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834	dbpedia	2	7	https://www.britannica.com/technology/railroad/Boston-railroads	en	Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry	https://cdn.britannica.c…mmuter-train.jpg	https://cdn.britannica.c…mmuter-train.jpg	[ "https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png", "https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png", "https://cdn.britannica.com/28/233928-004-9B0CF806/high-speed-railway-commuter-train.jpg", "https://cdn.britannica.com/34/4734-004-E5A545D9/New-Castle-work-Richard-Trevit...	[]	[]	[ "railroad", "encyclopedia", "encyclopeadia", "britannica", "article" ]	null	[ "James E. Vance", "Geoffrey Freeman Allen" ]	1999-07-26T00:00:00+00:00	Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry: Three Massachusetts railroads were chartered and under construction in 1830, at first showing a strong affinity for British practice. The Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester railroads radiated from the metropolis to towns no more than 70 km (45 miles) away. In 1835, when all were operating, Boston became the world’s first rail hub. As in Europe the pattern of having a metropolitan station for each line was established, though Boston had by the end of the century created a North Union Station and a South Station and an elevated railway to join them by rapid	en	/favicon.png	Encyclopedia Britannica	https://www.britannica.com/technology/railroad/Boston-railroads	Expansion into the interior The first phase of American railroad development, from 1828 until about 1850, most commonly involved connecting two relatively large cities that were fairly close neighbours. New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., or Syracuse, New York, and Rochester, New York, were examples of this phase of eastern railroad development. By 1852 this first phase was followed by six crossings of the Appalachian mountain chain, which were essentially incremental alignments of railroads first proposed to tie neighbouring cities together, and there was a need for a new strategy of routing. What followed was an extension of railroads into the interior of the continent and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
834	dbpedia	1	58	http://www.waterworkshistory.us/tech/Railroads/index.htm	en	Railroads			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Documentary History of American Water-works Introduction Historical Background Chronology Geography Biography Technology Ownership and Financing General Bibliography Bibliography Railroads Railroads Railroads using steam locomotives made their appearance in the United States in 1829 and became widely used until after the Second World War when they were replaced by diesel-electric and electric locomotives. Steam locomotives used large amounts of fuel (wood and coal) and water. By 1921 American railroads consumed over 900 billion gallons of water annually, or about 2.5 billion gallons daily, more than any single water system delivered. Railroad companies could either develop their own water systems or buy water from local water works where they existed (if the price was right). Water systems developed by railroads would often serve nearby railroad properties, including stations, maintenance shops and hotels, but in many cases would supply water to communities. References 1850 Observations on the consumption of fuel and the evaporation of water in locomotive and other steam engines, by Edward Woods. 1851 The Locomotive Engine: Including a Description of Its Structure, Rules for Estimating Its Capabilities, and Practical Observations on Its Construction and Management, by Zerah Colburn 1870 Union Pacific Railroad: Report of G.M. Dodge, Chief Engineer, with Accompanying Reports of Chiefs of Parties, for 1868-'69 1870 The Central Pacific railroad: a trip across the North American continent from Ogden to San Francisco. 1870 How We Built the Union Pacific Railway: And Other Railway Papers and Addresses, by Grenville M. Dodge 1871 Garnered Sheaves from the Writings of Albert D. Richardson, by Albert Deane Richardson Page 285: Sherman, like other desert stations, has a windmill some twenty feet in diameter, which pumps water up from a spring into a high tank beside the track. The tank holds fifty thousand gallons; the pump will fill it in ten hours. When it is full, the water lifts a little float: that pulls a wire, the wire shuts up the sails of the windmill, a dozen yards away, and it instantly stops. When the tank gets nearly empty, the action of another float opens the sails, and the windmill starts again. The cost of the ingenious apparatus all set up is about six thousand dollars. It might be used to great advantage for irrigating. It is one of a thousand instances in which modern machinery, not content with merely utilizing the forces of Nature, disciplines them into doing their appointed work, without any eye to overlook them or any hand to regulate. Page 289: Another day upon the desert. It seems to stretch out to the crack of doom. Nobody can realize how great a work this has been until he takes the long ride of four or five days and nights through dreary wastes and unbroken solitudes. On this immediate portion of the road the alkali water would corrode boilers and soon destroy them. For a hundred miles, therefore, water is carried in tanks, upon platform cars, for the locomotives. A supply will ultimately be brought from the Truckee River, thirty-three miles, through bored tamarack logs. Several stations are already furnished in that way, from springs six or eight miles distant. On the Union Pacific, also, through the Bitter Creek country, water is carried thirty or forty miles upon trains, to overcome the same difficulty. 1872 A First Person Account by Walter Scott Fitz of his Remarkable 36-Day Transcontinental Rail Journey from Boston to San Francisco including a Three Week, Snowbound Passage Between Cheyenne & Bitter Creek in Wyoming via the UPRR. Jan. 14 to Feb. 19, 1872. 1873 Report of the Government Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad, December 1, 1873. Pages 75-76: Location of 75 water-stations, dimensions of tank, power used, and source of supply. 1883 1880 Census: Volume 4. Report on the Agencies of Transportation in the United States, including the Statistics of Railroads, Steam Navigation, Canals, Telegraphs, and Telephones 1883 Profiles, maps and alignment of main tracks, yards, switches and side tracks of New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio rail road and its branch lines : together with information referring to Bridges, Water supply, Railroad and Road crossings, culverts, grades and curves 1889 The American Railway: Their Construction, Development, Management, and Appliances, by Thomas McIntyre Cooley 1890 "Union Pacific Water Tanks," Railroad Gazette 22:614 (September 5, 1890) Includes illustration. 1890 The Railways of America: Their Construction, Development, Management, and Appliances, by Thomas McIntyre Cooley 1893 Report of the Commissioner of Railroads Pages 103-128: Report of Railroad Engineer. Description of railroad properties including water supply 1893 Buildings and Structures of American Railroads: A Reference Book for Railroad Managers, Superintendents, Master Mechanics, Engineers, Architects, and Students, by Walter Gilman Berg Pages 113-129: Chapter XIV. Water Stations. 1900 The Resistance of Locomotives and Trains: And the Water- and Coal-consumption and Power of Locomotives, by Albert Frank 1904 Official Proceedings of the New York Railroad Club 14:283 (October 1904) Water consumption for 10 miles, flat-bearing trains 33,198 lbs. [3,978 gallons or 39.8 gallons per mile] Water consumption for 10 miles, ball-bearing trains 33,300 lbs. [3,990 gallons or 39.9 gallons per mile] 1916 In the Matter of the Complaint of J. E. Mills, et. al. vs Green River Water Company, September 20, 1916, Public Service Commission of the State of Wyoming \| also here \| 1917 "Railway Water Supply," Railway and Locomotive Engineering 30(6):182-184 (June, 1917) Consumption and cost - lakes and ponds furnish the best water The estimated annual consumption of water by locomotives alone on the railroads of the United States is 450,000,000,000 gallons. Water used per engine mile: Consolidation Locomotives - 219.6 gallons Mallet Locomotives - 257.6 gallons Mikado Locomotive - 202.5 gallons 1919 History of the Union Pacific railroad: issued by the Union Pacific railroad on the occasion of the celebration at Ogden, Utah, May 10th, 1919, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike. 1921 "Keeping the Railroads Afloat," by Charles Frederick Carter, Scientific American 125:218 (September 24, 1921) \| pdf \| The Water That Our Steam Lines Use in a Year and What They Do With it. According to C. R. Knowles, Superintendent of Water Service of the Illinois Central Railroad, recognized as the foremost authority on the subject, the estimated annual consumption of water by the railroads is 900,000,000,000 gallons. As a considerable proportion of the water used by railroads, amounting to 23 percent in some instances, is purchased from municipal or private water corporations, and hence is metered, and as a number of the larger companies have water service departments which keep careful records, this estimate is more than a mere guess. 1921 "Construction of the Pacific Railroad," American Railway Engineering Society 23(237):7-47 (July 1921) 1921 "Railway Uses of Concrete," American Railway Engineering Society 23(238) (August1921) Pages 84-: Water Tanks 1923 "Guaranty Status of Union Pacific Water Company," January 18, 1923, Interstate Commerce Commission Reports 1924 Epic of the Overland, by Robert Lardin Fulton 1926 The overland mail 1849-1869: promoter of settlement, precursor of railroads, by Le Roy Reuben Hefan 1950 The First Transcontinental Railroad: Central Pacific, Union Pacific by John Debo Galloway, C. E. 1979 A History of the American Locomotive: Its Development, 1830-1880, by John H. White Page 223: Tenders. Owing to the disproportionate demand of the locomotive for water as compared to fuel, tenders were essentially a water tank. The ratio of water to coal consumption was roughtly 7 to 1. Tenders were generally designed so that the fuel and water supply were equivalent. In 1851 Colburn notes that an engine on the Boston and Lowell Railroad consumed 925.6 gallons of water during a 26-mile run. A locomotive during this period could expect 25 miles per cord of wood. A good average capacity for a tender of this period would be 1,000 gallons of water and one cord of wood; it can be seen that both commodities were adequate for about a 25-mile run. 1980 The Architecture and Engineering of Elevated Water Storage Structures: 1870-1940, by Carol Ann Dubie, M. A. Thesis, George Washington University. Thanks to the author for allowing this valuable resource to be scanned and included in this history. 1991 "Railroads and Water in the Arid Far West: The Southern Pacific Company as a Pioneer Water Developer," by Richard J. Orsi, California History, 70(1):46-61 (Spring, 1991) \| Notes pages 135-138 \| 1997 American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830-1880, by John H. White. 2000 "The Standardization of Track Gauge on North American Railways, 1830-1890," by Douglas J. Puffert, The Journal of Economic History 60(4):933-960 (December 2000) 2001 Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive, by J. Parker Lamb \| table of contents \| 2022 Reservoirs of the Horseshoe Curve, by Mark Glenn \| Altoona Reservoir System The Making of an American Water Landmark (video) \| © 2020 Morris A. Pierce
834	dbpedia	3	41	https://millmuseum.org/railroads-and-mills/	en	Railroads and Mills	https://millmuseum.org/w…-EARLY-1900s.jpg	https://millmuseum.org/w…-EARLY-1900s.jpg	[ "https://i0.wp.com/millmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cropped-museumlogo-TRANSPARENTcorners.png?fit=964%2C960&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/millmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TRAIN-AT-WILLIMANTIC-c.-EARLY-1900s.jpg?resize=286%2C215&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/millmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2019-03-14T17:43:12+00:00	Railroads and the MillsJamie H. EvesThe Industrial Revolution relied on cheap transportation of goods in bulk. The textile factories that dominated eastern Connecticut during its Industrial Age (c. 1800-1985) needed to haul in the raw cotton, wool, and silk from which they made their products, and carry away the finished thread and cloth, and after…	en	https://i0.wp.com/millmu…it=32%2C32&ssl=1	Windham Textile and History Museum - The Mill Museum	https://millmuseum.org/railroads-and-mills/	One important artifact of the Age of Rail in Connecticut is a large-scale, cloth-backed, elegantly engraved 1902 wall map titled “The National Publishing Company’s Railroad, Post Office, Township and County Map of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with Distances in Figures Compiled from the Latest Government Surveys and Original Sources.” It provides a snapshot of rail transportation at the turn of the century, when the railroads were at their height. According to the map, a century ago a dense web of rail lines crisscrossed Connecticut. The “trunk line” (“main line”) was owned by the busy, prosperous New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company (N. Y. N. H. & H.), which snaked eastward along Long Island Sound from New York City to New Haven in a series of lazy, undulating loops. In New Haven, it split into two smaller trunks, one continuing east along the Sound to Providence, Rhode Island, the other heading north, first to Hartford and then across the state line to Springfield, Massachusetts. Numerous “branch lines” (“short lines”) – some owned by the N. Y. N. H. & H. and others by smaller companies – split off from the two trunks, linking all eight of Connecticut’s counties into one efficient, integrated system. All told, only 27 of the state’s 168 towns (16%) were without rail service – and every one of these was a small, rural, hill community like Goshen, Bethlehem, Voluntown, or Union. Well over 95% of the state’s residents lived within ten miles of a train station. Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Willimantic were the state’s rail “hubs,” with eight, six, six and six “spokes,” respectively. Hartford was the state capital, an important river port, and a center for the manufacture of precision machines. New Haven was a seaport. Waterbury was a center for metal manufacturing. And Willimantic produced cloth and thread. Bridgeport (machines and textiles), Manchester (textiles), and Norwich (textiles) also had important rail connections. For about a century, from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, railroads and trolleys functioned as the chief means of moving large quantities of people and freight in Connecticut and the rest of the United States. The earliest American railroads were horse-drawn short lines, such as John Montressor’s “gravity road” around Niagara Falls and John Thompson’s “tramroad” in Pennsylvania. But the invention of the coal-powered steam engine by the Scottish engineer James Watt in the 1760s, together with its successful application to riverboats by the New York inventor Robert Fulton in 1807, launched an eventual switch from horses to steam and made railroads practical. The first steam railroad in North America was the Baltimore and Ohio (B. & O.); construction on the B. & O. had begun in 1828, but the company switched from horses to steam in 1831. Other railroads quickly followed: the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad in 1832, the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1833, the Columbia Railroad of Pennsylvania in 1834, and the Boston and Providence Railroad in 1835. In Connecticut, the Age of Rail commenced in the 1840s with the construction of the New York and New Haven Railroad (N. Y. & N. H.), the forerunner of the N. Y. N. H. & H. The company received its state charter in 1844, was organized in 1846, and opened in 1849. Like most American railroads, the N. Y. & N. H. was a privately owned business – a corporation – but it nevertheless relied on government subsidies for survival. Indeed, without government support, long-distance railroads rarely made a profit. The N. Y. & N. H.’s 450-mile looping route along Long Island Sound from New Haven to New York – with stops in West Haven, Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Southport, Westport, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, and Greenwich – can be viewed on an elegant, detailed 1845 “Map Exhibiting the Experimental and Located Lines for the New-York and New-Haven Rail-Road,” at the Library of Congress’s superb “American Memory” website at http://memory.loc.gov. In 1872 the New York and New Haven merged with the New Haven and Hartford Railroad to form the giant N. Y. N. H. & H. It continued to grow, and by the early 1900s had absorbed more than twenty-five other railroad companies, owned 2,047 miles of track in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and was an important cog in the corporate empire of the Connecticut-born tycoon J. P. Morgan. A good map of the mature, turn-of-the-century Connecticut railroad network – “Map of the Railroads of Connecticut to Accompany the Report of the Railroad Commissioners, 1893” – can be viewed at the “American Memory” website. To find out more about trains and Willimantic, I visited the Thomas R. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, where I looked through old train schedules of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (N.Y.N.H.&H.) that are preserved as part of the Dodd Center’s Connecticut Electric Railway Association Collection. Although these schedules applied only to passenger trains and not to freight trains, they nevertheless provided insight into the history of railroads in Willimantic. According to the schedules, in the 1920s and 1930s, as many as twelve N.Y.N.H.&H. passenger trains left Willimantic each day. One route – which in January, 1927, departed twice a day, at 6:45 and 11:00 AM – was a local, heading southwest to Middletown, with stops along the way at Chestnut Hill, Leonard’s Bridge, Amston, Westchester, Lyman Viaduct, East Hampton, Cobalt-Middle Haddam, and Portland. A second route in 1927, departing Willimantic only once a day, at 9:25 AM, traveled east to Pomfret and Putnam before crossing the state line into Rhode Island. It arrived at Providence at 11:47 and Boston at 12:09, covering 140 miles in about two hours and forty-five minutes, an average speed of about 50 miles an hour. A third route in 1927, to Hartford, was the busiest, with seven trains departing daily, at 7:10, 10:08, and 11:29 AM, and at 2:23, 3:45, 6:11, and 8:09 PM. The morning trains were locals, with regular stops at Andover, Bolton, and Manchester, and whistle stops (the train stopped only if someone requested it) at Hop River, Rockville Junction, Talcottville, Buckland, and Burnside. The afternoon trains had fewer stops. After a brief layover in Hartford (between 20 and 30 minutes), the train continued on to Meriden, New Haven, and New York. The trip from Willimantic to Hartford took about an hour; the journey to New York lasted about four hours and 30 minutes. Unlike the other two routes, this one also operated on Sundays, although with fewer runs. The passenger trains that stopped in Willimantic featured a combination of parlor cars and coaches, but no sleepers. Sleepers did run on the other Boston-to-Hartford-to-New York route – the one that went through Springfield, Massachusetts, instead of Willimantic – but passengers were told that their berths would not be available until 9:00 at night, and that they had to be out of them by 6:40 in the morning. Nevertheless, railroad’s relicts remain on the land, inviting historical inspection. Several passenger and freight lines still run, including the Amtrack commuter line along Long Island Sound, which uses the old N. Y. N. H. & H. tracks. Most of the bed of the old branch line from Hartford to Providence still exists, too, converted by the state into a horse, bicycle, and walking trail. It is a venerable route. According to Hans DePold, the town historian of Bolton, one of the towns along the trail, a group of Connecticut businessmen first drew up plans for a Hartford-to-Providence railroad in 1833, at the very dawn of the Age of Rail. Fifteen years later in 1847, they chartered the Hartford & Providence Railroad, renamed the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill when they decided to extend the line west to Fishkill, New York, on the Hudson River. Construction began almost immediately, and by 1849 – the same year that the New York and New Haven opened for business – the railroad connected Hartford to Willimantic. However, like most of the early railroads, it struggled financially. Eventually, the larger, wealthier New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company absorbed it. Now part of a larger system, the line remained in operation until 1956. Today, hikers routinely walk along portions of the old H. P. & F. bed between Bolton and Willimantic, a distance of about 14 miles. Relict evidence shows that, like other railroads, the H. P. & F. significantly altered the environment through which it passed. Although all of the steel rails and most of the heavy wooden ties have been removed, the bed and other artifacts remain, providing ample evidence of the railroad’s impact. The top of the bed was approximately ten feet wide, and amazingly level. To save fuel, the steep, craggy Connecticut hills were graded into gentle slopes, and the route was laid out with straight lines and wide, easy turns. Rather than detour around the hills, the construction crews dynamited deep “cuts” through hilltops and rocky outcrops, creating artificial gorges that remain cool, moist, and shady even on hot summer days. To cross the “lows,” the crews built high, sloping, raised beds, often several hundred feet wide at the base, which tower above the land. Even when the terrain was relatively level, beds were still elevated several feet above the surface, to make sure the tracks remained dry. In the cuts, deep ditches running along each side of the track drained excess water. Elsewhere, the beds sloped slightly to one side, where a single ditch disposed of the runoff. Mosses grow on the craggy, gray shale walls of the cuts. In the spring rivulets of cold, clear meltwater trickle noisily over the exposed rocks. Immense amounts of fill were needed to construct these beds – far more than would have been supplied from the limited amounts of rock and gravel the crews removed from the cuts. Where had it all come from? Hikers see little evidence of trackside borrow pits. Indeed, numerous stone fences indicate that farmers’ fields and pastures occupied most of the land beyond the railroad’s right-of-way, and these seem unlikely sources of fill. Scooping out parts of the bed with your hands, a hiker can unearth numerous gravel-sized particles of red sandstone, common enough in the Connecticut Valley around Hartford, but rare in the eastern hills around Bolton and Willimantic. Perhaps the company had commenced constructing the railroad at Hartford and, inching eastward, used their trains and newly laid tracks to haul the fill from the Valley. If so, they had reversed the pattern of nature, moving earth from lower to higher elevations. Other relicts are also visible. Chunks of coal lay in the ditches. A few gaunt, silver-gray telegraph poles pitch at eccentric angles, most with five crosstrees, indicating that, in addition to the telegraph wires, they possibly carried telephone and even electric wires as well. Although the surrounding countryside is thickly wooded, ample evidence exists that such was not the case a hundred years ago. The stone fences that snake through the woods indicate that the entire area was once open farmland. This means that the railroad would have had to make accommodations for those farmers whose fields lay on both sides of the tracks. Indeed, at several locations old farm roads, now abandoned, cross the railroad, their locations marked by rusty steel gates. The historian Leo Marx characterizes railroads, trains, and other nineteenth-century technologies as “machines in the garden.” Hikers walking along the old railroad bed, climbing into the high, flinty hills surrounding Bolton Notch, may reflect that he is right. One imagines the countryside as it must have looked a century ago – an open, undulating land of farms and fields, with only a few trees, and the great sweeping vistas of the Hop River Valley below. The green, pastoral landscape would have offered a compelling contrast to the sooty black trains, the billowing clouds of coal smoke, the piercing whistle of the steam engines, the loud chuffing of gears, and the rhythmic clacking of the steel wheels on the rails.
834	dbpedia	1	19	https://www.loc.gov/item/ma1194/	en	Boston & Maine Railroad, Charles River Bridges, Charles River, North Station vicinity, Boston, Suffolk County, MA	http://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1100/ma1194/photos/076450pv.jpg	http://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1100/ma1194/photos/076450pv.jpg	[ "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/logo-loc-new-branding.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/social-media/facebook.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/social-media/twitter.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/share/link.svg", "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma110...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Photo(s): 2 \| Data Page(s): 3 \| Photo Caption Page(s): 1	en		The Library of Congress	https://www.loc.gov/item/ma1194/	The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. 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834	dbpedia	3	57	https://www.bmrrhs.org/onlinearchives	en	Online Archives — Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/336c133a-16c9-46b9-9496-da9e8334707b/favicon.ico?format=100w	Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	https://www.bmrrhs.org/onlinearchives	The Online Archives page is divided into a section for BOSTON AND MAINE RAILROAD and related roads and a section for MAINE CENTRAL RAILROAD and related roads. The Boston and Maine section is further divided into Part 1. Reference Materials and Part 2. Railroad Documents. The linked items below represent only a small part of the materials held in our physical Archives at 40 French Street Lowell. Download our CATALOG. Download our Classification list. Download the GUIDE TO THE B&MRRHS ARCHIVES. Latest Updates 8-2-2024 Added List of Thompson consist articles in the B&M Bulletin compiled by John S. Horvath Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad had a close relationship with the Boston and Maine Railroad throughout its history. The Eastern Railroad gained control of Maine Central in 1871. B&M leased ERR in 1884 and thereby controlled MEC. When, in 1907, New Haven gained control of the B&M, MEC came into the New Haven sphere. In 1914 a group of investors purchased a controlling interest in MEC from B&M and independence was re-established. This notwithstanding, from 1933 to 1955 the two railroads entered into an agreement to be operated as separate railroads under a common management and shared many general officers. In the Guilford/PanAm and CSX eras the two roads were operated as a single system. Many of the MEC materials that we present in our On-Line Archives were submitted and scanned by Archives Committee member David Ashenden. Abandonments Accident Investigation Reports - Interstate Commerce Commission, Federal Railroad Administration Clinton, Me., Oct. 26, 1949 Accounting Equipment, 1924 (MECRR Magazine) Annual Reports 1886-93 Chronology, 2020 (compiled by David Ashenden) Chronology, 1976 (MEC Messenger) Employee Magazine We are grateful to Dick Glueck of the New England Steam Corporation for providing many issues of the MEC Employee Magazine for scanning and for giving us permission to make scans available on our website. Additional issues came from Rick Conard in 2022. Many hours of scanning time were contributed by Archives Committee member David Ashenden. His project of scanning and indexing the magazine is ongoing. Employee Magazine Index Employee Magazine Catalog 1924 Employee Magazine, January 1924, Part 1 Employee Magazine, January 1924, Part 2 Employee Magazine, February 1924 Employee Magazine, March 1924, Part 1 Employee Magazine, March 1924, Part 2 Employee Magazine, April 1924 MAY WANTED Employee Magazine, June 1924 COMPLETE ISSUE WANTED Employee Magazine, July 1924 COMPLETE ISSUE WANTED Employee Magazine, August 1924, Part 1 Employee Magazine, August 1924, Part 2 Employee Magazine, September 1924, Part 1 Employee Magazine, September 1924, Part 2 Employee Magazine, October 1924, Part 1 COMPLETE ISSUE WANTED Employee Magazine, October 1924, Part 2 Employee Magazine, November 1924 Employee Magazine, December 1924 COMPLETE ISSUE WANTED 1925 Employee Magazine, January 1925 Employee Magazine, February 1925, Part 1 Employee Magazine, February 1925, Part 2 MARCH WANTED Employee Magazine, April 1925, Part 1 Employee Magazine, April 1925, Part 2 Employee Magazine, May 1925 Employee Magazine, June 1925 JULY WANTED Employee Magazine, August 1925 Employee Magazine, September 1925 Employee Magazine, October 1925 Employee Magazine, November 1925 Employee Magazine, December 1925 1926 — January Part 1, January Part 2,February, MARCH WANTED, April,May NEED COMPLETE ISSUE, June, JULY WANTED, August,September,October,November,December 1927 — January,February,March,April,May, June,July,August,September Part 1,September Part 2,October,November,December Part 1,December Part 2 1928 — January Part 1,January Part 2,February,March,April Part 1,April Part 2,May,June,July,August,September,November, OCTOBER WANTED, December Part 1,December Part 2,December Part 3 1929 — January, COMPLETE JANUARY WANTED, February,March, COMPLETE MARCH WANTED, April Part 1,April Part 2, May, COMPLETE MAY WANTED, JUNE WANTED, July,August Part 1,August Part 2, August Part 3, SEPTEMBER WANTED, October, November,December 1930 — January,February,March, April,May,June, July,August,September,October, November DECEMBER WANTED 1944 — November, December ALL OTHER 1944 ISSUES WANTED 1945 — January,February, March,April, May,June,July,August, September,Undated ALL OTHER 1945 ISSUES WANTED 1946 — April, September ALL OTHER 1946 ISSUES WANTED 1947 — Undated. ALL 1947 ISSUES WANTED 1948 — JANUARY WANTED, FEBRUARY WANTED, MARCH WANTED, April,May,June,July,August,September,October, NOVEMBER WANTED, December 1949 — JANUARY WANTED, FEBRUARY WANTED, MARCH WANTED, April,May,June, JULY WANTED, August,September,October,November,December 1950 — January, FEBRUARY WANTED, March,April,May, June,July, AUGUST WANTED, September,October,November,December 1951 — January, February,March,April, MAY WANTED, June,July, COMPLETE JULY WANTED, AUGUST WANTED, September,October, COMPLETE OCTOBER WANTED, November,December 1952 — January,February,March,April,May,June, July, AUGUST WANTED, September, October, NOVEMBER WANTED, December 1953 — January, February, MARCH WANTED, April, May, June,July,August,September,October,November,December 1954 — JANUARY WANTED, February,March, APRIL WANTED, May,June, July,August,September, October, NOVEMBER WANTED (NOT SURE IF ISSUED), December 1955 — January,February,March,April, COMPLETE APRIL WANTED, May,June, COMPLETE JUNE WANTED, July, August, September,October,November,December 1956 — January,February,March,April, MAY WANTED, June,July,August,September,October, November,December 1957 — January, February, March, April,May,June, July,August,September, October, November-December 1958 — JANUARY-FEBRUARY WANTED, March-April,May-June,July-August, September-October,November-December 1959 — January-February,March-April,May-June,July-August,September-October,November-December 1960 — November 1961 — January, February,March,April,May,June, July, August, September,October,November,December 1962 — January,February,March,April,May,June, July,August,September, October, November,December 1963 — January,February, March, April,May,June,July,August,September, October, November,December 1964 — January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December 1965 — January,February,March, April,May, June,July, August, September,October, November, December 1966 — January,February,March, April, May,June,July,August (missing pp 3-6),September,October, November,December 1967 — January,February, March,April,May,June,July,August,September, October (Complete Issue Needed), November,December 1968 — January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October, November, December 1969 — January,February,March, April,May,June,July, August,September,October,November, December 1970 — January, February, March,April,May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December 1971 — January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December 1972 — February-March,April-May,June-July,August-September,October-November, December ‘72-January ‘73 1973 — February-March,April-May,June-July,August-September,October-November,December ‘73-January ‘74 1974 — February-March,April-May,June-July, August-September,October-November,December ‘74-January ‘75 1975 — February-March 1976 — January, Summer, Fall (With Historical Section) 1977 — Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall 1978 — Winter, Spring, Summer,Fall 1979 — Winter, Spring-Summer,Fall 1980 — Winter, Spring,Summer,Fall 1981 — Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall 1982 — Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall ‘82-Winter’83 Frankenstein Trestle, Notes on the Name of Maps Right of Way and Track Maps. See Valuation Vacationland . 1927 Passenger Equipment Parlor, Sleeping, and Dining Car Service, 26 June 1916 Postwar Passenger Equipment Roster, by Peter Espy Pine Tree Flyer. A magazine about Maine railroad history. Six issues were published between 1981 and 1983. Publication was suspended and never resumed. Vol. 1 No. 1 (1981) Vol. 1 No. 2 (1982) Vol. 1 No. 3 (1982) Vol. 1 No. 4 (1982) Vol. 2 No. 1 (1982) Vol. 2 No. 2 (1983) Rules Review Book, March 1943 Schedule of Valuation Sections (TIFF Image), June 30, 1916 Stations. Handbook of Officers, Agents, Stations and Sidings, 1917. (Digital Commons) Locomotives Steam. Early (from R&LHS Bulletin) Time Tables Arrival and Departure of Boston and Maine and Maine Central Trains at Portland Union Station, 20 January 1918. (Portland Terminal Company) Employee Time Table No. 34, Maine Central, Sept. 24, 1922, Eastern Div. Employee Time Table No. 1, Maine Central, Apr. 30, 1933, System Employee Time Table No. 2, Maine Central, Jun. 26, 1933, System Employee Time Table No. 4, Maine Central, Apr. 29, 2934, System Employee Time Table No. 8, Maine Central, Sept. 29, 1935, System Employee Time Table No. 8, Maine Central, Supplement No. 2, March 1936 Employee Time Table No. 21, Maine Central, Apr. 27, 1941. Schedules Employee Time Table No. 21, Maine Central, Apr. 27, 1941. Rules Employee Time Table No. 22, Portland Terminal Company, Apr. 27, 1930 Official Guide, April 1913, MECRR section Passenger Time Table, June 23, 1913. Maine Central Part A Passenger Time Table, June 23, 1913. Maine Central Part B Passenger Time Table, June 1930. Maine Central Part A Passenger Time Table, June 1930. Maine Central Part B Passenger Time Table, April 28, 1946. Maine Central Passenger Time Table, October 30, 1955. Maine Central Employee Time Table No. 22, Nov 11, 1973 (Digital File from R. Todd Minsk Collection) Employee Time Table No. 1, May 14, 1978 (Digital File from R. Todd Minsk Collection) Valuation Right of Way and Track Maps (Valuation Plans, Valmaps, Valplans) Valuation Sections Index Map, 1916 Valuation Sections, Schedule of, 1916 Valuation Sections, Schedule of, compiled by Robert P. Fuller, 2010
834	dbpedia	2	60	https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/attraction/history-railroads/	en	Lakes Region New Hampshire Castles	https://lakewinnipesauke…R-1897-Winni.jpg		[ "https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/lake_logo.png", "https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Dockside-AltonHistory.jpg", "https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/RR-1897-Winni.jpg", "https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WinniMap.jpg",...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2018-03-28T12:00:46+00:00	The early railroads played a huge part in the development of the lakes region in New Hampshire long ago. The railroad system gave the wealthy ability to vacation at Lake Winnipesaukee	en		Lake Winnipesaukee Info \| Lakes Region New Hampshire Information - NH Vacation Attractions, Dining, Lodging, Boating, Beaches, Fishing, Hiking, Snowmobiling	https://lakewinnipesaukee.net/attraction/history-railroads/	‘Railroads’ – Lake Winnipesaukee NH During the early 1800s, the growth of the textile industry and an increasing population brought about the need for better transportation of raw material to New England’s manufacturing centers. In 1830, a project was proposed to build a railroad between Boston and Lowell, a distance of 26 miles. On June 24, 1835, the Boston & Lowell Railroad was opened for service. The Boston & Lowell was considered the first and principal link to what was known as the great Northern Route. From Lowell, the line was continued by the Nashua & Lowell Railroad. This line then extended by the Concord Railroad along the Merrimack Valley to Concord, New Hampshire, and then by the Northern Railroad to the Connecticut River in Lbeanon. From there, it continued through Vermont to connect with the Montreal Railroad, a distance of 326 miles from Boston. In addition to these extensive lines with the Boston & Lowell was the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, which proceeded from Concord, New Hampshirem and throughout the White Mountains connecting with the Grand Trunk and the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad. On August 8, 1848, the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad between Concord and Meredith Bridge opened-an important development to the growth of what is now Laconia. In the following year, the road was extended to Lake Village (Lakeport). This event marked one of the largest celebrations these towns in the Lakes Region had ever seen. In 1839, a charter was granted to the Dover & Winnipesaukee Railroad to build tracks from Dover to Alton Bay-a total of 29 miles. The charter lapsed, but eight years later another was granted under the name of Cocheco Railroad. By 1848, tracks had been laid as far as Farmington and a year later were completed to Alton Bay. Lake Winnipesaukee Railroad 1909 In 1847, a charter was granted to build the Lake Shore Railroad between Laconia and Alton Bay. This 18-mile road was established to connect the Cocheco road, on the eastern side of New Hampshire with the old Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad at Meredith. Due to the lack of finances, this construction was postponed for over 40 years, leaving the original charter to expire. Finally, 1883, the charter was granted and left in the lands of Charles A. Busiel and his associates. In 1887, both the Concord Railroad and the Boston and Maine offered to build the Lake Shore Line. In June 17, 1890, The Lake Shore Railroad was opened by the Concord Railroad Corporation, connecting Alton Bay to Lakeport. The Cocheco Railroad played an important part in the race for supremacy on the lake with Concord & Montreal Railroad during these early days of transportation. The Cocheco Comapny, who had also buillt the steamer Dover, was an intense rival of the Concord & Montreal. The Weirs was a forbidden port to craft operated by the Dover & Winnipesaukee, which had taken over the Cocheco in 1863, as Alton Bay was off limits to the boats of the Concord & Montreal. The race was finally won by the Dover & Winnipesaukee Railroad after construction of the steamer Mount Washington in 1872, and the line was taken over by the Boston and Maine in attempt to consolidate its lines in outlying districts. Towns and villages that were few in number had become centers of industries. While wealth, like the currents of the state’s rivers, was attracted to the waterfalls, the source of power, it was left for the railroads to foster the hum of spindles, the rumble of looms, the tap of hammers, each being symbols of public prosperity. Where the iron horse had not penetrated, silence had fallen on the scene and natural resources were left to waste. And not only did the manufacturing and business interests depend on the railroad for their welfare, but the portable mill of the most remote lumberman, the summer home in he mountains, the many industries of the state, all were affected by the railroads. 20th Century Railways Railroads flourished throught the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, but as time passed, interstate highways were improved and the trains became replaced by the automobiles. The trains to Alton Bay continued to operate until July 9, 1935, but the with the decreases of passenger service hastened by the prolfic number of automobiles, the trains ceased operations-a great loss to the area. With the growth and development of the steam locomotive throughout the state came the advent of the steamboats for the lake travel on Lake Winnipesaukee. During the nineteenth century, competition between the railroad companies did much toward that connected the towns and villages of the Lakes Region, it is easy to see that water travel was fast, convenient, and an accepted means of transportation for decades. Railroad stations were a common sight on every public dock throughout the region, where trains would transfer passengers to one of the railroad-owned steamboats for the next jaunt. All these towns were laced together by boat lines and smaller crafts connecting between the islands and smaller communities. On any day, one could find more than a dozen steamboats throwing soot into the air as they carried passengers and freight to all points throughout the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.
834	dbpedia	0	96	https://dokumen.pub/american-railroads-9780226776606.html	en	American Railroads 9780226776606	https://dokumen.pub/img/…780226776606.jpg	https://dokumen.pub/img/…780226776606.jpg	[ "https://dokumen.pub/dokumenpub/assets/img/dokumenpub_logo.png", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/railroads-and-american-economic-growth.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/government-promotion-of-american-canals-and-railroads-1800-1890-9780231883221-i-2495980.jpg", "https://dokumen.pub/img/200x200/governm...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Few scenes capture the American experience so eloquently as that of a lonely train chugging across the vastness of the G...	en	https://dokumen.pub/doku…e-icon-57x57.png	dokumen.pub	https://dokumen.pub/american-railroads-9780226776606.html	Citation preview American Kailroads JOHN F. STOVER is Professor Emeritus of History at Purdue University and the author of several hooks, including The Lije and Decline of the American Railroad (1971); History of the Illinois Central Railroad ( I 975); Iron Road t o the West (1978); and Histoly of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (1987). The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London 0 1961, 1997 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Second Edition published 1997 Printed in the United States of America 06 05 04 03 0 2 01 00 99 98 2 3 4 5 Title page illustration courtesy of the Albany Institute of History and Art Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stover, John E American railroads /John F. Stover. - 2nd ed. cm. - (The Chicago history of American civilization) p. Includes hihliographical references and index. ISBN 0-226-77657-3 (cloth : alk. paper). ISBN 0-226-77658-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) I . Railroads-United States-History I. Series. HE275I.S7 I997 97-449 CIP ~ 0 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence per for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1984. of Pa- For Charry, Bob, and John This Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents List of Illustrations / ix List of Tables / x Editor’s Foreword to the Second Edition / xi Editor’s Foreword to the First Edition / xiii Acknowledgments / xvii I. ‘A Perfect System of Roads and Canals” / 2 . First Rails / 10 I 3. Early- Maturity: Expansion and War / 35 4. The Rails Move West / 61 5. Corruption, Discrimination, and Regulation / 96 6. Uniformity and Consolidation / 1 3 3 7 . Railroads at War / 167 8. Railroads in Decline after World War I / 9. Troubles in the 1960s and 1970s / 10.The Staggers Rail Act of 1y80 and Many Mergers / Index / 287 226 Brings Prosperity 245 Important Dates / 263 Suggested Reading / 192 273 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Illustrations PAGE MAPS 22-23 Eastern Seaports Seek Western Markets 46-47 Growth of Railroads in the United States before the Civil War 79 148-49 Major Trans-Mississippi and Pacific Railroads Principal Companies o f the Seven Major Railroad Combinations in the Early Twentieth Century 236 h t r a k Routes, 1971 PAGE PHOTOGRAPHS A N D PORTRAITS ‘7 The “DeWitt Clinton” ‘7 18 Chicago’s first railroad station Valley Creek Bridge 18 Potomac Creek Bridge A wrecked locomotive at Richmond, Virginia 53 53 54 54 ‘04 104 106 Rails stored at Alexandria, Virginia Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania Depot at Stratford, Connecticut End of track, 1867 Six of a kind Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt Illzlstra tions I 06 '07 107 Jay Gould Thomas A. Scott 210 Edward H. Harriman Passenger business was good in the 1880's 210 Van Buren Street Station 211 211 248 248 Railroad yard in I 91 7 Two piggyback trains Harley 0. Staggers Hays T. Watkins 2SI L. Stanley Crane W. Graham Claytor, Jr. Union Pacific Unit Coal Train CSX double stacked container train PAGE TABLES 93 Table 4.1: Railroad Freight Rates from 1870-1900 Table 6. I : American Railroads in Their Golden Age 249 249 250 '65 183 '94 204 205 206 218 219 227 Table 7. I : Increases in Operating Efficiency, Freight Service Table 8. I : American Railroads in Decline Table 8.2: Growth and Decline of Railway Mileage by States Table 8.3: Growth and Decline of Railway Mileage Table 8.4: Increase in Operating Efficiency, Freight Service Table 8.j:Distribution of Intercity Freight Traffic Table 8.6: Intercity Commercial Passenger Traffic in the United States Table 9. I : Railroad Freight Ton-Miles X Editor’s Foreword to the Second Edition As Mr. Stover explains in this book, since their appearance on the American scene railroads have played a decisive role in nearly ev- ery major movement in American history. And he succinctly explains how those roles have changed with our technology and our economy. In this revised and updated edition, he has displaced some chapters in the earlier edition, added a new map and new data, and updated and expanded the Suggested Reading. His new chapters survey the new age of railroads, the new problems and opportunities, mergers, and legislation. T h e need for this edition itself illustrates the dynamism of American history, and shows us how progress produces the challenges of obsolescence. If the recent history of American railroads lacks the expansive romantic drama of the earlier history, it does remain a touchstone of the flexibility of American institutions. Mr. Stover reminds us of the recurring problem in a nation of ever-advancing technology, of making the most of the enormous investment in earlier technologies. When an eminent British railroad builder, Edward Watkin, visited the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, he was appalled at how hastily and flimsily the Americans laid their tracks xi Editor’s Foreword to the Second Edition and built their bridges. H e contrasted them with the sturdy British lines which he said were built “to last for ever.” Americans, he complained, somehow did not realize that railroads were “a final improvement in the means of locomotion.” As Mr. Stover continues his account of the later history of American transportation in this new edition, he alerts our imaginations to the unpredictability of innovation, and the need to keep our institutions adaptable to the unexpected. DANIEL J. BOORSTIN xii Editor’s Foreword to the First Edition There are few more distinctively American subjects than the history of American railroads. While other nations too have had a railroad history, our nation of vast continental spaces has been decisively shaped by its means of transportation. Future historians may well divide American life since the early nineteenth century into an Age of the Railroad, followed by an Age of the Automobile, and then an Age of the Airplane. T h e Age of the Railroad is perhaps the most romantic. For the automobile and the airplane have flourished in an already industrial nation, but the railroad often encountered a virgin continent. Railroads came on the American scene when Indians were still a menace to westering settlers, when large expanses of North America had not yet become accustomed to the English language or the European mode of dress. While railroads in Europe were commonly the servants of established communities, in America railroads were often their creators. For most of the nineteenth century railroads were a symbol of the anachronism which was the romance and the strength of the new nation. But the Golden Age of the Railroads, as Mr. Stover vividly re... Xlll Editor’s Foi-ewm-d to the First Edition minds us, is past. T h e peak in railroad mileage was reached in 1916. Since then the decline has been steady, and the process is not likely to be reversed. While that Golden Age is still a living memory, we might well try to recapture its spirit. In this brilliantly cogent story, Mr. Stover recalls that since their appearance on the American scene railroads have played a decisive role in nearly every major movement in our history. They were important in hastening the rise of the Atlantic seaboard metropolises, in peopling and supplying the West, in attracting and transporting immigrants, in shaping the enterprises of trappers, cowboys, miners, and farmers. In the twentieth century the commuting train has helped create and perpetuate the American suburbs. Railroads helped determine the course and the outcome of the Civil War, and were essential to victory in two world wars. T h e story of railroads, as Mr. Stover tells it, is a parable of the changing American economy and the changing role of government in American life. Here we see how the American economy has or has not been competitive. We see how government subsidy, regulation, and control have encouraged the rise of railroads, have shaped their maturity, and have helped make their lives difficult, feasible, profitable, or impossible. Here we see also how the American economy has been integrated, homogenized, and brought increasingly under government supervision. In this brief volume, Mr. Stover gives us a much-needed factual guide to a subject which too often overwhelms the amateur; and he draws these facts into the drama of a rising American civilization. By placing the history of American railroads in the main stream of American history, Mr. Stover admirably serves the purpose of the “Chicago History of American Civilization,” which aims to make every aspect of our past a window to all our history. T h e series contains two kinds of books: a chronological group, which provides a coherent narrative of American history from its beginxiv Editor? For-eword to the First Edition ning to the present day, and a topical group, which deals with the history of varied and significant aspects of American life. This book is one of the topical group. DANIEL J. BOORSTIN This Page Intentionally Left Blank Acknowledgments I am indebted to Professor Richard C. Overton, of Manchester Depot, Vermont, whose excellent advice in the early planning of this volume was of the greatest assistance. Time for much of the writing was made possible by a research grant provided by the Purdue Research Foundation. An earlier grant from the same organization aided me in the research necessary for the first chapters of the book. Special thanks are due Miss Elizabeth Cullen of the Library of the Bureau of Railway Economics in Washington, D.C.; Mr. Thomas J. Sinclair of the Association of American Railroads; Mr. Roderick Craib, Associate Editor of Railway Age; and Dean M. B. Ogle, Jr., of Purdue University. T h e respective staffs of the Library of the University of Illinois and the Purdue University Library were generous with both time and assistance. Also I wish to thank Professor John H. Moriarty, director of the Purdue Library, for his counsel and advice. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the services of two competent secretaries, Mrs. Ruth Bessmer and Mrs. Kathryn McClellan. In this second edition I am indebted to several people. Thomas Schmidt of CSX read the new chapters and made several pertinent suggestions to the text. Richard D. Meador, Jr., of Norfolk Westxvi i Acknowledgments ern, G a r y Sease of CSX, Ken Longe of Union Pacific, Vicky Wells of the University of North Carolina Press, and Debra Basham of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History provided me with additional pictures for the book. I am most indebted to my wife, Marjorie, who typed both the text and the revised index. xviii I ‘A Perfect System of Roads and Canals” After the close of the war with England in I 8 I 5 , Americans turned their attention from the Atlantic to domestic problems at home. T h e rich agricultural production of the country, the small but expanding factories of eastern cities, and the largely untapped natural resources of the nation-all of these called for improvements in transport. In the half-dozen years after the Treaty of Ghent nearly every state and large city started to agitate for an expanded system of internal improvements. Taverns and exchanges across the land heard the warm arguments of farmers, merchants, and politicians as they advanced the rival claims of canals and turnpikes, of steamboats and railroads. T h e domestic and western trade increased, even with the internal improvements still in the dream stage, and there was a relative decline in the importance of foreign trade. This was to be expected for the growing population, which was increasing roughly a third each decade, was on the march to the interior. T h e center of population, which in 1810 had been but a few miles up the Potomac from Washington, had moved by the eve of the Civil War to a spot west of Athens, Ohio. While in I 8 I j only four of the states had lacked a seacoast, the new states of the nest half-century were nearly all in the interior. I American Railroads T h e expansion and growth were more than sectional. &John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), at the time a nationalist leader, said in 1817: “We are greatly and rapidly-I was about to say fearhllygrowing. This is our pride, and our danger; our weakness and our strength. . . . Let us, then, bind the Republic together with a perfect system of roads and canals.” Even before the nation had its roads and canals, Oliver Evans ( I 755-1819), the frustrated Philadelphia inventor and steam engine builder, was having a bigger dream. In I 8 I z Evans foresaw the day when “carriages propelled by steam will be in general use, as well for the transportation of passengers as goods, travelling a t the rate of fifteen miles an hour, or 300 miles per day.” T h e country first had to build its turnpikes, dig its canals, and fill its rivers with steamboats before it could construct its railroads. But it was the dream of Oliver Evans that was to bring much of the material progress gained in the new century. Farmers, factory owners, and merchants were soon to become impatient with the interruptions and delays of the slowmoving wagons and boats that were typical even with completed turnpikes and canals. They did not like to wait upon late winters, spring freshets, or muddy roads. They desired a form of land transport that was fast, cheap, and dependable. By the standards of the early nineteenth century even the first railroads soon were to provide that kind of transportation. With peace the nation quickly turned to internal improvements. Less than a month after the Battle of New Orleans, Colonel John Stevens (1749-1838) of Hoboken obtained from the New Jersey legislature the first railroad charter in America, a grant to build a railroad between the Delaware and Raritan rivers. In I 8 I 7, when the longest completed American canal extended less than 28 miles, the New York legislature authorized the building of the Erie Canal, a 364-mile project. T h e next year saw the completion of the Cumberland, or National, Road to Wheeling, Virginia, an event which made westward migration to the new states of Indiana 2 ‘2Perfect System of Roads and Canals” and Illinois much easier. T h e average western emigrant in I 8 I 8 probably floated down the Ohio River from Wheeling in a flatboat, but in that year a t least a dozen small, wheezing steamboats were already plying western rivers, a number destined to increase tenfold in a decade. Late in 1825 the westward movement was stimulated by the completion of the Erie Canal. Much earlier in that year Colonel Stevens had confounded his critics, who were pointing to his chartered but unbuilt railroad, by operating the first locomotive to run on rails in America. His sixteen-foot “Steam Waggon” carried hardy house guests around circular track on the grounds of his Hoboken estate a t the rate of 12 miles an hour. For half a generation after Ghent the roads and canals desired by Calhoun made most of the significant transportation headlines in America. Much progress in the construction of improved toll roads had been made before the War of 1812. Generally built by private-stock companies with charters from the state legislatures, the turnpikes were built along the major travel routes. T h e companies were allowed to gain a return on their investment by charging tolls on the traffic using the new road. The early success of the well-built Lancaster Turnpike, completed from Philadelphia to Lancaster in 1794, resulted in a widespread demand for more roads. Dozens of turnpike companies planned and built roads in New England in the first years of the nineteenth century, and by 1825 a number of major roads criss-crossed southern New England. T h e record amount of land carriage caused by the blockade during the war with England made all sections of the country increase their road-building activity. T h e Pennsylvania legislature in I 8 16-1 7 granted state aid to 46 separate internal improvements, most of them turnpikes. By 1821 some 150 turnpike companies had been chartered in Pennsylvania, with state aid accounting for 35 per cent of the total subscribed capital of $6,401,000. Of the 1,807miles of completed roadway, about two-thirds was well con- 3 Arne?-icanRailroads structed with stone surfacing. In the same year New York could boast of 4,000 miles of completed roads, but the absence of any large amounts of state aid probably explained the lighter construction and lower cost or capitalization per mile in the Empire State ($3,500 per mile in Pennsylvania and $2,750 per mile in New York). T h e rage for turnpikes was also present in the Old Northwest during the 1820s and 1830s, but few roads were ever completed, except in Ohio. In the southern states, except for Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, there was more promotion and planning than accomplished construction. Few of the turnpikes, North or South, ever achieved the profits promised by their promoters. New England was probably typical; only half a dozen of the 2 3 0 turnpike companies in the New England states ever returned their owners a reasonable dividend on investment. T h e National Road was the greatest of all the turnpikes. Despite its extension to Wheeling in 1818 and to Columbus, Ohio, in 1833, this broad artery to the West had its problems. Although the federal government had spent $1,300,000 on the road in the preceding six years, Postmaster General Return J. Meigs, Jr. (1764-1824), complained to Congress in January, 1823, that on a recent inspection trip he found “the western (being the newest) part of the road . . . in a ruinous state, and being rapidly impaired.” Along the route he saw rockslides and erosion so bad “that two carriages cannot pass each other.” Even with the advantage of turnpikes, freight rates were expensive. At the conclusion of the War of I 8 I z the lowest wagon freight rates averaged thirty cents per ton-mile and often were twice that. But farm produce was seldom carried overland. T h e reason was simple: transportation costs from Buffalo to New York City in I 8 I 7 were three times the market value of a bushel of wheat and six times that of corn. Wagon freight rates westward to Pittsburgh fell perhaps 50 per cent by I 82 2 , but this was brought about as much by a general deflation as by an increase in the number of 4 ‘HPe-rfect Systemof Roads and Canals” turnpikes or the growing competition of cheaper canal transportation. N o r was wagon freight fast transportation. When a Conestoga wagon drawn by four horses traveled the ninety miles from New York City to Philadelphia in three days, it became known as the “flying machine.” Even though it was slow and costly, wagon traffic was heavy. In a two-and-a-half-day stage trip from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh in the fall of I 8 I 7, the Englishman Henry Bradshaw Fearon noted that his coach overtook 103 freight wagons headed for Pittsburgh. Stagecoach traffic, too, was extensive. Sharing the road with the Conestoga wagon, the stagecoach, designed primarily as a passenger vehicle, offered a much faster means of transportation than the slow-moving freight wagon. T h e advantage of speed was offset, however, by the disadvantage of a rough ride. This was even true in the case of the Concord coach, which was far from comfortable. Of a trip through Pennsylvania, George Sumner ( I 8 I 7-63) wrote: “For two days and two nights was my body exposed to the thumps of this horrid road, and when I got to Pittsburgh (after having broken down twice, and got out three times during one night and broken down rail fences to pry the coach out of the mud) my body was a perfectjelly-without one sound spot upon it, too tired to stand, too sow to sit.” Both Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) in 1808 and John Calhoun a decade later stressed canals, as well as improved roads, in their plans for internal improvements. Canals are built slowly, and in 1817, when Calhoun made his plea for a perfect system of transportation, only about IOO miles of canals had been constructed, the longest single canal being just over 27 miles in length. But in that year Governor DeWitt Clinton (I 769-1828) prodded the state of New York into starting a 364-mile canal from Albany to Buffalo, a project that would require $8,000,000, eight years, and unprecedented engineering feats. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal was an immediate financial success. T h e canal craze was on. By 1830 a t least 10,000miles of inland waterways were pro- 5 American Railroads jected and 1,277 miles had been built. More than 2,000 additional miles were constructed during the thirties, and in 1840 the total canal investment in the nation stood a t $125,000,000. Although in 1840 every state east of the Mississippi, with the exception of Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, and Tennessee, had canals in operation, 7 0 per cent of the total mileage was to be found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. Since canals were much more expensive than turnpikes, generally costing from $20,000 to $30,000 per mile, most of the total investment in them, perhaps 60 per cent, was direct state aid. T h e Panic of 1837 revealed that several states had extended their credit too far in supporting internal improvements and were on the verge of bankruptcy. In addition to the major waterways, several minor types of canals were built. These included short canals designed to avoid some river obstacle, such as that a t the falls of the Ohio near Louisville; canals connecting two busy rivers, lakes, or bays, such as the Wabash and Erie in Indiana o r the Chesapeake and Delaware in the East; and anthracite tidewater canals, such as the Lehigh or Morris canals in Pennsylvania. T h e most important type, however, was that intended to draw western business to some eastern city. Nearly every coastal city from Portland to Savannah had dreams of reaching the back country by canal, but frequently these dreams were thwarted by mountains or by lack of money. Only three westward-looking canals followed the Erie pattern: the “Pennsylvania System,” the Chesapeake and Ohio, and the James River and Kanawha. T h e last two were stopped by mountains, the I 84-mile Chesapeake and Ohio at Cumberland, Maryland, and the zoo-mile James River and Kanawha at Buchanan, Virginia. T h e state of Pennsylvania eventually built its 39s-mile Main Line to the Ohio River, but only with the assistance of 174 locks and several inclined-plane railroads (near Hollidaysburg) that rose 2,200 feet above sea level. Whether canal projects brought profit or ruin to their sponsors, 6 ‘H Perfect System of Roads and Canals” they all succeeded in greatly reducing the costs of freight carriage. Even on the difficult Pennsylvania Main Line rates were down to 8 cents a ton-mile in 1833, as contrasted to 20 cents by wagon. O n the Erie, freight rates ranged from I .6 cents to 3.4 cents per tonmile in the thirties and forties and were down to a penny a mile by mid-century. Although the canal lineboat and the freighter took much business away from the Conestoga wagon, the stagecoach suffered less severely from the competition offered by canal packets or passenger boats. T h e packet could offer a smooth, leisurely trip, often with surprisingly good meals. Its five and a half by two foot bunks for overnight travelers were so closely spaced that Charles Dickens (I 8 I 2-70) found it best to roll directly from the floor into his lower berth. For many the novelty of canal travel soon wore off. In 1830 Albany’s five daily stage lines going westward up the Mohawk Valley often had to add extra coaches. T h e stage lines could also offer year-round service, while most canals were closed from three to five months each winter. River transportation had always been vital in the United States, with its vast distances and extensive hinterland. By the early nineteenth century, eastern and western rivers alike were crowded with a variety of “bullboats: canoes, flatboats, and keelboats. Shortly before the War of 1 8 1 2 the steamboat was added to this assortment. In 18I I the 3 7 I -ton Pittsburgh-built “New Orleans” successfully reached New Orleans, and four years later the “Enterprise” proved the feasibility of upstream travel with a round trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. By 182 I seventy-two boats were employed on western waters, and frequently a dozen could be seen together down in New Orleans. By 1830 the average steamboat was giving freight service faster than the canal boat and cheaper than the wagon. For the passenger, steamboat accommodations were faster and more luxurious than those found on the canal boat and both cheaper and more comfortable than those of the stagecoach. Cabin 7 American Railroads passage, including meals, for the 2,064-mile trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans cost only $45 in 1839. Most Americans could find little fault with the luxuriously appointed craft and were proud when European visitors like Count Francesco Arese admitted that “the finest ones we have in Europe are much inferior to the smallest, the wretchedest ferry-boat over here.” Steamboat travel offered not only luxury but also danger. Old wrecks lined every river by mid-century, and the newspapers were filled with stories of explosions, collisions, fires, and snagged boats. Accidents on western rivers in 1853 claimed 78 boats and 454 lives. T h e optimistic traveler could take satisfaction in the claim of Niles’ Weekly Register that “with moderation and care steamboats are not so very dangerous.” River travel was less dangerous in the East, and on the Hudson River a five-year experiment with safety barges (passenger boats towed behind steamboats) ended in failure in 1830 when the barges “Lady Clinton” and “Lady Rensselaer” were offered for sale as freight towboats. But even on eastern rivers the natural factors of ice and low water could halt all navigation. Between I 8 I 8 and 1859 ice closed the Hudson at Albany an average of four months a year, and a t Pittsburgh ice, plus seasons of low water, made a comparable reduction in commerce. In the first decades of the nineteenth century many of the needs for better transportation were fulfilled as well-constructed roads, a host of new canals, and faster steamboat travel appeared. In the years after the War of 1 8 1 2 nearly every ambitious American city was the center of a radiating network of turnpikes, either planned or already built. In 1826 Boston had eighty stage lines with more than two hundred scheduled arrivals and departures each day. T h e toasts, processions, transparencies (illuminated banners), and kegs of river water from around the world that were employed to mark the opening of Governor Clinton’s Erie Canal in the autumn of 1825 initiated a series of canal celebrations which continued for years. High- and low-pressure steamboats brought prosperity to 8 ‘HPe$ect System of Roads and Canals” Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis and dreams of the same to the remote upriver towns of Knoxville and Indianapolis. Wagon freight never became really cheap, and the best Concord coaches were still slow and uncomfortable. Canals were stymied by mountains and were certain to freeze over in winter. Steamboats, although they were fast and luxurious, were also dangerous. Moreover, Henry Miller Shreve (1785-185 I), veteran steamboater and inventor of the “snagboat,” which became known as “Uncle Sam’s tooth-puller,” could not always remove hazardous obstructions from river channels, even for the record shallow-draft “Orphan Boy” (169 tons, zz-inch draft). Some new form of transportation, year round in regularity, safe and cheap, overland and unlimited in route, was obviously needed. Americans in the 1820s did not have long to wait. 9 2 First Rails The iron rail, flanged wheel, and puffing locomotive appeared in America by 1830.In the next twenty years the railroad brought a new dimension and added a new flavor to American transportation. The first railroads frequently helped American cities (and in turn were aided themselves) as they sought a larger share of western markets. In the first third of the nineteenth century the commercial rivalry among major eastern American cities was as intense as the competition among the various transportation facilities that served them and the nation. Already first in population by 1810,New York City increased her lead after I 8I 5 through a combination of natural geographic advantages and a series of aggressive measures pushed by an energetic citizenry. Encouraged when the British chose New York as a market for surplus British goods after the War of 18I 2 , the merchants of that city increased this trade advantage in 1817 by creating an attractive auction system for the sale of imports and by establishing dependable and regular packet service across the Atlantic. Within fifteen years the expanding foreign trade of New York City was nearly half the total foreign trade of the nation, and by I0 First Rails 1828 the New York Custom House was collecting sufficient duties to pay the entire expenses of the federal government. In the same period, shipping interests in the city, seeing the advantage of attracting the immigrant trade, were so successful that by the thirties roughly half the newcomers arriving in America were landing at New York. Simultaneously, the New Yorkers succeeded in securing their full share of the nation’s domestic trade by developing extensive coastal commerce along the Atlantic and by catering to western trade after the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. T h e immediate success of Governor Clinton’s favorite canal stirred rival cities from their lethargy. In the decade after 182j several cities (Philadelphia with a canal, Boston and Charleston with railroads, and Baltimore with both) sought western trade. Philadelphia started first. Alarmed by the drop (within a generation) from first city to fourth in the volume of foreign trade, the city fathers vigorously supported the Pennsylvania state project to reach Pittsburgh by a combined canal and rail route. T h e jgs-mile Main Line from Philadelphia to the Ohio was built between 1826 and 1834 at a cost nearly twice that of the Erie and across mountains nearly four times as high as those along the lower New York route. T h e project never prospered. In the first decade of its operation the revenues did little more than meet the current operating expenses of the system. T h e lack of success by the merchants of Philadelphia lay in their failure to appreciate the height of P e m sylvania mountains and the relative merits of a new form of transportation, the railroad. To the south, Baltimore was somewhat more successful in her bid for western trade. This small town of colonial times had grown more rapidly between I 790 and 1820 than any other major American city. Ahead of Boston and Charleston and third in population by 1800, Baltimore boasted 35,000 people in 1810and 63,000 in 1820. Her prosperity in the first two decades of the century was aided by the construction of the Cumberland Road and by the conI1 American Railroads centration of Baltimore merchants on both Susquehanna Valley trade and the coastal commerce built up by fast “clipper” schooners. Well aware of their own commercial progress, the citizens of Baltimore could generously agree with their local editor, Hezekiah Niles (1777-1839), when he wrote of New York City in 1821: “This [city] is now the second commercial city in the world; a little while and it will probably be thefil-st, by means of its canals and the trade of the lakes.” Baltimore and Maryland were a little slower than Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in meeting the challenge of New York‘s canals, but when they did move, they made a dual attack. Both the state of Maryland and the city of Baltimore were sanguine about the success of their canal and railroad projects, since they could claim a shorter route to the Ohio, by a margin of two hundred miles, than either of the rival northern cities. At Georgetown on July 4, 1828, John Quincy Adams (1767I 848) wielded a ribbon-bedecked spade to start the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal; forty miles away, near Baltimore, the aged Charles Carroll (1737-1832) was laying the first stone for the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road. T h e Baltimore people soon realized that the canal would favor the new national capital far more than their own city and therefore transferred their full allegiance to the railroad. T h e plump and pleasant president of the new. railroad, merchant-banker Philip E. Thomas ( I 776-1861), pushed construction with vigor, and by May 1830, passengers could enjoy a thirteen-mile trip by horse-drawn car out to Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Steam power came to the Baltimore & Ohio later that summer when Peter Cooper (1791-1883), glue-maker from New York City and part-time inventor who had just taken a flier in Baltimore real estate, built the experimental locomotive “Tom Thumb.” T h e usefulness of the little engine was limited, however, and except for its famous race with a horse and occasional trips for the benefit of distinguished guests, it stood idle. T h e railroad used horse-drawn I2 First Rails cars until extensive trials in the summer of 183 I proved the threeand-one-half-con “York” to be a fully practical and serviceable locomotive. By the time of his retirement in 1836, Thomas had extended the railroad to Harper’s Ferry and had built a 37-mile branch line to Washington. The railroad now had gross revenues of over $260,000 yearly and claimed 7 locomotives, 1,078 “burthern,” or freight cars, and 44 passenger cars. T h e new president, Louis McLane ( I 786-1 857), former Jacksonian cabinet member, pushed the B.&O. on to Cumberland by 1842, but further extension to the west was slowed by high mountains and opposition from both Virginia and Pennsylvania. Not until Christmas Eve, 1852, was the last spike driven in the line which reached the Ohio River at U k e l i n g , Virginia. By this time the merchants in New York City were less inclined to worry about their rivals in Maryland. In the South, Charleston, a city whose foreign trade had gone into decline, bid for a greater share of the inland trade by building a railroad. T h e merchants of the city, hoping to secure the trade of a rich cotton-growing area in their own state and in Georgia, projected a railway to Hamburg, South Carolina, just across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. As the first rails were being laid out of Charleston by the South Carolina Canal and RailRoad Company, the new chief engineer, Horatio Allen ( I 802-90) of New York, persuaded the directors to use steam power on the line. “There is no reason to expect any material improvement in the breed of horses in the future,” argued Allen, “while, in my judgment, the man is not living who knows what the breed of locomotives is to place a t command.” O n Christmas Day, 1830, the “Best Friend of Charleston,” constructed for $4,000-the first locomotive built for sale in the United States-carried 141 passengers on the first scheduled steam-railroad train run in America. T h e entire 136-mile route to Hamburg was completed by October 1833, to become the longest continuous railroad in the world. In later years ‘3 American Railroads South Carolina built additional mileage more slowly, for the total remained at I 36 miles in I 840 and had only doubled by I 850. In New England, Boston was worried about the commercial success of New York. Not only did the Erie Canal threaten to capture Boston’s trade with western Massachusetts, but much business in the central section of the state was being attracted by New Haven, Hartford, and Providence. In their quest for a commercial revival, the Boston merchants wisely rejected the idea of more canals-waterways which, after all, were expensive to build and which, because of winter ice, were at best open only two-thirds of the year. Bostonians noted the success of the Granite Railway, a two-mile broad-gauge tramway built at Quincy by Gridley Bryant (1789-1867) in 1826 to transport granite for the Bunker Hill monument, and the following year (May 1827) they eagerly paid admission to see the display of English locomotives at the nation’s first Railway Exhibition. After efforts to obtain state financial support for a western railroad from Boston to Albany failed, three short, privately financed lines were chartered in 1830-31. To the north the Boston and Lowell linked two important cities. To the south the Boston and Providence provided a shortcut over a longer water route. T h e third line, the Boston and Worcester, was seeking the western trade. All three lines were in operation by 1835 and they were to form the nucleus of the New England rail system. Even before the completion of the Boston and Worcester, its president, Nathan Hale ( I 784-1 863), long-time editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser and nephew of the Revolutionary War patriot, was urging that the rail line be continued to the west. T h e Western Railroad, to run the I 50 miles from Worcester, via Springfield and Pittsfield, to Albany, was chartered in I 83 3, and by the end of I 835 all of its stock had been sold, most of it in Boston. T h e $2,000,000 in private money was admittedly inadequate for the ambitious project, and the Commonwealth soon subscribed $I ,ooo,ooo in stock and by 1841 had lent an additional $4,000,000 to the line. Fif-stRails T h e road was completed to Springfield by 1839 and in the next two years was pushed through the rugged Berkshires to the Hudson River and Albany. T h e city fathers of both Boston and Albany made the first round trip on the line, the Boston delegation returning home on December 28, 1841, with a barrel of Rochester flour, which was used to bake bread for that evening’s celebration. Boston now possessed an all-rail connection with the west and the Erie Canal, but she never obtained any major portion of the traffic destined for New York City via the Hudson River. After all, the Western Railroad, to use the language of Charles F. Adams, Jr. (1835-1915), was built upon “the fallacy that steam could run up hill cheaper than water could run down.” But in completing this early transectional railroad (later consolidated as the Boston and Albany), Boston had built a line noted for its financial sobriety and technical excellence. Few railroads were projected or built without some opposition, often a considerable opposition, from a variety of timid citizens, vested interests, tavern keepers, turnpike and bridge companies, stagecoach lines, and canals. T h e projected rail route from Boston to Albany was opposed by a Boston editor who thought the project not only impracticable but also “as useless as a railroad to the moon.” Even when completed the railroad frequently had to overcome the opposition of state governments loyal to their canals. In New York railroads running parallel to the Erie Canal had to pay tolls equal to those of the canal, and in Ohio and Pennsylvania special taxes were levied against rail traffic which competed directly with canal business. In Ohio a school board placed a moral judgment on rail lines, calling them “a device of Satan to lead immortal souls to hell.” When members of the Massachusetts legislature chartered the state’s first railroad, they were described by turnpike interests as “cruel turnpike killers and despisers of horseflesh.” T h e wealthy Philadelphia merchant Samuel Breck complained that “if one could stop when one wanted, and if one were American Railroads not locked up in a box with 50 or 60 tobacco-chewers; and the engine and fire did not burn holes in one’s clothes . . . and the smell of the smoke, of the oil, and of the chimney did not poison one . . . and [one] were not in danger of being blown sky-high or knocked off the rails-it would be the perfection of travelling.” For most Americans, however, the decade of the thirties was an era of railroad enthusiasm and noisy railroad fever. Within half a dozen years after the Baltimore & Ohio began operations, some two hundred lines had been chartered, taking the savings of thousands of investors, many of whom had never seen a railroad track or a steam locomotive. Those with pennies instead of dollars joined the rail craze by purchasing glassware, china, sheet music, or wallpaper decorated with brilliant pictures of railroad cars and steaming locomotives. T h e young nation dreamed and planned ambitious rail lines that were to cross unsettled territory, span rivers, and reach distant cities. Early in 1830 the two sons of Colonel John Stevens-Robert Livingston Stevens (1787-1856) and Edwin A. Stevens (17951868)-obtained a charter from the New Jersey legislature for the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company. Written into the charter was a “monopoly” clause which gave the Stevens boys exclusive rail-transportation rights between New York City and Philadelphia. This advantage assured a rapid subscription to the one-million-dollar stock issue, and the road was completed across the state by I 833. T h e English-built locomotive “John Bull” provided a seven-hour passenger service between the two cities for a three-dollar fare. Connecting service westward from Philadelphia to the system of state canals was available in I 834 on the state-owned Philadelphia and Columbia. Four years later a main line to Baltimore was opened with the completion of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore. T h e first railroad in New York State was conceived when English-born George William Featherstonhaugh ( I 780-1 866) ob16 “The First Railway Train” by E. L. Henry re-creates the first trip of the “DeWitt Clinton” between Albany and Schenectady in 1831. (Courtesy, Albany Institute of History and Art.) Chicago’s first railroad station. When this depot was built in 1848 by the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, William Ogden or his agents spotted incoming trains from the cupola. The picture was taken somewhat later, since such a fringe benefit as a “Railway Mens Readinj Room” was not common in the middle of the nineteenth century (Courtesy, Chicago & Nortl !Vestern Railway.) Valley Creek Bridge, Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in 1860. This well-built bridge reveals a fundamental difference between the railroad and the highway A road would probably have used a ford to cross this small creek. (Courtesy, Railway Age.) Potomac Creek Bridge, constructed in May 1862 in nine working days by unskilled soldiers of the U.S. Military Railroads under the supervision of General Herman Haupt. Even after seeing this bridge carry heavy loads, Abraham Lincoln described it as apparently constructed of nothing more than “beanpoles and cornstalks.” (Courtesy, Association of American Railroads.) First Rails tained a charter for the Mohawk and Hudson Rail Road. This seventeen-mile line between Albany and Schenectady would permit canal-packet passengers to avoid the day-long forty-mile ride through the many locks in the terminal section of the Erie. T h e road was built in 1830-31 by John B. Jervis (1795-1885), recently of the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Railroad Company. Service began in August, 183I , with the company’s first locomotive impudently named the “DeWitt Clinton.” Less than six months later Niles’ WeeklyRegister reported that twenty-five different New York railroads (with capital structures amounting to $41,ooo,ooo) were applying for incorporation before the state legislature. T h e railroad industry expanded rapidly during the thirties as nearly every state laid rails. Of the twenty-six states in 1840, only four (Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Vermont) had not completed their first mile of track. Most of the lines were built to serve coastal cities in the eastern states, for only a twelfth of the 3,000 miles of road lay west of the Appalachians. T h e New England and Middle Atlantic states accounted for more than 60 per cent of the mileage in 1840, with Pennsylvania first in the nation in mileage (754), New York second (374), and Massachusetts third (301). Southern states could claim I , 10s miles of road in I 840, while the Old Northwest, though dozens of lines were projected there, completed only I 3 3 miles in the thirties. T h e Panic of I 837 and the depression which followed were disastrous for the rail projects of some states, especially Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, but for most of the nation n o immediate slackening of construction was apparent, since about half the decade’s new lines were built in the last three years-1838, 1839, and 1840. While additional canal construction was carried on during the thirties, it never quite matched railroad-building, and thus in 1840 the two facilities were nearly equal in mileage. T h e western states pushed their canal projects vigorously during the decade and accounted for nearly a third of the nation’s 3,300 miles of canals, with ‘9 American Railroads Ohio (74.4 miles) being second only to Pennsylvania. Although American railroads were generally following English technique and experience during the thirties, the United States easily outstripped total European rail construction during the decade by a margin of 3,000miles of new road in America to only 1,800miles in Europe. Although western Europe possessed the advantages of better engineering, more highly developed metal-working techniques, and easier financing, the United States more than balanced these with the assets of a greater need for improved transport, a relative freedom from long-entrenched customs, prejudices, and monopolies, and cheaper land for railroad right of way. America had about $ ~ ~ , 0 0 0 , 0 0invested 0 in her rail network in 1840, which was far less money than the European expenditure for a much smaller system. In 1840 the American railroad system was a thin, broken network stretching along the Atlantic coast from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the Carolinas. If a traveler wanted to go from Boston to Georgia, he could go by rail to Stonington, Connecticut; by steamer to New York City and across to Jersey; by rail to Washington, via Camden, Philadelphia, and Baltimore; and by steamer forty miles down the Potomac to rail service which would get him to Wilmington, North Carolina. After a stage trip through South Carolina to Charleston, he could continue by train on the South Carolina Railroad to the end of the track a t Hamburg, across the river from Augusta, Georgia. Technical innovations and improvements occupied the minds of all the early railroad-builders. T h e pages of the first important railroad periodical, the American Railroad 30~7-nal,founded by D. Kimball Minor in 183I, were filled with technical and engineering articles throughout the thirties and forties. Railroad companies quickly demonstrated the necessity of their controlling the traffic on the lines they built. Thus, unlike the canal and turnpike companies, the railroads soon universally owned and operated all 20 First Rails the rolling stock and motive power on the road. As “common carriers,” they were expected to accept for shipment anything within reason. Some of the first railroad improvements were focused on the roadbed. Nearly all of the early railways had built their track with long iron straps, or bars, fastened to wooden rails, which, in turn, were secured to large blocks of granite or other stone. T h e ironstrap rails, although twenty to twenty-five feet in length, had a tendency to work loose and curl up under the weight of trains to form “snakeheads,” which often broke through the floor of a passing coach. T h e strap rails could be increased in thickness, but the real solution to the problem appeared when Robert L. Stevens, president and engineer of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, designed the T-rail. Stevens carved his first model rail out of wood while in England on a locomotive buying trip, had the rails made in Wales, and was installing them as original track on his New Jersey line in 183I. T h e new type of rail was not only strong but its flat bottom (requiring no rail chair as was common in England) could be spiked directly to the block or tie. With the increasing weight of locomotives and rail traffic, the T-rail soon became standard equipment on all first-class lines. T h e state of New York required the new type rail on all railroads after I 847. O n the branch line or the cheaply constructed road, strap-iron rails, frequently second hand, remained a common sight until the Civil War. T h e heavy stone or granite blocks also proved unsatisfactory, both because of their susceptibility to frost-heaving and also because the track proved so unresilient as to be hard on the rolling stock. Wooden crossties imbedded in a gravel roadbed were found to h r nish the most satisfactory type of rail construction. Railroad managers soon realized that even the best-laid original track could not be considered permanent and that the costs of maintaining track and roadbed would he continuous. Early American railroad lines presented a great variety in 21 I i American Railroads gauge. Many of the first roads, since they used English-built engines, naturally built to the English gauge of 4 feet 8% inches, a figure long customary to English wagons. This was the most common gauge in New England and in the North, although much variation was to be found in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In New York a broad the Erie Railroad deliberately-and unwisely-used gauge of 6 feet to prevent loss of traffic to other lines. This variation proved costly, and eventually the Erie shifted to the standard gauge. In most of the southern states the 5-foot gauge was common, though certainly not universal. As early as 1834 the American Rail~oadJoumalwas stressing the necessity of uniformity in gauge, but this ideal was not to be achieved on a truly national basis for half a century. A more rapid development of uniformity was achieved in motive power. While horses, mules, stationary engines, and even sails and horse-operated treadmills were tried on the early lines, the steam locomotive soon relegated the horse to a reserve and substitute status. Within a few years most railroad horses were back on the farm. Some of the first American-built engines were not entirely satisfactory. When Philadelphia jewelry manufacturer Matthias Baldwin (1795-1866) built his first full-size locomotive, “Old Ironsides: for the newly incorporated Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, the engine averaged only a mile an hour in its first trials. However, experimentation soon pushed the speed of Baldwin’s locomotive up to twenty-eight miles per hour. One of the most important improvements was made by John B. Jervis while he was still chief engineer on the Mohawk and Hudson. Dissatisfied with the rigid front axle and poor turning characteristics of the heavy English engines, Jervis, with some advice from Horatio Allen, designed the first swivel, or “bogie,” wheels, which were mounted in a truck under the front of the locomotive. Jervis’ new locomotive, the “Experiment,” built in 1832 by the West Point Foundry, negotiated all curves with ease and soon proved capable F i m Rails of speeds approaching a mile a minute. T h e equalizing beam, inof Philadelphia in 1839, was vented by Joseph Harrison (1810-74) also important because it permitted equal pressure by each drive wheel, even on rough or uneven track. Even earlier, however, in 1836, Henry R. Campbell (1781-1844) of the same city had designed an eight-wheeled engine (bogie truck plus four drivers) which, as the American-type locomotive, was to dominate American locomotive styling for half a century. James Brooks built the first engine of this type in 1837. In the thirties the locomotive acquired many of the features which made its silhouette distinctive. Robert Stevens and his top mechanic, Isaac Dripps (I 810-92), probably invented the first “pilot,” or cowcatcher, for the locomotives on the Camden and Amboy. When early trains collided with a cow, the engine often landed in a ditch or in the repair shop, but after Isaac Dripps perfected the cowcatcher, the railroad company had to pay for the cow. In South Carolina Horatio Allen initiated the first train travel at night when he built a fire of pine knots in sand on a small flatcar pushed ahead of a Charleston and Hamburg locomotive. Night trips on the railroad lines of the thirties were very infrequent, and thus the conventional headlight, burning kerosene in front of tin reflectors, became common only in the forties. T h e sandbox (to provide improved wheel traction) first appeared in Pennsylvania in 1836 when a great plague of grasshoppers visited the state and threatened to bring all train movements to a halt. Later that same year, George W Whistler ( I 800-49), former army lieutenant, surveyor of the Baltimore & Ohio, and husband of the lady portrayed in “Whistler’s Mother,” built the locomotive “Susquehanna:’ which boasted the first steam-locomotive whistle in America. First used for signaling the brakeman and the train crew and for general warnings to a more pedestrian traffic, in later years the whistle became a sort of occupational signature for the engineer who was skillful with the whistle cord. T h e locomotive cab was first tried on American Railroads Massachusetts lines as they were extended into New Hampshire. Canvas (and, later, wooden) cabs kept the engine crews from freezing to death in the bitter New England winters. In the forties American rail construction easily kept pace with technical advances. T h e network of 3,000 miles of line in 1840 had tripled to nearly 9,000 miles of line in 1850, with every state east of the ll/lississippi claiming at least some mileage. Although railroads were being built in all sections of the East, the New England and Middle Atlantic states still had a clear lead at mid-century with more than 5,300 miles of railroad tracks, or nearly 60 percent of the national figure. T h e rapid northeastern rail expansion was most noticeable in New England, where the forties saw a fivefold increase in mileage. In 18j o the railroad map of New England looked fairly complete, with three states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire) already having mileage equal to roughly half of what they would have one hundred years later. Boston was the hub of the New England system, with lines radiating inland in every direction. A second major Massachusetts line, projected across the northern part of the state toward Troy, on the Hudson, was twothirds completed by 1850. T h e expansion of the New England network could probably be traced to the fact that in the early thirties Massachusetts and Boston had chosen the railroad as the transportation of the future while rival states and cities to the south were still flirting with the canal. If some New Englanders complained in the forties that their region was the only one overbuilt with railroads, a t least it resulted in New England’s becoming the mother of railroading and railroad men for half a century. In the same decade the railroads of New York and Pennsylvania also grew. In New York the connecting road west of the Mohawk and Hudson, the 78-mile Utica and Schenectady, was so prosperous that in 1850 the stockholders of the line rewarded their presi- 26 First Rails dent, Erastus Corning (1794-1872), with a $6,000 service of plate. This same Erastus Corning, nail-maker and long-time mayor of Albany, was to lead in the 1853 creation of the New York Central Railroad, a consolidation of the ten little railroads strung along the Mohawk Valley and the Erie Canal. In 18j o two rival roads on the easrern side of the Hudson, the New York and Hudson and the New York and Harlem, had nearly completed their lines upriver to Albany. And in the state’s southern tier of counties, the president of the New York and Erie Railroad, Benjamin Loder (1801-76), was driving his Irish and German construction crews to complete, by 1851, his 483-mile route to Dunkirk on Lake Erie. With such a variety of big rail-construction projects, it was easy for New York to claim first place (1,361 miles) among the states in 1850. Pennsylvania was a strong second in mileage at mid-century. T h e major new line in Pennsylvania in the forties was the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated by Philadelphia businessmen in April 1846. Realizing the futility of depending upon the state canal system and seeing the commercial menace of the Erie Railroad taking shape to the north and the Baltimore & Ohio to the south, the merchants of Philadelphia decided to build a line to Pittsburgh. Under the strong, sure guidance of their chief engineer, John Edgar Thomson (I 808-74), they completed, by I 850, a I 3 7-mile road west from Harrisburg to connect with the state-owned inclined-plane railroad near Hollidaysburg. Much new mileage was constructed in southern and western states. Every southern state added railroads in the forties, but Georgia far outstripped her neighbors, building 4j o miles during the decade to achieve a position of railroad leadership in the Southeast that she was to maintain for a century. By 1850 Atlanta was the center of a growing network of lines. To the east the wellestablished Georgia Railroad, built by John Edgar Thomson before he returned to Pennsylvania, gave service to Augusta; to the 27 American Raih-oads southeast the Macon and Western Railroad and the Central Railroad reached the coast a t Savannah; and to the northeast the 138mile state-built Western and Atlantic had nearly reached Chattanooga. Most of the 1,276 miles of the line in the Old Northwest in 1850 was located in Ohio (575 miles) and Michigan (342 miles). In Ohio a broken complex of lines stretched southward from Cleveland and Sandusky on Lake Erie to Columbus and Dayton and then on to Cincinnati on the Ohio River. All the mileage in Michigan was in the southern part of the state, with the major line, the Michigan Central, once a state-owned line but now owned by men from Boston, connecting Detroit and Lake Michigan. T h e 9,000-mile national rail network of 1850 had cost perhaps $3 IO,OOO,OOO to construct, nearly twice the $160,000,000 sum invested in the 3,700 miles of canals at mid-century. T h e national average cost of railroad construction was $34,000 per mile, but there was a great variance in this figure in the several sections of the country. In New England, where the terrain was often rugged and the traffic fairly heavy, railroads had cost an average of $39,000 per mile, with the solidly built Boston and Lowell requiring $71,000 per mile, the Western Railroad costing $50,000, and the shorter lines, the Old Colony and the Fitchburg, costing only $25,000 and $30,000, respectively. In the Middle Atlantic states high construction costs (averaging $46,000 per mile) were caused as frequently by the unevenness of the financial management as by the roughness of the terrain. Upon completion in 1851 the Erie was valued at $43,000 per mile, exclusive of equipment. Erastus Corning’s Utica and Schenectady was listed at $53,000 per mile in the same year and the Baltimore & Ohio at even rnore-$54,000 per mile. In southern and western states, where the terrain was fairly even and where the potential traffic volume often permitted a lighter type of construction, the average cost per mile was no 28 First Rails more than $ 2 I ,000, with the well-built Georgia Railroad costing only $17,000 a mile. Over 50 per cent of the more than $300,000,000 invested in American railroads in 1850 was represented by capital stock, the remainder being in bonds. Since their required capital investments were always large and carried maximum risk, nearly all railroads organized as corporations, securing their charters from the state legislatures. These charters frequently included such liberal privileges as monopoly provisions (as in the case of the Camden and Amboy), partial or temporary exemption from state taxation, lottery or banking rights (notably the lines in Georgia), and, of course, sweeping privileges of eminent domain. T h e privilege of eminent domain not only permitted a railroad real freedom in the selection of its route, but also tended to keep its right-of-way costs low (unlike in England, where the railways had n o such privilege). Since several state governments had, in earlier years, sponsored and built canals, it was natural that some of the first railroads were also state projects. In Pennsylvania two of the earliest lines in the state, the Portage Railroad and the Philadelphia and Columbia, were constructed with state money, as was the strategically located Western and Atlantic in Georgia. Three western states, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, also experimented, with very indifferent success, with public construction. Infinitely more important than state construction was state financial assistance to privately owned lines. Sometimes, especially in the case of Virginia, this aid was granted through the purchase of capital stock, but normally it was in the form of loans. State financial aid to railways had already reached nearly $40,000,000by 1838, and it was to increase still more by mid-century. T h e Western Railroad in Massachusetts, the Erie in New York, the Baltimore 8i Ohio in Maryland, and most of the railroads in Virginia were among the rail recipients of state assistance. There was little American Railroads municipal aid in the thirties and forties, but for a few lines it was vital. Federal aid, prior to the 1850 land grant to the Illinois Central-Mobile and Ohio project, consisted of a number of route surveys by army engineers and a reduction in the tariff on imported railroad iron in the years from 1830 to 1843. Most of the money for the early railroads came from private investors. Farmers and tradesmen living along the route of the proposed railroad, merchants, professional men, and businessmen living in the terminal cities-all were persuaded to subscribe to capital stock or buy bonds. T h e hope of improved land values, more profitable markets, or a general rise in prosperity was frequently in the mind of the investor, as was the thought that the investment itself might be a good one. Too often the early enthusiasm created in mass meetings or railroad conventions melted away when the subscription books were opened. Press and pulpit, pamphleteer and orator often were called upon to make the filled and signed subscription book a reality. T h e selling job was easier in those large eastern seaports (or important trading centers of the interior) where the railroad was becoming a major weapon in the competitive municipal mercantilism of the period. In the years before I 850 only minor portions of the total rail investment came from eastern banks or the money markets of Europe. Passenger traffic and the revenue it brought in were much more important to the railroads of a century ago than they are today. T h e novelty of travel by rail plus the appeal of rocketing downgrade at perhaps 2 0 miles per hour helped furnish the first substantial financial returns for many new lines. Some of these roads, such as the Utica and Schenectady in 1836, were used exclusively for passenger business in the first weeks and months. In its fourth year of operation (1833-34) the Baltimore & Ohio carried 95,000 passengers with a revenue amounting to well over 40 per cent of the total for the year. A few lines, like the Syracuse and Utica, where the Erie Canal took the cream of the freight traffic, remained pri- First Rails marily passenger roads until mid-century. For the typical railroad, however, passenger traffic probably produced between a fourth and a third of the total revenue, a ratio which was common until after the Civil War. Early railroad passenger fares were frequently high, but by the late forties competition had reduced them to perhaps 2.5 to 3.5 cents per mile in New England and in the Middle Atlantic States and no more than 4 to 5 cents in the rest of the nation. T h e first railroad passenger cars slavishly followed the stagecoach in design, but when Andrew Jackson (I 767-1 845) became the first president to travel by train, on the Baltimore & Ohio in 1833, the first corridor-type coaches had appeared. Ross Winans (1796-1877) came to Baltimore in 1828 to sell horses to the new B.