Boston & Maine in the 20th Century

By Bruce D. Heald Ph.D.

As the twentieth century dawned, the Boston & Maine Railroad Company controlled virtually all of the rail lines in New Hampshire, as well as much of the service in Maine and Massachusetts. Ultimately, the company operated more than 2,000 stations in northern New England. The train was the most important mode of travel, and the stations were the center of the community. Boston & Maine in the 20th Century continues the first pictorial history of the railroad company, entitled Boston & Maine in the 19th Century. With more than 200 rare images and historical narrative, the book details the trains and their destinations: the terminals, stations, depots, and whistle stops to which they sped. Times changed, and the railroad was passed by; however, its legacy lives on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 1, 2001
• ISBN: 9781439610671

Bruce D. Heald Ph.D.

Bruce D. Heald, Ph.D., has written extensively on New Hampshire�s history. In this book, he has assembled a rare collection of images from the archives of the White Mountain National Forest.

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Society.

INTRODUCTION

During the process of consolidation, virtually all of New Hampshire’s railroad corporations disappeared or ceased operating independently. By 1905, the Boston & Maine controlled all but 52 miles of New Hampshire’s 1,174 miles of commercial track. At this time, there were 14 miles of railroad to each 100 square miles of territory and a mile of railroad to every 350 inhabitants. It may appear that there was probably a larger railroad mileage than the needs of the territory required. There was never but one state west of the Mississippi River (Iowa) that had a larger proportionate mileage than all of New England.

The decline of branch line railroads between 1915 and 1926 was due not only to competition of the motor vehicles, but also to the increasing price for labor and coal. Railroads continued to furnish service by locomotives and expensive train crews even though the service could have been provided by lighter and less expensive equipment. Gasoline motorcars were introduced in 1925, patterned after the form of service in Switzerland and Italy. This went a long way toward solving the problems presented in the branch line railroads.

Throughout the 20th century, the Boston & Maine began to lose its grip on its own railroad. Early in the 20th century, it was temporarily absorbed, first by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, which was controlled by J.P. Morgan. It was later taken over by the federal government during World War II. During the Great Depression, the Boston & Maine and the Maine Central Railroad went into the airline business by going into a partnership with Pan American Airlines. They were hoping to secure a New England monopoly, but federal regulators brought it to a halt. In 1931, the Boston & Maine started to run snow trains to the New Hampshire ski resort, Mount Cranmore in North Conway, in hopes of stimulating the tourist business. Fortunately, World War II provided temporary relief, for federal troops and supplies were transported via the rail system for the war effort.

Following that war, most railroad companies, including the Boston & Maine, spent a great deal of money in order to change from a steam to a diesel locomotive. Many felt that this conversion would save New England’s railroads. They were wrong. New England’s railroads also suffered because they were located in New England. Severe winters became too expensive to maintain the manpower needed to keep the tracks, yards, and depots clear.

In 1959, the U.S. Postal Service stopped using trains for mail delivery between Boston and Portland. The Boston & Maine decided to introduce Budd cars to consolidate expenses and save the railroad. In 1969, the Boston & Maine declared bankruptcy. A railroad dynasty had closed its doors, but the memory of its legacy lives on forever.

During the final decade of the 20th century, passenger service became limited to tourist railroads and a few short miles of Amtrak service. Many railroad rights of way have been abandoned and lost, except to memory.

In the following pages, we will share those memories of when the terminals, stations, depots, and whistle stops on the rail system were the center of every community and a romance of a time gone by. Of the thousands of waiting facilities owned or leased by the Boston & Maine, we can only attempt to bring some representation in this survey of these landmarks, so as to exemplify and preserve the heritage of an era when railroads were the most important mode of transportation.

History

The Boston & Maine was chartered by the Massachusetts legislature on June 27, 1835. It was consolidated with the Boston & Portland Railroad and the Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts Railroad on January 1, 1842. The New Hampshire portion was opened from the state line to Exeter in 1840 and then to Dover in 1841. It chartered to Haymarket Square, Boston, in 1844 and opened in 1845. Between Wilmington and Boston, the Boston & Lowell Railroad was used until July 4, 1845, when an independent line was opened. Total cost of the road and equipment was $10,820,960.26, or $87,275.81 per mile. In company with the Eastern Railroad Company, the Boston & Maine leased the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth road for 99 years, at 6 percent on a capital of $1,500,000. In 1871, the Eastern Railroad Company terminated the joint lease, which paid $100,000 in damages and assumed the rental of the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth at 10 percent for 99 years. The Boston & Maine thereupon secured a charter and extended its line from South Berwick, Maine, to Portland, completing the extension in 1872 at a cost of $3,941,323. The Boston & Maine has paid an average of 8 percent since 1838.

—Bruce D. Heald, Ph.D.

One

THE BOSTON–PORTLAND DIVISION

THE NORTH UNION STATION, CAUSEWAY STREET IN BOSTON, 1909. In 1884, the Eastern Railroad was leased for 54 years, followed by the Boston & Lowell Railroad that was leased for 99 years in 1887. This meant that with the exception of the Fitchburg Railroad, which was taken over in 1900, the Boston & Maine was now in almost complete control of the northern New England rails. This control had a profound influence on the future development of the Causeway Street Station area in Boston. In Portland, the Boston & Maine made connections with the Maine Central Railroad and buses to all points in Maine with the exception of the Aroostook Railroad. The service in Canada was being furnished by the Grand Trunk Railroad, a part of the transcontinental Canadian National Railroads and by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

A BOSTON-TO-PORTLAND TIMETABLE (NORTHBOUND, 115 MILES), 1957. The main line, originally the Eastern Railroad system, was established in 1835 and is now wholly leased to the Boston & Maine. It extends between Boston and Portland for 108.29 miles, of which 16.08 miles are in Massachusetts. The Eastern Railroad was the lessee of the Portsmouth, Great Falls & Conway Railroad (71.27 miles), the Wolfeboro Railroad (12.03 miles), and the Portsmouth & Dover Railroad (10.88 miles).

THE NORTH STATION, CAUSEWAY STREET IN BOSTON, 1927.