worcester, Nashua and Portland
The
Worcester And Nashua Railroad was organized in
1845 (opened
1848 ) and the
Nashua And Rochester Railroad in
1847 , forming a line between
Worcester, Massachusetts and
Rochester, New Hampshire via
Nashua . The W&N leased the N&R in
1874 , and the two companies merged into the
Worcester, Nashua And Rochester Railroad in
1883 . The B&M leased the line on
January 1 ,
1886 . This acquisition also included the continuation from Rochester to
Portland, Maine , incorporated in
1846 as the
York And Cumberland Railroad . It opened partially in
1851 and
1853 , was reorganized as the
Portland And Rochester Railroad in
1867 , and opened the rest of the way in
1871 . It was again reorganized in
1881 and then operated in conjunction with the line to Worcester.
;Boston and Lowell
On
April 1 ,
1887 the B&M leased the
Boston And Lowell Railroad , adding not only trackage in the
Boston area, but also the
Central Massachusetts Railroad west to
Northampton , the
Boston, Concord And Montreal Railroad into northern
New Hampshire , the
St. Johnsbury And Lake Champlain Railroad to northwestern
Vermont , and the
Connecticut And Passumpsic Rivers Railroad from
White River Junction into
Quebec . However, the BC&M was separated in
1889 and merged with the
Concord Railroad to form the
Concord And Montreal Railroad , which the B&M leased on
April 1 ,
1895 , gaining the Concord Railroad's direct line between
Nashua and
Concord . Additionally, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the B&M through stock, was leased to the
Maine Central Railroad by
1912 . The
Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did the
Connecticut And Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (as the Passumpsic Division).
;Northern
The
Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in
1884 , but that lease was cancelled and the Northern was on its own until
1890 , when it was released to the B&L, then part of the B&M. The Northern owned a number of lines running west from
Concord .
;Connecticut River
On
January 1 ,
1893 , the B&M leased the
Connecticut River Railroad , with a main line from
Springfield, Massachusetts north along the
Conencticut River to
White River Junction, Vermont , where the
Connecticut And Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (acquired in
1887 ) continued north.
;Concord and Montreal
As discussed above, the B&M acquired the
Boston, Concord And Montreal Railroad in
1887 , but gave it up in
1889 , allowing it to merge with the
Concord Railroad to form the
Concord And Montreal Railroad . That company did poorly on its own, and was leased by the B&M on
April 1 ,
1895 , giving the B&M the majority of lines in
New Hampshire .
;Fitchburg
The B&M leased the
Fitchburg Railroad on
July 1 ,
1900 . This was primarily a main line from Boston west via the
Hoosac Tunnel to the
Albany, New York area, with various branches.
At one point, the B&M also owned a majority of stock of the
Maine Central Railroad , stretching from
Quebec via northern
New Hampshire to southern and eastern
Maine .
The B&M flourished with the growth of New England's mill towns in the late
19th and early
20th Centuries , but still faced financial struggles. It came under the control of
J. P. Morgan and his
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad around
1910 , but anti-trust forces wrested control back. Later it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the cost of acquiring the
Fitchburg Railroad , causing a reorganization in
1919 .
Beginning in the
1930s , freight business was hurt by the leveling off of New England manufacturing growth, and by new competition from trucking.
The popularization of the
Automobile doomed B&M as a passenger carrier. It gave up on long distance
Passenger Service around
1960 and was able to continue Boston commuter service only by the aid of subsidies from the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . In
1973 the MBTA bought the
Rolling Stock and tracks near
Boston from the ailing B&M. The B&M filed for bankruptcy in December
1970 . During bankruptcy, the B&M reorganized, leasing new locomotives, rolling stock, and securing funds to upgrade its track and signal systems. It limped along through the 1970s, and reportedly was on the brink of liquidation during 1973-1974. The B&M was offered to merge its properties into the new
Conrail but opted out. Finally, in 1983 the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's
Guilford Transportation Industries for $24 million.
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In addition to the major systems described above, the B&M also built or leased many shorter lines.
;Medford
The
Medford Branch Railroad was incorporated in
1845 and absorbed by the B&M in
1846 , opening in
1847 . It provided a short connection from
Medford Junction to
Medford center, which the
Boston And Lowell Railroad had bypassed.
;Saugus
The
Saugus Branch Railroad was incorporated in
1848 , opening in
1853 as a branch from the B&M at
Edgeworth to
Lynn via
Saugus . The
Eastern Railroad bought the line soon after and cut the connection to the B&M in
1855 , connecting it instead to their new main line (the
Grand Junction Railroad ) at
Everett Junction .
;Newburyport
The
Newburyport Railroad was incorporated in
1846 . It opened from
Newburyport on the
Eastern Railroad to
Georgetown in
1849 and
1850 , and west to the B&M at
Bradford in
1851 . The
Danvers And Georgetown Railroad was organized in
1851 and opened in
1853 , running from the Newburyport Railroad at Georgetown south to
Danvers on the
Essex Branch Railroad . Finally, the
Danvers Railroad was incorporated in
1852 and opened in
1855 , continuing the line from Danvers southwest to the B&M in
Wakefield . The first two companies merged in
1855 to form a new
Newburyport Railroad . The B&M leased the Danvers Railroad in
1853 , and the combined Newburyport Railroad in
1860 , making the line from Wakefield to Newburyport the main line and the old line to Bradford a branch.
;Lowell
The
Lowell And Andover Railroad was organized in
1873 , after the
Boston And Lowell Railroad 's monopoly on Boston-Lowell service ended, and the line opened in
1874 from the B&M at
Lowell Junction in
Andover west to
Lowell , immediately being leased to the B&M.
;Methuen/Manchester
The
Methuen Branch Railroad from the B&M in
Lawrence through
Methuen to the
New Hampshire state line opened in
1849 . Concurrently, the
Manchester And Lawrence Railroad was chartered in
1847 and opened in
1849 , continuing the line in New Hampshire to
Manchester . The company leased the Methuen Branch, and leased itself to the
Concord Railroad in
1850 . That contract was terminated, and the B&M leased the line in
1887 .
;Merrimac
The
West Amesbury Branch Railroad was organized in
1868 and opened in
1873 , branching from the B&M at
Newton Junction in
New Hampshire to
Merrimac, Massachusetts (originally West Amesbury). The B&M immediately leased it.
;Alton Bay
The
Cocheco Railroad was chartered in
1847 and opened in
1849 and
1851 , running from the B&M in
Dover to
Alton Bay, New Hampshire . It was reorganized in
1863 as the
Dover And Winnipiseogee Railroad and leased to the B&M. When the B&M leased the
Concord And Montreal Railroad in
1895 , it acquired the
Lake Shore Railroad , a continuation past Alton Bay to the old
Boston, Concord And Montreal Railroad mainline at
Lakeport .
;Somersworth
The
Somersworth Branch , originally the Great Falls Branch, connected the main line at
Rollinsford, New Hampshire to
Somersworth , where the
Great Falls And Conway Railroad (later part of the
Eastern Railroad system) continued north.
;Kennebunkport
The
Kennebunk And Kennebunkport Railroad was organized in
1882 and opened in
1883 as a branch of the B&M at
Kennebunk, Maine to
Kennebunkport . It was immediately leased by the B&M.
;Orchard Beach
The
Orchard Beach Railroad was incorporated in
1876 as a branch from the B&M in
Old Orchard Beach to
Camp Ellis on the
Saco River . It opened in
1880 and the B&M bought it in
1893 .