&O. but stayed on to become an engineer on the line, inventing the long coach with trucks at either end of the car and the famous “camel-back” locomotive. Fanny Kemble ( I 809-93), the English actress, left this vivid description of a coach used on her American tour: “The windows . . . form the walls on each side of the carriage, which looks like a long greenhouse upon wheels; the seats, which each contain two persons (a pretty tight fit, too), are placed down the whole length of the vehicle, one behind the other, leaving a species of aisle in the middle for the uneasy (a large portion of the traveling community here) to fidget up and down, for the tobaccochewers to spit in, and for a whole tribe of itinerant fruit and cakesellers to rush through, distributing their wares a t every place where the train stops.’’ Miss Kemble may well have ridden in the Erie cars, with their water boys-youngsters who passed through the train with a long-spout can and a couple of glasses, complete with germs, for the benefit of thirsty travelers. Coach travel was rarely comfortable. T h e cars were inadequately heated in winter and hot in summer. T h e menace of sparks kept the windows shut, although the intrepid Davy Crockett (1786-1836) insisted on opening one, claiming that “I can only 5’ American Rail?-oads judge of the speed by putting my head out to spit, which I did, and overtook it so quick, that it hit me smack in the face.” Crude sleeping cars were introduced, with indifferent success, on several eastern roads in the thirties and forties, and the Camden and Amboy offered de luxe service in 1840 when it outfitted a pair of coaches with rocking chairs. T h e speed of the Camden and Amboy and other eastern trains appealed to the Post Office Department, and by 1834 Postmaster General William T Barry (1785-1835) had contracted with several of them to help carry the “Great Eastern Mail.” By the end of the decade William F. Harnden (I8rz-4j) and Alvin Adams ( I 804-77) were renting space in baggage cars for their railway-express business. In mid-century the freight business of American railroads was less exciting than the passenger traffic but economically more important. Even the first railroad freight rates were substantially lower than those of the wagon companies. In 1832 the American Railroad @crxal reported that the proprietor of the mills a t Ellicott’s Mills, thirteen miles out of Baltimore, was receiving good freight service from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for only a fourth of his former transportation costs. In the following year the ton-mile rate on the new Boston and Worcester line in Massachusetts was only a third of the wagon or turnpike charges. Especially where traffic was heavy or distances great, the superiority of the railroad over wagon and turnpike freighting was obvious. T h e railroad was slower in showing its supremacy, in freight carriage, over the canal as few rail lines could come close to canal transportation rates, especially for heavy, bulky goods. In 1853, when the ton-mile rate on the Erie and the Ohio canals was averaging just over a penny, the comparable rates on the New York Central, the Erie, and the Pennsylvania railroads ranged from z.4 cents to 3.5 cents. For the less efficient or the poorly located canal, defeat by the railroad came more quickly. While the Erie Canal was still expanding its business in the fifties, its southern rival, the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, ceased important operations Fif-stRails shortly after the Pennsylvania Railroad reached Pittsburgh in 1852. Interruptions in service caused by winter ice, too much water, or too little water plagued all the canals. As early as r 83 I Niles’ WeeklyRegistel- reported that while both the Erie and the Delaware and Hudson canals had been closed for five months during the year, operations on the newly opened Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had been stopped but a single day. N o r could the canals ever successfully compete in the building of short lines or in furnishing service directly to the factory or mill of the shipper. T h e railroad offered shippers tremendous advantages in speed. In 1852 rail shipments from Cincinnati to New York City took from six to eight days, about a third of the time required for service via the canals, Lake Erie, and the Hudson River. These several advantages resulted in heavy rail traffic of such freight as livestock, packing-house products, and general merchandise by the early fifties. T h e Erie Railroad was shipping huge quantities of milk, dairy products, and berries from the lower tier of counties in New York to New York City long before the completion of the line in I 85 I . In the generation between the Treaty of Ghent and 1850 Americans had solved the problem of moving people and goods over the growing distances of their nation both cheaply and quickly in a variety of ways. Turnpike, wagon, and Concord stage had given way to canal, lineboat, and packet, to be supplemented, in turn, by stern-wheeler and side-wheeler on almost every river in the country. Before the typical turnpike had started to return its original investment-almost before the memory of the toasts and illuminated banners used to celebrate the opening of the Erie Canal had faded and long before the first federal safety regulation for river steamboats (1838)-another challenger appeared in the form of the flanged wheel, iron rail, and puffing locomotive. Perhaps the really significant theme in the early transportation history of this country was the tendency of each new type or phase of transportation to be so quickly challenged and largely supplanted by the next succeeding type or phase that no single form of transpor- 33 American Railroads tation had a decent opportunity to grow. Fortunately for the railroad, this trend was halted by the middle of the nineteenth century. By then the railroad had achieved a position of dominance that it was to retain until early in the twentieth century. T h e dream of Oliver Evans concerning practical rail transportation had clearly become a fact by 18jo. Of course many improvements were still unknown to the American railways then; steel rail, extensive federal land grants, the automatic air brake, the adoption of standard-gauge track and standard time were all to be developed in future decades. Nevertheless, the American railroad of I 8j o already had twenty years of growth behind it and was sure of its future in an expanding American economy. 34 3 Early Maturity: Expansion and War The decade just before the Civil War was one of the most dynamic periods in the history of American railroads. In 1850 a broken skein of short lines stretched from Maine to Georgia, and a few stray strings of rail connected the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. In the fifties the discovery of gold in California, the lure of the trans-Pacific trade, and the new land-grant policy of the national government combined to push rail construction at a rapid rate. As a result a shift soon took place in the prevailing traffic patterns from north-south (following the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers) to east-west (following newly built rail lines). T h e railroads shared fully in the optimism, expansion, and prosperity so typical of the decade. By 1860 a railway network of over 30,000 miles served all the states east of the Mississippi quite adequately, and few locations of substantial population in the eastern third of the nation were far removed from the sound of the locomotive whistle. T h e decade following 1850 was a time of many railroad “firsts.” New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore all achieved their first rail connections with the west as the Erie, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore & Ohio railroads, respectively, reached Dunkirk, Pittsburgh, and Wheeling in 1851 and 1852. T h e first telegraphic control of American Railroads trains and the first locomotive used west of the Mississippi came in the same years. In 1856 the first railroad was opened in California, from Sacramento to Folsom; the first railroad bridge spanned the Mississippi; and the first railroad over seven hundred miles in length, the Illinois Central, was completed. And in 1860, Chicago, now served by eleven different railroads, had become America’s leading, if not first, railroad center. Railroads were the major “Big Business” on the American scene in mid-century. As the rail network grew from 9,000 to more than 30,000 miles in the decade, the total investment in the industry also more than tripled-from $300,000,000 to $1, I 50,000,000 in 1860. Few other institutions in the country did business on so vast a scale or financed themselves in such a variety of ways. Few other concerns in the nation employed such numbers of men so varied in skill. T h e energy of the railroad-builders was such that by the middle fifties the United States, with no more than 5 per cent of the total world population, had nearly as much rail mileage as the rest of the world. But the rate of rail construction in the pre-Civil War decade was quite uneven. In New England, where the rail promoters had almost overextended themselves in the forties, new construction was the slowest. To the west and south the amount and rate of construction increased. In New England the mileage increased in the decade by not quite 50 per cent, in the Middle Atlantic states it doubled, south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers the rail network more than quadrupled in mileage, and in the trunk-line region of the Old Northwest the increase was roughly eightfold. T h e most intense construction was centered in the three states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. As much new rail was laid in Illinois in a single year, 1856, as had existed in the five states of the Old Northwest in 1850. In New England well over half the new construction of the fifties was located in the three northern states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. T h e major new line completed through the Early Maturity: Expansion and War three states in the decade was the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, a line built to connect Portland, Maine, with Montreal, 300 miles to the northwest. T h e man who dreamed of the railroadand later built it-was John Alfred Poor (1808-71) a 250-pound Yankee from Maine. Poor’s younger brother, Henry Varnum Poor ( I 8 I 2-1 905),was the major spokesman for American railroads in the nineteenth century, first as long-time editor of the American RailroadJoumal and later as publisher of the Manuaal of the Railroads of the United States. T h e Atlantic and St. Lawrence became a reality only after John Poor had made a dramatic dash from Portland to Montreal through a raging blizzard to convince the Montreal Board of Trade that his route was preferable to one terminating in Boston. T h e 292-mile line was completed in 1853 and was built, not to the standard gauge common in New England, but to the broad Canadian gauge of 5 feet 6 inches. Within a short time the road was leased to the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, a line which by 1861 had reached the borders of Michigan via the shores of Lake Ontario and Toronto. Farther south, four east-west main trunk lines were completed early in the fifties, two ending at Lake Erie and two reaching the Ohio River. T h e oldest of the routes to Lake Erie was the string of ten short lines paralleling the Erie Canal. These roads had been giving through service, of a sort, between Albany and Buffalo since the early forties. By 1853 they boasted a combined total of 542 miles of line, 150 woodburning locomotives, 1,700 freight cars, I 87 first-class passenger coaches, and an advertised fourteen-hour passenger-train schedule between Albany and Buffalo that was rarely adhered to. T h e consolidation of the ten lines was completed in the summer of 1853,with the new company, the New York Central Railroad, boasting a sensational capitalization of $ 2 3,000,000. Erastus Corning, iron manufacturer of Albany, was the new president. As executive head of the Utica and Schenectady for twenty years, he had never taken a cent in salary, asking only 37 American Railroads for the privilege of supplying the railroad with all its needs in iron, steel, and rails, and the same profitable arrangement remained in effect with the New York Central until 1856,a t which time a committee of stockholders decided that their company was too big for that sort of thing. Corning continued as president of the prosperous road until 1864,by which time the New York Central had caught the eye of its future leading man, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (I 794-1877). In 1851, as the presidents of the ten little railroads were only beginning to think of consolidation, a second through line to the west, the Erie Railroad, was completed. Its president, Benjamin Loder, planned a record-breaking celebration to mark the completion of his line, at that time the longest railroad in the country. The two special trains which made the trip from Piermont to Dunkirk on May 14and I 5 , 185I , carried 298 invited and assorted statesmen, including President Millard Fillmore, (1800-74), four members of his cabinet, and a number of presidential hopefuls, such as former Governor William H. Seward (1801-72),Stephen A. Douglas (1813-61),and Secretary of State Daniel Webster (1782-1852). At his own request the Secretary rode in a rocking chair securely fastened on an open flat car. Bundled up in a steamer rug, with a bottle of Medford rum for company, Webster said he wanted to miss none of the scenery. The route-long celebration included a number of speeches by Daniel, a parade (with nine thousand militia in dress attire), a seven-hour banquet at the overnight stop a t Elmira, and a final feast at Dunkirk, where a threehundred-foot table served up a variety of food and drink to the now groggy multitude. The new line had several years of fairly sober management before the shadow of Daniel Drew (17971879)fell across its path. In the early fifties Charles Minot (181066)was its able superintendent. Taking advantage of a parallel telegraph line set up earlier by Ezra Cornell (1807-74), Minot, on Early Maturity: Expansion and War September 2 2 , 1851, used the telegraph for the first time to dispatch trains, a practice soon to be adopted by all the railroads. Two other lines completed their original routes to the west in reaching the Ohio River late in 1852. In his first year as president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, John Edgar Thomson saw the completion of the road from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on December 10, 1852. For two years the railroad used the inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, but by 1855 a tunnel and Horseshoe Curve near Altoona made possible the exclusive use of locomotive-drawn trains. Farther down the Ohio the route from Baltimore to Wheeling was completed with the driving of the last spike on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on Christmas Eve, 1852. T h e first train entered Wheeling on January I , 1853, initiating sixteen-hour passenger service from Baltimore, a trip that had earlier taken several days by turnpike stagecoach. Thus in the first years of the decade four rival western lines had completed their original planned construction. T h e race between Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston to tap western trade via the railroad had finally ended in a virtual tie. More important was the fact that the four trans-Allegheny railroads had united the states of the Northeast and the Northwest well before the crisis of secession. Railroad construction in the Old Northwest in the fifties proceeded at a hectic rate, especially in the trunk-line region west of Pennsylvania. By 1860, Ohio was first in rail mileage in the nation, Illinois was second, and Indiana a strong fifth after New York and Pennsylvania. Much of the new construction in the region consisted of continuations of the trans-Allegheny lines of the East. Having extended their railroad to the Ohio at Wheeling, the owners of the Baltimore & Ohio sought the building of direct connecting lines westward to Cincinnati and St. Louis. Thomas Swann (1806-83) gave up the presidency of the B.&O. in 1853 but was 39 American Railroads soon president of the new Northwestern Railroad of Virginia, a line from Grafton to Parkersburg on a more direct route toward Cincinnati. West of Parkersburg the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad was constructed, and west of Cincinnati the broad-gauge (six feet) Ohio and Mississippi Railway was built to complete the route to St. Louis. All three roads were finished by 1857,and the opening of the “American Central Line” from Baltimore to St. Louis was marked with several special trains carrying more than 2,500 persons. T h e entire route ultimately came under the control of the B.&O. Farther north the Pennsylvania Railroad had in 1856 acquired working control of a 468-mile route from Pittsburgh to Chicago, the recently completed Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad. In Michigan another westward-looking line was completed as a trio of Yankees, John Murray Forbes (1813-98), James E Joy (1810-96),and John W. Brooks (1819-81),completed the Michigan Central from Detroit to Chicago in May I 85 z. T h e same trio had just won a long-running dispute with some local Michigan farmers. T h e difficulty started when the railroad refused to pay more than half the value of killed livestock after it had gone to the trouble of fencing all its track. T h e farmers and sympathetic townspeople of Jackson County retaliated by filling journal boxes with sand, tampering with switches, greasing rails, and even subjecting cars and engines to fusillades of rocks and buckshot. After the burning of a depot the farmers were hailed into court on charges of conspiracy. A round dozen received jail sentences, despite the best defense efforts of New York lawyer William H. Seward. A second Michigan railroad, the Michigan Southern, also reached Chicago early in 1852.This line was to become part of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, a road which Commodore Vanderbilt was to use as the western extension of his New York Central. Chicago, a city of thirty thousand residents by 1850,was the Early Maturity: Expansion and War focal point of much of the railroad-building in the decade. William Butler Ogden (1805-77), wealthy realtor and first mayor of the city, advocated in the middle forties that railroads be built to replace the growing plank-road network that served the city. Few Chicago merchants agreed with him, but by 1848 he had opened the first section of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (later a part of the Chicago & North Western), which was intended to serve the lead-mining region west of Chicago. In 1850 the 43-mile line was grossing $48,000 a year, had an operating ratio of less than 50 per cent, and boasted a new depot with a tower from which Ogden, using a marine telescope, spotted incoming trains for the benefit of passengers on the platform below. Within a few years most of the first-class hotels in the city had comparable cupolas in which men spied out incoming trains and boats so that omnibuses could be sent to meet the arriving passengers. Since each of the new rail lines had its own individual depot, the need for a transfer service between stations was soon obvious. In 1853 Frank Parmelee (I 8 I 6-1 904) established a transfer service long noted for its handsome rigs, excellent horseflesh, and genial and distinctively dressed drivers. In the fifties many radiating lines were built out of Chicago. T h e Forbes group pieced together the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to reach two points on the Mississippi, the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago was built to St. Louis, and the 180-mile Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific was finished to Rock Island in the record time of under two years by Henry Farnam (1803-83) for the company’s president, John B. Jervis, builder of the Mohawk and Hudson. T h e Rock Island is remembered for building the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi (1856), a bridge both legally and physically threatened by rival steamboat interests. Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) was among the lawyers who won the subsequent lawsuit for the railroad. Of the eleven railroads that served Chicago in I 860 the Illinois 41 American Railroads Central was the longest and perhaps the most important. Unlike most railroads in Illinois, it was a north-south line running the length of the state. Much like the shape of a thin wishbone, one section of the road ran south from Chicago and a second extended south from Dunleith, the two lines meeting at Centralia to continue down to Cairo. In 1850 Senators Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and William R. King (1786-1853) of Alabama maneuvered through Congress the first land-grant act aiding the building of a railroad. The law granted six alternate sections of land per mile of railroad to the Illinois Central in Illinois and the connecting Mobile and Ohio in the states of Mississippi and Alabama. In answering critics of the proposed land grant, Senator King, later VicePresident under Pierce, said: “This is an immense grant. . . but it will be there for five hundred years; and unless some mode of the kind proposed be adopted, it will never command ten cents.” The Illinois Central was soon profitably selling thousands of acres of its land and bringing hundreds of new settlers into the state. When the Illinois Central completed its main line in 1856, its seven hundred miles of track made it the longest railroad in the world. South of the Ohio and Potomac rivers several important railroads were completed in the decade before the Civil War. The sister line of the Illinois Central in the South, the Mobile & Ohio, finished its 483 miles of track from Mobile to Columbus, Kentucky, in the spring of 1861, just ten days before the start of the with Civil War. Under the leadership of James Robb (1814-81), some assistance from Judah P. Benjamin (1811-84), a second line to the North, the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern, was built from New Orleans to Canton, Mississippi. A connecting road, the Mississippi Central, continued the route into Kentucky. In the same years the uncouth but highly regarded James Guthrie (1792-1869) of Louisville, after retiring from Pierce’s cabinet in 1857, completed the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The major east-west route built in the decade consisted of four lines: the Early Maturity: Expansion and War Memphis and Charleston, running from Memphis to Chattanooga; the East Tennessee and Georgia, from Chattanooga to Knoxville; the East Tennessee and Virginia, from Knoxville to Bristol; and the Virginia and Tennessee, which ran to Lynchburg, Virginia. Every southern state added substantial railroad mileage in the decade. Virginia, because of the extension of new roads to the west (the B.&O. and the road to Bristol), easily led the South in rail construction and ended the decade with well over I ,700 miles of line, thereby demoting Georgia to second place for a few years. T h e American rail network of 1860 could be divided, on the basis of mileage, into nearly equal thirds: ten thousand miles in New England and the Middle Atlantic states, eleven thousand miles in the Middle West, and nine thousand miles in the South. But in average length, cost of construction, and volume of traffic the four hundred railroad lines in the three regions varied widely. In the Northeast, where traffic was heavy and the distances comparatively short, the nearly two hundred different lines averaged about fifty miles in length and were valued (in 1860) at an average of $48,000 per mile. In the Middle West the longer distances and often lighter construction and traffic produced figures of just over a hundred miles for average length of each line and a cost of $37,000 per mile. Southern lines averaged perhaps ninety miles in length and because of light construction, easy terrain, and low traffic density were valued at only $28,000 per mile on the eve of the Civil War. Technical advances in equipment and operation came naturally in the decade. Eleven different gauges were in use in the North, but by 1860 the standard gauge, 4 feet, 8% inches, was by far the most common. T h e great bulk of the southern railroads were still of the 5-foot gauge. In 1860, T-rails were the general rule, but a few branch lines and some roads in the South still had iron-capped wooden rails. Steel rails came into use only after the war. Most railway superintendents in the decade were ordering American43 American Railroads type (a swiveled four-wheeled truck in front plus four drivers) locomotives with functional cowcatcher, large headlight, and balloon stack. This type of engine (4-4-0) in I 860 had a name rather than a number, cost $8,000 to $10,000 to build, used wood or possibly coal for fuel, cost well under a dollar a mile for total operating expense, and was the pride and joy of the engine crew assigned to it. For heavy freight duty Ross Winan’s camel-back was still common on the B.&O., and a new Mogul-type (2-6-0) freight engine appeared in 1863. T h e best coaches now came equipped with corner toilet, water tank, and newsboy. During the last years of the decade a t least four men-Webster Wagner (1817-82) for the New York Central, Edward C. Knight (1813-92) for the B.&O., T. T. Woodruff (18119 2 ) for the Terre Haute and Alton, and George M. Pullman (183 I97) for the Chicago and Alton-were experimenting with sleeping cars. Pullman had earlier made a name for himself in Chicago by successfully lifting the four-story all-brick Tremont House several feet to the new street level with the aid of 1,200 men and some 5,000 jackscrews. Pullman’s sleeping car was to become the accepted model because he had, with equal ingenuity, worked out an upper berth which would disappear during the day while holding the bedding for both upper and lower beds. Night travel had become the accepted thing by 1860, but Sunday trains were still matters of dispute, especially in the southern states, until after the Civil War. Dining-car service was not yet available, the traveler having to be satisfied with hurried snacks bought at railroad eating houses during short scheduled stops. T h e fifties brought both a great expansion in railroad mileage and an increase in the number of railway accidents. Faulty track maintenance, poorly built bridges, careless railroad employees, and often the total absence of the most elementary safety precautions all contributed to the high catastrophe and casualty rate. As railroad superintendents and directors urged on the hectic rate of 44 Early Maturity: Expansion and War railroad-building, their motto often seemed to be: “Let’s lay more track and to hell with maintenance.” Carelessness by the engineer clearly caused the 1853 wreck a t Nonvalk, Connecticut, when a train ran on to an open drawbridge, killing 45 persons. T h e absence of any traffic control over the crossing of two rail lines in Illinois caused another wreck later that same spring, bringing death to 18 and injury to nearly 60. T h e total for the year was more than a hundred major rail accidents, with 234 passengers killed and 496 seriously injured. American railroad bridge-builders were among the cleverest in the world. John A. Roebling’s (1806-69) double-deck suspension bridge near Niagara Falls, which he had begun by flying a cordcarrying kite across the chasm, was finished in March, 18j j . But most of the wooden “Howe truss” bridges built in the fifties were not as safe as the Niagara bridge, the Erie Starucca Viaduct, or the enduring stone Thomas Viaduct on the B.&O. Too often the wooden bridges of the day grew tired, the trains fell through, and the car stoves ignited the resulting debris. N o r was the American rail system on the eve of the Civil War really an integrated network. Gauge diversity was one of the most serious handicaps to through service. In I 861, because of different gauges, eight changes of cars were necessary for a trip from Charleston to Philadelphia. Impediments to through traffic were caused not only by the absence of over-all planning but also by the presence of strong local economic interests. Tavern keepers, teamsters, and porters were happy that not a single rail line entering either Richmond or Philadelphia made a direct physical connection with any other railroad entering the city. Gaps in service were also to be found at the major rivers. While the Mississippi had been bridged before the war, neither the Ohio nor the Potomac was crossed by a railroad bridge in 1861.A major result of this variety of gauge, lack of transfer facility, and absence of important bridges was that in the railroad service of a century ago nearly ev45 I GROWTH OF RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR - (Smwm~Dillcrmrcl in G a t l ~ ) spndardGauw Td,48%' k American Railroads ery freight car belonged to the road on which it was running. True physical integration of the railroad network would have to wait until well after the Civil War. Imperfect as the network was, rail transportation in the period from mid-century to 1865 provided the nation with vast improvements in the movement of both goods and people. Railroad freight rates dropped substantially during the fifties. While the New York Central, Erie, and Pennsylvania lines had averaged from 2.4 cents to 3.5 cents a ton-mile in 1853, by 1860 the average rate for the three roads was less than 2 cents. As the rail network grew rapidly in the region north of the Ohio River, much of the western domestic commerce which had been accustomed to a southern water movement increasingly shifted to eastern markets that were reached by rail and the Great Lakes. Between 1852 and 1856 the arrival of wheat in Chicago increased ninefold, and comparable shipments of corn quadrupled. This grain came to Chicago via the new railroads, and much of it went on to the East the same way. New Orleans and the river boats even lost some of their cotton trade to the railroads. When the Western and Atlantic Railroad and the Memphis and Charleston were completed in the fifties, much of the cotton that once had descended the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers to an eventual market in the Crescent City went instead by rail to increase the exports of Savannah or Charleston. By 1860 the canal packets and river steamers had lost much of their passenger traffic, and many railroads had improved and sped up their schedules in the fifties. O n the eve of the Civil War the railroad passenger could travel from St. Louis to Boston in fortyeight hours or from New York to Charleston in sixty-two hours. He could buy a coupon ticket good for the entire trip from Bangor, Maine, to New Orleans, check his baggage the entire distance, and note the performance of his train and train crew in the railroad schedules and guidebooks recently made available. 48 Early Maturity: Expansion and War Despite its limitations the American rail network had by the Civil War furnished the nation with a transportation system far beyond anything made available by earlier forms of internal improvement. Turnpikes had never been built in any significant numbers in either the southern or western states, being limited chiefly to New England and the Middle Atlantic region. Canalbuilding had been somewhat more extensive in many states, but in 1850, when the mileage was near its peak, only fourteen states could claim as much as twenty-five miles of canal. By contrast, in 1860 every state save Minnesota and Oregon had railroad mileage, and twenty-nine of the thirty-three states had more than a hundred miles of line. More than a dozen lines were reaching west from the Mississippi into the states of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. In fact, on the eve of the Civil War the western fingers of the rail network were very close to the frontier line. With the exception of small corners of Minnesota, Iowa, and Kansas, the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, and much of eastern Texas, the western population of the Mississippi Valley was at least partially served by the railroad. In the fifties many Americans were also dreaming of and making plans for a railroad to the Pacific. Even before the Mexican War the arguments of h a Whimey (1797-1872)~ New York merchant and world traveler, for a railroad to the Pacific via the South Pass had gained modest support in Congress. The acquisition of California, the discovery of gold, and the prosperity of the period greatly increased the interest in such a project. Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans all aspired to become the eastern terminus of the proposed rail route. In March, 1853, Congress appropriated $150,000 for the survey of four possible routes to the coast. Between 1853 and 1855, three central and southern routes were examined by U.S. Army engineers, and a northern route was surveyed by Isaac Stevens (I 8 I 862), governor of the Washington Territory. T h e Gadsden Pur- 49 American Railroads chase of 1853, which had been urged upon President Franklin Pierce (I 804-69) by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis (I 808-89), helped southerners feel that their favorite route would be selected. Early in 1854 Senator Douglas of Illinois, who clearly preferred a central route starting from Chicago, countered with his KansasNebraska Bill. Douglas hoped that the organization of territories west of the Missouri River would improve the chances of having the central rail route selected. In the resulting flare-up of antislavery and proslavery passions the Pacific railroad was largely forgotten. T h e Panic of 1857 definitely ended any thought of such a railroad in the fifties. T h e depression of the late fifties checked rail construction moderately in the rest of the nation. As the rate of expansion declined, attention was frequently given to consolidation and improvement of rail management. O n the eve of the Civil War American railroads were ready for, were waiting for, an increase in business. T h e war brought that increase. If the increase in business which came with the Civil War improved the economic health of the American railroads, the railroads, in turn, materially aided the Union cause. Had the war started a decade earlier, before the substantial rail construction of the fifties, both the military and economic contributions to northern victory made by the bottled-up Ohio and upper Mississippi valleys would have been significantly smaller. In the quarter of a century before 1850 the competition for the commercial allegiance of the Northwest had resulted in a near tie between the Erie Canal boats from the Northeast and the river steamers from the South. In the fifties the economic victory had gone to the Northeast as hundreds of miles of new railroad iron crossed the granite barrier of the Alleghenies to enter the Old Northwest. Iron rails and puffing locomotives helped the Northwest decide that it would support the Union. As the Union and the Confederacy faced the prospect of war in the spring of 1861, their respective rail systems offered more in Early Maturity: Expansion and War the way of contrast than comparison. With roughly nine thousand miles of line, the eleven Confederate States could claim a small third of the nation’s rail mileage. Their roads were more lightly constructed, carried a correspondingly smaller volume of traffic, and employed no more than a fifth of the country’s railroad employees. A traditional dislike for mechanical pursuits in the South had resulted in the employment of many n
834	dbpedia	3	82	https://www.traillink.com/trail-history/mass-central-rail-trail/	en	Mass Central Rail Trail Rail-Trail History	https://cloudfront.trail…png?v=E6mOKEyABK	https://cloudfront.trail…png?v=E6mOKEyABK	[ "https://www.traillink.com/images/tl/trail-link-logos/tl-large-logo.png", "https://www.traillink.com/images/tl/trail-link-logos/railstotrails.svg", "https://cloudfront.traillink.com/photos/grand-trunk-trail_136063_nb.jpg", "https://cloudfront.traillink.com/photos/south-spencer-rail-trail_103710_nb.jpg", "ht...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	The Massachusetts Central Railroad was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938, but the 104-mile corridor is being reborn as a cross-state rail-trail. Currently, nearly 60 miles from Boston to Northampton...		https://cloudfront.trail…png?v=E6mOKEyABK		null	A Brief History The Norwottuck Rail-Trail comprises two different sections of rights-of-way originally owned by two railroads. The segment east of Northampton (known as the Mass Central Section) is roughly 10 miles, and for many years was owned by the Boston & Maine. It was originally built, however, by a predecessor during the late 19th century. The other segment runs west of Northampton (known as the Francis P. Ryan Section) and follows about 5 miles of a former New York, New Haven & Hartford branch. Neither corridor saw particularly heavy use (passenger service on both ended particularly early), and each was abandoned between the 1930s and 1970s. The western Francis P. Ryan Section of the trail was the first to be completed. This corridor had a long history well before the line ever reached the Northampton area. It began as the New Haven & Northampton (NH&N), a railroad chartered in 1846 to build north of New Haven, Connecticut, next to the Farmington Canal. As a result, it gained the moniker “Canal Line.” Most of this former NH&N right-of-way across the state is today’s Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. In 1848, the NH&N opened its first section between New Haven and Plainville. It continued pushing north over the next 20 years and reached Northampton, Massachusetts, by 1858. Later it extended to Shelburne Falls and Turners Falls. There were a handful of other notable branches radiating from the main line, serving Westfield (via Holyoke), New Hartford (via Farmington), and Williamsburg (via Northampton). The Francis P. Ryan Section follows about 5 miles of the latter, first opened for rail traffic on February 1, 1868. On May 14, 1887, the growing New York, New Haven & Hartford formally leased the NH&N, which became known as its Northampton Division and was later referred to as the Air-Line-Northampton Division. The New Haven became one of southern New England’s most important systems for its high-speed, partially electrified route between Boston and New York (the famed “Shore Line”). It became a necessary means of travel for commuters, and during the region’s industrial years, moved a wide variety of freight as well. Through the early 20th century, such was the case with the Northampton line, which also offered an interchange point at Northampton with the Boston & Maine. However, traffic drifted away considerably after World War II, and the New Haven found itself in an increasingly precarious financial position into the 1960s. Following its 1961, bankruptcy the company began abandoning its Williamsburg Branch, first from Williamsburg to Florence in 1962 and the rest of the line between Northampton and Florence in 1969, when New Haven was included in the Penn Central merger. Today, almost nothing remains of the entire Northampton Division. The Mass Central Section of the Norwottuck Rail-Trail was once part of the Boston & Maine. Its history begins as the Wayland & Sudbury Railroad, incorporated in 1868 by the state legislature to build from Stony Brook near Boston (and a connection with the Fitchburg Railroad) to Sudbury. In May 1869, it was renamed as the Massachusetts Central Railroad, and the company had ambitious plans to push the line west across the state from Boston to Northampton, perhaps even to the Hudson River (which it never reached). Unfortunately, from the start it was beset with issues ranging from natural disasters to financial problems. As a result, construction was slow. In 1881, Boston and Hudson were linked, a distance of 28 miles, opening October 1 that year. By 1882, westward expansion had reached Jefferson (48 miles), although bankruptcy befell the company in 1883; it was reorganized later that year as the Central Massachusetts Railroad (CMRR). In December 1886, the property was leased to the Boston & Lowell Railroad (B&L) with the stipulation that the route to Northampton be completed. Four months later, the B&L itself was leased to the growing Boston & Maine (which formally took control during 1901), but construction nevertheless proceeded quickly and was completed by December that same year. For a brief time, the CMRR was B&M’s primarily link to the west until the latter leased the Fitchburg Railroad in 1900. This new Fitchburg Division operated a more efficient, northerly route across the state, connecting Boston with Greenfield via Fitchburg. For some time during the early 20th century, however, the former CMRR property did well under the B&M banner, seeing strong patronage and dozens of through-trains daily. Business remained this way through the 1920s, but the Great Depression hit the line hard. Automobiles and trucks also took away both freight and passenger traffic. In 1932, the last passenger through-train left Boston for Northampton and it seems even Mother Nature wanted rid of the line. The 1938 New England Hurricane severely damaged central portions of the route, leading to its abandonment in 1939 between Hardwick and West Boylston. This left two large eastern and western branches. The former survived for commuter service but was slowly cut back starting in the 1950s; it had largely been removed by the early 1970s. The latter became known as the Wheelwright Branch and suffered the same fate; large sections were abandoned by the 1970s, including what is now the Mass Central Section of the Norwottuck Rail-Trail. Railroad attractions across the state of Massachusetts include the Berkshire Scenic Railway in Lenox; Cape Cod Central Railroad in Hyannis; Chatham Railroad Museum in Chatham; Edaville USA attraction and train rides in South Carver; Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum in Fall River; Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum in Shelburne Falls; and the Walker Transportation Collection and Beverly Historical Society & Museum in Beverly.
834	dbpedia	0	38	http://www.middlesexcanal.org/Report.html	en	MIDDLESEX CANAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	MASSACHUSETTS Submitted to: The Middlesex Canal Association Douglas Bruce McHenry, Secretary 15 Chilton Street Belmont, Massachusetts, 02478 Submitted by: The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc. 210 Lonsdale Avenue Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860 September , 1998 ABSTRACT At the request of the Middlesex Canal Association, PAL has completed a comprehensive survey of archaeological properties along the entire route of the historic Middlesex Canal. Chartered during the initial period of canal development in the United States, the 27-mile-long Middlesex Canal was constructed between 1793 and 1803, and played a significant role in the early industrial development of the nine towns through which it passes (Charlestown, Medford, Somerville, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Lowell). The primary goal of this project was to locate and document known and potential archaeological resources along the Middlesex Canal corridor using Massachusetts Historical Commission survey methodologies. In this regard, the project was successful and the survey recorded a total of 12 historical archaeological sites associated with the canal, and initiated the archaeological sensitivity of the canal corridor. Of the total number of recorded sites, the survey documented seven sites ancillary to the function of the canal. Included were two canal courtesy bridge abutment sites, the Baldwin/Carter Farm Bridge Abutments site (WOB-HA-1) in Woburn, and the Browns Footbridge Abutments site (BIL-HA-36) in Billerica. The survey recorded two aqueduct abutment sites, the Ipswich River (Settle Meadow) Aqueduct Abutments site (WMG-HA-4), and the Sinking Meadow (Lubbers Brook) Aqueduct Abutments site (WMG-HA-5), both located in Wilmington. Recorded ancillary sites also included two sluiceways, the Content Brook Sluiceway site (BIL-HA-37), and the Richardsons Mill Sluiceway site (BIL-HA-38), both in Billerica. In addition to the above, the survey recorded two culvert sites, one associated with the Richardsons Mill Sluiceway site, and the other (BIL-HA-42) located on Lowell Street in Billerica. The survey identified and recorded one site associated with the construction of the canal. Located in the Wilmington Town Forest alongside the Middlesex Canal, the Maple Meadow Aqueduct Stone Quarry site (WMG-HA-2) includes a quarry pit and quarried boulder field. Within the quarry boundaries, the survey also recorded the location of the Tow Line Grooved Boulder site (WMG-HA-3), perhaps a singular surviving example of its kind. The survey recorded four sites, all in the town of Billerica, that directly related to the operation of the canal. The Floating Towpath Peninsula site (BIL-HA-39), and the Floating Towpath Anchor Stone site (BIL-HA-40) were part of an ingenious system of bringing the canal through a mill pond on the Concord River. A short distance away, the survey recorded a surviving lock chamber (BIL-HA-9) under a parking deck in the Talbot Mill yard. The chamber, complete with carved granite pivot posts, is in remarkable condition. Finally, the survey recorded the Red Lock Basin Retaining Wall site (BIL-HA-41). PAL recommended that further research include a subsurface testing program to verify the archaeological sensitivity of those portions of the canal not visible on the surface. This includes most of the canal corridor south of Winchester. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Project Description At the request of the Middlesex Canal Association (MCA), PAL has completed a comprehensive survey of archaeological properties along the entire route of the historic Middlesex Canal. Chartered during the initial period of canal development in the United States, the 27-mile-long Middlesex Canal was constructed between 1793 and 1803, and played a significant role in the early industrial development of the nine towns through which it passes (Figure 1-1). Surviving portions of the Canal, as well as associated historic and archaeological resources along side it, are important tangible links to the early history of transportation, industry, and engineering in the region. Reconnaissance Survey Objectives The primary goal of this project was to locate and document known and potential archaeological resources along the Middlesex Canal corridor using Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) survey methodologies. The survey products will serve as the basis for a subsequent nomination of the Canal and associated resources to the National Register of Historic Places and other planning activities. Survey results were also used to develop town-specific archaeological sensitivity maps showing the expected locations of canal-related archaeological resources. The archaeological survey followed MHC methodologies and standards as set forth in Public Planning and Environmental Review: Archaeology and Historic Preservation, State Archaeologists Permit Regulations (950 CMR 70.00), The Protection of Properties Included in the State Register of Historic Places (950 CMR 71.00), Historic Properties Survey Manual Guidelines for the Identification of Historic and Archaeological Resources in Massachusetts (1992), and Guide to Prehistoric Site Files and Artifact Classification Systems (1984). Project Authority The archaeological survey is part of the Middlesex Canal Comprehensive Survey Project. The project was funded jointly by the MCA and the MHC, and by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, through a matching survey and planning grant administered by the MHC. Project Staff Virginia H. Adams, Director of Architectural Projects, directed the historic properties, assisted by Matthew Kierstead, Industrial Historian, and Jessica M. Snow, Architectural Project Assistant. Archaeological investigations were directed by James C. Garman, Principal Investigator and assisted by Paul A. Russo, Project Archaeologist. CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND FIELDWORK METHODOLOGIES Scope of Work The Middlesex Canal Corridor Comprehensive Survey consisted of two parallel components: a reconnaissance/intensive above-ground survey and a reconnaissance archaeological survey. The survey considered the full range of historic and archaeological resources associated with historic patterns of the canals construction, usage, and related economic development. The survey provides a full accounting of existing portions of the canal, as well as known and expected archaeological sites and historic buildings, structures, objects, burial grounds, parks, and landscapes that are structurally and historically significant to the Middlesex Canal. Resources surveyed included both representative and outstanding examples of identified property types linked by period, theme, form and style, and geographic distribution. The reconnaissance archaeological survey identified important canal features which were present or had the potential to exist as archaeological remains, rather than standing structures. Survey tasks performed as part of the archaeological survey included review of map evidence and secondary sources relating to the canals development; preparation of archaeological sensitivity maps for the route of the canal; and a walkover survey of the canal. Archaeological remains encountered during the walkover of the canal were photographed and included on the sensitivity maps. PAL prepared 12 MHC site forms for potentially-significant archaeological components of the canal. MHC inventory forms, maps, narrative history, reports, and National Register recommendations are produced in electronic and paper copy formats using a variety of computer applications, including Microsoft Access 2.0, Omniform, Generic Cadd 6.0, and Corel WordPerfect 8.0 on IBM-compatible computers. Paper copies of all products produced according to MHC requirements have been supplied to the MCA and MHC. Electronic copies of the survey database, inventory forms, and all other computer-generated products were also made available to the MCA and MHC. The work carried out was organized into four phase products, which are described below. Phase I Tasks: Coordination and Base Maps At the outset, PAL met with MCA project coordinators and MHC staff to discuss the scope of the project and to assess available documentary materials and base maps. Background Research The 1980 survey and feasibility study, existing inventory forms, and National Register of Historic Places nominations for the Middlesex Canal on file at the MHC were reviewed for completeness and adherence to current standards. Initial research was undertaken to familiarize the survey team with important themes and events in the history of the canal and alert it to the types of resources likely to be encountered in the field. Research included study of available historical sources, encompassing information pertaining to surficial and bedrock, USDA soil maps, historic period maps, USGS maps, aerial photographs, and publications available at local and state repositories. The Historic and Archaeological Assets of the Commonwealth and National Register files at the MHC were reviewed to collect information on previously recorded resources in the canal corridor. Interviews were conducted with the nine town local historical commissions (LHC) and knowledgeable local informants, including members of the MCA and Middlesex Canal Commission, to gather information relating to the canal route, known and potential sites, and other important issues. Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey The archaeological reconnaissance survey (950 CMR 70) required a permit from the State Archaeologist. As part of Phase I activities, PAL prepared a formal research design and methodology which was submitted as part of the permit application. Approval of the permit constituted authorization to proceed with field investigations. Phase I tasks included the preliminary background research on existing secondary sources. These sources were used to prepare archaeological sensitivity maps showing the expected locations of canal-related archaeological resources. The maps stratified the length of the canal into areas of visible, not visible and unknown for the presence of archaeological resources. Information about archaeological components was also entered into the same database used for the above-ground resources. Phase I products included: application for the State Archaeologists permit; working maps of the canal corridor to be surveyed, and large-scale base maps to be used to identify inventoried properties; and a methodology statement that incorporated: 1) a summary of survey objectives with a description of the study area boundaries and an assessment of existing documentation, 2) criteria for selecting properties for survey, 3) procedures to be followed in the survey and the form of products to be created, 4) expectations about the kind, number, location, character, and condition of historic properties to be recorded, and 5) preliminary bibliography of existing sources. Phase II Tasks: Background Research The second group of tasks included conducting additional documentary research to identify historical themes, events, and persons that were important to the history of development of the Middlesex Canal. The selection criteria for the above-ground survey detailed in the project goals and methodology statement was applied to all properties identified during the reconnaissance survey, and a list of properties to be intensively surveyed was generated. This list was organized by town, canal segment, and, where appropriate, street address and identify any State Register of Historic Places properties to be included in the survey. An outline of the reconnaissance archaeological report, including a brief summary of research results was prepared. Coordination A meeting with MHC staff and the MCA project manager was held at the end of Phase II to review the property lists, draft forms, and narrative history outline. During this meeting the list of properties to be intensively surveyed was finalized with the agreement of all parties. Phase II products included: a list of areas and individual properties surveyed, arranged alphabetically by town and street address; an outline of the reconnaissance archaeological report; and Phase III Tasks: Reconnaissance Archaeological Survey The field walkover was conducted in this phase, as well as outstanding research on known and expected archaeological sites. The field survey was conducted in conjunction with the above-ground intensive field work. The MCA assisted in the field walkover. A draft archaeological reconnaissance report, draft archaeological inventory forms, and draft maps was prepared. National Register criteria were applied to determine the potential eligibility of archaeological resources for inclusion in the NRHP. All draft materials were submitted to MHC and MCA for review and comment. Phase III products will included: draft archaeological reconnaissance report; unnumbered archaeological inventory forms; a draft list of all areas and individual properties recommended for nomination to the National Register; and a draft archaeological sensitivity map of Middlesex Canal resources. Phase IV Tasks: The final phase will involve developing, in consultation with the MHC survey and MACRIS staff, an approved lettering and numbering system for inventoried properties and adding the numbers to the forms; preparing the final archaeological reconnaissance report and management recommendations; completing National Register Criteria Statement forms and attaching them to the appropriate inventory forms; preparing a final base map identifying inventoried areas and properties; generating a street index of inventoried areas and properties; and preparing a list of further study recommendations. Phase IV products will include: two sets of MHC inventory forms (one set will be prepared for MCA and the second for MHC on 24 lb. bond paper of at least 25% cotton fiber content and accompanied by a full set of original black-and-white photographs); two sets of the large-scale base map (one for MHC, one for MCA) with all surveyed areas and properties identified by inventory number; two copies of the final archaeological survey report; and four paginated, unbound copies of the Survey Report (two copies for MHC and two for MCA) CHAPTER 3 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT This chapter presents background information on regional and project area-specific environmental parameters. The parameters discussed below indicate that during the physical evolution of the landscape, the Middlesex Canal project area hosted a diverse resource base consisting of woodland and wetland flora and fauna. Information contained in this chapter provides the physical setting for predicting the types of cultural resources that might occur in the project area, discussed in Chapters 4 and 5 of this report. Geomorphology and Bedrock Geology The Middlesex Canal passed through two major tectonic zones. From Charlestown north to Wilmington the canal corridor lies within the Milford-Dedham Zone. This is a complex zone comprising Upper Proterozoic quartzite, volcanic and plutonic rocks intruded by Upper Proterozoic calc-alkalic granite, metamorphosed to gneiss in the west and southwest. It is unconformably overlain by uppermost Proterozoic sediments of the Boston and Bellingham basins, by Lower and Middle Cambrian sediments, and by Upper Silurian-Lower Devonian volcanics and sediments of the Newbury basin. It is cut by Upper Ordivician and Devonian alkalic granite, and overlain unconformably by Pennsylvanian continental sediments, by Triassic-Jurassic basins, and by Cretaceous coastal plain sediments. From Wilmington to Lowell the Middlesex Canal passed through an intrusive complex known as the Nashoba Block. This zone is comprised of shale, marble, and volcanics of uncertain age, metamorphosed and synchronously intruded by Ordovician plutons and intruded by post-metamorphic Silurian plutons. The Nashoba Block also includes Upper Proterozoic and Ordovician Massabesic Gneiss (Zen et al 1983). Materials of economic value, prehistorically and historically, occur within the two tectonic zones. Prehistorically, the Milford-Dedham Zone, especially in the vicinity of the Boston basin, contained several source materials important to Native American stone tool manufacture including quartzite, argillite, rholite, tuff, basalt, and slate. Although the Milford-Dedham Zone contained material of historic value, it was the Nashoba Block with its compliment of granite varieties that was much more important to the canal builders. Surficial Geology The surficial geology of southern New England is attributed to Pleistocene glacial effects. The final Pleistocene glacial advance and retreat during the Wisconsin period eroded and displaced bedrock, realigned drainages, and deposited till, erratics, and glacial moraine. Evidence of these effects are widespread. The landscape was covered both by glacial till, a "heterogenous mixture of rock particles ranging in size from clay to fine silt to boulders [erratics]" (Power 1957) deposited directly by the retreating ice, and by sand and gravel outwash, deposited by meltwater streams. The resulting landscape consists of kame terraces, outwash plains, and ground moraine. Other glacially formed landscape features occur in localized areas and include swamp deposits of partially decomposed organic material mixed with sand, gravel, and alluvium, and pockets of sorted sand, gravel, and silt (Power 1957). Soils Soils within the Middlesex Canal corridor are varied. In Charlestown, Somerville, Medford, soils within the canal corridor are classified under various urban soil complexes, particularly Merrimac-Urban land complex, Urban land Boxford complex, Woodbridge-Urban land complex, Urban land Canton-Charlton-complex, Charlton-Urban land-Hollis Complex, and Scio-Urban land complex (USDA 1986). As the canal leaves Winchester and transects north toward Lowell , soils trend toward typical Middlesex County soils. Well drained loamy soils occur in areas of low disturbance, like Paxton, Montauk, and other series developed in compact glacial till. Also present are soil series developed in glacial outwash. These soils, like the Merrimac and Windsor series are excessively well drained, overlying loose stratified sand and gravel. Watered sections of the canal and portions of the corridor that pass through wetlands tend to be associated with poorly drained soils such as Freetown Muck, as well as wet substratum urban complexes (USDA 1986) Drainage Patterns The Middlesex Canal corridor crosses major river drainage basins, principally the Concord-Assabet-Sudbury, the Merrimack-Shawsheen, the Charles, and Boston Harbor. Encompassing portions of Lowell, Chelmsford, and Billerica, the Concord-Assabet-Sudbury river basins are a major tributary system of the Merrimack River. Before joining the Merrimack at Lowell these rivers traverse a variety of terrain and change character several times, traversing wide meadows and suburban and rural country side. The Merrimack and Shawsheen river basins occupy portion of Billerica and Wilmington. The Shawsheen is a major tributary of the Merrimack River, entering that river in Lawrence, Massachusetts. South of the Shawsheen River basin, most of the Middlesex Canal Corridor lies within the Boston Harbor Basin system, with portions of Somerville touching on the Charles River Basin. A major contributor to this system is the Mystic River. The Mystic River is classified as an urbanized system, dammed by flood control and salt water control dams (Bickford and Dymon 1990). Past Environmental Settings A general chronology of vegetation patterns from about 14,000 (B.P. [years before present]) to the recent historic period has been assembled Based on recent palynological research at locations across New England (Gaudreau and Webb 1985) (Table 3-1). Palynological investigations have not been conducted in close proximity to the project area. However, data collected for other areas of central Massachusetts, including a sediment core from Nipmuck Pond in Mendon (Newby et al. 1987), should be somewhat representative of the broader region. Table 3-1. General Chronology of Vegetation Patterns in Southern New England, ca. 13,500 to 1000 B.P. The earliest forest type following the retreat of the glacial ice sheet (ca. 13,500 B.P.) consisted of a spruce parkland with significant amounts of shrub (birch and alder) and herbaceous (sedge) plant species. This was succeeded by a closed pine-dominant forest that moved into southern New England between about 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. The pollen evidence indicates that a boreal forest environment existed ca. 11,500 years ago and was characterized by jack pine, red pine, white birch, spruce, and alder trees. By about 10,000 B.P. the forest composition had shifted to a more mesophytic type of forest dominated by white pine with white birch and some hemlock. An increase in oak within regional forests followed the expansion of white pine between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. Oak was firmly established as a component of forests by about 8000 B.P. and marked a major ecotone that extending from east to west across southern New England. This ecotone remained in place throughout the middle and late Holocene and extended from southern coastal Maine across north-central Massachusetts, traversing the Worcester Plateau area from northeast to southwest direction. The elevated uplands of the Worcester Plateau appear to have been a significant ecological boundary on the southern edge of a mixed conifer/hardwood forest. This major boundary remained in place to also form the northern limit of the oak dominated deciduous forest in southern New England. North of this boundary zone, hemlock and beech increased as components of the mixed hardwood/deciduous forest between 6000 and 4000 B.P. A general cooling trend in climatic conditions across the entire Northeast occurred after 4000 B.P. In both northern and southern New England, forest populations of spruce increased (mostly at high altitudes) and moved farther south (Gaudreau and Webb 1985). After 3,500 years ago the relative amounts of oak and hemlock declined in the Worcester Plateau area. These changes took place over long periods of time. Early indications of the alteration of forest cover by prehistoric populations 1,000 years ago appear in recent pollen cores taken in southern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Herbaceous plant species (Ambrosia, Tubuliflorae) increased in significant numbers at about this time; these are weed species typically associated with forest clearance (Bernabo 1978:87-88; Suter 1985). The pollen core from Nipmuck Pond did not contain evidence (Ambrosia pollen increase) of forest clearance during the late prehistoric period. Instead, an oak/hickory forest type with smaller amounts of birch and beech covered this area. This forest type resembled the classic oak (C-zone) forest recorded from other pollen coring sites in southern New England (Deevey 1939; Newby et al. 1987). Present Conditions Specific project area conditions for each of the Middlesex Canal corridor sections are discussed in Chapter 6 of this report as part of the walkover results. CHAPTER 4 NATIVE AMERICAN CONTEXT FOR THE PROJECT AREA Native American Settlement and Land Use in the Middlesex Canal Corridor Vicinity River drainages and related topographic features were strategic units of Native American resource exploitation territories and settlement systems. From the Middle Archaic to the early historical period, various types of data such as lithic resource use and ethnohistoric descriptions of traditional land holding suggest that Native American land use systems were oriented to regional drainage systems (Hudson 1887; Dincauze 1974; Snow 1980). It is necessary to consider the larger geographic context in order to understand cultural resources in relation to both regional and local patterns. For the Middlesex Canal corridor an appropriate unit of study is the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet River drainages. The PaleoIndian Period (12,500 - 10,000 B.P.) A large body of data of variable quality from known sites and artifact collections can be used to document about 10,000 years of human activity in the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet River drainages (Table 4-1). Isolated diagnostic PaleoIndian projectile points have been reported from several artifact collections in the Sudbury and Concord drainages, but no definite components or sites dating to this time period (ca. 9,500 years ago) have been identified. One possible basal fragment of a fluted PaleoIndian point is known from the Heard Pond Site in Wayland, and several other fluted points have been identified from sites in Concord (Wayland Archaeology Group 1981; Blancke 1982). It seems likely that sites of this earliest time period are present, but have not been identified. The Early Archaic Period (10,000 - 7500 B.P.) By 8500 B.P., during the Early Archaic Period, hunter-gatherer groups occupying the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet drainages had already begun to use raw materials from several extensive lithic source areas in eastern/southeastern Massachusetts. These non-local sources of fine-grained, volcanic rocks, including a wide range of porphyritic and aphanitic felsites, rhyolites, and several types of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, were used in varying amounts throughout the entire pre-Contact period. Early Archaic bifurcate base projectile points showing a range of stylistic and temporal differences have been found at several of the largest, multi-component Archaic/Woodland period sites in the riverine environmental zone. In particular, artifact collections from the Heard Pond Site and the Davis Farm Site in Sudbury each contain several bifurcate base points chipped from both local quartzite and rhyolite or felsite from source areas in eastern Massachusetts. At least 16 bifurcate base or Kirk-like points are known from 10 find spots or sites located in the middle and lower section of the Sudbury drainage and the upper Concord River just below the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers. It is still unclear whether the bifurcate base points surface collected from large sites near the Sudbury River represent Early Archaic depositions on those sites or isolated, discarded items. Morse's Farm, a small site in Wayland that reportedly yielded a bifurcate base point, is located outside the riverine environmental zone on an elevated kame delta. Some variation in the location of Early Archaic activities and potential site areas is suggested by this find spot and with additional information it should be possible to outline a basic settlement pattern for this time period. The Middle Archaic Period (7500 - 5000 B.P.) Following the Early Archaic Period and particularly during the Middle and Late Archaic (ca. 7500 to 2500 B.P.) periods, locally available materials became increasingly important as settlement and resource exploitation activities became more restricted to defined territories. During the Middle Archaic period, lithic materials from source areas in the elevated upland sections of the Assabet and Sudbury drainages were locally important. Raw materials such as quartzite from the Westboro Quartzite Formation and amphibolite schist from parts of the Marlboro Quartzite Formation were used for projectile points and other chipped stone tools. The increased emphasis on locally available lithic materials after about 7000 B.P. was first noticed in Middle Archaic assemblages from the Merrimack basin in southern New Hampshire. This also seemed to be a regional trend across much of eastern Massachusetts (Dincauze 1976). For Middle Archaic hunter-gatherers occupying the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet drainage area, Cambridge argillite from sources in the northern half of the Boston Basin was the most important non-local material. Fine-grained, silicic tuff or mylonite, probably derived from outcrops along the Bloody Bluff fault zone on the northwestern edge of the Boston Basin, was extensively used in the first half of the Middle Archaic. Volcanic materials from source areas on the northern and southern edges of the Boston Basin were also used, particularly the porphyritic felsites found within the Lynn and Mattapan volcanic complexes (Chute 1966) and rhyolite from the Blue Hill Range (Naylor and Sayer 1976; Ritchie 1979). The number of known Middle Archaic sites relative to those of earlier time periods provides graphic evidence of extensive use of the Sudbury-Concord drainage basin by 7,000 years ago and this area was a major focus of Middle Archaic activity in eastern Massachusetts. This area has been identified as one of several concentrations of regional importance within the southeastern New England region (Dincauze and Mulholland 1977:440-441). The high frequency of Middle Archaic components on riverine zone sites suggests that subsistence/settlement activities were focused on river meadow and adjacent wooded wetland environments. Table 4 - 1 Prehistoric Cultural Chronology for Southern New England. TABLE CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE The distribution of Middle Archaic components indicates a fairly intricate settlement pattern in a variety of riverine and upland environmental settings; these components range in site size and internal complexity. Several small, possibly single component sites found in upland settings contrast sharply with the previously known larger riverine zone sites (Ritchie 1982). In addition to Neville, Stark and Neville variant projectile points, chipped and ground stone tools such as gouges, semi-lunar knives, whetstones, biface preforms, choppers and plummets have been recorded from avocational excavations at several sites in the Sudbury drainage (Fowler 1950; Carlson 1964). Local Westborough quartzite and rhyolite or felsite from sources in the Blue Hills and Charles-Neponset River drainage area were used for Neville points. Stark points were primarily chipped from distinctly local lithic materials such as quartzite, crystal tuff, and amphibolite schist or argillite from source areas in the Charles River drainage. The local quartzite, mylonite, crystal tuff and amphibolite schist were quarried from bedrock outcrops located in upland sections of the Sudbury-Assabet drainage and demonstrate that Middle Archaic populations were making extensive use of local resources (Ritchie 1979). The Asparagus Experimental Station (19-MD-86), North Bridge (19-MD-487), and Hosmer's Rock (19-MD-103) sites are good examples of riverine zone Middle Archaic components and the Barthel's Farm (19-MD-20) site along upper Elm Brook near Minute Man National Historical Park is one of the few upland zone components from this temporal period. The group of 21 Neville and Stark points from the Asparagus Experimental Station Site in the Ben Smith Collection is one of the largest known assemblages of Middle Archaic material. The Late Archaic Period (5000 - 3000 B.P.) After about 6000 B.P. more diversified sets of non-local and local lithic materials were utilized, probably reflecting a broad trend in the general approach to exploiting resources of all types. Late Archaic Period cultural groups developed lithic technologies based on different sets of preferred local and non-local raw materials. Laurentian Tradition affiliated groups, active from 5500 to 4500 B.P., relied heavily on the quartzite found in various parts of the Westboro Quartzite Formation. Source areas along the western edge of the Worcester Plateau probably provided almost all of this raw material, which was the primary local lithic type found on sites in the upper Sudbury and Assabet river drainages. Fine-grained volcanics from the major source areas to the north (Lynn Volcanic Complex) and on the southern edge of the Boston Basin (Blue Hill Igneous Complex, Mattapan Volcanic Complex) were also widely used. Small Stemmed Point Tradition lithic technologies demonstrate the most extensive use of local lithic sources. This probably reflects a basic pattern of resource use that was dependent on the raw materials available within well-defined river drainage exploitation territories around 4000 to 3000 B.P. Cobbles of quartz collected from deposits of glacial outwash were used throughout the area. Vein quartz extracted from bedrock outcrops provided a majority of the raw material for groups around the headwaters of the drainage system. Lithic resources used by Small Stemmed Point groups included some of the same distinctly local materials (lithic tuff, mylonite) used during the Middle Archaic Period. Primary dependence on non-local volcanic materials from many different sources in eastern Massachusetts is one of the features of the Susquehanna Tradition lithic technologies in the study area. Fine-grained porphyritic felsites obtained from quarry sources in the uplands between the Neponset and Charles drainages and rhyolite from the Blue Hills were the materials most often used by groups occupying the Concord-Sudbury-Asabet drainages. Porphyritic and aphantic-textured felsites (e.g., Saugus jasper) from the Lynn Volcanic Complex north of the Boston Basin were also used. Exchange networks of considerable extent were apparently employed in the procurement of these and many other varieties of fine-grained, extrusive volcanic materials including cherts from source areas in east-central New York (Dincauze 1968). Susquehanna Tradition stoneworkers also made use of lithic resources found in the Worcester Plateau area, exploiting a group of steatite sources in the upper Blackstone drainage. The only locally derived materials used with any regularity were fine-grained varieties of Westboro Quartzite Formation. Sites that can be affiliated with various Late Archaic cultural complexes show the greatest frequency and widest distribution in different environmental zones than sites of any other time period. Surface collections from the larger, multi-component sites along the Sudbury River drainage invariably contain projectile points considered to be diagnostic of the three major cultural traditions (Laurentian/Brewerton-Vosburg, Small Stemmed Point, Susquehanna) within the Late Archaic Period. The Ben Smith Collection contained Late Archaic projectile points of various types from 73 sites in the area. Over 80 percent of the sites investigated by Smith that could be placed in any temporal period contained Late Archaic components (Johnson and Mahlstedt 1982:11). Settlement and resource use patterns of the local cultural complexes representing the Laurentian Tradition are poorly known. Characteristic Otter Creek, Vosburg, and Brewerton series projectile points tend to appear mostly on sites also used by earlier Middle Archaic hunter/gatherer groups for exploiting the riverine wetland environmental zone. More substantial depositions of Laurentian affiliated cultural material have been found on sites in the headwaters area of the Sudbury and Assabet River drainages. The most diversified patterns of settlement and resource use are illustrated by the frequency and spatial distribution of Late Archaic Small Stemmed Point Tradition sites and components. Some large, riverine zone locations also used by earlier groups (Neville/Stark, Brewerton) such as the Heard Pond Site, and the Davis Farm Site in Sudbury were probably base camps, judging from the large numbers of diagnostic projectile points (Squibnocket Triangle, Small Stemmed) picked up there by collectors. The Ben Smith Collection contained over 60 Small Stemmed points from the Davis Farm Site (Johnson and Mahlstedt 1982:11). Riverine wetland zone resources were also exploited from many other smaller site locations oriented to tributary streams and wooded wetlands. Some potential single component sites identified in the area between the Sudbury and Assabet River drainages also show that small groups of these people were exploiting upland zone resources. Utilization of many different plant and animal species is suggested by the distribution of small, resource extraction type sites along the edges of streams, bogs, and kettle hole swamps (Ritchie 1983:89). Upland zone resource exploitation by Small Stemmed Point hunters about 4,200 to 3,500 years ago was clearly documented at the Flagg Swamp Rockshelter in the nearby Assabet River drainage (Huntington et al. 1982). Three sites in the Sudbury-Concord River drainage containing Late Archaic cremation burials, the Mansion Inn cemetery (Wayland), the Vincent Site (Sudbury), and the Call Site (Billerica), were used to define the Susquehanna Tradition in southern New England. The Vincent Site was a single, isolated example of the cremation burial pits that composed the much larger Mansion Inn cemetery; a radiocarbon date of 3470±125 B.P. was obtained for the Vincent cremation burial feature. The Call Site contained a group of cremation burial features belonging to an early Susquehanna Tradition phase (Atlantic phase). Burned artifacts recovered from cremation burials on these sites show that Susquehanna tradition hunter-gatherers were using a diversified tool kit of hunting (projectile points, bifacial knives), woodworking (full grooved axes, adzes, gouges, whetstones), and processing (pestles, scrapers, hammerstones, soapstone cooking vessels) equipment. Participation in regional trade/exchange networks by these people was demonstrated by tools made of lithic materials from source areas throughout eastern Massachusetts, Maine, and eastern New York (Dincauze 1968). From a review of various artifact collections, it is obvious that Susquehanna tradition groups concentrated their resource exploitation activities in the riverine wetland environmental zones. Surveys in upland areas near tributary streams and wetlands draining into the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers have identified several small, probably single component sites with Susquehanna Tradition materials. Several sites containing bifacial preforms and Wayland Notched points like those from the Mansion Inn cemetery have been found in upland areas between the Sudbury and Assabet rivers (Gallagher et al. 1985). The Black Rabbit Site (19-MD-587) is a moderate sized (ca. 1,100 sq m) Susquehanna Tradition camp probably created during a single seasonal hunting/collecting episode in the headwaters of the Shawsheen River. This site is located north of the Virginia Road section of Minute Man National Historical Park (Mowchan, Schneiderman, and Ritchie 1987). The Hartwell Farm Site (19-MD-119), located a short distance north of the park on Elm Brook, contained a Susquehanna Tradition component marked by Atlantic and Susquehanna Broad-like projectile points. Many of the same riverine site locations with Susquehanna Tradition components were also used by Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland period hunter-gatherers, ca. 3,200 to 2,500 years ago. Diagnostic Orient Fishtail and some Meadowood projectile points have been recorded in collections from some of the large riverine zone multicomponent sites in the Sudbury-Concord River drainage. While most of the known Terminal Archaic components are in the riverine zone, a few find spots of Coburn-like or Orient Fishtail projectile points along the upper sections of various tributary streams suggest that there is an upland aspect of Terminal Archaic settlement/resource use that has not been recognized. The apparent low frequency of Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland period sites in interior areas is probably due to the traditional reliance on certain projectile point types (Orient Fishtail, Rossville, Meadowood) as indicators of components dating to ca. 3,000 to 2,500 years ago. The small sample of four Meadowood and four Rossville points within the Ben Smith Collection demonstrates the relative scarcity of these artifact types. Assemblages containing a variety of Small Stemmed projectile points with associated radiocarbon dates ranging from ca. 3200 to 2000 B.P. have been reported from a growing number of sites in the southeastern New England region. The Early Woodland Period (3000 - 1600 B.P.) Early Woodland depositions containing Orient Fishtail, small stemmed points and small amounts of Vinette-like ceramic sherds on the Cedar Swamp 3 Site in Westborough (Hoffman 1985, 1986:10) have been dated to between 2,650 and 2,170 years ago. The earliest ceramic vessels, consisting of thick bodied wares with cord-marked exterior surfaces and burnt rock temper (Vinette I type), apparently were in use during the Terminal Archaic to Early Woodland transition. Throughout the Merrimack River basin an expansion of settlement patterns relative to the preceding Early Woodland is evident from the number and distribution of Middle Woodland components. Consistent with patterns recognized throughout New England, this was a period of apparently increasing population and intensive long-distance interaction. A study of Merrimack Valley Middle Woodland ceramics, indicated that the drainage became a single, homogeneous interaction unit towards the end of the Middle Woodland Period (Kenyon 1983). Late Middle Woodland components are marked by a high percentage of exotic lithics, and that the distribution of these lithics (particularly Pennsylvania Jasper) is directly associated with Jack's Reef components dated between A.D. 500 and 800 (Mahlstedt 1985; Luedtke 1987; Goodby 1988). The Middle and Late Woodland Periods (1650 - 450 B.P.) In the middle and lower Sudbury River drainage, most of the site locations used during the Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland period continued to be staging points for Middle Woodland resource exploitation; however, there was also a significant reuse of other sites that had been occupied during the Middle and Late Archaic. The Watertown Dairy Site in Wayland seems to be an example of this pattern; evidence for Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland occupation is minimal, but a definite Middle Woodland activity area containing ceramic sherds, turtle bone, and chipping debris has been identified (Largy 1983:104). At the Staiano Site in Wayland, evidence of intensive resource processing activity by Middle Woodland groups has been documented. Three large circular burnt rock features about 2 to 3 m in diameter appear to have been used for smoking and/or drying fish. The site is situated in a section of the Sudbury River known historically as the location of fishing weirs (Weir Hill, Weir Meadows) (Hudson 1887:45-49). Diagnostic Middle Woodland or early Late Woodland material associated with these features included dentate-stamped ceramic sherds, a Fox Creek-like biface/knife, and a Levanna point. Four radiocarbon dates ranging from 1610 to 640 B.P. were obtained on charcoal from these features (Blancke 1978:176-177). At the Hocomonco Pond 1 Site in Westboro, several large (ca. 2 m), circular burnt rock features containing ceramic sherds and some non-local lithic material (chert) appear to have been used by Middle Woodland groups for intensive resource processing (smoking or drying fish?). Similar large, burnt rock features have been reported in Middle and Late Woodland contexts at the Wheeler's, Shattuck Farm, and Garvin's Falls sites on the Merrimack River (Barber 1983; Luedtke 1985; Starbuck 1985). The location of all of these sites suggests that these features were directly related to the harvesting and processing of anadramous fish. For reasons that are unclear, Middle Woodland groups in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts were procuring large amounts of exotic lithic materials (e.g., cherts and jasper) from source areas outside the southern New England region (New York, Pennsylvania). Ceramic wares from this time period (ca. 1600 to 1200 B.P.) show design influences from areas to the west and southwest. It seems likely that lithic raw materials as well as stylistic information were passed along well-maintained trade networks. Intensive use of hornfels from a specific source area in the Blue Hills is also a distinctive feature of Middle Woodland lithic technologies across eastern Massachusetts. Groups of hunter-gatherers occupying the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet drainage system involved in these regional patterns. A few small Middle Woodland sites have been found near tributary streams in upland settings between the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers and settlement patterns were probably more diversified than generally indicated by the available site inventory (Gallagher et al. 1985). Known Middle Woodland components in the upper Concord River drainage are mostly restricted to the riverine zone and include the Punkatasset Field (19-MD-81), Poplar Hill (19-MD-88), and Old Manse (19-MD-89) sites which are in or near the North Bridge section of the Minute Man National Historical Park. Middle and Late Woodland settlement patterns in the Sudbury drainage appear to be fundamentally similar, with a possible reduction in resource exploitation territories during the Late Woodland period. Some of the same riverine zone site locations along the Sudbury drainage such as Baldwin Pond (Wayland Golf Course, loci 1 and 2), Weir Hill 3 (Sudbury), and several areas around Heard Pond (Wayland) were probably fishing stations. The confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers seems to have been a focal point of Late Woodland activity; possibly for fishing at shallow rifts or narrows suitable for the construction of weirs or other fish traps. Just downstream from the confluence, near the North Bridge section of Concord (Poplar Hill, Old Manse, Battle Lawn/Buttrick Estate, North Bridge sites), there is such a location. Diagnostic projectile (Levanna) points in several collections were made of local quartzite and quartz with lesser amounts of Boston Basin derived felsite, rhyolite and hornfels. A similar shift to more use of local lithic material from the Middle to Late Woodland has also been recognized as a sub-regional pattern and was interpreted as evidence of increasing emphasis on local resources during the Late Woodland (Dincauze 1974:51; Goodby 1988). Late Woodland to Contact Period (ca. 1000 to 500 B.P.) lithic resource use contrasts sharply with the preceding Middle Woodland pattern. Inspection of Late Woodland chipped stone tools (mostly projectile points from the Sudbury-Concord drainage indicates that most of the non-local volcanic material used for these items was obtained from the Lynn Volcanic Complex. Porphyritic and aphanitic-textured felsites (Saugus jasper and Melrose green felsite) from this general source supplemented local supplies of quartz and quartzite. The Contact Period (450 - 300 B.P.) In spite of reasonably good evidence for Late Woodland activity in most of the Sudbury River drainage, Contact period components or sites have not been identified. Several traditional land holdings, including one on the fall-line on the Sudbury River at Saxonville described in a mid-seventeenth-century deed, were being used for spring fishing and for planting fields (Temple 1887). Several locations including Nashawtuc Hill (Assabet/Sudbury River confluence) and a fishing weir on Mill Brook (Concord center) have been cited as locations of Contact period settlements. Burials discovered by avocational archaeologists in the Nashawtuc Hill area and on Poplar Hill (North Bridge area) may be late pre-Contact period interments. Descriptions of early- to mid-seventeenth century activity from secondary sources and the use of native place names suggest that the area was inhabited. It is unclear if the early to mid-seventeenth century settlements in the Concord-Sudbury-Assabet drainage area near Marlborough (Ockoocangansett), Acton (Nagog Pond/Nashobah), and Tewksbury (Wamesit) were located near former Late Woodland or Contact Period villages. The apparent absence of identified fifteenth century to Contact Period sites may be the result of several factors; including decreased population size due to early-seventeenth-century epidemics, the re-use and destruction of these sites during early English settlement, and a shift in settlement patterns in which populations aggregated in large coastal zone villages. CHAPTER FIVE MIDDLESEX CANAL HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Middlesex Canal is a 27.25-mile long, linear archaeological resource that traverses, from south to north, the Massachusetts communities of Charlestown (Boston), Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Lowell (see Figure 1-1). The northern 15.25 miles of the canal from Kilby Street in Woburn to the south bank of the Merrimack River in Lowell were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This section of the canal was nominated based on its physical integrity. No physical remains of the canal were known to exist south of Kilby Street at that time. The canal infrastructure generally averages 75 feet in width, however, its route is sinuous. The Middlesex Canal, completed in 1803, is significant as a major Federal Period (17751830) internal transportation improvement and an outstanding engineering accomplishment of the early nineteenth century. Operating 27.25 miles between Boston and Lowell (then Chelmsford) for almost 50 years, it was the second major transportation canal to open in Massachusetts after the 1795 South Hadley Canal. The canal was a financial business venture developed by regional entrepreneurs as a solution to costly and difficult overland transportation that hampered trade in the north-south axis between Boston and the Merrimack River Valley. In 1793, inspired by the success of European canal systems, a group of canal visionaries including Massachusetts Attorney General James Sullivan and native engineer Loammi Baldwin were incorporated as the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal in an act signed by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock. At this time there was no established civil engineering profession in America, and the first route survey, made in the summer of 1793 by Samuel Thompson of Woburn, was inaccurate due to inadequate equipment and experience. The proprietors attracted an experienced English canal engineer, Samuel Weston, who made another survey with Loammi Baldwin in July 1794. Baldwin made use of the first wye level and rod with magnetic needle in America. Their route was adopted, and construction began in September 1794. The project was financed through the sale of shares. Land was taken, and the canal route was divided into construction segments. Teams of contractors or landowners performed the work using primitive hand tools and animal power. Blasting was used and special excavating carts were developed. The canal was 20 ft wide at the bottom, and widened to 30.5 ft at the waterline. A ten-ft towpath lay to the east and a five-ft berm lay to the west. Construction included the first hydraulic cement used in America, and installation of a specially-prepared clay layer to prevent leaks, called "puddling," was employed. The route took advantage of topography wherever possible, hugging natural hillsides. Infrastructure relied mainly on timber construction, and included eight aqueducts over major watercourses, 20 lock chambers, and approximately 50 bridges. The canal was fed water at its summit in Billerica by the Concord River, and also by Horn Pond Brook in Winchester. The canal was completed for travel over its entire length in 1803. It was the longest canal in the nation and the most complex and innovative in construction. The canal served as a transportation corridor for freight and passengers. Barges and rafts brought agricultural products, timber, building stone, and other raw materials and bulk commodities from Merrimack River Valley communities as far north as Concord, New Hampshire, and the canal towns south to Boston markets. Imported ocean trade products and manufactured goods were moved from Boston to new markets to the north. Both canal company and private craft carried passengers between Boston and Lowell. Transportation costs were lower than overland shipping, although canal operations were hampered by seasonal constraints. The company maintained official landings at Charlestown, Medford, Woburn, Billerica, and Chelmsford, where goods could be exchanged. Canal operations were controlled by strict regulations. Traffic was forbidden at night, and numerous taverns were located at lock and basin sites for the evening accommodation of canal boatmen and passengers. From 1803 to 1807, under Canal Superintendent John Sullivan, the canal was slow to demonstrate its potential, as operations were hampered by repairs, uncollected tolls, and detained boats. Under Superintendent John Langdon Sullivan (18081820), tolls and other charges were enforced, repairs were made, and receipts rose, resulting in the first dividends to shareholders in 1819. Under Caleb Eddy (18251845), the canal remained profitable, and the company undertook a major capital rebuilding program in the late 1820s, rebuilding many timber structures with stone (Figure 5-1). The canal was not an overwhelming financial success during its period of profitability in the 1810s and 1820s. It did, however, serve as a model for more ambitious projects, and a delegation from New York State visited the canal in 1817 as part of efforts to develop the Erie Canal. Shortly after the start of the Early Industrial Period (18301870), the canals fortunes began to decline in the face of competition from new, parallel railroads. The Boston & Lowell and Nashua & Lowell railroads, completed in 1835 and 1840 respectively, offered faster, year-round transportation, cut dramatically into canal traffic and profits, and moved civic and industrial development away from the canal route. By 1843 Caleb Eddy proposed sale of the canal as a water supply for Boston. In 1846, under the last superintendent, Richard Frothingham, the company began to sell off land. The last boat run between Boston and Lowell was in November of 1851, and the last trip was in April of 1852. Finally in October 1859, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that the proprietors no longer enjoyed their rights and the Middlesex Canal ceased as a corporate entity. Post-Closure Impacts to the Middlesex Canal Through the Late Industrial (18701915), Early Modern (19151940), and Modern (19401960) periods, and until the present time, the route of the Middlesex Canal has been slowly impacted by transportation, civil engineering, and residential construction, the last of which has been pervasive in all communities through which the canal route passes. Along the canals former path there are portions which still remain somewhat intact, but there are also segments where nothing is visible. Some of the modifications to the canal are old enough to be of historical significance in their own right, while newer ones have simply obscured it. The integrity of the remains of the obscured portions of the canal and its associated infrastructure is unknown. In Charlestown, there are no visible traces of the Middlesex Canal Company complex, originally located in what is now the vicinity of Essex Street and Rutherford Avenue, due to residential construction and the construction of Rutherford Avenue itself. The mill pond was filled in for railroad yards in the mid-nineteenth century. Interstate 93 and the Sullivan Square rotary and underpass overlay the canal route, and residential and industrial development obscure the canal route from this point to the Somerville line. The canal route in Somerville and Medford is obscured by extensive late-nineteenth century residential development, as well as several instances of park, highway, and railroad construction. In Medford there is one remaining visible resource, the old canal tavern which was moved from its original location. The portion of the canal along the Mystic Valley Parkway between the north end of Sagamore Street in northern Medford and Sandy Beach in southern Winchester was variously impacted by the construction of the Boston & Lowell Railroad in the 1830s, the Mystic Valley Sewer in the 1890s, and the Mystic Valley Parkway itself. A short, visible section of the canal is visible at the Metropolitan District Commissions Sandy Beach Reservation. This is the only visible segment of the canal in Winchester and the first visible segment north of Charlestown. Further north in Winchester and Woburn the canal route was impacted in places by the mid-nineteenth-century construction of the Horn Pond and "Woburn Loop" railroad lines of the Boston & Maine Railroad. Late nineteenth and early twentieth-century residential home and street construction in Winchester and the south half of Woburn has obscured the remains of the canal. The canal between Kilby Street in Woburn and its northern terminus in Lowell has fared better since its abandonment and includes numerous watered stretches. A major interruption exists at the Route 95/38 interchange, where the canal was culverted for modern highway construction. From this point north to School Street, the canal was restored and watered for recreational use in the late 1960s with unknown impact to its bed and towpath. Late nineteenth and early twentieth-century residential construction has obscured the canal north to the Wilmington line. In Wilmington, acquisition of stretches of the canal by the Town of Wilmington and the Middlesex Canal Association have resulted in preservation of a significant, scenic section of the canal route. The construction of the modern Sweetheart Plastics industrial complex resulted in the covering of the canal route and reconfiguration of the Ipswich River near its crossing with the canal. The insensitive restoration of a short stretch of the canal north of Route 129 during the 1970s has impacted the canal. Lighter density residential construction and the proximity of the Boston & Maine Railroad right-of-way have lead to relatively good preservation of the canal in northern Wilmington, although the remains of the Lubbers Brook Aqueduct appear to have been impacted by post-canal drainage changes. A major gap in the canal resulted from the late nineteenth century expansion of the Boston & Maine Railroads Billerica Shops complex, around which the canal was rerouted. At the Billerica Mill Pond area, mid-nineteenth-century adaptive reuse of the canal as a mill raceway has resulted in the preservation of the only intact lock chamber on the canal. Further north, the construction of the modern Route 495/3/110 interchanges and the Wang industrial complex at the Chelmsford-Lowell line has obscured the canal route, as has dense twentieth-century residential construction between Route 3 and the Merrimack River in Lowell, where railroad construction has obscured the site of the canals northern terminus. Despite the impacts to the canal since its closure, the section between Kilby Street in Woburn and the canals northern terminus possesses sufficient physical integrity to have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The canal was also declared a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1967. The canal route constitutes a significant historic archaeological resource associated with the history of American civil engineering and regional commerce and trade. Specific Town Contexts Charlestown Charlestown is an oblong peninsula located in Boston Harbor at the confluence of the Mystic and Charles rivers and sits at the primary focus of routes west and north of the inner Boston region. It was incorporated as a city in 1847 and was annexed as part of Boston in 1873. The original land area was 424 acres, with 400 more added through a land fill project in 1910. Due to its access to the Middlesex Canal, the millpond, wharves, and a bridge to Malden, Charlestown became a key location for industrial development. As a historic urban center, the original seventeenth century street grid survives intact on Town Hill and is a prime example of early urban planning. After the damage suffered by the urban area during the Revolutionary War, the original town area was rebuilt in the late eighteenth century with the stimulus of Boston bridge connections. During the mid-nineteenth century the scale of residential housing in Charlestown shifted because of an increased proximity, via bridge and public transit, to Boston expansion. Industrial expansion was maintained through the mid-twentieth century along the Mystic waterfront area. This industrial development continued throughout the 1980s along the Mystic waterfront. Urban renewal projects have cleared much of the historic fabric along Millers River. Canal Construction and Operation in Charlestown Charlestown was the southern terminus of the Middlesex Canal and was the site of a cluster of significant, canal associated buildings as well as other canal resources. In 1803 the canal proprietors bought the Charlestown mill pond, its dam, and mills. Locks were used along the canal to raise or lower boats and rafts to various water levels. Upon entering a lock, a boat would be lowered or raised by draining water in to or out of the lock. When equilibrium was reached between the level of water inside the lock and the level of water along the canal route, the boat could continue along its way. Locks along the Middlesex Canal, at 80 feet in length and 10 to 11 feet in width, could hold only one boat or raft at a time. Within the mill pond there were two locks and Bridge #1. A tow path was built across the pond. In addition to these features, a large wharf, known as Landing #1, was constructed at the mill pond in 1808. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. A pre-existing two-story building near the landing in Charlestown was made into offices for the toll collector and the canal agent. Also near the wharf was a storehouse, moved from Billerica, that was 80 feet long and 60 feet wide. As the canal left the pond, it passed across Charlestown Neck and under Bridges # 2 and 3. Bridge #2 was called Adams Bridge and was rebuilt in 1823 before being moved to a farm in Medford three years after reconstruction. The third lock in Charlestown was the Malden Road Lock. Near this lock was a second landing and beyond the lock was an accommodation bridge. A dwelling house built in 1825 was located between the second and third lock. The west end of the house was a public house for boatmen. At this site a 100 foot long wharf was also built. In 1826, Adams Bridge was moved, the swing bridge over Lock #1 was rebuilt, the old boat house was turned into a stable for 21 horses, and a breakwater was built in the mill pond. A pre-existing house at Main and Canal Streets was turned into a tavern and a stable was constructed on the site in 1827. An addition was made to the house in the same year and several were also made to the Bunker Hill Tavern in 1828. Most taverns related to the canal were owned by the corporation and usually rented to the lock tender. He would derive income off of the boatmen and their horses, who paid for a place to rest, eat, and drink. The bar at taverns were often the center of nighttime activity. The drink of choice at most tavern bars was blackstrap, a mixture of rum and molasses. Facilities for keeping horses were also available at most taverns. A year later a brick office was built for the canal company near the tavern. Built to the companys specifications, it was 26 feet long, 16 feet wide, and two storys high. In addition to a safety vault with iron doors, the roof was slate and the exterior was accented with copper gutters and conductors. The lock tender and inspectors office, the collectors office, and an area to accommodate boatmen during rainy weather were located in the building. Also in 1829, another dwelling house was built at the first lock for the lock tender and inspector. The last canal related structure built in Charlestown was a storehouse/shed erected in 1834 on the wharf in Charlestown. Somerville Somerville is an urban industrial city on Bostons transport corridor to the northwest. Approximately 4.1 square miles in area, Somerville sits along the divide between the lower Charles and Mystic River watersheds. Originally part of the Charlestown grant of 1630, Somerville was formed as an independent town in 1842. Both the Fitchburg Railroad and the Boston & Lowell Railroad, later absorbed by the Boston & Maine Railroad, pass through the city. Somerville was a critical military position during the Revolutionary War and remnants of some of the fortifications still remain. During the early nineteenth century it became an important corridor of turnpike, canal, and railroad routes from Boston. With the development of east/west trolley routes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, rapid suburban subdividing took place, and an extensive street grid, with a dense residential fabric, followed. In the twentieth century national industrial meat packing, candy, and specialty goods firms moved to Somerville. In the 1980s, Somerville suffered because of its fringe location and neighborhoods in East Somerville deteriorated, while industrial land along railway yards was abandoned. Canal Construction and Operation in Somerville The Middlesex Canals passage through Somerville was dotted with only a few features and structures related to its operation. Heading in a westerly direction after entering Somerville, the canal passed beneath Bridge #5. Another bridge, Tufts accommodation bridge, spanned the canal just beyond the hill known as Plowed Hill or Mount Benedict. The only other features important to the canals operation through Somerville were Lanes Bridge, a culvert, and a stop gate to prevent water loss when parts of the canal were emptied for repairs. The canal ran very close to Mystic River before it crossed into Medford. The curvature of the canal, combined with the geographical boundaries of Somerville and Medford placed the route of the canal briefly in Somerville later along its route. This brief segment of the canal contained stop gates before the canal re-entered Medford. Medford A town of approximately eight square miles in area, Medford was formalized as an independent town in 1695. In 1892 it was incorporated as the City of Medford. Medford lies entirely within the watershed of the Mystic River and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries small streams provided the town with waterpower. The town was the site of the first bridge over the Mystic River. Brick making has long been one of the towns main industries as the area is rich in clay deposits. The early nineteenth-century presence of the Middlesex Canal, as well as turnpikes and early railroads connecting Medford to Boston and New Hampshire, continued the towns economic growth and divided the area between the industrial east side and the affluent west side. Medford Square became the towns commercial center, and in the nineteenth century Tufts University established itself in Medford. By the twentieth century, the area saw increased development as a suburban district because of metropolitan trolley routes. During the middle of the twentieth century the industrial activity along the Mystic River lessened as the area was converted to recreational use and a highway corridor. Canal Construction and Operation in Medford The town of Medford was rich with canal-related features and structures. Due to its proximity to the Mystic River, Medford was the site of a branch canal that connected the main Middlesex Canal with the Mystic River. Whereas there was only one lock along the canal in Medford, many bridges spanned the canal there and a sizeable aqueduct carried the canal over the Mystic River. As the canal entered Medford, but before it reached the place from where the branch canal extended, the canal passed under two accommodation bridges, one called Adams, and over two culverts, one of brick. The outlet from the main canal to the Medford Branch Canal was regulated by gates and led to a circular basin. The branch canal extended from the basin and fed into the Mystic River. Along the canal, locks were used to raise or lower boats and rafts to various water levels. Upon entering a lock, a boat would be lowered or raised by draining water in to or out of the lock. When equilibrium was reached between the level of water inside the lock and the level of water along the canal route, the boat could continue on its way. Locks along the Middlesex Canal, at 80 feet in length and 10 to 11 feet in width, could hold only one boat or raft at a time. The branch canal had a pair of locks. Boats and rafts waiting for passage into the branch canal from the main canal were stored in an area of the main canal widened just beyond the basin outlet. The branch canal was frequently used by rafts transporting timber for shipbuilding to the Mystic River shipyards. Beyond Medford Bridge was Landing #3 where a warehouse and wharf sat on the south side of the canal. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. Bridge #9 was not named, #10 was called Tufts Bridge, and #11 was known as Cutlers Bridge, Teals Bridge, or Leonards accommodation bridge. After passing under Cutlers Bridge, the canal briefly exited Medford into Somerville before re-entering Medford. At this point there was an aqueduct that carried the canal over the Mystic River. The imposing and strong aqueduct was 135 feet long and 14 feet wide within the wooden trough. The two granite abutments were 100 feet from each other and each of the three piers and two abutments was 20 feet long, 6 feet thick, and 12 feet high. First constructed in 1803, the trough and piers were rebuilt in 1829. The only lock on the main canal passing through Medford was connected to the aqueduct. Medford, or Gilsons, Lock had a lift of eight feet and was rebuilt in 1829. In the immediate vicinity of the lock and aqueduct was Landing #4. The tavern for boatmen passing through Medford was called the Canal House and opened in 1803. Most taverns related to the canal were owned by the corporation and usually rented to the lock tender. He would derive income off of the boatmen and their horses, who paid for a place to rest, eat, and drink. The bar at taverns were often the center of nighttime activity. The drink of choice at most tavern bars was blackstrap, a mixture of rum and molasses. Facilities for keeping horses were also available at most taverns. The lock tender lived in the Canal House too. Five years after its opening a barn was added and in 1830 the house and related buildings were repaired. The tavern was enlarged to hold more guests. An extant site, the Canal House is located at 76 Canal Street (ca. 1803) (MDF.397). After leaving the Mystic River and its complex of aqueduct, lock, and tavern the canal traveled beneath Brooks accommodation bridge, Bridge #12, and Peter C. Brooks bridge. Mr. Brooks bridge was built in 1821 and was an expensive, well-crafted, Chelmsford granite, elliptical arched bridge. As the canal reached the Wilmington-Winchester line it crossed a wooden culvert and passed a set of stop gates. Winchester Winchester was originally part of the Charlestown grant, part of which became the town of Woburn in 1642. This area was first settled in 1640, and through the Colonial Period (16751775) was largely agricultural, with some mill villages on the Aberjona (Mystic) River (MHC 1981:1). According to Federal Period (17751830) figures there were only 35 houses and perhaps 200 people in this area in 1797, the year the Middlesex Canal Company charter was granted. During the Federal Period, agriculture remained dominant, although home production shoe shops were in operation in association with Woburns emerging leather industry (MHC 1981:4). Canal Construction and Operation Major canal infrastructure features in Winchester included the Symmes (Aberjona) River Aqueduct, Gardners Lock, and the Hollis (Stone) Lock Complex. The Symmes (Aberjona) River Aqueduct carried the canal over the Symmes River on a bridge. The site was laid out in April 1802, and completed later that year. It was originally a timber structure only 12 ft wide, which slowed traffic as boats had to wait in basins to cross the aqueduct one at a time. In 1828 the aqueduct was rebuilt to a width of 40 ft using granite blocks (Lawrence 1942:111). Gardners Lock consisted of two lock chambers that allowed boats to ascend or descend between levels of the canal. This lock site was laid out in May of 1802, completed that year, and rebuilt in 1825 (Lawrence 1942:112). This complex included a lock tenders house, barn, and outbuildings constructed in 1830, and a tavern. Operation on the canal at night was forbidden, and taverns at locks were operated to accommodate canal boat operators and passengers. The Hollis (Stone) Lock Complex performed a similar, but more complicated function. In addition to passing boats between levels, intake and wasteway infrastructure at this location fed water from Horn Pond Brook, the only other source of water besides the Concord River, into the canal. This complex was completely rebuilt with granite in 1825, and included a carpenters shop and horse change station, where canal boat towing animals were fed, rested, and exchanged. The canal was spanned by bridges where necessary. Huffmeisters Bridge on Church Street, then known as Huffmeisters Row, was named for landowner Andrew Huffmeister, a Hessian soldier captured during the Revolutionary War, who remained in America to become a farmer (Lawrence 1942:112). An accommodation bridge, Bridge 14, was located south of Gardners Lock and allowed passage for animals on agricultural land separated by the canal (Lawrence 1942:112). An example of the ephemeral nature of canal crossings is Bridge 15, which was abandoned for legal reasons by 1819, and stood somewhere between Fletcher Street and the Wildwood Cemetery. Brick culverts were also constructed in several places to carry small streams under the canal prism. Only one building, the Canal Toll (Kimball) House at 3 Middlesex Street (ca. 1803) (MHC WNT.538), survives in Winchester from the period of operation. This toll house was located adjacent to a large basin south of the Hollis (Stone) Lock. The toll keeper was responsible for collecting passage tolls and checking the passport and cargo of passing canal boats (Middlesex Canal Company 1830). By the end of the Federal Period in 1830, Winchester experienced some growth due to shoemaking, with perhaps 400 to 500 residents. Minor settlement occurred along the canal axis. By the 1830s there were 35 shoe shops, mostly along Washington Street, east of the canal, and small mills were in operation on the Aberjona River and Horn Pond Brook. Robert Bacon was producing felt hats on the lower Aberjona River by 1825 (MHC 1981:5). Construction of the Boston & Lowell Railroad in 1835 at the start of the Early Industrial Period (18301870) resulted in rapid population growth, with 1,353 residents by incorporation in 1850, when Winchester was formed as an independent town from portions of Woburn, Medford, Somerville and Stoneham (MHC 1981:1). Woburn A town of 13.1 square miles in the Fells Upland district, Woburn was first established in 1642. During the Colonial Period tanning and dyeing developed as industries along the Aberjona River. The population of Woburn during this time dropped severely due to the smallpox epidemic. By the start of the Federal Period the population rose to approximately 1,515. During the Colonial and through the Federal Period tanning and shoemaking supplemented the predominantly agricultural economic base. By the nineteenth century shoemaking stood in direct competition with agriculture as the leading industry in Woburn. Other industries present in Woburn included mills, workshops, and tanneries. The mid-nineteenth century also saw a significant increase in population and significant growth as a Boston suburb because of the Boston rail connection with the Woburn town center. Leather and shoemaking remained the dominant industry in Woburn until the early twentieth century. By 1930, however, the economic character of the town shifted greatly as many new industries were introduced. Woburn was absorbed into the metropolitan suburban setting by the 1950s and since 1945 its population has nearly doubled. Today urban decay pervades the town center. Canal Construction and Operation in Woburn Woburn was the site of many taverns related to canal travel as well as numerous bridges, culverts, and locks. As the canal entered Woburn from Winchester, it soon reached Horn Pond. Much activity centered around this small body of water. Along the canal, locks were used to raise or lower boats and rafts to various water levels. Upon entering a lock, a boat would be lowered or raised by draining water in to or out of the lock. When equilibrium was reached between the level of water inside the lock and the level of water along the canal route, the boat could continue along its way. Locks along the Middlesex Canal, at 80 feet in length and 10 to 11 feet in width, could hold only one boat or raft at a time. To adjust the height of the boats travel nearly 50 feet at the Horn Pond site, three sets of double locks were employed. Culverts, sluiceways, and basins were also incorporated into this process of raising and lowering boats. The locks were, at first, all constructed from wood. Between 1828 and 1837 nearly all were rebuilt of stone. Along the shore and across from these locks several taverns sprung up to accommodate boatmen who needed room and board. Most taverns related to the canal were owned by the corporation and usually rented to the lock tender. He would derive income off of the boatmen and their horses, who paid for a place to rest, eat, and drink. The bar at taverns were often the center of nighttime activity. The drink of choice at most tavern bars was blackstrap, a mixture of rum and molasses. Facilities for keeping horses were also available at most taverns. The first of the taverns near Horn Pond was a small one consisting of a bar room for the boatmen and an open shed for horses. It was situated opposite the upper locks and east of the tow path. Sometime around 1824 a second tavern was constructed opposite the middle locks, on the same side of the tow path. Larger than the first when constructed, it was added on to in 1827. Later still, a larger tavern was built just south of the first tavern on Horn Pond. An exception to the general manner in which taverns were built and owned by the corporation was made as Horn Pond grew into a noted resort area. A private company built a very large and finely appointed tavern that had various outbuildings and other recreation features. Whereas the extent to which boatmen made use of this vacation-oriented tavern is questionable, the Horn Pond House at 7 Lakeview Terrace (ca. 1840) (WOB.21) was definitely a destination for many tourists and people on holiday. In the vicinity of Horn Pond the canal company also owned an ice house, which was rebuilt in 1825. The canal next encountered a number of bridges, culverts, and basins. After exiting the Horn Pond locks the canal ran beneath Wymans Bridge and crossed two culverts, one of brick and the other of wood. Next the canal widened into three basins followed by a sluiceway and more stop gates. The canal company built a Toll Keepers House at 5 Middlesex Street (ca. 1803) (WOB.22). The canal then passed below a series of bridges, starting with Wrights Bridge. It was at this bridge that the canal was most difficult to navigate. The canal snaked through a cut 25 feet deep, that was only 21 ½ feet wide at Wrights Bridge and was followed by a severe curve. After Wrights Bridge the canal went under N. Parkers accommodation bridge, Edgells Bridge, Baldwins Bridge, and Loammi Baldwins accommodation bridge. Abutments from the Baldwin accommodation bridge are extant (Figure 5-2). There was a landing south of this bridge. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. Loammi Baldwins house, The Loammi Baldwin Mansion (ca. 1802) (MHC WOB.1 and NR) still stands today and is situated a short distance from the canal in what was Newbridge Village. The core of the house was first built in 1661 by Henry Baldwin and enlarged into a mansion by Henrys great-grandson, Loammi in 1801 or 1802. The house has been moved approximately 100 yards east of its original location. Loammi Baldwin was an important figure in the construction of the canal. He was appointed the first sheriff of Middlesex County and went on to serve as engineer and construction superintendent for the canal. To the west and north of the Baldwin mansion was the 1790 House (ca. 1790)(MHC WOB.12), a structure that was not inhabited but instead was where Loammi Baldwin held many social events. A ball to celebrate the completion of the Middlesex Canal was held in the 1790 House in 1803. Beyond the 1790 House the canal passed over a half-culvert before heading under many more bridges. Samuel Thompson, who made the first attempt to survey the land and plan the canals route but was inhibited by inadequate measuring devices, lived in the Samuel Thompson House at 31 Elm Street (ca. 1730) (WOB.23) west of these bridges. Interspersed between Nichols, or Tays Bridge, Eatons accommodation bridge, Buxtons accommodation, or Thompsons Bridge, Lymans Bridge, and Tays Bridge were several sluiceways, brick culverts, and stop gates. Before leaving Woburn the canal passed Kendalls Tavern and Tays Tavern. Wilmington A town of 17.12 square miles in area, Wilmington is located in the Ipswich River watershed and was formed as an independent town in 1730. In the eighteenth century Wilmington prospered as an agricultural town and enjoyed limited industrial potential during the late nineteenth century with agriculture and transport services. The location of the Middlesex Canal along the Main/Shawsheen Street axis refocuses development to Wilmington Center during the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century Wilmington was an important corridor of the Boston-Lowell automobile highway routes. Tract development occurred around Silver Lake and commercial services sprung up along the Main/Shawsheen Street axis. Canal Construction and Operation in Wilmington Wilmington was rich with many bridge sites, aqueducts, and several locks. As the canal entered Wilmington it crossed a culvert of wood before encountering Maple Meadow Brook, where the Maple Meadow Aqueduct (ca. 1802, 1930s) (MHC WMG.902) carried the canal over the brook. Supported on two stone abutments, 19 feet apart and resting on one stone pier, the aqueduct was rebuilt in 1819 and in the 1930s by the WPA/CCC. Before reaching the Ipswich River Aqueduct the canal passed beneath Butters Bridge, widened into two large pools, passed beneath Jaques Bridge, and passed by a culvert and sluiceway. The aqueduct across the Ipswich River was approximately 15 feet long and rebuilt in 1826. The Ipswich River (Settle Meadow Brook) Aqueduct Abutments (ca.1802) (WMG-HA-4) still survive (Figure 5-3). Four years before the aqueduct rebuild, Gilliss Lock, a wooden lock sometimes called Jaques Lock, was rebuilt. Along the canal, locks were used to raise or lower boats and rafts to various water levels. Upon entering a lock, a boat would be lowered or raised by draining water in to or out of the lock. When equilibrium was reached between the level of water inside the lock and the level of water along the canal route, the boat could continue along its way. Locks along the Middlesex Canal, at 80 feet in length and 10 to 11 feet in width, could hold only one boat or raft at a time. For the tender of Gilliss Lock a two-story house, known as the Gillis Lock Tenders House (MHC WMG.209) was built in 1808. The canal company expected the house to also be used as a tavern for travelers along the route. Several bridges crossed the canal before it reached a third and final aqueduct in Wilmington. Bridges # 31 and 32 did not have names, but #33 was known as either Carters accommodation bridge or Walkers Bridge. The third aqueduct spanned what was called Lubber Brook or Sinking Meadow Brook. The aqueduct was called either Sinking Meadow Aqueduct or Walkers Aqueduct. It was 18 feet long and rebuilt in 1828. The Sinking Meadow (Lubbers Brook) Aqueduct Abutments (ca. 1802) (WMG-HA-5) are extant (Figure 5-4). Burnaps Bridge and Nichols Bridge both crossed the canal before it encountered Nichols, or Hopkins Lock. In the same vicinity was Landing #6 and possibly a tavern maintained by Nichols the lock tender. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. Four years after Nichols Locks rebuild of 1821, a 100-foot long wharf was built at the foot of the lock. The last canal related feature in Wilmington was a brick half-culvert. Extant archaeological features in Wilmington also include the Towline-Grooved Boulder (ca.1802) (WMG-HA-2), and the Maple Meadow Aqueduct Stone Quarry Area (ca. 1802, 1930s) (WMG-HA-3), both in the Wilmington Town Forest. Billerica The town of Billerica was established as the plantation of "Billirikeyca" in 1655 and today sits on complex, rolling terrain along the Concord River. It is a suburban industrial town between Boston and Lowell. During the colonial period Billerica supported an agricultural economy and had local mill sites along tributary streams. By the nineteenth century Billerica sat on the Boston/New Hampshire axis with the primary turnpike running to the Merrimack valley. Some of the stonework at river crossings and portions of the canal bed remain from the historic Middlesex Canal. North Billerica developed a mill village during the mid-nineteenth century with access to both the canal and an early railroad to Boston. The expansion of Lowell and the establishment of local trolley routes and highways in the twentieth century contributed to the suburbanization of Billerica. Recent large scale tract development and commercial incursions have affected the towns appearance. Canal Construction and Operation in Billerica Major canal infrastructure features in Billerica included the Shawsheen River Aqueduct (MHC BIL.909), several significant locks, many sluiceways and culverts, a floating towpath, and a dam. At the town line of Wilmington and Billerica stood the Shawsheen River Aqueduct (ca. 1802) (MHC BIL.909/WMG900, National Civil Engineering Landmark). This structure carried the canal over the Shawsheen River and was arguably the most imposing structure along the canal. First built in 1797 of wood, the aqueduct rose 35 feet above the river and spanned 140 feet between the abutments. When the wooden structure was rebuilt in stone during the summer of 1817 traffic was interrupted for six weeks. Some discrepancy exists regarding the dimensions of the rebuilt aqueduct, but the most generous figures assign the structure a length of 187 feet and a height of 30 feet. A third rebuild was undertaken in 1841-1842 when the structure was shortened to include one pier. Along the canal, locks were used to raise or lower boats and rafts to various water levels. Upon entering a lock, a boat would be lowered or raised by draining water in to or out of the lock. When equilibrium was reached between the level of water inside the lock and the level of water along the canal route, the boat could continue along its way. Locks along the Middlesex Canal, at 80 feet in length and 10 to 11 feet in width, could hold only one boat or raft at a time. Several locks stand out as more significant than others. Lincolns Lock was located just before the canal met the Concord River. The lock was first built in 1809 and rebuilt in 1818. West of the Concord River and beyond the mill pond was another lock of cut stone. Further along the canal was a raft lock and both locks at the Concord River were most likely rebuilt in 1827. Still further down the canal, a short distance beyond the raft lock, a new lock was built in 1837. This lock, often called the Red Lock, was particularly important as it connected the canal with the Concord River so that boats could head directly to Lowell via the river. The Red Lock Basin Retaining Wall/Concord River Channel (ca.1802) (BIL-HA-41) off Lowell Street is an extant feature of the canal (Figure 5-5). The variety of culverts along the Middlesex Canal were made of brick, wood, or stone, and generally date to original construction of the canal. Culvert Ruins at Lowell Street (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-42) survive, as do the possible remains of another culvert in the landfill area between Gray and Pond Streets that are both extant. Also extant are Content Brook Sluiceway (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-37) and the Richardsons Mill Sluiceway (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-38) near the landfill area (Figure 5-6). One of the most distinct elements of the canal in Billerica was the floating towpath that crossed the mill pond of the Concord River (Figure 5-7). As not to dam the pond at the site of the towpath, a peninsula was constructed in 1811 partially into the pond and a floating towpath continued the link across the mill pond. At first the floating towpath was not strong enough to support horses, but a later reworking of the towpath made it capable of supporting horse traffic. A notable characteristic of the towpath was that the bridge portion could be drawn up to let debris in the river pass through. An important aspect of the canals presence in Billerica was a dam across the Concord River within the Billerica Mills Historic District (BIL.E, O, NR). Construction of the dam was authorized in 1708, many years prior to the planning of the canal, but its waste gates allowed the River to supply water for the canal. The 150 foot long, 8 foot high dam was originally made of wood, but in 1828 a stone dam was built in advance of the deteriorating wooden one. Around the mill pond several features are extant. These include the Floating Towpath Peninsula (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-39), the Floating Towpath Anchor Stone (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-40), and the Lock Chamber (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-9, HAER), which includes intact stone lock chamber walls and gate pivots (see Figures 5-5, and 5-7). Also at the mill pond, but not extant, was a landing area. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. In several places along its passage through Billerica the canal was spanned by bridges. Past the Shawsheen River Aqueduct, the first bridge across the canal was Kendalls Bridge followed closely by Mannings accommodation bridge, also known as Pattens Bridge. The smaller Browns foot bridge, whose abutments are extant (Browns Footbridge Abutments (ca. 1802) (BIL-HA-36)), spanned the canal before it crossed Shawsheen Street under Allens Bridge (Figure 5-8). Richardsons Bridge, named for the owner of several mills in North Billerica, is the fifth overpass the canal runs beneath in Billerica. Before reaching the mill pond on the Concord River the canal passed under Davis Bridge, Tufts Bridge, and Rogers Bridge. Rogers Bridge collapsed in 1819 and was rebuilt shortly thereafter. Once beyond the mill pond the canal ran beneath three more bridges. Canal Bridge was also called Lunds Bridge, Farmers Bridge was the smallest of the three, and Spragues Bridge, or Livingstons Bridge, was the last bridge in Billerica. Several buildings are known to have related to canal operation in Billerica. In close proximity to Allens Bridge was Allens Tavern at 286 Salem Road (ca.1740) (MHC BIL.148) Most taverns related to the canal were owned by the corporation and usually rented to the lock tender. He would derive income off of the boatmen and their horses, who paid for a place to rest, eat, and drink. The bar at taverns were often the center of nighttime activity. The drink of choice at most tavern bars was blackstrap, a mixture of rum and molasses. Facilities for keeping horses were also available at most taverns. The tavern still stands on Andover Street. By 1840 the canal company owned thirteen buildings in North Billerica including several mills, shops, and dwellings. In 1825 a new lock tenders house was constructed in North Billerica and Nathan Mean probably lived in the house and tended the locks in that year. The Mears Tavern on Elm Street (ca. 1815) (MHC BIL.94) was sold to its proprietor by the canal company around 1815. Chelmsford Chelmsford is a suburban industrial town located along the Merrimack River valley, on the axis of Lowell/New Hampshire development. It was established as the Plantation of Chelmsford in 1655. Many tributary streams extended from the Merrimack and contributed to the eighteenth and nineteenth century development of mills including an iron forge and textile mill. Much of the town has been absorbed into Lowell as it underwent expansion. Currently much of the town has undergone intensive suburbanization and continued pressure exists along the main highways to New Hampshire and Boston. Canal Construction and Operation in Chelmsford As the political boundaries that defined the town of Chelmsford shifted frequently in the nineteenth century, certain features that were once in Chelmsford are now geographically in Lowell. There are few structures and features that existed within the current boundaries of Chelmsford. Upon entering Chelmsford the canal passed a sluiceway and two culverts, one of brick and one of wood. The first of two bridges in Chelmsford crossed the canal shortly after the second culvert. After passing under Mannings Bridge the canal was carried over River Meadow Brook, also called Hales Brook or Mill Brook. The first aqueduct at the site was built in the late eighteenth century, but was rebuilt in 1808 due to inadequate foundations. The trunk of the aqueduct was wood and ran 40 feet on stone piers. In 1819 repairs were made to the structure and in 1831 the entire aqueduct was rebuilt. (Today the site of the aqueduct is found within Lowells political boundaries.) The final feature situated right as the canal brushes the corner of what is currently Lowell, was the Long Causeway, or Long Causey, Bridge. The bridge was originally constructed of wood and was rebuilt in 1825 using stone for the abutments and towpath. The only building in Chelmsford related to canal activity is an original toll house (MHC CLM.2) for the Middlesex Canal. Originally located at the Merrimack River Locks in Lowell, the house was moved to its current site at Chelmsford Center from its original site at Middlesex Village. A landing was also located in Middlesex Village. Owned and operated by the canal company, landings were sites along the canal where goods or passengers could be loaded or unloaded from canal boats and rafts. Usually comprising a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the canals route where items were to be transferred between land and boats. A company employee tended the landing site. Lowell Lowell is a major urban industrial center with the Merrimack River being its dominant landscape feature. Originally it was established as Praying Town in 1653 and was established as the Town of Lowell in 1826. A decade later the area was incorporated as City of Lowell. Being at the junction of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers and Pawtucket Falls, Lowell was a center for mill activity beginning in the late eighteenth century. Lowell underwent significant economic development as canal improvements of the Merrimack were made in the early nineteenth century around Pawtucket Falls. There was a major shift of focus with the establishment of cotton manufacturing companies by Boston merchants during the mid-nineteenth century, and the creation of planned mill yards and related housing around the canal district. These mill companies helped create an urban fabric consisting of brick streetscapes of factories and housing in Federal/Greek Revival style. Continued growth of Lowell created distinctive land use areas within the city. Social neighborhoods and fringe industrial districts were linked by street railroads and bounded by rivers and canals along natural topography. The late nineteenth century saw the arrival of many immigrant laborers to Lowell. By the early twentieth century the economic decline of cotton manufacturing restricted development of the urban area. In the 1980s restoration of the downtown area around the National Historic Park preserved surviving portions of mill yards and their related housing. Continued expansion of suburban development from New Hampshire and Boston threaten remaining open space as revitalization of central area preserves early industrial districts. Canal Construction and Operation in Lowell As one of the termini of the Middlesex Canal, Lowell was the site of several features and structures crucial to the canals operation. Before reaching a cluster of important administrative and operations buildings, the canal encountered culverts, an aqueduct, and some bridges. Near the canals entrance into Middlesex Village it encountered a sluiceway and a wooden culvert before it passed beneath the Glass House Bridge. After passing another culvert, the canal was carried over Black Brook by way of an aqueduct which first dates to 1817. At that time it had two stone abutments with 110 feet and ten wooden piers separating the abutment and supporting the aqueduct sixteen feet above the brook. A 1818 or 1819 rebuild extended the length of the aqueduct to 120 feet. The final rebuild occurred in 1846 and resulted in a 75 foot long aqueduct with two stone abutments and four stone piers. Slightly south of the aqueduct was a basin where a dry dock was located; north of the aqueduct was the final bridge over the canal. Assigned the number 48, it was 21 feet, 6 inches in length and 25 feet, 10 inches wide. To the east of the dry dock, at 139-141 Baldwin Street, was the Glassworkers Long Block (MHC LOW.3), tenement housing for workers at the glassworks. The canal company le
834	dbpedia	2	76	https://www.faracresfarm.com/jbvb/rr/bmrr/b_and_m.html	en	Unofficial Boston and Maine Railroad Page			[]	[]	[]	[ "Boston and Maine Railroad", "Boston & Maine", "B&M", "Flying Yankee", "Minuteman", "roster", "modeling information" ]	null	[]	null	Unofficial Boston and Maine Railroad page with HO scale model railroad passenger cars, steam engine roster, diesel engine roster, caboose roster, passenger car roster, freight car roster, model detailing information		./favicon.ico		null	Unofficial Boston & Maine Railroad Page Copyright 1997 - 2021 by James B. Van Bokkelen . This document may be duplicated and distributed for non-commercial purposes only, all other rights reserved. Credit: Dwight Smith took the Black & White period photos used on the Unofficial B&M Page. Table of Contents Introduction to the B&M Boston & Maine RR Historical Society Modeling Eras on the B&M The B&M in (Recent) Print Boston & Maine Equipment B&M Passenger Equipment Roster and Modeling Information Preserved B&M Passenger Equipment B&M Freight Equipment Roster and Modeling Information B&M Wood and Steel Caboose Roster and Modeling Information B&M Steam Locomotive Roster and Painting Information Information on Detailing B&M Steam Locomotives B&M Diesel Locomotive Roster and Painting Information Information on Detailing B&M Diesels Boston & Maine Operations B&M Notes By Location B&M Operations New England Railroads and Railroad Operations My New England RR index page. Railway Post Office Routes in New England Inter-Line Passenger Services in New England Introduction The Boston and Maine Railroad began as a second through route from Boston towards Portland, Maine, after the Eastern RR, incorporated in 1833 and completed in 1843. The next 70 years involved a great deal of financial and political finagling, but by 1915 the B&M reached from Troy and Saratoga in New York to Southern Quebec. This system map, from Employee's Timetable #4, January 4, 1964, shows what remained after the first surge of Interstate construction. The B&M was pretty parsimonious; few other Class 1 roads put as much energy into old equipment. Thus, the 1950s were particularly interesting: The steam-diesel transition began in earnest in 1943 with the arrival of the first EMD FT freight diesels. It finally ended in Spring 1956 after the first big order of self-propelled Budd Rail Diesel Cars replaced both WWI-era 4-6-2 steam locomotives and three- to seven-year-old diesel road-switchers hauling a dog's breakfast of second-hand steel commuter coaches. The B&M innovated with early diesel switchers, the Budd articulated streamliner The Flying Yankee , and the complete dieselization of the Hoosac Tunnel main line west of Greenfield by 1946. Conversely, the B&M ran one of the last big fleets of open-platform wood passenger cars, certainly the last hauling commuters into a major metropolis, and used ball signals and covered bridges well into the diesel era. I didn't see much of this personally: I can barely remember being taken to trackside at North Station in 1960 to see the last arrival of the Gull from St. John and Halifax. My own B&M memories are of the RDCs and Geeps going about their business during the long decline under indifferent ownership in the 1960s, and then bankruptcy and a revitalization that was finally smothered in Guilford Gray. Still, I find the pre-interstate era interesting to research and model, and thus I owe a great deal to those who documented it. Acknowlegements Sincere thanks to the dedicated B&MRRHS volunteers who've prepared the B&M Bulletin articles I've compiled much of this information from, particularly Roger Hinman. I count myself lucky to have almost all the issues back to 1972, and hope that this effort will in turn be found useful by others. Thanks to Andy Miller for info on the ex-PRR cars. As I've prepared this, I've also been reminded how often it turns out that D. L. Ellis of Concord Junction Car Shops (Box 592, W. Acton, MA 01720) has made important B&M equipment available to the modeler, and my thanks go out to him as well as other manufacturers who give attention to the Route of the Minuteman. Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society (unofficial) The B&MRRHS has an official web site which has information on current Society events. They also have a web forum. The B&MRRHS was organized in 1971. After a few initial photocopied publications, they began producing a quarterly glossy paper magazine called the B&M Bulletin with the Fall 1971 issue. Publication has continued fairly regularly: Volume 20 Number 4 came out in late 1996, but Volume 21 Number 1 didn't appear until late in 1998. Initially, all Bulletin photography was black and white; color covers began with the Winter 1978 - 1979 issue, and a few from the mid 1980s have color photo sections inside. Besides the B&M Bulletin , the B&MRRHS also publishes the bi-monthly B&MRRHS Newsletter , which includes a section called Modeler's Notes . The B&MRRHS has also published several softbound books (all presently out of print) and various B&M plans, datasheets, videocasettes and specially decorated kits. Members receive the B&M Bulletin and the Newsletter as they are issued. The B&M Bulletin is also available over the counter at some hobby shops, and the B&MRRHS has offered back issues and other merchandise at various New England train shows. B&MRRHS Archives The B&MRRHS has a sizeable collection of archival material, held at the University of Lowell, in Lowell, Massachusetts. The collection includes photographs, timetables, detailed track maps of most lines updated through the 1950s, the ICC Valuation Report from the WWI era, and a substantial amount of corporate information on the B&M and some of its predecessors. More information is available on-line from the ULowell Library , though there is no on-line catalog as yet. Modeling Eras on the B&M As I view it, there are six main modeling eras accessible to those who need to use mostly commercially produced models, each defined by major changes in equipment and/or paint schemes: Pre-World War II (circa 1925 - 1941) Before WWII, the B&M was typified by passenger equipment in the dark green scheme with imitation gold letters and a locomotive roster dominated by 2-6-0s, 2-8-0s and 4-6-2s. Heavy freight power included 2-10-2s, early Lima Super-Power 2-8-4s in 1928 and thirteen modern dual-service Baldwin 4-8-2s beginning in 1935. The largest passenger steam on the B&M was also built by Lima - two classes of heavy 80" drivered 4-6-2s built in 1934 and 1937. A few 4-4-2s and the survivors of large numbers of 4-4-0s and 4-6-0s filled out the main line roster, and 0-6-0s and 0-8-0s worked the yards and industrial districts. Use of the block herald scheme on locomotives began before the depression, but the 1911 scheme wasn't all gone for a decade. A large portion of the passenger fleet was still wood cars built before the turn of the century. Most, if not all of the survivors had steel underframes, but open platforms and truss rods were common. Monitor-roof steel heavyweights held down most of the intercity trains, though after 1934 "American Flyer" lightweight coaches replaced deluxe heavyweights on the showpiece Boston-Portland services. Gas-electrics with and without trailers handled many branch lines, and after the mid-1930s the Budd Flying Yankee and no. 1140, a large EMC motor-baggage car capable of hauling a 3 or 4 car train (unofficially known as the Sacred Cow ) served alongside the old and new steam. A few EMD SC and Alco HH-600 switchers arrived in the late 1930s, painted basic black . The B&M's last new steam engines were five R-1d 4-8-2s purchased in 1941, but they were followed in 1943 by four used P-5 4-6-2s purchased from the DL&W. Until late 1941, the B&M's standard structure paint scheme used #1A Gray with #2A Dark Green Trim. At that point it was changed to Cream with Maroon trim and wainscotting (where applicable). There wasn't a rush to repaint; many stations and other buildings remained gray/green a decade or more later. Steam - Diesel Transition (1943 - 1956) The Hoosac Tunnel electrification was a bottleneck on the shortest, most lightly-graded route to the ports of New England, which gave the B&M priority for twenty-four of EMD's wartime FT A-B freighters. After the war ended in 1945, the B&M sampled two E-7s, and then bought fourteen more in 1946. Five more E-7s in 1949 and a single E-8 in 1950 finished the fleet. Single F-2As were bought to complement A-B FTs, along with several F-2s, F-3s and F-7s in A-B sets. Alco supplied S1s, S2s, S3s, S4s, S5s, RS-2s and RS-3s, EMD supplied SW-1s, NW-2s, SW-8s, SW-9s, BL-2s and GP-7s, but the dieselization wasn't complete until six months after the largest-ever order of Budd RDCs arrived in 1955; The official last run of steam was a fan trip with P-4 3713 (under restoration at Steamtown) on April 22, 1956 but the remaining 4-6-2s and 2-6-0s on standby duty didn't make their last trips to Billerica shops until July. For most of this period, the Minuteman image was the prevalent paint scheme. The 1946 E-7s arrived in a short-lived Rock Island-like maroon and white paint, and many EMD and Alco switchers and the first RS-2 did their chores in the black with red nose stripes . Starting in the early 1940s, passenger cars were painted maroon, usually with dulux gold lettering and black roofs and underbodies. Twenty-four stainless-sheathed lightweight cars arrived in 1947 for the joint B&M - MEC service between Boston and Bangor, ME. Most of the open-platform wood cars were replaced by several large purchases of second-hand steel commuter coaches between 1940 and 1952, but some survived almost to the end of steam. The first Budd RDCs arrived in 1952, with no decoration on their ends. They began to receive Minuteman heralds soon after, probably next year, as road diesels started to get silver trucks. A few photos of RDCs show a number on the end between the fireman's window and the top of the Minuteman herald, but this wasn't universal. McGinnis Era (1956 - 1962) While profitable, the B&M wasn't profitable enough for its investors - the railroad was vulnerable to a takeover. New management arrived in the form of Patrick B. McGinnis, who had recently stirred up quite a bit of controversy during a brief tenure as president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford. While a great many of McGinnis' programs were window dressing for questionable financial manuvering, he did have a profound and lasting effect on the railroad from the modeler's point of view. First, a set of modernistic blue, black and white paint schemes were introduced with considerable fanfare. Then, more Budd RDCs were purchased, including single-motor RDC-9s without control cabs. All but the RDC-9s arrived with white ends sporting interlaced blue, black and white BM heralds. By late 1958 RDCs completely replaced all remaining locomotive-hauled passenger service other than interline trains. McGinnis also bought an ACF Talgo Train with the railroad's first and only Fairbanks-Morse locomotives, possibly to honor promises dating from his ill-fated lightweight train program at the New Haven. Finally, he took advantage of EMD's "buy now, pay later" plan to replace the FTs and a few other units with 50 new GP-9s in the "Bluebird" scheme . The new RDCs combined with the decline in overall passenger traffic to leave dozens of locomotives idle. The F-2s, RS-2s, E-7s and older switchers were scrapped rather than sold, hinting that maintenance had been neglected. McGinnis's machinations apparently favored his friends rather than the stockholders as a body, and a net began to close around him. He resigned as president in 1962, was indicted in 1963 and went to prison in 1966 for taking kickbacks on the sale of the 1947 streamlined passenger cars. The older RDCs quickly got white ends and BM heralds to match the newer ones, but after less than a dozen locomotives repainted in the initial rush, diesels that had been delivered in maroon and gold stayed that way. The joint management agreement with the MEC had ended before McGinnis arrived, but during his tenure the two railroads drifted further apart: The MEC didn't want to run either RDCs or the Talgo beyond Portland, possibly because it would have meant paying mileage rates to the B&M. Neither did they concur with the B&M's decision to drop most mail and express service as unprofitable in 1959. The few new B&M structures erected after 1957 were painted varying combinations of white/gray, black and blue. Existing structures with Cream/Maroon almost always retained it till they were demolished. Adrift (1962 - 1971) The B&M eroded slowly through the 1960s under absentee owners mostly interested in a tax loss. The last interline trains dropped away, and the RDC runs were pruned back until finally only the Boston commuter service subsidized by the MTA (later MBTA) remained: 1958: RDCs west of Greenfield, MA on the Fitchburg Division discontinued 1960: RDCs from Dover to North Conway, NH, discontinued 1960: RDCs beyond Fitchburg to Greenfield discontinued April 23. 1960: Boston - St. John, New Brunswick Gull discontinued 1960: New York - Portland State of Maine discontinued 1964: RDC service to Laconia, NH cut back to Concord, NH. 1965: RDC service to Portland ends, leaving one weekday round-trip to Dover 1965: RDC service to Portsmouth, NH discontinued in January. One except-Sunday round-trip to Newburyport restored later in the year. 1964: RDC service on the Fitchburg Division cut back to Ayer, MA. 1965: Boston - White River - Newport - Montreal RDCs (joint w/CPR) discontinued 1966: New York - Springfield - Montreal Ambassador, Washingtonian/Montrealer discontinued 1967: Last round-trips to Dover and Concord, NH discontinued During this period, older locomotives were gradually scrapped or sold; The motive power surplus continued and many B&M engines and even a few RDCs spent a year or two out on lease. The BL-2s and one F-unit went to EMD as trade-ins for six GP-18s in 1961, the only new locomotives purchased during the decade. Some surplus RDCs were sold to the CNR, CPR and RDG; a few more were destroyed in accidents. In the late '60s, the RDCs started to lose their white ends, receiving BM heralds applied to bare stainless steel as the Minuteman had once been. Simultaneously, a new solid blue scheme started to appear on switchers, GP-7s, Fs and RSs shopped for major overhauls. Bankruptcy and Revitalization (1971 - 1981) When "pay later" time for McGinnis's schemes finally came in 1971, the B&M hit bottom. A fortunate choice of trustees helped start the revival, and energetic executives like John Barriger and Alan Dustin contributed a lot, but the key part came with the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority's use of Federal funds to buy the Boston commuter district, track, RDCs, stations and engine facilities. The B&M continued to operate the North Side commuter service, and even took over the former New Haven and Boston & Albany operations out of South Station when Conrail wanted out of the commuter business. Several New Hampshire branches were abandoned, but this was momentarily balanced by taking over some ex-NH and ex-NYC trackage in Massachusetts and Connecticut. New power arrived in the form of twelve GP-38s in 1973 and eighteen GP-40s in 1977, painted in variations of the solid blue scheme . The GP-40s idled many of the GP-7s, and this, combined with a 1977 decision to remove the enclosures from the RDCs' underfloor diesel engines (officially due to risk of fires from oil leaks) doomed the RDCs as self-propelled units. After the harsh winter of 1977-78, most were reduced to push-pull coaches, with one underfloor diesel idling to provide heat, light and occasionally air conditioning. It's peculiarly ironic that the GP-7s worked out their last few years hauling de-motored RDCs on the commuter services the RDCs had displaced them from 20 years previously. The MBTA applied various new purple-themed paint schemes to the RDCs as they went through the shops, and finally eliminated decrepit ex-NH power and units leased from the B&M and D&H by buying its own F-40PHs and rebuilt F-units. Some RDCs were used as cab and steam generator cars with ex-NH coaches in this era. More RDCs were rebuilt by M-K in Boise to coaches with the radiator blisters removed (Boise Budds). Alas, modifications to the suspension made them noiser and rougher-riding than originally. All were disposed of as the MBTA expanded its builty-new coach fleet. Guilford Transportation Industries/Pan Am Railways (1981 - present) Once in a while I feel nostalgic for the pre-strike days, when B&M, MEC and D&H power mixed on the Freight Main Line (Bangor - Binghampton). Then I think of all the traffic and opportunities lost, of seeing trains sit a day or more on the main track waiting for crews and the long battle with Amtrak and the State of Maine over Boston - Portland passenger trains, and the feeling passes. I'll leave the rest of the story (and modeling it) for others. The B&M in (Relatively Recent) Print This is a start, and mostly reflects books that I myself have. Eventually, as I get information on other sources I will expand it. I've found useful B&M content in all of them, though some cover other railroads as well. The order is roughly chronological. Books Whose Primary Subject is the B&M Boston & Maine Steam Vol. 1 Class P-3, P-4 and P-5 Pacifics by Liljestrand & Sweetland (B&W, softcover, Bob's Photo 2008) Trackside along the Boston & Maine with Donald G. Hills by Carl Byron (hardcover, Morning Sun 2005) Passenger Cars of New England Vol. 1 - Boston & Maine by R. A. Liljestrand (B&W, softcover, The Railroad Press 2000) Equipment of the Boston & Maine Vol. 1 Diesel Switchers and Road Switchers by Liljestrand & Sweetland (B&W, softcover, Bob's Photo) Equipment of the Boston & Maine Vol. 3 Gas/Diesel Railcars, Talgo & Electric Locomotives by Liljestrand & Sweetland (B&W, softcover, Bob's Photo) Equipment of the Boston & Maine Vol. 2 Diesel Cab Units by Liljestrand & Sweetland (B&W, softcover, Bob's Photo) Railroad Cities: Concord, New Hampshire by Liljestrand & Sweetland (B&W, softcover, Bob's Photo) The Boston and Maine - Forest, River & Mountain by Robert W. Jones (hardcover, Pine Tree Press 2000) The Boston and Maine - City & Shore by Robert W. Jones (hardcover, Pine Tree Press 1999) Boston and Maine Trackside by Carl Byron with Arthur Mitchell (Morning Sun 1999) B&M Cabooses - A History of Devlopment & Use 1914 - 1955 by Tim Gilbert (B&W, Salisbury Point Railroad Historical Society 1999). The Boston and Maine - Three Colorful Decades of New England Railroading by Robert W. Jones (hardcover, Trans-Anglo 1991) Boston and Maine in Color by Plant & Plant (Morning Sun 1997) The Boston and Maine by Philip Hastings (B&W, hardcover, Locomotive and Railway Preservation Society 1989) Minuteman Steam by Harry Frye (B&W, hard and soft cover, B&MRRHS 1983) Memories of the Boston & Maine by Henry Maywald (color, softcover, N.J. International circa 1980) The Route of the Minuteman by Nelligan & Hartley (B&W, softcover, Quadrant Press 1980) ISBN 0-915276-26-7 Railroad Stations of New England Today, Vol. 1: The Boston and Maine Railroad by Beauregard (B&W, softcover, RR Ave. Enterprises 1980) Vanishing Markers by Ralph E. Fisher (B&W hardcover, Stephen Green Press 1976) The Central Massachusetts B&MRRHS (B&W, B&MRRHS 1975, reprinted with revisions 2008) Through Covered Bridges to Concord by Edgar T. Mead (B&W, softcover, Stephen Green Press 1970) The Up-Country Line by Edgar T. Mead (B&W, Stephen Green Press 197?) Other Books With Worthwhile B&M Information Trackside around New Hampshire with Ben English Jr. by George Melvin (hardcover, Morning Sun 2009) Trackside in search of Northern New England Steam with John T. Morrison by John R. Canfield (hardcover, Morning Sun 2006) Trackside around Massachusetts with Russ Monroe by Jeremy Plant (hardcover, Morning Sun 2004) Passenger Trains of Northern New England in the Streamline Era by Kevin Holland (hardcover, TLC 2004) Railroad Cities - Springfield, MA by R. A. Liljestrand and D. Sweetland (B&W, softcover, 2000) Railroad Cities - Worcester, MA by R. A. Liljestrand and D. Sweetland (B&W, softcover, 2001) Railway Milk Cars Vol. 2 by R. A. Liljestrand and J. Nehrich (B&W, softcover) Maine Central In Color, Vol. 2 by Plant and Melvin (hardcover, Morning Sun 1999) Trackside East of the Hudson 1941 - 1953 by McChesney and Plant (hardcover, Morning Sun 1998) The Northern New England Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment by Sweetland and Horsley (hardcover, Morning Sun 1994) Green Mountain Rails by Robert W. Jones (hardcover, Pine Tree Press 1994) Connecticut River Railroads and Connections 10 volumes, written and published by R.W. Nimke (B&W, 1991 - 1995) New England Rail Album written and published by George Phelps (B&W, softcover 1990) New England Rails 1948 - 1968 by David Sweetland (hardcover, Morning Sun 1989) Before Guilford by Preston Cook (hardcover, Old Line Graphics 1988) Moguls, Mountains and Memories B&MRRHS (B&W, softcover, B&MRRHS 1981) The Railroad That Came Out at Night by Frank Kyper (B&W softcover, Carstens Publications 1977, 1990) New England Diesels by D. Albert and G. Melvin (B&W, George R. Cockle and Assoc. 1975)
834	dbpedia	2	56	https://www.mrta.us/	en	MART	https://www.mrta.us/wp-c…Logo-150x150.png	https://www.mrta.us/wp-c…Logo-150x150.png	[ "https://www.mrta.us/wp-content/themes/mart/images/svg/Search.svg", "https://www.mrta.us/wp-content/themes/mart/images/svg/Search.svg", "https://www.mrta.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NewMARTLogoOfficialTransparent.png", "https://www.mrta.us/wp-content/themes/mart/images/svg/swap.svg", "https://www.mrta.us/...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Montachusett Regional Transit Authority	en	https://www.mrta.us/wp-c…Logo-150x150.png		https://www.mrta.us/	We are Hiring Drivers! MART's operating company is looking for drivers to help us fulfill our mission, "to serve people by getting them where they need to go to lead their lives." Here is your chance to have one of the most important careers in our 25 towns and cities... Learn More Custodian – Job Opening Position Summary: This position provides building services for the Authority. The base location for the position is at 840 North Main St. Leominster, however functions at other Authority properties maybe assigned. Primary […] Learn More
834	dbpedia	1	15	https://forums.auran.com/threads/american-railway-history.75938/	en	American Railway history			[ "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png", "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "M masterowner The One", "R rjhowie Active member", "J jmeinig Potatoes", "C cascaderailroad New member" ]	2011-07-11T15:11:11+01:00	Due to Trainz and the amount of US routes on there, its got me interested in US railways, the best way of devoloping an interest I find with something like...	en		Trainz	https://forums.auran.com/threads/american-railway-history.75938/	US Rail History for Idiots v.2 1800's: People begin thinking about trains and some are made. They begin pretty well. Later huge booms come in and rails replace canals as the main mode of transportation. Train tracks are made at an astounding rate and by the latter half on the 1800's there were tracks going from California to the east coast. 1900's: Steam engines are king in the first half of the century. Locomotives are made very fast and trains are modernizing at the speed of light! In 1900 trains were still quite small, but in the 1920's we had mighty 2-10-2's rolling along like thunder. During WWII we had enormous trains like the 4-8-8-4, 2-8-8-8-2, and 4-6-6-4 pulling freight and passenger trains. During and after the 1950's we began modernizing to diesel locomotives on a large scale and most steamers were scrapped. Then new diesels like the E- and F- units came along. Although, lets not forget the many great ALCo's that came, too, like the PA/B and FA/B to name a couple. As we went along, we got to more modern engines like GP and SD 7's and 9's. By the 70's we had trains like the SD40-2 and similar trains. 2000's: So far we have been making better trains that are more efficient and stuff like that. The End 2 paragraphs, eh? Challenge Accepted. After the first handful of railroads (B&O, D&H, SC) showed that the concept was viable here, railroads sprung up like wildfire. Almost all towns clamored to have a railroad presence as the towns saw railroads as their outlet to the rest of the world and as economic drivers. Due to the possibility of increased tax revenues, many state legislators gave tax breaks and grants (usually land) to railroad companies. Until the 1860s, rail development was primarily in the eastern half of the country. With the transcontinental railroad project of the post-Civil War era, the federal government got into the grant giving game. Even after the Union Pacific and Central Pacific line was completed, other transcontinental routes still received land grants (except the Great Northern, because J.J. Hill was awesome). These land grants were far more land than was required to build on, and so the land the railroads got from the people of America for free was sold by the railroads to the people of America for a profit. Once the transcontinental lines were pretty much finished in the late 19th century, construction of local rail lines continued up into the mid-1910s, when mileage hit its peak. From the late 19th century into the 1920s, advances in technology allowed trains to run faster, safer, farther and carry more. (in that era - from handbrakes to straight air brakes to automatic air brakes; automatic couplers; wide fireboxes, thanks to trailing trucks on steam; superheating; piston valves; block control signals; steel coaches; steam heat; etc...) Development of larger cars and more powerful engines has, naturally, continued to the present (although a shift to efficiency over power came in after the fuel crisis in the 1970s). Since the 1920s, the mileage of tracks in the country has been declining, mostly due to competition from trucks on short-haul freight runs. Affordable automobiles, the Interstate Highway System and cheap plane tickets nearly killed off passenger trains in the 1960s. The busiest of these trains from all railroads (except Southern and D&RGW) were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Despite the best efforts of many politicians, Amtrak is still operating 40 years later. Somewhere in my home here in Scotland (hope it's still here) I should have a copy of the Assoc of American Railroads handbook dated back in the mid-1950's. It was given to me a number of years ago and it is a fascinating tome altogether. It lists every company in America plus Canada, Mexico and Cuba (before the Revolution!). From tiny companies of a few miles to the big giants of yesteryear. I haven't seen it around for a while so must look in the loft as I would hate to think it was inadvertently thrown out. Although i am more interested in passenger stuff on Trainz especially from here where passenger still rules it is a moment of time in the history of American railways. It also included route maps and timetables of the big boys as well as the important staff in head offices, etc. If it is still here it should probably get a home back across the pond. From memory it was more than 2 inches maybe near 3 inches thick. Must have a search at the weekend because it it has been disposed of I will be annoyed! 2 paragraphs, eh? Challenge Accepted. After the first handful of railroads (B&O, D&H, SC) showed that the concept was viable here, railroads sprung up like wildfire. Almost all towns clamored to have a railroad presence as the towns saw railroads as their outlet to the rest of the world and as economic drivers. Due to the possibility of increased tax revenues, many state legislators gave tax breaks and grants (usually land) to railroad companies. Until the 1860s, rail development was primarily in the eastern half of the country. With the transcontinental railroad project of the post-Civil War era, the federal government got into the grant giving game. Even after the Union Pacific and Central Pacific line was completed, other transcontinental routes still received land grants (except the Great Northern, because J.J. Hill was awesome). These land grants were far more land than was required to build on, and so the land the railroads got from the people of America for free was sold by the railroads to the people of America for a profit. Once the transcontinental lines were pretty much finished in the late 19th century, construction of local rail lines continued up into the mid-1910s, when mileage hit its peak. From the late 19th century into the 1920s, advances in technology allowed trains to run faster, safer, farther and carry more. (in that era - from handbrakes to straight air brakes to automatic air brakes; automatic couplers; wide fireboxes, thanks to trailing trucks on steam; superheating; piston valves; block control signals; steel coaches; steam heat; etc...) Development of larger cars and more powerful engines has, naturally, continued to the present (although a shift to efficiency over power came in after the fuel crisis in the 1970s). Since the 1920s, the mileage of tracks in the country has been declining, mostly due to competition from trucks on short-haul freight runs. Affordable automobiles, the Interstate Highway System and cheap plane tickets nearly killed off passenger trains in the 1960s. The busiest of these trains from all railroads (except Southern and D&RGW) were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Despite the best efforts of many politicians, Amtrak is still operating 40 years later. That is an excellent 2 paragraph synopsis. Mike New England region played a big part too in the development of railroads in the US back in the early decades of the 19th-century. The big network of textile mills, which started in Providence, Rhode Island, then later in Lowell and Lawrence, and Uxbridge, MA. were situated along rivers and canal systems. The Blackstone Canal, which ran alongside the Blackstone river between Providence and Worcester, was very busy with traffic in the early 1800s. There was a problem though. The canals provided transportation with the same water that was used to power the big textile mills. During the summer months, the water levels are much lower, and this caused the canals to dry up as the water was diverted in the mill sluice ways. Riots would break out between the canal boat operators and the mill owners over water rights. As time went on, one of the earliest railroads in the US was built - the Providence and Worcester. This railroad still exists as an independent shortline railroad, after being part of the the New Haven and later Penn Central briefly. The Middlesex Canal provided similar services between Lowell and Boston, and later on in the early 1840s the Boston and Lowell was built, and the canal company went out of business. The railroads had the advantage over the canals in other ways, besides being able to operate in nearly all kinds of weather. Remember when the winter comes, the canals freeze; in the summer, the water dries up. This made the service unpredictable, so the railroads shined by carrying goods and passengers year round. Another famous railroad was born around the same time - the Boston & Maine, which was founded in New Hampshire, but had subsidiaries all over. The old Andover and Wilmington served as a connection to the B&M, and eventually became part of the mainline to Portland Maine. Eventually the original A&W route was abandoned due to the rolling hills that it followed, and the B&M route, as we know it today, was laid around 1848. Today the mainline still exists for the B&M and P&W. The P&W is doing quite well, and nearly all of the exent system is their original line with a few extra B&M and Conrail spin-offs added in as well. The B&M went through major periods of boom and bust as the economy changed when the manufacturing facilities closed as jobs and companies moved away. By the late 1960s the B&M was bankrupt again, and the local transit authority - the MBTA - purchased all of the existing track in Massachusetts up to the borders from the B&M. The B&M was reorganized, and in the early 1980s, became part Guilford Transportation. What was once a Class I extending from Montreal Canada all the way to Troy, New York, and all the way east to Portland, Maine is only a shadow of its original self. Much of the trackage, other than the basic mainline from New Amsterdam, NY to Portland, is long gone, becoming trails or lay abandoned. The Main Central, another famous company, also became part of Guilford in the same period, and lost most of it's lines as well. Guilford has done its share of ripping up more trackage from the system, so what was once over a 10,000 mile system, is only about 500 miles or so long on the B&M, and probably less than that for the MEC. This is typical of US railroad history. They built a great network, with nearly 300,000 miles of trackage, and pare it down to nearly nothing today. This is sad because there are now areas where the tracks should be active again for passenger service, but the funds are not there to restore the lines, and the NIMBYs have moved, so they're becoming recreational trails. John From what i have read from the replies in this post, US railway history is similar to that of britain. So to sum up, canals were built, but railways came along and showed they were better. The railways reached their peak in the 1920s, (much like britain) after that a period of decline set in. In the 50s diesels started to replace steam, then in the 60s due to cars being cheap and affordable passenger trains were almost killed off. Then amtrak was started and passenger serveices were rejuvanated a bit. From their railway technology is slowly getting better again. I think thats about right. You've got it! In my area, the old Blackstone Canal and Middlesex, or what's left of this one, are now historical places. Along the Middlesex Canal, there are places where the tow ropes, used by the barges, have carved grooves into various places on some of the rocks. What's interesting too is some of the early rail routes actually paralleled the original canals. The Providence and Worcester runs right along side the Blackstone and in Connecticut the old New Haven Springfield line parallels the Connecticut river and the canal near Windsor Locks. There's also a mostly abandoned (recently, thanks to Guilford again), a former New Haven line called the Canal line which used to follow the canal path its self. Amtrak has been barely given a chance to develop a good transit system. I'm not going political here, but you know what I mean when I say there's a certain group of politicians that want to kill anything like that in favor of big cuts for the rich. John To a degree there is similarity clambert however today Trainzers mimic the practical modern situation in both sides of the pond. In the US where mainline rail is now freight with miniscule passenger here it is the very opposite. So route builders here I have noticed are more into the passenger side and over the water the other. Kind of natural I would think as it is the situation in reality? Very true, Bobby. However in the Northeast this is very different, and very much like it is in the UK. This is at least here in the Greater Boston area where freight has all but disappeared with so many thanks to offshoring of manufacturing, and NIMBYs not wanting factory-smells, etc. in their backyards. Where I am on the MBTA Haverhill line, which is also the Downeaster, Boston to Portland route, today sees very little freight. The big yard in Boston's North Station area, which was once one of the largest hump yard in the east, is long gone. The tracks have been ripped up to a couple sidings with only a few tracks here and there going to some warehouses. The rest has been built on by condo developers and shopping malls. The big yard in Lawrence is now a through yard for classifying any freight that goes through there. The once bustling mills are empty, and the industrial park sees an occasional box car or covered hopper once in a while now. So the main purpose of the remaining trackage is now for commuter service in and out of the Boston and surrounding suburbs on the North side. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was also a push to put the third-rail electric subway lines out into the suburbs. The Orange Line, which runs from Forest Hills in the south all the way to Oak Grove in Medford, was supposed to be extended north on the Haverhill line to Reading. This project ran out of steam and enthusiasm after the project ran out of money in the mid-1970s. There was also talk of extending the Red Line from Braintree in the south to Arlington and even Lexington, but the NIMBYs in Lexington didn't want the city folk in their neighborhood, and promptly killed that project. Today what's left of the ROW out to Bedford, where there's an airport, is now a bike path. Sadly this would have been an excellent route for passenger service because this area is so densely populated, the driving is horrible. John
834	dbpedia	2	17	https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/10/14/the-men-of-the-boston-lowell-and-nashua-line-train-life-in-the-1870s/	en	The Men of the Boston, Lowell and Nashua Line – Train Life in the 1870s	https://forgottennewengl…ll_rrstation.jpg	https://forgottennewengl…ll_rrstation.jpg	[ "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2350786645_boston_and_lowell_rrstation.jpg?w=601", "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/boston-lowell-rr-station-lowell.jpg?w=224&h=300", "https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Lowell_depot%2C_by_Lea...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Forgotten New England" ]	2012-10-14T00:00:00	My two-year-old son loves trains. One of his first words was "train". And, he likes to announce the arrival and departure of trains, with the word "train", repeatedly, while pointing. The fascination people have with trains can be traced back much further than today's living generations. In fact, before planes and automobiles, trains, or iron…	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2c266ba2f2cfe38d321f9683f872ffaf63db6ecf82a041cb991e5e909157918b?s=32	Forgotten New England	https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/10/14/the-men-of-the-boston-lowell-and-nashua-line-train-life-in-the-1870s/	My two-year-old son loves trains. One of his first words was “train”. And, he likes to announce the arrival and departure of trains, with the word “train”, repeatedly, while pointing. The fascination people have with trains can be traced back much further than today’s living generations. In fact, before planes and automobiles, trains, or iron horses – as they were sometimes admiringly called, captivated young people in cities, towns, and out on country farms. In the years following the close of the Civil War, young men on rural farms looked with fascination at the trains that passed through their New England towns. They looked to the trains to deliver them from the boredom they had come to associate with farm life. For young rural women, a trip to the depot to watch the train come in allowed them to break up the monotony of farm life by seeing who was arriving from Boston, the ‘big city’. In the 1870s, young people everywhere saw railroad life as offering a certain charm and urban sophistication. Men who were able to land positions with the railroad could count on steady employment and a solid career. And, they would travel through the city and surrounding countryside once or maybe even twice daily. Men landing railroad jobs started off as brakemen, who brought trains to a stop at approaching stations. From there, with time, experience, and some politicking, they were elevated into baggage-master positions. Baggage masters were charged with caring for and delivering the bags and suitcases to traveling passengers. All young men on the railroad hoped one day to become conductors, who held the awe of all. Conductors wore gold-laced caps, and were the ones who announced the ‘all aboard!’ at each stop along the line. Railway men, and those who loved them, knew that a job on the railroad meant many hours away from home, but most of the men wouldn’t trade the job for any other, and often, a man who started his career as a brakeman retired decades later after a lifetime of employment on the railroad. The conductors of the railroad were known by their uniforms. Made of distinctive dark blue cloth, each man wore a sack coat and vest with pants, decorated with stripes. The men fastened their uniforms in place with brass buttons, which bore the date of the railroad’s incorporation. As part of their compensation, conductors received a stipend of $200 annually to buy their uniforms. Strict regulations were enforced to ensure that conductors always appeared in uniform, and that they were neatly dressed. Upon each completion of five years of experience, conductors added a black velvet stripe with gold trimming to their right sleeves. Life on The Boston, Lowell, and Nashua Line In 1874, the vast network of railroad lines connecting Boston with the outside world included the Boston & Providence, the Old Colony, the Fitchburg, the Boston & Albany, the Boston & Maine, the Eastern, and the Boston, Lowell & Nashua. During the years following the Civil War, the Boston, Lowell, and Nashua line was known for its austere, direct conductors. Most of the men who ran the line had grown up in the towns of New Hampshire where, as boys, they dreamt of one day becoming conductors. In 1874, sixteen men served as conductors for the Boston, Lowell, and Nashua line on its “Boston End”; three more served as additional help when collecting and punching tickets on the trains when they ran their short trips. Forty-six men supported the conductors’ efforts in the roles of and baggage masters. The line prided itself on hiring men who had the ability to grow into the conductor role. On the Boston, Lowell & Nashua line, men working the Lowell, Concord and Greenfield routes averaged 120 miles daily. Men who worked the Woburn, Lexington, and Stoneham routes averaged some 60 or 80 miles, daily. It was said that the more frequent stops on the shorter routes were more exhausting. Conductors earned monthly salaries between $70 and $85. Brakemen and baggage masters earned salaries around $50, monthly. The men of the Boston, Lowell & Nashua line were described as a “steady-going” set, and almost all were married. Those who had seen the conductors’ room described scenes of “high, low, jack” or backgammon. The conductors on the line included some of the railroad’s longest-serving veterans. One, John Barrett, had run the first train to ever make the route some forty years earlier, on June 26, 1835. Barrett had held his conductorship through 1860, when he became a depot master for several more years. By the 1870s, Barrett was still serving the railroad, even at the advanced age of 74. Another veteran of the line, Josiah Short, had served the railroad some forty years; by the mid-1870s, he had become a ticket agent at the Lowell station. Another conductor, Albert Carter, had served for so long on the line’s Woburn branch that generations of schoolboys had come to know him as “Old Carter”. Old Carter had developed no small part of his reputation by catching and reprimanding train stowaways who tried to steal rides between stations in the Winchester area during the years surrounding the Civil War.
834	dbpedia	0	9	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/american-railroad/	en	American Railroad – Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	[ "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/img_5163.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/img_2315.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/img_0515.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2020...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Buildings of New England" ]	2022-08-19T07:06:00-04:00	Posts about American Railroad written by Buildings of New England	en	https://buildingsofnewen…5/image.jpg?w=32	Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/american-railroad/	Trinity Place Station was the Boston & Albany Railroad’s second depot for trains running outbound from its newly completed South Station. The depot was designed by Alexander Wadsworth “Waddy” Longfellow, Jr., who from Harvard University in 1876, later studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and then worked as senior draftsman in Henry Hobson Richardson‘s office upon his return to the United States. A. W. Longfellow was also the nephew of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He designed the station of pink granite with a covered platform 375 feet in length. The building long served train commuters leaving the ever-changing Back Bay neighborhood. Consolidated lines led to the station being deemed obsolete, and it was scheduled for demolition. Much of the old line route would be cleared for the right-of-way for the Mass Pike Expansion into Boston. The demolition on Trinity Place was postponed until early 1964 to allow for scenes of the movie, “The Cardinal” to be filmed there. The Newington Railroad Depot was built in 1873 at the narrowest point at the Piscataqua River as part of the Portsmouth and Dover Railroad. The Portsmouth and Dover Railroad Company was chartered in 1866 in order to provide a link between the eastern and western divisions of the Boston and Maine Railroad and also included the means to cross Great Bay. The rail line was completed in 1874 and included this railroad depot which included a residence for the stationmaster while he collected tolls for pedestrians and carriages crossing the bridge nearby, and operated the swing section of the bridge to permit boat traffic to pass. By 1915, the one story wing was constructed which served as a 10’x20′ waiting room and ticket office. The offshoot rail line remained in service until the completion of the General Sullivan Bridge in 1934, due to the popularity of the automobile. The rail line was subsequently abandoned, and the nearby tracks were taken up in 1940. Elmer Brooks, the longtime stationkeeper was allowed to remain in the old depot, renting the building from the State of New Hampshire, who acquired the site in 1940. He lived here until his death in 1971. After which, the building has decayed. The State of New Hampshire should restore this valuable piece of history and has an amazing opportunity for a park in the surrounding area. Hopefully something is done to preserve the building! All Aboard!! The Kneeland Street Station was built at the southern edge of Downtown Boston in 1847 for the newly established Old Colony Railroad Company. By the early 1840s, the city of Boston had six major rail lines connecting it with other places including Lowell, Maine, Fitchburg, and Salem to the north, Worcester to the west and Providence to the southwest. The southeastern part of Massachusetts had yet to be served by a rail link to Boston. On March 16, 1844 the Old Colony Railroad Corporation was formed to provide a rail connection between Boston and Plymouth. Construction of the line began in South Boston in 1844 and the line opened to Plymouth in 1845. The company needed a more accessible station to the residents and businessmen of Downtown Boston, so they acquired a large parcel of land on Kneeland Street to extend the line. The corporation hired architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, who designed this stunning railroad station constructed of brick with strong stone trimmings. As was common, a large clock was affixed to the building to allow waiting passengers to know how long they would be waiting. From 1845 to 1893, the Old Colony railroad network grew extensively through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, serving lines to Providence, Newport, Fall River, New Bedford and down the Cape. The railroad was acquired in 1893 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and sought to consolidate the many local stations into a larger building. They soon after began construction on Boston’s South Station, re-routing lines to that new building. They sold off the excess stations, including this one on Kneeland Street, and it was eventually demolished in 1918. It is impossible to overstate the significance of the railroad in the 19th century to the industrial growth and economy of New England and American cities. In order to connect Boston and its ports to the Hudson Valley in New York, a western rail line was constructed in the southern part of Massachusetts but was not an ideal route. In response, businessmen and politicians began to envision a more direct rail line across Massachusetts, but with one problem: trains hate climbing mountains! Instead of going around Hoosac Mountain, a massive detour, engineers thought they could tunnel through it, and that’s what they did, creating the Hoosac Tunnel. The tunnel through Hoosac Mountain is just under 5 miles long. Its active construction period consumed roughly a quarter-century and cost at least $17 million in 1870s dollars – an enormous sum. The cost was paid in dollars and the lives of nearly 200 miners (many of whom suffered terrible deaths as you can imagine). The first train passed through the tunnel in 1875, with the eastern portal wall constructed in 1877 (seen here). By 1895, roughly 60% of Boston’s exports traveled through the tunnel. Since then, some small collapses and deferred maintenance have left their mark on the tunnel, though it is still in operation today! The Chester Depot is historically significant as a well-preserved train depot in Vermont. The first public train arrived in town on July 18, 1849, and in December, the Rutland & Burlington Railroad opened the first rail line across Vermont linking the Connecticut River valley at Bellows Falls and Lake Champlain at Burlington. The route passed between Chester’s older North and South villages, and Chester Depot village emerged. Fire destroyed the first station in 1871, and the lessee Vermont Central RR built this one that year. By the 1890’s, several industrial and commercial enterprises made Chester Depot one of the busiest stations on the Rutland RR. The State purchased the line in 1963, leasing it in part to the Green Mountain RR. The depot is an amazing lasting example of an Italianate style railroad station with decorative brick corbeling and large wooden brackets supporting the overhanging roof.
834	dbpedia	2	83	https://www.mspca.org/adoption-centers/nevins-farm-adoption-center/	en	MSPCA at Nevins Farm			[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674600396009994&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://www.mspca.org/wp-content/themes/mspca-theme/images/contact-icon.png", "https://www.mspca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/rod-of-asclepius-on-red-icon-white-border.png", "https://www.mspca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/report.svg...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2015-07-31T23:41:18+00:00	%	en	https://www.mspca.org/wp-content/themes/mspca-theme/favicon.ico	MSPCA-Angell	https://www.mspca.org/adoption-centers/nevins-farm-adoption-center/	Sponsor a Cage, Kennel, or Stall Sponsor a Cage, Kennel, or Stall! Help defray the cost of caring for animals here at the MSPCA at Nevins Farm by sponsoring their housing! Sponsor Now! Adoption Center Wishlists Donations from our wishlist are greatly appreciated! Each adoption center also has a unique wishlist, including an Amazon Wish List so you can shop at home! Learn More View Our Adoptable Animals Ready to adopt? Check our all the animals we have currently available for adoption at MSPCA at Nevins Farm. Wonderful pets waiting for wonderful homes! Search Pets Volunteer / Foster Want to devote your time to helping animals and families in need? Volunteer at the MSPCA! Learn More Programs for Kids Do you know a child who loves animals? Our Humane Education programs for all ages will foster compassion, responsibility, respect toward animals, each other, and the environment. Popular Programs Alert! Learn about the Nevins Reading Program, our School Break Program, or our Summer Camp. See All Programs for Kids Upcoming Events Check our calendar page frequently for information on all upcoming events, including our popular Horses Helping Horses events, spay/neuter programs, adoption promotions, kids programs, and special fundraisers to benefit the animals you see at Nevins Farm! View Upcoming Events Lost a pet and need help finding him/her? Or have you found a pet and want to help them find their way back home? We're here to help. Get Lost or Found Pet Help
834	dbpedia	3	20	https://fromthepage.com/mountauburncemetery/mount-auburn-cemetery/article/58788	en	Boston & Lowell Railroad	https://live.staticflick…c272b396c1_o.jpg		[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=194616117686834&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://fromthepage.com/assets/icons/globe-af5f62970d6dd7c5304fa47289406628ef109bb94ca0e79914981f7654eac421.svg", "https://fromthepage.com/images/working/dot/58788.png", "https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50094297182_c272b396c1_o.jpg"...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "FromThePage.com" ]	null	Boston & Lowell Railroad - subject overview. A railroad company that connected Boston and Lowell, MA. It was first chartered in 1830 and eventually leased to and became part of the Boston...	en	/assets/favicon-694316b93124346fbc3b3fb3da08ad33130d9258c96b31d265aef55c481280b7.ico		null	Description A railroad company that connected Boston and Lowell, MA. It was first chartered in 1830 and eventually leased to and became part of the Boston & Maine Railroad. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Lowell_Railroad Related Subjects The graph displays the other subjects mentioned on the same pages as the subject "Boston & Lowell Railroad". If the same subject occurs on a page with "Boston & Lowell Railroad" more than once, it appears closer to "Boston & Lowell Railroad" on the graph, and is colored in a darker shade. The closer a subject is to the center, the more "related" the subjects are.
834	dbpedia	3	2	https://www.britannica.com/technology/railroad/Boston-railroads	en	Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry	https://cdn.britannica.c…mmuter-train.jpg	https://cdn.britannica.c…mmuter-train.jpg	[ "https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png", "https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png", "https://cdn.britannica.com/28/233928-004-9B0CF806/high-speed-railway-commuter-train.jpg", "https://cdn.britannica.com/34/4734-004-E5A545D9/New-Castle-work-Richard-Trevit...	[]	[]	[ "railroad", "encyclopedia", "encyclopeadia", "britannica", "article" ]	null	[ "James E. Vance", "Thomas Clark Shedd" ]	1999-07-26T00:00:00+00:00	Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry: Three Massachusetts railroads were chartered and under construction in 1830, at first showing a strong affinity for British practice. The Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester railroads radiated from the metropolis to towns no more than 70 km (45 miles) away. In 1835, when all were operating, Boston became the world’s first rail hub. As in Europe the pattern of having a metropolitan station for each line was established, though Boston had by the end of the century created a North Union Station and a South Station and an elevated railway to join them by rapid	en	/favicon.png	Encyclopedia Britannica	https://www.britannica.com/technology/railroad/Boston-railroads	Expansion into the interior The first phase of American railroad development, from 1828 until about 1850, most commonly involved connecting two relatively large cities that were fairly close neighbours. New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., or Syracuse, New York, and Rochester, New York, were examples of this phase of eastern railroad development. By 1852 this first phase was followed by six crossings of the Appalachian mountain chain, which were essentially incremental alignments of railroads first proposed to tie neighbouring cities together, and there was a need for a new strategy of routing. What followed was an extension of railroads into the interior of the continent and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
834	dbpedia	0	34	https://cs.trains.com/ctr/f/3/p/48375/612680.aspx%3Fpage%3D39	en	Error			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Sorry, there was a problem with your last request! Either the site is offline or an unhandled error occurred. We apologize and have logged the error. Please try your request again or if you know who your site administrator is let them know too.
834	dbpedia	1	97	https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/list/bldr_list_N.htm	en	Railway Car Builders of North America			[ "https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/list/Images/Nbox_yel.gif", "https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/list/Images/Nbox_yel.gif", "https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/_derived/index.htm_cmp_sandstone-a-la-hayes110_hbtn.gif", "https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/_derived...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Company Plant Location Date Successor, Comments or Cross-reference Napanee Industries, Ltd. ON 1965-1967 Nashville Mfg. Co. Nashville, TN 1851-1859 Produced marine engines, boilers, and other machinery in addition to freight cars. Also produced perhaps a dozen locos. To M. Jacker Company National Anti-Friction Car Box Co. IL c1881 A paper corporation organized in New York by James Henry Langley as a tool to swindle investors. Never built anything. "Car box" is an archaic name for the journal box, a cast iron box or case that houses the axle bearings of a railway car. (Related Langley corporations were the Chaplin Anti-Friction Car Box Co. (IL), Anti-Friction Journal Bearing Company (NY), and United States Construction & Investment Company.) National Car Co. St. Albans, VT 1870s-1914 Never operated a car shop of its own. National Car Repair Shops, Inc. ????-1954? National Despatch Line 1869-1914 Private car line established by Grand Trunk, Vermont Central, Rutland and Boston & Lowell railroads. Corporation dissolved 1914 but one branch continued on as Chicago, New York & Boston Refrigerator Company. [W/F-131] Bought numerous refrigerator cars from Tiffany Refrigerator Car Co.; doubtful but not certain it built any cars. National Dump Car Co. Maine c1907-c1912 National Iron Works National Locomotive Works (?) Connellsville, PA 1871-1878 (More generally known as "Dawson & Baily." ) Early partners in this business were William H. Baily, George F. Dawson, and John Y. Smith (the latter a former associate of H.K. Porter), Smith withdrew 1872. Produced some 260 locomotives, primarily industrial and narrow gauge. Produced no known cars.. National Iron Works San Francisco Marschutz & Cantrell National Locomotive Works Dawson & Baily National Railway Equipment 1911 Now the name of a diesel locomotive rebuilder. Unknown whether this is a predecessor company. National Railway Utilization Company Pickens, SC 1976-?? A railroad car leasing and managing corporation born out of the ICC decision to allow Incentive Per Diem rates to go into effect. This spurred investment in car fleets by many seeking tax shelters and that required firms such as NRUC to manage them. NRUC went through Chapter 11 reorganization in 1986 after ICC repealed these rules. As of August 23, 1991, name was changed to Emergent Group, Inc. As of 2003, name was HomeGold Financial, Inc., and it has no rail-related operations. National Safety Car & Equipment Co. St. Louis, MO c1920/22 PE known to have ordered 200 gondola dump cars in 1922. National Steel Car Co. Ltd. [This is an off-site link.] Hamilton, ON 1912-1919 From Imperial Car Company To National Steel Car Corp., Ltd. National Steel Car Corp. Ltd. [This is an off-site link.] Hamilton, ON Had offices in NYC ca. 1930 1919-2004+ From National Steel Car Company Listed under "Car Builders" in White-Orr's 1930 Classified Business Directory NYC section. (Acquired by Dominion Foundries & Steel, Ltd. in 1962 but continued under NSCC name.) National Tank Co. Tulsa, OK 1966-?? Originally a Delaware Corp. National Tube Works Boston, MA McKeesport, PA c1875-1879+ Built B.J. La Mothe's iron gas-pipe cars. Nettleton & Bartlett Springfield, MA c1849/50 Advertised they had a Railroad Car Manufactory capable of building Passenger, Post Office, Baggage, Freight and Hand Cars and particularly their new dumping cars; also testimonial from Western Railroad for cars built for them. {4} Newburyport Car Mfg. Co. Newburyport, MA 1887-1905 From Evans & Patriquin New Castle Car Mfg. Co. New Castle, PA 1890s New Castle Mfg. Co. New Castle, DE 1833-1858 Built some 75 locomotives, no known cars. (See R&LHS Bulletin 18, June 1928.) New City Car Co. Chicago. IL 1923-1925 New England Car Co. Boston, MA c1850-c1875? Marketed Screw Lever Dump Cars built according to patents of Matthew Van Wormer. Wason built their first cars, and may have built all of them. To United States Car Company. New England Car Co., Inc. Vermont Organized by men associated with the Burlington & Rutland, the Rutland & Washington, and other railroads serving the southwest corner of Vermont. Envisioned as a fast freight line. Unknown how successful it was. Charter provided for car building, but doubtful it ever did build cars. New England Car Co. c1918-c1968 New England Steam Car Co. Boston, MA? c1866/76 Built steam-powered self-propelled cars according to patents held by Joseph P. Woodbury of Boston. New Haven Car Co. Newhall, George T. (George T. Newhall) New Haven, CT c1866-c1879 Newhall was a carriage builder who decided to use steam power to drive his machinery, with stunning results. He also decided to New Jersey Loco. & Machine Works Paterson, NJ 1851-1867 Reorganization of Swinburne, Smith & Company Principle partners were James Jackson and Samuel Smith. Known as a locomotive builder; doubtful it ever built cars. To Grant Locomotive Works New Orleans City RR Co. New Orleans, LA 1870-1890 New Orleans Public Svc., Inc. New Orleans, LA Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Newport News, VA 1922-1925 C&O known to have ordered 1,500 hopper cars in 1922. N.Y. Central Sleeping Car Co. New York, NY 1858-1869 (Unknown whether it actually built any cars or simply had them built for them.) To Wagner Palace Car Company New York Equipment Co. Dealers, not builders. New York Iron Car Company c1872-1882 (LaMothe's iron gas-pipe cars.) To United States Tube Rolling Stock Company New York Locomotive Works Rome, NY 1881-1893 Locomotive builder. Reorganized as Rome Locomotive & Machine Works, specializing in repair and rebuilding. New York Locomotive Works Jersey City, NJ c1855 Built La Mothes first iron passenger car. Niles Boiler Works 1902 Niles Car & Manufacturing Co. Niles, OH 1901-1917 Noble Brothers Rome, GA 1870s Noble Bros. & Co. Rome, GA 1880s Norris Locomotive Works Philadelphia, PA 1831-(1865)1873 Founded by William Norris and Stephen H. Long as the American Steam Carriage Company. After several years, Long was replaced by Joseph Harrison. After business failure in 1841, Richard Norris and his son Henry L. Norris took over. Firm went into decline ca. 1865 due to disinterest on the part of Richard, who had grown quite wealthy. Doubtful they ever built cars of any sort. (See R&LHS Bulletin 79, March 1950; Railroadians of America Book 2, 1940; Railroad History 150, Spring 1984; White, History of the American Locomotive.) North American Car Company Chicago, IL Coffeyville, KS 1919-1975 NATX North American Car Co. Chicago Ridge, IL and Texarkana, TX 1955-1978+ ca. 1926 was primarily a rebuilder North American Car Corp. Offices: Chicago, IL c1939 North Carolina Car Co. Raleigh, NC 1882-1887+ PDRO87 Northern Car Co. Chicago/Minneapolis Robbinsdale, MN? 1889-1895 From Robinson & Moan Northumberland Car & Mfg. Co. Northumberland, PA 1870s North-Western Manufacturing Car Co. Stillwater, MN 1880s North-Western Manufacturing Car Co. is listed under Car Builders in 1877 edition, Poors Directory of Railway Officials. Norwich Car Co. Norwich, CT 1847-1853 Nova Scotia Car Company Halifax, NS 1910-1911 To Nova Scotia Car Works, Ltd. Nova Scotia Car Works, Ltd. Halifax, NS 1911-1914 Combination of Nova Scotia Car Company and Silliker Car Company. Nova Scotia Car Works Nova Scotia Car Company Nova Scotia Railway c1860
834	dbpedia	2	95	https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2023/01/28/commentary-executive-council-derails-commuter-rail/	en	COMMENTARY: Executive Council derails commuter rail	https://ogden_images.s3.…E-1100x738-1.jpg	https://ogden_images.s3.…E-1100x738-1.jpg	[ "https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/wp-content/themes/oni_weekly_2020_v1/images/website_logo.png", "https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/www.nashuatelegraph.com/images/2022/01/14125615/FILE-COMMUTER-RAIL-IMAGE-1100x738-1.jpg", "https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/www.nashuatelegraph.com/images/2024/08/24042557/...	[]	[]	[ "Archive", "COMMENTARY: Executive Council derails commuter railGreater Nashua", "COMMENTARY: Executive Council derails commuter railLocal Commentary", "COMMENTARY: Executive Council derails commuter rail" ]	null	[]	2023-01-28T00:00:00	At their last meeting of 2022, the Republican-controlled Executive Council put an end to an engineering study and preliminary design for the extension of MBTA c	en	https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/wp-content/themes/oni_weekly_2020_v1/favicon.ico	nashuatelegraph.com	https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2023/01/28/commentary-executive-council-derails-commuter-rail/	At their last meeting of 2022, the Republican-controlled Executive Council put an end to an engineering study and preliminary design for the extension of MBTA commuter rail services from Boston and Lowell, MA to Nashua and Manchester. In a misguided attempt to save money, three Councilors derailed a crucial step in making accessible and affordable commuter rail a reality for the people of the Granite State. Let’s be clear, this move does not save Granite State families money. Instead, it only serves to waste federal dollars that have already gone toward this necessary study. New Hampshire residents have demanded commuter rail for years. In a survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire, three in four Granite Staters say they support extending commuter rail service to Nashua and Manchester. More than three-quarters of residents over the age of 50 supported the idea of the Capitol Corridor Project. The project that the Council rejected, known as the New Hampshire Capitol Corridor (NHCC), has been in the works since the state conducted the NHCC Rail & Transit Alternatives Analysis in 2014. The proposal seeks to use the pre-existing commercial railroad tracks that run between Manchester and Nashua to create commuter rail stops from Boston’s North Station all the way through Lowell and into the downtowns of the Gate City, the Queen City, and the Manchester airport. This new proposal could accommodate up to 32 trips each day. During rush hour, trains would run every 30 minutes and during middays and evenings trains would run every 2 hours, according to the analysis conducted in 2014. In 2019, the legislature passed a bill, which the governor signed into law, to conduct a comprehensive engineering and design study. This law allowed the NH Department of Transportation to spend $5.5 million to update the 2014 study and create an actionable design for the commuter rail system in southern New Hampshire. This is the funding the Executive Council cut short three weeks ago in an act against the will of the people’s representatives in the State House. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make commuter rail a reality. With the work of our congressional delegation and President Biden’s infrastructure investments over the last two years, New Hampshire has a renewed chance to support a commuter rail system and make rail transportation more available and reliable with significant federal support. This would boost our local economies, grow jobs, and create new connections to move people and goods with ease between Manchester, Nashua, and Boston. It would ultimately make regional travel more sustainable, reduce traffic congestion, and allow more opportunities to work, eat, and play in New Hampshire. The Republican-controlled Executive Council has delayed countless social and economic opportunities for hardworking families, young adults, and small businesses in our state. But, we are committed to getting these back on track. As your elected leaders, we are working together at the federal, state, and local levels to find a solution that makes the possibility of commuter rail a reality for future generations. People all across our state have resoundingly asked, time and time again, for government leaders to expand public transportation opportunities. It is time we took a more active approach to bring New Hampshire into the 21st Century. Annie Kuster is the Congresswoman for New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District. Cinde Warmington is the Executive Councilor for New Hampshire’s District 2. Jim Donchess is the mayor of Nashua. Newsletter
834	dbpedia	3	36	https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Lowell-Railroad-Nashua-Salem/dp/1020169370	en	Amazon.com			[ "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/captcha/kwizfixk/Captcha_wcmrdjuvax.jpg", "https://fls-na.amazon.com/1/oc-csi/1/OP/requestId=NWC05Y4QBKV083NJWRP7&js=0" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en			null	Enter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you're not a robot. For best results, please make sure your browser is accepting cookies.
834	dbpedia	3	37	https://www.facebook.com/BMRRHS/	en	Facebook	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico	[ "https://facebook.com/security/hsts-pixel.gif?c=3.2" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		de	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico		null
834	dbpedia	1	96	https://www.mbta.com/stops/commuter-rail	en	Stations	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	[ "https://cdn.mbta.com/images/stops/south_station.jpg", "https://cdn.mbta.com/images/stops/north_station_commuter.jpg", "https://cdn.mbta.com/images/stops/back_bay.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority" ]	null	Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.	en	https://cdn.mbta.com/app…4c0e51.png?vsn=d		null
834	dbpedia	3	60	https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Lowell	en	Commuter Rail	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority" ]	null	MBTA Lowell Line Commuter Rail stations and schedules, including timetables, maps, fares, real-time updates, parking and accessibility information, and connections.	en	https://cdn.mbta.com/app…4c0e51.png?vsn=d		null	Commuter Rail seat availability is regularly updated to reflect a trip’s typical ridership based on automated and conductor data from the past 14-30 days. Current seat availability thresholds are: vehicle crowding status Many Seats Available: Typically more than 66% of seats are available and distancing is possible (~0-2 people per row) vehicle crowding status Some Seats Available: Typically more than 33% of seats remain available and distancing may be possible (~2-3 people per row) vehicle crowding status Few Seats Available: Typically fewer than 33% of seats available and distancing is unlikely (~3+ people per row) Learn more about seat availability trends Commuter Rail seat availability is regularly updated to reflect a trip’s typical ridership based on automated and conductor data from the past 14-30 days. Current seat availability thresholds are: vehicle crowding status Many Seats Available: Typically more than 66% of seats are available and distancing is possible (~0-2 people per row) vehicle crowding status Some Seats Available: Typically more than 33% of seats remain available and distancing may be possible (~2-3 people per row) vehicle crowding status Few Seats Available: Typically fewer than 33% of seats available and distancing is unlikely (~3+ people per row) Learn more about seat availability trends
834	dbpedia	1	79	http://www.lightlink.com/sglap3/massachusetts/furthrefMAbks.html	en	furthrefMAbks			[ "http://www.lightlink.com/sglap3/massachusetts/lamp2.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Books on Railroads and Stations in MA: Updated: 1/30/22 (188 titles) [Note:Depot enthusiasts should routinely consult The Bulletin of the Railroad Station Historical Society, currently in more than 40 volumes, for stories and updates. Typically, short items from its pages are not listed below, though occasionally a story seems worthy of inclusion. For more, see the RSHS website. For the most detailed online bibliography on the subject of railroad depots, readers are referred to the extensive and excellent listings of the Railroad Station Historical Society: RSHS Bibliography] ----------------. Boston & Maine Railroad: Official List: Officers, Agents, and Stations. Westbrook, ME: Edwin B. Roberston, 1982. ----------------. Boston Transit Album. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 14, 1977. ----------------. The First Railroad in America: A History of the Origin and Development of the Granite Railway of Quincy, Massachusetts. Privately printed by the Granite Railway Company, 1926. ----------------. History of the Old Colony Railroad: A Complete History of the Old Colony Railroad from 1844 to the Present Time. Boston: Hager & Handy, 1893. ----------------. Mt. Tom and the Mt. Tom Railroad. Holyoke Street Railway, 1910. ----------------. The New Haven Railroad along the Shore Line. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Books. ----------------. A Rail Journey Through New England. The 470 Railroad Club, 1998. ----------------. Rail Trails Southern New England: The Definitive Guide to Multiuse Trails in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Birmingham, AL: Wilderness Press, 2018. ----------------. The Stoughton Railroad Station: One Hundredth Anniversary. Stoughton, MA, 1988. Appleton, Edward. History of the Railways of Massachusetts [1871]. Rpt. as Bulletin of Railroad Enthusiasts, No. 1, 1952. Arsenault, Idamay Michaud. Worcester's Union Station: The Monument and the Memories. Worcester, MA: Ambassador Books, 1999. Ball, Donald. George Mansfield and the Billerica & Bedford Railroad. Blue Springs, MO: Aubrey Publications 2012. Baker, George Pierce. The Formation of the New England Railroad System. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1949. Barbo, Theresa Mitchell. Hidden History of Cape Cod. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2019. [chapter entitled "Off the Rails"] Barnett, Bob. The Providence & Worcester Railroad. Goffstown, NH: Railroad Explorer, 2007. Barrett, Richard C. Boston's Depots and Terminals: A History of Boston's 32 Railroad Stations. Railroad Research Publications, 1996. Bazen, John. The Railroad Is Coming: The Hudson & Berkshire Railroad. 1998. Self-published, 1988. Bazen, John. Rails Across the Berkshire Hills. Self-published, 1984. Beaudette, Edward R. Central Vermont Railway. Newton, NJ: Carstens, 1982. Beauregard, Mark W. R.R. Stations of New England Today: Vol. 1 "The Boston & Maine RR". Flanders, NJ: Railroad Avenue Enterprises, 1979. Black, Andrew. Buried Dreams: The Hoosac Tunnel and the Demise of the Railroad Age. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2020. Blackwell, Walter. Tracing the Route of the Martha's Vineyard Railroad, 1874-1896. Miami: Englehart Printing Co., 1971. Blakeslee, Phillip C. Lines West: A Brief History. Connecticut Railway Society, 1974. [on New Haven RR] Blodget, Bradford G. Marium Foster's Boston and Maine Railroad: The Story of Keene's Railroad Lady. Keene, NH: Historical Society of Cheshire Co., 2011. Blodgett, Brandon G., and Richard R. Richards, Jr. Iron Roads of the Monadnock Region. Volumes I & II: Railroads of Southwestern New Hampshire and North-Central Massachusetts. Peterboro, NH: Bauhan Pub., 2019. Boston & Maine Railroad. Corporate History of the Boston and Maine Railroad (System), Including Owned, Leased and Controlled Lines as of Dates of Valuation June 30, 1914. 1915. Boston & Maine Railroad. Railroading on the Boston and Maine. 1953 ed. Rpt. B&MRRHS: 2016. Boston & Maine Railroad. Railroading on the Boston and Maine. 1955 ed. Rpt. B&MRRHS: 2015. Boston & Maine Railroad. Snow Train. 1948 ed. Rpt. B&MRRHS: 2018. Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society. Moguls, Mountains, and Memories. Rpt. B&MRRHS, 1979. Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society. The Central Mass. 1975; 2nd ed., expanded, Brimfield, MA: Marker Press, 2009. Boston & Maine Railroad Publicity Bureau. Our Service. April 1917. Rpt. Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, Fall, 2017. [monthly B&M employee bulletin] Bradlee, Francis B. C. The Boston and Lowell Railroad; The Nashua and Lowell Railroad; and The Salem and Lowell Railroad. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1918; rpt., Melrose, MA: Panorama Publications 1972. Bradlee, Francis B. C. The Boston & Maine Railroad: A History of the Main Route with Its Tributary Lines. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1921; rpt., Melrose, MA: Panorama Publications 1972. Bradlee, Francis B. C. The Eastern Railroad: A Historical Account of Early Railroading in Eastern New England. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1922, rpt., Melrose, MA: Panorama Publications 1972. Brigham, Albert Perry. Cape Cod and the Old Colony. NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1920. Brittin, Robert P. Central Vermont: The South End: Remembering the "Banana Belt". David City, NE: South Platte Press. Brown, Joyce S. The Line: A Story of the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company. Worcester: United Offset Printing, 1999. Burchard, John, and Albert Bush Brown. The Architecture of America. Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1961 [on Richardson stations]. Byron, Carl. The Boston & Maine in Color: Vol. 2: The Final Five Decades. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2007. Byron, Carl R. Boston & Maine Trackside with Arthur E. Mitchell. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, 1999. Byron, Carl R. A Pinprick of Light: The Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Its Hoosac Tunnel. Brattleboro: Stephen Greene Press, 1978. Byron, Carl R. Trackside along the Boston & Maine with Donald G. Hills. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2005. Byron, Carl R. Trackside around Boston 1942-1962 with Lawson Hill. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2000. Byron, Carl R. Trackside along the Boston & Maine: 1945-1975, with Lawson Hill. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2005. Campbell, Faith S. The Housatonic Railroad from 1840. Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society, 1991. Carlson, Stephen P., and Thomas W. Harding. From Boston to the Berkshires: A Pictorial Review of Electric Transportation in Massachusetts. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 21, 1990 [contains a extensive bibliography of print sources about trolleys in massachusetts]. Carlson, Stephen P., and Thomas W. Harding. Worcester Trolleys Remembered: A Pictorial Review of the Streetcar Era in the Heart of the Commonwealth. Worcester: Worcester Regional Transit Authority, 1985.1985. Carman, Barnard R. Hoot, Toot & Whistle: The Story of the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington Railroad. Brattleboro: Stephen Greene Press, 1963. Carpenter, Richard C. A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946, Volume 2: New York and New England. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005 [162 pages of railroad maps, fully indexed]. Caswell, C. E. Boston, Concord & Montreal RR:: An Early History and the Men Who Helped Make It. Warren, NH: The News Press, 1919. Cheney, Frank. Boston's Blue Line. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2004. [Images of Rail Series] Cheney, Frank. Boston's Red Line: Bridging the Charles from Alewife to Braintree. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2002. [Images of America Series] Cheney, Frank. When Boston Rode the EL Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2000. [Images of America Series] Cheney, Frank, and Anthony M. Sammarco. Boston in Motion. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 1999. [Images of America Series] Cheney, Frank, and Anthony M. Sammarco. Trolleys under the Hub. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 1997. [Images of America Series]donald Ball george Mansfireld Clarke, Bradley H. The Boston Rapid Transit Album. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 17, 1981. Clarke, Bradley H. Boston's MTA: Through Riverside and Beyond. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 10, 1972. Clarke, Bradley H. South Shore: Boston to Quincy. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 10, 1972. Clarke, Bradley H. Streetcar Lines of the Hub. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 10, 1972. Clarke, Bradley H. Trackless Trolleys of the Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway Co. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 11, 1975. Conant, Lawrence. New Bedford Pictorial: A Picture Roster of the Union Street Railway. Forty Fort, PA: Harold E. Cox, 1980. Cook, Preston. Before Guilford. Silver Springs, MD: Old Line Graphics, 1988. Corey, George C. George Corey's Boston & Maine. Lowell, MA: Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, 2022. Cornwall, L. Peter, and Carol A. Smith. Names First--Rails Later: New England's 700-Plus Railroads and What Happened to Them. Stanford, CT: Arden Valley Group, 1989. Cudahy, Brian J. Change at Park Street Under: The Story of Boston's Subways. Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1972. Cummings, O. R. Boston & Worcester Street Railway: The Trolley Air Line. 1954. Cummings, O. R. Boston Street Railway. 1965. Cummings, O. R. Massachusetts Northeastern Street Railway: Volume 1: Newburyport Division. Forty Fort, PA: Harold E. Cox, 1964. Cummings, O. R. Massachusetts Northeastern Street Railway: Volume 2: Merrimac Division. Forty Fort, PA: Harold E. Cox, 1965. Cummings, O. R. Massachusetts Northeastern Street Railway: Volume 4: Salem Division. Forty Fort, PA: Harold E. Cox, 1967. Cummings, O. R. Street Cars of Boston: Volume 1: Closed Horse and Electric Cars, 1887-1900. Forty Fort, PA: Harold Cox, 1973. Cummings, O. R. Street Cars of Boston: Volume 2: Open Horse and Electric Cars, 1887-1900. Forty Fort, PA: Harold Cox, 1974. Cummings, O. R. Street Cars of Boston: Volume 5: Articulated and Center Entrance Cars 1912-53. Forty Fort, PA: Harold Cox, 1977. Cummings, O. R. Trolleys along the Turnpike: the Boston & Worcester Trolley. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No.12, 1975. Cummings, O. R. Trolleys into the Land of the Pilgrims 1886-1928. 1992. Cummings, O. R. Trolleys of the Massachusetts Northeastern Street Railway: 1913-1930. Volume 5. Cummings, O. R., and Harold E. Cox. Surface Cars of Boston, Massachusetts: 1901-1963. Forty Fort, PA: Harold E. Cox, 1963. Donelson, Brian. The Coming of the Train: Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad, the Deerfield River Railroad and the Industries They Served , 2 vols. (1870-1910, 1910-1922). Rowe, MA: NJD Publishing, 2008, 2011. Dougty, Geoffrey H. The New Haven Railroad in the Streamline Era. TLC Publishing, 1998. Dougty, Geoffrey H. The New Haven Railroad' Streamline Passenger Fleet, 1934-1953. TLC Publishing, 1998. Elder, Anthony E, and James Fox. Boston's Orange Line. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 20013. [Images of Rail Series] Eldredge, Andrew T. Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2003. [Images of Rail/America Series] Enos, Mike. The Railroad Was Our Life! Lowell, MA: Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, 2013. Enos, Michael. I Am the Train: My Life as a Railroad Engineer: Forty-Three Years on the Boston & Maine Railroad. Farnham, Elmer F. The Quickest Route: The History of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad. Chester, CT: Pequot Press, 1973. Farson, Robert H. Cape Cod Railroads: Including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Yarmouth Port, MA: Cape Cod Historical Pub., 1990. Fisher, Charles E. The Story of the Old Colony Railroad. Taunton: Hack & Son, 1919. Fisher, Ralph E. Vanishing Markers: Memories of the Boston & Maine Railroading, 1946-1952. Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1976. Frye, Harry. Minuteman Steam. B & M Historical Society, 1982. Granite Railway Company. The First Railroad in America. 1926. Greene, J. R. The Mass. Central RR: Quabbin's Phantom Railroad. 1996. Hall, Ronald, and Robert Wuchen Jr. (eds.). Memories of New Haven (2 vols.). Wallingford, CT: Cedar Hill Publications, 1985. Harlow, Alvin F. Steelways of New England. New York: Creative Age Press, 1946. Hartley, Scott. Guilford: Five Years of Change. Railpace, 1989. Hartley, Scott. The New Haven Railroad: The Final Decades. Railpace. Hastings, Philip Ross, and Frank Kyper. The Boston & Maine: A Photographic Essay. Locomotive and Railway Preservation Society, 1989. Heald, Bruce D. Boston & Maine in the 19th Century. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2001. [Images of Rail/America Series] Heald, Bruce D. Boston & Maine in the 20th Century. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2001. [Images of Rail/America Series] Heald, Bruce D. Boston & Maine Locomotives. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publ./Tempus Publ., Inc., 2002 ["Images of Rail " series]. Heald, Bruce D. Boston & Maine: Trains and Services. Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2005. [Images of Rail/America Series] Heald, Bruce D. A History of the Boston & Maine Railroad: Exploring New Hampshire's Rugged Heart by Rail. Lowell, MA: Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, 2008. Heald, Bruce D. Railways and Waterways through the White Mountains. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publ./ Tempus Publ., Inc., 1999 ["Images of America" series]. Heald, Bruce D. and Joseph A. Bush, Sr. The Upper Merrimack Valley to Winnepesaukee by Rail. Dover, NH: Arcadia Publ./Chalford Publ. Corp.,/Arcadia, 1997 ["Images of America" series]. Herbert, Richard, and George Povall. Pine Trees and Minutemen: A Photographic Album of the Maine Central and Boston & Maine, 1971-1988. Dingman's Ferry, PA: Garbely Pub., 2022). Hitchcock, Henry Russell. The Architecture of H. H. Richardson and His Times. NY: Museum of Modern Art, 1936; rpt., Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1961. Humphrey, Thomas J., and Norton D. Clark. Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 19, 1985. Humphrey, Thomas J., and Norton D. Clark. Boston's Commuter Rail: The Second Section. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 20, 1986. Ingersoll, Ernest. Down East Latch Strings; or Seashore, Lakes and Mountains by the Boston & Maine Railroad. Descriptive of the Tourist Region of New England. Boston: Passenger Department Boston & Maine Railroad, 1887. Johnson, Philip. The Hampton Railroad: The Greatest Railroad That Never Ran. Raleigh, NC: Lulu Press, 2014. Jones, Robert C. The Central Vermont Railway: A Yankee Tradition. 6 vols. Silverton, CO: Sundance Pub., 1981. Jones, Robert C. Vermont Rail System, a Railroad Renaissance. Burlington, VT: Evergreen Press, 2006. Jones, Robert Willoughby. Boston & Albany: The New York Central in New England. Skyland, NC: Pine Tree Press, 1997. Jones, Robert Willoughby. The Boston & Maine: City and Shore. Skyland, NC: Pine Tree Press, 2009. Jones, Robert Willoughby. The Boston & Maine: Forest, River & Mountain. Skyland, NC: Pine Tree Press, 2009. Jones, Robert Willoughby. Three Colorful Decades of New England Railroading. California: Trans-Anglo Books, 1991. Karr, Ronald Dale. Lost Railroads of New England. 3rd ed. Pepperell, MA: Branch Line Press, 1966. Karr, Ronald Dale. The Railroads of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History. Pepperell, MA: Branch Line Press, 1995. Kirkland, Edward Chase. Men, Cities and Transportation: A Study in New England History 1820-1900. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1948. Knowles, John D. The Sudbury Streetcars. 1993. Kyper, Frank. Narrow Gauge to Boston: A Nostalgic Window on the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad. David City, NE: South Platte Press, 2010. Kyper, Frank. The Railroad That Came Out at Night: A Book of Railroading in and Around Boston. Brattleboro: Stephen Greene Press, 1977. Lancaster, Clay. The Far-Out Island Railroad: Nantucket's Old Summer Narrow Gauge, 1879-1918. Nantucket: Pleasant Pub., 1972. Lewis, Henry. The Blackstone Valley Line: The Story of the Blackstone Canal Company and the Providence & Worcester Railroad. Seekonk, MA: Baggage Car, 1973. Lewis, Henry. Ware and the Railroads. Ware, MA: Lewis, 1967. Lieberman, William. The Train on the Beach: Forgotten Railroads that Transformed Winthrop, Orient Heights, and Revere Beach, Massachusetts. Booklocker Pub., 2017. Liljestrand, Bob. New England 1930's Steam Action: Worcester. Hanover Press, PA: The Railroad Press, 2000. Liljestrand, Robert A. The New Haven Railroad's Boston Division. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2001. Liljestrand, Robert A. The New Haven Railroad Midland Division. Farmers, KY: Bob's Photos, 2008. Liljestrand, Robert A. The New Haven Railroad's Old Colony Division. Vol. 1. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2000. Liljestrand, Robert A. The New Haven Railroad's Old Colony Division. Vol. 2. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2005. Liljestrand, Robert A. Railroad Cities: Springfield, Massachusetts. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2001. Liljestrand, Robert A., and David R. Sweetland. Boston & Maine Steam Volume I: P-3, P-4, & P-5 Pacifics. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2008. Liljestrand, Robert A., and David R. Sweetland. Boston & Maine Steam Volume 2: Freight Locomotives T-1, R-1, & S-1. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2017. Liljestrand, Robert A., and David R. Sweetland. Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2002. Liljestrand, Robert A., and David R. Sweetland. Passenger Cars of New England Volume I: Boston & Maine. Ansonia, CT: Bob's Photos, 2000. Lowenthal, Larry. Titanic Railroad: The Southern New England: The Story of New England's Last Great Railroad War. Brimfield, MA: Marker Press, 1998. MacDonald, Robert L. Mid-Century Memories: The Boston & Maine Railroad: 1936-1950. Lowell, MA: Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, 2013. MacDonald. Seashore Commuter: A Pictorial History of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad. Washingtonville, OH: Maine 2-Foot Quarterly, 2013 Marconi, Carole J. Edaville Railroad, South Carver, Mass.: A History of Narrow-Gauge Steam Railroading in New England. Yankee Colour Corp., 1977. Mason, Edward. The Street Railway in Massachusetts: The Rise and Fall of an Industry. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1932. Maywald, Henry. Memories of the Boston & Maine. NJ: NJ International. McGarigle, Bob. Nantasket Beach Branch Line Trolley. Connecticut Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, 1981. McGuirk, Martin. The New Haven Railroad: Along the Shore Line. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Pub., 1999. McNamara, Thomas, and Jeremy F. Plant. New Haven Trackside, 1998. Mears, Sherman. Essex Electrics. Essex, MA: Essex Historical Society, 1981. Melvin, George F., and Katherine Melvin. Boston & Maine Memories: Featuring the Photography and Career of Preston Johnson. Kutztown, PA: Morning Sun Books, 2010. Moody, Linwood W. Edaville Railroad: The Cranberry Belt. South Carver, MA: Ellis Atwood, 1947. Mumford, Lewis. The Brown Decades. NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1931; rpt. Dover Books 1955 [on Richardson stations]. Mumford, Lewis. Sticks and Stones. NY: Harcourt Brace, & Co., 1924; rpt. Dover Books, 1955 [on Richardson stations]. Neal, Robert Miller. High Green and the Bark Peelers: The Story of Engineman Henry A. Beaulieu and His Boston and Maine Railroad. N.Y.: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1950. Nelligan, Tom. Bluebirds & Minutemen: Boston & Maine: 1974-1984. Macmillan, 1986. Nelligan, Tom. New England Shortlines. NY: Heritage Press, 1982. Nelligan, Tom, and Scott Hartley. Route of the Minuteman: 1969-1979: Quadrant Press Review, No. 8, 1980. Nimke, R. W. Connecticut River Railroads and Connections. Ten volumes. Rutland, VT: Sharp Offset Printing, Inc., 1991-1993. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl. H. H. Richardson: Comeplete Architectural Works. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 1982. Page, Herman. Rails Across Martha's Vineyard: Steam, Narron Gauge, and Trolley Lines. South Platte, NE: The South Platte Press, 2009. Palmer Public Library Railroad Advisory Board, One Town & Seven Railroads: The Railroads of Palmer Massachusetts: Past, Present, and Never Were. Palmer, MA: Palmer Public Library, 2008. Parker, Glenn. Cornfield Meet: A History of Trolleys in Westboro. Westborough Civic Club, 1987. Pavlucik, Andrew J. The New Haven Railroad: A Fond Look Back. New Haven: Pershing Press, 1978. Phelps, George. New England Rail Album: A Traveling Salesman Remembers the 1930's. 1989. Plant, Jeremy F. Trackside around Massachusetts: 1950-1970, with Russ Munroe. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2005. Plant, Jeremy F., and Jeffrey G. Plant. The Boston & Maine in Color: Vol. 1: Steam Years to Guilford. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2005. Prescott, Michael R. Boston Transit Equipment, 1979-2009. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 10, 1972. Price, James N. The Railroad Stations of San Diego County. San Diego, CA: Price & Sieber. Roy, John. H. A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Pepperell, MA: Branch Line Press, 2007. Schexnayder, Cliff. Builders of the Hoosac Tunnel. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall, 2015. Semple, David W. The New York and New England Railroad. NY: Carter & Co., 1886. Smith, Warren L. Berkshire Days on the Boston & Albany. Quadrant Press Review, No. 9, 1982. Sokolosky, William C. A History of Railroads in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Yarmouth Port, MA: Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, 1975. Solomon, Brian, and Mike Confalone. Rails Across New England 1989-1999: Volume 2: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Goffstown, NH: Railroad Explorer, 2007. Stanford, R. Patrick. Lines of the NYNH&H Railroad Co. Sel-published, 1976. Stanley, Robert C. Narrow Gauge: The Story of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad. Cambridge: Boston Street Railway Association, No. 16, 1980. Staples, Henry Lee, and Thomas Mason Alpheus. The Fall of a Railroad Empire: Brandeis and the New Haven Railroad Merger Battle. Syracuse: Syracuse University press, 1947. Stockwell, Tim. The Boston & Maine in Color: Vol. 3: The Guilford Years. Kutztown, PA: Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2014. Trzoniec, Stan. The Boston & Albany: New York Central's Gateway to the East. Shrewsbury, MA: Self-published, n.d. Trzoniec, Stan. The Boston & Albany Railroad: Worcester, MA to Albany, NY. Shrewsbury, MA: Self-published, n.d. Trzoniec, Stan. The Boston & Maine Railroad: Ayer, MA to Rotterdam Jct., NY. Shrewsbury, MA: Self-published, n.d. Van Renselaer, Mariana Griswold. Henry Hobson Richardson and His Works. NY: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1888; rpt. NY: Dover Books, 1969. Viekman, William K. The Edaville Story: The First 25 Years. E. Providence: Watchemoket Press, 1973. Walker, Mike. Railroad Atlas of North America: North East U.S.A. Kent, England: Steam Powered Publishing, 1995. [MA maps: pp. 7-10] Weller, John L. The New Haven Railroad: Its Rise and Fall. New York: Hastings House, 1969. Ziel, Ron. Edaville Railroad: The Gateway to Cape Cod. 1965.
834	dbpedia	3	3	https://massbytrain.com/itineraries/discover-history-on-the-lowell-line/	en	Discover History on the Lowell Line	https://massbytrain.com/…24/05/file-5.jpg	https://massbytrain.com/…24/05/file-5.jpg	[ "https://massbytrain.com/wp-content/themes/kcs/img/MBT_Logo_Landscape_Purple.svg", "https://massbytrain.com/wp-content/themes/kcs/img/MBT_Logo_Stacked_White.svg", "https://massbytrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mobile-logo.png", "https://massbytrain.com/wp-content/themes/kcs/img/backtotop.svg", "https:/...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2024-05-09T16:49:18+00:00	Take a MA history tour along the Lowell Line by visiting museums, monuments, and memorials, and learn more about the state and nation’s past.	en	https://massbytrain.com/…TA-fav-32x32.png	Keolis Commuter Services	https://massbytrain.com/itineraries/discover-history-on-the-lowell-line/	Need help trip planning? Give us a call at 617-222-3200. © 2024 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, all rights reserved. Website designed and developed by Sperling Interactive. The itineraries provided herein are for informational purposes only. Neither Sperling Interactive, Keolis Commuter Services, LLC (Keolis) and or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) are responsible for transporting a rider to any end destination other than those Commuter Rail Stations identified within the “Schedules” tab highlighted herein. Sperling Interactive, Keolis, and or the MBTA are not responsible for any changes, errors, omissions, or cancellations of any of the itineraries, events, locations, promotions, or services of any kind highlighted herein. Riders should reach out to the providers directly to obtain more information related to the same.
834	dbpedia	1	80	http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/fitchburgrr.html	en	Fitchburg Railroad			[ "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/banner_sites.jpg", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/yellow_dot.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/top_nav_bar.jpg", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/yellow_dot.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/images/home5.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/images/henry4.gi...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Railroad Beginnings in the U.S. Transporting goods was the driving force in the development of railroads in the United State. Trains could potentially reach more markets faster. Some of the early railroad cars were pulled by horses. The first railroad that was constructed for the transportation of freight and passengers in this country was the Baltimore and Ohio. Fifteen miles were opened on May 15, 1830. Fitchburg Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad, chartered in 1843, was opened to Fitchburg on March 5th, 1845. Investors worried that there would not be enough profits. However, the Fitchburg Railroad began to pay well, very soon after its completion. 1859 Annual and Semi-annual Dividends Cost of Road Miles Dividends 3,565,800 51 3 and 3 Extending the rail line to the West required drilling the Hoosac Tunnel. Drilling began in 1851 and was completed in 1876. It was sold to the Fitchburg Railroad Company along with the Troy and Greenfleld Railroad by the State of Massachusetts in 1887. By 1896, the Fitchburg Railroad Company had obtained the Vermont & Massachusetts, the Boston, Barre & Gardner, the Troy & Boston, the Cheshire, and the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western. The company also owned 204 locomotives. In 1900 the Boston & Maine bought the Fitchburg Railroad. Today you can ride a commuter train from Boston to Fitchburg operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Math Activity 1. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1829 to 1830? 2. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1830 to 1840? 3. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1840 to 1850? 4. What is the estimate of the growth rate for 1850 to 1860? 5. What is the total growth rate between 1829 and 1856? 6. Predict the percentage of growth for 1860 to 1870. Story Problems 1. If the train to Fitchburg traveled 15 mph and the distance was 30 miles, how long was the ride for Henry's friend? 2. Locomotive Speed "The Lowell Courier says that a new engine called the Camilla, built by Hinkley & Drury, and designed for speed, on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, has driving wheels of 6k feet diameter, and is capable of running a mile in a minute." How many miles per hour would the train travel? Nineteenth Century Periodicals Collection [Scientific American. / Volume 4, Issue 6, October 28, 1848] Ticket Cost Comparison 1. If the distance from Concord to Fitchburg, Massachusetts is 30 miles and the cost of the ticket in 1845 is 90 cents, how much did it cost per mile? 2. If the distance from Concord to Fitchburg, Massachusetts is 30 miles and the cost of the ticket in 2001 is $3.00, how much does it cost per mile? 3. Compare the cost in 1845 with the cost in 2001. Baggage Check/Claim A checking system was invented to keep track of luggage being transported on the trains. Metal disks or checks were placed on each item and a duplicate given to the passenger. At the final destination, the check was presented to claim the luggage. The example on the left is a "through" tag. The item traveled over several railroad lines. Fitchburg Boston Hoosac Tunnel & Western RR New York, West Shore & Buffalo Grand Trunk The manufacturer's mark is also stamped on the check which was a common advertising practice during that time period. Nineteenth Century Periodicals Collection Railway Passenger Travel. [Scribner's magazine. / Volume 4, Issue 3, September, 1888] Economy "One says to me, 'I wonder that you do not lay up money; you love to travel; you might take the cars and go to Fitchburg today and see the country.' But I am wiser than that. I have learned that the swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot. I say to my friend, Suppose we try who will get there first. The distance is thirty miles; the fare ninety cents.... Well, I start now on foot, and get there before night;... You will in the meanwhile have earned your fare, and arrive there some time tomorrow, or possibly this evening, if you are lucky enough to get a job in season. Instead of going to Fitchburg, you will be working here the greater part of the day." - Henry David Thoreau Walden
834	dbpedia	3	21	https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/the-trolleys.htm	en	Lowell National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)	https://www.nps.gov/lowe…istianHill_4.png	https://www.nps.gov/lowe…istianHill_4.png	[ "https://www.nps.gov/theme/assets/dist/images/branding/logo.png", "https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/images/Panel-5-ChristianHill_4.png", "https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/images/Trolley-Logo.PNG", "https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/images/low-2966.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorot...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Explore the history and legacy of trolleys in Lowell.	en	/common/commonspot/templates/images/icons/favicon.ico		https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/the-trolleys.htm	Early City Transport Like other urban areas in early 19th-century America, Lowell was a “walking city.” Residents used their feet for all inner-city travel. Beginning in the 1840s, omnibuses appeared in larger cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, but Lowell remained a walking city. Rapid growth in the decades before the Civil War, however, prompted Lowell’s landowners and real estate speculators to build houses in new neighborhoods away from the downtown. While many working-class residents remained in or near the congested city center, which contained factories and boardinghouses, the burgeoning middle class and wealthier citizens settled in outlying neighborhoods. To link the city center with Lowell’s growing neighborhoods, the Lowell Horse Railroad Company established the city’s first horse-powered streetcar. Completed in 1864, the company’s line extended from Belvidere, on the east side of Lowell, into the downtown, then westward to Pawtucket Falls. This venture proved quite profitable. The continued growth of Lowell and its environs in the decades following the Civil War fostered the development of Lowell’s early suburbs. Real estate boomed in Lowell and in other American cities, aided by a proliferation of streetcar lines. By the late 1880s, many transport companies began investing in the latest technology, the electric streetcar. The Trolleys of Lowell Lowell’s first electric streetcar began operation in 1889. Owned by the Lowell & Dracut Street Railway Company, the line ran from downtown across the Merrimack River into Dracut. Over the next decade, additional electric lines extended through the downtown and into suburban neighborhoods. The Lowell & Suburban Street Railway Company carried out much of this expansion after it merged the old Horse Railroad Company with the Lowell & Dracut line in 1891. At the turn of the century, Lowell’s downtown bustled with activity. Horses, wagons, and pedestrians shared city streets with electrically powered trolleys. A maze of overhead wires extended above the steel rails of the trolley tracks that were built in the middle of stone-paved streets. In the downtown, trolleys stopped at each block, discharging scores of passengers while others clambered aboard. Workers and managers, shopkeepers and clerks, children and the elderly all mingled on the trolleys. Despite resistance from their employers, Lowell's streetcar workers pushed for higher wages and better working conditions. In 1903 they joined with Amalgamated Association of Streetcar Employees to form a trade union. The streetcar workforce and the union were composed entirely of men, many of whom were Irish. Motormen and conductors who operated Lowell's streetcars wore dark blue uniforms with bright brass buttons and short-visored caps. In the summertime, they ran open-air trolleys that transported people out of the city and into the countryside. One popular destination, Canobie Lake in Southern New Hampshire, was built by streetcar company interests, which profited from the resort and the fares collected. Accompanying the growth of inner-city trolley lines were interurban street railways that ran from city to city. Many transport companies, however, lacked sufficient capital to operate and maintain their lines. Large firms frequently absorbed smaller companies, discontinuing service to some areas, while expanding it in others. To maintain profits, streetcar managers cut labor as well as operating costs. Strikes by trolley workers, as well as public dissatisfaction with streetcar companies, intensified in the early 1900s. Reflecting the “merger-mania” in the transport industry, Lowell’s streetcar lines were acquired in 1901 by the Lynn & Boston Railroad Company, which was reorganized as the Boston & Northern Street Railway Company. This firm, headed by Patrick F. Sullivan of Lowell, was the largest transport company north of Boston. A second and even larger merger under the aegis of the Bay State Railway Company failed to improve the region’s streetcar system. The Bay State firm declared bankruptcy in 1918. The decade of the 1920s marked the decline of New England’s street railways. The growing popularity of automobiles and buses cut into streetcar business. Ridership continued to drop. Additional mergers and reorganizations generally worsened conditions for riders and streetcar workers alike. By 1935 electric trolleys made their last run in Lowell--that is, until 1984. The Trolleys of Lowell National Historical Park As part of the development of Lowell National Historical Park, trolley service was reestablished in Lowell’s downtown to transport park visitors in the city. The park acquired open-car trolleys that were designed as replicas of trolleys built by the J. G. Brill Company for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company, successor to the Bay State Railway Company. The GOMACO Corporation of Ida Grove, Iowa, built the park’s small fleet of trolleys. Because the old trolley tracks were torn up from Lowell’s streets during World War II, the park’s trolleys run on tracks of the former Boston and Maine Railroad. An overhead 600-volt line of direct current powers the cars. Each of the park’s two open-air cars seats 90 people; the enclosed trolley seats 48.
834	dbpedia	1	38	https://www.mbta.com/	en	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	https://cdn.mbta.com/ima…3577f6.png?vsn=d	[ "https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/styles/whats_happening/public/media/2021-07/green-line-c-washington-square_0.jpg?itok=7AdKRWKr", "https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/styles/whats_happening/public/media/2021-02/red-line-new-train-ashmont-2-19-21.jpg?itok=4nWhvj-t", "https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/defa...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority" ]	null	Public transit in the Greater Boston region. Routes, schedules, trip planner, fares, service alerts, real-time updates, and general information.	en	https://cdn.mbta.com/app…4c0e51.png?vsn=d		null	Standard One-Way Fares See fares overview subway Subway One-Way $2.40 with CharlieCard, CharlieTicket, contactless payment, or cash subway with CharlieCard, CharlieTicket, contactless payment, or cash $2.40 bus Local Bus One-Way $1.70 with CharlieCard, CharlieTicket, contactless payment, or cash bus with CharlieCard, CharlieTicket, contactless payment, or cash $1.70 commuter rail Commuter Rail One-Way $2.40 – $13.25 with CharlieTicket or mTicket App Price based on distance traveled commuter rail with CharlieTicket or mTicket App Price based on distance traveled $2.40 – $13.25 ferry Ferry One-Way $2.40 – $9.75 with mTicket App or paper ferry ticket Price based on route taken ferry with mTicket App or paper ferry ticket Price based on route taken $2.40 – $9.75 Tap to Ride Contactless payments are now accepted on MBTA buses, Green Line trolleys, Mattapan Line trolleys, and at all gated subway stations.
834	dbpedia	0	8	https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/technology/technology-terms-and-concepts/railroads	en	Encyclopedia.com			[ "https://www.encyclopedia.com/themes/custom/trustme/images/header-logo.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "Get information", "facts", "and pictures", "about Railroads", "at Encyclopedia.com", "Make", "research", "projects", "and school reports", "about Railroads", "easy", "with credible", "articles", "from our FREE", "online encyclopedia and dictionary" ]	null	[]	null	RAILROADSRAILROADS.	en	/sites/default/files/favicon.ico		https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/technology/technology-terms-and-concepts/railroads	RAILROADS RAILROADS. Beginning in the nineteenth century in the United States, a vast system of railroads was developed that moved goods and people across great distances, facilitated the settlement of large portions of the country, created towns and cities, and unified a nation. Early railways were a far cry from the great system of railroads that were built in the nineteenth century and that continue to be used today. The earliest railways in the United States were short, wooden railways built by quarries and mines along which horses pulled loads to nearby water ways. In 1827, quarry and mine operators in Quincy, Massachusetts, and Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, constructed the first full-size railways. The first locomotive for use on railways was imported from England in 1829. The English had been experimenting with steam-powered locomotives since the late eighteenth century and had developed a prototype by 1828. Horatio Allen, working for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, purchased four of these early steam locomotives and brought them to the United States. One, Stourbridge Lion, was tested on 8 August 1829, but proved to be too heavy for the tracks that had been constructed and was subsequently retired. Undeterred, railroad companies continued to seek a viable steam-powered locomotive. By 1828, railroad track was being laid not only by the Delaware & Hudson, but also by the Baltimore & Ohio and the South Carolina Railroads. Locomotive engines were needed. Peter Cooper rose to the challenge and on 28 August 1830 drove his diminutive Tom Thumb locomotive at speeds approaching fifteen miles per hour while towing a car filled with thirty people. The thirteen-mile trip was made from Baltimore to Ellicot's Hill in Maryland. With the viability of steam-powered locomotives proven, the race was on to build other, larger locomotives. The Baltimore & Ohio and the South Carolina railroads instituted contests for locomotive designs. E. L. Miller was commissioned by the South Carolina to construct what would be the first locomotive built in America for use on railroad. He named the locomotive The Best Friend of Charleston. Tested in October of 1830, the engine performed admirably. Unfortunately, The Best Friend exploded the following year, but not before the South Carolina Railroad inaugurated service on 25 December 1830. The Best Friend pulled train cars, the first locomotive to do so in the United States, along six miles of track out of Charleston. The age of the railroad in America had begun. Other railroads quickly followed the South Carolina and the Baltimore & Ohio. Steam-powered railroads operating in the early 1830s included the Mohawk & Hudson, the earliest link in the future New York Central system, begun on 9 August 1831; the Camden and Amboy, later part of the Pennsylvania system, in 1831; the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown in 1832; and the railroad connecting New Orleans with Lake Pontchar-train, afterward part of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, on 17 September 1832. By 1835 railroads ran from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts, the beginnings of the future Boston and Maine; to Worcester, Massachusetts, first link in the Boston and Albany Railroad; and to Providence, Rhode Island, the genesis of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The Petersburg Railroad, later part of the Atantic Coast Line, ran from the Virginia City into North Carolina. By 1840, railroad track in the United States had reached almost three thousand miles; by 1850, more than nine thousand miles; by 1860 over thirty thousand miles. During these decades, technology associated with the steam locomotive continued to improve, and innovations were made in the design of the tracks themselves. Early tracks were constructed of wood, which was not strong enough to support ever-heavier locomotives. Iron rails were developed that could carry the weight of large, steam-powered locomotives. These rails were originally laid on crossties made of blocks of stone, which were not only expensive, but also could not support the weight of locomotives. They were replaced by wooden crossties similar to those used today. Several other innovations helped foster the growth of railroads between 1840 and 1860. These included T-shaped rails that distributed the weight of trains evenly and hook-headed spikes that grabbed the rail, thus attaching it securely to the crossties. Swiveling trucks under railroad cars created greater stability, allowing trains to travel over rough roadbed and high terrain. The development of truss and cantilever bridges provided a way to get railroads over water ways and other obstructions. By the 1860s, track could be laid virtually any where. In the 1850s the ambitious efforts to reach the seaports of the Atlantic and to reach the West were successful. The Erie Railroad and the Albany & New York Central connected New York State and New York City with the Great Lakes. Philadelphia established an all-rail connection with Pittsburgh, and Baltimore reached the Ohio River at Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), early in the 1850s. Other lines were built across the more open and level country of the Middle West. Two railroads, the Michigan Central and the Michigan Southern, reached Chicago from the east in 1852. Both were later incorporated into the New York Central system. Lines were also built west from Chicago. The Galena & Chicago Union (later the Chicago and North Western) reached the Mississippi River in February 1854. Only a year later a route between Chicago and East Saint Louis afforded another rail connection between the eastern seaboard and the Mississippi River, while in 1857 two more connections were added. A direct route from the Atlantic to Chicago was constructed from Baltimore via Cincinnati. In addition, a route between Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, on the Atlantic coast and Memphis, Tennessee, on the Mississippi, was built. Railroads were also being built from the far bank of the Mississippi River westward. On 9 December 1852, the Pacific Railroad of Missouri (later the Missouri Pacific) ran five miles westward from Saint Louis. In 1856, the locomotive The Iron Horse crossed the Mississippi on the first railroad bridge. The bridge belonged to the Rock Island line, later called the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. By 1860, the railroad had reached the Missouri River on the tracks of the Hannibal & Saint Joseph (later part of the Burlington lines). Standardization The thousands of miles of track laid and the locomotives and other railroad equipment built in the early years of the railroad in the United States were all done by private companies. These companies built their railroads to suit their needs and to specifications they determined. Tracks were built in a variety of gauges (the distance between the rails) ranging from two and one-half feet to six feet. By the 1870s, close to two dozen gauges of track were in use in the United States. Locomotives were built to fit the gauge of the track. In addition, the couplings used to attach one train car to another varied. The incompatibility of railroads was not a problem if the purpose of the railroads remained to move people and goods over short distances. However, when the potential of the railroad to travel greater distances, even to traverse the country, was realized, the need for industry standards became evident. Track gauge was the first of such standards to be achieved. The standard gauge in the South was five feet. In the rest of the country, the predominant gauge was four feet eight and one-half inches—the standard English gauge that had been used because locomotives had been imported from England. In 1886, the South changed its gauge to conform to that of the rest of the country. Trains today run on this gauge of track except for a limited of number of narrow-gauge railroads. Next came standardization of locomotives and railroad cars to fit the track; standardization of couplings followed. Early couplers were simple link and pin devices that were unsafe and unreliable. In 1885, forty-two improved couplers were tested in Buffalo, New York. In 1887, a coupler designed by Eli H. Janney was adopted as the standard; Janney's design remained in use until the 1970s. Interchanging cars between railroads also required the standardization of brakes. Early train brakes were hand brakes operated by brakemen in each car. Efforts to standardize brakes were unsuccessful until 1869. In that year, George Westinghouse developed his first air brake. In 1871, he designed an air brake that would immediately engage if cars became separated. Westinghouse's air brakes were designed only to work on passenger trains. Air brakes for freight trains were not developed until 1887, after testing on the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy in Burlington, Iowa. These air brakes, with improvements, have remained an integral part of freight trains. One final, crucial feature of rail transport needed to be standardized: time. Efforts were made in the 1870s to standardize rail schedules and timetables. In light of the increasing interconnection of railroad lines, the timing of trains became critical. Each railroad originally had its own "standard time." This time was usually that of the railroad headquarters or an important town on the line. In an era when people were still keeping local time, the idea of a standard time seemed implausible if not impossible, but local time was increasingly becoming railroad time. Each town had a "regulator" clock by which local people set their watches and clocks. This clock often hung in the railroad station. On 18 November 1883, the American Railway Association adopted a "standard time" with four time zones one hour apart. The standard time system remained under the auspices of the railroad until 1918, when the U.S. Congress adopted the system and put it under the control of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The Growth of the Railroad, Railroad Towns, and the Population of the American Interior Railroads began in the East, but quickly moved west, spider-webbing across the country. Wherever railroads went, people followed and towns grew. Previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited areas of the country became towns almost overnight when the railroad came through. One striking example is the case of Terminus, Georgia. The small town of about thirty was chosen as the terminus for the Western & Atlantic Railroad. In 1845, it was renamed Atlanta and went on to become one of the most important cities in the South. Railroads required land on which to lay tracks, build rail yards, and construct depots. Beginning in the 1850s, speculators bought land in the hopes that a railroad would come through an area and they could then resell the land at a much higher price. Also in the 1850s, the United States government realized the value of the railroads and the land associated with them. One of the first railroads built as a single unit was the Illinois Central. The line could be built as one unit partly because the government granted land to the rail company in a patchwork pattern of alternating one-mile-square sections, with the government retaining ownership of the intervening lands. The combination of public and private ownership created by the grant and others like it led to the use and settlement of vacant lands, the extension of railroads into underdeveloped areas, and increased production and wealth. In return for the land grants, the railroads transported government freight, mail, and personnel, including military troops, until 1946. The government further encouraged settlement in the wake of the railroads through the Homestead Act of 1862. Settlers were granted 160 acres of land in the West on the condition that they farm it for five years; they could also purchase the land for $1.25 an acre after farming it for only six months. Few farmers could afford to take advantage of the latter provision, but many land speculators could. Thousands of acres of homestead land were purchased by speculators at what were paltry sums, forcing new settlers, in turn, to purchase land at inflated prices from speculators. Railroads were crucial in moving goods to markets. Cities in the East, like New York and Boston, and in the Midwest, like Chicago, that had begun life as ports, became the centers for railroad transport of agricultural and industrial products. Railroads freed trade of the constrictions of the natural sources of transport, such as rivers, because railroads could be constructed almost anywhere. Like canals before them, railroads became in essence man-made rivers. Railroads moved freight and people between urban centers in the East into the interior of the country and ultimately toward the West. Towns in the center of the country became boom-towns, acting as railroad transshipment points for goods. Perhaps the best examples of this are the Kansas towns like Abilene and the infamous Dodge City. From the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, Texas cowboys drove herds of longhorn cattle to these towns where they were loaded onto trains for shipment to stockyards and slaughterhouses in cities like Chicago. The cattle drives ended when the railroads moved even farther west and south to areas where the cattle were grazed and when farmers across whose lands the cattle were driven erected barbed-wire fences to keep out the trampling herds. Railroad towns that were no longer needed as access points for railroads often were abandoned as quickly as they arose or greatly reduced in population. Railroads brought boom and bust to towns and cities across the nation. The Transcontinental Railroad A large part of the effort to bring the railroad to the freight instead of the freight to the railroad culminated in the building of the first transcontinental railroad. On 1 July 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the construction of a railroad between the Missouri River and California. The idea for a transcontinental railroad had been around since at least 1848. Engineers had mapped several routes by the 1850s and railroads had been built along some portions of those routes. Rivalry between railroads had prevented the completion of a unified transcontinental route, however. The outbreak of the Civil War removed the southern routes from consideration and increased the need for a transcontinental railroad for use by the military. Lincoln designated Council Bluffs, Iowa, as the starting place for the new railroad. Two railroads worked on the transcontinental railroad: The Union Pacific built westward from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento, California. The two lines met on 10 May 1869 in Promontory, Utah, where the tracks were joined with a golden spike. The telegraph spread the news nationwide. This first transcontinental route was built with government assistance in the form of land grants and loans. The line was intended for use by the military and was not expected to make money. Subsequent transcontinental railroads were built with the assistance of land grants but not governmental loans. Several more transcontinental rail lines were completed between 1869 and 1910. In 1881, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe building from the west met the Southern Pacific at Deming, New Mexico. The Southern Pacific continued eastward until it met the Texas & Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1883. Through the acquisition of other railroads and further construction, including a line to New Orleans and to California from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the second transcontinental railroad was completed in 1883. Three routes were built to the Pacific Northwest. The Northern Pacific Railroad completed the first in 1883. It ran through the northern tier states. The second opened a year later when the Oregon Short Line joined the Union Pacific with Oregon Railway and Navigation Company tracks. Both railroads later became part of the Union Pacific System. Great Northern completed the third route: the first transcontinental railroad to be built without land grants, the extension connected the West coast with the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul Railroad. A Union Pacific route to southern California was completed by the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad in 1905. In 1910, the Western Pacific joined with the Denver, Rio Grande & Western Railroad at Salt Lake City to complete yet another transcontinental route. The fever for constructing transcontinental routes did not lead to other parts of the railroad system being neglected. In the 1860s, twenty-two thousand miles of new track were laid. Over the course of the decade of the 1870s, forty thousand miles of new rail lines were built. In the 1880s, more than seven thousand miles of new rail line were laid. By the end of the nineteenth century, railroads crisscrossed America, transporting freight to ports and markets at an unprecedented volume. The Railroads and the U.S. Government The relationship between the U.S. government and the railroads began in the 1850s with the land grants given to railroads. The government had a vested interest in seeing the expansion of the railroads because this expansion made use of previously unused or underused land, creating new, and taxable, wealth. A more direct relationship between the government and the railroads was forged during the Civil War. Before 1860, the majority of the railroad track in the United States was in the North. Railroads ran west from the North to the interior of the country; when the war started in 1861, railroads lost their markets in the South, but gained an even bigger market, the military. Railroads in both the North and the South became vital to the Union and Confederate militaries, and large railroad termini, like Atlanta, became prime military targets. Railroads were used to move large numbers of troops to the sites of major battles. The outcome of the First Battle of Bull Run was determined by troops shifted by rail from the Shenandoah Valley to the vicinity of Manassas, Virginia. In preparation for the launching of General Braxton Bragg's Kentucky campaign, the Confederate Army of Tennessee was moved by rail from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. A more remarkable accomplishment was the movement of General James Longstreet's army corps by rail from Virginia through the Carolinas and Georgia, just in time to secure the Confederate victory of Chickamauga, Georgia. Most remarkable of all was the movement of General Joseph Hooker's two corps of twenty-two thousand men over a distance of twelve hundred miles from Virginia to the vicinity of Chattanooga, via Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville. More important even than these spectacular shifts of large army units from one strategic field to another was the part played by the railroads in the day-to-day movement of men, food, ammunition, matériel, and supplies from distant sources to the combat forces. Such movements reached their height during General William Tecumseh Sherman's campaign to capture Atlanta in the summer of 1864. His army of one hundred thousand men and thirty-five thousand animals was kept supplied and fit by a single-track railroad extending nearly five hundred miles from its base on the Ohio River at Louisville. The military continued to use railroads in later wars. In April 1917, when railroad mileage in the United States was at its peak, the country entered World War I. A volunteer Railroads' War Board was established to coordinate the use of railroads to meet military requirements. When this board proved unsatisfactory, the railroads were taken over by the government on 1 January 1918; the takeover lasted twenty-six months. During World War II, railroads initially remained under private directorship. Improvements made in the interwar years, perhaps in part because of needs realized during World War I, allowed the railroads to meet World War II military requirements despite less operational railroad track within the United States. Between the world wars, new, more powerful steam locomotives had been put into use; the diesel engine was introduced to passenger travel in 1934 and to freight service in 1941. Wooden cars had been replaced and passenger cars were air conditioned starting in 1929. Passenger train speeds increased and overnight service was instituted for freight service. Railroad signaling was centralized, increasing the capacity of rail lines. The organization and operation of car supply and distribution were improved to the extent that train car shortages became a thing of the past. Railroad service was so improved that the government did not need to seize the railroads during World War II, but shortly after the war ended the situation changed. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman was forced to seize the railroads to handle a nationwide strike of engineers and trainmen that had paralyzed the railroads (and much of the nation) for two days. Strikes in 1948 and 1950 precipitated further government seizures. The intervention of the government in railroad-labor relations illustrates not only the importance of the railroads, but also the regulatory power the government wields in its relationship with the railroads. Railroads and U.S. Government Regulation Much of the history of the relationship between the U.S. government and railroads has involved regulation or its lack. Early in the growth of railroads, the government tended to ignore what were later seen to be the excesses of railroad developers. The desire to drive the railroad west in the 1860s overrode concerns about land speculators buying up homestead land and led to the distribution of millions of acres of government land to railroads at minimal prices. In the 1880s, railroads set about competing for business, using any means necessary, including special terms to companies who shipped a lot of freight. Planning was minimal—railroads ran everywhere and nowhere at all; railroads were spending a lot, but making little. Ultimately railroads' power to control land and access to markets resulted in farmers who could not afford to ship their goods to market. In the 1890s, in part in response to the discontent of farmers and others with the disorganized state of the railroads, "robber barons" (wealthy speculators and businessmen) bought companies in many industries, consolidating them into large, monopolistic corporations. The foremost of these businessmen in the railroad industry was J. P. Morgan, who set up the House of Morgan in New York City. Morgan proceeded to merge railroads across the country, claiming to be attempting to stabilize the industry. In so doing, he created trusts, virtual monopolies, with interlocking directorates. Investors flocked to trusts like Morgan's. The result for small businessmen was the same as under the previous, disorganized system: power over the railroads rested in the hands of a few individuals who gave preferential treatment to large industrial producers. The government watched these events more or less from the sidelines until, in 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt challenged Morgan's creation of Northern Securities, an entity set up to unite competing railroad moguls from the East and West coasts. Roosevelt used the power of the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), setting a precedent for dissolving railroad and other corporate monopolies. Attempts to regulate the railroad industry had been made prior to the use of antitrust laws against railroads. Another means the government used to try to regulate railroads was control of interstate trade. Early attempts to regulate railroad rates and practices by states had been only partly successful, although in 1876 the so-called Granger laws had been upheld by the Supreme Court for intrastate application. In 1886, however, the Court held, in Wabash, Saint Louis and Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois, that Congress had exclusive jurisdiction over inter-state commerce and that a state could not regulate even the intrastate portion of an interstate movement. Efforts had been made for a dozen years before to have Congress enact regulatory legislation. The decision in the Wabash case resulted in passage on 4 February 1887, of the Interstate Commerce Act, which created the Interstate Commerce Commission. Subsequent legislation broadened the commission's jurisdiction and responsibilities, increased its powers, and strengthened its organization. Between 1890 and 1900 another 40,000 miles of track were added to the railroad net; after 1900, still another 60,000 miles of line were built, bringing the total of first main track to its peak of 254,000 miles in 1916. Mileage of all tracks, including additional main tracks, passing tracks, sidings, and yards, reached its maximum of 430,000 miles in 1930. By 1960, mileage of line declined to approximately 220,000, and miles of track of all kinds had declined 390,000. This reduction in mileage was the result of many factors, including the exhaustion of the mines, forests, and other natural resources that were the reason for being of many branch lines; intensified competition from water routes and highways; and the coordination and consolidations that made many lines un-necessary. In 1916 more than fourteen hundred companies operated 254,000 miles of line; in 1960, fewer than six hundred companies operated 220,000 miles of line—but the reduced mileage had more than double the effective carrying capacity of the earlier, more extensive network. Congress voted to return the railroads to private operation and set up the terms of such operation in the Transportation Act of 1920. Among the changes in government policy was recognition of a measure of responsibility for financial results, found in the direction to the ICC to fix rates at such a level as would enable the railroads, as a whole or in groups, to earn a fair return on the value of the properties devoted to public service. This provision was frequently described as a government guarantee of railroad profits, although there was no guarantee of earnings. Commercial conditions and competitive forces kept railway earnings well below the called-for level, and the government was not asked or required to make up the deficiency. Another shift in government policy related to consolidation of railroads, which had initially been frowned on but was later encouraged by the Transportation Act of 1920. The change in policy stemmed from the fact that consolidation in one form or another had from early times been the way the major systems, some of which included properties originally built by a hundred or more companies, achieved growth. Accordingly the 1920 law directed the ICC to develop a plan of consolidation for the railroads; in 1933, the ICC requested that it be relieved of this requirement. In passing the Transportation Act of 1958 Congress somewhat relaxed regulatory requirements on the railroads, providing, in effect, that competitive cost factors be given greater consideration in determining the lawfulness of rates, so long as the rates proposed were compensatory to the carrier and not discriminatory. Railroads and Labor The construction of a massive project like railroads requires a tremendous amount of labor. Once built, railroad upkeep and operation requires even more labor. Ancillary industries utilized large labor forces for the production of iron, and later steel, the felling of trees and processing of wood, and the production of other materials necessary for the manufacture of tracks, locomotives, and train cars. Service industries employed workers to fill jobs such as porters, waiters, and other functions on railroads. Finally, fuel had to be mined and processed to run the locomotives. Relations between railroads and their workers have often been rancorous. Tension was present from the beginning because of the danger associated with many rail-road jobs. One of the earliest and most dangerous was that of brakeman. Brakemen rode on top of freight cars, hopping down to stick wooden clubs into the spokes of the wheels of the train to bring it to a halt. The air brake ended this particularly hazardous employment, but other rail jobs were also dangerous. Not only were railroad jobs often dangerous, they usually did not pay well. In the 1870s, many rail workers were paid less than $2 per twelve-hour day. The combination of dangerous work, long hours, and low pay led to railroads and labor often being at loggerheads. Railroad workers went on strike several times in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1877, one of the largest and most devastating strikes involved Baltimore & Ohio Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, who went on strike to protest wage cuts. The strike spread to Baltimore, then to the Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania railroads, and eventually to St. Louis. Although some national railroad labor unions disavowed the strike, local strikers held train stations and set them afire. State militias and the national guard were called out to break the strike in several locations. A thousand people were imprisoned during the strike, which eventually involved one hundred thousand workers. When the railroads rescinded the wage cuts, the strike, which had involved more than half the freight on the country's railroads, came to an end. The Homestead and Pullman strikes of 1892 and 1894, respectively, further frayed relations between laborers and railroad management. Strikes and unrest in the railroad industry led the federal government to institute regulations that mitigated some of the labor problems. The first federal legislation addressing relations between railroads and their employees was passed in 1888. The law applied only to employees in train and engine service: the first railway employees to form successful unions—the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1863, the Order of Railway Conductors in 1868, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen in 1873, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in 1883. These, with the addition of the Switchmen's Union of North America, organized in 1894, constitute the "operating" group of unions. "Nonoperating" crafts formed organizations at various dates—the telegraphers (1886), the six shop-craft unions (1888–1893), the maintenance-of-way employees (1891), the clerks and station employees (1898), the signalmen (1901). The Erdman Act (1898) and the Newlands Act (1913), which provided various measures for mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and fact-finding in connection with railway labor disputes, dealt with train service cases only. The Transportation Act of 1920 that encouraged the consolidation of railroads also set up the U.S. Railroad Labor Board and granted it jurisdiction over all crafts of employees and power to determine wage rates and working conditions; however, the act did not grant the Labor Board the power to enforce its decisions. In 1922, the shopmen brought about the first nationwide strike on the railroads when they struck in response to a Labor Board decision reducing wages. The strike failed, but its aftereffects were such that in the Railway Labor Act of 1926, agreed to by the unions and the railroads, the Labor Board was abolished and the principles of earlier labor legislation, with their reliance on mediation and conciliation, were restored. The 1926 law was amended in important particulars in 1934, at the urging of the Railway Labor Executives Association, an organization of the "standard" railway unions formed in 1929. In 1934, the Railroad Retirement Act was passed as the first of the Social Security measures of the New Deal. This legislation was declared unconstitutional, but in 1937 a retirement and unemployment insurance system was set up under legislation agreed upon by the Railway Labor Executives Association and the Association of American Railroads, an organization of the industry formed in 1934. Strikes by the engineers and trainmen and other groups of unions in 1946, 1948, and 1950 led, in 1951, to amendment of the 1934 Railway Labor Act. The amendment removed the prohibition on requiring union membership as a condition of railroad employment, thus permitting the establishment of the union shop by negotiation. Such agreements were negotiated on most railroads. Passenger Transport in the Early Twentieth Century The romance of railroad travel extends perhaps as far back to the day when Tom Thumb pulled a train car with thirty people through the Maryland countryside. The first sleeper car, an innovation that provided some comfort on long rail journeys, was made for the Cumberland Valley Railroad that ran through Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1856, the sleeper car that was to become an American classic was invented by George W. Pullman. The cars had an upper and lower berths and were improved by all-steel construction in 1859. The heyday of passenger rail travel, however, did not begin until the 1920s. The year that kicked off that decade saw a record 1.2 billion passengers. The immense rider-ship was short lived; the automobile became more and more popular throughout the 1920s. In 1934, the Burlington, Chicago & Quincy line introduced the Zephyr—a streamlined, diesel-powered locomotive. The locomotive was unveiled at the Century of Progress Exhibition and was later featured in the 1934 movie, The Silver Streak. The country was transfixed, and by the end of the decade rail travel had again become fashionable. Many railroad lines ran streamlined trains and passenger travel increased by 38 percent between 1930 and 1939, though total ridership remained at less than half of the highs of 1920. World War II again interrupted the popularity of rail travel. Railroads remained profitable during the war years because government used the railroads to move troops, supplies, and equipment and because of the scarcity of other means of transport during gas rationing. After World War II, railroads failed to recapture the American imagination and never recovered the phenomenal number of passengers of the early part of the century. Automobiles and airplanes took a firm hold as the preferred means of passenger transport in the United States. Railroads turned to more profitable freight business as their main source of income. Throughout the postwar years the railroads made many capital improvements, spending, on average, more than $1 billion a year. The most significant change was the replacement of steam power by diesel-electric power. Continuous-welded rail in lengths of a quarter-mile, a half-mile, and even longer came into wider use. Railroads were increasingly maintained by more efficient off-track equipment. New freight cars that rode more smoothly were designed. An automatic terminal with electronic controls, known as the push-button yard, was developed. Container or trailer-on-flatcar service, commonly called piggybacking, was introduced. Containers today are used in the transport of much of the freight in the United States and abroad. The Late Twentieth Century and Early Twenty-first Century Fewer passengers and decreased freight and mail service in the second half of the twentieth century led to railroad bankruptcies as well as mergers and acquisitions designed to streamline the industry. By the 1970s, railroad passengers accounted for only 7.2 percent of travelers in the United States. By contrast, airline passengers represented 73 percent of travelers each year. Freight service has evolved differently. Between 1980 and 2000, while the number of miles of track decreased from 202,000 to approximately 173,000, the amount of freight transported annually increased from 918 billion ton-miles (one ton transported one mile) to 1.4 trillion ton-miles. New types of freight service appeared in the 1960s. Although the number of freight cars in service dropped slightly, the average capacity per car increased by nearly 25 percent. In addition, container freight service continued to grow. Railroads also rebuilt a declining coal traffic by reducing rates through the introduction of "unit trains," which are whole trains of permanently coupled cars that carry bulk tonnage to a single destination on a regular schedule. Unit trains were so popular that they were soon in use for hauling a variety of commodities. During the 1960s and early 1970s, total investment in the railroad industry grew only modestly. The rather bleak financial picture was in part relieved by technological advances. A major reduction in overheated locomotive engines ("hot boxes") was achieved during the 1960s. Improved lubrication plus infrared detection devices at trackside reduced the incidence of overheated engines by more than 90 percent. Beginning in the late 1960s, railroad cars were tagged with automatic car identification, which allowed them to be tracked anywhere in the country. The use of computers to control train traffic burgeoned during the decade, with almost ten thousand miles of Centralized Traffic Control installed. Passenger rail service dropped sharply in the 1960s. In 1961 passenger service was offered on more than 40 percent of the nation's railroads. By 1971 passenger trains were running on less than 20 percent of the national mileage. In an effort to save the failing passenger rail industry in the United States, the government sponsored a project for high-speed passenger service in the Northeast corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C., running through New York City and Philadelphia. The service was dubbed the Metroliner and is today part of the Amtrak system. Amtrak, National Railroad Passenger Corporation, is a federally sponsored entity that took control of most railroad passenger service in May 1971. In 2000, Amtrak had 22,000 miles of track and served forty-six states and over five hundred communities. Despite a ridership of over 22 million passengers in 2000, Amtrak faced a severe financial crisis. Amtrak and the government continue to work together to try to maintain passenger rail service across the United States. The number of railroad employees declined steadily in tandem with declining ridership in the 1960s. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the number of railroad employees hovers at slightly over one hundred thousand; the average annual income of a railroad employee is $60,000 per year. Since the middle of the twentieth century, mergers have become a survival tactic for railroads. The aim was to achieve significant operational savings, which were projected and claimed for nearly every proposed merger. In 1960, 116 Class I, large freight, railroads operated in the United States; only nine were in operation by 1997. Class I railroads dropped from 106 to 76 between 1960 and 1965. The federal government continued to play a role in railroad affairs in the second half of the twentieth century. In addition to sponsoring Amtrak, the federal government addressed regulatory issues. Federal controls had been somewhat lessened by the Transportation Act of 1958, but most railroad managers still believed their industry to be overregulated. In 1970, the Department of Transportation was established; in 1980, sweeping changes were made to federal government regulatory practices. The Stag-gers Rail Act (1980) forced partial deregulation of the industry. In addition, the decline in passenger service and a decreased need for freight service because of greater railroad efficiency, along with government support of the airlines and highway construction, led to the railroads becoming unable to compete effectively. Federal regulation also prevented railroads from reacting to changes in the marketplace. Deregulation permitted railroads to make changes that increased their revenues. For example, unprofitable branch lines could be closed. Railroads were also forced into free competition with air and road carriers. Shippers could now demand better prices from railroad carriers. More recently, the small number of freight railroads has caused some concern among shippers, who have begun to question the competitiveness in the industry. Recent technological advances are revolutionizing railroads in other areas. In the 1990s, the airbrake had its first significant change since the 1930s. The Electro-Pneumatic brake system now in use allows the command for the brakes on a train to be sent electronically by the engineer, thereby increasing braking control. Computers control many other phases of railroad operation; satellites monitor the position of trains to prevent collisions. Many trains, like those of the Metro-North commuter train in southern New York, are now equipped with a system that sends signals to a display in the train, eliminating the need for wayside signaling. Finally, high-speed passenger rail service has been developed. At present, it is in limited use by Amtrak in the Northeast corridor. The hope is that commuters and travelers will see high-speed rail as an alternative to air travel and automobiles, ushering in another great age of passenger train travel. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bianculli, Anthony J. Trains and Technology: The American Railroad in the Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1, Trains and Technology. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2001. Daniels, Rudolph. Trains across the Continent: North American Railroad History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000. Del Vecchio, Mike. Pictorial History of America's Railroads. Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing, 2001. Saunders, Richard, Jr. Merging Lines: American Railroads, 1900– 1970. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2001. Schweiterman, Joseph P. When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment. Kirksville, Mo.: Truman State University Press, 2001. Stover, John F., and Mark C. Carnes. The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads. New York: Routledge, 1999. Usselman, Steven W. Regulating Railroad Innovation: Business, Technology, and Politics in America, 1840–1920. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Williams, John Hoyt. A Great and Shining Road: The Epic Story of the Transcontinental Railroad. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996 Christine K.Kimbrough See alsoHomestead Movement ; Homestead Strike ; Inter-state Commerce Laws ; Land Speculation ; Monopoly ; Northern Securities Company v. United States ; Pullman Strike ; Pullmans ; Steam Power and Engines ; Transcontinental Railroad, Building of ; Transportation and Travel ; Transportation, Department of ; Trust-Busting . RAILROADS construction linkages conclusion bibliography To those who witnessed its construction the railroad was a symbol of the progress of human civilization. Historians too traditionally assumed that the new mode of transport had a revolutionary impact. According to W. W. Rostow the railway was undoubtedly "the most powerful single initiator of [economic] takeoff" (p. 302). Doubts were provoked, however, by the counterfactual approach adopted by Robert Fogel in Railroads and American Economic Growth: Essays in Econometric History (1964). On the basis of some very questionable assumptions, the Nobel prize–winning economist attempted to calculate the cost to the economy if the railways had not existed. His conclusion was that "no single innovation was vital for economic growth in the nineteenth century." This really quite unexceptional insight was subsequently applied to most European countries. In accordance with Fogel's approach, the calculations in table 1 subsequently emerged, purporting to show the relatively small amount of "social saving" that resulted from the transport of freight by rail, rather than the alternatives, in Europe. However, the theoretical and statistical model-building engaged in by the econometricians abstracts out of existence variables that cannot be quantified and tends to make simplistic and static assumptions concerning quantifiable elements. Furthermore the statistical information available is itself fragmentary and the subsequent calculations impossible to verify. Thus, and in spite of the claims made concerning Social saving derived from use of railwaysCountriesDateSocial saving expressed as a percentage of GNP source: Patrick O'Brien, ed., Railways and the Economic Development of Western Europe (London, 1983). England and Wales18654.1England and Wales189011.0Belgium18652.5Belgium19124.5France18725.8Germany1890s5.0Russia19074.6Spain187811.8Spain191218.5 greater intellectual rigor, the results are no more nor less than suggestive pointers to questions that ought to be asked by more empirically minded social and economic historians interested in the perceptions and behavior of the historical actors themselves rather than in assumptions concerning the "rational" actions of the homo economicus beloved of classical economic theory. Furthermore, the assertion that much of the capital invested in railways might have been more profitably employed elsewhere, while valid for underused portions of the rail networks, ignores the intense pressure on governments to ensure construction coming from localities that otherwise would have been excluded from the benefits of "modern civilization." The calculations also tend to underestimate the impact of forward (to markets) and backward (to industry) linkages, as well as the complex interactions between technical systems. In comparison with previous transport technologies, in terms of the resources necessary for its construction as well as the linkages that developed, it still makes sense to claim that the railways promoted a "transport revolution" even if it has become unfashionable to use the term. Nevertheless Fogel's revisionism has had a significant outcome in promoting an important change of emphasis in the assessment of the characteristics of technological innovation and its social impact. It has become more clearly evident that the evolution of the railway as a technical system becomes explicable only in relation to specific economic, technological, and additionally sociocultural and political contexts. construction Transport facilities developed in response to perceptions of the need to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of movement of people, goods, and information. Throughout the eighteenth century political economists such as Adam Smith (1723–1790) in Britain and administrators like Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727–1781) in France insisted with growing force on the close association between improved transport and greater prosperity. Merchants and manufacturers were only too aware of the practical impact of bottlenecks within existing communications networks. From around the 1740s, substantial investment followed in roads, canals, and port facilities. Success in achieving efficiency gains stimulated further innovation. In all of this, Britain, the first to experience the pressures of industrialization, took the lead. The application of steam power to haulage on the wagon-ways linking coal mines to waterways, on which rails had already been laid in order to reduce friction between wagon and surface and increase the pulling power of horses, represented the injection of a complex new technology into the existing road and water transport system, initially piecemeal and as a means of over-coming the shortcomings of existing modes of transport. It was followed by the construction of the first major-purpose-built railway from Liverpool to Manchester, opened on 15 September 1830. Although much of Britain already possessed efficient waterborne transport, there was substantial demand for railway construction. Moreover, throughout northwestern Europe, in relatively advanced societies the capital and skills necessary to build and operate the new networks already existed, while an increasingly widely shared culture of consumption encouraged international technology transfer and the adaptation of best practice to local circumstances. Enthusiasm for the new railway spread relatively rapidly within the more economically dynamic and densely populated areas of western Europe and then more gradually into regions likely to generate less traffic and toward the European periphery where capital and technical expertise were less plentiful. Investment in rail had come to be seen as a technological imperative, an economic necessity, and additionally a means of promoting political integration. Space-time perceptions were fundamentally altered. Indeed space appeared to have shrunk. Although in Britain rail construction was essentially left to private companies, on the Continent mixed regimes were the norm, reflecting particular legal and administrative traditions, concerns about public safety, and military-strategic interests. Decisions were the outcome of negotiations between ministers, senior civil servants, politicians representing the socioeconomic elites, and bankers. In France, the provisions of an 1842 law represented a compromise following a highly politicized debate between liberals like Louis-Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) convinced of the superiority of the market in the allocation of resources and proponents of state intervention concerned to prevent the development of monopoly and protect the public service functions of the new mode of transport. It was agreed that the engineers of the state's Corps des Ponts et Chaussées should plan the layout of the primary network with its tracks, reflecting a political/administrative conception of space, radiating out from Paris and largely following the existing major lines of communication and of economic activity. While the state would finance construction of the roadbed, concessionary companies would accept responsibility for providing the superstructure and rolling stock. The unprecedented financial burden was thus shared. Typically, in the case of a new technology construction costs would generally prove to be much higher than suggested by overoptimistic estimates. The construction process had a substantial impact on financial markets. In France rail investment amounted to 10 to 15 percent of gross domestic capital formation between 1845 and 1884. Fluctuations in investment by the railway companies inevitably had a significant influence on the business cycle. The provision of capital through the auspices of private banks, with the Rothschilds to the fore, and the subsequent sale of bonds and shares spread the habit of purchasing financial assets. A speculative boom was followed by the collapse of concessionary companies during the lengthy midcentury crisis, and briefly, following the Revolution of 1848, complete nationalization was considered. Instead the establishment of authoritarian government following Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état in December 1851 was followed by efforts to restore business confidence by extending the length of concessions and encouraging amalgamations to create financially stronger regional companies. Public pressure to be linked to the only means of cheap and rapid transport ensured that further construction remained a political imperative, and from 1859 a series of conventions that provided for state guarantees of dividends stimulated further extension of the network. This culminated in the laying of narrow-gauge lines and local tramways at the beginning of the twentieth century. Elsewhere the situation varied, ranging from a mixture of state and private companies to complete state control in Belgium as a means of reinforcing the independence of the recently created state while at the same time integrating its economy into that of Western Europe. In the various German states, Italy, and Austria-Hungary the balance between state and private companies was increasingly altered by the nationalization of failing companies. External investment of capital and construction skills, initially by Britain and subsequently France, was substantial. For the Austrian Empire the railways appeared to offer an opportunity to secure the political and financial dominance of Vienna and to promote an economic modernization based upon the more intense industrialization of the Czech lands and the commercialization of Hungarian agriculture. In the case of Russia, where the state itself prioritized defense expenditure, there were two major periods of rail construction, in the 1870s and 1890s. In addition to the stimulus afforded to agriculture, the railways also provided efficient links between coal and iron deposits promoting heavy industry in the Donets Basin in Ukraine and engineering in St. Petersburg and stimulating the further development of the established industrial regions around Moscow and the Baltic, and in Warsaw and Łodz in tsarist Poland. While the impact of rail construction varied considerably within countries, in general it was the major urban centers, the lowlands, and major river valleys in which population and economic activity were already concentrated and which had been well placed within the pre-rail water/road networks that especially benefited. Unfavorable topography, particularly in the uplands, could add considerably to both construction costs and, as a result of high fuel costs and low speed, to subsequent operating expenses, while limited utilization in economically less dynamic regions inevitably meant that fixed costs were distributed over a low level of traffic. Along the Scandinavian coasts sea-borne transport continued to be preferred. Progress would be slowest where low levels of economic activity and governmental instability discouraged outside investors. As a result, in Italy the existing disparities between the north (Turin, Milan, Genoa) and the south became even more pronounced. Outside the Po valley, where the major lines had been constructed even before the establishment of national unity in 1861, the trunk routes were primarily of political and strategic importance. A rugged terrain ensured high operating costs. In more "peripheral" areas of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, rail construction would in particular facilitate the development of agriculture and mineral extraction. Designed to support the export of raw materials, the configuration of the Spanish network typically took on a quasi-colonial shape. Various forms of state subsidy sought to reduce the uncertainties in order to accelerate the process of "modernization." Nevertheless, even where private companies predominated, the establishment of freight and passenger tariffs involved constant negotiation. While the companies were anxious to Length of railway track and use, 1913CountryTrack length (km)Track (km) per 1,000 sq. kmMetric ton/km of freight (millions)Index of use made of lines source: Data from B. R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics: Europe 1750–2000 (Houndmills, U.K., 2003) and Norman J. G. Pounds, An Historical Geography of Europe (Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 1985), pp. 496–497. Austria-Hungary22,98136.817,2870.399Belgium4,676153.35,7291.224France40,77076.025,2000.622Germany63,378117.267,7001.106Great Britain32,623139.5——Greece1,58424.4500.032Italy18,87365.97,0700.391Norway3,0859.54010.135Russia70,156—76,800—Spain15,08829.83,1790.217 maximize their returns and adapt charges to the diversity of demand, government officials were concerned about the quasi-monopoly powers enjoyed by railway companies on most of their routes. The commercial flexibility of the companies was thus restricted. Direct state ownership, on the other hand, tended to result in higher charges designed to supplement the public revenue. Even so, substantial and repeated reductions in transport costs undoubtedly stimulated economic growth and increased traffic. In Germany freight rates by 1900 were one-quarter of their 1845 level; in Belgium they fell from 10.8 centimes per metric ton-kilometer in 1845 to 3.6 by 1913. Historians have generally focused on the "big" innovations and neglected the incremental impact of smaller changes. Technologies tend to be improved as part of the process of diffusion. The reduction in freight rates and passenger fares achieved by the railways was thus not a once-and-for-all achievement. Over time, as traffic built up and the shortcomings of the earlier lines became evident, considerable improvements were made in their operating efficiency. This was achieved as a result of improved mechanical and civil engineering that involved most notably the replacement of iron with steel in the construction of more durable steel engine boilers and production of rails capable of carrying heavier trains. The development of more powerful and fuel-efficient compound engines ensured that in France, whereas the typical Crampton goods engine had weighed 125 kilograms for every horsepower generated in the 1870s, by 1913 this had been reduced to 50 kilograms. The introduction of continuous brakes (from 1869) and electric signals (from 1885) represented responses to safety concerns and to the congestion evident on most major lines from the 1870s. With traffic generally exceeding expectations, passenger stations, goods yards, and engineering workshops were all rapidly in need of enlargement. In Britain rail freight amounted to some 38 million tons in 1850 and 1.996 billion (expressed in U.S. figures) by 1875. In France traffic increased by around 4 percent per annum between 1851 and 1913, with 70 percent of all freight being moved by rail. More bureaucratic and systematic business procedures and accounting practices also contributed to the efficient utilization of equipment and labor. Major stations like Frankfurt, with a staff of over one thousand in 1904, were vital hubs of activity. Military-style regulations were imposed on the labor force in the interests of both safety and efficiency. Efforts were also made through complex bonus systems and pensions to instill a sense of pride and loyalty within a labor force that in Britain had grown to 600,000 and in France to 355,000 on the eve of World War I. linkages The broader impact of rail construction has generally been discussed in terms of "backward" and "forward" linkages. The most profound effect of improved communications was to reduce market fragmentation. As markets were widened many enterprises experienced a crisis of adaptation as new opportunities for profit were created but within more competitive markets—a situation that promoted technical and organizational innovation. The reduction in transport costs and, in effect, of the cost of the final product for consumers, as well as the more rapid diffusion of marketplace information, was especially significant for products of low value in relation to weight such as coal, iron ore, building materials, and agricultural produce and for the finished products of the metallurgical, engineering, chemicals, and textiles industries. Falling prices stimulated the growth in demand for a wide range of products, further stimulating the creation of a mass market. This was particularly evident in regions lacking efficient waterborne communication, as in Germany, where fragmentation of economic space due to the lack of east-west river links had been particularly evident. In the case of backward linkages, a massive stimulus was afforded to metallurgy and engineering. Demand for rails and rolling stock accounted for 13 to 18 percent of iron and steel orders in France during the height of the railway boom between 1845 and 1884 as well as for 12 to 18 percent of building materials, although subsequently demand was increasingly restricted to extensions to the network and replacement. The needs of the railway, together with competitive pressure, provided a vital stimulus to innovation designed to increase both the volume and quality of production. In metallurgy this involved the transition from small charcoal-based to large coke-using furnaces and the development of the refining, puddling, and rolling processes. Initial dependence on imports and on technological borrowing from Britain and Belgium was short-lived. Thus by the mid-1850s Germany had already achieved self-sufficiency in locomotive production, and companies like Borsig in Berlin were already looking for export markets. The supply of coal was also substantially increased as falling transport costs for domestically produced coal and rising demand from industry and the railways themselves encouraged increased production and in areas like the Ruhr or northern France led to the emergence of coal-based technical systems. Coal producers in an area like the Loire basin, which had previously dominated regional markets due to its position within the waterway network, now however faced competition from more efficient mines in the north, the owners of which themselves complained about the competitive threat from Belgian and from seaborne British coal, penetrating inland as a result of rail company efforts to generate traffic from the ports serving their networks. Improved transport not only increased the elasticity of supply of coal and other raw materials and reduced their cost, but by providing for the greater regularity of supply also ensured that industry was less susceptible to price fluctuations, as well as allowing the reduction of stocks, which had previously tied up substantial capital. The railways thus served as a "leading sector" stimulating the modernization of key sectors of the industrial and commercial economy and also the development of agriculture. Thus the equalization of regional and then of international grain prices substantially reduced the age-old association between climatic conditions and food prices and considerably increased food security. By the 1880s half the Russian wheat harvest was being transported to western Europe from rapidly developing ports like Odessa. Cereals from the Hungarian plains increasingly met Austrian needs. The bulk transport of wine and livestock, as well as of perishables like meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products, encouraged agricultural specialization and modified dietary practices. The more intensive commercialization of farming sustained a growing demand for inputs including chemical fertilizers as well as for manufactured goods at the same time, however, that the concentration and increased scale of industrial production effected a rapid decline in dispersed rural manufacture and the deindustrialization of many regions. Furthermore, competition from large industrial flour mills at the ports sounded the death knell for numerous rural mills, while the construction of railways outside Europe and particularly in North America, together with falling maritime freight rates, promoted a process of globalization and heralded the onset of the "great depression" in European agriculture. It was hardly surprising, as import penetration increased, that both rail freight rates and tariff protection would become major political issues. As well as promoting the concentration of industrial and commercial activity and thus the increased concentration of population, the railways made possible the massive transportation of the building materials needed for urbanization. The construction and then reconstruction of passenger stations with train sheds made of iron and glass behind more traditional facades, and of extensive goods yards, was in itself a central feature of the redevelopment of city centers. By the end of the century Paris had eight rail termini and Berlin seven. Their construction fundamentally affected land use and the flows of traffic and people. City centers were increasingly clogged by vast numbers of horse-drawn carriages, buses, trams, and carts. While the areas inhabited by the better-off classes were largely spared, large numbers of poorer people were displaced by the construction of lines, bridges, viaducts, and stations, and even if the relatively impoverished were increasingly likely to travel by train or tram it was the middle classes who were best placed to enjoy the suburban living that cheap mass transport made possible. In countless small towns and rural areas too the station offered a new hub for economic activity, ever more closely focused on provisioning the growing urban centers. Road traffic, which had been displaced from routes parallel to the railways, grew substantially for relatively short-distance movement to the nearest railway station. Migration too was made easier, whether to the city or to the ports and on, across the Atlantic. Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad from 1905 eased the movement of around 250,000 people each year from western Russia in search of a better life. In addition to facilitating the movement of goods and people the railways, together with the electric telegraph (introduced by the Great Western Railway in Britain in 1839 and in France from 1845), combined to considerably increase the Passenger traffic, 1913CountryPassenger kilometers (in millions)Index source: Data from B. R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics: Europe 1750–2000 (Houndmills, U.K., 2003) and Norman J. G. Pounds, An Historical Geography of Europe (Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 1985). Austria-Hungary8,3210.193Belgium6,2421.334France19,3000.477Germany41,4000.676Greece2970.188Italy5,0000.276Norway4620.155Spain2,1390.146Russia25,200 speed and volume of information diffusion. The latter had initially served as an "enabling technology," constructed alongside the railway as a means of controlling traffic and then spreading outward. The number of telegrams dispatched rose in France from 500,000 in 1858 to 51 million in 1913. The first transatlantic cable entered service in 1866, heralding a growing globalization reinforced by the development of more efficient rail-borne postal services and of mass-circulation newspapers. In France the number of items sent through the post rose from 254 million in 1850 to 3.724 billion in 1913;in Germany the rate of increase was even more rapid, from 85.9 million to 7.024 billion during the same period. As well as reinforcing trends toward market integration, rail and telegraph also brought political centralization closer by increasing the efficiency of administrative reporting systems and the potential for central control over the provinces. The telephone represented further technical innovation to provide a more flexible means of communication in the office and home and became increasingly attractive as more extensive networks developed. There were 12,000 telephones in use in France in 1889 and 310,000 by 1913. In that year 430 million calls were made. In Germany the corresponding figures were 37,000 rising to 1,428,000, with the number of calls reaching 2,518 million. As well as stimulating business and personal contacts, improved communications also had substantial military implications, both for internal security and the waging of war. In 1846 Prussian troops were transported to Kraków to suppress a Polish revolt; in order to achieve concentration for the 1859 campaign against Austria fought in northern Italy, the French moved substantial numbers of men and horses by rail. The experience of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and of mobilization in 1914, however, revealed that, on the one hand, incompetent planning could result in chaos, and on the other, that sustained efforts to remedy deficiencies might result in the rigidities associated with the Schlieffen Plan (Germany's early-twentieth-century military deployment plan). Moreover, movement away from railheads continued to be on foot or dependent on horse transport. conclusion The railway might be viewed as a means of easing transport bottlenecks in an advanced economy (Britain, Belgium) or else as a leading sector promoting broader economic development (France, Germany, Russia). Nevertheless, even if the impact of railway construction, and that of the improvements in information diffusion it stimulated, varied between regions, there can be little doubt that it was everywhere considerable. The economic and social geography of Europe was modified substantially. In spite of continuities, the construction of national rail networks, followed by the development of international links, contributed to rising levels of productivity in both agriculture and industry. Even if the benefits were shared unequally, widespread and substantial improvements in living standards were evident. The development of coal-based technological systems also, however, substantially increased the capacity of states to wage destructive military campaigns and to sustain the war effort over long periods. In the last analysis, the impact of the railway, and of any technology, thus has to be assessed to a considerable degree in relation to the perceived interests of those who controlled its development and subsequent use. See alsoCoal Mining; Industrial Revolution, First; Industrial Revolution, Second; Science and Technology; Transportation and Communications. bibliography Caron, François. Histoire des chemins de fer en France, 1740–1883. Paris, 1997. Cohen, Jon S., and Giovanni Federico. The Growth of the Italian Economy 1820–1960. Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 2001. Mitchell, Allan. The Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry. New York, 2000. O'Brien, Patrick, ed. Railways and the Economic Development of Western Europe, 1830–1914. London, 1983. Pierenkemper, Tony, and Richard Tilly. The German Economy during the Nineteenth Century. New York, 2004. Price, Roger. The Modernization of Rural France: Communications Networks and Agricultural Market Structures in Nineteenth-Century France. London, 1983. Rostow, W. W. The Stages of Economic Growth. Cambridge, Mass., 1960. Roth, Ralf, and Marie-Noëlle Polino, eds. The City and the Railway in Europe. Aldershot, U.K., 2003. Schram, Albert. Railways and the Formation of the Italian State in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge, U.K., 1997. Szostak, Rick. The Role of Transportation in the Industrial Revolution: A Comparison of England and France. Montreal, 1991. Teich, Mikulus, and Roy Porter, eds. The Industrial Revolution in National Context. Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 1996. Ville, Simon P. Transport and the Development of the European Economy, 1750–1918. London, 1990. Roger Price RAILROAD The idea of using rails for transportation was first conceived in the sixteenth century. The first railroads used wooden rails to guide horse-drawn wagons. In the eighteenth century, cast-iron wheels and rails were used in Europe and England, and by the nineteenth century, horses had been replaced by many steam-driven engines as the source of power. The first public railroad equipped for steam-powered engines was a twenty-mile track built in England in the 1820s. In the United States, the first commercial steam-powered railroad service was provided in South Carolina. On December 25, 1830, the South Carolina Railroad pulled a short passenger train out of Charleston. Compared with the trains and lines in the early 2000s, the first trains were small and the lines were short. But the technology continued to improve, and railroads increased in number, size, and strength throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1830 only 23 miles of rail existed in the United States. By the mid-1830s, more than 1,000 miles of railroad tracks had been laid, and by 1850 more than 9,000 miles of rails existed. At first, most of the railroads were constructed in the eastern states. As the United States bought, acquired, and conquered land to the west of the colonies in the first half of the nineteenth century, many industrialists came to see the railroad as the perfect vehicle for access to the natural resources and growing markets of the West. The idea of a transcontinental railroad was born in the early 1840s. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 accelerated the plans, but the most important event that inspired the creation of a transcontinental railroad was the Civil War. The federal government was eager to assume control over California to gain a strategic advantage over the Confederacy. Passage to California by rail was the best way to secure a link to the West. In May 1862 Congress passed the pacific railroad act, 43 U.S.C.A. § 942-3, which granted public land to the Union Pacific Railroad for each mile of track that it laid from Nebraska to California. The land grants were designed to encourage private investment in the railroads. Shortly thereafter, the Central Pacific Railroad began to compete with the Union Pacific for government land grants. The construction of a transcontinental rail system was an enormous task. It was difficult for the private sector to find the resources to fund such an endeavor, and it became apparent to all concerned that a railroad system that spanned the entire country would not be developed without some help from the government. From 1862 to 1871, the federal government granted more than 100 million acres of land to private railroad companies to promote the construction of railroads. As the country moved westward, construction increased. As construction increased, the need to move materials and goods increased, and this created a dependency on the railroads. The railroads became the most important service in the country from the late nineteenth century through the first part of the twentieth century. They largely supplanted the use of canals and other waterways for shipping large loads because they were faster than watercraft, operated on more direct routes, and were capable of carrying larger loads. As the public dependency on railroads increased, the railroad business became extremely profitable. Railroad companies consolidated and integrated the rail lines but maintained a vast system connecting all of the continental United States. In 1920 the Transportation Act, 40 U.S.C.A. § 316, allowed railroads to abandon certain routes that were not profitable. As the railroads consolidated, they were forced to cut costs by laying-off workers. Congress addressed the problem by freezing railroad employment levels for three years in the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act of 1933. Shortly thereafter, the interstate commerce commission mandated protections for dismissed or displaced railroad workers. As of 2003, dismissed or laid-off railroad workers are entitled to compensation, fringe benefits, moving and housing expenses, and training for new employment. The railroad boom of the late nineteenth century not only made moguls of railroad owners but also led to monopolies in other markets, such as the coal, iron, and steel markets. Large railroad companies were able to offer lower prices to buyers than could smaller companies. Unlike other producers, the railroads did not have to pay for shipping costs. The public outcry over these unfair trade practices, and the inability of states to deal with an essentially interstate problem, forced Congress to regulate the railroad industry. Around the same time, the existing railroad companies began to support regulation of railroad prices to keep rates from dropping due to increased competition within the railroad industry itself. Congress passed the sherman anti-trust act of 1890 (15 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq.) to prevent monopolization and the unreasonable interference with the ordinary and usual competitive pricing or distribution system of the open market in interstate trade. In 1887 Congress passed the interstate commerce act (24 Stat. 379), which established the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate, in large part, the railroad industry. The commission was granted the power to set railroad rates. However, the Supreme Court struck down this grant of power, and the commission was relegated to an information-gathering agency. In 1906 Congress again granted to the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set railroad service rates, and this grant of power survived judicial review (Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western Railroad Co. v. United States, 231 U.S. 363, 34 S. Ct. 65, 58 L. Ed. 269 [1913]). The Robber Barons The U.S. railroad barons of the mid-to late-nineteenth century loomed over the nation's economy. Unfettered by rules and unrestrained by lawmakers and judges, the handful of railroad owners and executives could do virtually whatever they wanted. The vast fortunes they built and control they exercised not only helped to expand national frontiers but also ushered in the market controls that now limit the creation of trusts and monopolies. The railroad barons were colorful men. Probably the most notorious was Jay Gould (1836–1892). A onetime tannery operator from New York with little education, Gould gained control of the Erie Railroad while still in his early thirties. His methods included a number of unlawful or unethical practices: issuing fraudulent stock, bribing legislators, starting price wars against competitors, betraying associates, using his newspaper to cause financial ruin, and manipulating the gold market. Gould even managed to dupe the U.S. Treasury, causing the 1869 stock market panic. At the time of his death, he was worth $77 million. The barons were passionately monopolistic. As a director of the Union Pacific Railroad, Edward Henry Harriman (1849–1909) gobbled up western competitors until he controlled the entire Pacific Coast. But he could not out-gobble James J. Hill (1838–1916), the immensely successful Canadian immigrant whose Great Northern Railway linked the North to the West. Harriman's vicious stock battle with Hill led to a mutually satisfying truce: a short-lived monopoly called the Northern Securities Company, which the U.S. Supreme Court dissolved in 1904. The barons' heyday began to decline at the turn of the century with increasing public outrage over unpredictable ticket prices and fluctuations in the stock market tied to the railroads. Increasing federal pressure, through laws, regulation, and court orders, ended their reign. By 1907, when the interstate commerce commission denounced Harriman and other financiers for trying to destroy rival railroads, the age of the "robber barons" was over. further readings Strom, Claire. 2003. Profiting from the Plains: The Great Northern Railway and Corporate Development of the American West. Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press. Young, Earle B. 1999. Tracks to the Sea: Galveston and Western Railroad Development, 1866–1900. College Station: Texas A&M Univ. Press. Another important concern about railroads was price discrimination in railroad service. Railroads are common carriers, which describes a transportation business that offers service to the general public. The rates charged by common carriers are regulated under the theory that their service has an effect on interstate commerce, which is within the regulatory power of the federal government under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution. Under its power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress prevents rate discrimination on the public railways because rate discrimination is a patently unfair trade practice that has a detrimental effect on interstate commerce and the economic health of the country. For instance, a railroad cannot charge some customers one rate for shipping on the railroad and charge a subsidiary of the railroad company a lesser rate. Passenger trains also may not discriminate in rates or service because they offer carrier service to the general public. Congress and the states have enacted numerous statutes and regulations to address the extraordinary number of issues presented by railroads. The subject matter of these statutes and administrative regulations ranges from safety regulations to local speed limits to rate controls. In 1966 Congress created the Federal Railroad Administration along with the transportation department to give special attention to railroad concerns. The success of the railroad system was not without costs. Railroad work proved to be among the most dangerous occupations in existence. Freight car derailments, undependable brakes, and the challenging task of switching heavy, rolling cars from one track to another in railroad yards all took their toll on railroad workers. Approximately 3,500 railroad workers were killed each year between 1903 and 1907, and the death toll continued at approximately one a day for several years after that. States began to enact safety measures to protect railroad employees, but the state laws varied and did not always provide protection for workers. In 1970 Congress passed the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 20101 et seq., to achieve uniformity in railroad safety regulations. The act provides for safety enforcement procedures, track safety standards, freight car safety standards, emergency order procedures, train-marking regulations, accident report procedures, locomotive safety and inspection standards, safety appliance standards, power brake and drawbar specifications, and regulations on signal systems and train control systems. Railroad work is still a relatively taxing occupation, but it is nowhere near as dangerous as it once was. The quality of freight equipment has improved, and due to the creation of single-unit trains, freight cars do not have to be switched from track to track as often as they once were. Most railroad-related accidents and deaths now occur at grade crossings, where railroad tracks cross roadways. Railroad labor, management, and executive unions have been responsible for many of the gains in railroad safety. Railroad unions were some of the first unions created, and they quickly evolved to be among the most powerful. Under the law, railroads are a special form of transportation. Railroad companies must pay taxes on their land and pay for the maintenance of their rights of way. This is not the case for other transporters. Trucking companies do not have to pay their own separate taxes for roadways, and they do not have to pay to maintain them. Barge companies do not have to pay taxes on or maintain the waterways that they use, and airlines use airports and airways built in large part with public funds. Railroad companies must pay to build and maintain their tracks because they are for their exclusive use. However, railroad companies have received some assistance from government because railroads are important to the nation's economy and because they have needed it. In the 1930s the trucking industry made technological strides that put it in direct competition with the railroads. Pneumatic tires were created to support heavier freights, hydraulic brakes were devised to safely increase the weight of a load, and a network of paved intercity highways provided easy access and direct routes. The market advantages of trucking became apparent immediately, and the golden age of railroading came to an end after world war ii. Railroads abandoned thousands of miles of tracks and laid-off workers. The radical shift in transportation reshaped the map of the United States as small towns that depended on railroads for business turned into ghost towns. The Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (45 U.S.C.A. §§ 701–797) consolidated the bankrupt northeastern railroads into a single railroad called ConRail, a for-profit corporation comprised of the bankrupt railroads. The consolidation resulted in some abandonments, but it eliminated duplicate mileage and helped save and maintain the most popular routes. In March 1997 ConRail was bought by CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. It was to be divided between the two companies. Congress gave railroad companies federal funds to upgrade the railroad system in the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C.A. § 801 et seq.). This act also shortened the length of time that railroads had to wait before abandoning a track. President jimmy carter proved to be a champion of railroad deregulation. Under Carter's watch, the Interstate Commerce Commission dropped the government controls on shipping rates for coal, eliminated regulations regarding the shipping of produce, and made it easier for railroads to abandon unprofitable lines. Congress topped off several years of railroad legislation with the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 (codified in scattered sections of titles 11, 45, and 49 of the U.S.C.A.). The Staggers Act eliminated government rate controls and made it still easier for railroads to abandon lines. Although the deregulation resulted in many layoffs, the changes lowered prices, made railroads more profitable, and allowed railroad companies to increase expenditures on safety measures. The railroad system in the United States reached its peak in 1920, when approximately 272,000 miles of rails existed. As of 2003, less than 150,000 miles of rails exist. Railroads do not dominate the transportation market like they once did, but the railroad system has been pared down and stabilized. The rails remain necessary for large, bulky loads of heavy cargo. For personal transportation, the passenger service Amtrak was established in 1970 and subsidized by Congress to provide nationwide railroad passenger service at reduced rates. Amtrak and a few shorter, private lines offer passenger service in many parts of the country. By the mid-1990s, Amtrak bordered on financial ruin. In 1997, the railroad was $83 million in debt and was becoming unable to pay its creditors. In November 1997, Congress approved the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-134, 111 Stat. 2570, in an effort to save the company. The act released $5 billion in operating and capital expenses to the company each year through 2002. The goal of the legislation was for Amtrak to modernize the railroad's equipment and facilities in an effort to increase revenue and ridership. Although funding under the statute was supposed to end in 2002, the company's financial shape worsened. By 2002, the railroad, which employs 24,000 people and runs 265 trains per day, was about $4 billion in debt, having lost $1.1 billion in 2001 alone. Congress approved short-term funding in February 2003, but many speculated that the company would have to stop services and possibly declare bankruptcy. Amtrak's latest problems came at the same time that many of the nation's airlines had declared themselves close to declaring bankruptcy. further readings American Law Institute (ALI). 1996. Drug and Alcohol Testing Issues in the Airline and Railroad Industries, by Robert J. DeLucia. Airline and Railroad Labor and Employment Law Series, ALI order no. ABA CLE, SA31. Ballam, Deborah A. 1994. "The Evolution of the Government-Business Relationship in the United States: Colonial Times to Present." American Business Law Journal 31 (February). MacDonald, James M., and Linda C. Cavalluzzo. 1996. "Railroad Deregulation: Pricing Reforms, Shipper Responses, and the Effect on Labor." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50 (October). Phillips, Theodore G. 1991. "Beyond 16 U.S.C. §1247(D): The Scope of Congress's Power to Preserve Railroad Rights-of-Way." Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 18 (summer). Smolinsky, Paul. 1995. "Railroad Labor Law." George Washington Law Review 63 (June). Wild, Steven R. 1995. "A History of Railroad Abandonments." Transportation Law Journal 23 (summer). cross-references Antitrust Law; Carriers; Commerce Clause. RAILROADS Railroads use flanged wheels rolling over fixed rails for human transportation; the vehicles on these rails are commonly called trains because they are usually composed of a train of cars linked together. Trains have distinct characteristics that have called for specialized legal and policy regulation, and to some extent for the application of ethical principles. Prior to the development of steam locomotion, early horse-drawn trains ran on tracks serving mines, where the ground was otherwise too uneven for wheeled vehicles. The first horse-drawn trains began operating at English coal mines in the 1630s. In 1758, the British Parliament established the Middleton Railway in Leeds; it began to adopt steam locomotives in 1812. The Middleton Railway claims to be the oldest railway in the world; however, at this time it carried only freight, not passengers. The first public steam-operated passenger railway was the Stockton & Darlington in England, which began operations in 1825. Commenting on railroad developments and aspirations at the time, the English Quarterly Review wrote: "What can be more palpably absurd and ridiculous than the prospects held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches! We should as soon expect the people ... to suffer themselves to be fired off on ... [a] rocket, as to put themselves at the mercy of such a machine, going at such a rate" (Bianculli 2001, vol. I, p. 15). The Nineteenth Century Experience Early American railroads competed with canals, packet steamers, stagecoach lines, and turnpike companies for investment. Government did not immediately intervene on the side of the new technology; as late as 1856, the Erie Canal was subsidized by a tax on rail traffic. Local interests did not always want the railroad in the early years. Farmers tended to oppose them because the locomotives set fire to crops, scared livestock, and, most significantly, brought in cheap produce from elsewhere to compete with local products. In February 1815 the New Jersey legislature passed the first railroad charter in the United States, authorizing a horse-drawn train to connect Trenton and New Brunswick. During the 1820s, almost every state granted railroad charters. John Stevens (1749–1838) built the first successful American steam locomotive in 1825, the same year the Stockton & Darlington began operation in Great Britain. From the outset, an excitement for the technological possibilities was attached to railroad development that drove an unprecedented rush of development and adoption. Trains were seen as powerful tools and symbols of nation building. Just two years after the opening of the Stockton & Darlington, the Baltimore & Ohio was chartered as the first westward-bound railroad in the United States; and in 1831, President Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) in a message to Congress portrayed railroads as the binding force that would hold the most remote parts of the new nation together. A French observer remarked, "The American seems to consider the words democracy, liberalism, and railroads as synonymous terms" (Bianculli 2001, vol. I, p. 17). Jackson later became the first U.S. president to ride a steam-powered train. In 1830 the Baltimore & Ohio began operations, pulled initially by horses and mules, switching to its steam locomotive, the "Tom Thumb," a few months later. A New York City to Washington line was in place by 1840, and a decade later, the country had 9,000 miles of track in service. Railroads permitted the development of urban centers not on rivers, and most railroad development was east-to-west, connecting rivers to each other instead of running parallel to them. However, most early railroads were short, local, and did not connect to one another. Railways were the most capital-intensive enterprise the world had ever seen, far exceeding mills. They largely drove the development of the joint-stock company and therefore of modern Wall Street-style finance. From scarcely twenty-five miles of public railroad worldwide in 1825, the mileage grew to over 160,000 miles in fifty years, with approximately one third of that being in the United States. As American eyes looked to the west, the railroads took on a new importance as the tool by which western lands would be secured to the Union and then controlled. In addition to other financial incentives, the federal government offered railroads ten to twenty square miles of adjoining land for every mile of track built. This resulted in the grant of 338,000 square miles to the railroads, which then realized additional profits developing or selling this land or leasing it out. In some cases, these land grants emboldened the railroads to lay track away from the nearest large towns, confident new towns would develop right alongside. In other cases, the railroads demanded subsidies from towns in order not to bypass them. When San Bernardino refused to pay the Southern Pacific, the railroad created the town of Colton, California, just five miles away. A race began to finish the transcontinental railroad; the Union Pacific, originating at Omaha, Nebraska, headed west, while the Central Pacific, beginning in Sacramento, laid track east. The two competitors bickered over where the lines would meet; if the Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) administration had not intervened to force both roads to accept a meeting place in Utah, they would have ended up running parallel to one another for some 1,500 miles. The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. From 1870 through about 1890, the railroads played a major role in the settlement of the west. In this twenty-year period, the Denver population increased from 5,000 to 107,000, while Minneapolis went from a town of 13,000 people to one of 164,000. But already by 1871, land grants were a fertile source of political scandal, with accusations that the railroads were charging exorbitant fees and foreclosing on tenants who could not pay. The nineteenth-century railway was a major tool of nation-building and national identity. Canadian technology and media philosopher Harold Innis saw the railway as a bulwark of centralization, territorial expansion, nationalism, and state authority. Like the United States, Canada also was consolidated by the building of a transcontinental road, which reinforced the new nation's extremely tenuous control west of Ontario. "[T]he drive for railways embodied a sense of divine purpose, a mission to conquer the surrounding wilderness, that made the colonists, rather unexpectedly, less British and more American" (den Otter 1997, p. 12). For cultural historian Wolfgang Schivelbusch (1986), by forcing the creation of time zones to help schedule train traffic and turning journeys across great distances into well-ordered experiences, the railroad brought about the industrialization of time and space. The Twentieth Century From 1850 to about 1950, trains were the primary means of inland transport, but in the age of automobiles and airplanes there is some question as to whether trains are still needed. Unlike Europe, where the train has deep aesthetic, environmental, and cultural appeal, the United States flagged in its commitment to a national railway system. They are "of marginal utility and relevance to most people ... more nostalgia than interest" (Perl 2002, p. 1). In the United States, those who defend the perpetuation of rail lines often do so on sentimental and historical grounds, though environmental arguments (that each train obviates the hydrocarbon emissions of a number of automobiles and trucks) are also applicable. Trains were already perceived as a fading technology in the United States as early as the 1940s, as government aggressively supported the automobile by building highways everywhere. In the face of competition from the car and later from the passenger airline, private American railroads in the 1950s began to close down passenger service while maintaining the more lucrative freight contracts. Although state railroad boards sometimes fought aggressively to preserve passenger service, regulatory responsibility shifted to the federal Interstate Commerce Commission, which agreed that the train was of declining utility. From 1958 to 1971, about 75 percent of passenger train mileage was abandoned by the railroads. But at the same time it became harder for them to compete with trucks and aviation in the freight business, and the railroad share of intercity freight declined from 68 percent in 1944 to 44 percent in 1960. When automobiles and then airplanes first became prevalent, the railroads struggled to cover their fixed costs (track building and maintenance) out of a declining revenue. By contrast, automobile and aviation interests never became financially responsible for their entire infrastructure: Automobile manufacturers and trucking companies did not own the highways, airlines did not build airports. The infrastructure they require is paid for with public money, while the railroads had long been responsible for their own costs. The Amtrak Corporation was founded in 1971 with $25.4 billion in federal subsidies and grants, as a response to the frightening bankruptcy of the Penn Central Railroad, which had been losing $375,000 a day on its passenger service. Amtrak took over passenger lines from twenty participating railroads, which were offered a choice of stock in Amtrak or a tax break. Only one tax-paying railroad chose the stock. At the time, the National Association of Railroad Passengers said that Amtrak was "operated by people who don't want it to succeed." Amtrak was also described as a "policy blocker," preventing more radical legislation (Perl 2002, p. 99). Amtrak has been a failure as a commercial entity, losing much more money than anyone anticipated. As of early 2005, the George W. Bush administration was proposing that Amtrak receive no further funding from the federal government. Aesthetic and environmental considerations aside, trains only make sense if they provide speed and convenience equal to or greater than automobiles, at less cost than airplanes. Japan has succeeded in creating high-speed rail lines that connect directly to airports and travel more rapidly than cars. The trend at Amtrak has been the opposite. After debuting the Metroliner, which went from New York to Washington in under three hours, Amtrak has slowed this train down so that it is barely faster than the regular, less expensive service. Anthony Perl (2002) notes that passenger railroads suffer from the perception that they should be profit-making entities rather than a national service. No one complains that New York subway fares only cover 71 percent of the cost of operating the system, while Amtrak is considered a failure for recouping 78 percent of its costs. Public Service or Private Enterprise? The question of whether trains should be a public service or private enterprise has played out most dramatically in Great Britain, where the nationalization of British Rail during the Thatcher era was based on the premise that "private = good, public = bad" (Murray 2001, p. 2). Andrew Murray describes the nationalization of British Rail as privatization run amok, a solution without a problem, since the entity that was replaced had a very high record of safety and reliability. It has been supplanted by a strange patchwork of several principal players and hundreds of subsidiary ones, with the tracks all owned by one entity, Railtrack, the rolling stock placed in separate leasing companies and leased back to franchisees, and maintenance and repair services sold to thirteen other companies that subcontract much of the work. The piece most visible to the public—the franchisee train operators, which include several of Britain's major bus companies and also Virgin Airways—own nothing except their trademarks. The result has been a substantial increase in bureaucracy, decline in decisiveness and speed of decision-making, and a general lack of cooperation among the various entities. Examples include the fact that operators will no longer wait for connecting trains to arrive (they pay a fine if they start late, regardless of the reason); tickets on one line are not accepted on competing lines rolling over the same tracks, so if you miss your connection to London you often cannot go out on the next train without buying another ticket; substantial increases in overtime, and therefore in exhausted workers driving trains,
834	dbpedia	1	43	https://transitmatters.org/regional-rail-proof-of-concept-web	en	Regional Rail Proof of Concept — TransitMatters	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/533b9a24e4b01d79d0ae4376/t/579f04aad1758eb537b4db91/1470039212193/Logo_Logotype_transparent.png?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/533b9a24e4b01d79d0ae4376/t/579f04aad1758eb537b4db91/1470039212193/Logo_Logotype_transparent.png?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/533b9a24e4b01d79d0ae4376/1615165091731-5RQ1QVJV40KMH1YGTIMM/Logo_logotype_dark.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/533b9a24e4b01d79d0ae4376/1568303736207-LKHGIK6LI6LLVGUH6W47/frequency+chart.PNG", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/co...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/533b9a24e4b01d79d0ae4376/32aebbec-3481-4881-87be-29c733a0fb2c/favicon.ico?format=100w	TransitMatters	https://transitmatters.org/regional-rail-proof-of-concept-web	Our guiding principle, as always, is organization before electronics before concrete. This means that before investing in anything else, the MBTA should immediately take steps to improve rail operations by maximizing train throughput. Some modifications are required to make sure trains can run more frequently, but these modifications involve better scheduling, more reliable electrical equipment, resignaling the terminal zone, and minor trackwork, all of which are significantly less expensive and more cost-effective than relocating property in Downtown Boston to expand the station footprint. With better operations, SSX is unnecessary and its budget can be reinvested in better projects, such as high-level platforms and electrification across the entire MBTA regional rail system. The resources exist; they simply need to be spent wisely. The essential lesson is that the capacity of a terminal zone is dependent on how fast trains can enter and exit the station and its throat. At both South and North Stations, there are 10 mph speed limits for about half a mile out, which can be lifted to about 30 mph. There are also generous margins of error required by frequent failure rates endemic to the MBTA’s current diesel locomotive fleet, margins that can be specifically decreased with modern equipment. Rather than run any meaningful level of reverse-peak service and midday service, the MBTA instead sends morning peak trains to sit idle in large, inefficient layover yards within Boston (the second most expensive real estate market on the east coast of North America.) This wasteful practice requires conflicting movements of trainsets across the main line, imposing further strain on downtown terminal capacity. The precious terminal capacity tied up by these practices could instead go toward providing transformative levels of regional rail service to the Greater Boston area. TransitMatters proposes to eliminate these capacity-killing problems through a cost-effective combination of operational reforms and targeted investments. No station footprint expansion is needed. The trackwork required is at very small scale and entirely within the right-of-way. In the mid-to-long term, following implementation of these reforms and targeted investments, construction of the North-South Rail Link (NSRL) would provide a more direct trip to downtown Boston from the North Side, thus warranting higher frequency of service for all North Side lines and full realization of a transformative Regional Rail vision. The Terminal Interlockings and Speed Our projected schedules have trains traveling between South Station and Back Bay in 2.5 minutes, and between South Station and Ruggles in 4.5 minutes. Today, trains are timetabled to take 5 and 8 minutes respectively. This difference is due in part to the assumption of electrification, and partly to speeding up the slowest part of the route - namely, the South Station approaches and terminal capacity limits. While city center terminals such as North and South Station will always face inflexible constraints absent costly expansion, the switches can support much higher speeds than the current 10 mph limit. There are two primary reasons for today’s conservative 10 mph speed limit. First, as is typical in the United States, many passenger train speed limits are simply too low, a legacy of the steam era, and have never been revised. For example, the extent of legally allowable centrifugal force on a train moving through a curve, which in turn governs its maximum speed, is based on a passenger comfort experiment conducted in the 1950s with New Haven Railroad trains; this outdated requirement reduces allowable speed on curves by 15-30% relative to best practice. Thankfully, the regulations were recently superseded by the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), but the MBTA has not taken advantage of the change. Second, the design of American switches (or “turnouts”) is handed down from a bygone era and does not properly control for the change in acceleration experienced by a diverging train. Based again on steam-era standards, current American industry standards for switches require the diverging rail to be straight where it crosses the straight rail, a point called the “frog.” In contrast, for example, German switches are curved through the frog and are designed for smoother transition between the straight segments and the curved ones, enabling greater speed through the curves. The point being, our switch turnouts are significantly slower than other world-class train systems. These are resolvable barriers to better train speed and throughput. It is hard to overstate the importance of removing the slowest speed restrictions, which are in place at both North and South Stations. A half mile at 10 mph takes 3 minutes to traverse. In contrast, at 30 mph, with dedicated tracks to improve reliability, that time is cut by two-thirds; trains in that same half-mile approach would spend a minute going into a station terminal and a minute going out. This is not done today as a result of suboptimal switch design and antiquated signaling circuits, some of which hail from the steam era. These slow zones are unnecessary and relatively easy to fix, alongside fixes to terminal capacity. To add perspective to the relative cost and impact of our proposal, the modest investments in reliability and switch design that we propose can save more time in the last half mile into North or South Station than would Amtrak’s $450 million project to increase top speed in New Jersey from 135 to 160 mph. The pinch point in the South Station throat is an interlocking called Tower 1. It features a complex of switches called a ladder track: trains from tracks at one end can take the diverging path on a series of switches, thus gaining access to all of the different South Station terminal track options. North Station has an interlocking called Tower A with similar characteristics that allow trains from any track to access any other track at the North Station terminal. While on the surface this seems practical, it is one more vestige of prior century railroading and it slows the trains down, thereby limiting the capacity of each terminal. With all day service by reliable trains and separated track assignments for each line, there is no need for trains to have infinite track options. Fortunately, the process of reconfiguring the switches to allow smoother, faster travel, called “kinematic gauge optimization”, does not require infrastructure modifications beyond the rails themselves. The switches do not need to be made longer. Modifying the switches to smooth the transition to the curve requires track geometry changes so subtle they can be done within the right of way, without hitting various utility and catenary poles. The project requires laying rails but does not require any of the usual difficult sitework complicating capital construction. Thus, this improvement is relatively inexpensive and has also been recently undertaken and completed by one of our neighbor railroads: Metro-North Railroad recently upgraded 40 mph turnouts to 65 mph at a cost of only a few hundred thousand dollars each. With the switches so modified, trains could enter and exit the terminals at speeds up to 30-35 mph, allowing trains to clear the station throats rapidly. This alone would serve to increase terminal station capacity, since moving trains in and out faster increases the maximum throughput. The Importance of Clockface Scheduling and Rapid Turn Times A disciplined schedule must repeat on a clockface pattern. This means that if a train runs every 15 minutes and serves a station inbound at 9:05, it will serve it in that direction at :05, :20, :35, and :50 every hour all day. Passengers can memorize these schedules more easily than the complex schedules favored by American planners. Moreover, infrastructure planning is simplified when trains run at consistent intervals, since overtakes and meets on single track are at predictable locations. One Swiss planner humorously put it this way: “We Swiss are lazy, so we plan one hour and repeat it for the rest of the day.” If trains enter and exit a station throat on a frequent, repeating timetable, and they only occupy the interlocking for a minute in each direction, the maximum capacity of the throat is much higher than current practices allow. Functions such as refueling, which currently require trains to reverse to the yard and not back onto the mainline at downtown terminals, can be handled at suburban terminals and layover yards (and with electrification, refueling ceases to be relevant.) Turning trains more quickly increases terminal throughput and capacity. American commuter trains turn in 10 minutes at New Haven, and occasionally in Worcester when recovering from delays. Amtrak Keystone trains regularly turn in 10 minutes at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. By contrast, in Germany, trains routinely turn in less than 5 minutes. The MBTA can achieve these turn-around metrics as well if it adopts the global best practices we set forth in this supplement. High frequency all day in both directions, proof-of-payment fare collection, and automatic door opening all combine to increase labor efficiency to the point that train crews can quickly disembark from the train they used to reach Boston, and operate another train ready for departure. This way crews can be perfectly positioned on standby (these are called dropback crews) for departure, reducing turnback times below 5 minutes. Even accepting 10 minutes as a turnaround time, trains can be scheduled to occupy each track for 15 minutes: 10 minutes of turn time and 5 minutes of approach time and schedule contingency. While far from world class, even improving the MBTA’s turn times to this extent would allow a peak frequency of 4 tph per terminal track. With 4 tph, South Station’s 13 tracks could accommodate 52 trains per hour. Today, peak traffic into South Station is 20 trains per hour per direction, less than half of what is realistically possible, while still being at the lower end of best-in-class railroads. In Tokyo, the crowding level is such that practically all equipment is single-level with many doors, usually four pairs per car. Bilevel trains would simply take too long to unload. Berlin and Munich use single-deckers as well on their S-Bahn networks, with three door pairs per car. The Munich S-Bahn does so in a context in which one line has 840,000 riders per weekday, almost as many as all MBTA rail lines combined. Ultimately, theoretical capacity based on seats per train set is an insufficient metric against which to weigh the merits of single-level versus bilevel cars. At frequencies sufficient to achieve all-day frequent service (a minimum headway of 15 minutes at peak inside Route 128), the excessive dwell times and accessibility challenges imposed by bilevels cancel out their theoretical capacity gains. If passengers fill single-level trains to capacity, the solution is to buy more cars and run longer, more frequent trains. This serves to not only move more passengers, but increase flexibility of the service through more frequent trips. When trains are sufficiently frequent, passengers become relatively indifferent to which train they are on so long as they can get on the next one. This reduces the extent of peak crowding now seen on specific trains. Though the MBTA is accustomed to ordering and maintaining bespoke equipment, modern trains are more like commodities. Vendors offer modular products, fabricating them at their existing plants with customization for local needs. Such trains have wide doors, weigh about 44 short tons per US-length car, and cost about $2.5 million. The contrast with today’s MBTA equipment is stark. The MBTA’s coaches do not all have automatic doors - conductors manually operate the doors. The aisles are narrow (and easily obstructed) and the doors are at the ends of the car rather than at the quarter points (four evenly spaced doors per car-side), slowing down the boarding and alighting process. Some trains take 5 minutes to fully unload at South Station at rush hour. It can feel like waiting to deplane from the rear of an aircraft. These dwell times completely undermine the speed and frequency required for regional rail to be a functional, competitive, and favorable transportation mode. We are now well past the point of delaying the decision that must be correctly made in the public interest: Massachusetts must immediately commit to procuring single-level EMUs, starting with the Providence Line and continuing rollout to other lines while in the course of rapid and successive electrification of the entirety of the current and planned commuter rail system. Any further investment in bilevel coaches or diesel locomotives would be, in our view, not merely questionable – it would be irresponsible as it continues a system that is highly inefficient and that, because of its inherent inefficiency, serves as a constant drag on better frequencies and requires unnecessary costly initiatives like SSX. Our proposed Regional Rail operating model would move more people by optimizing frequency gains from single-level EMUs. The existing equipment, both locomotives and coaches, is not compatible with modern operations, and the write-down on its remaining useful life is less than the damage it causes through slow operations and limited capacity. Nonetheless, assuming a staged adoption of electrification, current coaches with remaining useful life should be reallocated to the non-electrified lines to increase service frequency and capacity to the extent possible prior to electrification and completion of high-level platform construction. They may also be useful for new intercity service to western Massachusetts, or even as far as Albany, at least until such service is electrified. The Role of NSRL In our Regional Rail report, we said that while the North-South Rail Link was not critical to implementing a robust Regional Rail system, it would be a “highly useful enhancement providing the flexibility and connectivity to which many riders and potential riders would be drawn.” If NSRL is constructed, frequencies are likely to rise because of an increase in passenger traffic demand (especially on the North Side, as North Station is not in the CBD and South Station is) and the more useful service would induce much greater demand. Thankfully, through-stations do not have problems with terminal interlockings and turn access capacity to which much of this paper is devoted. The following frequencies will become viable upon completion of the NSRL: Worcester Line: 8 tph on the inner segment to Newton, 4 continuing farther out Providence Line: 4 tph Stoughton Line: 4 tph Franklin Line: 4 tph Fairmount Line: 12 tph if Franklin trains operate via Fairmount, or 8 if Franklin trains remain on the Southwest Corridor Old Colony Lines (Kingston/Plymouth, Greenbush, and Middleborough/Lakeville): 12 tph, 4 per branch Eastern Lines (Newburyport/Rockport): 12 tph on the inner segment to Salem, 4 per branch Haverhill Line: 4 tph Lowell Line: 4 tph if Haverhill Line trains continue to operate as today, 8 if they go via the Wildcat Branch Fitchburg Line: 12 tph on the inner segment to Brandeis/Roberts, 4 continuing farther NSRL would also allow a further increase in speed, since the tracks would continue through downtown rather than terminating at stub end terminals where trains must slow to approach. The reason to enter South and North Stations at 30 mph (as advised in this report) is that the consequences of overrunning the bumpers are catastrophic. At through-stations, entering at 50-60 mph even in city centers is feasible. With NSRL in place, only a small subset of trains would still need to navigate the surface terminal interlockings at North and South Stations. Within the tunnel, tracks should be dedicated similar to the track separation we propose for terminal stations, in the sense that one portal only pairs with the Providence and Worcester Lines and another only with Fairmount and Old Colony. This would permit about 24 tph in each direction per tunnel pair, or 48 for the four-track system. The remaining additional trains not traversing the tunnels would use surface terminal platforms. Schedules would continue to run clockface, except at higher frequency. The S-Bahns in Berlin and Munich have high frequency and almost total through-running and maintain their clockface patterns, as does the Paris RER off-peak. Single-level trains become even more crucial with NSRL. The minimum headway in the NSRL tunnel is determined by the sum of station dwell time and the time it takes the train to stop decelerating from full speed. Bi-level train dwell times will never support the necessary headways for running a regional rail system through NSRL tunnels. Ultimately, NSRL is a major booster for Regional Rail. It is not necessary for the basic Regional Rail system, nor for more efficient use of current South Station platforms, which require good operations and electrification. But as a non-trivial investment in concrete infrastructure, NSRL is the logical extension building upon the modernization of organization and electronics as prescribed above because it greatly improves access to Boston and the entire metro area. As such, NSRL engineering must be based upon optimized Regional Rail operations, specifically the use of single-level EMUs. Unfortunately, as we’ve pointed out, the 2018 NSRL feasibility reassessment commissioned by MassDOT grossly understated the benefits of the NSRL by building in assumptions of antiquated operations and equipment in the tunnels, which had the added effect of artificially driving up the projected cost. Moving forward with NSRL without first committing to achieving Regional Rail operations as a predicate would result in a NSRL tunnel that could never live up to its true potential. Current situation The Framingham/Worcester Line is a major transportation link traversing the corridor between Boston and Worcester, serving the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. With 18,637 average weekday riders as of 2018, the line is the MBTA’s second-busiest. It connects the Commonwealth’s two largest cities to each other and numerous intermediate suburbs. It also provides access to people along the corridor to job centers, primarily in Downtown Boston and Back Bay but also in smaller job clusters in Worcester and suburbs in between. The Commonwealth faces a decade of significant vehicular mobility disruption on Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) due to anticipated reconstruction and relocation of the elevated highway approaching downtown Boston and private sector air rights developments in the same area. The need for frequent and reliable transit and rail mobility along this corridor is urgent. The MBTA should immediately increase off-peak frequency, and invest money in electrification and new rolling stock to commence high-quality Regional Rail operations as soon as possible. The plan we propose supports both short-and long-term mobility along the corridor. The ultimate goal is a transition to Regional Rail (according to the vision for fast, frequent, all day, electrified service set forth in our Regional Rail report), and all future infrastructure investments must be undertaken with this goal in mind. Turnpike Reconstruction & Relocation Mitigation: A First Step Towards Regional Rail The near-term goal is to implement an achievable and meaningful mitigation program in response to the planned reconstruction and relocation of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston, mitigation that will boost the frequency of all-day service to the maximum enabled by existing infrastructure. Accordingly, it is essential for the relevant state agencies to commit to keeping both tracks on the Worcester Line in operation during all service hours for the duration of the I-90 realignment project. This mitigation program would consist of higher frequency bidirectional service throughout the entire service day from early morning to late-night. Outside of rush hour, trains would run at least hourly at a consistent interval. Half-hourly service would be optimal; however, current signaling constraints may dictate that in the short-term hourly off-peak frequency is the limit. Implementing this short-term goal would require maintaining two tracks during operating hours throughout turnpike reconstruction, moving any layover area from Allston to somewhere near the intersection of Interstate 90 and Route 128, and resolution of equipment and staffing constraints, to potentially include reassigning split shifts in the off-peak midday period. Negotiations with Keolis and rail unions ought to commence promptly, with the objective of resolving all barriers to implementing this program within the next 12 months. If half-hourly off-peak trains were implemented during the mitigation period, they may need to skip the Newton stations in the reverse peak direction until the Newton stations have platforms on both tracks, as discussed further below. Our mid-term goals for the line incorporate efforts already underway along with additional efforts that should be achievable in a reasonable period of time. These include the following: Completion of the construction project at Natick Center (currently in design), which will convert this station to a fully accessible station with full-length high-level platforms; Conversion of the three Newton stations to full-length high-level platforms (already planned on one side of each station). We advocate that high-level platforms be added to the opposite sides of these Newton stations as soon as possible and on an accelerated timeline; Completion of the upgrades to the signaling system (ATC / cab signals) on the Framingham to Boston segment (currently in design); and Completion of the new island platform at Worcester Union Station, along with the associated interlocking improvements near Worcester Station (both currently in design). These treatments will greatly improve service relative to the status quo, and lay the groundwork for the broader transformation of the line’s operation along a Regional Rail operating model. We describe the necessary conditions towards achieving this standard for the remainder of this document. Needed Improvements The Worcester Line had some of the worst performance in the system from the late 1990s through early 2000s, suffering from freight interference, low passenger train priority, and aging infrastructure. The purchase of the rail right-of-way from CSX in 2009 and progressive upgrades to track infrastructure have led to significant improvements. The entire line is double tracked up to Worcester, and has only five at-grade street crossings. Further incremental improvements are required to enable Regional Rail-type service. High Level Platforms As discussed in our Regional Rail report, high level platforms enable step-free accessibility to the train and decrease train boarding/deboarding dwell times dramatically, which will significantly decrease the train trip times over the line. Unfortunately, of the 18 stations on the route, only South Station, Lansdowne, and Boston Landing have full-length high-level platforms. Worcester has a partial high-level platform, while Back Bay, West Natick, Framingham, Ashland, Southborough, Westborough, and Grafton have mini high-level platforms built in the early 2000s. The half-measure of “mini-high platforms” meets a bare minimum accessibility standard, but requires passengers needing high platforms to register intent with conductors, wait in the correct portion of the train, or force the train to stop twice at a given station stop. In addition, rush hour crowds require passengers to spread out throughout the low-level platform, making it prohibitive to restrict boarding to mini-highs. All stations from Newtonville to Natick Center lack even mini-highs and are thus totally inaccessible and highly inefficient. As a result, dwell times are far too lengthy and accessibility is insufficient, a condition completely unacceptable for modern rail service. High-level platforms must be added at all stations in order to enable the fastest possible service. The most urgent priorities are at Back Bay and the three stations in Newton. Back Bay is the third highest-ridership commuter rail station in downtown Boston, serving what is effectively the city’s second downtown; some 62,000 jobs are located in a half-mile radius. The lack of high-level platforms on the Worcester side of the station imposes a substantial delay on peak-hour trains in particular. The addition of a full high-level platform here is an immediate need. The stations in Newton currently have only a single platform on one track, which prevents higher frequency at those stations. While switches in Brighton and Weston allow for some flexibility of operation, the status quo severely inhibits potential service levels. Service is configured such that the Newton stations receive primarily rush hour station stops (inbound AM, outbound PM). Currently only one inbound train makes stops in Newton during the evening, and only one outbound train stops in the morning well after the morning peak is over (10:35 -10:45 AM). As a result of the advocacy of TransitMatters, the MBTA changed course on a short-sighted plan to construct a high-level platform for one track at Auburndale. In practice, the plan would have permanently single-tracked the station on the opposite track from the existing platforms at the other two Newton stations, severely altering the schedule pattern at all the Newton stations. The MBTA completed a study to reexamine the Newton stations holistically, and the resulting plan advanced now includes full-length high-level platforms on a single track - but the same track - at all three stations. The designs for each station also allow for the future addition of high-level platforms on the opposite track. The execution of that future option should be accelerated in order to permit bidirectional service to the three Newton stations all day. Combined with electrification allowing for EMU-operated service, this would improve trip times for the local neighborhoods, and relieve overcrowding on some of the express and local buses operating along this corridor. Speed and Signaling The maximum speed on most of the line is currently 60 MPH. However, the MBTA has recently upgraded the limit to 79 MPH in places where track has been upgraded. Most of the line can support 90 MPH and some segments are straight enough for 100. Between Allston and Framingham, the tightest curve (at Riverside) permits 87 MPH provided trains can take it at modern speeds. Railroad tracks can be banked (known as “superelevation”) to facilitate taking curves at speed. The Worcester Line’s curves currently have weak levels of banking which stand to be increased significantly. Moreover, federal regulations for train speed on curves were modified at the beginning of this decade allowing trains to run faster, subject to testing; unfortunately, the MBTA is still not making use of the new rules. It is possible that signals will need to be updated to allow for the requisite frequency improvements. The MBTA should explore best-practice signaling technology and procedures, drawing on international expertise. Keolis Commuter Services, the present commuter rail concessionaire, has experience operating high-frequency services, chiefly the RER network in Paris (one of the systems which informs our operating model). MassDOT and the MBTA should draw on this knowledge base, and future contracting decisions should take experience with modern signaling into account. The Issue of Express Service At 44.2 miles, the Framingham/Worcester Line is the second-longest line in the commuter rail network, behind the Fitchburg Line. The line has numerous stations, with an average stop spacing of 2.6 miles, while also connecting Massachusetts’ two largest cities. The MBTA operates both local and express service on the line to keep travel times reasonable at peak hours. In recent years, two super-express one-way trains have been introduced, one running from Worcester to Boston in the morning and another running back in the evening, nonstop between Lansdowne and Worcester. Under a Regional Rail operating model, with frequent all-day service and possible infill stations on the urban end, intra-urban service would be provided as well. To improve express service, the MBTA is currently in the process of planning for an express-only third track between Framingham and Route 128. This express track would extend from just east of Framingham Station (specifically Control Point (CP) 21, between Concord Street and Bishop Street) to a point between Wellesley Farms and Auburndale (CP 11, just west of Route 128). Triple-tracking is a significant project that would require realignment of all the tracks and reconstruction of all the stations, but the existing ROW is sufficiently wide to avoid land takings or displacement of buildings, and no major bridge reconstruction will be required. The tracks would be arranged such that the center track is an express track with no platforms at the five affected stations, which would have full-length high-level side platforms on the outer “local” tracks. The almost complete design for Natick Center accommodates the potential center third express track. We do not, however, believe that a third track spanning the entire length of this distance is necessary. Building an overtake “siding” track at a strategic location between CP 21 and CP 11 (at Wellesley) instead would save money on tracks that could be redirected to spending on measures that further reduce trip time, specifically electrification. In particular, the time savings from electrification and clockface scheduling optimization would provide trip times better than those provided by the nonstop Worcester-Lansdowne service. When the schedule repeats itself on a clockface pattern throughout the day, express trains always overtake local trains at the same location. Thus, only that location needs additional tracks. Typically, this requires quadruple rather than triple tracking, or else the express trains are forced into what is for them a single-track bottleneck; however, it is feasible, though difficult, to schedule the trains around the bottleneck. All medium- and long-term investment in the Worcester Line must take into account increases in service quality based on Regional Rail upgrades. The gains described above from full-length high-level platforms lead to significant reductions in dwell time. Moreover, achieving the ultimate goal of an all-EMU fleet is critical for providing the best speed and service possible, as they have low operating costs, high reliability, and a very high acceleration rate. These treatments have other benefits, but they particularly reduce the speed difference between local and express trains. With minor track improvements allowing trains to take curves at higher speed than today (by increasing the banking through curves), EMU-operated local trains could go between Boston and Worcester in less than an hour, faster than today’s nonstop trains. Trains running express to Framingham could do the trip in 45 minutes, making local stops from Framingham west; there is no need for nonstop Boston-Worcester trains, which take service from intermediate stations. Even before the line is fully electrified, the improvements in trip time from increased banking would be beneficial in the short term. Each station that is converted to full-length high-level platforms also adds incremental reductions in trip duration. If Worcester Line service runs every 15 minutes, the speed difference between local and express trains requires a single overtake location. That necessary overtake location is in Wellesley, where the station platforms need to be completely rebuilt anyway. With a Wellesley overtake, there is enough capacity for an express as well as a local every 15 minutes. Off-peak, local trains should still run every 15 minutes to guarantee frequent service to Newton, but express trains can run at a lower frequency, every half hour. A half-hourly frequency is not so onerous to passengers between Worcester and Boston, a 45-minute trip, as to passengers between West Newton and Boston, a 17-minute trip. There are consequences of the express train option on potential future service growth. Due to scheduling complexity, the presence of express trains will impose a limit of 4 trains per hour (“tph”) for local service between Boston and Auburndale . To operate more frequent local service while preserving express trains, additional tracks would be required. Infill Stations Between Lansdowne and Newtonville, the line passes through the dense neighborhoods of Allston, Brighton, and northern Newton. The addition of Boston Landing station has proven successful, serving many weekday passengers. With fast EMU acceleration and full high-level platforms reducing the time it takes to make stops, trains could make multiple additional stops without increasing overall trip times vs. current levels. The most immediately promising location is “West Station” in Allston, at the former Beacon Park freight yards. West Station is discussed in greater detail below. Newton Corner is another strong candidate, and we include it on our schedules. A station was located here until 1959. The site still has somewhat denser development than Newtonville, West Newton, and Auburndale. While the station would potentially require complex engineering work - the footprint is surrounded by a hotel built over the Turnpike and tracks - strong value is added from allowing a transfer from local buses. Several bus routes pass by Newton Corner between downtown Boston and Newton, Watertown, Waltham, and Needham. With a transfer to fast and frequent rail service, it may become possible to terminate at least some of these routes in Newton, and use the buses and operators that don’t need to go all the way to Boston to increase bus service, frequency, and potentially geographical reach in the surrounding area. Improvements to rail service in Newton and other communities along the Worcester line corridor should be accompanied by a re-evaluation of connecting local bus service, which will be more useful and necessary as ridership demand increases in response to Regional Rail. A more speculative infill location is in Brighton at Brooks Street. Like Newton Corner, it historically had a station, called Faneuil, and abuts dense housing. Moreover, the area is far from the Green Line, and a station here could provide a transfer to the 57 and 64 buses, the former being among the MBTA’s busiest. We do not include it on our schedule, but we do plan the overtakes in a way that makes future addition of Faneuil Station easy with minor timetable modifications. The proximity of the Worcester Line to major highways presents at least one opportunity to capture auto traffic outside the urban core. It may be feasible to open a park-and-ride station near the interchange between I/90 (the turnpike) and Route 128 (I/95). Commuters from locations far from the line bound for jobs in the Back Bay and Allston-Brighton, or reverse commuting to Framingham and Worcester, could easily take advantage of frequent regional rail. Such a location would also be ideal for connections to shuttle bus service to job centers in the 128 corridor west from Waltham to Needham.
834	dbpedia	1	14	https://bedforddepot.org/bedfords-railroad-history/	en	Bedford’s Railroad History	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png	[ "http://bedforddepot.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/FBDPmast.jpg", "https://test.gilarde.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1132Bedford.jpeg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png		https://bedforddepot.org/bedfords-railroad-history/	1845 – The Lexington & West Cambridge Railroad, organized by the citizens of those towns, is chartered on March 24. Construction begins on August 20. 1846 – The 6.6-mile Lexington & West Cambridge opens between the Fitchburg Railroad’s main line in West Cambridge and Lexington Center on August 25. There are at first six daily trains (three round trips) between Lexington and the Fitchburg’s Charlestown depot. All are operated by the Fitchburg using its equipment. 1848 – The Fitchburg Railroad opens a monumental passenger station on Causeway Street in Boston. Lexington & West Cambridge trains begin terminating there instead of in Charlestown. 1857 – The Lexington & West Cambridge begins operating its own trains on September 1, having acquired some used locomotives and cars. 1859 – Competition arrives in the form of the West Cambridge Horse Railroad, which begins hourly service from West Cambridge to Boston on June 13. 1867 – The town of West Cambridge is renamed Arlington and the local railroad becomes the Lexington & Arlington Railroad. 1869 – The number of daily trains between Lexington and Boston has grown to 11, but the Lexington & Arlington is nearly bankrupt. In December, it is acquired by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. 1870 – On December 1, the Boston & Lowell opens a two-mile cutoff between East Arlington and its main line at Somerville Junction, allowing Lexington Branch traffic to bypass the Fitchburg Railroad and reach Boston entirely on B&L rails. There are now 16 daily passenger trains. 1871 – On April 10, the Boston & Lowell creates a subsidiary, the Middlesex Central Railroad, to extend the Lexington & Arlington northward. 1873 – The Middlesex Central opens an 8.0-mile extension from Lexington to Bedford and Concord on August 4. 1877 – The Billerica & Bedford Railroad begins regular service between those towns on November 29. It is the first two-foot gauge common-carrier in America. Its low cost and mechanically successful operation will spawn some 200 miles of such ultra-narrow gauge railroads in rural Maine. 1878 – Unable to pay its bills, the Billerica & Bedford files for bankruptcy on January 30 and ceases operations on June 1. Its equipment is sold at auction and becomes a bargain for the Sandy River Railroad of Farmington, Maine, which would operate from 1879 to 1935. 1879 – The Middlesex Central completes a 2.6-mile extension from Concord Center to the state prison in what is now West Concord, and a further 0.5 miles to a connection with the Framingham & Lowell Railroad at Middlesex Junction. Passenger service to Prison (renamed Reformatory in 1888) begins on August 4. 1883 – Bedford becomes an engine terminal, acquiring a two-stall engine house and a wye to turn locomotives. The Middlesex Central is absorbed by the Boston & Lowell. 1885 – The Boston & Lowell opens its Bedford & Billerica Branch on May 1. The 8.1-mile standard-gauge line from Bedford to the B&L main line in North Billerica uses most of the right-of-way of the defunct Billerica & Bedford narrow gauge. The Bedford depot is now at a junction between rail lines to Concord and Billerica. The fork to Concord eventually becomes known as the Reformatory Branch. 1886 – To better accommodate the ever-increasing traffic, the Boston & Lowell completes a second track from Somerville Junction to Lexington. 1887 – The Boston & Lowell is leased by archrival Boston & Maine Railroad. The B&M takes over operations on the Lexington Branch on October 11. The B&L had increased the daily passenger service to 48 trains for Arlington, 42 for Lexington, 21 for Bedford, 6 for Reformatory via Concord, and 8 for Lowell via Billerica. 1900 – Passenger service on the Lexington Branch peaks at 58 trains for Arlington, 42 for Lexington, 26 for Bedford, 14 for Reformatory via Concord, and 10 for Lowell via Billerica. There are also two scheduled daily freights and occasional extra trains. However, serious competition arrives in the form of the Lexington & Boston Street Railway, which begins trolley service from Arlington Heights to Concord and Billerica on tracks that parallel the Lexington Branch. 1901 – The Boston & Maine removes Middlesex Junction from its list of stations. (The half mile of track from there to Reformatory had seen little or no use except for car storage since 1891.) 1910 – Automatic block signals are installed on the double-track part of the Lexington Branch (as far north as Lexington). 1914 – Reflecting the loss of riders to streetcars since 1900, passenger service on the Lexington Branch has been cut in half (27 daily trains for Arlington, 21 for Lexington and Bedford, 4 for Reformatory, and 7 for Lowell). Competition from motor vehicles is not yet a major factor. 1924 – The Middlesex & Boston Street Railway (successor to the Lexington & Boston) converts to buses. The last trolleys on the former L&B routes operate on September 15. 1926 – Effective April 25, passenger service to Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford is reduced to 10 trains daily (five round trips) and that to Lowell via Billerica to two trains (one round trip). Although the last passenger trains to Concord and Reformatory run on April 24, freight service on the Reformatory Branch continues. 1927 – The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approves abandonment of the 2.6 miles from Concord to Reformatory on February 5. More importantly, Lexington Branch traffic is permanently rerouted back to the Fitchburg Division on April 25. To permit that, the connection in West Cambridge used in 1846–70 is rebuilt. The former Lexington Branch trackage from Somerville Junction to North Cambridge becomes part of a freight cutoff, and the second track and automatic block signals beyond North Cambridge are taken out of service. 1932 – The last passenger trains to Lowell via Billerica operate on December 31. Thereafter, all passenger trains originate or terminate in Bedford. 1949 – In September, the number of daily passenger trains between Boston and Bedford is reduced to six (three round trips). 1953 – The Monday-Wednesday-Friday local freight on the Lexington Branch is dieselized beginning on August 26. 1955 – In April, the number of daily passenger trains between Boston and Bedford is reduced to four (two round trips). What are supposed to be the last steam-powered passenger trains run on May 16. For the next three years, diesel road switchers haul the usual types of conventional passenger cars. 1956 – A snowstorm causes steam to be pressed back into passenger service for three weeks beginning on March 22. The last steam-powered train on the Lexington Branch leaves Bedford on the morning of April 10 behind Pacific #3662. 1958 – Starting May 19, passenger service on the Lexington Branch is reduced to a single daily round trip, and locomotive-hauled passenger trains are replaced by self-propelled Rail Diesel Cars. 1962 – The abandonment of the southern two-thirds of the Bedford & Billerica Branch (5.3 miles from Billerica Center to Bedford) is approved by the ICC on February 1, and that of the 3.8-mile remnant of the Reformatory Branch between Bedford and Concord on May 8. That ends all service on the Lexington Branch beyond Bedford. 1965 – In January, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) begins subsidizing Boston-area commuter rail. The MBTA determines service levels and fares and pays the Boston & Maine to operate the trains on B&M lines out of North Station, including the Lexington Branch. 1976 – Effective December 27, the MBTA acquires all of the B&M’s remaining commuter trackage (including the Lexington Branch) and rolling stock. The B&M continues to operate the passenger trains under contract and provide freight service on its former trackage. 1977 – The evening train from North Station to Bedford on January 10 becomes the last passenger train on the Lexington Branch. A snowstorm that day causes the train to arrive hours late and the equipment is stranded in Bedford for a week or two. In late March the MBTA announces that service on the line will not be resumed. 1981 – To make way for the MBTA’s Red Line subway extension to Alewife, the Lexington Branch is embargoed on January 31 from Rindge Avenue in West Cambridge to the end of track in Bedford. The last freight train, retrieving cars from Arlington Heights, operates on January 30. 1991 – The Lexington Branch is formally “railbanked” (not abandoned) in order to permit construction of the paved Minuteman Bikeway on its right-of-way from Arlington to Bedford. 1993 – The grand opening of the Minuteman Bikeway is held on May 29.
834	dbpedia	2	57	https://twitter.com/mbta_cr	en	x.com			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null			https://abs.twimg.com/re…ios.77d25eba.png	X (formerly Twitter)	null
834	dbpedia	1	1	https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Boston_and_Lowell_RR	en	The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300350	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300350	[ "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/10/images/libguide_header_nov_2021_copy_v.2_resize.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/B_and_L_RR_001__1_.jpg", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/misc_005.jpg", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/B...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Brad MacGowan" ]	null	Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history.	en	//d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/apps/common/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png		https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Boston_and_Lowell_RR	From Summer Saunterings by the B & L (1885) https://archive.org/details/summersauntering00bost/page/n9/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater The original main line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad was only twenty-six miles in length; and for many years it remained "little among the thousands" of great railway lines. Now that it has suddenly reached out and, by purchase, lease and business contract, secured the management or traffic of many connecting and tributary roads, so that it has become the largest railroad system in New England, it is interesting to recall the fact that, as it was the first railroad chartered in New England for passenger transportation, so it was the first to be completed and operated its entire length, and it was the third or fourth in the United States. In 1821, what is now the city of Lowell was a straggling village of twelve houses; some time previous a canal had been dug around Pawtucket Falls, on the Merrimack River, for purposes of navigation. In 1822, an organization was effected under the name of " The Locks and Canal Co." on the Merrimack River, to utilize the water power for manufacturing purposes, and the first wheel was set in motion Sept. 1, 1823. The facilities for the transportation of raw material to, and manufactured goods from, the place, were the river from Newburyport via Haverhill, the Middlesex Canal from Boston, and the highways; the latter being sandy in summer, muddy in spring and early winter, and often blockaded with snow in mid-winter. In 1820, Messrs. William Appleton, Patrick T. Jackson and Kirk Boott, of Boston, with other far-seeing men of the owners and managers of water power and mills located at Lowell, were convinced that there must be greater transportation facilities for the proper development of their investments; for already on an average as many as twenty-four tons of freight passed daily between the manufacturing village and the then young city of Boston, and "six stage-coaches, drawn by four and six horses each, "conveyed" from 100 to 120 passengers daily from one town to the other." This is a small amount of freight and number of passengers to us, but for that day indicates that great business activity had begun in eastern Massachusetts. It was evident that something must be done speedily, and certain enterprises in England and other parts of this country attracted their attention and directed their efforts. In 1827, a road three miles in length, with rails of wood covered with iron, was opened from the Quincy granite quarries to the Neponset River, and successfully used with horse-propelling power. This same year another similar road, nine miles in length, was opened among the coal mines of the Lehigh region in Pennsylvania; and, in 1821), the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co. constructed a third railroad. All of these were operated either by gravity, animals, or stationary steam engines, and were for freight transportation only. The latter company, hearing of the success of Stephenson in moving loads of coal in England on a railroad, sent an agent there, who purchased a locomotive steam engine named the " Stourbridge Lion," which was tested on their road at Honesdale, Penn., August 8, 1829, "which was, without a shadow of doubt, the day the first locomotive turned a driving wheel upon a road on the American continent." The Massachusetts Legislature of 1829 had ordered a survey, at State expense, to ascertain the practicality of a railroad between Boston and Lowell. It was made by Mr. James Haywood, and his report transmitted to the Legislature by Gov. Levi Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1830. The previous October, Stephenson had made his successful experiment with a locomotive steam engine on the Manchester & Liverpool Railroad. All these movements had been closely watched by those interested in the Lowell "Locks and Canal Co.," and on Jan. 18, 1830, Patrick T. Jackson, Esq., requested Kirk Boott, Esq., agent, to call a meeting of the directors, by whom he hoped a meeting of the "proprietors" would be called, and he states that his "object is to draw the attention of the proprietors of that stock to the project for building a railroad from this place (Boston) to Lowell." The directors' meeting was the 22d and the proprietors the 27th of January, at the house of Mr. Jackson, No. 22 Winter Street, Boston, when the first step was taken for the organization of a company to build the Boston & Lowell Railroad. The project was strenuously opposed by the owners of the Middlesex Canal, but the Legislature of that year granted a charter, giving the company the exclusive right to railroad transportation between Boston and Lowell for thirty years, which rights the courts afterwards sustained them in asserting. The road was so well located and built that there is no grade over ten feet to the mile, except at the overhead crossing of the Fitchburg Railroad in Somerville, and all the curves are wide and easy. A copy of "The Merchants' and Traders' Guide and Strangers' Memorandum Book for the year of our Lord 1836," says: "This road was opened for public accommodation on the 24th of June, 1835, [the Providence road was opened June 11th, and the Worcester, July 4th, of the same year,] and its cost thus far exceeds $1,000,000. The road is built with a single track, and is constructed of the iron edge-rail, supported by cast-iron chairs on stone blocks and stone sleepers, resting on stone foundation walls. A second track is commenced and laid about five miles." This second track was not so expensively laid with stone foundation walls, as it was found that the frost would not heave the sleepers so much as was feared. All of the stone blocks and stone sleepers have now been removed, being replaced with wood; but many of them may yet be seen lying by the railroad side between Boston and Lowell. The rails were not of the now universal "T" pattern, but what were called "fish bellies," because they were wider perpendicularly in the middle than the ends -where they rested on the chairs; they were of iron and weighed only 35 pounds to the yard and broke easily. The first locomotive used on the road was built in England and named the "Stephenson," and, among other peculiarities, had the plates on the side of her fire-box welded instead of riveted. The first passenger car was an open one ; covers were soon provided, above which was a chaise-top for the conductor, who was the lookout, and carried a silver whistle to blow as a signal, which however could hardly be heard when the train was in motion, on account of the force of the wind. The engines had no cabs, and the engineer and fireman were exposed to all the extremes of weather. "The Merchants' and Traders' Guide," before quoted, also contains the following interesting notice in connection with the above: "Before the starting of the cars, stages leave Nos. 9 and 11 Elm Street, and City Tavern, Brattle Street, and call at almost any part of the city for passengers, and take them to the depot free of charge. Arrangements have not yet been made, though they are in progress, for the conveyance of merchandise, but there is a private car attached to the train for the purpose of conveying small quantities of merchandise." Probably this was the forerunner of the modern express companies' cars. The Boston terminus was then at the foot of Lowell Street, where the freight-house now is. In 1857, the present site of the station on Causeway Street was occupied, and the present costly and commodious depot, 700 feet long, having a frontage of 205 feet, with a train-house having an arch with a clear span of 120 feet without any central support, was occupied in 1874. The spot upon which it stands is made land, and the Blackstone Canal which formerly crossed Boston along the line of the street of that name, intersected Causeway Street near this point, that street being originally what its name implies, a causeway with water on either side. The writer's father has told him he had often seen vessel's jib-booms extending over that street, the water allowing them to be moored by its side.
834	dbpedia	0	19	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/rail-history/	en	Rail History – Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	[ "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/img_1956.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/img_1139.jpg?w=939", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/img_5163.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Buildings of New England" ]	2023-04-30T13:52:04-04:00	Posts about Rail History written by Buildings of New England	en	https://buildingsofnewen…5/image.jpg?w=32	Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/rail-history/	Historic train stations are among some of my favorite types of buildings as they transport you to a different time (no pun intended). The Waterbury Railroad Depot was built in 1875 by the Central Vermont Railroad, connecting Montreal, Quebec with New London, CT and to other lines to Boston and Albany on the way. Waterbury service began in 1849, but this updated station was built later as the railway prospered and expanded. The station suffered from some deferred maintenance for decades in the mid-20th century and its fate (like many such stations) was unknown. Beginning in the late 1990s into the 2000s, Revitalizing Waterbury worked with the Great American Station Foundation, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Foundation, establishing a capital fundraising campaign meeting the goal of $1,200,000 through donations from the private sector and community members. These funds helped restore the building in phases, beginning when Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. agreed to lease the station from Revitalizing Waterbury, and created a visitor center and cafe (now Black Cap Coffee and Bakery) that has become a first-class attraction and provided an economic boost to the downtown. Starting in 1848, rail service connecting New Haven and New London, Connecticut commenced to provide transit between two of the state’s economic centers. The New Haven and New London Railroad was completed in 1852 and almost immediately, work commenced on extending the line eastward as the New London and Stonington Railroad. This completed the “Shore Line” route between New York City and Boston through other lines and the span became re-organized and named the Shore Line Railway. One of the many village stops along the route was in Noank, in this 1858 rail depot. The small train station is covered in board-and-batten siding with an overhanging gable roof supported by brackets. In 1976, much of the shoreline track was purchased by Amtrak, which is now known as the Northeast Corridor. The Noank station was cancelled as a stop, and the building was sold from the holdings, it is now office space, seemingly for the Noank Village Boatyard. Trinity Place Station was the Boston & Albany Railroad’s second depot for trains running outbound from its newly completed South Station. The depot was designed by Alexander Wadsworth “Waddy” Longfellow, Jr., who from Harvard University in 1876, later studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and then worked as senior draftsman in Henry Hobson Richardson‘s office upon his return to the United States. A. W. Longfellow was also the nephew of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He designed the station of pink granite with a covered platform 375 feet in length. The building long served train commuters leaving the ever-changing Back Bay neighborhood. Consolidated lines led to the station being deemed obsolete, and it was scheduled for demolition. Much of the old line route would be cleared for the right-of-way for the Mass Pike Expansion into Boston. The demolition on Trinity Place was postponed until early 1964 to allow for scenes of the movie, “The Cardinal” to be filmed there. TOOT TOOT! Next stop, Willington, Connecticut. Historically, all of central Connecticut was occupied by various Algonquin tribes which for thousands of years inhabited the region, the larger Pequot and Mohegan, and the smaller Nipmuck, Podunk, Shenipset and Skunkamaug all sharing a common-lineage, and language. In 1720, a party of eight men, originally from England, bought 16,000 acres of the region and called it Wellington after the town in England. Willington was incorporated in 1727. Like many early towns, Willington began as a farming community with modest industry until the 19th century, when the American Industrial Revolution saw mills and factories sprouting up all along the river towns in the region. Villages spouted up in town, mostly following their geographic location in relation to the town center (South Willington, West Willington, etc.) and each had their own industry and character. By the 20th century with industry in decline, many of the former mills and villages closed up and residents moved to “greener pastures”. The town is today mostly rural and serves as a suburb to larger towns nearby. This train depot is located in West Willington just over the town line of Tolland. Due to this, the depot was originally named Tolland Station. Rail service began here in 1850, when the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company built a freight and passenger station near this location. The rail line was later absorbed into the larger Central Vermont Railway in 1871. The original depot burned down in 1894, and was replaced that same year by this structure. The line, and this station, were in use for passenger service until 1947, when it closed. The depot has luckily been occupied by businesses ever-since, preserving this building typology in America that we are losing every year. The first train arrived in Gardiner, Maine in 1851. Rail here introduced a new mode of transportation for passengers and freight, which previously relied on horse or ship up the Kennebec River. When the old station was deemed too small and outdated, the Maine Central Railroad Company decided to hire Portland architect, George Burnham to complete plans for a more fitting station. This building is a mix of styles, the two I would categorize it as are Romanesque Revival and Spanish Revival. The building incorporates a number of influences of the two along with a deep overhanging roof supported by large brackets, heavy rusticated granite blocks at the base, and quoining around the windows and corners. The station was in operation until about 1960 when rail service here halted. Since that time, the building has been adaptively reused as a retail store, today as a recreational cannabis dispensary. So you can get high and look at cool architecture! All Aboard!! The Kneeland Street Station was built at the southern edge of Downtown Boston in 1847 for the newly established Old Colony Railroad Company. By the early 1840s, the city of Boston had six major rail lines connecting it with other places including Lowell, Maine, Fitchburg, and Salem to the north, Worcester to the west and Providence to the southwest. The southeastern part of Massachusetts had yet to be served by a rail link to Boston. On March 16, 1844 the Old Colony Railroad Corporation was formed to provide a rail connection between Boston and Plymouth. Construction of the line began in South Boston in 1844 and the line opened to Plymouth in 1845. The company needed a more accessible station to the residents and businessmen of Downtown Boston, so they acquired a large parcel of land on Kneeland Street to extend the line. The corporation hired architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, who designed this stunning railroad station constructed of brick with strong stone trimmings. As was common, a large clock was affixed to the building to allow waiting passengers to know how long they would be waiting. From 1845 to 1893, the Old Colony railroad network grew extensively through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, serving lines to Providence, Newport, Fall River, New Bedford and down the Cape. The railroad was acquired in 1893 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and sought to consolidate the many local stations into a larger building. They soon after began construction on Boston’s South Station, re-routing lines to that new building. They sold off the excess stations, including this one on Kneeland Street, and it was eventually demolished in 1918. The railroad line through Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire was completed and opened in 1875 by the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, and had a transformative effect on the local economy. Soon after completion, tourists arrived in droves during the summer months to take in the area’s scenic beauty and clean air. From this, wealthy investors built large resort hotels, like the Mount Washington Hotel, to satisfy the demand of the affluent visitors. The Portland and Ogdensburg was taken over by the Maine Central Railroad in 1888, and this depot was built in 1891. It was one of the most elaborate stations built by that railroad’s Mountain Division, because of its prominent location in the mountains. The Crawford Depot presently serves as a visitor center and shop operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Nearby is the trailhead to Mount Willard, which has some of the best views for a modest hike. The Southport railroad stations in Fairfield, Connecticut, are reminders of the important role of railroad passenger service in the historical development of the town which continues to this day. In Southport, there are two stations, an east-bound and west-bound, one on either side of the tracks. The older east-bound station was built in 1884 to replace a depot destroyed by fire. It is typical of the substantial brick stations built at small-town stops throughout the state in the period. The use of brick was likely to prevent fire destroying yet another station. The stations were commonly large enough to accommodate spacious waiting rooms, ticket counters, offices, restrooms, and a baggage area. The brick station was converted to a restaurant, with a modern addition by Roger Ferris + Partners completed by 2017. The wooden west-bound station was built around 1895 as part of a massive rebuilding of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad’s main line. At this time, the railroad adopted a single design-concept for all the stations, reverting to wood construction, and limited the stylistic details. The Southport station has an interesting design however; with its saltbox-like roofline, bargeboards, and stick detailing. Imagine all the people and stories that passed through these buildings. Parents saying goodbye to children going off to college or war, businessmen and women commuting to and from work, or people like me who took it to Manhattan! The village of Waban in Newton, Massachusetts, was named after a Massachusett Chief who had previously resided atop Nonantum Hill on the Newton-Brighton line. This location is believed to have been a favorite hunting ground for Waban (the Wind) and his people. Throughout much of the 19th century, Waban remained a quiet agricultural region. As late as 1874, fewer than 20 families held title to all of its land. In the mid-1880s, however, interest in suburban developments near the Boston and Albany Railroad became increasingly widespread. Seeing suburbanization in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. The station that allowed all the development in the early days of Waban was built in 1886. The Boston & Albany Railroad hired renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson to design the station, and many others on branches of the various lines radiating out from Boston. The Highland Branch (which this station was on) was later acquired by the MBTA in Boston, which operated it as a Commuter line. Waban Station closed along with the rest of the Highland Branch commuter rail line in 1958 and reopened a year later in 1959 as part of the Green Line’s D Branch. The gorgeous H.H. Richardson-designed station was demolished in order to build a 74-space parking lot. They literally paved paradise, and put up a parking lot… It is impossible to overstate the significance of the railroad in the 19th century to the industrial growth and economy of New England and American cities. In order to connect Boston and its ports to the Hudson Valley in New York, a western rail line was constructed in the southern part of Massachusetts but was not an ideal route. In response, businessmen and politicians began to envision a more direct rail line across Massachusetts, but with one problem: trains hate climbing mountains! Instead of going around Hoosac Mountain, a massive detour, engineers thought they could tunnel through it, and that’s what they did, creating the Hoosac Tunnel. The tunnel through Hoosac Mountain is just under 5 miles long. Its active construction period consumed roughly a quarter-century and cost at least $17 million in 1870s dollars – an enormous sum. The cost was paid in dollars and the lives of nearly 200 miners (many of whom suffered terrible deaths as you can imagine). The first train passed through the tunnel in 1875, with the eastern portal wall constructed in 1877 (seen here). By 1895, roughly 60% of Boston’s exports traveled through the tunnel. Since then, some small collapses and deferred maintenance have left their mark on the tunnel, though it is still in operation today!
834	dbpedia	0	81	https://www.trainridersne.org/index.php/component/content/archive/2012/1%3FItemid%3D102	en	trainridersne	http://trainridersne.org/images/stories/fra.jpg		[ "https://www.trainridersne.org/images/stories/OrangeLine1.jpg", "https://www.trainridersne.org/images/stories/NARP_NE_Mtg.jpg", "https://www.trainridersne.org/images/stories/30th.JPG", "https://www.trainridersne.org/images/stories/brightline-geneskoropowski.png", "https://www.trainridersne.org/images/resour...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-09-19T18:10:34+00:00		en	/templates/protostar/favicon.ico		null	Time for our Annual Meeting - this year we're celebrating 30 years of grassroots advocacy on behalf of passenger rail in the Northeast. Our pride and joy, the Amtrak Downeaster, will be marking its 17th year of serving Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It will be held at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in downtown Portland on Friday, December 14th, 2018. Those wishing accommodations at the Holiday Inn should call Marketing Director Sally Page for a special low rate (207-775-2311, Ext 2141). Registration begins at 11:00 a.m. (both north and southbound trains arrive in Portland before 11:30 a.m.). The meeting opens at 12:30 p.m. and concludes at 3:30 p.m. If you come by train, you'll be bussed to the hotel in time of the buffet luncheon. Our Keynote Speaker will be Eugene (Gene) Skoropowski, Senior Passenger Rail Consultant, TY Lin International, whose 40 years of railroading experience brought Florida's first privately-funded passenger rail service to fruition. Gene was responsible for establishing Brightline as an operating railroad in Florida, developing the service plan (train operations), selecting the rolling stock (trainsets), designing of the rolling stock maintenance facilities, hiring and training of operating crews (engineers & conductors), projecting operating costs and revenues and preparing the company’s passenger rail operations program. Gene is a long-time friend of TrainRiders/NE and we welcome his insight into the current state of passenger rail in America. Both Maine Senator Susan Collins and Stephen Gardner, Executive Vice President of Amtrak, are unable to appear because of conflicting commitments. NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn will provide us with the Downeaster's impressive record-breaking numbers from Fiscal Year 2018. Mariah Morales, of Amtrak's Government Affairs team, will fill us in on Amtrak's relationships with coalitions, trade associations and advocacy groups. Maine DOT Commissioner David Bernhardt, PanAm Railways President David Fink and Executive VP Cynthia Scarano will be our guests as well. Following the meeting at 4 p.m., you are invited to board a bus for a tour of Portland's downtown, waterfront and Deering Oaks Park holiday display. We'll return you to the station in time to catch the train south at 6:15 p.m. or the northbound train at 7:30 p.m. Lest we forget, TrainRiders/NE was responsible for creating the Downeaster in the first place, and we're not finished yet. We're working to expand the rail service to other Maine points. We're planning a connection at North Station to allow us to cross the platform for a train to NEW YORK CITY via Worcester. We've got plenty yet to do in the coming years! You can make your Annual Meeting luncheon reservation online as well as renew your membership by going here. Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of NNEPRA, summarized the current Downeaster service this way: "It's pretty much a mess." Track Work: By the end of this month, some 276 trains will have been cancelled in FY2015 due to track work. The work to replace some 22,000 ties on the PanAm line has seen 8,750 replaced and another 13,600 remaining. So far, ties have been replaced on 22 miles of track but only three of those miles have been tamped properly for normal speeds. Tamping equipment has been the Achilles heel of this ongoing project. PanAm had sent one of their machines out for rehab in anticipation of a May 1st start - unfortunately, it came back three weeks late! Amtrak has now joined the battle and is supplying a tamper. It had been delayed due to the Philadelphia train wreck. Performance Report: FY2015 to date has been the Downeaster's "most challenging year yet," said Ms. Quinn. Ridership declined as travelers made other transportation plans and as a result, revenue decreased. One encouraging statistic comes from the customer satisfaction survey conducted on the Downeaster. Under the cirumstances, the Customer Service Index remains high. The Downeaster rated an 85 overall as compared to Amtrak's 83. Patricia attributed the high score to the quality of the crews and the willingness of most passengers to understand the reality of the current difficult situation. July promises a return to normalcy. Brunswick Layover Facility Ms. Quinn briefed the board on the latest BLF maneuverings. She reported that the Brunswick Town Council, after extensive debate, took no stand on where the Auxiliary Power Unit should be installed nor the addition of compressed air. The following day, the Joint Transportation Committee in Augusta defeated Sen Gerzofsky's idling bill. The committee did recommend that compressed air be added to the front-end power installation. That unit would cost approximately $70-$80 thousand additional dollars and would have to be funded by the DOT. She reported to the board that the order for the APU had been placed and should be available to reduce engine idling by late July. The board reaffirmed their earlier decision to place the APU at the Church Road end of the proposed layover facility property. The DEP decision on the Storm Water Runoff Permit is expected around mid-June. The Brunswick Town Council met Monday night to discuss how best to address the idling of Amtrak trains in their community. This was the result of a bill, sponsored by Sen Gerzofsky of Brunswick, that would restrict idling of passenger train engines to 30 minutes. The Legislature's Transportation Committee had tabled that bill requesting that NNEPRA move forward with idling-reduction technology and work with Brunswick on where it would be located. NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn told the council that an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) or plug-in unit had been ordered that very day and would likely take eight to ten weeks for delivery. She also noted that the Maine DOT had budgeted $70 thousand for the unit and its installation. She explained that the APU would not halt all idling as the GE engines monitor themselves and restart when the onboard computer deems it necessary. It would, however, help reduce idling time at temperatures above 45 degrees. Ms. Quinn told the council that the preferred location for the APU would be on NNEPRA's property near Church Road. Two other possible locations, Cedar Street and the Brunswick Station, would interfere with other train traffic and therefore would not be operationally sound. After considerable debate, the council defeated a resolution that would have encouraged NNEPRA to do what it had already done. Several council members expressed the opinion that NNEPRA and Amtrak were best qualified to make such technical decisions. Ms. Quinn added that they were investigating the acquisition of an air compressor to maintain the train's brake pressure and that she would be willing to come back to the council and provide a progress report. A second proposal on the town council agenda would have recommended that the APU be installed at the train station. Considering that Ms. Quinn had already addressed the operational problems associated with such a suggestion (blocking other train traffic and inspection difficulties), the item was not proposed and the session ended with one moton defeated and the second agenda item not pursued. We have a great lineup of guests! Our keynote speaker is Ross Capon, Transportation Consultant and President Emeritus of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Ross has testified countless times before Congress on behalf of railroad passengers. He is a member of the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Safety Advisory Committee along other federal and rail transportation boards. Ross is a long-time friend of TrainRiders/Northeast can be seen on the Downeaster as he vacations in Maine. Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of NNEPRA, will bring us up-to-date on the Downeaster's performance and outline the opportunities and challenges ahead. Since assuming NNEPRA's reins in September 2005, Patricia has seen yearly ridership increases since taking the administrative throttle. FY 2014 marked a milestone for the Downeaster, as the 5 million passenger mark was met and exceeded ...thanks, in part, to the successful expansion to Freeport and Brunswick. The year itself was successful with record-breaking ridership exceeding 536,000, which is a 4.6% increase over the previous fiscal year. Increases in ticket revenue were even more significant, exceeding $8.6 million, surpassing the previous year by 6.2%. Customer satisfaction for FY2014 was 93 as compared to Amtrak's overall CS of 86." David Bernhardt, Maine Commissioner of Transportation will join us along with David Fink, President of PanAm Rail and Joseph McHugh, Amtrak Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Time to register and reserve your meal now! There are two ways to reserve your dinner seat and select your meal. You can download the registration flyer, print it out, fill it in and mail it to TrainRiders at PO Box 4869, Portland, ME 04112. This flyer also contains full details of the meeting. Click here to download. Or you can register now online by selecting your meal below and then click on the Pay Pal button. Please enter your email address as well since we communicate frequently via email. We will receive your name and meal selection automatically through Pay Pal. Either way - reserving now will guarantee you a seat. If you're registering for more than one seat, please reuse the form, changing the name each time so that we will have that person's ID tag ready when they arrive. Here's the PayPal option: Dinner Selection Welcome aboad! ------------------ ------------------- ------------------ ---------------- Brunswick Items Ms. Patricia Quinn, NNEPRA Executive Director, briefed the board on various items, including the Downeaster Brunswick Layover Facility. She reported that she had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with the Maine DEP addressing in particular the storm water permitting process. As a result, the permit has been resubmitted and notification of the abutters has been expanded. This is a 45-day process that allows for public input. The meeting with the DEP addressed several other issues: the water table, air quality and storage of lubricants on the property. None of those issues was considered a problem. Ms. Quinn met personally with two legislators and talked with a third on the phone regarding their letter suggesting that the layover facility be built in South Portland. She characterized the conversations as productive. On the issue of idling at the Brunswick Station, Ms. Quinn stated that she was examining a way to reduce the idling time by shifting the current 12:30p arrival to 3:00p. Also, #687 would be shifted to a 6:05p departure from North Station (currently 5:40p) and become the evening train to Brunswick. We were reminded the the BLF is the solution to multiple issues, including this one. Performance Report - Fiscal Year 2014 From the NNEPRA report: "FY 2014 marked a milestone for the Downeaster, as the 5 million passenger mark was met and exceeded. The year itself was successful with record-breaking ridership exceeding 536,000, which is a 4.6% increase over the previous fiscal year. Increases in ticket revenue were even more significant, exceeding $8.6 million, surpassing the previous year by 6.2%. Customer satisfaction for FY2014 was 93 as compared to Amtrak's overall CS of 86." FreeportUSA has sent a letter to Governor LePage regarding the continuing opposition of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition to the location of the Downeaster Layover Facility. FreeportUSA concludes: "It is vital to our community that Amtrak be able to continue providing our only public transportation service. Our organization is certain that any delay or disruption to service would be harmful to our local businesses, the Town of Freeport and our entire region." The full letter is below. ===FreeportUSA Letter=== August 19, 2014 Dear Governor LePage, I am writing today on behalf of FreeportUSA, a non-profit destination marketing association that represents more than 155 Freeport businesses. We wish to express our enthusiastic support of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. The Amtrak Downeaster has had a positive impact on our community, and we encourage you to continue your support of this service that benefits our residents and guests, alike. Freeport had been without a public transportation option for more than 10 years prior to November 2012. As a favorite Maine destination to more than 3 million annual visitors, our office fielded thousands of calls from not only Boston and New York (where it’s not practical to have a car) but from international visitors who wished to make the trip once they landed. Upon hearing that we could not offer any public transportation options, reactions were always filled with frustration and disbelief. Shortly after Amtrak began service to Freeport, we stopped getting these calls. The Amtrak Downeaster has helped increase tourism through marketing campaigns that create compelling media about Freeport as a destination. Additionally, the Downeaster supports tourism by leveraging their marketing funds in support of regional and local efforts. The response to the Downeaster service to Freeport has been positive, exceeding daily average ridership projections by 50%. The Downeaster service is an asset to FreeportUSA and important to the future growth of both our organization and community. Last year, they supported Freeport’s Sparkle Celebration by providing two Polar Express-themed train excursions, which FreeportUSA used as a fundraising opportunity and an anchor event in attracting people to Freeport during the holiday shopping season. Special trips were created for Black Friday/Moonlight Madness, resulting in more than 100 shoppers arriving in Freeport between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. FreeportUSA offices are located at the Freeport Train & Information Center, so we are able to learn firsthand the appreciation that riders have for this service. Residents and guests enjoy the safety, comfort, convenience and economic benefit of train travel. Many Freeport residents regularly use the Amtrak Downeaster as their preferred method to commute/travel to Boston. We frequently hear that the trains heading south to Boston are sold out, and that some travelers have learned it’s always important to purchase their tickets ahead of time. Within our community, Amtrak has helped to alleviate traffic jams and parking shortages. It is vital to our community that Amtrak be able to continue providing our only public transportation service. Our organization is certain that any delay or disruption to service would be harmful to our local businesses, the Town of Freeport and our entire region. It is our hope that with your support, the Amtrak Downeaster will not only continue its service uninterrupted, but will be able to expand its schedule to meet the growing demand. Sincerely, Kelly E. Edwards Executive Director FreeportUSA PO Box 452, 23 Depot St. Freeport, ME 04032 (207) 865-1212 www.freeportusa.com c.c. U.S. Senator Angus King U.S. Senator Susan Collins U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree The Honorable Olympia Snow State Senator Stan Gersofsky, Senate District #10 State Representative Peter Kent, House District #63 State Representative Charles Priest, House District #65 State Representative Mattie Daughtry, House District #66 State Representative Sara Gideon, House District 106 Commissioner David Bernhardt, Department of Transportation Carolann Ouellette, Director Maine Office of Tourism Chief of Staff John McGough Patricia Quinn, Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority From Wayne Davis: The letter below was sent to the editors of the multiple newspapers that printed "Downeaster does not merit $16M investment" by Bob Morrison - a member of the small but noisy group of citizens who live adjacent to a large piece of state-owned property that has been used as a "railyard" since the 1860's. Anyone who has been following this issue for the past two years should find the response of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority's Executive Director, Patricia Quinn informative and refreshing after all of the misinformation and "noise" that's been circulated since the FRA issued its "Finding of No Significant Impact" and directed the Rail Authority to proceed with the process. Wayne Davis ====Letter from Patricia Quinn of NNEPRA below=== Aug. 15 — To the Editor: The Letter to the Editor published on seacoastonline.com on Aug. 11 titled, "Downeaster does not merit $16M investment" uses distorted data and inaccurate assumptions to challenge not only the construction of a train layover facility in Brunswick, but the merit of Downeaster service and the credibility of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority that manages it. The author, Bob Morrison, lives in the neighborhood adjacent to the railroad in Brunswick, and is chairman of the group opposing the construction of a train layover facility planned to be built in the former rail yard site located across the tracks. As the executive director of NNEPRA, I believe it is important that information regarding the layover project, the Downeaster service and NNEPRA is presented accurately and in proper context. Contrary to Mr. Morrison's accusations, the basic rules of business are at the forefront of every decision made by NNEPRA, including the decision to construct a $12.7 million facility (not a $16 million facility as reported in the editorial) on a site zoned mixed use, industrial railroad corridor, in Brunswick. The Brunswick layover will improve the operational efficiency, cost effectiveness and economic impact of the Amtrak Downeaster service by converting the two non-revenue equipment moves that currently operate between Portland and Brunswick each day to revenue trips between Brunswick and Boston. It will also enhance the safety and efficiency of the layover operation and improve the reliability of the entire service. The Downeaster service is one of the most highly regarded in the Amtrak system, based on ridership and revenue growth and customer satisfaction. Currently, 10 Downeaster trains run daily between Portland and Boston, with only four of those trips extending to Freeport and Brunswick. Despite the constraint of limited service, ridership to Freeport and Brunswick is strong, exceeding projections by nearly 50 percent. When the layover is built and equipment moves can be converted to revenue trips, passengers will have more travel options, ridership and revenue will grow, and Mr. Morrison's observation that the schedule needs to be more convenient will be addressed. Following last week's refusal of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition leaders to engage in constructive discussion on agenda items and their disrespectful antics as detailed in our previous article, Executive Director Patricia Quinn concluded that the relationship with Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition had become unproductive and was a waste of NNEPRA staff time. She then asked the board to provide guidance as to how best to continue its work with the Brunswick community. Board members noted that it was important to continue a dialogue with Brunswick citizens, but as NNEPRA moves on to the construction phase, the base of the advisory group needs to be to be broadened and to that end, the following motion was proposed by chairman Martin Eisenstein and unanimously approved. NNEPRA board of directors redefines the mission of the Brunswick Layover Building Advisory Group and renames the group as follows: The Brunswick Layover Building Advisory Group is renamed the Brunswick Layover Advisory Group and its mission is as follows: The purpose is to facilitate information exchanges between NNEPRA and the Brunswick community. The constitution of the group with be decided by the chair of the board after input from other board members and the Brunswick community at large. Board members went on to explain that they are moving from a planning stage to a construction phase, therefore, the issues are different than before and that different levels of public participation are needed. Robert Morrison of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition said his group would have to decide whether or not they would continue in the new group. Chairman Eisenstein responded that the committee was not set up to determine the location of the facility. "Members of your group will be invited to participate in the broadened advisory group, with the understanding that we are not debating the location of the site," he concluded. Execcutive Director Patricia Quinn announced that NNEPRA would shortly reapply for the storm run off permit that was invalidated by a Superior Court judge. The Layover Advisory Board, created by NNEPRA to work with the opponents of the Brunswick Layover Facility, met last week to discuss the color and lighting of the proposed Downeaster facility. The local paper somehow failed to provide the disturbing specifics of the NIMBY's opposition to the agenda. Here is a letter, sent to the Town Council, by one of the pro-layover West Brunswick residents detailing the rude and disturbing antics employed by the opposition. July 26, 2014 To: Brunswick Town Councilor Benet Pols From: Jeff Reynolds RE: Dysfunction of the Layover Advisory Committee Dear Councilor Pols, On July 24, 2014, the Layover Advisory Committee met at Council chambers in Brunswick. I attended—and will never forget what I, along with others, witnessed. Among the members of the Committee are three citizens who live near the site of the soon-to-be built Downeaster layover and maintenance facility. These citizens also happen to belong to and occupy leadership roles in the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition (BWNC). Their names: Dan Sullivan, Chris Casey, Robert Morrison. In decades of attending and participating in meetings of various sorts I have never seen behavior such as that exhibited by the aforementioned citizens. They were uniformly rude, insinuating and insulting, insistent on having it their way or no way or at all. It was nothing short of outrageous.[1] One brief example will suffice. An engineer for the firm that will build the layover facility gave a PowerPoint presentation on the lighting plan for the site and structure. Images were displayed on the west wall of the Council chamber. This was information of vital import to me as a resident of the neighborhood near the site, and it had been deemed important enough to the BWNC to merit frequent mention in public forums, letters, their website, and more. Throughout the presentation all three BWNC members faced the east wall, their backs to the speaking podium. Dan Sullivan kept his eyes shut tightly the entire time. Chris Casey and Robert Morrison carried on a conversation so loudly that those of us in the audience had difficulty hearing what the consultant was saying. When the Committee chair asked if the citizen members had any questions or comments pertaining to the lighting plan, Robert Morrison ignored the invitation and instead read a prepared two-page BWNC “position paper” that had nothing, nothing whatsoever to do with lighting or any other agenda item. Amplify this kind of juvenile meanness for the duration of the meeting and you get an inkling of what occurred. The worst part, however, and the part I want you to keep in mind as you consider future action, occurred when the ostensive purpose of the meeting—to select a color for the building—came up. The BWNC members refused to participate, and this after they, like me, had been sent ahead of time by mail, professional, color illustrations of various color schemes and instructions on how to make preferences known through an on-line service. I participated on-line. As a neighborhood resident I looked forward to engaging further in the selection process. Here’s my point. By refusing to participate in this activity, and through their relentlessly “obstructionary” behavior throughout the meeting, the three members of the BWNC have abrogated their right to represent the residents who live near the Church-Stanwood site. All three must be released from their places on the Committee and replacements found who will participate constructively. Furthermore, since this facility is of great interest across Brunswick, new appointees ought to be welcomed from all parts of the area, up to and including Freeport. Lastly, members of all Town committees represent Brunswick. They are our public face. In light of their reprehensible behavior at the July 24 meeting, all three citizen members of the Layover Advisory Committee ought to apologize formally, in public, to the other members of that Committee and to Brunswick as a whole. Sincerely, Jeff Reynolds 36 Redwood Lane Brunswick, ME 04011 Cc: Town Councilor John Perreault Town Councilor John Richardson Ms. Patricia Quinn [1]. . . and in contrast, the other Committee members were helpful, courteous, and patient beyond the capacities of most of us. ------ Here is the orgininal Forecaster article which failed to mentioned the coalition's disruptive tactics. A Response to Senator Gerzovsky's Letter of Complaint to NNEPRA by Wayne Davis, TrainRiders/NE Chairman (Editor's Note: Sen.Gerzovksy's letter can be read here.) Maine Senator Stan Gerzovsky’s letter to NNEPRA strongly opposing the siting of the Brunswick layover facility just south of the current Brunswick station clearly reflects the concerns of some of his constituents who have chosen to live beside the train yard at which the facility will be located. Currently, no indoor layover facility exists in Brunswick, which means that, the Downeaster diesel engines must be kept running to prevent the diesel fuel from congealing and becoming unusable when the temperature is below 40 degrees. Given the Downeaster’s current schedule, at least one Downeaster locomotive must remain idling several hours a day in Brunswick. Idling would not be required if the locomotive could be indoors. The Senator and some of his constituents, however, feel that one of two other proposed sites would be preferable if for no other reason than that they are not located in their backyards. In doing so, the Senator and his constituents both ignore the disadvantage of these other sites and misstate many facts, which include the following: 1. The letter states that the facility will be built near tracks that were “never used-nor ever intended to be used-for this purpose”. WRONG! The proposed site has been used as a train yard since the mid to late 1800’s. As recently as the 1970’s, the site consisted of numerous rail sidings with a capacity of up to 95 cars and also included a railroad office, a crew quarters, and equipment storage buildings. More importantly, the site has been, and continues to be, zoned for rail and commercial use by the Town of Brunswick, and location of a rail layover facility at this site is consistent not only with applicable zoning requirements, but also with the Town’s comprehensive plan for development. The site has been, and continues to be, a site for interchange of freight trains between the Rockland rail branch operated by the Maine Eastern Railroad, and PanAm Railway’s rail line going south from Brunswick to Portland. A larger version of the postcard from the 1920’s is available online. As one can see, this train yard has historically been very busy. Even today, the site contains numerous active tracks. Those tracks, plus the ongoing activity in the yard and the available uses under applicable zoning requirements, should have shown even very unobservant potential purchasers of nearby residences that the yard was being used, and would continue to be used, for railroad purposes. 2. The letter indicates that the “proposal is to put an industrial-use facility in a residential neighborhood”. WRONG! For well over a century, the yard has been utilized for rail purposes. The real question is why a residential neighborhood was expanded near what has, for over 100 years, always been an industrial site. 3. The letter indicates that choosing this site for the layover facility is “an irresponsible use of taxpayer money, especially when several alternate sites were proposed that would’ve had a far lesser impact on residents.” WRONG! Choosing either of the two other sites proposed for the layover facility in Brunswick would itself have been irresponsible. Using the alternate site, located in the Brunswick Industrial Park, would have required filling what is now essentially a huge hole in the ground in an area which included wetlands. The cost of preparing that alternate site would have made the project unaffordable. Using the second alternate site, located in the Cook’s Corner area north of downtown Brunswick, would have been inconsistent with Brunswick’s zoning requirements and its Comprehensive Plan. Perhaps more importantly, however, this site is located on non-signaled track which would have required over half an hour of additional travel time for each train between Brunswick station and the layover facility, resulting in several hours’ worth of additional fuel, equipment use, and crew time each day. This, plus other operational shortfalls, would have translated into another unaffordable project. In addition, if this site had been chosen, it would have resulted in added motor vehicle idling time as trains crossed one of the busiest high-volume highway crossings in the state. To have chosen either of the alternative sites would have increased taxpayer costs in significant and adverse ways. Clearly, in choosing the proposed site NNEPRA acted responsibly to minimize taxpayer cost and ensure the survivability of the Downeaster service. 4. The letter indicates that noise and air pollution resulting from idling of trains for upwards of five hours a day will result in decreased property values and increased health risks. WRONG! Construction of the layover building will eliminate the need for long-term idling of trains since they will be housed indoors at that facility. A study performed for NNEPRA (available at NNEPRA's website, www.amtrakdowneaster.com/projects/brunswick-layover-facility) estimated that even after the service is increased to six roundtrips per day (only two such trips occur now), utilization of the layover building would result in no more than 30 minutes of total idling time each day, and that this idling time would be inside the facility. That same study concluded that health risks and air pollution associated with the service would be insignificant. 5. The letter intimates that NNEPRA’s choice of the proposed site somehow undermines the credibility of government and exacerbates the erosion of faith in how government agencies function. WRONG! After becoming aware of local opposition to the chosen site, NNEPRA reached out to the community and held three separate public meetings in Brunswick to discuss the potential sites. NNEPRA’s Board of Directors then held a later public meeting at which it accepted the recommendation from its consultants and staff to move forward with the development of the layover facility at the Brunswick rail yard. NNEPRA then formed an advisory group which included several Brunswick residents, representatives from the Town’s government, and others to discuss the facility. NNEPRA went above and beyond both its legal obligations and normal practice to ensure that the positions of all parties were presented and considered. That NNEPRA, its consultants, and its staff did not finally agree with those who opposed the chosen site does not constitute a failure of government or in any way; instead, it only means that NNEPRA, after due consideration of all the facts, disagreed with Senator Gerzovsky and those of his constituents who objected to having the layover facility cited in what they considered to be their back yards. NNEPRA took several years, and invested much time, money, and energy, in carefully choosing the rail yard site for the layover facility. To disagree with that choice is certainly the right and privilege of every citizen, be they elected officials or merely interested parties. To base that opposition upon misstatements, however, serves no one and did not and cannot aid anyone in making an appropriate decision. The misstatements contained in the Senator’s letter are so significant and numerous that it adds nothing relevant or appropriate to the discussions about this facility. Instead, it would appear that NNEPRA’s careful consideration of the matter has resulted in a choice which, on balance, is beneficial not only to Mainers, but also to all others who use or will otherwise benefit from Downeaster service to Brunswick, including those constituents of Senator Gerzovsky who live near the chosen site. Introduction of the misstatements contained in the Senator’s letter seems to be the product of Not-In-My-Back-Yardism at its worst. {jcomments on}
834	dbpedia	2	77	https://www.facebook.com/BMRRHS/	en	Facebook	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yb/r/hLRJ1GG_y0J.ico	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yb/r/hLRJ1GG_y0J.ico	[ "https://facebook.com/security/hsts-pixel.gif" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Sieh dir auf Facebook Beiträge, Fotos und vieles mehr an.	de	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yb/r/hLRJ1GG_y0J.ico		https://www.facebook.com/login/
834	dbpedia	1	22	https://www.falmouthedic.org/brief-history-falmouth-station	en	A Brief History of the Falmouth Station — Falmouth EDIC	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a22264/1482506754481-DN2OIPYLAYX1NB3GZZJD/favicon.ico?format=100w	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a22264/1482506754481-DN2OIPYLAYX1NB3GZZJD/favicon.ico?format=100w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a22264/1466622174494-ZP5TSRW316374IG9VVDL/EDIC-LOGO.png", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a22264/1466622174494-ZP5TSRW316374IG9VVDL/EDIC-LOGO.png", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/576a9fd22e69cf8e27a22264/1482506754481-DN2OIPYLAYX1NB3GZZJD/favicon.ico?format=100w	Falmouth EDIC	https://www.falmouthedic.org/brief-history-falmouth-station	Cape Cod Central Railroad The first New England railroads, a trio of lines radiating from Boston to Lowell, Worcester, and Providence, were completed in 1835, and rail service reached Plymouth in 1845. A line from Middleborough to Wareham and then to Sandwich was completed in May 1848. Cape Cod did not get a railroad connection until the Old Colony Rail Road completed its line to Wareham and Sandwich. In 1854 the line was extended to Barnstable, Yarmouth, and then the port of Hyannis, where steamers docked for trips to the islands. Tracks were extended to Wellfleet in January 1871 and to Provincetown in July 1873. This expansion in southeastern Massachusetts should be viewed against the rapid industrialization of the U.S. after 1865, with earlier efforts marking incremental progress in the use of the railroad to further economic growth. The railroad age had started in the 1830s in Great Britain, when lines were laid to haul both passengers and freight (often ore from mines). But even earlier, in Quincy Massachusetts in 1826, the Granite Railroad used three horse-pulled wagons riding on iron-covered wooden rails to haul stone from a quarry to a dock at Boston Harbor. After the Civil War, every town wanted to be connected to the railroad. In the 1880s seventy-one thousand miles of track were laid, most of it west of the Mississippi, a boom enabled in part by the federal land grants offered in the 1872 Morrill Act. The taking, or granting, of land for railroad right-of-way was central to the growth of the many lines that crisscrossed the Northeast and the Midwest. Joseph Story Fay, a Boston merchant, was the first of the summer visitors and one of the most generous. Early recognizing the importance of bringing the railroad to Woods Hole, he divided his own property for its construction. When he had purchased a large farm in Woods Hole in 1850, Falmouth and Woods Hole were still served by stage lines with four horses on each stage. In 1861 a group of businessmen in Falmouth petitioned the legislature to grant a charter for a line from Cohasset Narrows (Buzzards Bay) to Woods Hole, and approval was given on April 11, 1861. The next day, the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and construction was postponed. In 1864 a new name, The Cape Cod Central Railroad, was approved by the legislature, but the first train arrived in Falmouth and Woods Hole only on July 18, 1872. This new line was 17.5 miles from Cohasset Narrows with stations at North Falmouth, West Falmouth, Falmouth, and Woods Hole. Freight trains were also central to this period of intense railway activity. The Falmouth Station was a very active spot in town with the freight yards often filled with freight cars. Many businesses were dependent on the railroad, including Falmouth Coal Co., Lawrence Grain Co., and Wood Lumber Co. Every evening Sam Cahoon sent carloads of iced fresh fish from Woods Hole to Boston and New York. Strawberry growers in East Falmouth sent carloads of iced fresh strawberries to Boston, where they became a welcome addition to urban markets and a major source of revenue for local growers. In 1890 Captain Lewis H. Lawrence built a grain mill on the west side of the railroad tracks and a railroad siding was constructed to bring freight cars to the mill. Frederick T. Lawrence, Jr., the grandson of Captain Lawrence, described this siding in The Book of Falmouth (p. 79): “The railroad’s freight platform extended to within 42 feet of the Lawrence Bros. mill. It was large enough to unload wagons, autos, cement and the annual circus. Later it was expanded east to an entrance off Palmer Avenue with the addition of three tracks.” The Pacific Guano Company on Long Neck, now Penzance Point, in Woods Hole was an initial beneficiary of the railroad. The company produced fertilizer for almost 25 years, processing guano from islands in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico with fish meal made from locally caught fish. In 1872 it produced and shipped out by rail 16,000 tons of fertilizer. The processing plant closed in 1889, primarily because inorganic fertilizers took over the market. Another beneficiary of the railroad extension was the Falmouth Coal Company. Wilbur Dyer came from Westfield, Maine to Falmouth in 1912 as the railroad station master, and later established the Falmouth Coal Company. His son, Arnold, notes that when the family arrived both the old and new Stations were standing before the older building was demolished. In 1924, Wilbur Dyer bought two independent coal companies that included the land behind the Enterprise office where there were coal bins and later oil tanks alongside a rail siding. His grandson, Wilbur (Bill) Dyer, continues with the fourth generation of the business as the Falmouth Energy Company. The Flying Dude In 1884 several industrialists asked the Old Colony Railroad to offer a private train by subscription from Boston to Falmouth and Woods Hole. The inaugural trip of The Flying Dude left Boston at 3:10 pm on June 13, 1884, and arrived in Woods Hole at 4:50 pm in time for the 5:00 ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. For thirty-two years there were enough paying passengers for this railroad service to run from June to early October each year. Though subscription trains had become common in this age of industrial barons, the Dude was described in a 1904 Enterprise as “the finest train in New England.” Conductor Augustus Messer was a dignified presence on the Dude from 1890 to 1904, and spent thirty-two years on the Boston to Woods Hole run. He was familiar with all the passengers, including President Grover Cleveland, who alighted at Gray Gables near the Summer White House in Bourne. In 1904 the former conductor started his first run of the season and suffered a stroke from which he never recovered. The Flying Dude made its last trip on October 2, 1916. Societal Impacts The following excerpts were published in the Falmouth Enterprise on July 1, 1905: “At noon, Monday, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in this village was the scene of one of the most brilliant weddings ever solemnized in this town for Miss Mary Emmons, and John Parkinson, Jr. The young couple are society leaders on the summer set in Falmouth and Buzzards Bay and have known each other since childhood. Many guests for the wedding came by a special train that left Boston at 9:25 in the morning, reaching here at 11:45 and the guests were taken in carriages to the church. The ceremony was witnessed by upwards of 200 guests. The bridal party took carriages to the summer home of the father of the bride, where a wedding breakfast was served and the nuptial festivities continued until late in the afternoon. The reception was held in the parlor and the guests were served refreshments on tables on the lawn. The bride and groom took their departure on the 2:27 train for Boston.” Falmouth Station The original Falmouth Station was built in 1872 of wood and provided service for more than forty years. In 1914, a new “fancy” brick station was constructed with stone cornices, a red tiled floor and an iron and glass canopy. However, after the construction of the interstate highways in the 1950s and the increasing use of cars and buses to get to Falmouth and Woods Hole, rail service declined to the point that the station was scheduled to be razed. A group of concerned citizens petitioned that the station be saved. Improvements to the Falmouth Station were completed in 1989 with funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and included improved facilities in the ticket area, exterior landscaping, and handicap access. The most recent refurbishment was completed in 2017 under the auspices of the Falmouth Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (which owns the property and leases it to EDIC in a 99-year lease). The Station serves Peter Pan Bus Lines (with service from Woods Hole and Falmouth to Boston, Logan Airport, Providence and New York City); the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, with service Woods Hole to Falmouth and other towns on the Cape; the seasonal Trolley to Woods Hole; and the local taxi companies. The station backs up to the celebrated Shining Sea Bikeway built on the original railroad right-of-way in the 1970s and runs for more than ten miles from Woods Hole to North Falmouth. The Bikeway attracts many visitors—bikers and walkers of all ages—to the area. The bike path crosses Depot Avenue by the handsomely restored Falmouth Station, where bikers can stop for refreshment and a short rest.
834	dbpedia	0	39	https://ableebenezer.com/blog/category/Stories	en	Stories — Bar Stories — Able Ebenezer Brewing Company	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/542c072fe4b05bfcb6d3496a/1494948455395-5D1ZCW6H3R4V8SZAK13E/favicon.ico?format=100w	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/542c072fe4b05bfcb6d3496a/1494948455395-5D1ZCW6H3R4V8SZAK13E/favicon.ico?format=100w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/542c072fe4b05bfcb6d3496a/1494957733095-APPV6094SJ459HB7VXDG/Long+Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/542c072fe4b05bfcb6d3496a/f35528e3-608a-4afe-bd5f-c3a0db4fcdb5/28th-massachusetts.jpg", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/conten...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Carl Soderberg", "Michael Frizzelle" ]	2024-03-01T00:00:00		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/542c072fe4b05bfcb6d3496a/1494948455395-5D1ZCW6H3R4V8SZAK13E/favicon.ico?format=100w	Able Ebenezer Brewing Company \| Merrimack NH Brewery	https://ableebenezer.com/blog/category/Stories	July 1, 1862 Malvern Hill, southeast of Richmond VA “Faugh a Ballagh!” (Clear the Way!) the Irishmen of the 69th Regiment cried as they charged downhill into the teeth of the enemy assault. The previous days had seen a lot of fighting across the Virginia Peninsula, as the Union Army attempted to reach Richmond and force an early end to the war. Alas, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia held their own, pushing them back to the banks of the James River. Malvern Hill - a small rise southeast of the Confederate capital, became their last stronghold during the campaign; should they lose it, the entire army would be at risk of folding entirely. Throughout the day, the Union had held their own against numerous Confederate attacks. But as the sun started to set over the horizon, the rebels still refused to quit the field and began weakening the Union lines. A pivotal moment was upon them all: should their lines break at any point, it could spell ruin for the Union. --------------- The 69th NY Regiment was formed as a volunteer militia during the 1850’s in Manhattan by young Irish immigrants who had just arrived in the United States. Some fled the famine, some came in search of opportunity, while others were freedom fighters on the run from the United Kingdom, but they all had one thing in common: their heritage. When the Civil War kicked off in 1861, the 69th NY Regiment was called upon, and the Irishmen answered: they mustered into service and marched out of New York City for Washington DC to join the Union’s newly formed Army of the Potomac. Their first action came at the First Battle of Bull Run (Virginia). While the battle was a decisive loss for the Union - one of many in the early years of the Civil War - the 69th was one of the few regiments which held their composure during the fight, even stepping up to cover the rear of the Union army as they retreated in defeat. The 69th did not emerge unscathed, however, suffering over 150 casualties, including their commanding officer - Colonel Michael Corcoran - who was wounded on the field of battle and subsequently captured by the Confederates. Thus, following Bull Run, command of the 69th fell to Thomas Francis Meagher. ------------ Meagher (pronounced “Mar”) had already become somewhat of a celebrity among the Irish in America, having been a leader of the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848; an effort to win Ireland’s independence from the United Kingdom. When that effort failed, he was arrested by the British, and found guilty of treason. “The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.” - Arthur Schopenhauer Time is an interesting thing; we always feel as though we don’t have enough of it. Sometimes, our days seem to drag on; and yet, at the end of the year, we look back and say how quickly they have all gone by. This past year, 2020, in particular, seemed to have been the longest year ever, yet somehow, it also went by in an instant. Time is a crucial factor in brewing. To craft any beer, it takes time and patience; however, depending on the variety of the beer you're crafting, you need to allot yourself more or less time. For example, lagers, in comparison to ales, need several weeks to be conditioned before they are ready for consumption. It takes time and patience to boil the wort and then to ferment the beer until it’s done. When developing new recipes, you often spend time brewing small batches and waiting weeks for them to be done just to try the final sample and say, “not good enough.” In life, we often find the same thing happening. It is commonplace to view time simply as an abundant resource that you can grind through to achieve an end goal. We might dedicate a substantial amount of time working on something only to get to the end and not feel satisfied; as though that time was wasted. However, if the time spent on a particular task was fulfilling in the moment, how could that be considered a waste? Realizing that our time is precious serves as motivation to make sure we spend it on things that we value. For me, I find the work I do to be gratifying and I find fulfillment in spending time with the people working alongside me. Outside of work, I find that the best way to spend my time is to simply be in the company of close friends and family. Nothing beats an afternoon with old friends- laughing, conversating, and obviously enjoying a few beers together. That’s what I love about beer; it's communal. I mean, no one ever asks if you want to go grab a glass of water after work, right? Beer is meant to be shared. That’s why I enjoy making it so much; because I get to see the final product poured into a glass and shared amongst friends, which makes all the time spent making it worth it. This beer has been a labor of love for me. I started over a year ago and would brew a sample batch in between other new recipes we were working on whenever I had a free day. I’ve enjoyed many of the recipes along the way; but, it wasn’t until this final batch that I truly felt proud of it. I’m excited to share it with my friends and family and to see it enjoyed amongst others. So think about the time you have every day and, no matter how trivial, spend it doing what makes you happy. Cheers! - Jim Stark put a great deal of thought into the timing of his march, ensuring the operation coincided with both low illumination (complete darkness from a waning moon phase) and low tide. Because of this, when Stark’s men reach the shore of Chelsea near the convergence of Belle Isle Creek & Chelsea Creek, they are able to easily evade British boat patrols around the islands and wade across the water to Hog Island. They begin quietly ferrying livestock across the creek to the mainland, then over to Noddle’s Island to do the same. The operation takes hours, going until late morning, but it’s a complete success: the Patriots now possess hundreds of new horses, cattle & sheep for their young army. With the sun now high in the sky, they know it’s time to begin moving the regiment back to Winter Hill. But Stark, not wanting to leave any supplies behind for the British to obtain, orders his men to begin setting fire to the remaining hay stacks and barns. When the rising smoke becomes visible in Boston, Vice Admiral Samuel Graves - General Gage’s naval commander in the waters around the city - orders his navy to surround the islands & land hundreds of marines on Noddle’s to combat the rebels. By midday, the New Hampshiremen are decisively engaged with the British on Noddle’s Island, while also enduring cannonfire from the ships around the islands. This is the Granite Stater’s first taste of real combat against British Regulars, and a tough one at that. But Stark’s men - although scattered in small teams about the islands - are able to hold off the 400+ redcoats, most using the low marshland beside the creek separating Noddle’s & Hog Island as cover, forcing the British ranks back to the inland of the island. With the sun now setting, the British commanders on the ground opt to cut their losses, considering the damage done and the day lost. “Before we got from Noddle’s Island to Hog Island we was fired upon by a Schooner. But we crossed the river and about fifteen of us squatted down in a ditch on the marsh and stood our ground. And there came a company of Regulars on the marsh on the other side of the river and the Schooner, and we had a hot fire until the Regulars retreated. But notwithstanding the bullets flew very thick yet there was not a man of us killed. Surely God has a favor towards us. Thanks be unto him that so little hurt was done when the balls sung like bees round our heads.” -Private Amos Farnsworth, from his Diary The Schooner Amos refers to is the HMS Diana - a 120 ton, 18-gun warship commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Graves - Admiral Graves’ nephew. The Diana isn’t the largest or most formidable ship in the Boston fleet, but she is one of the fastest and most capable for her size. In fact, she was built at the Boston shipyards in 1774, then acquired by the British shortly after and fitted for combat; Admiral Graves personally selecting her for his fleet: “I have taken it upon me to purchase the Diana schooner of 120 tons, about eight months old, so exceedingly well built that she is allowed to be the best vessel of the kind that has yet been in the King’s Service.” -Vice Admiral Samuel Graves, in a letter dated January 8th, 1775 Because of her speed and maneuverability, combined with her firepower, the Diana is instructed to cut off the Patriot’s escape route back across to Chelsea by navigating north of Noddle’s Island and into Chelsea Creek with the high tide. Here, they become engaged with the rebels, such as Amos Farnsworth. But as the battle wears on and British Marines are forced back on land, the wind and tide also turns in favor of the Patriots: the crew of Diana finds themselves without the conditions needed to navigate back east towards the Mystic River and out into Boston Harbor. She signals for assistance from the main fleet, who dispatch two ships & a dozen barges up the Mystic to help tow the Diana out of Chelsea Creek before low tide. -------------------- This is where the story should have likely ended: the Battle of Chelsea Creek is only the 2nd major engagement of the war (Lexington & Concord serving as the first), and the Patriots had won the day decisively. They’d succeeded in their mission, making it back to the mainland with a bounty of supplies, while also holding off a combined force of British Regulars, all with minimal casualties. It’s now been over 18 hours since they first stepped off towards Chelsea, and the only task that remains is an easy march back to Winter Hill. But the story doesn’t end there. -------------------- The New Hampshiremen see an opportunity to chalk up yet another win for the day. They assume fighting positions along the shoreline and engage the struggling Diana and her would-be rescuers. As night sets in, Colonel Stark sends a rider back to Cambridge requesting reinforcements & additional ammunition to keep up the fight. At their Headquarters in Cambridge, the Patriot commanders are elated at Stark’s report: not only had the mission been carried out successfully, but the regiment had been decisively engaged with the enemy and came out the victors. Without hesitation, reinforcements led by General Israel Putnam rushes out of Cambridge into the night towards Chelsea Creek. Side note: Dr. Joseph Warren - Chairman of the MA Committee of Safety, famous Son of Liberty from Boston’s North End, and soon-to-be hero of Bunker Hill fame - was present at the Cambridge Headquarters when the rider arrived. Upon hearing Stark’s report, he volunteered to join Putnam’s men on their march: Dr. Warren did not want to miss the chance to witness what he believed to be history in the making, but was unable to join the fight. What he witnessed that evening at Chelsea Creek motivated him to take the field again - this time as a Private within the ranks - at Bunker Hill a month later, where he would be killed in action while fighting honorably. It’s now late in the evening, and Putnam’s reinforcements join Stark’s men along the north shore of Chelsea Creek, exchanging fire through the darkness with the British on the water. After hours of attempting to tow the Diana back to deeper waters while under constant fire from the Patriots, the tide finally recedes beyond her waterline: her keel runs aground, settling into the sands just off the shore of Chelsea. Lieutenant Graves orders abandon ship. The British have a difficult go at it, but are able to use the darkness to transfer her crew over to the HMS Britannia - one of the vessels dispatched to help the Diana. Once aboard, the British tow themselves back to safety in the deeper waters of Boston Harbor, leaving the Schooner Diana behind. It’s now the early morning hours on the 28th. The musket & cannon fire finally silences, replaced with a loud cheer as the Patriots swarm abroad the abandoned vessel, now listing heavily on one side as the tide continues to recede. They go to work stripping her of any valuables: her 18 guns, powder, shot & supplies and thensome, then load bales of hay to set the Diana ablaze #burntheships. But before sparking the flame, they have one more trophy to take from the Diana: Her 76’ tall, New England grown, White Pine mast. Yes, these mad lads - now over 24 hours on mission - took the time to cut off HMS Diana’s mast and carry it with them all the way back to Winter Hill. Not sure there’s any better way to give a nod to the fighters of NH’s Pine Tree Riot. Months later, her mast would be carried up Prospect Hill - the highest point around Boston, and thus, the most visible to the British held up in the city. There, by order of General Washington himself, the mast was planted to fly the first American Flag. Today, the spot atop Prospect Hill is marked by the "Prospect Hill Monument;” a 4-story structure of stone from which a flag still flies. The City of Somerville continues to raise a new flag every year at their annual Flag Raising Ceremony; 2020’s being the 244th year. “Orders given from the General for scouting parties to fire at all times whenever they have the opportunity. The same day raised the mast that came out of the schooner that was burnt at Chelsea, for to hoist our new flag upon, in the fort upon Prospect Hill, seventy-six feet high.” -Lieutenant Paul Lunt, from his Diary August 1, 1775 By December, 1776, the war for independence was not going well for the Patriots. The year had started with a win, as the New England militias under command of General George Washington forced the British to evacuate Boston in March. Yet, the remainder of the year would host a series of defeats for Washington & his army: they would suffer a great defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, and subsequently forced to abandon New York City on lower Manhattan Island soon after. From there, they would lose decisively at Pells Point, White Plains, then Fort Washington - the last Patriot position in New York. What remained of their army would flee across the Hudson River to Fort Lee in New Jersey, which would also fall soon after. Finally, Washington receives word that his 2nd in command - General Charles Lee - is captured by the British. Thus, as December sets in, the Patriots are retreating across New Jersey, then over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, with General Lord Cornwallis’ army in pursuit. The Continental Congress, fearful for their lives, abandons Philadelphia. Thankfully, harsh winter weather soon sets in, putting a halt to both Patriot & British operations. But while British begin to establish their winter encampments, General Washington & his officers know they must attempt something as their situation is bleak: The army is weak, underfed, and under supplied. Many of their men have deserted, believing the cause to be lost. Further, most of those who remain are due to have their enlistments expire on January 1st. If they settle in for winter, their army would likely fade away before the Spring thaw, and with it, the cause for independence itself. “I think the game is pretty near up.” -General George Washington, in a letter to his brother John December 18, 1776 On December 22nd, Washington calls a meeting with his generals to determine what action - if any - they can muster to save the cause. One officer called to attend the meeting - even though he does not hold a brigade command like Washington’s fellow generals - is Colonel John Stark of the 1st New Hampshire Regiment. He offers only one contribution to the discussion: “Your men have too long been accustomed to place their dependence for safety on shovels and pickaxes. If you ever mean to establish the independence of these united states, you must teach them to place their dependence upon their arms and their courage.” -Colonel John Stark Stark’s words resonate with Washington and his staff, who then began work on a bold counter-offensive. Two days later, Washington calls upon Stark once again: “We have agreed upon the plan: we are to march tomorrow on Trenton, and you are to command the advance guard.” General Washington to Colonel Stark December 24, 1776 Thus, at nightfall on Christmas Day, 1776, in the midst of pounding wind, sleet & snow, the Patriots load themselves into boats along the Delaware River and are ferried across to New Jersey at McKonkey’s Ferry; some 9 miles north of Trenton. Their plan is to surround the town before daybreak and deliver a surprise attack. ——————————— Meanwhile, in Trenton, a combined force of Hessian soldiers and British Cavalry commanded by Colonel Johann Rall are well-established in their warm, dry winter quarters. Rall - an experienced officer and combatant - is so far unimpressed by the colonial rebels, having faced & defeated them handily in the previous months. While he’s received a few vague reports from loyalist spies that the rebels might be planning an attack, Rall scoffs at the notion, whether true or not: “Then let them come,” he tells his messengers. “We will go at them with the bayonet.” And he has good reason to be cocky: Rall and his Hessians were at Brooklyn, White Plains and Fort Washington, often leading the British attack. Before being called to the colonies, they were veterans of wars in Bavaria, Austria, Russia, Scotland, and in the 7 Years War against France. The Hessians had successfully quelled rebellions and conquered nations many times over. Thus, they are some of the most seasoned, professional soldiers the world can muster…and they know it. And in their minds, this war is at its end. —————————— Several miles to the north, Washington’s army is fighting through the blizzard to begin their march. The weather is so bad that 3000 of Washington’s men - who are supposed to cross the Delaware River south of Trenton & secure the rear of the town - are unable to make it across. The 2400 who do cross the Delaware suffer tremendously in the cold, two of whom succumb to the elements and perish during the march. One New England soldier wrote of that harsh night in his journal: “During the whole night it alternately hailed, rained, snowed, and blew tremendously. I recollect very well that at one time, when we halted on the road, I sat down on the stump of a tree and was so benumbed with cold that I wanted to go to sleep; had I been passed unnoticed I should have frozen to death without knowing it. We then began to march again, just in the old slow way, until the dawn of day, about half-past seven in the morning.” -Private John Greenwood The operation is now hours behind schedule, and thus Washington considers abandoning the attack several times throughout the night. But he finds resolve in his men, all who continue onward - albeit slowly - toward Trenton; John Stark & his New Hampshiremen at the front. The sun has already risen by the time the Patriots arrive on the outskirts of the town. They’ve lost the element of surprise, have less than half the men they intended, and those who survived the brutal river crossing & march are soaked & chilled to the bone, many finding their rifles & powder too wet to fire. It is in this moment that John Stark orders fixed bayonets, and leads his charging men down 2nd Street into the town of Trenton. “John Stark had a reputation as a fighter. He was devoted to the revolutionary cause and wrote often to his wife that he was determined to “live free or die,” a phrase his state later made its motto. Stark had trained his New Hampshiremen to use the bayonet, and he led them through the fields along the River Road. The Hessians were astonished to see the despised American rebels running toward them through the storm with fixed bayonets.” -David Hackett Fischer, “Washington’s Crossing” Major James Wilkenson of the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles - who were formed with the brigade directly behind Stark’s New Hampshire Regiment during the assault - wrote about this moment in his memoir of the battle: “We soon marched, Colonel Stark in command of the advance guard, with orders to clear their muskets as best they could as they moved. It was now broad day, and the storm beat violently in our faces. The attack on the left was immediately answered by Colonel Stark in our front, who forced the enemy’s picket and pressed it into town, our column close at his men’s heels. The enemy made a momentary show of resistance by a wild and undirected fire from the windows of their quarters, which they abandoned as he advanced...While I render justice to the services of [other fellow officers], I must not withhold due praise to the dauntless Stark, who dealt death wherever he found resistance, and broke down all opposition before him.” -Major James Wilkinson, 1st PA Rifles The fight was over in an hour: By mid-morning, the Hessians were forced out of the streets and into the orchard field just east of the town. It was here they would find themselves surrounded, surrendering to General John Sullivan (of Somersworth NH), who assumed the rear of the town upon hearing 3000 of their men were unable to cross. Washington’s army would find a bounty of arms & supplies, as well as take over 800 prisoners, all with only a handful of casualties. In one daring assault, the Patriots had defeated some of the most renowned soldiers seen at that point in history. The Battle of Trenton became an instant turning point in the war, saving the cause itself. Having previously been an army constantly on the defensive, or on the run, this served as their first successful offensive operation. The Patriots had finally proven they could hold their own against some of the best, most fierce soldiers in the world. Days later, as enlistments were expiring, many opted to remain with the army, reinvigorated by their victory over the Hessians. Furthermore, as news of the victory spread across the colonies, new enlistments rose dramatically. John Stark personally appealed to his men, convincing all to stay with him in the fight rather than return home to the Granite State. On January 3rd, 1777, they would go on the offensive yet again at Princeton, winning gloriously once more in the cold ice & snow. Thus, without the daring & courage of Colonel John Stark & his New Hampshiremen, the victory at Trenton may never have been, and the cause for independence would have certainly been lost. Note: We want to give a big shout-out once again to the team at the NH Historical Society for all of their help & expertise in this effort to share the stories of the NH Regiments. If you’re interested in NH’s history, they’re worth a visit. Please consider supporting their work here: https://www.nhhistory.org/Join/Donate/Ways-To-Give. Cheers! Andrew McClary was already plowing his field when first light hit on the morning of April 20th, 1775, as the alarm horn was sounded from Epsom town center. Without a second thought, he dropped his work, grabbed what belongings he could from his home, then rounded up fellow men from town and hit the road. “Like the Roman Cincinnatus, he left the plow in the furrow, hastily armed himself, and dashed off to Deerfield accompanied by a few daring spirits.” -Elliot Cogswell, History of Nottingham, Deerfield & Northwood NH By 1 o’clock that afternoon, McClary stood at the front of just over 80 men gathered from the neighboring towns of Northwood & Deerfield, leading them south for Massachusetts with great haste. By nightfall, they arrived in Andover where they stopped for supper. Instead of staying in town until morning, they continued onward and marched all night. By sunrise on the 21st - less than 48 hours after the British marched on Lexington & Concord - McClary reported to the Patriot headquarters in Cambridge, having led his men 70 miles in under 24 hours. No joke. -------------------- Andrew McClary was a badass. In 1730, he became the first of his family to be born in the New World, the son of immigrants from Ulster, Ireland. They settled in Epsom, NH, where Andrew would be raised, spending much of his youth climbing Fort Mountain & exploring the surrounding NH countryside. He became an avid outdoorsman, tracker & hunter, then, as a teenager, joined the local militia to serve as a scout. He was also the local champion in boxing & wrestling; he would go undefeated in both. And one can see why: The man stood over 6 and a half feet tall, and was built like an ox. One local described him as “straight as an arrow, finely proportioned, symmetrical of form, every muscle well formed, rough and ready, jovial, generous, with a stentorial voice, blue eyes, florid complexion. Such a man would be picked out of a thousand as born to command.” Andrew also excelled as a soldier in the militia. So much in fact that he was selected to join the famous “Roger’s Rangers,” fighting alongside the likes of John Stark & John Goffe throughout the French & Indian War (1754-1763), rising to the rank of Captain. He was a favorite officer, nearly six and one-half feet in height, with a Herculean form, a voice like Stentor and strength of Ajax, never equaled in athletic exercises and unsubdued in single combat. Whole bodies of men had been overcome by him, and he seemed totally unconscious that he was not equally unconquerable at the cannon’s mouth. -Warren Tripp, “The McClary’s of Epsom” Following the war’s end in 1763, Andrew returned to Epsom, where he took charge of the family farm & tavern he had built with his father in his youth. Over the next several years, he would become a successful entrepreneur & leader within the community. His ventures grew to the point where he volunteered his tavern to become the town meeting place (since it was the largest building in town), and the adjacent land the local militia’s muster field (which he maintained himself). Of he and his neighbors, it was said, “they were a people who would praise good whiskey and drink it; and damn bad whiskey, yet drink it with equal relish.” One tale from his past tells of a bar fight at a Portsmouth tavern, where Andrew overwhelmed six uniformed British officers who attempted to tackle him after a spirited debate over several drinks, throwing each -one after the other - through a window and out onto Court Street. In December of 1774, he was again in Portsmouth - this time alongside future war heroes John Langdon & John Sullivan - leading the raid on Fort William & Mary to seize all of its arms & supplies (which would be used to combat the British at Boston a few months later). Now, at the close of April 1775, he is gathered among more than a thousand spontaneously mustered NH citizens along the southern slope of Winter Hill, overlooking the besieged city of Boston. Their first order of business is to organize into something resembling a military regiment, and thus hold a vote to elect their officers. John Stark of Manchester - the well-known, outspoken hero of Roger’s Rangers fame - is chosen as their commander. Second in command goes to Andrew McClary. -------------------- June 17th, 1775 brings the Battle of Bunker Hill, and McClary’s finest - and final - action. Less than a couple months into the Siege of Boston, the Patriots are looking to tighten their lines around the city by building fortifications at Bunker & Breed’s Hills just outside Charlestown during the night of June 16th. On the morning of June 17th, the British wake up to the sight of rebels digging these defensive positions directly across the river from Boston’s North End; too close for comfort. General Howe wastes no time, launching a full attack by land & sea to remove the Patriots from the Charlestown peninsula. The New Englander’s respond in kind, ordering reinforcements to Charlestown to support the badly outnumbered Patriots. The New Hampshire Regiments are some of the first to arrive at the Charlestown Neck - a narrow land bridge connecting Charlestown peninsula to the mainland - but they aren’t the first: Massachusetts Regiments under Colonel Samuel Gerrish are halted in the road leading to Charlestown. Why? Because upon first seeing the thousands of British troops landing on the shores & several warships bombarding the Patriots from the Charles River, Gerrish & his officers are refusing to take the field. In response, Andrew McClary pushes his way to the front, demanding they move out of the way if they do not intend to fight. “The fire of the gunboats and warships had turned the Neck into a terrifying war zone...it was hardly a surprise that a crowd of fearful soldiers was now blocking the approach to the Neck. In his deep and booming voice, Major McClary demanded that the officers and their men immediately step aside so Colonel Stark & his regiment could march to Bunker Hill.” -Nathaniel Philbrick, “Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution” Note: Colonel Gerrish was court-martialed by General Washington following the battle, charged with cowardice. He was found guilty & discharged from the Continental Army. Once through the neck, they followed Colonel Stark & Major McClary through the cannonade to the base of Bunker Hill, assuming the critical flank position along the rail fence to the Mystic River on the Patriot’s left. It was here the British would endure their greatest losses during the first two assaults, with McClary proving himself a superior combat leader once again: “During this tremendous fire of musketry and roar of cannon, McClary's gigantic voice was distinctly heard, animating and encouraging the men as though he would inspire every ball that sped with his own fire and energy.” -Samuel Swett, “History of Bunker Hill Battle” When British reinforcements arrived later in the afternoon, General Clinton redirected them away from the Patriot flanks & towards the defenses atop Breed’s Hill for their third, and only successful, assault. While the regiments from NH held the field to cover the retreat of their fellow New Englander’s from Connecticut & Massachusetts, it was McClary who was the last man to leave the field, covering the NH men’s retreat back to the Neck. One of his childhood friends and fellow officers wrote of this moment, when they reached the Charlestown Neck immediately following the battle. Note: I include his full account because it’s told far better than I could ever reiterate: “A heavy cannonade was kept up upon our line and redoubt, from the commencement to the close of the action, and during the retreat; but with very little effect, except that of killing the brave Major Andrew McClary of Col. Stark's regiment soon after we retired from Bunker Hill. He was among the first officers of the army - Possessing a sound judgment, of undaunted bravery, enterprising, ardent and zealous, both as a patriot and soldier. His loss was severely felt by his compatriots in arms, while his country was deprived of the services of one of her most promising and distinguished champions of liberty. After leaving the field of battle I met him and drank some spirit and water with him. He was animated and sanguine in the result of the conflict for independence, from the glorious display of valor which had distinguished his countrymen on that memorable day. He soon observed that the British troops on Bunker Hill appeared in motion, and said he would go and reconnoitre them, to see whether they were coming out over the neck...After he had satisfied himself that the enemy did not intend to leave their strong posts on the heights, he was returning towards me, and when within twelve or fifteen rods of where I stood, with my company, a random cannon shot, from one of the frigates lying near where the centre of Craigie's bridge now is, passed directly through his body and put to flight one of the most heroic souls that ever animated man. I had him carried to Medford, where he was interred, with all the respect and honors we could exhibit to the manes of a great and good man. He was my bosom friend; we had grown up together on terms of the greatest intimacy, and I loved him as a brother.” -Captain Henry Dearborn of Epping He was buried somewhere in the Medford/Somerville area, alongside dozens of fellow men from NH who fell during the battle. While his burial site has been lost to history & no monuments have been erected to commemorate him, the memory & benefit of his heroic efforts remains. “Thus fell Major McClary, the highest American officer killed at the battle, the handsomest man in the army and the favorite of New Hampshire troops. His dust still slumbers where it was laid by his sorrowing companions in Medford, unhonored by any adequate memorial to tell where lies one of the heroes who ushered in the Revolution with such auspicious omens. His death spreads a gloom not only over the hearts of his men, but all through the Suncook valley; his sun went down at noon on the day that ushered in our nation’s birth.” -Daniel Webster, at the Dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument Bar story: Tonight, in 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment led Union forces across the narrow beaches of Morris Island in the main assault on Fort Wagner; the key defensive position protecting the harbor of Confederate-held Charleston, SC. The 54th Massachusetts - renowned as the first regiment comprised of African-American enlisted soldiers - was formed by Governor John Andrew following the Emancipation Proclamation. Recruitment was assisted by famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass (two volunteers being his sons) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (who also frequently attended their training in Boston). Selected to command the unit was Robert Gould Shaw; the son of prominent Boston abolitionists, a veteran of many battles with the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry (including Antietam), and the recipient of 2 Purple Hearts. He accepted the assignment, was promoted to Colonel, then made for Boston to begin organizing and training the new regiment. Although the Confederacy had recently issued a proclamation stating they would execute any captured African-American soldier - or white officer leading them - far more men came forward to volunteer than required. So many in fact, that the 55th Massachusetts was formed with the surplus. After months of training and with a building hunger to prove themselves in battle against the Confederacy, the 54th Massachusetts - 1,007 enlisted African-Americans and 37 white officers - gathered on the Boston Commons and, with great fanfare & celebration throughout the city, began their March south to join the fight. Before departing, Shaw wrote to his father, “There is not the least doubt that we will leave the State with as good a regiment as any that has marched." Upon arrival in South Carolina, Colonel Shaw was disappointed to find his regiment was not slated to join combat units at the front due to questions regarding their readiness & ability. After lobbying his commanders, the 54th was attached to General Quincy Gillmore’s division to assist in occupying James Island - located immediately south of Charleston - on July 8th as part of a larger campaign to take the city. It was here where Shaw’s men saw their first action: Confederate units moved to retake the island, but were successfully repelled by the 54th during the Battle of Grimball’s Landing on July 16th. Although not a major engagement, the men of the 54th had proven themselves in combat, earning a reputation for their effectiveness and composure. The next day, Union Generals began planning their assault on the Confederate’s main defensive position protecting Charleston Harbor: Fort Wagner. Fort Wagner was well protected, not just by its man-made defenses, but also by it's surrounding geography. With the Atlantic to the east, harbor to the north, and thick marshland to the west & south, the only ground approach was a narrow strip of sandy beach barely 60-yards wide; enough space to move only one unit at a time. Soldiers advancing on its walls would need to move quickly over a 1000 yards through this narrow stretch while under concentrated artillery and rifle fire. Colonel Shaw - fresh off his first victory as commander of the 54th - requested his regiment lead the assault. General Gillmore granted his request. In preparation, Union artillery and naval guns bombarded the fort throughout the day on the 18th of July. At dusk, the barrage ceased, and the 54th Massachusetts began their march forward, Colonel Shaw at the front. ---------- One soldier within the ranks of the 54th that night was a young man named William Harvey Carney. Born a slave in Virginia in 1840, Carney escaped north to Massachusetts via the Underground Railroad, settling in New Bedford. Upon hearing of the formation of the 54th, he traveled to Boston to volunteer, not wanting to miss the opportunity to return south to fight. During training, Carney quickly emerged as a disciplined soldier and capable leader among his fellow volunteers and thus, was promoted to Sergeant in C Company. Now standing on the beaches of Morris Island, with Fort Wagner ahead of him, Carney and his fellow soldiers set off and advanced quickly as the sun began to set. Almost immediately, the regiment began to take indirect fires from artillery, and endured continued fire throughout their approach. Although Carney would be hit during advance, and as many others around him fell, he continued forward towards Fort Wagner directly behind Colonel Shaw. The men cleared the narrow beach and neared the fort’s walls when the color guard (the soldier carrying the US flag into battle) took a fatal shot. Carney - charging beside him - quickly grabbed the flag and continued onward towards the wall. Those of the 54th who made it to the fort began to advance up its sandy walls as reinforcing regiments attempted to make their way across the beach behind them. Shaw and Carney were among the first to make it to the top; Carney planted & waved the flag from atop Wagner’s walls to rally the charging men as Colonel Shaw and the rest of the 54th poured over the walls around him and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Yet, they would be the only Union men to enter the fort that night. Regiments outside were unable to make it over the walls, and the 54th - now on their own - was eventually overwhelmed & pushed back. Colonel Shaw would fall fighting at close quarters atop the parapet; he was 25 years old, and buried in an unmarked mass grave in the sands outside the fort. Carney, severely wounded, ended up at the base of the walls. With his last ounce of strength he struggled to make it back across the beach to his lines, still maintaining a tight grip on the flag until he was finally carried from the field. A writer from the United States Service Magazine, who witnessed the battle first hand, captured this moment: “As our forces retire, Sergeant Carney, who has kept the colors of his regiment flying upon the parapet of Wagner during the entire conflict, is seen creeping along on one knee, still holding up the flag, and only yielding its sacred trust upon finding an officer of his regiment. As he entered the field-hospital, where his wounded comrades are being brought in, they cheer him and the colors. Though nearly exhausted with the loss of blood, he says, ‘Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground.’” For his actions and bravery under fire that day, William H. Carney would be awarded the Medal of Honor; the first African-American to do so. The official citation accompanying the award states: “When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.” After nearly a year of recovery, Carney would be honorably discharged from service. He returned to New Bedford where he first took a job maintaining the city’s street lights, then made a career in the mail service. After retiring from 37 years with the postal service, he served in the Massachusetts Department of State office at the State House. William Carney died in December of 1908 at age 68, buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford; an image of the Medal of Honor engraved on his headstone. The performance of Sergeant Carney and the 54th Massachusetts at the Battle of Fort Wagner ended any debate about African-American’s ability to serve alongside their fellow countrymen. The 54th continued fighting throughout the South - as did the many other integrated units which followed - until the war’s end in 1865. Bar Story: It was on the evening of April 18th, 1775, that Paul Revere climbed into the rowboat he hid days before along the north shore of Boston, and made his way across the harbor under cover of darkness. Behind him, two lights could be seen hanging in the steeple of the Old North Church, alerting the militia in Charlestown ahead of him. They received him on the banks of the Charles River, where he was provided a horse for his ride. This is a moment years in the making: New England had already built a reputation of civil disobedience against British rule, with Boston becoming the most notorious. After a decade of insubordination, King George declared the colonies in outright rebellion, and ordered General Gage - commander of the British army occupying Boston - to arrest rebel leaders to stand trial for treason, as well as march his army out to the Massachusetts countryside and seize the arms & supplies of local militias. However, the people of Massachusetts were prepared: their Provincial Government - led by rebels such as Samuel Adams & John Hancock - had spent the fall of 1774 building a system of routes, riders & militiamen designed to “alarm & muster” a large force trained to “turn out for service at a minute's notice.” In the greater Boston area alone, over 16,000 “minutemen” quietly enlisted and began to train. As the sun set on the 18th of April, Doctor Joseph Warren of Boston - later General Warren of Bunker Hill fame - received word that the British were making their move, gathering the majority of their troops on the Commons to be ferried to Cambridge. He needed to get word out, but Boston was already under martial law, and with darkness setting in, mounted patrols were out & no one would be allowed to enter or leave the city. At 9pm, he called on silversmith Paul Revere & tanner William Dawes, giving them instructions to ride to Concord - location of both the Provincial Government & militia stores - and trigger the alarm along the way. Revere was to try and go north across the Charles River, while Dawes would attempt to go south across the Boston Neck. Contrary to popular belief, the lanterns hung in the Old North Church were not intended to alert Revere, but were Revere’s idea to notify the militia across the river of which route the British were taking in order to coordinate their movements, and in case he didn’t make it out of the city. That evening, on the way to his hidden boat, Revere stopped at the Old North Church and instructed Robert Newman - sextant of the church - to hang the lanterns. And so it was that, just after 10pm, the lanterns were hung as Paul Revere rowed across the river, successfully sneaking past HMS Somerset sitting at anchor, which was providing protection over the British soldiers landing at Cambridge. Revere would ride quickly through Charlestown, Somerville, Medford, Arlington and finally into Lexington, where he would arrive right around midnight. At each stop, he cried “the Regulars are coming out!” as minutemen poured into the streets and increasing numbers of riders were dispatched out to further communities. The alarm had been given, and the people mustered. There were countless other riders, most of whose names have been lost to history, who spread the word across New England and the colonies beyond. Without their planning, determination and effort, the American Revolution would not have been. Riders Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, William Dawes, Israel Bissel and the many others have thus earned their place in our nation’s history. In addition to other express riders delivering messages, bells, drums, guns, bonfires, and trumpets were used for rapid communication from town to town, notifying the rebels across Massachusetts to muster their militias. This system was so effective that people in towns 25 miles from Boston were aware of the British army's movements while they were still unloading their boats in Cambridge. In matter of days, the news made it all the way to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The quickly massing militias caused the British to fail in their mission; they met defeat at the Battle of Concord, and were forced to retreat back to Boston. Following the battle, General Gage offered a pardon to all who would "lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peaceable subjects.” There were no takers. In the days which followed, militiamen from across New England arrived and surrounded the city, thus beginning a nearly year-long siege. General Washington would arrive & take command later that summer, and the British would finally evacuate Boston in March, 1776. Fun fact: The Lexington Green hosted the start of the American Revolution for one reason only: it was the site of the Buckman Tavern (still standing), which was a favorite hangout for the Lexington Training Band (militia) after a day of training on the green. So much in fact that the tavern became the rally point for the unit when the alarm was sounded. On the night of April 18th, they mustered at the tavern in the middle of the night, and enjoyed pints of ale as they waited for the British to arrive. They also failed to stop the British advance 🤷‍♂️ Bar story: It was on this day in 1794 that Congress passed the “Naval Act,” which authorized the building of six frigates; our nation’s first warships. Joshua Humpreys - a shipbuilder and naval architect from Philadelphia - was selected to design them. The challenge he was presented was much more than designing a few ships; since only six would not rival any of the other established fleets of the world, he had to reimagine what a frigate was in order for them to compete on the high seas. His vision: the largest, heaviest & fastest ships ever built; mighty enough to beat any opponent in battle, yet fast enough to outrun all others when outnumbered. Humphreys’ final designs were the most complex ever attempted to that point in the history of shipbuilding. President George Washington selected the 6 shipyards where the ships would be built simultaneously. “Frigate B” was to be built at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston’s north end. Frigate B would be one of the larger ships at 50-guns, and thus Humphreys’ design called for a complex bill of raw materials. Roughly 60 acres worth of trees were required for her construction: Live Oak - a sturdy, dense hardwood which is difficult to cut and work with - from St. Simon island in Georgia was used for her heavy frame. The keel and hull were built of White Oak from across New England, while her masts were of tall White Pine (of course) from Unity, Maine. From those masts, 36 sails made of flax at the Boston Manufacturing Company were hung, totalling over 42,000 square feet (or roughly one acre). Her large, 5000+ lb anchors were cast by Nathaniel Cushing of Pembroke, MA. The anchor cable was woven of hemp, measuring 22-inches in diameter and over 700 feet long; it took nearly 300 men to carry the rope from Jeffrey’s wharf at the North Battery down the street to Hartt’s shipyard to be installed on the frigate. The North End’s own Paul Revere would cast the thousands of copper bolts & fasteners for her hull, as well as her 250-lb bell. This was construction on a scale not yet seen for a frigate. She was so large & heavy that when the builders attempted to launch her in September of 1797 (an event attended by President John Adams), her hull forced the ways (ramps) into the earth and she came to a stop after sliding only 27 feet. It took a month to rebuild the ways for another attempt. Finally, on October 21st, 1797, she was successfully launched into Boston Harbor. With a bottle of Madeira wine broken over her hull, she was christened the USS Constitution. The Constitution would become famous at the onset of the War of 1812: as the US declared war on Britain in June 1812, over 80 Royal Navy vessels were operating in American waters. The US Navy, by comparison, was a much smaller fleet of only 22 ships; the original 6 frigates among them. Yet, with a max expected lifespan of only 10 to 15-years after their completion, they were aging. Thus, the British were heavy favorites on the seas. After a resupply, the Constitution set out of Boston in August of 1812 with the intent of raiding British merchant ships. She instead came face-to-face with the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. As they closed, Guerriere was first to break and fire off full broadsides at Constitution. It was during this initial barrage that cannonballs from Guerriere were witnessed “bouncing” off the sides of the Constitution. In this moment, a crew member is said to have cried out “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!” Constitution continued to close rapidly as she took fire, maneuvering within 25 yards before opening up her first full broadsides of grape and round shot. This barrage brought down Guerriere’s masts and crippled her; the British surrendering shortly after. Captain Isaac Hull of the Constitution took Guerriere’s crew prisoner, then set fire to what remained of the tattered vessel. #BurntheShips Word of their decisive victory spread quickly, and the Constitution was given a hero’s welcome upon her return to Boston. Although the loss of Guerriere was insignificant to the British (who maintained a worldwide fleet of over 600 ships at the time), the battle provided a tremendous boost to American morale & patriotism during the war, serving as proof we could hold our own against the world’s best. After the stories of British cannon being unable to penetrate her mighty, New England-built oak hull, the Constitution earned the nickname “Old Ironsides.” Years later in 1830, when rumors the Navy was planning to scrap her, thousands of Americans from across the country wrote letters urging she be saved. The Navy obliged. She has undergone many refits in the years since, but the USS Constitution still serves today as the oldest active vessel in the United States Navy, stationed at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Fun fact: During WW2, 1st Armored Division (with whom Able brewers Mike & Carl both served with) was nicknamed “Old Ironsides” by General Bruce Magruder in honor of the Constitution. Image: USS Constitution setting sail at her 200th anniversary in 1997, with destroyer USS Ramage, frigate USS Halyburton and the Blue Angels. Bar story: It was in the early spring of 1826, as the snow and ice from winter began to thaw, that the waters of the Nashua River were set loose into the town’s newly dug canal, providing the first power to the turbines at Nashua Manufacturing Company’s Mill #1 in downtown. This was a defining moment for Nashua, as the town would quickly grow to become a centerpiece of New England manufacturing. Downtown alone would go on to lead in the production of textiles, shoes, steam boilers, paper, tools, lumber, furniture and more. Even armor for our nation’s first iron-clad warship - the USS Monitor (which has its own story to tell) - was forged at the Nashua Iron & Steel Company on East Hollis Street. By the 1860’s, six separate rail lines would run through the city, with over 50 trains coming and going each day to bring its goods across the country. This expansion was not the product of one person’s ingenuity & know-how, but of many. Daniel Abbot - one of Nashua’s founding fathers - led a group of local entrepreneurs in chartering the would-be Nashua Manufacturing Company in 1823, believing the Nashua River and surrounding community held great potential. They envisioned a canal running from Mine Falls (today, a fantastic city park) into the center of town, where its waters would power a series of manufactories that would serve as the foundation for a new city. Daniel Webster was among the company’s founders, and its largest investor. They hired James Baldwin - a young, ambitious civil engineer - to construct the canal. After surveying the terrain, he spent the entirety of 1825 with his crew of locals reshaping the earth from Mine Falls to near the Main Street Bridge (which was also first built in 1825 by the Nashua Mfg Co). At completion, the canal was 3-miles long, 60-feet wide, 6-feet deep, and handled a 33-foot change in elevation. The canal’s locks were constructed of solid stone measuring 24-feet high, 10-feet wide and 82-feet long, and set in place by Baldwin’s team. The canal’s dams & locks, as well as Nashua Manufacturing Co’s first mill buildings, were all designed by famed New England architect - and one of the fathers of American Architecture - Asher Benjamin. He also designed Nashua’s Unitarian Church on Canal Street (still standing), as well as inspired many of the city’s historic Federal style homes in the north end, including Daniel Abbot’s (now the Abbot-Spaulding Museum operated by the Nashua Historical Society; go check it out). His federal building style became a staple in Nashua’s early architecture, including with the first City Hall (1843), designed by Nashua inventor & architect (and student of Asher's), Samuel Shepard. In the years that followed the opening of the canal, Nashua became a boomtown. Within a decade, the population more than tripled as more factories, shops, homes, schools, churches and infrastructure were built. Nashua quickly evolved into a city of innovative builders, tinkerers, craftsmen and inventors, all who played a vital role in our country’s growth during those early, defining years. Very Able indeed. “When we see the position Nashua assumed as the mother of new enterprises, we wonder at the results...Any history of Nashua that left the workers (the men & women who work with their hands) out of consideration would not be complete. It was the superior intelligence of the help, rather than their acquired skill, to which we are indebted for the results.” - Edward Everett Parker, “History of the City of Nashua,” 1897 “Why, I could make anything anybody wanted—anything in the world, it didn't make any difference what; and if there wasn't any quick new-fangled way to make a thing, I could invent one—and do it as easy as rolling off a log...A man like that is a man that is full of fight—that goes without saying.” -Mark Twain, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, 1889 Following the American Revolution and ratification of the Constitution, our new nation ventured forward into the unknown; no one was quite sure what would become of a culture who embraced the then-radical ideas of individualism, liberty and free markets in a world run by monarchies and mercantilism. It was a rough go at the start: In the 1790’s, the United States was well behind the developed nations of western Europe, lacking industry, population and funding; aspects we had become reliant upon from England during our colonial days. As colonies, the majority of our economy was agrarian, centered around producing raw materials for the British Empire. America didn’t produce finished goods, didn’t invent new technologies, and lacked even the most basic of resources to participate in either. But then, something happened. Within the span of a generation, the United States suddenly emerged as a global economic powerhouse. We became leaders in the production of iron and steel, textiles, boots and shoes, paper, packaged foods, firearms, machinery, engines, tools and more. Our once-hostile frontier was quickly conquered by a series of roads, canals and railways. Wild new inventions and innovations became a staple of American culture, as one European attendee at the Centennial Exhibition remarked, “the American invents as the Italian paints and the Greek sculpts. It is genius.” By the 1840’s, we were exporting everything from small tools to steam locomotives back over to Europe. The US economy’s shift was so profound that in England, Parliament formed a special committee to investigate and report on what had become known around the world as the “American System.” One historian even notes that although we were once “monarchical, hierarchy-ridden subjects on the margin of civilization, Americans had become, almost overnight, the most liberal, the most democratic, the most commercially minded, and the most modern people in the world." So, what happened? Modern historians and economists continue to debate this period of American history today since, in many other parts of history, large leaps by a nation or society can typically be attributed to a key event or innovation; but this is not the case in the United States following the Revolution. We had none of the ingredients deemed necessary to quickly and profoundly change the landscape of the global economy, yet we did so anyways. “The contrast between the mechanical capabilities of [New England] craftsmen in 1800 and in 1850 is so striking that it would appear to demand an explanation.” -Eugene S. Ferguson, “The Origin and Development of American Mechanical ‘Know-How’”, 1965 And the best explanation many have pointed to is a rather un-academic one: “Yankee Ingenuity.” The term Yankee Ingenuity refers to the dogged determination of the citizenry to get things done, no matter the challenge. You could call it work-ethic, creativity, talent, imagination, genius or just plain stubbornness, and you wouldn’t be wrong; one could argue it’s a combination of all of the above. In essence, New Englanders know how to “get sh*t done.” As such, projects thought to be impossible at the onset were worked tirelessly until complete, and then improved upon continuously by others: The Erie Canal, the great factories of New England, massive steam engines, expansive railroads, and thensome. Towns grew into cities rivaling those of London and Paris, production and exports skyrocketed, and our once poor nation quickly became a wealthy superpower. It was with this home-grown Ingenuity from the countryside of New England that America was built. “You can hardly find an eminent Yankee inventor or machinist who didn’t spring up from what has been called ‘that best school of mechanics,’ the New England farm.” -Edmund Fuller, “Tinkers and Genius: The Story of the Yankee Inventors”, 1955 We believe this characteristic is still a part of our culture here in New England; we’re hungry for complex challenges, and are relentless in finding the best solutions for them. As Mark Twain wrote, New Englanders are “full of fight.” Thus, we couldn’t imagine a better name for our latest project: Ingenuity. ------------------------------------ A year ago, we overhauled our production equipment with a new brewhouse and several new fermenters. The move increased our capacity and efficiency, which produced something we’ve rarely seen since opening in 2014: time to dedicate towards new beer designs. Brewing small scale batches, where we can explore various ingredients and methods, is definitely the fun side of beer brewing. Once a recipe is complete and scaled, brewing feels less like an art and more like manufacturing (which, it is). After all, sticking to procedure at scale is key in continuously providing the consistent, quality product you have come to expect and demand. For us at Able Ebenezer, we’ve had to spend the better part of 4+ years dedicated to keeping up with the demand for just 2 of our brands: “Burn the Ships” & “Victory nor Defeat.” Yet, in the spring of 2018, we were finally able to begin firing up our pilot system on a regular basis, producing 5-gallon batches of experimental designs behind the scenes. Many of you who are regulars at the brewery are familiar with these experiments, and have asked repeatedly when we’ll make one available at scale. As such, our team has decided that once a design has been explored, adjusted and perfected to our standards, we will bring it to scale for one production batch as part of a series of experimental beers under the banner of “Ingenuity.” With that, we are excited to announce the release of Ingenuity #1; a New England IPA containing over three pounds of hops per barrel, giving it a strong citrus and tropical fruit aroma and flavor. Since this is new for us - and since we have to keep the core brands flowing - only one batch of #1 will be produced, and it will only be available on draft. Details: The first kegs will be tapped at the brewery on Friday, February 8th @ 4pm. To ensure we have enough volume for our regulars, we will not release any kegs out for distribution. Heads up: we will offer growler and quart fills at the start, but may have to limit them after the initial release. With that, we’re excited to finally share this fun project with you. Thank you for joining us in this effort; it wouldn’t be possible without you. Cheers! A F-18 Super Hornet screams overhead as we walk from the parking lot into the White Labs yeast production facility. Being located across the street from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego (a.k.a. Fighter Town, USA - made famous by the movie Top Gun) already makes the typical run-of-the-mill industrial park a little more exciting. I’m not sure what to expect from a beer tasting at a company known for making yeast, but as a recent homebrewer, with only a couple not-very-good batches under my belt, I’m curious how to make my beers a little bit better. I’m with my roommate David, whose idea it was to come here in the first place. While David helped me with brewing once, I could tell he was more interested in drinking the final product than learning the science behind it. To my surprise, the tasting room opens up to a 40-foot bar with no less than 30 taps on the wall behind it. There is a large menu of beers, all made on-site, separated by style. I’m fascinated as the bartender explains to me everything I didn’t know about yeast, which turns out to be everything: all yeasts are either ales or lagers… ales ferment at room temperature and tend to give off a fruity flavor, while lagers like to be cold and are more “clean” tasting…lager yeasts sometimes smell like rotten eggs when fermenting…the word lager means “to store…” David has had enough of my questions and the bartender’s in-depth answers, and orders the Wheat Ale Flight. I get the hint that it’s time to start drinking and order the IPA Flight. The beers on each flight are exactly the same with the only varying ingredient being the yeast. Same grain, same hops. Each beer tastes completely different! My mind is blown! The taste of clove in Belgian ales…the banana flavor in Hefeweizens…I’m hooked! We each get another flight. I’m on the third one down on a Lager sample board; the Mexican Lager Yeast. “The best one yet,” I tell myself in a mumble under my breath. As a homebrewer, lager beers are tougher to make since they require a dedicated refrigerator, and buying a fridge for something that you do a few times a year was not exactly in my grad school budget. So in my mind, I table the idea of using my new favorite yeast for a time when I have a little more means. But, the chase to find new beer flavors was just getting started. Fast forward: It’s November 2017, and Able Ebenezer has been open for almost three and half years. Carl and I go through the financials and realize that we’re in a position to buy new brewing equipment. It took seven years, but finally, I have the means to buy that lager refrigerator. My excitement finally boils over with a “we should do a Mexican Lager!” Understandably, this is met with confused looks from everyone in the room. Hops and IPAs dominate most beer conversations these days. Nobody knew that I’d often buy Mexican Lagers after work, or that it was a Mexican Lager yeast that fueled my desire to make beer in the first place. But once they saw how serious I was, they jumped on board. They could see that desire and wanted to be part of it. I knew the traditional grain used and I had the yeast I wanted, but I needed help getting the lime-already-in-the-bottle flavor that I thought beers in the style lacked (nailed it with the right combination of hops). I also needed help coming up with name and story that conveyed a Mexican attitude that goes beyond relaxing on the beach. Needless to say, we - the Able Ebenezer team - pulled through. From this experience I’ve realized that nothing is more infectious than desire. People are drawn to its authenticity. So go ahead and show it; chances are you'll inspire those around you and they'll help you take it farther than you ever could on your own. - Mike I’ve worked several jobs over the years. I’ve worked in a restaurant kitchen, done landscaping, been in childcare, worked with at-risk youth, in retail, and now obviously I work in the beer industry. I can say I’ve enjoyed my time at each job I’ve held but that’s mostly because of the people I was fortunate enough to work with. I’ve had to do “professional development” at pretty much all these jobs and for the most part it was always fairly helpful with the work I was doing but I was never really interested in what I was learning. I simply did it because that was what I was supposed to do. Even when it came to school I always loved reading and writing when it was subjects I was able to pick because I would be interested and want to learn about them. That’s probably why I love working at Able Ebenezer so much. I find myself reading articles about brewing, watching TED talks, trying to take free online chemistry classes, and most frequently picking Mike’s and Carl’s brains. It’s a genuine interest I have in beer and brewing, and it’s slowly turning into an obsession. I remember hearing all the time growing up that I should “find what I’m passionate about,” and I desperately tried. I had interests, but they would usually fizzle out after a short time. I thought I had to take the classes I was told to take even if they didn’t interest me; and do the things you’re supposed to do in life. If your passion was for something out of the norm a lot of people would tell you, you can’t do it or that it isn’t realistic or that it’s not the “smart” thing to do. People don’t really take you too seriously when you tell them you have a passion for beer. And at that point in my life beer wasn’t a passion. It wasn’t even really a thought for me. My passions were my friends and family, and simply sharing good stories and ideas with them. It wasn’t until I got to college that I really began finding what had meaning to me. I remember going to certain college classes like statistics and archaeology and by the end of those classes I felt I learned very little. Yet a handful of nights staying up late with a dozen friends and some beer I felt I learned more than all my education combined. We didn’t have a syllabus or textbooks; we simply had our own thoughts and ideas and we were able to listen to each other and challenge each other; and yes, share some beers throughout. One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain who said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” That quote resonates with me because I spent my whole educational career trying to pick one of the subjects I had been presented with in school and make that my passion. But that isn’t how it works. Your passion may not be found in a textbook or a school locker. It’s up to each person to decide what excites them and find a way to make that passion the focus of their work. I truly enjoy what I do and it’s because I’m able to do and learn about the things I genuinely have an interest in. The free beer isn’t a bad perk either. When I was offered the job at Able Ebenezer Brewing Company I had a big decision to make. At that point in my life I was on a path I thought I was supposed to be on. It was the path that people told me was “a good idea” and “realistic.” So I had to choose whether I wanted the life you’re supposed to have or if I wanted to take a risk at doing something I truly wanted to do. I remember thinking for a day or two and talking with my friends and family about what to do. I kept coming back to a quote I came across back in college on one of those nights spent sharing stories and ideas with friends over a few beers. The quote is by a man named Randy Komisar. He said, “and then there is the most dangerous risk of all; the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you’ll be able to buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” You obviously know which path I chose. -Jim
834	dbpedia	1	75	http://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/bostons-railroad-jubilee-episode-203/	en	Boston's Railroad Jubilee (episode 203)	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu…?fit=2500%2C1467	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu…?fit=2500%2C1467	[ "https://i0.wp.com/www.hubhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-statehouse-logo-1.png?fit=248%2C248", "https://i0.wp.com/www.hubhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/patreon_banner.png?w=150", "https://i0.wp.com/www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif?resize=1%2C1&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/www.hubhist...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "jake", "Author jake" ]	2020-09-20T22:00:11+00:00	In September 1851, Boston threw an enormous party, a party big enough to span three days. After 15 years of development, the railroad network centered on Boston stretched out in every direction, linking the port of Boston to the American Midwest and the interior of Canada, with the Cunard line’s steamers giving access to markets … Continue reading Boston’s Railroad Jubilee (episode 203)	en	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu….png?fit=32%2C32	HUB History	http://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/bostons-railroad-jubilee-episode-203/	Jake: [0:00] Hi listeners. Before we start today, did you know that you could help Hub History win a fan favorite award at the 2020 Boston Preservation Awards? Just go to bostonpreservation.org/fan-favorite or look for the link in this week’s show notes. Vote early and often. Intro Music Jake: [0:26] Welcome to Hub history, where we go far beyond the Freedom Trail to share our favorite stories from the history of Boston. The Hub of the Universe. This is Episode 203 The Railroad Jubilee. Hi, I’m Jake. This week I’ll be talking about an enormous party thrown by the city of Boston in September of 1851. I originally planned to air this show last week so it would have corresponded with the anniversary of the event on September 17th through 19th. That’s right. This party was so big that it lasted three days. After 15 years of development, the railroad network centered in Boston stretched out in every direction, linking the Port of Boston to the American Midwest and the interior of Canada, with the Cunard line steamers giving access to the markets in England, to celebrate this new era of railroading the city threw a grand railroad jubilee and invited President Millard Fillmore, the governor general of Canada, and dignitaries from all over the country. Besides commerce and steam locomotives, this episode will highlight a growing split within the Whigs, Boston’s ever present competition with New York City and the seemingly unavoidable rush toward a civil war over the question of slavery. [1:46] But before we talk about Boston’s Railroad Jubilee, it’s time for this week’s Boston Book Club selection and our upcoming historical event. Boston Book Club [1:55] My pick for the Boston Book Club this week is one of my favorite titles about Boston in the 19th century, and it’s the first place I ever read about Boston’s 18 51 Railroad Jubilee, published in 2011. A City So Grand. The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 18 50 to 1900 by Stephen Puleo. Help me turn an interest in Boston history into a tour company and eventually into the podcast you’re listening to right now. [2:24] The book traces the development of Boston in the second half of the 19th century and bold strokes from the rescue of accused fugitive Shadrack mink ins to the sudden influx of Irish immigrants to the construction of America’s first subway. [2:38] Here’s how the authors website describes the book. The second half of the 19th century is, quite simply, a breathtaking period in Boston’s history. Unlike the frustrations of our modern era, in which the notion of accomplishing great things often appears overwhelming or even impossible, Boston distinguished itself between 18 50 1900 by proving a could tackle and overcome the most arduous challenges and obstacles with repeated and often resounding success. A city so grand chronicles this breathtaking period in Boston’s history. For the first time, readers will experience the abolitionist movement of the 18 fifties, the 35 year engineering and city planning feet of the Back Bay Project, the arrival of the Irish that transformed Boston demographically, the Great Fire of 18 72 in the subsequent rebuilding of downtown, Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in Boston and the many contributions Boston made to shaping transportation, including the Great Railroad Jubilee of 18 51, and the grand opening of America’s first Subway, thes stories and many more painting extraordinary portrait of a half century of progress, leadership and influence that redefined Boston as a world class city. Upcoming Event(S) [3:54] And after the upcoming event, I have three options for you to choose from. First Up is a virtual program from the Royal House and Slave Quarters in Medford titled Acts of Rebellion and Envisioning a New Society. The talk this Wednesday, September 23rd, will feature Dr Vincent Brown, who teaches American and African American history at Harvard, and Dr Timothy McCarthy, who is a human rights activist on the faculty of the Kennedy School. Together, they’ll talk about the role of protests and revolts in shaping black resistance and freedom movements, from slave rebellions in the 18th century Atlantic World to the black lives matter movement. Today, registration for the interactive Zoom Oven is limited to the 1st 100 people, though the talk will also be live streamed on Facebook in case of an overflow crowd. [4:44] Next, I want to feature another installment in the reflecting addicts Siri’s from revolutionary spaces as they explore the life and world of Boston massacre victim Christmas addicts to mark the 250th anniversary of the massacre. The event, coming up on September 29th, is titled Imagining Addicts, and it will focus on how addicts has been portrayed in visual media like paintings and engravings. [5:10] As a black man, Christmas addicts didn’t fit the narrative that artists of the time, like Henry Pelham and Paul Revere, tried to portray with their engravings of the massacre. So he was left out of the picture in the 18th century, when addicts was rediscovered in the 19th century, Artist painted him back into the picture, with each successive generation projecting their own values under the canvas. The Panelists for this talk will include a playwright who’s writing a show about Christmas addicts. The living history interpreter plays him in the Boston Massacre reenactment each year and the author of a book about Christmas addicts in American memory. [5:48] And finally, I have another event in the Charter Day, Siri’s from our friends at the Partnership of Historic Boston’s. The partnership is dedicated to telling the stories of Boston, Massachusetts and Boston Lincolnshire, which means that they usually focus heavily on the experiences of the 17th century. Puritans who came for the town in Lincolnshire Toe found the town in Massachusetts on September 30th. Next Wednesday, they’ll be taking a very different approach to the history of 17th Century Boston by highlighting the experiences of the indigenous peoples who lived along the shores of Massachusetts Bay before the Puritans arrived, their guest speaker will be Dr Larry Fisher, Ph. D. In council Chiefs Age Um, who bears the traditional name chief Sachem Wampum Ikhwan Wamp, Attock. [6:37] Dr. Fisher is a direct descendant of the grand stadium Chiquita Bit, who have discussed on the show in the past, and he’s also the presiding council chief Sachem for the Maddock Isa tribe of the Massachusetts nation. Dr. Fisher will interpret the human experiences of the Indian nations of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and their relations with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Here’s how the partnership in the Massachusetts nation described the event the land from the Merrimack River south to the Taunton River was shared among the Massachusetts nation, which includes today’s known surviving tribes. The Maracay Sit Natick, Ponca POG and a mascot. Chief Sachem Larry Fisher and other spokespersons will examine the partially interpreted history of 16th and 17th century Massachusetts up to the present. We believe all aspects of our common history shall be preserved and remembered together. We recognize that only with inclusion, honesty and honoring our individual and distinctive tribal histories well, we truly achieve our mission. [7:41] All three virtual events require advanced registration and all three air free, though a donation is strongly encouraged. As we’ve mentioned on the show in the past, historic sites in history organizations of all stripes are suffering during the pandemic. And just because the doors were closed to visitors doesn’t mean there aren’t expenses. For example, the Royal House discovered a critical threat to their Buildings Foundation that required immediate repair during the lock down, which added to their financial needs. [8:13] So check out the show notes this week at hub history dot com slash 203 for links toe all three upcoming events and a link to purchase Stephen Polio’s a city so grand. [8:26] Before I move on with the show, I just want to thank our patryan sponsors Hub history as a completely independent podcast without the benefits of a corporate parent or a podcast network. Well, that gives us total control over what we cover on the show and how we cover it. It also means that we need sponsors to help us cover the cost of making the show your contributions. Cover website hosting and security podcast media hosting, transcription, audio processing and much, much mawr for his little is $2 a month. You can help us keep making her history. If you’re not a sponsor and you’d like to become one, just goto patryan dot com slash hub history or visit hub history dot com and click on the support link a big thank you to all our new and returning sponsors. And now it’s time for this week’s main topic. Main Topic: Boston’S Railroad Jubilee [9:21] In a city So grand Stephen Polio describes President Millard Fillmore’s grand entrance as he visited Boston for the first time on September 17th, 18 51. [9:32] President Millard Fillmore Road tall astride a black cavalry charger, gazing at the resplendent assembly spread before I’m on Boston Common. Handling his horse with graceful ease. Fillmore High step the Steve between dozens of rows of military regiments, their colors held high, inspecting the men who stood at attention under a red streaked early evening sky. [9:55] Thousands of cheering Boston residents throng the gently rising hill that nearly encircled the field, waving flags and handkerchiefs, echoes of booming cannon discharge. Minutes earlier to announce Fillmore’s arrival on the common hung in the air, the president wrote along the whole front, saluted by each company as he passed artillery and light infantry regiments, rifle brigades and color guards, all part of Massachusetts volunteer militia. Then the line broke into columns and marched in review before the commander in chief and after circling the field, formed in the line again. Later, President Fillmore declared that the crisp display was the finest he had ever witnessed. Bostonians who watched the spectacle agreed this was the president’s first trip to Boston exactly three years before the Fillmore campaign had come to Boston. But Miller himself wasn’t with, um as we discussed back in Episode 1 28 A number of campaign proxies came to Boston, instead headlined by the future president Abraham Lincoln. The country lawyer and first term congressman stayed in Boston from September 25th to the 23rd, stumping for Fillmore in Boston and around the region. [11:12] Perhaps the closest the president Fillmore had gotten to Boston prior to September 17th, 18 51 was through his great grandfather, John Fillmore. Back in 17 23 John was a fisherman from Ipswich who ended up getting taken captive by a pirate named John Phillips. While fishing off the coast of Newfoundland, he was pressed into service on Philips Ship against his will, repeatedly asking to be set free, even if it meant being marooned on a desert island. After seven months among the Pirates film or in another unwilling member of the crew saw their chance, they attacked Phillips and his officers with their tools. John Fillmore personally decapitated Captain Phillips with an ax, then sailed for Boston. About two weeks later, the town was thrown into much surprise when Fillmore arrived in Boston Harbor carrying Captain Phillips head in a pickle jar. [12:10] You can learn more about that and more pirate history. An Episode 80. But in the meantime, I believe that was the last time a film or visited Boston prior to September 18 51 along with the secretary of war in the secretary of the interior president, Fillmore departed Washington, D. C. On Monday, September 15 they took a train from D. C. To New York, then boarded the steamer Bay State for an overnight truck to Newport, where they arrived at 10 a.m. On Tuesday. [12:42] The president and his entourage spent the day in Newport being received by local officials, as well as meeting emissaries from Massachusetts who carried further details about the program of events that would begin. Upon the president’s arrival in Boston, a lieutenant colonel of the state militia described the initial reception that was planned for the president. A part of the militia will be under orders near and at the line of the City of Boston to escort you to the lodgings, which he understands the authorities of that city have provided for you. His Excellency has also instructed us to tender to you a review of the troops composing the escort on Boston common at such hours may be convenient to you, and he’s directed us to attend you in person to the capital of the state, if that should meet your pleasure. The president said that he’d be happy to participate in a military review as long as he could be provided with a good horse so he could review the troops from horseback and not within a carriage. He also waxed effusive about the upcoming celebration, saying almost as much about Boston’s Railroad Jubilee while in Newport as he actually did in Boston. [13:53] In response to a member of the Boston committee, he said, You have eluded sir, to the completion of the long lines of railway connecting the Canada’s and the Great Lakes with Massachusetts and the ocean, as one of the causes which of occasion, this invitation at this time, however gratifying it might be to come amongst you at any time. It is particularly so to be present at the celebration of such an event, for I confess, I feel a deep interest in whatever is connected with the prosperity in the happiness of any part of our common country. Massachusetts has done a much as any portion of the United States to extend and multiply facilities for trade in intercourse. And I am glad, sir, that she has now stretched forth her iron arms to the Great West in the Canada’s. Although I am not sir in favor of annexation in a certain sense of the term, for I think we have territory enough, yet I am entirely in favor of all the means by which the states and countries can be bound together by ties of mutual interest and reciprocal commercial advantage. [14:58] You have also spoken served the establishment of a line of American steamships between your principal city and foreign ports. This, too, is a subject in which I take a deep interest. I rejoice in all measures which extend an increase, our means of intercourse with foreign countries and strengthen and enlarge our foreign commerce. It must have been noticed that the great improvement, which has taken place in our relations with one another and with other countries is owing principally to the rivalry between our great cities, and this is a generous rivalry. New York, as you know, has already completed a great work by which he meant Theirry Canal, which extends her trade to the West and in whatever part of our land these enterprises air begun, we all feel a deep interest in their success, because they served to multiply among us. The resource is of living, and by giving us mutual interests and making us better acquainted with one another, they must strengthen the bonds by which we’re joined together in common union. [16:04] After breakfast on Wednesday, the 17th, the president and his party boarded a steamer for the brief trip to Fall River, at Fall River, he transferred to another steamboat, where he was greeted by members of the Boston committee and gave brief remarks praising Fall River, Boston and Massachusetts in general. After catching his first brief glimpse of the Bay State from Fall River, President, Fillmore aborted the Old Colony Railroad, which took him to Harrison Square in Dorchester. There are more speeches, and a company of lancers accompanied the president’s carriage to the Roxbury town line, where more speeches were given and the party swelled with MAWR officials and more members of the public. They all arrived at Boston Neck to start the official parade at noon, where they were met with a 21 gun salute, much like Lafayette’s visit in 18 24 which you can learn more about in episode 1 63. Every street corner was decked out with flags, red, white and blue bunting and signs bearing patriotic slogans. [17:09] The trip from Washington to the Boston town line had taken from Monday morning toe Wednesday at noon, basically two full days. This was considered a remarkably fast time. When Mayor John P. Bigelow greeted President Fillmore upon his arrival in Boston, both men focused on the changes that had taken place since Boston. First welcome to US President George Washington in 17 89. You can hear more about that visit in episode 1 47. The mayor contrasted the state of the city and nation in 18 51 to that in 17 89. [17:47] Sir, the people of Boston now crowd her gates to receive, with their tokens of honor, the great head of the Republic and in their name, I bid you welcome to this metropolis. We regard it as a happy omen that we receive you on the spot where our fathers gathered to hail the coming of Washington in the first year of his presidency. The contrast exhibited between that period and this is striking and instructive. The salutations extended to the first president, where the offering of only 18,000 inhabitants the welcome tendered to a successor this day is the voice of a population of 140,000. The ruler, who was then received, administered the affairs of less than four millions of people who had but lately emerged from the smoke of a battle for independence. And we’re just beginning under the auspices of Liberty and Union to take rank among the nations of the Earth. You, sir, we acknowledges the executive chief of the population of 25 million’s living in the enjoyment of an amount of prosperity and happiness almost unparalleled in the history of the world. [18:54] In reply, President Fillmore focused on how fast his trip to the hub had been when compared with a certain past president who made a similar ship to Boston. [19:03] You have alluded to the visit of General Washington to this city. What a change has taken place since the time when he first visited the city, not for the purpose of receiving the cordial congratulations of her citizens, but for that of defending her against that great and then adverse power of the mother country. If my memory serves me right, that son of Virginia, he who connected the fate of that state with yours when appointed that Philadelphia commander in chief of the armies of the United Colonies set out forthwith from that place for the seat of war. History tells us that he traveled from Philadelphia to this vicinity in 11 days and that on his arrival, the good people of Watertown gathered together and congratulated him on the speed of his journey. What has brought about this change? Why is it that the distance which it took him 11 days to travel over? And that too, when a most critical state of affairs called for the utmost speed has now been passed over by me as a matter of pleasure in almost a many hours. It is owing in great part to the intelligence of your citizens who have also opened avenues of commerce to the western world, which is now through them pouring into your lap. Her rich treasures. [20:22] The city’s ecstatic reception for the president and the president’s warm reaction stand in stark contrast to Fillmore’s, addressed to the Senate in February of the same year. Nothing could be more unexpected than that. Such a gross violation of law, such a high handed contempt for the authority of the United States should be perpetrated by a band of lawless confederates at noon day in the city of Boston and in the very Temple of Justice. In a community distinguished for its love of order and respect for laws among the people who sentiment is liberty in law, not liberty without law nor above the law. Such an outrage could only be the result of sudden violence, unhappily too much unprepared for to be successfully resisted. It would be melancholy indeed, if we’re obliged to regard this outbreak against the constitutional and legal authority of the government as proceeding from the general feeling of the people in a spot which is proverbially called the cradle of American Liberty. [21:23] For those who might not remember the first couple of months of our podcasts run back in episodes 15 and 16 we discussed Boston’s attempts to rescue prisoners who are being held at Boston’s federal courthouse under the Fugitive Slave Act. In February of 18 51 a group of mostly black abolitionist stormed the courtroom and bodily carried an accused fugitive named Shadrack Mickens out the door. They turned him over to the Underground railroad, which whisked Minkin out of the state and across the Canadian border before the authorities could react. [21:58] Two months later, a man named Thomas Simms was accused under the same law. This time, a long shot planned a spirit. The alleged fugitive away under the cover of night was foiled when iron bars were fitted across his cell window at the last minute. Knowing now that Boston was a powder keg, President Fillmore sent the U. S. Navy toe Holloway the prisoner and deliver him back to bondage. In Georgia, he deputized Boston’s nascent police force, the town marshals as federal officers, and 300 of them march Mr Sims to the docks with swords drawn when it came time to transport him back to slavery. I’ve been trying not to hit people over the head with comparisons between historical tragedies and President Trump lately. But after seeing federal secret police snatch protesters off the streets of Portland and throw them into vans, do you think that the mayor would turn around and invite the president to a jubilee in the city? Or that the people of Portland would turn out by the tens of thousands to cheer him? [22:58] The unexpectedly warm welcome for President Fillmore was due in part to the desperation of the wig party in Boston to tamp down the anger and sectional is, um, that many already feared could cause New England to secede from the union over the slavery issue, sparking a bloody civil war. It was also due in no small part to enthusiasm on the part of the public and the president for railroads. Stephen Polio, notes that the president Waas, a long time devotee of railroads who frequently wove together the themes of commerce, unionism and peace in his speeches in public statements. [23:37] The president was in town, after all, for a Grand Railroad jubilee, which marked the culmination of 15 years of rapid railroad development. Boston The celebration was not for the first railroads, although Boston and the surrounding area made several early advances in railroading. [23:55] As early a 17 99 and certainly by 18 05 rails were being used on Beacon Hill. The anthropologist Frederick Gams jumps through rhetorical hoops in the 1992 article to redefine what we should consider a railroad. In order to call this Beacon Hill contraption, America’s first railroad in 17 99 Charles Bulfinch may have used a railway to help level the top of Beacon Hill, while in 18 05 Silas Whitney used a similar railway to move material for the cut and fill project that filled the flats of Beacon Hill along today’s Charles Street. [24:32] In the article, Gamst quotes a carpenter named Abner House, who worked on the 18 05 project describing the Beacon Hill Railway. [24:42] There was a railroad running in a south westerly direction from the top of the hill. It struck Cedar Street a little to the south of Mount Vernon Street and struck Charles Street on the east side. It was used with a large pulley at the top fastened to each set of cars, and one set of cars went up while the others went down, both being attached together. There were branch rails at the top and bottom. It would be difficult for me to say how many men in teams there were of the branch rails, House said. At the top, they lead the various parts of the hill and those at the bottom at the places they wanted to fill up. [25:24] Gaps describes. The Beacon Hill Railway is being about a quarter mile of wooden rails, with horses and men helping to move the cars when gravity wasn’t enough. [25:34] While the Beacon Hill Railway was a technological marvel at the turn of the 19th century and a boomed the land making efforts of the time, it was still a far cry from what we think of when we hear the word railroad. [25:47] Another local project gets a little closer to the railroads that we know. Starting in 18 26 a railway was constructed in nearby Quincy to bring granite from the vast quarries at the foot of the Blue Hills to a war from the Deposit river three miles away. [26:04] Originally designed to haul the granite selected for the Bunker Hill monument, the Granite Railway deserves its own episode. At some point, it used wooden rails on granite ties with large wooden wagons pulled by horses to haul the granite. The granite railway drove technological advances like turntables and rail switches, and later in the 19th century, it would get absorbed into the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad. [26:30] A decade later, the first modern railroads arose in Boston. In 18 30 a corporation was chartered to build a rail link between Boston and Lowell, and the following year corporations were created to construct lines to Providence and Worcester. [26:47] The Boston and Lowell Railroad roughly followed the course of the old Middlesex Canal, and it terminated near today’s North Station. It opened in May of 18 35. [26:59] The Boston and Worcester Railroad came into Boston, parallel to the Charles River. Then it cut across the unfilled mudflats of the back bay on embankments and short bridges to terminate. Near today’s South Station, opening on July 4th, 18 35 the Boston and Providence came through Canton on a massive granite viaduct, at the time, the largest in the world. It entered the city from the south, also crossing the Back Bay mudflats and making an X on period. Maps were across the Boston and Worcester tracks. The main terminal was in Park Square, and it also opened in July 18 35 after a frenzy of competition to build the first railway into Boston. Three. Open in quick succession In the summer of 18 35 this railroad building craze of 18 35 wasn’t really driven by competition among the Boston area lines. Instead, Boston’s ancient rivalry with New York City drove the construction boom. [28:01] Starting in 18 25 the Erie Canal Open, connecting the enormous natural harbor of New York through the Hudson Valley, up the canal to the Great Lakes, the Port of New York began carrying the commerce of today’s upper Midwest and what was then Western Canada. Boston had long been arrival to New York and Philadelphia when it came to trade with Europe, but without a Hudson River to allow oceangoing vessels to penetrate deep into the interior of the continent, our fair city began to fall behind Justus the rail lines of 18 35 or an attempt to build our way to parity with New York’s Erie Canal. The celebration in 18 51 represented an attempt to build an answer to the ST Lawrence River. Boston’s railroad jubilee was meant to celebrate the opening of a new rail connection between Boston and important new markets in Canada. [28:55] The first letter from the Boston committee that planned the Jubilee to the Boston Atlas describes the importance of this link and the decision to hold a grand celebration. [29:06] The Northern Lines to Canada are now completed. Before the period of the celebration, Boston will be within 12 hours travel of Montreal and during the next winter. The facilities for communication will be such that a revolution in the trade between the Atlantic Coast and the candidates will be affected, after conference with many of our leading merchants and persons connected with great lines of travel, the members of our city government thought that the importance of these means of communication to the trade and commerce of Boston was well worthy the attention of its municipal officers, and that the present period was the most favorable time to commemorate the completion and success of those vast schemes of internal communication, which are citizens had a great sacrifice, has been able to construct. [29:50] It was thought that the commemorative services should be upon a scale commensurate with the magnitude of the enterprises. They were designed to celebrate the officers of the various railway lines in New England and those of our public spirited merchants and capitalists, to whose energy and sagacious foresight our city is mainly indebted for high character, both in our own country and abroad, gave their warm approval to the measure and pledged their aid and cooperation. The work was entrusted to a committee of 23 members of the city government. It was deemed advisable that a deputation from the General Committee should personally visit the Canada’s to seek cooperation of the provincial and municipal authorities and by interviews with the principal business firms and persons connected with or interested in the lines of travel, to secure the attendance of those whose visit to Boston would be the most conducive. To give publicity to the great mass of the people of the completion of the lines of railway. The facility is now open for freight and travel, and the peculiar advantages are City enjoys is the great outlet on the Atlantic Coast for the immense productions of the West and the Canada’s, and also the facilities which are open for the transit of merchandise from foreign ports. Dustin Further Canadian markets. [31:07] The presidents of all the northern lines of Railway from Boston furnish the committee with free passes over the various roads. Our merchants and public men gave them letters of introduction to the Canadian merchants and authorities. They left Boston upon their mission with the determination that every proper effort should be made to render the railroad Jubilee of 18 51 worthy of the great event to be commemorated and the character of the city whose representatives they were. [31:33] Along with a mission to Canada. The Boston committee also invited the president of the United States. [31:40] The president wasn’t just coming to town because he liked trains. However, After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act and especially the violent rescue of shadow rack, mink ins and militarized extradition of Thomas Sims, cracks began appearing in the foundation of the wig party, to which both President Fillmore and Boston Mayor Bigelow belonged. On one side, unionists argued that preserving the United American states was of the utmost importance, and compromising with slavers in the South was distasteful but necessary. They worried about the growing willingness of abolitionists to use violence to achieve their ends, both of the freeing of accused fugitives here in Boston and in the border, violence there was beginning December below the surface in what was then Indian territory, but would soon be known as bleeding Kansas. As we discussed in Episode 1 95. [32:34] On the other side, the Freese Oilers held few illusions that they’d be able to end slavery or even reduce the territory where it was practiced within the U. S. Instead, they were laser focused on preventing slavery from being introduced into the newly created states in the Western frontier. With the annexation of Texas followed quickly by victory in the Mexican American War, the United States suddenly controlled territory, reaching all the way to the Pacific Ocean, including gold rich California. [33:07] If slavery was allowed to expand into this new territory, the Freese Oilers believed it would spell the end of the delicate balance between free labor and slave power that have been maintained since the founding era. They were even rumblings that New England might secede from the union if that happened. [33:25] In the weeks leading up to the jubilee, it seemed uncertain that the president would be able to attend because his attention was diverted onto two crises. First, a group of American mercenaries invaded Cuba trying to end Spanish rule and set up a pro slavery republic that might be annexed by the U. S. Like Texas had been weeks later, for enslaved men escaped from Maryland across the state line into free Pennsylvania. When they’re in, Slaver pursued them onto free soil. A gunfight broke out in Christiana, Pennsylvania, with armed African American vigilantes killing the enslave ER and wounding his son. [34:04] So you can see why, as Michael J. Connelly wrote in a 2006 article, when it came to the railroad jubilee, New England’s wigs were eager participants, for they had faith in the industry’s potential to heal a fractious party and a fractured nation. Railroads would moderate the classic danger to a Republican government. Expansive territory through the blessing of speedy travel. Free soil, wigs and conservative unionist wigs, as well as the diverse populations of South, West and north, would be drawn into closer contact economically and socially, and the resulting familiarity would help end sectional discord for reformers and ministers. Railroads would help end slavery by bringing Southerners north and demonstrating to the efficiency injustice oven expanding prosperous middle class New England. Moreover, railroads were mean to reform or correct. New England’s geographic isolation, justice, dedication and resolve could reform and shape individual souls. So, too, could technological ingenuity devised inventions like railroads to subdue, subvert and conquer nature. [35:16] Thes resounding wig ish themes, conquering political, national and natural divisions and bettering self and nation were present in abundance. At the Boston Railroad Jubilee wig unionists mounted a spirited campaign in the late spring and summer of 18 51 to form a new Massachusetts Union party around Daniel Webster. But many loyal lifelong wigs like Robert Winthrop resisted when went through up emerged as the front runner for the WIG gubernatorial nomination in Massachusetts, Webster and his allies attacked his candidacy. [35:50] Thus, by September 18 51 a further split one between went through its moderates and Webster’s Conservative Unionists splintered the already divided Massachusetts wigs and the party’s chances in the fall elections seem slim. Perhaps the president, who was an attractive candidate for re election in 18 52 especially among conservatives could reunite Massachusetts wigs as well as a bickering nation around the miracle of railroads, whether through turnpikes, canals, telegraphs or railroads. Wigs maintained that increased communication between cities and states reduced prejudice, ignorance and fear and, most important by the 18 fifties would preclude civil war. Fearful of the economic rivalries and political jealousies that could easily develop within a republic, wigs like Fillmore persistently pushed for any method of communication that would break down the barriers of time and space that separated citizens from each other. The more quickly men could travel from Boston to mobile mein toh, Alabama, north to south, the less likely they were to succumb to misunderstanding and violence. Combining a calculating rationalism based on swift technological advances with a soft, reassuring romanticism born of a Republics need for amity and common purpose wigs hoped to forge a national brotherhood on the back of the steam train. [37:17] Planning for the railroad Jubilee proceeded incredibly quickly from concept to execution. On July 14th, 18 51 almost exactly two months before the jubilee actually commenced, Boston Mayor John P. Bigelow proposed a resolution, which was passed by the City Council. It appointed a committee to determine how best to celebrate the upcoming connection of Boston to Montreal by rail. On August 1st, the city published a circular to its residents explaining the proposed jubilee. [37:49] The city government of Boston proposed to celebrate in an appropriate manner the final completion of the great lines of railway uniting the Tidewater at Boston with the Canada’s in the Great West, and also the establishment of American lines of steamers between Boston and Liverpool. The importance of these events, the great social and commercial interests of our city, can hardly be exaggerated. We are now about to realize it is believed, the full benefit of those great enterprises in the perfecting of which we have expended so much capital. The several lines connecting us with the Canada’s northern New York, the Great Lakes in the far west are now completed, uniting us by railroad and steam navigation, with 13 states of the Union, the to Canada’s the Lakes and bringing within our commercial sphere a population of 10 million’s of inhabitants. And now what are the advantages which Boston possesses for doing this immense business thes air so manifest that their importance will be readily appreciated? Her harbor is one of the finest in the world. Her wars and storage accommodations air equal, if not superior to those in any other city and capable of indefinite extension. [39:03] Her local position is unrivaled, and the enterprise and integrity of her merchants are well known. The lines of railway to which we have eluded all center in her and radiate from her. It has ascertained from the actual results of this year’s business that under favorable circumstances, all kinds of provision could be brought from the West through these new lines of communication to Boston, more speedily and at less expense than to any other Atlantic port. [39:31] Merchandise could be landed at Ogdensburg on Lake Ontario, put on board the cars at that place, brought to Boston without transshipment and from here exported to England by means of our steamships in much less time than it could be done by any other route. It seems to us then, that Boston has every facility for becoming a great exporting, as well as importing city cargoes from Liverpool and steamships via Boston may be delivered in Montreal in 12 days. This fact, taken in connection with the fact that the ST Lawrence is closed by ice during five months of the year and that the communication with Boston is uninterrupted during the whole year, must make Boston, as it seems to us, the port of entry for the Canada’s, thus opening to us a business, the extent of which we have not begun to realize in view of the above facts and in conformity with the expressed wishes of many of the citizens of Boston. The city government proposed to celebrate the completion of these lines of railways by a festival in Faneuil Hall and other appropriate ceremonies. [40:38] It is proposed to invite to be present with us on that occasion, the governor general of Canada, his staff and Cabinet, the leading members of the Canadian Parliament, the Corporation of Montreal, the leading merchants in all the Canadian cities, and Ogdensburg, the president of the United States and his cabinet. The governors of the New England States, the presidents of all the railways in New England, the mayors of the cities of New England and others interested in railways and steam navigation. [41:06] We cordially invite the cooperation of our fellow citizens of Boston in order that this celebration, maybe in some degree commensurate with the great importance of the events to be celebrated. [41:17] The 12 hour journey from Boston to Montreal that the jubilee was meant to celebrate was not yet a reality when the Boston committee set out to recruit attendees from Canada on August 9th, just over one month before the Jubilee was set to begin. This was long before Amtrak or the commuter rail or any sort of regional or national rail network. 1930 Retrospective of the Boston Transcripts First Century recalls the patchwork of local railways that existed at the time. [41:48] One railroad was put through after another, generally for local service and as the result of local investment through service, was little thought off. Passengers going to Springfield went by the Boston and Worcester Toe Worcester and then changed cars and proceeded by the Western Railroad. If they were bound for Bellows falls, they changed from the Fitchburg Road to the Cheshire Road in Fitchburg. By the year 18 51 there were 25 separate companies and as many independent railroads operating in New England. [42:22] The committee traveled by rail through Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, changing trains each time One regional railroad ended and a new one began arriving on the shores of Lake Champlain, as closest they’d come to Montreal on this leg of the journey. On August 11th, a steamboat took him across the lake. Then another train took them to the Canadian border on the ST Lawrence River at Ogdensburg, New York From there, they took another boat up the ST Lawrence, across Lake Ontario, and landed in Toronto, the committee reported. The delegation were received at the landing in Toronto by the mayor and members of the corporation and by several of the governor general’s Cabinet ministers. The news of the attended visit to the committee had preceded their arrival, and the authorities have made arrangements to receive and welcome them in a short time. After the arrival of the delegation, the governor general, through the interposition of his aide de camp, assigned an early hour for an interview at the Government House, at the time, appointed the committee, waited upon Lord Elgin and were received with the cordiality which was quite gratifying to them. [43:32] The letters of invitation and introduction were delivered and the objects of the mission were stated. The interview was off the most pleasurable character while they waited to see if the local and national leadership in Canada would accept their invitations to visit Boston for the Jubilee. Members of the committee took in Toronto, writing to the Boston Atlas with detailed descriptions of the city’s water and sewer systems. It’s commercial streets and traffic patterns, and, of course, it’s railroads. [44:03] They also described the chaos of a session of Parliament and the pomp and circumstance of the 71st Regiment of Highlanders. They visited barracks, churches, schools and an asylum where the presence of a black man who’d escaped after being enslaved by Henry Clay led to a discussion of the many so called fugitives who followed the underground railroad across the northern border. [44:27] Finally, the committee got their RSVPs. The Mayor Inc accepted the invitation of the committee to visit Boston at the Railroad Jubilee and the principal Mercantile Houses, to whom letters of introduction had been sent. We’re very much interested in the proposed festivities through the agency of the merchants, bankers and public officers. The names of the most prominent merchants in Canada West were obtained, and invitations were forwarded to their address. [44:56] The committee were gratified that Lord Elgin would accept the invitation of the Boston municipal authorities if the state of public affairs would allow him to leave the province. At the period of the commemorative festivities, his Cabinet ministers, many members of Parliament, officers of the Army and official personages have accepted invitations to be present. [45:18] The committee left Toronto on August 15th and took the long way home. They stopped in Montreal to extend an invitation to the Jubilee to the officials of that town, and they met a long lost friend. Along the way, the delegation met the mayor and corporation at their rooms. Mr Brenly and behalf of the municipal authorities of Boston explained the objects of the mission and extended a formal invitation to the Corporation of Montreal to visit Boston the week of the Railroad Jubilee, the mayor replied in behalf of his associates and accepted the invitation. [45:54] The delegation were gratified to find a native of Boston, a member of the Montreal Board of Aldermen, this gentleman resided in Boston when the present city Hall was erected and worked upon the building at his trade of stonemason. He went to Canada during the last war as a soldier under General Dearborn and after the piece of 18 15 settled in Canada, whereby his enterprising industry he has secured a competence. He assured the committee that he would visit Boston and call upon them in the building, which he worked upon and which they worked in both at Montreal and during their subsequent visit to Quebec. The letters from the Boston committee reveal a healthy dose of that old Yankee bias against all things Catholic. [46:40] The writer remarks disparagingly on the clerical dress of every order of priests, nuns and Jesuits he encounters, and he compares a group of nuns physical appearance unfavorably to the witches in Macbeth. He patronizingly suggests that by visiting New England and personally witnessing the great results which have been attained here within the past 30 years. The people of Canada will have evidence which cannot be mistaken, that by a judicious application of capital and a liberal policy or in a word, by following the example of the people of Massachusetts. A few years only will be required to give such an impetus to their trade manufacturers in agriculture that those now upon the stage will see their cities and towns contained double their present population, and their agricultural district’s become the abode of a frugal, wealthy and prosperous community. [47:32] In a tour of two weeks, the committee spread invitations far and wide, and all of them came with an offer of free tickets to Boston and the next year’s annual report for the Fitchburg Railroad. The company saw a decline in ridership of over 95,000 tickets from the previous year. They said. This wasn’t a true indicator of problems. Instead, they wrote, this decreases in part owing to running a less number of excursion trains in 18 52 and passing a large number and passing a large number free over the road from Canada at the railroad jubilee in September 18 51. [48:13] Notwithstanding, there has been a decrease in the number of passengers carried. There’s been an increase in their earnings received from passengers, the travel averaging longer than in the former year. [48:25] The committee returned from Canada at the end of August on September 89 days before the jubilee was set to begin, the city announced the order of arrangements for the three day celebration Wednesday, September 17th. On this day, the distinguished invited guests of the city will be received with appropriate honors and escorted by a military body and the city government to the house is provided for them. In the afternoon of this day, the various public institutions of the city and points of interest in its vicinity will be visited and the members of the city government will devote the day and attention to their guests. Thursday, September 18th On this day, there will be a grand excursion in Boston Harbor and the various objects of interest there in will be visited. For this purpose, suitable steamers will be engaged and collisions and music provided the shipping in the harbor will be decorated for the occasion. [49:23] Friday, September 19th On the morning of this day, there will be a civic procession escorted by the Boston Brigade, the route on details of which will be announced hereafter the Children of the public schools. So take a prominent part in the proceedings of this day. In the afternoon, a banquet will be given by the city government in honor of their invited guests, which will be held under a pavilion on Boston Common. On the evening of this day, the public buildings of the city will be illuminated and a display of fireworks made from various parts of the city and harbor. [49:57] The City Council’s official report on the Jubilee says. In the last days before the official start of the celebration, the city resounded with the stirring notes of preparation and everything but token, the near approach of the long expected day. The extreme beauty of the weather, the busy activity displayed in the decoration of the streets, the mustering of military companies, the throngs of strangers from all parts of the land, every train bringing accessions of welcome visitors, and the certainty that the president of the United States and the governor general of Canada were on their way hither. All gave promise of a full realization of the most sanguine anticipations. In the course of the day Tuesday, a telegraphic dispatch was received by the mayor announcing that a large number of Canadians, including the city authorities of Montreal, Toronto, Coburg and other places, were on their way to Boston. A committee was forthwith deputed to receive. The guests in 12 carriages were dispatched to the local railroad station to convey them to their respective hotels. Lowell Street was handsomely decorated in honor of the strangers, and the English and American flags becoming Lee arranged in festoons, were displayed near the depot. [51:11] The first day of the Jubilee, as I’ve already described, was largely occupied, with the grand parade escorting the president into Boston and then the military review on Boston Common. When those festivities drew to a close, President Fillmore got settled into his lodgings at the Revere House Hotel, receiving a few visitors, including members of his Cabinet. Then, at 4 p.m. He went up Beacon Hill for a statehouse reception. Their governor, George Boot, well, welcome to warmly inspiring the president to respond and to obliquely addresses earlier harsh stance against Boston’s radical abolitionists. [51:49] You have said, sir, that Massachusetts is prepared to sustain the Constitution in the Union, sir, as I passed through this city and saw its streets lined for miles with a dense multitude of people, and witnessed the perfect order that everywhere prevailed, I could not for a moment believe that this community, though often excited, could ever be brought to commit treason against the United States. Sir, it has been my duty, sometimes a painful one toe. Execute the laws of the Union upon those who did not approve of them. This must inevitably be the case with all who occupy the position which I now hold. But, sir, I see manifested in the faces of this intelligent community that which assures me that insofar as the city is concerned and I believe so far as the state is concerned, this duty, however painful it may be, may hereafter be performed with ease. [52:43] The speechifying continued for quite a while with wigs. Wig Robert Winthrop up next on the subject of railroads, he said, Consider them for an instant in connection with the extent of our own widespread republic. By what other agency than that of railroads? Could a representative government like ours be rendered practicable over so vast a territory? The necessary limits of such a government were justly defined by one of our earliest and wisest statesman to be those within which the representatives of the people could be brought together with regularity. Uncertainty as often is needful to transact the public business. [53:23] And by which do you think, sir, of the old fashioned modes of transportation or travel the stage coach? The pack saddle with long wagon? Could delegates from California, Utah, or even from some of our less recent and less remote acquisitions, be brought to our sessions of Congress at Washington and carried back at stated intervals to consult with the wishes of their constituents within any reasonable or reliable time? Mr Mayor and view of this and many other considerations to which I may not take up further time by alluding and which indeed are too familiar to require any illusion. I feel that it is no exaggeration to say that our railroad system is an essential part of our representative system and that it has exerted an influence second in importance to no other that could be named material political or moral. In binding together in one indissoluble brotherhood, this vast association of American states, it is hardly too much to add that it seems to have been providentially prepared as the great centripetal engine re, which is destined to overcome a neutralized forever. Those deplorable centrifugal tendencies, which local differences and peculiar institutions and sectional controversies have too often engendered. [54:39] The secretary of state was followed by the secretary of the interior and then the secretary of war. After everyone had said their piece. It was time for a formal dinner at the Revere House, and the president was in his rooms by 11 p.m. [54:53] The next morning dawned clear and warm. By that time, there were thousands of visitors in town from around New England. In Canada, they began lining up a long war for early in the morning in hopes of securing a place on one of the eight steamships they would take the president and the other guests of honor on a guided tour of Boston Harbor. The City Council report on the Jubilee estimates that between 3500 and 4000 people managed to pack their way onto the steamers before the scheduled departure time of 10 a.m. arrived. The flotilla paused at the Cunard Line. Wars in East Boston toe formally inaugurate service on the new Grand Junction Railroad, which was the last link uniting Cunard Steamship Service to Liverpool, England, with the Boston Concord Montreal Railway. As the first car ceremonially crossed the town line from Chelsea in the East, Boston then slowly made its way onto the pier, symbolically linking western Canada with old England. Battery of militia cannons fired a 21 gun salute. [55:53] That was far from the last artillery salute fired that day. As the fleet made its way down the harbor, revenue cutters and shore batteries fired repeated 21 gun salutes, while the crowds that lined the shores shouted themselves hoarse and enthusiasm. They steamed out past Castle Island into the outer harbor, then turned south toward Cohasset. President Fillmore wanted a chance to see Minnows Ledge, where to Lighthouse keepers and the original Minnows Lighthouse have been lost in a storm a few months back. The party ran out of time before getting too far out of Boston Harbor, though, and they turned back upon disembarking. It was time for the evening’s many banquets, with the one attended by the president held again at Revere House. In the middle of the meal, Governor General Lord Elgin arrived on the Western Railroad. Along with Lord Elgin came a contingent of advisers, officers and an honor guard, leading to the disconcerting appearance of scarlet clad British officers striding the streets of Boston as though it was 17 70 all over again. This time, however, they got along a bit better with locals. As Robert C. Winthrop recalled in a letter declining a July 4th dinner invite in 18 53. [57:08] Among the most agreeable results of this lapse of time has been the gradual abatement. May I not say the almost complete extinction of those feelings of bitter animosity and resentment toward the mother country, which were so naturally engendered by our long struggle for independence? It was not a little edifying, certainly at your recent railroad jubilee, to find the reappearance of the British red coats in our streets hailed and greeted with as much. Cordy Ality is if they had never been associated with the arbitrary measures of Lord North and governor gauge. After exchanging formal greetings with the mayor at the depot, Lord Elgin was conducted to the president’s table at Revere House that evening. There were no formal speeches. [57:52] Don’t worry, though. On the final day of the Jubilee, there would be plenty of speeches to go around. For everyone. It was another beautiful day. Or, as the City Council report put it, the morning of Friday, Sept. 19 the last day of the celebration, disappointed, no fondly indulged hope but dawned brightly and beautifully, filling the hearts of thousands with joy and gladness and exciting the highest anticipation of pleasure, and all that the morning promised was fully realized. No cloud dimmed the mild splendor of the sun, no harsh breath from the east till the air from sunrise to sunset. The weather was glorious. An entire success crowned all the proceedings of the day. The banks, the custom house, the market house and most of the stores in the business part of the city were closed, and the occasion was observed by all classes of citizens as a holiday. The streets were thronged from early dawn to midnight with dense masses of happy people in holiday attire and on no previous occasion, perhaps in the history of the city, had so large a multitude been gathered within our limits. Yet order and decorum everywhere prevailed and gladness ruled the hour. [59:05] The day’s first event was another parade. President Fillmore wasn’t feeling well, so he decided to watch the procession from his hotel window rather than leading it from horseback. For every militia unit, marching band, government official, railroad company, officer, elementary school class, social club, abstinence society and trade association toe have its moment in the sun took from 9 a.m. Toe lunchtime for lunch. An enormous tent was erected on Boston common for the president, the governor general, the other honorees and tables for 3600 guests. Banner over the main entrance carried a picture of a locomotive and railcars and motion under the motto Literature, Science and the Arts. Encouragement to All Inside the tent was decorated with the flags of the US, Britain and countries around the world. There was bunting and streamers and penance, an enormous maps of the various railroads that connected Boston to the world. [1:00:07] The City Council report includes pages upon pages of detail about the decorations who sat at which table and exactly what was served in each course. Then, only about 15 minutes into the meal, Mayor Bigelow announced that the president would have to leave early to attend to the nation’s business, president, Fillmore, than rose and bade farewell to the city that had so warmly welcomed and lavishly celebrated them just five months after he had threatened to send troops into its streets. [1:00:38] Mr Mayor and fellow citizens and acknowledging the compliment which you have paid the high office, which it’s my fortune toe hold. I rise rather for the purpose of excusing myself than to make an address. You’ve been pleased to drink my health, I would. That it were is perfect on this occasion is it usually is. But unfortunately for me, a slight indisposition within the last 24 hours has deprived me of the pleasure I should have enjoyed this day and participating in your exercises. And I am now incapable of partaking in attempting violins over which your miles of table grown. Indeed, I’m scarcely able to enjoy the Feast of Reason in the flow of soul. And more than all this, I am compelled by imperious circumstances to leave you thus early in the banquet because I feel that my public duties require that I should be in Washington with the utmost possible dispatch, I have stolen from the hours that were perhaps due to the nation Ah, brief space to meet my fellow citizens of Boston. [1:01:38] I meet you as citizens of Boston on this festive occasion. We know no party distinction, fellow citizens, I cannot same or but my heart is full. I had no conception of what I have witnessed today. From my window I thought when I entered your city that I saw Boston in all its glory. I knew that it had its merchant princes. But I did not know until today that it had its mechanic nobleman of nature. But fellow citizens. Pardon me. Permit me to bid you. Would you? I can assure you that this joyous occasion will be remembered by me and that to the latest hour of my life. I shall look back upon it with delight. May our glorious union which sheds its inestimable blessings over 25 millions of happy people, continue until time shall be no Mawr. [1:02:28] Lord Elgin Rose and gave his response. Then, as the president left, the secretary of the interior spoke then the secretary of war. Now that everyone had said goodbye to the president, the rest of the officials returned to their prepared remarks. [1:02:44] The mayor gave an address. Then Lord Elgin rose again to give a longer speech, after offering his regard to the US his pleasure that the rift between Britain and America caused by the revolution had been healed and extolled the benefits of railroads, he began coming to a conclusion. [1:03:03] Now, gentlemen, before I take my seat, permit me to close. Why, gentlemen, it must be the heir of Boston. For I have never made so long a speech before in my life. I will now offer you as a sentiment, prosperity to the trade and the city of Boston. No one, I am sure will question the sincerity with which I propose this toast her most assuredly. If I did not wish well to the trade in the city of Boston, I should not be here now. It may be that some of those western towns which spring up in the night and passing the twinkling of an eye from small villages to mighty cities, may as respects. Population merely have advanced more rapidly than Boston. But there is a stability and a solidity about Boston, which I may say is agreeable to an old country man like myself. I see buildings in Boston which look as if intended not only for the owners, but for their sons and their sons. Sons toe live in after they’re dead and gone. I know it has been the practice to say that a Yankee would not be satisfied with paradise if there was any place further West which he could go. But I think it’s very clear that a good many genuine Yankees have found Boston and exceedingly proper place for a permanent location, although it happens to be one of the most easterly points of the continent. [1:04:21] Next up was the governor, followed by famous orator Edward Everett, who are called long era of so called French and Indian wars between Canada and the colonies. [1:04:32] Ah, horrible wilderness, rivers and lakes unspent by human art path Lis swamps, dismal forests that it made the flesh creep to enter. Threatened by nothing more practical than the Indians trail echoing with no sound more inviting than the yell of the wolf and the war whoop of the savage these it was that filled the space between us and Canada. The inhabitants of the British colonies never entered Canada in those days, but his provincial troops or Indian captives and lucky he that got back with a scalp on this state of things existed less than 100 years ago. There are men living in Massachusetts who are born before the last party of hostile Indians made an incursion to the banks of the Connecticut River. As lately is, when I had the honor to be the governor of this commonwealth, I signed the pension warren of a man who lost his arm in the year 17 57 in a conflict with the Indians and French from one of those border wars and those dreary Canadian forests. His honor the mayor will recollect it for he counter signed the warrant a secretary of state now, sir, by the magic power of these modern works of art. The forest has thrown open the rivers and lakes, air bridged, the valleys rise, the mountains bow their everlasting heads. And the governor general of Canada takes his breakfast in Montreal and his dinner in Boston. [1:05:55] After a few speeches by Canadian officials, the sun went down in the gathering darkness. The people demanded to hear from former Mayor Josiah Quincy Junior, who closed out the night with a few brief remarks and ended the jubilee by saying, the Canadians and Bostonians they may meet after sunset in without candles but could never again be in the dark as it respects the sentiments they entertain for one another. [1:06:22] In the technological triumphalism of the railroad jubilee, the pastor of the Hollis Street Meeting house. So a different vision. Reverend Thomas Starr. King was a famous speaker and thinker who would eventually be one of the most influential politicians in California. [1:06:38] In 18 51 though, he was one of Boston’s leading Unitarian ministers and he gave a sermon on the Sunday after the Jubilee in which he coined a new and lasting term for the era in human history. He saw beginning with Boston’s railroad Jubilee. [1:06:53] The mention of the spectacle that recently adorned our streets leads us to some especially appropriate illustrations of our theme. We have entered into a period of society which will be characterized hereafter as the industrial age. It is plain that about 50 years ago a new direction was given to human affairs. A new force up Rosen Civilization and different objects loomed ahead to draw the energies of the world. The subject. Gatien of nature. The increase of material, conveniences in comfort, the binding of nations together by communion of traffic, the conquest of space and compression of time thes air. What the civilized world is now beginning to be in earnest about it is looking toe labor, not toe armies and diplomacy for its resource and the accomplishment of its dearest ambition, not Mars nor Apollo, nor even Mammon. But Vulcan stands preeminent in its regard in the pantheon of its deities. Worship is the only word that’s deep enough to express the Anglo Saxon relation to the mechanic powers and arts. We revere what they can produce more than anything else. Take us is a race We love speed and perfection in the necessary fabrics of life and skill in the combination of powers that gives supremacy over nature, better than we love, wealth, comfort, leisure, knowledge of God’s world, a cultured manliness and religious nobility in peace. [1:08:20] There is description of a new and dawning industrial age is full of apprehension and phrased as a warning. Even King could see the promise and potential of a nationwide rail network to bind the country together in the recent Jubilee. In the closing pageant within our city, an illustration has given how God draws the good of, ah, higher sphere out of the benefits that lie in a lower order. That pageant was, in honor of the completion of many years, endeavor to perfect the intercourse of the metropolis of New England and our own neighborhood with the North and West. [1:08:54] The causal motive of the enterprise that has covered New England with nerves of which our city is the brain was not distinctly philanthropic. Perhaps it was chiefly selfish. Each line of road was schemed with direct reference to the return of interest on the investment and the securing of a larger trade within our streets. Not till the prospect of profit was clear. Could one of these undertakings be carried through. It was not the direct intention of a single board of directors of a single railroad company to do especially Christian deed to bind states and communities together and holier ties to defuse a spirit of goodwill and strengthened civilization. [1:09:35] The stockholders, as they subscribed and paid their installments, had no such motive and purpose. The plans in the acceptance of them were for dividends and wealth. [1:09:45] But Providence had another and higher use for those iron tracks and flying trains After the Mercantile hearted devised and secured them, God took them for his purposes without paying any tax for the privilege. He uses them to quicken the activity of men to send energy and vitality. Where before were Silence and Baroness to multiply cities and villages studded with churches dotted with schools and filled with happy homes and budding souls. Thio increase wealth, which shall partially be devoted to his service in kingdom and all along their banks, to make the wilderness blossom as the rose without any vote of permission from the legislators and officials. Even while the cars air loaded with profitable freight and paying passengers and the groaning engines air earning the necessary interest, Providence sends without charge, it’s cargoes of good sentiment and brotherly feeling disperses the culture of the city to the simplicity of the Hamlet and brings back the strength and virtue of the village and mountain to the wasting faculties of the metropolis, and fastens toe every steam shuttle that flies back and forth and hither and dither an invisible threat of fraternal influence, which entwining seashore in Hill Country Mart and Grain field for Jin factory, Worf and mine, slowly prepare society to realize one day the savior’s prayer, that they may all be one. [1:11:10] Despite Reverend King’s cautious optimism and the rather less cautious optimism of the wigs who organized the Jubilee, The new railroads did not create a techno utopia that could bind our fractured country together and stave off the coming of a civil war, as Connolly said in his article. But the railroads could not destroy slavery, nor could they save the wig party. In fact, in an ironic twist, railroad development tended to nurture every evil the wig set out to annihilate. Instead of harmonizing wigs, views, railroads had the effect of promoting a consensus with Democrats, thus diminishing the wigs ability to present their party as a compelling political alternative. Americans could no longer tell the difference between a film or wig and a pierced Democrat. Both were in favor of economic development, including transcontinental railroads, and both were pro expansion. [1:12:04] As a result, the American political system was upended and reorganized, the wigs passed out of existence. The Democrats slowly declined in national prominence and the newly hatched Republicans pro railroad but anti slavery dominated national politics. For the remainder of the 19th century. The wigs notion that increased communication and travel among the regions of the country would usher in an era of national peace was also devastatingly wrong. By 18 60 North and South were intimately connected, both socially and commercially, and both were widely engaged in the international economy. And still, war broke out. [1:12:46] Indeed, the conduits of communication and cooperation that the wigs it financed and boosted in the 18 fifties carried the agents and implements of War South. A mere decade later. Wrap-Up [1:12:59] To learn more about Boston’s railroad Jubilee, check out this week’s show notes at hub history dot com slash 203, I’ll have links to the City Council’s report on the Jubilee, Michael Connelly’s article about the politics of the Jubilee, the text of Thomas Starr King Sermon, a detailed description of the Boston Committees, adventures in Canada and many more sources. I quoted from this week I’ll also have pictures of the tent where President Fillmore on the other dignitaries spoke, the president reviewing the troops on Boston Common City Hall decorated for the Jubilee and several street scenes during the Jubilee. And, of course, I’ll have links to information about our three upcoming events, and Stephen Polio’s a city so grand, this week’s Boston Book Club pick. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can email us at Podcast a hub history dot com. We’re hub history on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or you could go toe hub history dot com and click on the Contact US link while you’re on the site, hit the subscribe link and be sure that you never miss an episode. If you subscribe on Apple podcasts, please consider writing us a brief review. If you do drop us a line, we’ll send you a hub. History sticker is a token of appreciation, that’s all for now. Stay safe out there listening.
834	dbpedia	0	97	https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/48866234/mixed-train-to-providence-thomas-j-dodd-research-center-	en	mixed train to providence - Thomas J. Dodd Research Center ...	https://www.yumpu.com/en…ook/48866234.jpg	https://www.yumpu.com/en…ook/48866234.jpg	[ "https://assets.yumpu.com/release/ou6ZPgO72P294QN/v5/img/logo/Yumpu_Logo_RGB.png", "https://assets.yumpu.com/release/ou6ZPgO72P294QN/v5/img/account/document_privacy_modal/step1.png", "https://assets.yumpu.com/release/ou6ZPgO72P294QN/v5/img/account/document_privacy_modal/step2.png", "https://img.yumpu.com/4886...	[]	[]	[ "doddcenter.uconn.edu", "providence", "railroad", "mansfield", "taunton", "trains", "locomotive", "engines", "massachusetts", "passenger", "railroads", "www.yumpu.com" ]	null	[ "Yumpu.com" ]	null	mixed train to providence - Thomas J. Dodd Research Center ...	en	https://assets.yumpu.com…icon-favicon.png	yumpu.com	https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/48866234/mixed-train-to-providence-thomas-j-dodd-research-center-	Page 3: 2MIXED TRAIN TO PROVIDENCEA HISTORY Page 8 and 9: 7unwatchful. For example, I have "l Page 10 and 11: 9PART 422 The Mansfield coal-railro Page 12 and 13: 11 - Before the railroadsBefore the Page 14 and 15: 3his ox sled to Dedham, 18 miles aw Page 16 and 17: 5business, he would hire transporta Page 18 and 19: 7Road and South Washington Street i Page 20 and 21: 9load.[25] If our Bostonian was sub Page 22 and 23: 11Once a week, more or less, oxen b Page 24 and 25: 13plowable soils[38] and forcing Ya Page 26 and 27: 15water ship canal cutting off Cape Page 28 and 29: 17Nantucket Island, where many ship Page 30 and 31: 1914. Low 1797.15. Mileages Boston Page 32 and 33: 21have also seen it listed as the B Page 34 and 35: 23In 1796 or maybe 1799 developers Page 36 and 37: 25to be no exception.In other respe Page 38 and 39: 27importing English steam locomotiv Page 40 and 41: 29swiveling trucks, but once more f Page 42 and 43: 31already had railroads in mind, as Page 44 and 45: 33better-informed lobbyist named Wi Page 46 and 47: 35demurely on the city's fringes - Page 48 and 49: 37although in 1828 that town had no Page 50 and 51: 39learn.[70]Whistler, a handsome ma Page 52 and 53: 411979: 3; and Levitt 20049. A. M. Page 54 and 55: 43apparently designed to accommodat Page 56 and 57: 45Granite Railway Company also carr Page 58 and 59: 47hospitality.70. Stapleton, in Chr Page 60 and 61: 49Andrew Jackson‟s two terms (for Page 62 and 63: 51depended on transatlantic commerc Page 64 and 65: 53which period, as previously descr Page 66 and 67: 55time, few if any skilled engineer Page 68 and 69: 57them; they were more interested i Page 70 and 71: 59line[45] - Hayward's 1828 survey Page 72 and 73: 61planes similar to those used in E Page 74 and 75: 63appreciation of the difficulties Page 76 and 77: 65Seekonk River across from Provide Page 78 and 79: 67Isaiah Hoyt (Bayles 1891: 164).27 Page 80 and 81: 69unlike the gradient posts in Brit Page 82 and 83: 71railway spokes radiating out of T Page 84 and 85: 73In general, fills are cheaper tha Page 86 and 87: 75So McNeill decreed wooden crossti Page 88 and 89: 77necessary fences" between his rem Page 90 and 91: 79loop give the distance to Provide Page 92 and 93: 81America is regarded as a very imp Page 94 and 95: 8319. Gerstner 1842-43/1997: 301-2. Page 96 and 97: 85Vignoles also introduced superele Page 98 and 99: 875 - B. and P. gets its first loco Page 100 and 101: 89Stephenson no later than 1833. Th Page 102 and 103: 91paint scheme looked like, but a p Page 104 and 105: 93it contained much "slack" or fine Page 106 and 107: 956. John H. White, Jr., (1968-79: Page 108 and 109: 97built in that country for U. S. r Page 110 and 111: 99Dam Foundry and sold in 1834 to A Page 112 and 113: 101moment, in a place of pride in m Page 114 and 115: 103Canal and the southern end of th Page 116 and 117: 105site. Instead, the water boys we Page 118 and 119: 107seen anything yet. Hard on the h Page 120 and 121: 10915. My account of the rum rebell Page 122 and 123: 111from the south, steadily chewing Page 124 and 125: 113laborers were veterans, the corp Page 126 and 127: 115More significant to New England Page 128 and 129: 117It is understood that the said v Page 130 and 131: 119linear feet in aggregate, contai Page 132 and 133: 121town of Seekonk. In fact the lin Page 134 and 135: 123horizontal crack in the stone bu Page 136 and 137: 1258 - B. and P. runs its first tra Page 138 and 139: 127The Rails are laid about three m Page 140 and 141: 129all stirred up over the finding Page 142 and 143: 131so many details of the Mansfield Page 144 and 145: 13325,000 white cedar ties totaling Page 146 and 147: 135But it is his return trip two da Page 148 and 149: 137residents, who ambitiously suppo Page 150 and 151: 139I have seen several photographs Page 152 and 153: 141morning of 10 May 2002. Although Page 154 and 155: 143As to the unsuccessful experimen Page 156 and 157: 14524. Thoreau in 1850 (Journal, v. Page 158 and 159: 147crossing existed in my youth.41. Page 160 and 161: 1499 - A ride on the wild side aboa Page 162 and 163: 151and 5. Edson's use of “ex-“ Page 164 and 165: 153Providence passengers arriving a Page 166 and 167: 155When his employer died in 1831, Page 168 and 169: 157Boston was a 2-2-0 built by Edwa Page 170 and 171: 159The other two engines bought by Page 172 and 173: 161though it burns hot and has been Page 174 and 175: 163NOTES1. A. M. Levitt has Griggs' Page 176 and 177: 165outnumbered those in the North 1 Page 178 and 179: 16710 - Charlie the faithful horse Page 180 and 181: 169crew showed what they could do! Page 182 and 183: 171separated from its motive power Page 184 and 185: 173The Boston and Providence, bounc Page 186 and 187: 175The 22 pilasters or buttresses a Page 188 and 189: 177NOTES1. NHRAA 1940-52/2002: 5 da Page 190 and 191: 1791, p. 60.) Mr. Breck appears to Page 192 and 193: 181intermediate points. Even the Ma Page 194 and 195: 183Meadow and pierced the craggy ro Page 196 and 197: 185Boston and Providence[28] and it Page 198 and 199: 187Despite the almost military orde Page 200 and 201: 189them two dollars for a seat. I n Page 202 and 203: 191NOTES1. Gerstner 1842-43/1997: 3 Page 204 and 205: 193it; and as the Boston & Providen Page 206 and 207: 195of bells for factories, churches Page 208 and 209: 197what every present-day Floridian Page 210 and 211: 199what is now School Street along Page 212 and 213: 201The snow and rain fell once a we Page 214 and 215: 203This new Mansfield depot which, Page 216 and 217: 205Cost of construction of the Taun Page 218 and 219: 207more than five decades of servic Page 220 and 221: 20913. Copeland 1929b.14. Belcher 1 Page 222 and 223: 21140. Copeland (1931b) writes, "In Page 224 and 225: 213passengers named Thompson and Br Page 226 and 227: 215The fact that the boat trains we Page 228 and 229: 217pressed to pay. A current newspa Page 230 and 231: 219Probably also in response to the Page 232 and 233: 221* * One person whose nose, if n Page 234 and 235: 223said Rail Road." This sounds lik Page 236 and 237: 225The illustration in Beebe and Cl Page 238 and 239: 22714 - The "Great Seekonk Railroad Page 240 and 241: 229they would buy half the shares o Page 242 and 243: 231his boat trains (of which thus f Page 244 and 245: 233of all speed restrictions. "With Page 246 and 247: 235knocked Burges, his 1200-foot ra Page 248 and 249: 237MIXED TRAIN TO PROVIDENCEA HISTO Page 250 and 251: 239 * A disadvantage of the impor Page 252 and 253: 241For Boston and Providence, the y Page 254 and 255: 243but how long they survived after Page 256 and 257: 245 * The financial Panic of 1837 Page 258 and 259: 2477. The engine bell will be rung Page 260 and 261: 249carload of lumber “on the top Page 262 and 263: 251This is the way in the rail-road Page 264 and 265: 253fogs in the dangerous passage ar Page 266 and 267: 255The Stonington railroad put the Page 268 and 269: 257The Taunton Branch too did quite Page 270 and 271: 259First class--Cylinders, 12-1/2" Page 272 and 273: 261short cut. The unfortunate rare Page 274 and 275: 26316 - A European railroader in Ya Page 276 and 277: 265freight car. Passenger revenues Page 278 and 279: 267are known to have been built for Page 280 and 281: 269weeks one bag proved too small f Page 282 and 283: 271Englander named Henry Wells as h Page 284 and 285: 273last machine purchased by Boston Page 286 and 287: 275half hours to load the goods on Page 288 and 289: 277road but Crocker personally rake Page 290 and 291: 279$13,318; net annual income $18,3 Page 292 and 293: 281England war derived its name, wa Page 294 and 295: 28317 - "Jim Crow" rears its ugly h Page 296 and 297: 285bailment, alleging that Lexingto Page 298 and 299: 287Branch, was constructed using al Page 300 and 301: 289a result, a train from New Bedfo Page 302 and 303: 291was regularly used to denote car Page 304 and 305: 293his day's work in Norton? It app Page 306 and 307: 295Order No. 5. Boston Office, 14 M Page 308 and 309: 297thing we'll be giving them somet Page 310 and 311: 299became one of the most successfu Page 312 and 313: 30135. John Henry Clifford was born Page 314 and 315: 30318 - Not even a hog could get th Page 316 and 317: 305Receipts from stockholders $38,0 Page 318 and 319: 307the straight track. Actually it Page 320 and 321: 309was then part of Norton) or such Page 322 and 323: 311for the same price as they had p Page 324 and 325: 313brainchild and as late as 1845 s Page 326 and 327: 315As often happens in a Mexican st Page 328 and 329: 317This same charter granted the ne Page 330 and 331: 319A rare blend of business acumen Page 332 and 333: 321Evidence that the railroad was a Page 334 and 335: 32319 - Providence at last gets its Page 336 and 337: 325depending on the season of the y Page 338 and 339: 327Stearns's 1842 expenses. The far Page 340 and 341: 329necessities of existence," consi Page 342 and 343: 331for Boston were more heavily loa Page 344 and 345: 333and off a ferryboat gangplank!Un Page 346 and 347: 335Stonington line was, says Belche Page 348 and 349: 337George F. Fisher writes that dur Page 350 and 351: 339mileages, omitting Pawtucket of Page 352 and 353: 341Company put their first engine t Page 354 and 355: 343tape and its clockwork were disp Page 356 and 357: 345for Worcester, changing there to Page 358 and 359: 347engineman had no option but to w Page 360 and 361: 34911. Levitt (2002: 7) raises the Page 362 and 363: 35121 - The Canton viaduct horrorIs Page 364 and 365: 353of the line in looks, giving the Page 366 and 367: 355New York and Hartford. This line Page 368 and 369: 357MIXED TRAIN TO PROVIDENCEA HISTO Page 370 and 371: 359name of Peter Paul Francis Degra Page 372 and 373: 361The mining company was allowed o Page 374 and 375: 363present pit and run as near as i Page 376 and 377: 365Sharon hill.Boston and Providenc Page 378 and 379: 367Seekonk. The Bay State road was Page 380 and 381: 369modern style.[25]Dedham Branch t Page 382 and 383: 371If it is assumed that a station Page 384 and 385: 373Taunton, and A. E. Swasey, super Page 386 and 387: 375This left the Boston and Provide Page 388 and 389: 37715. C. Fisher 1938b: 81; Edson 1 Page 390 and 391: 379In the 1850s and '60s, east of t Page 392 and 393: 381 * *Turning our attention back Page 394 and 395: 383of whom, my great-grandfather, a Page 396 and 397: 385quarter hour behind Boston's (in Page 398 and 399: 387All day a driving snow-storm, im Page 400 and 401: 389and the timetable advised passen Page 402 and 403: 391What do we know about this ill-f Page 404 and 405: 3931851, and the aforesaid George S Page 406 and 407: 395temperatures varying from 13 bel Page 408 and 409: 397FREIGHT TRAINSLeave Boston, Way Page 410 and 411: 39924. C. Fisher 1938b: 81; Amer. R Page 412 and 413: 40160. Chaffin 1886: 759.61. Applet Page 414 and 415: 403quite naturally burned coal or c Page 416 and 417: 405with wood. Aside from the above- Page 418 and 419: 407The killer was when tests on the Page 420 and 421: 409firebox so that the fire will ha Page 422 and 423: 411speculation compromised the inte Page 424 and 425: 413Ogdenburg RR).The latest busines Page 426 and 427: 415The fact that these eight engine Page 428 and 429: 417answer may be: Both.20. Lozier 1 Page 430 and 431: 419Meanwhile, a much bigger matter Page 432 and 433: 421know not.To aid in handling the Page 434 and 435: 423Presumed to exist but out of ser Page 436 and 437: 425four originally; the fifth may h Page 438 and 439: 427sometimes turns out to be the he Page 440 and 441: 42921. White 1968-79: 178. The intr Page 442 and 443: 431almost directly opposite Sprague Page 444 and 445: 433and Providence seemed to be laps Page 446 and 447: 435firepot was sold in September 18 Page 448 and 449: 437September 1858 is the likely dat Page 450 and 451: 439able to begin operation of two d Page 452 and 453: 441January 1865 he noted, "In Bosto Page 454 and 455: 44329th Infantry Regiment ......... Page 456 and 457: 445smoke-blackened stone block.Two Page 458 and 459: 44725. Copeland 1931c, 1936-56: 70; Page 460 and 461: 44927 - The post-war railroad boomI Page 462 and 463: 451Attleborough (still known to loc Page 464 and 465: 453operation.Engine number 4, Rhode Page 466 and 467: 455No. 1, Norfolk (questionable), 1 Page 468 and 469: 457First number 5, second Providenc Page 470 and 471: 459two short curves between Rumford Page 472 and 473: 461Foxborough, now (since the openi Page 474 and 475: 463the Old Colony & Newport in 1870 Page 476 and 477: 46537. Adams (1835-1915), a grandso Page 478 and 479: 46728 - A fine master mechanic is l Page 480 and 481: 469filled usually with citizens of Page 482 and 483: 471cheaper, and should have been do Page 484 and 485: 473A map of Mansfield published in Page 486 and 487: 475Still another locomotive polishe Page 488 and 489: 47729 - A two-faced monster roams t Page 490 and 491: 479Janus was patched up, painted wh Page 492 and 493: 48138, John Lightner, named after t Page 494 and 495: 483That same year, the stocks, bond Page 496 and 497: 485Boston daily, leaving Sharon at Page 498 and 499: 487Rogerson and Brother of Mansfiel Page 500 and 501: 489by a man who fired it to be "ver Page 502 and 503: 49110. Swanberg 1988: 36, who gives Page 504 and 505: 493MIXED TRAIN TO PROVIDENCEA HISTO Page 506 and 507: 495by the state of Massachusetts in Page 508 and 509: 497reasonable passenger service: in Page 510 and 511: 499On Monday, 30 June, a gaggle of Page 512 and 513: 501company did was to raise rates o Page 514 and 515: 503NOTES1. NHRAA 1940-52/2002: 11, Page 516 and 517: 50531 - Railroading's golden ageTwo Page 518 and 519: 507and three-quarters down to Skinn Page 520 and 521: 509The spring weather remained dry; Page 522 and 523: 511Maybe as a result of the depot f Page 524 and 525: 513On 27 July an unusual accident o Page 526 and 527: 515The News reported in September 1 Page 528 and 529: 517And in fact on 4 January 1875 Bo Page 530 and 531: 519when the word got out. The city Page 532 and 533: 521A petition circulated by C. T. B Page 534 and 535: 52328. Mansfield News 29 May, 12 Ju Page 536 and 537: 52564. Humphrey and Clark 1986: 3.6 Page 538 and 539: 527only train scheduled to leave Pr Page 540 and 541: 529Every state in the union except Page 542 and 543: 531and a "night freight" ran daily Page 544 and 545: 533One crossing not adequately prot Page 546 and 547: 535A month or so later, at the roun Page 548 and 549: 537The completion on 1 July 1876 of Page 550 and 551: 539What might have been a serious a Page 552 and 553: 541In 1877 Boston and Providence ac Page 554 and 555: 543The railroad answered that they Page 556 and 557: 545NOTES1. New England Historical a Page 558 and 559: 54735. Mansfield News 3 Nov. 1876. Page 560 and 561: 54971. Mansfield News 25 Oct. 1878. Page 562 and 563: 551Adding these 225 miles of water Page 564 and 565: 553A little girl about nine years a Page 566 and 567: 555This was too excellent an idea t Page 568 and 569: 557John Purdy, a section man belong Page 570 and 571: 559A far more serious accident occu Page 572 and 573: 561The freight house of the Boston Page 574 and 575: 563parked dump cars. No injuries oc Page 576 and 577: 565Second 1 (first 1 was Norfolk, b Page 578 and 579: 567Down in Central Falls, the 1871- Page 580 and 581: 56924. See track plan in Barrett 19 Page 582 and 583: 57154. Mansfield News 17 Sep. 1880. Page 584 and 585: 573new streets.[1]The first of the Page 586 and 587: 575September:Twelve to fifteen refr Page 588 and 589: 577reinstated.[15] Freight traffic Page 590 and 591: 579In New England, Mother Nature se Page 592 and 593: 581bone in his body were badly brok Page 594 and 595: 583north of West Mansfield depot, t Page 596 and 597: 585and Providence passenger train o Page 598 and 599: 587they posed.Nor were railroad men Page 600 and 601: 58914. “Freight,” Mansfield New Page 602 and 603: 591town report for 1882, the only p Page 604 and 605: 593were some that had come to the l Page 608 and 609: 597schools, George Washington Capen Page 610 and 611: 599Mansfield to Providence in 17 mi Page 612 and 613: 6015:03 and 6:20 p. m. (Today, Foxb Page 614 and 615: 603NOTES1. Canton Journal 12 Jan. 1 Page 616 and 617: 605Henry Paine's retirement did not Page 618 and 619: 607Such sad events, all too common Page 620 and 621: 609Boston and Providence announced Page 622 and 623: 611which it blocked for 20 minutes. Page 624 and 625: 613Second 18, Arnold Green, 0-4-6T, Page 628 and 629: 617Yesterday morning about 11:15 o' Page 632 and 633: 621Smith's Hill happy, that rail en Page 636 and 637: 625depending on the route taken. A Page 638 and 639: 62737 - The Bussey Bridge horrorPop Page 640 and 641: 629fires such as those that had tur Page 642 and 643: 631From within this hellacious tang Page 644 and 645: 633Tuesday, 15 March, and sat until Page 646 and 647: 635The Commissioners, after listeni Page 648 and 649: 637NOTES1. J. H. White, Jr., 2002, Page 650 and 651: 63912. The value of safety stoves a Page 652 and 653: 641The Boston and Providence Railro Page 654 and 655: 643Commonwealth, which was statione Page 656 and 657: 645tracks used for shuffling cars w Page 658 and 659: 647NOTES1. Mansfield News 13 May 18 Page 660 and 661: 649then it was replaced only by a s Page 662 and 663: 651considerable delay to other trai Page 664 and 665: 653station are to be diverted to th Page 666 and 667: 655One who was present thinks the p Page 668 and 669: 657Boston and Providence also retir Page 670 and 671: 659In late January 1888 a new turnt Page 672 and 673: 66112. Two items Mansfield News 2 D Page 674 and 675: 66340 - “The B. & P. R. R. is no Page 676 and 677: 665betraying excitement in his over Page 678 and 679: 667NOTES1. Belcher 1938: no. 12. Th Page 680 and 681: 669and including Bridges and Buildi Page 682 and 683: 671Photographs taken at Mansfield b Page 684 and 685: 673all things British. More likely Page 686 and 687: 675NOTES1. Reprint of 1888 Old Colo Page 688 and 689: 677Appendix(A) - Date index of loco Page 690 and 691: 6795 (2) ...... Providence (3)..... Page 692 and 693: 681Notes:(a) Reboilered by Taunton Page 694 and 695: 683A report of the Boston and Provi Page 696 and 697: 68532 ...... Pegasus .............. Page 698 and 699: 687(C) - Report of road tests of en Page 700 and 701: 689The original handwritten report Page 702 and 703: 691Notes:Following the above were t Page 704 and 705: 693Boston & Providence R. R. & Tran Page 706 and 707: 695Boston, Fitchburg & New Bedford Page 708 and 709: 697New Bedford R. R. Co.:11 Feb. 18 Page 710 and 711: 699Providence & Bristol R. R. Co. o Page 712 and 713: 701(F) - Providence & Boston Rail R Page 714 and 715: 703as fair warning to passengers fo Page 716 and 717: 705Prov.68Km.42.25M.A third (above) Page 718 and 719: 707Historical evidence in favor of Page 720 and 721: 709(I) - Biographical sketchesWilli Page 722 and 723: 711New York & Harlem R. R. 1832-37. Page 724 and 725: 713where she remained during her ch Page 726 and 727: 715responded, "I highly value the h Page 728 and 729: 7171869. He constructed the first p Page 730 and 731: 719exchanged and came north. Revere Page 732 and 733: 721Following 21 months in prison, h Page 734 and 735: 723Annual reports of the railroad c Page 736 and 737: 725------, 30 June 1915, Right of w Page 738 and 739: 727Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1 Page 740 and 741: 729Dubiel, Frank P., 1974, Union St Page 742 and 743: 731Gamst, Frederick C., ed., 1990, Page 744 and 745: 733Hubbard, Freeman H., 1945, Railr Page 746 and 747: 735Liberator: Boston, 8, 14 Dec. 18 Page 748 and 749: 737Nery, Sharon, 1988, Rumford Aven Page 750 and 751: 739Report of the Board of Directors Page 752 and 753: 741Thomas, Robert B., ed., 1848, Th Page 754 and 755: 743Yamaji, Hidetoshi, 1998, A lesso Page 756 and 757: 745Amherst, Belchertown & Palmer R. Page 758 and 759: 747Boller, Alfred P., r. r. expert, Page 760 and 761: 749Brigham, David T., express servi Page 762 and 763: 751Chace, Henry A., agent B&P, 578C Page 764 and 765: 753Day, Alfred B., frt agent B&P Ma Page 766 and 767: 755English monetary units used by B Page 768 and 769: 757"Great Cold Storm" of 1857, 394- Page 770 and 771: 759Holmes, Jesse, sta. agent Stough Page 772 and 773: 761Lippitt, Charles W., on Providen Page 774 and 775: 763Mechanicsville, Ct., 388, 412, 4 Page 776 and 777: 765New York & New Haven R. R., 345, Page 778 and 779: 767Paine, Henry N., locomotive engr Page 780 and 781: 769Mansfield 527; Pres. Hayes visit Page 782 and 783: 771Rumford Cotton Mfg Co., Mansfiel Page 784 and 785: 773South Dedham (later Norwood), 45 Page 786 and 787: 775Swift, (Capt.) William H., civil Page 788 and 789: 777Union Switch & Signal Co., 567,
834	dbpedia	0	4	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Maine_Railroad	en	Boston and Maine Railroad	https://upload.wikimedia…teman_herald.png	https://upload.wikimedia…teman_herald.png	[ "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50p...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Wikimedia projects" ]	2003-06-02T13:24:19+00:00		en	/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Maine_Railroad	Former railroad in New England Boston and Maine RailroadOverviewHeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.Reporting markBMLocaleMaine Massachusetts New Hampshire New York VermontDates of operation1836–1983SuccessorPan Am RailwaysTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gaugeLength2,077 mi (3,343 km) The Boston and Maine Railroad (reporting mark BM) was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B&M operated 1,515 route-miles (2,438 km) on 2,481 miles (3,993 km) of track, not including Springfield Terminal. That year it reported 2,744 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 92 million passenger-miles.[1] History [edit] The Andover and Wilmington Railroad was incorporated March 15, 1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts, north to Andover, Massachusetts. 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, Massachusetts (opened later that year), and yet further to Portland, Maine, with renaming to the Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New Hampshire state line in 1840. The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27, 1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was incorporated March 12, 1839, in Maine, both companies continuing the proposed line to South Berwick, Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter, New Hampshire, and on January 1, 1842, the two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad. On February 23, 1843, the B&M opened to Agamenticus, on the line of the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On January 28 of that year, the B&M and Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to both lease the PS&P as a joint line to Portland. The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension was incorporated on 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 on July 1, leading to the abandonment of the old connection to the B&L (later reused by the B&L for its Wildcat Branch). In 1848, another original section was abandoned, as a new alignment was built from Wilmington north to North Andover, Massachusetts in order to better serve Lawrence, Massachusetts. A new alignment to Portland opened in 1873, splitting from the old route at South Berwick, Maine. The old route remained a part of the Eastern Railroad's Main Line (described below). This completed the B&M "main line", which would become known as the Western Route Main Line. Acquisitions [edit] As the B&M grew, it also gained control of former rivals, including: Eastern [edit] On March 28, 1883, the boards of directors of B&M and the Eastern Railroad Company voted to ratify the proposition that Eastern Railroad would be leased by B&M.[2] However, a disagreement about the wording of the contract delayed its execution until December 2, 1884.[3][4] On May 9, 1890, B&M purchased Eastern Railroad outright.[5] This provided a second route to Maine, ending competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland. Along with the Eastern, the B&M also acquired many branch lines, including the Conway Branch, the Saugus Branch, the South Reading Branch, and branches to Marblehead and Rockport, Massachusetts. Worcester, Nashua and Portland [edit] 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 [edit] 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 [edit] The Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in 1884, but that lease was canceled and the Northern was on its own until 1890, when it was re-leased to the B&L, then part of the B&M. The Northern owned a number of lines running west from Concord. Connecticut River [edit] On January 1, 1893, the B&M leased the Connecticut River Railroad, with the main line from Springfield, Massachusetts north along the Connecticut River to White River Junction, Vermont, where the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (acquired in 1887) continued north. Along with this railroad came the Ashuelot Railroad, which had been acquired in 1877. Concord and Montreal [edit] 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 [edit] The B&M leased the Fitchburg Railroad on July 1, 1900. This was primarily the main line from Boston west via the Hoosac Tunnel to the Albany, New York, area, with various branches. On December 1, 1919, the B&M purchased the Fitchburg Railroad. 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. 20th century [edit] 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 corporate 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. In 1925, B&M reported 2956 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 740 million passenger-miles; at the end of the year it operated 2291 route-miles, including "42.85 miles of electric street railway". (Those totals do not include B&C, M&WR, StJ&LC or YH&B.) The B&M's most traveled and well known passenger trains included the Alouette, Ambassador, Cheshire, Day White Mountains, East Wind, Green Mountain Flyer, Gull, Kennebec, Minute Man, Montrealer/Washingtonian, Mountaineer, Pine Tree, Red Wing, and State of Maine. However, the popularization of the automobile doomed B&M as a passenger carrier. Passenger service cuts [edit] After steady growth from 1901 to 1913, passenger rail ridership around Boston peaked in 1920 and began to decline due to competition from private automobiles and service cuts during World War I.[7]: 11 In the mid-1920s, after several difficult years, the B&M discontinued service on some marginal lines and began using small self-propelled railcars on others.[7]: 68 A second round of discontinuances occurred from 1931 to 1936 as the Great Depression reduced traffic. Ridership sharply increased during World War II; the B&M had a slower postwar decline than its contemporaries, though major frequency reductions occurred in 1949–1950.[7]: 13 The B&M began testing Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in 1952; in 1954, the railroad decided to switch all commuter service to RDCs to cut costs.[7]: 13 Discontinuances in the 1920s and 1930s primarily affected minor branches and rural intercity routes, but the 1950s saw the loss of more significant intercity routes. September, 1952 saw the first cut to the four main intercity mainlines, as Eastern Route service was cut from Portland, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[8]: 154 (Portland continued to see service to Boston on the Western Route through Dover, New Hampshire.) The New York–Montreal Green Mountain Flyer/Mount Royal, which had Boston sections running on the B&M via Bellows Falls, ended when the Rutland Railroad discontinued all passenger service, in 1953.[8]: 44 The northern section of the Boston–Wells River, Vermont route ended in 1954 (thus ending connections to Quebec City), as did Manchester–Portsmouth service.[8]: 86, 126 Concord–Claremont Junction service ended in 1955, and the Boston section of the Ambassador was reduced to a Boston–White River Junction RDC connecting train in 1956.[9][8]: 122 Fitchburg mainline service was trimmed from Troy, New York, to Williamstown, Massachusetts, in January 1958, and discontinued soon afterward.[7]: 89 The B&M became unprofitable in 1958 and moved to shed its money-losing passenger operations.[7]: 15 On May 18, 1958, the B&M severely reduced Boston commuter service. The Maynard Branch, Saugus Branch, Essex Branch, and Stoneham Branch were cut, and the Central Mass Branch was cut from Clinton to Hudson. Almost all inner-suburb commuter stations within the MTA transit district were closed. Intercity service to Bellows Falls, Vermont and Brattleboro, Vermont (the Cheshire) via the Cheshire Branch was also cut.[7] Service was trimmed again from Williamstown to Greenfield on December 30, 1958, and cut to Fitchburg on April 23, 1960.[7]: 15 Further cuts on June 14, 1959, terminated the Swampscott Branch, Marblehead Branch, Danvers Branch, and the north half of the Woburn Loop.[7] The State of Maine Express - the last through service between New York City and Maine - and the Boston–Halifax Gull were discontinued in 1960.[10][11] Long rural lines to North Conway and Berlin, New Hampshire were cut on December 3, 1961.[8]: 148, 333 By 1962, the B&M was preparing ICC applications to discontinue all remaining service.[7]: 15 After the major cuts by the B&M and the New Haven Railroad in the late 1950s, public opinion in Massachusetts began to favor supporting Boston commuter service to prevent it from being cut entirely. From January 1963 to March 1964, the state Mass Transportation Commission funded an experiment testing various fares and service levels on the two railroads. On August 3, 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed (as an expansion of the MTA funding district) to subsidize suburban commuter rail operations.[7]: 15 In December 1964, the MBTA and B&M reached an agreement for the MBTA to subsidize in-district service (within about 20 miles (32 km) of Boston) should the ICC applications be approved. Municipalities outside the MBTA district could directly subsidize continued service.[7]: 15 After approval of the applications, the B&M discontinued most interstate service on January 4, 1965. Service via Concord to Laconia, New Hampshire and to Montreal via White River Junction ended, though a single Boston–Concord round trip remained. Western Route service to Portland and Eastern Route service to Portsmouth were discontinued; single Boston–Dover and Boston–Newburyport round trips were retained.[7]: 15 On January 18, 1965, commuter service was cut to the MBTA district and subsidies began. Fitchburg Route service was cut to West Concord; New Hampshire Route and Western Route service to Wilmington, save for the Concord and Dover trip; Eastern Route service to Manchester and Wenham except for the Newburyport trip; and Central Mass service to South Sudbury.[12] After out-of-district communities agreed to subsidies, service was re-extended to Ayer, Lowell, Ipswich, and Rockport on June 28.[12] The Montrealer was discontinued in September, 1966; local service on the Connecticut River Line lasted until the end of that year.[13]: 211 On June 30, 1967, the Concord trip was cut to Lowell, and the Dover trip to Haverhill. The four routes with single daily round-trips slowly ended: South Sudbury on November 26, 1971; Newburyport in April 1976; Haverhill in June 1976; and Bedford on January 10, 1977. (However, Haverhill service was restored by MVRTA subsidy in 1979.)[12] On December 27, 1976, the MBTA bought all B&M commuter equipment, as well as most of the B&M's trackage on Boston's northside (including several abandoned lines). On March 12, 1977, the B&M also won the contract for the southside commuter rail lines that had once been part of the New Haven and B&A: the first time that Boston's commuter rail system had been operated by a single entity. The B&M operated the whole MBTA Commuter Rail system under contract to the MBTA until 1987.[12] The final B&M line to lose passenger service was the Woburn Branch (former Woburn Loop), which was cut on January 30, 1981, due to poor track quality.[12] Under public control, commuter rail service has returned to several lines cut by the B&M, and Portland intercity service returned with the Amtrak Downeaster, in 2001.[12] Regrowth [edit] The B&M filed for bankruptcy in December 1970. During bankruptcy the B&M reorganized. It rebuilt its existing fleet of locomotives, leased new locomotives and rolling stock and secured funds for upgrading its track and signal systems. For much of the 1970s, the Boston and Maine limped along. In 1973 and 1974 the B&M was on the brink of liquidation. The B&M was offered the opportunity to merge its properties into the new Conrail in 1976, but opted out. By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service also helped. In 1983, the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries for $24 million. This was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as new labor issues which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost-cutting such as the 1990 closure of B&M's Mechanicville, New York, site: the largest rail yard and shop facilities on the B&M system. 21st century [edit] Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Up until CSX Transportation acquired Pan Am Railways on June 1, 2022, Boston & Maine Corporation continued to exist, but only as a non-operating ward of PAR. Boston & Maine owned the property (and also employed its own railroad police), while Springfield Terminal Railway, a B&M subsidiary created by owner Timothy Mellon to break the unions' higher wage scales,[citation needed] operated the trains and performed maintenance. Pan Am Railways and all its subsidiaries are now owned by CSX. Pan Am entered a joint venture with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in April, 2009 to form Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR transferred to the PAS assets that included its 155-mile (249 km) main line track between Mechanicville, New York, and Ayer, Massachusetts, including the Hoosac Tunnel and Fitchburg line as far as Littleton, Massachusetts, and 281 miles (452 km) of secondary and branch lines, plus trackage rights, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. NS transferred cash and other property valued at $140 million to the joint venture, $87.5 million of which was expected to be invested within a three-year period in capital improvements on the Patriot Corridor, such as terminal expansions, track and signal upgrades. Springfield Terminal provides all railroad services for the joint venture. Service at B&M's former yard in Mechanicville, New York, was restored as an intermodal and automotive terminal in January 2012, under PAS.[14] Named passenger trains [edit] The B&M operated a number of named passenger trains, which were often the premier intercity service on their routes. Most were through service that were shared between the B&M and other railroads, including the Canadian National Railroad (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), Central Vermont Railway (CV), Maine Central Railroad (MEC), New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH), Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Quebec Central Railway (QC), and Rutland Railroad (RUT). Trains originating in New York City or Washington, D.C., ran through Springfield (using the Connecticut River Line) or Worcester (using the Worcester Branch) and bypassed Boston.[15][16] Certain commuter trains with wealthy clientele were also named; several of these lasted into the MBTA era.[17] These tables list major named intercity trains operated by the B&M. Boston trains [edit] Name # Destination Partner railroad(s) Final B&M station Year discontinued Notes Alouette 5/20 Montreal via Plymouth and Newport CP Wells River 1956 Operated via White River Junction after 1954. Unnamed RDC train continued until 1965. Ambassador 307/332 Montreal via White River Junction and Essex Junction CV White River Junction 1956 New York section lasted until 1966. Cannon Ball 313/320 Plymouth via Concord – – 1959 Cheshire 5505/5506 Bellows Falls via Keene CV White River Junction 1958 Flying Yankee 15/16 Bangor via Dover, Portland, and Auburn MEC Portland 1957 Green Mountain Flyer 64/65 Montreal via Bellows Falls, Rutland, and Burlington RUT Bellows Falls 1953 Gull 8/23 Halifax via Portland and Vanceboro CN, CP, MEC Portland 1960 Kennebec 11/12 Bangor via Dover, Portland, and Brunswick MEC Portland 1958 Minute Man 58/59 Troy via Fitchburg – – 1957 Connecting service to Chicago via the New York Central Railroad Mount Royal 5502/5511 Montreal via Bellows Falls, Rutland, and Burlington RUT Bellows Falls 1953 Mountaineer 2909/2924 Littleton via Dover and Conway MEC Intervale 1955 New Englander 302/325 Montreal via White River Junction and Essex Junction CV White River Junction 1950s Penobscot 22/27 Bangor via Dover, Portland, and Auburn MEC Portland 1957 Pine Tree 14/19 Bangor via Dover, Portland, and Brunswick MEC Portland 1958 Red Wing 302/325 Montreal via White River Junction and Wells River CP Wells River 1959 Exchanged through cars with the Connecticut Yankee. Speed Merchant 4/9 Portland via Dover – – 1965 New York/Washington trains via Springfield [edit] Name # Destination Partner railroad(s) Final B&M station Year discontinued Notes Ambassador 307/332 Montreal via White River Junction and Essex Junction NH, CV White River Junction 1966 Connecticut Yankee 74/79 Quebec City via White River Junction and Newport CP, NH, QC Wells River 1952 Exchanged through cars with the Red Wing. Day White Mountains 72/77 Berlin via Wells River NH – 1956 Montrealer/Washingtonian 70/71 Montreal via White River Junction and Essex Junction NH, CV, PRR White River Junction 1966 Night White Mountains 71/76 Berlin via Wells River NH – 1956 North Wind 75/70 Whitefield or Bretton Woods via White River Junction NH, CV, MEC White River Junction 1956 Summers only. New York/Washington trains via Worcester [edit] Name # Destination Partner railroad(s) Final B&M station Year discontinued Notes Bar Harbor Express 84/85 Bar Harbor (via ferry) via Ayer, Portland, and Bangor PRR, NH, MEC Portland 1960 Summers only. East Wind 120/121 Bar Harbor (via ferry) via Ayer, Portland, and Bangor PRR, NH, MEC Portland 1953 Summers only. State of Maine 81/82 Bangor via Ayer and Portland NH, MEC Portland 1960 Surviving equipment [edit] The 1935 three-car trainset known as the Flying Yankee, virtually identical to the streamlined equipment the Budd Company built for the Burlington Northern’s famous Pioneer Zephyr, was retired in 1957 and was then displayed at the Edaville Railroad for another 36 years.[18] The equipment was relocated and eventually purchased by the State of Maine, but both public and private restoration efforts were unsuccessful.[18] In November 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of the trainset.[18]In April 2024, the trainset was sold to the Flying Yankee Association, who hopes to restore and operate the set in the Mt. Washington Valley, with a possibility of running it on the Conway Scenic Railroad.[19] References [edit] Edward Appleton, Massachusetts Railway Commissioner (1871). "History of the Railways of Massachusetts". Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Karr, Ronald D. (1994). Lost Railroads New England. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0-942147-04-9. Karr, Ronald D. (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0-942147-02-2. Media related to Boston and Maine Railroad at Wikimedia Commons
834	dbpedia	1	34	https://forums.auran.com/threads/so-america-didnt-invent-rail-transportation-after-all.155225/	en	So America didn't invent rail transportation after all.			[ "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png", "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png", "https://forums.auran.com/data/avatars/m/15/15324.jpg?1692482973" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "R rjhowie Active member", "W wreeder RGS Railfan", "A Alikiwi Apprentice Creator" ]	2019-11-06T02:20:48+00:00	The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track...	en		Trainz	https://forums.auran.com/threads/so-america-didnt-invent-rail-transportation-after-all.155225/	The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2015 had a network of 15,760 kilometres (9,790 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,272 kilometres (3,276 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate rail-based mass transit systems (including the extensive and historic London Underground). There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzWnbPF8yE Americans view trains as something archaic, the thing of Abraham Lincoln. Anyone who has any form of interest in railways should know that very basic fact ,in fact the first steam operated railway is even earlier , 1804 when Trevithick ran steam operated locos in a coal mine in Wales . Of course , horse drawn railways operated even earlier . I think I knew that when I was about six years old, they used to teach it at school in the 1950s . I wonder why some folk presume the USA is first at everything ? The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2015 had a network of 15,760 kilometres (9,790 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,272 kilometres (3,276 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate rail-based mass transit systems (including the extensive and historic London Underground). There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzWnbPF8yE Americans view trains as something archaic, the thing of Abraham Lincoln. I'm much amused how this potted railway summary of railways in the Uk completely ignores a 100 years of railway history and moves straight to the present privatised system which has proved itself over and over again to be a huge mistake and a really bad idea. The Tom Thumb was the first American steam locomotive, 1830. The first American railway was the B&O, 1827. We imported our rolling stock and rails from the Brits originally. We sure did import our stuff from Great Britain. One of the earliest railways in the US was the Quincy Granite RR built to haul granite blocks from the Quincy quarries. There's a preserved portion of the tracks, which dates back to 1826. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Railway The rails and locomotive were imported from Great Britain and the sleepers were fashioned from granite blocks. A short time later in 1831, the Boston and Lowell, was built between the namesake cities and opened in 1835. They too used granite sleepers with iron rails imported Great Britain along with locomotives and wagons with the first Planet class 2-2-0 being built by Robert Stephenson, and subsequent locomotives being built locally in Lowell. The passengers loved they could make the 45 minute trip between Boston and the namesake city at speeds up to 60 mph. (That's the same time it takes to make the same commuter trip today!), however, the granite sleepers made for a very bouncy and uncomfortable ride. In 1838 the company double-tracked the line and gave in and used wooden sleepers just as other lines did including the connecting Andover and Wilmington (Boston and Maine), Providence and Worcester and Boston and Providence, among others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Lowell_Railroad Some of the old granite sleepers were discovered a few years ago while doing some track work along the line between Wilmington and Billerica. I don't know what happened to them, but I think they have been preserved. To add a bit to our British legacy, the loading gauge for our local railroads is quite narrow compared to other parts of the US with some areas as close as 4 meters if not closer as well as low bridge heights, and lower tunnels. EDIT: Design docs for local transit authority: https://bc.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/B...rack and Roadway March 8 2008 Revision_O1.pdf Note the loading gauge for double track... This isn't the 4.5 meters or wider found elsewhere. This presents a problem with double-tracked freight and passenger operations with wider the freight cars we now use. In some areas, such as Lawrence, MA, for example, the freight line is single tracked and away from the platform of the new station on a runaround passing loop. This gives frog designs, etc. which might be useful. https://bc.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/B...rack and Roadway March 8 2008 Revision_O2.pdf
834	dbpedia	1	18	https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/remembering-the-boston-maine-railroad/	en	Remembering the Boston & Maine Railroad	https://www.trains.com/w…/2020/10/bm1.jpg	https://www.trains.com/w…/2020/10/bm1.jpg	[ "https://www.trains.com/wp-content/themes/understrap-child/images/icons/CTR.svg", "https://www.trains.com/wp-content/themes/understrap-child/images/icons/trains-com-brand.svg", "https://www.trains.com/wp-content/themes/understrap-child/images/icons/trains-sm.svg", "https://www.trains.com/wp-content/themes/und...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2019-09-30T17:00:00+00:00	New England's Boston & Maine Railroad history and major events remembered	en	/wp-content/themes/understrap-child/trains-favicon.png	Trains	https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/remembering-the-boston-maine-railroad/	The history and major events of B&M For 150 years the Boston & Maine Railroad was an integral part of northern New England, beginning with the charter on March 15, 1833, for the Andover & Wilmington Railroad to build between those two adjacent towns northwest of Boston. The name arose with the creation of the Boston & Maine Railroad of New Hampshire on June 27, 1835. Railway Mania The B&M had become a regional force in the 1870s, gaining the upper hand in the consolidation battles that followed New England’s “railroad fever” expansion in the 1840s to 1860s. B&M in 1885 leased the Eastern Railroad, which included a controlling block of Maine Central stock, and gained control of the Boston & Lowell in 1887. The Concord & Montreal capitulated in 1895, and the Fitchburg Railroad came into the fold in 1900. The Fitchburg brought with it the landmark, 4.75-mile Hoosac Tunnel through the Berkshires, longest railroad bore in the United States when it opened in 1875 after a 24-year construction. Ultimately, more than 173 companies were melded into the B&M system. Boston & Maine’s apogee of power, territory, and influence occurred from 1907 to 1916, when more than 25,000 employees kept the 2,364-mile system fluid and profitable. In all of New England, only the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad exceeded the B&M in power and influence. B&M Railroad Roster B&M’s early 20th-century locomotive roster was heavy on 0-6-0s (192), 2-6-0 Mogul-type locomotives (137), 2-8-0 Consolidation-types (245), and 4-4-0 American-types (91), but it had nary a 2-8-2 Mikado. It did have oddities. In 1910, B&M received four oil-fired 2-6-6-2 Mallets for use through Hoosac Tunnel. They were replaced in 1911 by electric locomotives and sold to Maine Central, which used them as pushers up Crawford Notch in New Hampshire. Alco built 90 4-6-2 Pacific-type locomotives for B&M varnish in the 1910s, although the trains — the likes of the Minute Man, Alouette, Red Wing, and Flying Yankee — weren’t given those names until at least 1925. In 1913, B&M opened a central locomotive shop in North Billerica, Mass., five miles south of Lowell. Filing for Bankruptcy As with most railroads in the century’s early decades, there were ups and downs. B&M entered bankruptcy in August 1916, and the subsequent 1919 reorganization eliminated most of its numerous leases. The last half of the 1920s was difficult. A major flood in 1927 washed away or damaged hundreds of miles of track and disrupted service for days, but it allowed B&M to begin its first major abandonment of branch lines, already made unprofitable by Ford’s Model T and paved roads. Capital investment in the main line and physical plant in the late 1920s included strengthened bridges, rock ballast, heavier rail, and centralized traffic control signaling installations. B&M built hump yards at Mechanicville, N.Y., and East Deerfield and Somerville, Mass., in suburban Boston. In central Boston, a new complex was built that included North Station/Boston Garden, the Hotel Manger, the Industrial Building (B&M’s headquarters), an engine terminal, and the Charles River drawbridges. Dieselisation A new administration, led by Edward S. French, took over in 1930 and soon put the B&M on the path to dieselization. The earliest splash was the three-car streamliner Flying Yankee, delivered by Budd on February 9, 1935. A clone of Burlington’s first Zephyr, the “first Streamliner east of the Mississippi” served on several B&M routes over the years and carried several train names before retirement in 1957 and eventual preservation. A decade before, B&M tiptoed past steam locomotives in passenger service with 13 Electro-Motive Corp./Winton gas-electric railcars. Coincident with the Budd streamliner in 1935, B&M acquired diesel switchers from Ingersoll-Rand/Westinghouse and Alco-GE, plus two diesel-powered baggage-Railway Post Office locomotives from St. Louis Car Co. More EMC and Alco switchers followed between 1936 and 1939. In 1943 to 1944 the Office of Defense Management allotted the B&M 12 four-unit EMD FT freight diesel-electric locomotives, and in October 1945, two E7A passenger units introduced the new maroon-and-gold “Minute Man” color scheme. The balance of 14 E7s, three F2A-B passenger duos, and 15 F2As (to make A-B-A consists with an FT A-B) allowed B&M to de-energize the Hoosac Tunnel electric zone in 1946, the first steam-road electrification to shut down. B&M in 1947 said it was 70% dieselized. Edward French’s administration had conceived an economy plan to combine senior executive positions with the Maine Central in 1932. The roads were “jointly managed” but not merged. The closest coordination during those years came near the end of World War II, when one purchase order to EMD covered 20 E7As, the only combined order B&M-MEC ever placed. French retired in 1952, and a proxy fight at the 1955 Annual Meeting deposed his administration — which had not declared a dividend since 1932 — and created a new 19-member board of directors. All were allied with Patrick B. McGinnis, a Wall Street promoter. The new board cancelled the last B&M-MEC corporate relationship in 1955, and on Jan. 20, 1956, McGinnis became B&M president, about 6 hours after resigning as New Haven’s president. He came to a railroad about to finish its motive-power transformation. Following a trial with Alco’s RS2 road-switcher, B&M bought 36 RS2s and RS3s from 1948 to 1955. Four BL2s from EMD in 1948 were followed by 23 GP7s from 1950 to 1953. A big change was also on tap for B&M passenger service, kicked off by an order in 1951 for three Budd Rail Diesel Cars. B&M called the self-propelled cars Highliners, and by 1957 had purchased 109, the largest RDC fleet. B&M stopped using steam locomotives in commuter service on July 23, 1956, and the last gas-electrics also departed that year. By 1958, RDCs were covering nearly all passenger service. On Jan. 20, service on the Fitchburg Division west of Williamstown, the last stop in Massachusetts, was terminated. The railroad changed its paint scheme, trading-in to EMD in 1956 to 1957 its 48 FTs for 50 EMD-build GP9 diesel-electric locomotives, which arrived in McGinnis’ new blue, black, and white livery and were soon called Bluebirds. Six GP18 locomotives that followed in 1961 were B&M’s last pre-1970-bankruptcy power. By 1960, New England freight business had slumped as heavy industry was departing the region. B&M abandoned lines, reduced double-track main lines to CTC-controlled single track, and sold buildings and land in large proportions. Still, losses mounted, and employment plummeted. McGinnis and his successor, Daniel A. Benson, were convicted and jailed in 1966 for financial improprieties. B&M filed for bankruptcy again on March 12, 1970. Late that year the trustees hired the “doctor of sick railroads,” John W. Barriger III, as president effective Jan. 1, 1971. “JWB” promptly began to assemble a new operating and management team of young, bright professionals. Not so coincidentally, that September the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, one of the first such railroad special-interest groups, was incorporated.
834	dbpedia	2	6	https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/early_days_of_railroading_Lowell	en	The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300365	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300365	[ "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/10/images/libguide_header_nov_2021_copy_v.2_resize.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/first_train_cropped.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/Passenger_car_about_1840.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accoun...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Brad MacGowan" ]	null	Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history. In Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I.	en	//d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/apps/common/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png		https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/early_days_of_railroading_Lowell	Selections from the Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I, Read March 2, 1909. [Some format changes were made for website readability.] A passenger train of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, now a part of the New York Central System, which was put on September 9th, 1831, between Albany and Schenectady, the road having been previously run with horses, attracted much attention. It was hauled by an English locomotive named the “John Bull” and was driven by an English engineer, John Hampton. This is generally regarded and referred to as the first fully equipped passenger train hauled by a steam power engine which ran in regular service in America. During the year 1832 it carried an average of three hundred and sixty-seven passengers per day. View of the First American Train (The Huntington Digital Library) The first passenger coaches were patterned after the stage coach. They were soon enlarged to a coach about fifteen feet long, six and one-half feet wide, four feet nine inches high, weighing about 6500 pounds. They were divided into three compartments to hold six passengers each or eighteen passengers to a coach, and were mounted on four wheels. America, however, at an early date departed from the stagecoach compartment idea, and adopted a long car in one compartment with an aisle through the middle with seats on either side, which admitted of communication through the whole train as at present. From “The Boston and Lowell Railroad, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the Salem and Lowell Railroad,” by Francis B. C. Bradlee, Salem, MA. The Essex Institute, 1918. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Among the earliest railroads chartered in Massachusetts which completed an organization were the Quincy Granite Railway Company, March 4th, 1826; the Boston & Lowell, June 5th, 1830; the Boston & Providence, June 22nd, 1831 ; the Boston & Worcester, June 23rd, 1831; the Andover & Wilmington, (then a branch of the Boston & Lowell, afterwards a part of the main line of the Boston & Maine) in 1833; the Norwich & Worcester, in 1833; the Nashua & Lowell, in 1836; the Western R. R., afterwards the Boston & Albany, in 1836; and the Eastern R. R., in 1836. At the end of 1840 there were only 285 miles built and in operation in the state of Massachusetts. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The late James B. Francis, in a paper read to this Society May 7th, 1874, referring to the teaming over the road, says at the time of the opening of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, there were from forty to forty-five stages, arriving and departing daily from Lowell, employing from 250 to 300 horses, and that 150 of them were in service between Lowell and Boston, the freight rates were from $2.50 to $4.00 per ton, the stage fare $1.25. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The Boston and Lowell, our own railroad, is generally considered to have been the second railroad to be put in operation in New England, the Quincy Granite Road being the first, although the Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester also began operating in 1835. The road was chartered June 5, 1830, and the building of it commenced at once. The construction of the road bed was a much greater undertaking and achievement than it would be at the present time, the grading was all done by ox-teams and hand labor, the blasting by hand drills and common powder, and when one thinks of the old cut at the Middlesex Street Station, the famous Six Arch Bridge at the Concord River, and the Tunnel at Walnut Hill, all built without the help of steam power or modern conveniences, and those walls laid up so long ago of small stone without mortar or cement, the magnitude of the undertaking seems greater even than the recent building of the Subway in Boston. The entire road bed was completed, including all bridges and culverts, before a rail was laid. The first rails used were the “fish belly” rails before referred to. They were rolled in England, were fifteen and eighteen feet long-, and were laid on stone binders, or sleepers, which rested at each end on stone walls, set three feet deep to avoid the frost affecting the track. Six Arch Bridge Showing Old Stone Sleepers From Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I Section of Track Showing Fish Belly Rails From Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The road bed was laid out, graded, and made wide enough for a double track, but at first only one track was laid. Work was begun at both ends, Boston and Lowell, at about the same time, and by a curious mistake each end commenced laying the right hand track, so that when they came together, a long connection had to be made from one side of the road bed to the other. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The building of the road occupied about four years, and on Wednesday, May 27th, 1835, the rails were used for the first time. The engine named “Stephenson” was built by the Robert Stephenson Company at New Castle Upon-Tyne, England, in 1834. It was taken apart at Boston. loaded upon a canal boat, and brought to Lowell by the Middlesex Canal, whose usefulness it was so soon to destroy. Here it was set up again and the trial trip was made from this end. As to why this was done instead of running it from Boston on its own rails, I have been unable to learn, but it was probably because the promoters of the great undertaking resided in Lowell. Whatever the reason, it has given to Lowell the distinction and honor of having the first steam engine start out of its borders for a run of any considerable length, of any city in New England. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ On that memorable trip the train carried three passengers, Patrick T. Jackson, Agent during the construction, George W. Whistler [Father of the artist James Abbott McNeil Whistler.], Chief Engineer at the Locks and Canals Shops, and James F. Baldwin, the Civil Engineer who had surveyed the road. They made the run to Boston, twenty-six miles, in the astonishing time of one hour and seventeen minutes, and the return trip with twenty-four passengers in one hour and twenty minutes without stops. The train was sent back to Boston where it remained four weeks. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The latter part of the next month, notice appeared in various newspapers as follows: “June 23, 1835. Tomorrow, June 24th, cars will commence running between Boston and Lowell, leave Lowell at 6:00 and 9: 1/2 a. m., leave Boston at 3: 1/2 and 5: 1/2 p. m. The Company expects to run another engine next week. Additional trains will be put on as fast as the public require. Due notice will be given when the merchandise train will be put on. Fare $1.00, tickets at corner Leverett and Brighton Streets, Boston, George M. Dexter, Agent.” On the following day, Wednesday June 24th, the old fashioned “’lection day,” the road was opened for public travel. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The engines and cars of those early days were strange things in comparison with the equipment of today. The engines weighing from seven to nine tons, had four large wheels, the boilers were encased in wooden lagging painted bright colors with black band and stripes, smoke stacks eight to ten inches in diameter and six to seven feet tall like a chimney. No whistle was provided on the first engines, and the bells which were small were near the engineer and rang with a short cord. Nor was there any cab or protection for the engineer or fireman, they were fully exposed to the smoke and sparks from their own engine and to the inclemencies of the New England weather. The cars were modeled after the old stage coach and seated six persons. The conductor, sometimes called captain, rode on the outside without any shelter, in what on the stage coach would be the driver's seat, and on the rear coach looking backward in a similar seat, rode a brakeman. The conductor was provided with a whistle which he blew to signal the engineer. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ It will be observed that although the charter provided that the fare should be seventy-five cents, the company's advertisement, published the day before the road was opened, charged one dollar. The matter was arranged to meet the requirements of the law, also to evade them for the company's benefit and profit, by putting on a second class car with no protection whatever except the top, the sides and ends were open to the weather, the seats simply boards, the car being made as cheap and uncomfortable as possible. In this car the fare was seventy-five cents while in the other cars, or first class cars as they were called, the fare was one dollar. Evidently there was need of a “Big Stick” in those days to keep the railroads up to the spirit and intent of the law as well as now. This second class car was nick-named “Belvidere” and was always known by that name. Second class cars evidently ran for many years, although the fare was reduced below the chartered limit, for, in an advertisement published in 1850, fifteen years after the opening of the road, we find season tickets between Lowell and Boston, three month for $25, six months $45, and one year $80. The fare to Boston was sixty-five cents, second class fare forty-five cents. The freight tariff reads, — “Merchandise generally to Boston $1.25 per 2000 lbs., merchandise by cargoes $1.10 per 2000 lbs. Pig iron, lime, cement, plaster, slate, dyewood in the stick, flour and grain, oil and coarse salt in lots of three tons at cargo prices.” This advertisement gives the depot at the corner of Merrimack and Dalton [Dalton Street is now known as Dutton Street.] streets. The Nashua and Lowell advertise that their depot in Lowell is at Middlesex street; that the general offices are at Nashville Passenger Station, that the fare to Nashville is forty cents, season tickets for three months $15, distance fifteen miles. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ From 1835 to 1842, a period of seven years, there were built in the Locks and Canals shops the following nine engines which went onto the Boston and Lowell and Nashua and Lowell Railroads. The Patrick, Lowell, Boston, with brass wheels, Merrimack, built with wooden wheels but soon replaced with iron ones, Nashua, Concord, Suffolk and Medford. These were all of the same general style, weighing about nine tons, five foot drivers, eleven inch cylinders and fourteen inch stroke. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In 1848, thirteen years after the opening of the road, the double track was completed. The second track was laid with T rails three and one-half inches high weighing fifty-six pounds per yard, and as soon as it was ready for use, the old track was also relaid with T rails. Special care was enjoined upon the workmen by the management in the laying of these second tracks, because they were soon to put three fourteen ton engines on the road which would tax the track to the utmost. The three new engines were named Samson, Hercules and Goliath, their names presumably to indicate their great size and strength. Two years later, two really large and powerful engines also built in Lowell, were put into service, the “Baldwin” and “Whistler,” one with five foot six inch drivers, the other five foot nine inch drivers. On the evening of March 27th, 1850, the “Whistler” with twelve cars driven by Isaac Hall, engineer, made the run from Lowell to Boston in twenty-eight minutes. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In September, 1908, an automobile race was held in Lowell which attracted several thousand people to our city to witness the sport, but nearly sixty years ago or in the Fall of 1850 a far more novel and important race was held here, it being a test of locomotives both for speed and strength. At that time there was a great rivalry between the various roads and locomotive builders as to which was the best type of engine, which the fastest, which the strongest, etc. This meet lasted for several days. Engines came from all directions, from other roads and from builders. There were of all kinds and classes, from the little combination engine and tender to the largest and heaviest engine then built. Some of the engines had foot brakes, the engineer and fireman standing on the foot piece, their weight being the only pressure to stop the engine. Some of the engines had only one pair of drive wheels, others two, and even three pairs. There were engines with outside cylinders, engines with inside cylinders, driving wheels with crank axles, with straight axles and eccentrics, some with small smoke stacks and others almost as large in diameter as the boilers of the engines themselves. One engine which attracted much attention had driving wheels seven feet in diameter. James G. Marshall and Mr. Gifford, who remember the affair say, and I think truly, that Lowell never, before or since, saw such a motley group. The test for speed was made between Lowell and Wilmington and was won by an engine from the Boston and Providence Railroad, a Mr. Griggs, the master mechanic. The test for strength was won by one of our own engines, the “Milow,” Mr. King, master mechanic. The prizes were gold medals about the size of a twenty dollar gold piece, and were very highly prized by the railroads that won them. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The first station in Boston was at the foot of Lowell street. This station was occupied from 1835 to July 30th, 1857, when the headquarters were removed to the present site on Causeway street. The station occupied in 1857 was built under Mr. William Parker. Sixteen years later General Stark built the station which is now the southerly part of the Union Station, over the station of 1857, and then tore the old station down. The station built by General Stark was opened in December, 1873. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The first station in Lowell, was built near Merrimack street, on the site of Old Huntington Hall, where was also located the first freight house and freight yard. The station was of wooden frame construction, and like many buildings in those days, was ornamented by large pillars. The general offices of the company were in this building when the road was first opened. The road having been built principally for the transportation of material to and from the manufacturing corporations, side tracks were constructed when the road was built to the following corporations: the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, the Appleton Company, the Lowell Manufacturing Company, the Suffolk Mills, the Tremont Mills, the Lawrence Manufacturing Company and the Boott Mill's, and the freight to and from these mills has been handled from their very doors from the beginning of the operation of the road. The engine house, machine and repair shops, car house and car repair shops were for many years located in Jackson street, between the present tracks to the Hamilton and Appleton corporations and the canal. For a great many years all locomotives burned wood, and the wood yard was also located on the banks of the canal in Jackson street and the wood delivered from up country by canal boats right to the yard. The building on Fletcher street now occupied by the Omaha Packing Company, was the second freight house of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and the building now occupied by T. J. McDonald, at the corner of Fletcher and Dutton streets, was the Nashua and Lowell freight house, both being used in their present location. The brick building at the end of Dutton street, now occupied by the Nichols Foundry Company, was the engine house and repair shop of the Nashua and Lowell and Stony Brook Railroads. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In 1853, by a joint agreement between the City of Lowell and the Boston and Lowell Railroad, the city wanting a public hall, and the railroad company desiring larger quarters, the combined Huntington Hall and Merrimack Street Station so familiar to us all was built and was occupied as a railroad station until its destruction by fire, November 6th, 1904. The original station which had been occupied twenty-eight years was moved, part of it up near Fletcher street, where it was used for many years as a passenger car house, it being thought necessary in those days to keep passenger cars housed when they were not in actual use, as we do a carriage. The office part of the old station was sold to John O'Connor, who had lost both legs through an accident on the road. This was moved to what is now the corner of Fletcher and Dutton streets where it served for a dwelling house. It was afterwards raised up and a story put under it, now occupied as a drug store, the upper part still being the home of Mrs. Calvert and Miss O'Connor, daughters of John O'Connor. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ On the 8th day of September, 1838, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad commenced running trains between Nashua and Lowell. Their main line was along Dutton street, the tracks now used for freight tracks to the corporations, the terminus in Lowell, being the Boston & Lowell depot at Merrimack street. The Nashua and Lowell engines were cut off the trains above Market street, the trains switched into the depot, then the Boston and Lowell engine backed onto the train and hauled it to Boston. As this reversed the train, the passengers were obliged to get up and turn over the seats or ride to Boston backwards. On the return trip from Boston the same operation had to be gone through before the train started for Nashua. From “The Boston and Lowell Railroad, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the Salem and Lowell Railroad,” by Francis B. C. Bradlee, Salem, MA. The Essex Institute, 1918. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
834	dbpedia	2	46	https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/lowell-mill-girls-and-factory-system-1840	en	Lowell Mill Girls and the factory system, 1840	https://www.gilderlehrma…/gli-favicon.png	https://www.gilderlehrma…/gli-favicon.png	[ "https://www.gilderlehrman.org/themes/custom/gilderlehrman_theme/images/TLTH-Logo-2.png", "https://www.gilderlehrman.org/themes/custom/gilderlehrman_theme/images/icons/twitter.svg", "https://www.gilderlehrman.org/themes/custom/gilderlehrman_theme/images/icons/facebook.svg", "https://www.gilderlehrman.org/them...	[]	[]	[ "Lowell Mill Girls and the factory system", "1840 \| Lowell", "Massachusetts", "named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell", "was founded in the early 1820s as a planned town for the manufacture of textiles. It introduced a new system of integrated manufacturing to the United States and established new patterns ...	null	[ "Orestes Brownson", "\"A Factory Girl\"" ]	null	Lowell Mill Girls and the factory system, 1840 \| Lowell, Massachusetts, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, was founded in the early 1820s as a planned town for the manufacture of textiles. It introduced a new system of integrated manufacturing to the United States and established new patterns of employment and urban development that were soon replicated around New England and elsewhere. \| Lowell, Massachusetts, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, was founded in the early 1820s as a planned town for the manufacture of textiles. It introduced a new system of integrated manufacturing to the United States and established new patterns of employment and urban development that were soon replicated around New England and elsewhere. By 1840, the factories in Lowell employed at some estimates more than 8,000 textile workers, commonly known as mill girls or factory girls. These "operatives"—so-called because they operated the looms and other machinery—were primarily women and children from farming backgrounds. The Lowell mills were the first hint of the industrial revolution to come in the United States, and with their success came two different views of the factories. For many of the mill girls, employment brought a sense of freedom. Unlike most young women of that era, they were free from parental authority, were able to earn their own money, and had broader educational opportunities. Many observers saw this challenge to the traditional roles of women as a threat to the American way of life. Others criticized the entire wage-labor factory system as a form of slavery and actively condemned and campaigned against the harsh working conditions and long hours and the increasing divisions between workers and factory owners. The Transcendentalist reformer Orestes Brownson first published "The Laboring Classes" in his journal, the Boston Quarterly Review, in July 1840. It is an attack on the entire wage system but particularly focuses on how factory jobs affect the mill girls: "‘She has worked in a Factory,’" Brownson argues, "is almost enough to damn to infamy the most worthy and virtuous girl." In response, "A Factory Girl" published a defense of the mill girls in the December 1840 issue of the Lowell Offering, a journal of articles, fiction, and poetry written by and for the Lowell factory operatives. The author was probably Harriet Jane Farley, a mill girl who eventually became editor of the Lowell Offering. [1] [1] "The Lowell Offering Index," by Judith Ranta, Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries, http://library.uml.edu/clh/index.Html. Excerpts Orestes Brownson, The Laboring Classes: An Article from the Boston Quarterly Review, Boston: Benjamin H. Greene, 1840. The operatives are well dressed, and we are told, well paid. They are said to be healthy, contented, and happy. This is the fair side of the picture . . . There is a dark side, moral as well as physical. Of the common operatives, few, if any, by their wages, acquire a competence . . . the great mass wear out their health, spirits, and morals, without becoming one whit better off than when they commenced labor. The bills of mortality in these factory villages are not striking, we admit, for the poor girls when they can toil no longer go home to die. The average life, working life we mean, of the girls that come to Lowell, for instance, from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, we have been assured, is only about three years. What becomes of them then? Few of them ever marry; fewer still ever return to their native places with reputations unimpaired. "She has worked in a Factory," is almost enough to damn to infamy the most worthy and virtuous girl. A Factory Girl, "Factory Girls," Lowell Offering, December 1840 Whom has Mr. Brownson slandered? . . . girls who generally come from quiet country homes, where their minds and manners have been formed under the eyes of the worthy sons of the Pilgrims, and their virtuous partners, and who return again to become the wives of the free intelligent yeomanry of New England and the mothers of quite a proportion of our future republicans. Think, for a moment, how many of the next generation are to spring from mothers doomed to infamy! . . . It has been asserted that to put ourselves under the influence and restraints of corporate bodies, is contrary to the spirit of our institutions, and to that love of independence which we ought to cherish. . . . We are under restraints, but they are voluntarily assumed; and we are at liberty to withdraw from them, whenever they become galling or irksome. Neither have I ever discovered that any restraints were imposed upon us but those which were necessary for the peace and comfort of the whole, and for the promotion of the design for which we are collected, namely, to get money, as much of it and as fast as we can; and it is because our toil is so unremitting, that the wages of factory girls are higher than those of females engaged in most other occupations. It is these wages which, in spite of toil, restraint, discomfort, and prejudice, have drawn so many worthy, virtuous, intelligent, and well-educated girls to Lowell, and other factories; and it is the wages which are in great degree to decide the characters of the factory girls as a class. . . . Mr. Brownson may rail as much as he pleases against the real injustice of capitalists against operatives, and we will bid him God speed, if he will but keep truth and common sense upon his side. Still, the avails of factory labor are now greater than those of many domestics, seamstresses, and school-teachers; and strange would it be, if in money-loving New England, one of the most lucrative female employments should be rejected because it is toilsome, or because some people are prejudiced against it. Yankee girls have too much independence for that. . . . And now, if Mr. Brownson is a man, he will endeavor to retrieve the injury he has done; . . . though he will find error, ignorance, and folly among us, (and where would he find them not?) yet he would not see worthy and virtuous girls consigned to infamy, because they work in a factory.	en	/themes/custom/gilderlehrman_theme/images/gli-favicon.png		https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/lowell-mill-girls-and-factory-system-1840	Lowell, Massachusetts, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, was founded in the early 1820s as a planned town for the manufacture of textiles. It introduced a new system of integrated manufacturing to the United States and established new patterns of employment and urban development that were soon replicated around New England and elsewhere. By 1840, the factories in Lowell employed at some estimates more than 8,000 textile workers, commonly known as mill girls or factory girls. These "operatives"—so-called because they operated the looms and other machinery—were primarily women and children from farming backgrounds. The Lowell mills were the first hint of the industrial revolution to come in the United States, and with their success came two different views of the factories. For many of the mill girls, employment brought a sense of freedom. Unlike most young women of that era, they were free from parental authority, were able to earn their own money, and had broader educational opportunities. Many observers saw this challenge to the traditional roles of women as a threat to the American way of life. Others criticized the entire wage-labor factory system as a form of slavery and actively condemned and campaigned against the harsh working conditions and long hours and the increasing divisions between workers and factory owners. The Transcendentalist reformer Orestes Brownson first published "The Laboring Classes" in his journal, the Boston Quarterly Review, in July 1840. It is an attack on the entire wage system but particularly focuses on how factory jobs affect the mill girls: "‘She has worked in a Factory,’" Brownson argues, "is almost enough to damn to infamy the most worthy and virtuous girl." In response, "A Factory Girl" published a defense of the mill girls in the December 1840 issue of the Lowell Offering, a journal of articles, fiction, and poetry written by and for the Lowell factory operatives. The author was probably Harriet Jane Farley, a mill girl who eventually became editor of the Lowell Offering. [1] [1] "The Lowell Offering Index," by Judith Ranta, Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries, http://library.uml.edu/clh/index.Html. Excerpts Orestes Brownson, The Laboring Classes: An Article from the Boston Quarterly Review, Boston: Benjamin H. Greene, 1840. The operatives are well dressed, and we are told, well paid. They are said to be healthy, contented, and happy. This is the fair side of the picture . . . There is a dark side, moral as well as physical. Of the common operatives, few, if any, by their wages, acquire a competence . . . the great mass wear out their health, spirits, and morals, without becoming one whit better off than when they commenced labor. The bills of mortality in these factory villages are not striking, we admit, for the poor girls when they can toil no longer go home to die. The average life, working life we mean, of the girls that come to Lowell, for instance, from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, we have been assured, is only about three years. What becomes of them then? Few of them ever marry; fewer still ever return to their native places with reputations unimpaired. "She has worked in a Factory," is almost enough to damn to infamy the most worthy and virtuous girl. A Factory Girl, "Factory Girls," Lowell Offering, December 1840 Whom has Mr. Brownson slandered? . . . girls who generally come from quiet country homes, where their minds and manners have been formed under the eyes of the worthy sons of the Pilgrims, and their virtuous partners, and who return again to become the wives of the free intelligent yeomanry of New England and the mothers of quite a proportion of our future republicans. Think, for a moment, how many of the next generation are to spring from mothers doomed to infamy! . . . It has been asserted that to put ourselves under the influence and restraints of corporate bodies, is contrary to the spirit of our institutions, and to that love of independence which we ought to cherish. . . . We are under restraints, but they are voluntarily assumed; and we are at liberty to withdraw from them, whenever they become galling or irksome. Neither have I ever discovered that any restraints were imposed upon us but those which were necessary for the peace and comfort of the whole, and for the promotion of the design for which we are collected, namely, to get money, as much of it and as fast as we can; and it is because our toil is so unremitting, that the wages of factory girls are higher than those of females engaged in most other occupations. It is these wages which, in spite of toil, restraint, discomfort, and prejudice, have drawn so many worthy, virtuous, intelligent, and well-educated girls to Lowell, and other factories; and it is the wages which are in great degree to decide the characters of the factory girls as a class. . . . Mr. Brownson may rail as much as he pleases against the real injustice of capitalists against operatives, and we will bid him God speed, if he will but keep truth and common sense upon his side. Still, the avails of factory labor are now greater than those of many domestics, seamstresses, and school-teachers; and strange would it be, if in money-loving New England, one of the most lucrative female employments should be rejected because it is toilsome, or because some people are prejudiced against it. Yankee girls have too much independence for that. . . . And now, if Mr. Brownson is a man, he will endeavor to retrieve the injury he has done; . . . though he will find error, ignorance, and folly among us, (and where would he find them not?) yet he would not see worthy and virtuous girls consigned to infamy, because they work in a factory.
834	dbpedia	1	13	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	en	History of the B&M Railroad — Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn....	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/336c133a-16c9-46b9-9496-da9e8334707b/favicon.ico?format=100w	Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	The invention of the steam railroad in the 19th Century radically expanded human mobility and commerce. By “annihilating distance” the railroad forever changed the American landscape and patterns of business and domestic life. Originating in the idea of constructing a continuous inland route between Boston and Portland, the Boston and Maine Railroad gradually gained control of other lines until the B&M system linked hundreds of cities, towns, and villages in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. Shipments of grain, ice, lumber, meat and produce over its rails contributed to the expansion of Boston as a market center and a great seaport. The B&M and its predecessor companies made possible the development of New England’s manufacturing cities and eliminated the crushing isolation of life in the country. For most communities it became the link to the outside world. It also found markets for the products of each town’s industry and in return brought to every locality the whole range and variety of goods that were the fruit of the Industrial Revolution. The Boston and Maine Railroad was the successor to the Andover and Wilmington Railroad which opened in 1836. Over the next 65 years the B&M gained control (through lease, purchase, or stock ownership) of the Eastern, Boston and Lowell, Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers, Concord & Montreal, Connecticut River, Fitchburg, Portland and Rochester, and Worcester and Nashua railroads, most of which themselves were agglomerations of shorter, earlier roads. All had their main lines and branches that wove a tight web of steel through northern Massachusetts, southern Maine, the state of New Hampshire, and eastern New York and Vermont. At its peak B&M maintained over 2,300 route miles of track, 1,200 steam locomotives, and a force of 28,000 employees. The road’s principal shops were located at North Billerica, Mass. and Concord, N.H. Major freight yards were built at Boston, East Deerfield, Rigby, and Mechanicville. Developing Tourism The B&M led the charge for the development of tourism in New England. The delights of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains, the promotion of seacoast resorts, and the romantic attractions of New England’s historic places were captured in B&M view-books, magazines, and extensive newspaper advertising. In the 1930s and 1940s the Boston and Maine Snow Trains were a major boost to the development of the winter sports business. The B&M’s most famous engineering landmark was the five-mile-long Hoosac Tunnel. Hundreds of the railroad’s bridges enhanced the New England landscape, ranging from picturesque covered bridges to the Greenville and Hillsboro trestles, the Clinton viaduct, and huge steel structures spanning the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. Notable, also, was the gradual filling in of the flats of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and their development as New England’s principal freight distribution center. The B&M came under the control of J.P. Morgan and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad about 1910, but shortly thereafter anti-trust forces wrested effective control away from New Haven. The B&M's consolidation with the Eastern RR included assumption of the Eastern's funded debt. This, combined with the debt incurred in the 1870s for construction of a new route to Portland and fixed lease obligations to acquire the Fitchburg and other railroads, led the B&M into a festering financial crisis that was settled by a reorganization of the road in 1919. Several leased lines voluntarily merged with the B&M to avoid a meltdown of the B&M system. About 1890 street railways made the first assault on the B&M’s passenger business. Increased use of the automobile, from about 1915, made more trouble for the B&M as a passenger carrier, beginning the erosion of its local and commuter business. In the 20th Century freight business was adversely affected by the decline of New England manufacturing and by short-haul truck competition. Nevertheless, the B&M made valiant attempts to preserve its freight and passenger traffic by abandoning unprofitable branches, improving freight handling facilities, upgrading passenger equipment, and making forays into the airline, motor cargo, and bus businesses. Advancing through Technology Never technologically backward, the B&M was an early proponent of switch and signal interlocking, automatic block signaling, automatic train stop, and centralized traffic control. Under president George Hannauer hump yards were established at Boston and Mechanicville and the Freight Cut-Off was established to funnel freight cars away from busy passenger routes. It employed gasoline powered rail motor cars on lightly patronized branches and was one of America’s diesel pioneers; its iconic Unit 6000, the Flying Yankee streamliner (1935), symbolized a hopeful new age in railroad innovation. In 1955 financial operator Patrick B. McGinnis gained control of the Boston and Maine. His principal contribution to B&M history was to oversee the completion of dieselization, the discontinuance of many passenger routes and runs, and the closure and sale of railroad stations and equipment. Ultimately he was convicted of and imprisoned for taking kickbacks on equipment sales. In the late 1950s and 1960s profitability was elusive; Government insisted that the B&M should keep commuter and long-distance passenger trains running in the face of mounting deficits and decreasing patronage and made it impossible for the B&M to break even. Demonstration projects to improve passenger earnings by running more frequent trains were inconclusive, and the drain on assets continued. Expenses were reduced by dieselization and the closure of stations and shops, but the B&M ultimately fell victim to the ever-growing use of motor transportation and the advent of the Interstate Highway System. The railroad gave up on long distance passenger service after 1960 and was able to continue Boston commuter service only by securing subsidies from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Reinventing Itself — Freight Service Bankruptcy came in 1970, but ironically it seems to have been the catalyst that the B&M needed to reinvent itself. Alan Dustin (president 1974-84) reduced operating expenses and plowed the savings back into track improvements. The sale of rights of way in the commuter zone to the MBTA (1976) provided cash to satisfy creditors and in 1980 the B&M had its first profitable year, on an ordinary income basis, since 1957. An improving outlook led to the purchase of the B&M by Timothy Mellon’s Guilford Transportation Industries in 1983 and its emergence from bankruptcy. In addition to its freight service the B&M continued to operate Boston commuter trains under contract to the MBTA. Guilford had purchased the Maine Central Railroad in 1981 and then, with B&M in the fold, began to operate the two roads as a continuous system. Guilford changed the complexion of freight operations by concentrating on large shippers and experimenting with dedicated, high volume, services. Guilford expanded its operations into Connecticut by the acquisition, in 1982, of several track segments from Conrail. Combining these segments with trackage rights, Guilford extended its reach from Springfield as far south as New Haven and as far west as Waterbury and Derby. A labor dispute prompted Guilford to lease B&M track (1986-1987) to subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway, which thus became Guilford’s operating company for freight business. B&M lost the contract for running MBTA commuter service to Amtrak in 1987; Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad ran commuter service over former B&M lines from 2003 to 2014; Keolis Commuter Services took over on July 1, 2014. Short line freight railroads such as Providence and Worcester, New Hampshire Northcoast, and New England Central purchased segments of former B&M right of way and continue to serve online customers. Guilford acquired Pan American World Airways in 1998, and re-branded itself as Pan Am Railways. In 1999, in cooperation with Norfolk Southern, Pan Am began running a dedicated intermodal train between Ayer and Mechanicville. This evolved into an agreement with Norfolk Southern in 2008 to own, as a joint venture named Pan Am Southern, former B&M track between those two points, and elsewhere, using NS money to upgrade the track and to finance improved distribution facilities. Containerized freight, raw materials for paper mills, forest products, and automobile shipments constituted a large part of Pan Am business.
834	dbpedia	2	11	http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/68/68mass1.html	en	BOSTON AND LOWELL RAILROAD CORP. vs. SALEM AND LOWELL RAILROAD CO., 2 Gray 1, 68 Mass. 1	http://masscases.com/favicon.ico	http://masscases.com/favicon.ico	[ "http://www.masscases.com/images/cases-logo-blue-on-white-64x64.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	BILL IN EQUITY, filed on the 14th day of June 1852, by the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, against the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, the Boston and Maine Railroad, and the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company. The bill alleged that by an act passed on the 5th of June 1830, (St. 1830, c. 4,) a charter of incorporation was granted to the plaintiffs by the legislature of this commonwealth, (which was set forth at length in the bill,) and by the first section of which John F. Loring and others named, their associates, successors and assigns, are made a body corporate, under the name of the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, with power to sue and be sued, and have a common seal; and are "vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities, which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this act, as hereinafter set forth. And the said corporation are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct and finally complete a railroad, at or near the city of Boston, and thence to Lowell in the county of Middlesex, in such manner and form as they shall deem to be most expedient; and for this Page 3 purpose the said corporation are authorized to lay out their road, at least four rods wide through the whole length; and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, and stone and gravel, may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said road." Section 2 provides that the capital stock of said corporation shall consist of one thousand shares; and by Â§ 3 the president and directors are authorized to lay assessments to the amount of five hundred dollars on each share. The act also contains the following provisions: "SECTION 5. Be it further enacted, that a toll be and hereby is granted and established, for the sole benefit of said corporation, upon all passengers and property of all descriptions which may be conveyed or transported upon said road, at such rates per mile as may be agreed upon and established from time to time by the directors of said corporation. The transportation of persons and property, the construction of wheels, the form of cars and carriages, the weight of loads, and all other matters and things in relation to the use of said road, shall be in conformity to such rules, regulations and provisions as the directors shall from time to time prescribe and direct, and said road may be used by any person who shall comply with such rules and regulations: Provided, however, that if, at the expiration of four years from and after the completion of said road, the net income or receipts from tolls and other profits, taking the four years aforesaid as the basis of calculation, shall have amounted to more than ten per cent. per annum upon the cost of the road, the legislature may take measures to alter and reduce the rate of tolls and other profits in such manner as to take off the overplus for the next four years, calculating the amount of transportation upon the road to be the same as the four preceding years; and at the expiration of every four years thereafter the same proceedings may be had." "SECTION 6. Be it further enacted, that the directors of said corporation for the time being are hereby authorized to erect toll houses, establish gates, appoint toll gatherers, and demand toll upon the road when completed, and upon such parts thereof Page 4 as shall be from time to time completed; and they shall, from year to year, make a report to the legislature of their acts and doings, receipts and expenditures, under the provisions of this act." "SECTION 12. Be it further enacted, that no other railroad than the one hereby granted shall, within thirty years from and after the passing of this act, be authorized to be made, leading from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge to Lowell, or from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge to any place within five miles of the northern termination of the railroad hereby authorized to be made: Provided, that the State may authorize any company to enter with another railroad, at any point of said Boston and Lowell Railroad, paying for the right to use the same, or any part thereof, such a rate of toll as the legislature may from time to time prescribe, and complying with such rules and regulations as may be established by said Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, by virtue of the fifth section of this act: Provided, also, that it shall be in the power of the government, at any time during the continuance of the charter hereby granted, after the expiration of ten years from the opening for use of the railroad herein provided to be made, to purchase of the said corporation the said railroad, and all the franchise, property, rights and privileges of the said corporation, on paying therefor the amount expended in making the said railroad, and the expenses of repairs, and all other expenses relating thereto, with interest thereon, at the rate of ten per cent. per annum, deducting all sums received by the corporation from tolls or any other source of profit, and interest, at the rate of ten per cent. per annum thereon, that shall have been received by the stockholders; and after such purchase, the limitation provided in this section shall cease, and be of no effect." The bill then alleged that said act of incorporation was duly accepted, and the plaintiffs became a corporation, possessed of all the rights, powers and privileges conferred by said charter; that subsequently certain other acts, in addition to said first named act, were passed by the legislature; (copies of which Page 5 were annexed to the bill) that the same were duly accepted by the plaintiffs, with the exception of the second proviso of the St. of 1836, c. 146; and that thereby a contract, conformable to the terms of said charter, and of the acts thus accepted, was created between the Commonwealth and the plaintiffs. The acts, copies of which were so annexed to the bill, were the following: St. 1830, c. 79, increasing the plaintiffs' capital stock to twelve hundred shares: St. 1832, c. 87, by the first section of which the government of the Commonwealth, at any time after the expiration of twenty years from the opening for use of the plaintiffs' road, may purchase the road, franchise, &c. of the corporation, on paying all expenses, and such additional sum as, together with the net profits received by them, will be equal to ten per cent. on the original cost: St. 1834, c. 1, by which the capital stock of the corporation is increased to twenty four hundred shares: St. 1836, c. 146, by which their capital stock is further increased 600 shares of $500 each; provided, among other things, that the legislature, after twenty years from the opening of said railroad for use, may purchase the road, franchise, &c. by paying such a sum as, together with the whole sum received by said corporation from tolls and all other sources of profit, will reimburse them the amount of capital paid in, for constructing and keeping in repair said railroad, and other necessary expenses, with a net profit thereon of ten per cent. per annum; "and provided also, that the legislature may, at all times, exercise the same powers in relation to altering, amending or repealing the said original act of incorporation, or any act in addition thereto, as are contained in the forty-fourth chapter of the revised statutes; except that the tolls shall not be so fixed or altered, as to reduce the net profits arising from all sources to less than ten per cent. per annum; and provided also, that the said last named proviso shall be null and void, unless the same shall be assented to by a majority of the stock holders of said corporation, within thirty days from the time when this act shall take effect:" St. 1838, c. 95, by the first section of which the plaintiffs are authorized to increase their capital stock by an amount not exceeding $300,000, in shares Page 6 of $500 each: And Sts. 1847, cc. 185, 253, which do not contain any provisions material to the understanding of this case. The bill then alleged that the plaintiffs, confiding in said acts and the privileges therein granted to them, proceeded at great cost and expense to construct and complete the said railroad, and had ever since maintained and employed the same for the transportation of persons and property, and had derived there from just and reasonable gains and profits; and had in all respects conformed to the provisions and requirements of said acts, which by them were to be kept and performed; and were consequently entitled to enjoy the privileges and receive the tolls in said acts granted to them, and especially to enjoy the privileges granted in the twelfth section of their said charter, namely, that no other railroad should, within thirty years from and after the granting of their said charter, be authorized to be made, leading from Boston or Charlestown or Cambridge to Lowell, or from either of said places to any place within five miles of the northern termination of their said road; and also to enjoy the right of conveying and transporting persons and property by railroad from Boston and Charlestown to Lowell, and from Lowell to Boston and Charlestown, without hindrance, competition or interruption from any other corporation or corporations, authorized to own a railroad between other places, by making use of their railroads, or portions of their lines of railroad, to establish a nearly parallel railroad communication from Lowell to Boston or Charlestown, and from Boston or Charlestown to Lowell, and with a terminus in Lowell, or within five miles of the terminus of the plaintiffs' road in Lowell. The bill then alleged that by St. 1845, c. 159, which was duly accepted by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad Extension Company, said two corporations, previously established by the laws of this commonwealth, were united, and became one corporation, under the name of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and the owners and proprietors of the railroad known as the Boston and Maine Railroad, constructed and leading from Boston into the State of Maine Page 7 and running through the town of Wilmington, and having its southern terminus in Boston: That by St. 1846, c. 157, certain persons were made a corporation by the name of the Lowell and Andover Railroad Company, with powers to construct a railroad from Lowell to a point in or near Andover, and to enter with their road upon a part of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in Lowell, and use the same; that said act was duly accepted and said road built and constructed by said corporation from Lowell to Andover; and that the terminus of said road in Lowell was constructed within half a mile of the northern termination of the plaintiffs' road; and that by St. 1848, c. 14, which was accepted by said corporation, it was provided that it should take and be known by the name of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company: That by St. 1848, c. 223, certain persons were made a corporation by the name of the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company; that said act was duly accepted, and said corporation constructed their railroad from a point at or near Salem to a point on said Lowell and Lawrence Railroad, in the town of Tewksbury, where they effected a junction of their said road with the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad, and used the track of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company to their terminus in Lowell, and in so doing constructed their railroad through the town of Wilmington, and there intersected the Boston and Maine Railroad. And copies of these acts were annexed to the bill. The bill then alleged that by means of the said junction of the road of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company with the road of the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company at Tewksbury, and by the intersection of the said last named road with the road of the Boston and Maine Railroad at Wilmington, the rail and other material of a line of railroad communication, nearly parallel with the plaintiffs' road, was created between Lowell and Boston, through Charlestown, only about one mile and six tenths of a mile longer than the plaintiffs' road, and at no point more than three miles and one third of a mile distant therefrom, having one terminus in Lowell within half a mile of the northern terminus of the plaintiffs' road, and a station house Page 8 for passengers in Charlestown, and the southern terminus in Boston a half a mile nearer to the centre of business in Boston than the southern terminus of the plaintiffs' road, by which line passengers and property could be conveyed and transported from Lowell to Charlestown or Boston, and from Boston or Charlestown to Lowell. But the plaintiffs well hoped that no such use of said roads, or portions thereof, would be made or suffered by the defendant corporations, and that the plaintiffs would be permitted peaceably, without interruption, molestation or interference, to have and enjoy the profit, benefit and advantage secured and intended to be secured to them by their act of incorporation, and the acts in addition thereto, of transporting passengers and property from Boston to Lowell, and from Charlestown to Lowell, and from Lowell to Boston, and from Lowell to Charlestown, and free from the competition of any other railroad, authorized to be made by the Commonwealth, extending from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge, to any place within five miles of the northern terminus of the plaintiffs' road; and free from the competition of any other corporation or corporations, authorized by the legislature to run railroads between other places and to intersect and to unite with each other, but making use of their roads, or portions thereof, for establishing a railroad between Boston and Lowell, nearly parallel with the plaintiffs' road, and for transporting passengers from Boston and Charlestown to Lowell, and from Lowell to Boston and Charlestown, on the railroad thus established. The bill then alleged that the defendants, combining, colluding and confederating together to deprive the plaintiffs of the reasonable gains and profits which they were entitled to receive from the transportation of passengers and property over their road, and to hinder them in the enjoyment of the rights and privileges to which they were entitled by virtue of their said contract with the Commonwealth, and especially under the twelfth section of their charter, did enter into a certain mutual agreement, understanding or arrangement to convey, and cause to be conveyed, passengers and property over portions of their said roads, by means of said junctions and intersections, from Page 9 Boston and Charlestown to the terminus of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad in Lowell, and from Lowell to Boston and Charlestown, and by causing cars, and trains of cars, to run over said portions of each of their said roads at such times that passengers could exchange out of the cars of the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company into the cars of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and from the cars of the last mentioned railroad company into the cars of the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, at said intersection at Wilmington; and in pursuance of said agreement and understanding, did, on or about the 28th of June, 1851, commence transporting, and had ever since continued to transport passengers and property over their said lines of road as aforesaid, from Boston and Charlestown to Lowell and from Lowell to Boston and Charlestown, using therefor the road of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company from its terminus in Lowell to the place of its junction with the road of the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company in Tewksbury, and thence using therefor the road of the last mentioned company to its intersection with the road of the Boston and Maine Railroad in Wilmington, and thence using the said road of the last mentioned corporation; and for the purpose of more effectually injuring and competing with the plaintiffs in the transportation of passengers between said places, the defendants had from time to time, since entering into their said agreement and confederacy, published, and caused to be published, and still continued to publish and advertise the said route between Boston and Lowell, so made and formed as aforesaid by portions of their said roads, as a railroad route between Boston and Lowell, by publishing notices thereof in newspapers printed in said cities of Boston and Lowell, and by posting up printed notifications thereof in public places in said cities and in divers of the station houses on the roads of the defendant corporations; and had advertised and sold, and still continued to advertise and sell tickets for the transportation of passengers between said cities over said portions of their roads, and also season tickets and package tickets for the use of families and firms; and had employed and still did employ agents to divert and Page 10 dissuade passengers from travelling between said cities upon and over the plaintiffs' road, and to induce them to travel over the said roads of the defendant corporations; and by means of the premises had succeeded in deterring and preventing many persons from using the plaintiffs' road for the purpose of being transported from Boston and Charlestown to Lowell, and from Lowell to Boston and Charlestown, and in depriving the plaintiffs of the gain and profits which would have accrued to them from the transportation of such passengers between said cities over their said road; and that the defendant corporations, not content with the injury they had thus inflicted, and were still continuing to inflict upon the plaintiffs, had recently combined and mutually agreed, and now threatened and intended to transport and convey passengers and property between Boston and Lowell, and Charlestown and Lowell, over said portions of said roads, by means of cars, and trains of cars, to run entirely through without being changed, from the said terminus in one of said cities to the said terminus in the other, and without the necessity of the passengers being removed from one train of cars into another at Wilmington; all of which acts and doings, and threatened acts and doings, were and would be a nuisance to the rights and franchise of the plaintiffs, legally acquired as aforesaid under their said charter and acts in addition thereto. The bill then alleged the protest of the plaintiffs against said acts done and threatened, a demand on the defendants to desist and to account with the plaintiffs for the gains and fares received for the transportation of passengers and property as aforesaid, and the defendants' refusal, and that the defendants claimed the right of such transportation under their acts of incorporation, and under Sts. 1851, c. 196, and 1852, c. 118; whereas the plaintiffs denied that said acts did or could legally confer upon the defendants any such powers. The following is a copy of the statute of 1851, c. 196: "An act to provide additional railroad accommodations for the town of Wilmington and the vicinity. "SECTION 1. The ninth section of an act approved by the Governor on the sixteenth day of March in the year one Page 11 thousand eight hundred and forty four, entitled 'An act to establish the Boston and Maine Extension Company,' is hereby repealed. "SECTION 2. So much of the eighth section of chapter two hundred and twenty three of the laws of the year one thousand eight hundred and forty eight, incorporating the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, as provides that the cars of the said corporation shall not be permitted to stop for the purpose of receiving or delivering passengers or merchandise, at any point upon their track within one mile of the Boston and Maine Railroad, is hereby repealed. "SECTION 3. Nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to authorize the cars of the said Boston and Maine Railroad Company, or of any other corporation or persons, to be drawn from said last mentioned road over the road of the said Salem and Lowell Railroad Company; or the cars of the said Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, or of any other corporation or person, to be drawn from said last mentioned road over the road of the said Boston and Maine Railroad Company." Section 9 of the act of March 16th 1844, (St. 1844, c. 172,) repealed by the first section of the above act, was in these words: "No depot or stopping place shall be established be tween Andover and Reading, without the consent of the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation." And section 8 of St. 1848, c. 223, incorporating the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, referred to in the second section of the above act, is thus: "Said corporation may cross the track of the Boston and Maine Railroad; but no connection shall ever hereafter be formed between the tracks of said last named railroad corporation and those of the corporation hereby created; nor shall the cars of the corporation hereby created be permitted to stop, for the purpose of receiving or delivering passengers or merchandise, at any point upon their own track, within one mile of the track of said Boston and Maine Railroad; and the supreme judicial court of this commonwealth shall have power to restrain by injunction any attempts which shall be made, Page 12 directly or indirectly, by the corporation hereby created, or by the Boston and Maine Railroad Corporation, to violate the conditions of this section. All injunctions as aforesaid may be granted by any justice of the supreme judicial court, according to the ordinary course of proceeding in courts of equity." The other statute relied on by the defendants, (St. 1852, c. 118,) is as follows: "An act in relation to the Boston and Maine Railroad Company and the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company. "SECTION 1. The Boston and Maine Railroad Company may enter upon and use the Salem and Lowell Railroad, according to law. "SECTION 2. The Salem and Lowell Railroad Company may enter upon and use the Boston and Maine Railroad, according to law: Provided, that nothing contained in this act shall be construed to impair the rights of any person or corporation. "SECTION 3. All acts and parts of acts, inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed." The bill then prayed for a discovery and an account, for specific relief by injunction, and for general relief, and for due process. The three defendant corporations each filed a general demurrer. And the parties afterwards agreed, that the case should be heard and considered by the court, at the argument upon the bill and demurrer, as if a supplemental bill had been filed by the plaintiffs, charging the doing by the defendants of the several acts and things, which they were charged in the original bill with combining, threatening and preparing to do, and a general demurrer filed to such supplemental bill. This case was argued at Boston in February 1854. J. Parker & S. H. Phillips, (G. Minot was with them,) for the defendants. I. The only grant of a franchise in the plaintiffs' charter is in Â§ 1. A franchise is a branch of the sovereign prerogative, subsisting in the subject by a grant from the sovereign. 2 Bl. Com. 37. 3 Cruise Dig. tit. 27, Â§ 1. Finch, 164. The provision in Â§ 12 is not a grant of exclusive limits, nor of the exclusive right of railroad transportation within Page 13 certain defined limits; it is not a grant of a franchise, nor of any kind of property; but merely an executory contract. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 7 Pick. 344, and 11 Pet. 420. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad v. Louisa Railroad, 13 How. 71. Tuckahoe Canal v. Tuckahoe & James River Railroad, 11 Leigh, 70, 71. Dyer v. Tuskaloosa Bridge, 2 Porter, 296. Boston & Lowell Railroad v. Boston & Maine Railroad, 5 Cush. 385. Piscataqua Bridge v. New Hampshire Bridge, 7 N. H. 57. Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. 507. Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1. "A grant is a contract executed." Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 137. A grant by the State passes nothing by implication. 5 Cruise Dig. (Greenl. ed.) tit. 34, Â§ 11, & note. II. If the provision in Â§ 12 be regarded merely as a contract, the plaintiffs' bill cannot be sustained. The plaintiffs pray for relief against an alleged nuisance. But a nuisance implies some right of property in the party injured. 3 Bl. Com. 217. Finch, 188. Fitz. N. B. 184. And the provision in Â§ 12 being merely a contract between the Commonwealth and the plaintiffs, the acts done by a third party, under authority from the legislature, subsequently obtained, do not constitute a nuisance. But assuming that there are grounds upon which, in cases of this nature, a court of equity will interfere, the alleged contract will not support this bill. 1. The contract is void; for the legislature have no right, by making such a contract, to deprive themselves of any of the essential attributes of sovereignty, such as the power to create revenues for public purposes, to provide for the common defence, to provide safe and convenient ways for the public necessity and convenience, to take private property for public uses, and the like. 3 Cruise Dig. (Greenl. ed.) tit. 27, Â§ 29, note. 17 Vin. Ab. Prerogative, M. b. pl. 20. Bract. l. 2, c. 5. Chit. Prerog. 384. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 11 Pet. 420. Attorney General v. Richards, 2 Anst. 605. Hale de Jure Maris, 12. Attorney General v. Burridge, 10 Price, 370, 372. Commonwealth v. Alger, 7 Cush. 53. Weston v. Sampson, 8 Cush. 347. Peck v. Lockwood, 5 Day, 22. Gough v. Bell, 1 Zab. 156. Page 14 Arnold v. Mundy, 1 Halst. 1. Monongahela Navigation Co. v. Coons, 6 W. & S. 107, 112. Shrunk v. Schuylkill Navigation Co. 14 S. & R. 71. Susquehanna Canal v. Wright, 9 W. & S. 9. Rundle v. Delaware & Raritan Canal, 14 How. 92. Callender v. Marsh, 1 Pick. 418. Hollister v. Union Co. 9 Conn. 436. Lansing v. Smith, 8 Cow. 146. Brick Presbyterian Church in New York v. New York, 5 Cow. 538. Goszler v. Georgetown, 6 Wheat. 593. Brewster v. Hough, 10 N. H. 138. Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch 143, by Johnson, J. The true precedents to be sought in England are those which concern the powers of the crown, and not those which concern the powers of parliament; for parliament may change the constitution of England. 2. The defendants not being parties or privies to the original contract, this bill cannot be maintained against them. The provision of Â§ 12 is not a covenant real, which runs with, or is annexed to the thing granted - if indeed any thing can be said to be annexed to a franchise. Keppell v. Bailey, 2 Myl. & K. 517, 535. Duke of Bedford v. British Museum, 2 Myl. & K. 562. 4 Cruise Dig. (Greenl. ed.) tit. 32, c. 26, Â§Â§ 23, 24, & note. Spencer's case, 1 Smith Lead. Cas. 22, & Amer. notes. Clark v. Swift, 3 Met. 390. 3. If the Commonwealth is bound by this contract, it is not bound to respond in damages, nor are its agents liable to an injunction, but the remedy against the Commonwealth must be sought in the ordinary mode. The Commonwealth cannot be sued nor enjoined. United States v. McLemore, 4 How. 288. The agents of the Commonwealth cannot be restrained by injunction from constructing a state work within the prohibited limits; the damages thereby occasioned are damnum absque injuria. 1 Pick. 418, 9 Conn. 436, and 8 Cow. 146, above cited. The bill should at least allege an application to the Commonwealth for compensation. III. Even if the provision in Â§ 12 be regarded as a grant of property, the plaintiffs' bill cannot be sustained. 1. It alleges a mere taking of private property for public uses, under the right of eminent domain. If Â§ 12 is to be treated as a grant of property, it must be considered a grant of the Page 15 monopoly of all railroad business between two lines extending from points, distant respectively five miles east and west of the northern terminus of the plaintiffs' road, to the extreme outer limits of Charlestown and Cambridge; and any part of this grant may be taken from the plaintiffs for public uses, upon compensation being made. A franchise may be taken for public uses. Boston Water Power Co. v. Boston & Worcester Railroad, 23 Pick. 360. White River Turnpike v. Vermont Central Railroad, 21 Verm. 590. West River Bridge v. Dix, 6 How. 507. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad v. Louisa Railroad, 13 How. 71. So easements and other rights may be taken. Ellis v. Welch, 6 Mass. 246. Parks v. Boston, 15 Pick. 203. The general laws of the Commonwealth provide ample means for securing compensation, and a jury trial, to owners of private property taken for public uses. Rev. Sts. c. 39, Â§Â§ 56, 57; c. 24, Â§Â§ 13Â38. If the acts of the defendants, securing a continuous line of railroad communication between Boston and Lowell, constitute the "making" of another railroad within the prohibited limits, as contended by the plaintiffs; and the plaintiffs under Â§ 12 acquired any property which is so taken; then, as the defendant corporations, by Rev. Sts. c. 39, Â§ 45, and the provisions of their respective charters, are each made subject to all general legislation, the plaintiffs' damages must be estimated by the county commissioners, under Rev. Sts. c. 39, Â§ 56. 2. The plaintiffs have a distinct and more appropriate remedy, under Sts. 1851, c. 233, Â§ 55, and 1852, c. 312, Â§Â§ 42, 86, by which any person whose private right or interest has been injured, or is put in hazard, by the exercise, by any private corporation, or any persons claiming to be a private corporation, of a franchise or privilege not conferred by law, may apply to this court for leave to file an information in the nature of a quo warranto. This case cannot be controlled by the consideration that in the somewhat analogous case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 6 Pick. 376, this court assumed jurisdiction in equity; because the plaintiffs in that case could not have availed themselves of either of the remedies open to the present Page 16 plaintiffs. A court of full equity powers having once obtained jurisdiction does not lose it when new powers are given to courts of law. 1 Story on Eq. Â§Â§ 64 i, 80. Atkinson v. Leonard, 3 Bro. C. C. 218. But this would seem to be otherwise in Massachusetts, for the jurisdiction of this court in equity in any particular case is made by statute to depend on there being no plain, adequate and complete remedy at law. Rev. Sts. c. 81, Â§ 8. Mere diminution in the value of property will not furnish ground for relief in equity. Attorney General v. Nichol, 16 Ves. 338. Earl of Ripon v. Hobart, 3 Myl. & K. 169. IV. Assuming that the legislature might lawfully make such a contract, or even grant of property, as is asserted to be contained in Â§ 12, the plaintiffs' bill states no violation of any contract or grant. Every grant of a franchise, or in the nature of a franchise, must be construed strictly. Earl of Leicester's case, 3 Dyer, 362 a. Gennings v. Lake, Cro. Car. 169. United States v. Arredondo, 6 Pet. 738, 739, & cases cited. Beaty v. Knowler, 4 Pet. 168. Providence Bank v. Billings, 4 Pet. 514. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 11 Pet. 420. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad v. Louisa Railroad, 13 How. 81. The limitation, imposed upon the future action of the legislature, amounts only, in terms, to a prohibition against authorizing, within thirty years from 1830, any other railroad to be made, leading from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge, to any place within five miles of the northern terminus of the Boston and Lowell Railroad. No such railroad has been made or authorized. And there is no charge of any such thing in the bill. The bill does not state that the granting of an act of incorporation to either of the defendant corporations was per se a violation of Â§ 12; nor that the granting of a charter to the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, which completed the chain, was per se such a violation; nor that the connection at Wilmington was per se such a violation. But the only statement is that the use of the roads or portions of the roads of the defendants in connection is illegal, and a violation of Â§ 12. The legislature never covenanted that existing roads should not be used; but merely that no roads Page 17 within the prohibited limits should be authorized to be made. The plaintiffs' charter seems to contemplate the use of the road by other corporations, paying toll. C. G. Loring & R. Choate, (J. G. Abbott was with them,) for the plaintiffs. I. The act of the legislature incorporating the plaintiffs, and their acceptance thereof, and acting and investing property under it, created a contract between the Commonwealth and the plaintiffs. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wheat. 518. West River Bridge v. Dix, 6 How. 507. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 11 Pet. 420, and 7 Pick. 507. Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 135. New Jersey v. Wilson, 7 Cranch, 164. Terrett v. Taylor, 9 Cranch, 50. Green v. Biddle, 8 Wheat. 92. Providence Bank v. Billings, 4 Pet. 560, Gordon v. Appeal Tax Court, 3 How. 133. Osborn v. Bank of United States, 9 Wheat. 738. Gardner v. Newburgh, 2 Johns. Ch. 162. Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. 585, 589. Cayuga Bridge v. Magee, 6 Wend. 85. Cayuga Bridge v. Stout, 7 Cow. 33. Croton Turnpike v. Ryder, 1 Johns. Ch. 615. Chesapeake & Ohio Canal v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 4 Gill & Johns. 3. Enfield Toll Bridge v. Hartford & New Haven Railroad, 17 Conn. 40. Washington Bridge v. The State, 18 Conn. 53. Hartford Bridge v. East Hartford, 16 Conn. 149. Piscataqua Bridge v. New Hampshire Bridge, 7 N. H. 35. Wales v. Stetson, 2 Mass. 146. The plaintiffs' bill is well maintained without the aid of Â§ 12. The legislature having determined that a public exigency existed, requiring a railroad from Boston to Lowell, and having, in the exercise of the power of eminent domain, and in consideration of the plaintiffs' undertaking to make such a road at their own expense, granted a right to the plaintiffs to construct one, have thereby exhausted their power on that subject, and cannot grant another road for a similar servitude. Such grant would be in derogation of the vested rights of the plaintiffs. And the grant and establishment in Â§ 5 of a toll, for the sole benefit of the plaintiffs, with a power reserved to reduce it to ten per cent. annually on the capital invested, restrains the legislature from directly or indirectly abolishing the toll, or reducing it below ten per cent. Page 18 But whatever might be the plaintiffs' rights, without Â§ 12, that section amounts to a grant of the exclusive privilege of conveying passengers and freight between Lowell and Boston, &c. and was one which the legislature had a constitutional right to make, that body being the sole judges of its necessity and utility; and this exclusive right, so granted, when accepted by the plaintiffs, became a portion of their property, and entitled to protection like other property. Cases above cited. Const. of Mass. c. 1, art. 4. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad v. Louisa Railroad, 13 How. 71. Gibbons v. Ogden, 17 Johns. 488, and 4 Johns. Ch. 150. Newburgh & Cochecton Turnpike v. Miller, 5 Johns. Ch. 101. Moor v. Veazie, 31 Maine, 360, and 32 Maine, 343. This section is to receive that construction, which will best carry into effect the intent of the parties to it. From the words of this section, and the spirit of the whole act, it clearly appears that the intention of the plaintiffs was to secure an exclusive right for a certain number of years, before investing their money in building a railroad, and that the intention of the legislature was to grant them such exclusive privilege, in order to induce them to make such investment. The meaning of the legislature being clear upon the face of the act, all technical rules as to the construction or form of particular terms are to be disregarded; especially since the effect of the act is to make a contract between the State and the plaintiffs. Dwarris on Sts. 694, 695. Huidekoper v. Douglass, 3 Cranch, 70. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 7 Pick. 462, 521, and 11 Pet. 597, 601. Wilkinson v. Leland, 2 Pet. 662. Chesapeake & Ohio Canal v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 4 Gill & Johns. 3. Co. Lit. 56 a. Plowd Saunders's case, 5 Co. 12. Somerset v. Dighton, 12 Mass. 384. Whitney v. Whitney, 14 Mass. 92. Stanwood v. Peirce, 7 Mass. 460. Com. Dig. Parliament, R. 10-28. Bac. Ab. Statute, I. 5. Boulton v. Bull, 2 H. Bl. 499. Bac. Max. reg. 3. 1 Bl. Com. 88. 2 Inst. 496, 497. 1 Kent Com. (6th ed.) 460 & note. Hartford Bridge v. East Hartford, 16 Conn. 176. Enfield Toll Bridge v. Hartford & New Haven Railroad, 17 Conn. 56, 57. Page 19 The stipulation in Â§ 12 is not a mere executory contract, but rather a description and extension of the grant contained in Â§ 1, making it a grant of an exclusive right to have a railroad between the limits defined, for thirty years. But if a mere contract executory, it is analogous to a covenant for quiet enjoyment, or a covenant against interruption by the grantor; it is a promise on the part of the legislature, for a consideration, that no competing road shall be made for thirty years, and is a contract which gives a peculiar character and value to the property granted; and the entire act, including this provision, was accepted by the plaintiffs, as a whole. Whatever is the subject of property may be taken by the legislature under the right of eminent domain. But if it were true that the legislature cannot take an executory contract for public uses, they can take the plaintiffs' road and all their property to which the contract relates. So that the power of the legislature to take is not affected by this provision; but, at most, only the measure of compensation. This provision, which is a grant, license and contract with the plaintiffs, is, as against all others, an ordinance, obligatory strictly as law, irrepealable, or at least unrepealed, a legislative command to all to recognize and respect the plaintiffs' rights and privileges, and equivalent to a standing general law, that no person or corporation shall be authorized to make a competing road. Suarez de Leg. Lib. 1, c. 14, Â§ 9; c. 17, Â§ 13; Lib. 8, c. 6, Â§ 1; c . 22, Â§ 2; c. 23, Â§ 1. II. The power to establish a competing line of railroad between Boston and Lowell cannot be acquired except by express grant from the legislature. And the legislature have manifested no intention to repeal Â§ 12 of the plaintiffs' charter. Repeal by implication is not favored. Chesapeake & Ohio Canal v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 4 Gill & Johns. 6. Loker v. Brookline, 13 Pick. 348. Haynes v. Jenks, 2 Pick. 176. Snell v. Bridgewater Cotton Gin Manufacturing Co. 24 Pick. 297, 298. Goddard v. Boston, 20 Pick. 410. Bowen v. Lease, 5 Hill, 221. Planters' Bank v. The State, 6 Sm. & Marsh. 628. The true rule of construction of the several acts relating to the plaintiff and Page 20 defendant corporations is, to take them all together, and give them such a construction, if possible, as will best protect the rights and privileges of each. The several roads of the defendants were established for distinct purposes, as appears by their charters, in two of which are express restrictions on any union which might affect the plaintiffs' rights. And a use of their roads, for the purposes complained of, is in fraud, not only of the plaintiffs' rights, but of the very acts of the legislature under which the right to make such use is claimed. Dig. Lib. 1, Tit. 3, Â§ 29. The act complained of is the causing to exist and be operated a railroad, leading from Boston to Lowell, almost parallel with the plaintiffs' road, and competing with it, on systematic design, for the through travel between those cities. The appropriating of portions of the three roads of the defendant corporations to a permanent new use, as a continuous road from Boston to Lowell, is a "making" of a road leading from Boston to Lowell, within the meaning of Â§ 12. Richardson's, Johnson's and Worcester's Dictionaries, verb. "Make." Dig. Lib. 50, c. 16, Â§ 218. Thompson v. New York & Harlem Railroad, 3 Sandf. Ch. 656. And the fact that the three sections of the defendants' roads are still used as parts of their distinct roads does not affect the case. Nor does the fact that the road so made is not all under the control of one corporation; for it works the same mischief to the plaintiffs, and in the same way, as if it were. The St. of 1852, c. 118, particularly relied on by the defendants, expressly requires the use by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company, of each other's roads, to be "according to law," that is, in a manner that will not conflict with existing laws, or interfere with rights previously granted by the legislature. And the provision, that this act shall not be construed to impair the rights of any person or corporation, in terms covers the right of the plaintiff corporation; one of the most important of which is the exclusive right of transportation between Boston and Lowell. Every statute is to be so construed, if possible, as to accord with the Constitution. The St. of 1852, upon the defendants' Page 21 construction, impairs the obligation of the contract between the Commonwealth and the plaintiffs. A law which in its practical operation impairs the obligation of a contract is as unconstitutional as one which in terms impairs such obligation. See cases cited ante, 17. Nor does the St. of 1852 declare the existence of a public exigency, as is requisite to authorize the legislature to exercise the power of eminent domain. Although the legislature may be the exclusive judges of the existence of the exigency, they must distinctly declare its existence, in order to authorize them to appropriate private property to the public use. And no compensation to the plaintiffs for the injury occasioned to their property is provided for in the act itself, or by any general law. III. The infringement by the defendants of the plaintiffs' exclusive franchise of railroad transportation between Boston and Lowell is a nuisance to the plaintiffs' rights; and the proper remedy is by this process in equity for an injunction. 2 Eden on Injunctions, 271-276. Com. Dig. Chancery, D. 12. Jeremy on Eq. 310. Croton Turnpike v. Ryder, 1 Johns. Ch. 615. Newburgh & Cochecton Turnpike v. Miller, 5 Johns. Ch. 101. Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. 585. Gardner v. New burgh, 2 Johns. Ch. 162. Ogden v. Gibbons, 4 Johns. Ch. 174. Frewin v. Lewis, 4 Myl. & C. 255. Osborn v. Bank of United States, 9 Wheat. 841. Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 6 Pick. 376. Piscataqua Bridge v. New Hampshire Bridge, 7 N. H. 35. Hartford Bridge v. East Hartford, 16 Conn. 149. Enfield Toll Bridge v. Hartford & New Haven Railroad, 17 Conn. 40. Yard v. Ford, 2 Saund. 171. Gates v. M'Daniel, 2 Stew. 211. Rev. Sts. c. 81, Â§ 8. The plaintiffs' remedy is not upon the Rev. Sts. c. 39; for the bill proceeds not upon the ground of a lawful taking, but of a wrongful intrusion, not authorized by the statutes under which the defendants claim. Besides; the provisions of the Rev. Sts. c. 39, clearly have reference to an actual taking, and not to the injury to a franchise occasioned by a new use of roads already made. Such taking is not a taking by authority of the legislature, but by agreement of the corporations among themselves. Page 22 The remedy by information in the nature of a quo warranto, given by Sts. 1851, c. 233, Â§ 52, and 1852, c. 312, Â§ 42, cannot take away the jurisdiction of this court as a court of equity. Varet v. New York Ins. Co. 7 Paige, 560. King v. Baldwin, 17 Johns. 384. White v. Meday, 2 Edw. Ch. 486. Wilson v. Kilcannon, 1 Overton, 201. And the remedy under these statutes would afford no adequate relief for the injury sustained; for the defendants could not in that way be held to account, or to pay the damages sustained by the plaintiffs. J. Parker, in reply. If the legislature, by the mere grant in Â§ 1 of the right to build a railroad between Boston and Lowell, deprived themselves of the power to establish another road for a similar servitude, as was suggested for the plaintiffs, then Â§ 12, which purports to bind the legislature for thirty years only, is unnecessary. But there is no authority to support this construction. If it were sound, the Charles River Bridge would have been saved; for the grant was as ample as that contained in Â§ 1 of the plaintiffs' charter, and the Warren Bridge was for the same servitude. 7 Pick. 344. See also Piscataqua Bridge v. New Hampshire Bridge, 7 N. H. 57, and Thompson v. New York & Harlem Railroad, 3 Sandf. Ch. 625. Nor does the mere grant of a right to take tolls exclude other grants of a similar character with the same right. And the provision in Â§ 5 of the plaintiffs' charter, by which the legislature may reduce the tolls to ten per cent., can hardly operate to enlarge the grant itself so that the legislature may not make other grants affecting the tolls. If such might be its operation, the reservation of the power to reduce the tolls would serve to give the plaintiffs a much better right than they would have with an unlimited right to take tolls. But the plaintiffs claim to sustain their bill mainly on the provisions of Â§ 12, and in order to determine what rights they have under it, the court must ascertain the true character of that section. It has been called by the counsel "a grant," "a contract," "a law" and "an ordinance;" and it has been said to give exclusive privileges, the nature of which has been differently stated in different parts of the argument. But the Page 23 defendants say that Â§ 12 contains, not a grant, but a covenant; an executory, and not an executed contract. It may be quite important what character is impressed upon it. If it is a grant of the exclusive right of transportation from Boston to Lowell, then, if valid, it would restrain all transportation between those places by any other road, however indirect. If it is an executed contract, having the character of a grant of exclusive limits, then the plaintiffs have, by that section, a franchise or property, subject to the power of eminent domain, and which may be taken when the public exigencies require it. But if it is a mere executory contract, and valid as such, it is a contract of restraint, and the plaintiffs can have no property in a restraint upon the legislature, which can be taken for the public use. A stipulation not to do is an executory contract, as much as an obligation to do a particular thing Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 136. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wheat. 682. It will be borne in mind that the stipulation in Â§ 12 is for something outside of and beyond the matter granted in Â§ 1. It is as if a grantor, after having granted a tract of land, had made an agreement in a subsequent part of the deed, restraining himself from a particular use of his other lands adjoining. The plaintiffs' charter, while it has to a certain extent the form of a statute or law, is in effect a deed, or grant, or contract. For present purposes, it has the character of a deed. In Â§ 1 is a grant of a franchise. The act also contains conditions and restrictions upon this grant, and prescribes the mode in which it is to be used. In Â§ 12 is a covenant of the grantor. This covenant cannot enlarge the grant, although it might be referred to if the words of the grant were ambiguous. Corbin v. Healy 20 Pick. 516. Mills v. Catlin, 22 Verm. 98. In order to give the plaintiffs ' construction to Â§ 12, as a part of the grant, we must not only change its form, but its substance; not only its terms, but its operation and effect. A stipulation on the part of the legislature, that no other railroad from Boston to Lowell shall be authorized to be made, is one thing, clear and explicit. Any other railroad, not from Page 24 Boston to Lowell, may be authorized, and may transport passengers or freight without paying damages to the plaintiffs. But that being its character, if it is a valid agreement, the legislature cannot, by virtue of any right of eminent domain, grant another railroad from Boston to Lowell, even with a provision for the payment of damages. The stipulation would be broken the instant when such authority was given by the legislature. But any party, who could agree with the landholders, might build a railroad, and use it as a common carrier, if it could be done without interfering with the public highways. 11 Leigh, 72. And if there was such interference, the plaintiffs would have no concern with that. Upon that construction, the restraint is upon the legislature. A grant of an exclusive right to build a railroad from Boston to Lowell is another thing, essentially different. If that is the character of the plaintiffs' right, not only may railroads be granted running from either place to other places, without any provision for the payment of damages to the plaintiffs, but another road might be granted from Boston to Lowell, the law making provision for the assessment of such damages as the plaintiffs should sustain by the new grant. There would, in that view, be no breach of any stipulation by the grant authorizing such other road to be built. But no party could build a road without a grant and payment of damages. The grant of the exclusive right would operate to restrain every one from building, unless he could show authority to take a part of the plaintiffs' franchise. The restraint would be upon individuals as well as upon the government. There are two very important distinctions, therefore, between these two constructions; one relating to what will constitute a breach, and the other relating to the extent and operation of the grant. Upon what principle are the court authorized to change this covenant to a grant, and thus change its effect and operation, not merely from covenant to grant, but so that it gives other and different rights, and causes other and different restraints? The difference between this case and that of the Piscataqua Bridge is shown by reference to 7 N H. 64, 65, 68, 69. There Page 25 the contract of the State with the plaintiffs was executed, and they had a property in the exclusive grant, and there was no mere stipulation or covenant of the State not to authorize another bridge within certain limits. The question of the right of the legislature to part with the power of eminent domain was not decided in that case, nor in 13 How. 75, 81; and that the legislature cannot surrender it was admitted by Justices Story and Thompson, in 11 Pet. 643, 644, 646, 650. A mere executory contract of restraint cannot be taken under the right of eminent domain. [THOMAS, J. Why not, if it is property?] There is no property in a mere contract not to do an act, which is capable of being taken. To take the restraint is to break the contract. In fact, we do not see how any mere executory contract can be taken for the public use. [SHAW, C. J. If a state makes a contract to convey land in five years, cannot the land be taken for a fort, if the public exigency requires it, within the five years?] Certainly. There the land is taken, not merely the agreement to convey. But admitting the stipulation in Â§ 12 to operate as a grant of property, if the defendants have only used their roads for a new purpose, as stated in the bill, it is no infringement of the stipulation. If they have thereby made a new road, as was said by the plaintiffs' counsel, it was under authority of the St. of 1852, c. 118, and of previous acts; and the plaintiffs' remedy, if their property is thus taken, is under Rev. Sts. c. 39, Â§ 56. By the St. of 1852, the restrictions of former acts are removed, and the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company are each authorized to enter on the road of the other "according to law." By earlier statutes, any railroad corporation may contract with any other, whose road enters upon or is connected with its road, to do all the transportation over said road. St. 1838, c. 99, Â§ 1. And every railroad corporation is required at reasonable times, and for a reasonable compensation, to draw over its road the cars, &c. of any other corporation, authorized by the legislature to enter with its road upon, or to unite the same with the road of such corporation. St. 1845, c. 191, Â§ 2. This last statute will not Page 26 allow the defendant corporations to refuse to draw each other's cars because they happen to come from and to Boston and Lowell. The clause in the St. of 1852, that nothing therein contained shall be construed to impair the rights of any person or corporation, is only the usual formal clause; and if intended, as it is said, for the very purpose of protecting the plaintiffs, it is strange that it was not more distinctly expressed. The authority conferred by the legislature to do the act of taking the property of another is a sufficient declaration that the public exigency requires it. It is not indispensable that the provision for compensation, if necessary, should be inserted in the same act which authorizes the taking. It is sufficient that the general laws of the Commonwealth make ample provision for compensation. Rev. Sts. c. 39, Â§Â§ 45, 56. Dodge v. County Commissioners, 3 Met. 380. If the plaintiffs cannot recover any damages, it is because the damages occasioned to them, by the use of the defendants' roads as a road between Boston and Lowell, are merely incidental to a lawful use of the defendants' roads, and afford no ground for compensation. If any part of the plaintiffs' franchise has been taken, it was by the Lowell and Andover Railroad Company, when they entered upon and used the plaintiffs' road pursuant to their charter, as alleged in the bill; and for such taking the plaintiffs have already had their damages assessed. The plaintiffs had no other property which was taken by the defendants under their respective charters, nor any property in the restrictions, imposed by those charters, on the use by the defendants of their several roads, although such restrictions might incidentally benefit the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs had no stipulation against the right of the defendants, like other railroad corporations, under general laws, to enter upon and use each other's roads. They had no stipulation against the defendant's right of selling tickets from one distant point to another, over several railroads, at a cheaper rate than if tickets were bought for each road separately. And what the defendants might lawfully do, they might lawfully advertise that they would do. The legislature were not bound to impose restrictions on the defendants in the Page 27 first instance, and having now taken them off, the defendants have the same rights as if the restrictions had never existed. SHAW, C. J. [Note p27] The first question usually considered in cases of equity is, whether the court has jurisdiction; and it has not been omitted in the present case. The subject of controversy is a mere naked, incorporeal right, claimed by the plaintiffs, to have and enjoy a right to maintain a railroad, and take the tolls and profits thereof, a right created and granted to them by the government of the State; and they allege, whether correctly or not is hereafter to be considered, that the defendants have disturbed them, in the enjoyment of this incorporeal right. It is a right or title, which, if it exist at all, is purely a statute right. It is created by law, it exists only in contemplation of law, it is invisible, intangible and incapable of a physical possession, and depends on the law for its protection. It involves no complicated inquiry into facts; it depends mainly upon the enactment, the validity and legal construction of legislative acts. If the right exists and has been invaded, the appropriate and specific remedy, that which shall prevent the continuing invasion, is by injunction, and this can be afforded only in equity. On these grounds, we are of opinion that such a case is within the ordinary scope of equity jurisdiction, and that the jurisdiction is peculiarly appropriate to such a case. An injunction will generally be granted to secure the enjoyment of a statute privilege, of which the party is in actual possession, unless the right is doubtful. Croton Turnpike v. Ryder, 1 Johns. Ch. 611. Newburgh & Cochecton Turnpike v. Miller, 5 Johns. Ch. 101. Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. 507. In regard to the limited equity jurisdiction of this court, it is proper to state, that if the plaintiffs are disturbed in the enjoyment of their franchise or incorporeal right, such a disturbance is technically a nuisance. "If a ferry is erected on a river, so near another ancient ferry as to draw away its custom, it is a nuisance to the owner of the old one." 3 Bl. Com. 219. By statute, in this commonwealth, the court has jurisdiction in Page 28 equity in all cases of waste and nuisance; Rev. Sts. c. 81, Â§ 8; and so it was considered in the early and analogous case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 6 Pick. 376. II. The next question, material to be considered, is, what are the rights of the plaintiffs, under their act of incorporation? This was one of the earliest acts, providing for the establishment of railroads in this commonwealth, for the transportation of passengers and merchandise; so early indeed, and with so little foresight of the actual accommodations as they were afterwards provided and found necessary, that it was rather regarded as an iron turnpike, upon which individuals and transportation companies were to enter and run with their own cars and carriages, paying a toll to the corporation for the use of the road only; and the act authorized the corporation to make suitable rules and regulations, as to the form of cars, the times of running, &c. which might be found necessary to render such use of the railroad safe and beneficial. Of course, neither the government nor the undertakers had any experience, and could not form any accurate or even approximate estimates of the cost of the work, or the profits to be derived from it. And it appears by the act itself, and its various additions, that the capital was increased from time to time, from $500,000 to $1,800,000. With this want of experience, and with an earnest desire on the part of the public to make an experiment of this new and extraordinary public improvement, it would be natural for the government to offer such terms, as would be likely to encourage capitalists to invest their money in public improvements; and after the experience of capitalists, in respect of the turnpikes and canals of the Commonwealth, which had been authorized by the public, but built by the application of private capital, but which as investments had proved in most instances to be ruinous, it was probably no easy matter to awaken anew the confidence of moneyed men in these enterprises. In construing this act of incorporation, we are to bear in mind the time and circumstances under which it was made, but more especially to take into consideration every part and clause Page 29 of the act, and deduce from it the true meaning and intent of the parties. The act, like every act and charter of the same kind, is a contract between the government, on the one part, and the undertakers, accepting the act of incorporation, on the other; and therefore what they both intended, by the terms used, if we can ascertain it, forms the true construction of such contract. It conferred, on the persons incorporated, the franchise of being and acting as a corporation, and the authority to locate, construct and finally complete a railroad, at or near the city of Boston, and thence to Lowell. That this was regarded as a public improvement, and intended for the benefit of the public, is manifest from the whole tenor of the act, more especially from the authority to take property, on paying a compensation in the usual manner, which would otherwise be wholly unjustifiable. It is equally manifest, from the whole tenor of the act and the nature of the subject, that the work would require a large outlay of capital. How then are the undertakers to be compensated for the work, thus provided for the public, at their expense? This is answered by Â§ 5, which provides that a toll is granted, for the sole benefit of such corporation, upon all passengers and property of all descriptions, which may be conveyed or transported on said road, at such rates as the company, in the first instance, shall fix. This is in every respect a public grant, a franchise, which no one could enjoy but by the authority of the government. This grant of toll is subject to certain regulations, within the power of the government, if it should become excessive. We are then brought to a consideration of Â§ 12, upon which the stress of the argument in the present case has seemed mainly to turn. It provides that no other railroad than the one hereby granted shall, within thirty years, be authorized to be made, leading from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge to Lowell, or from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge to any place within five miles of the northern termination of the railroad Page 30 hereby authorized, that is, the termination at Lowell. The question is, does this provision confer any exclusive right, interest, franchise or benefit on this corporation? It is found in the same act; the whole is presented at once to the consideration of the corporators, to be accepted or rejected as a whole; and this would of course constitute a consideration in their minds, in determining whether to accept or reject the charter. If it adds any thing to the value and benefit of the franchise, such enhanced value is part of the price which the public propose to pay, and which the undertakers expect to receive, as their compensation for furnishing such public improvement. This is a stipulation of some sort, a contract, by one of the contracting parties, to and with the other; in order to put a just construction upon it, we must consider the character and relations of the contracting parties, the subject matter of the stipulation, and its legal effect upon their respective rights. It was made by government, in its sovereign capacity, with subjects, who were encouraged by it to advance their property for the benefit of the public. It was certainly a stipulation on the part of the government, regulating its own conduct, and putting a restraint upon its own power to authorize any other railroad to be built, with a right to levy a toll; but without an authority from the government, no other company or person could be authorized so to make a railroad and levy toll, and of course no other such road could lawfully be made. It was, therefore, equivalent to a covenant for quiet enjoyment against its own acts, and those of persons claiming under it. This is, in fact, all that the government could stipulate. It could not covenant with the corporation, for quiet enjoyment against strangers and intruders, against the unauthorized and illegal disturbance of their rights by third parties; against these, they would have their remedy in the general laws of the land. But it has been argued that this stipulation, as it appears in the charter, is a mere executory covenant or undertaking, and is not an executed contract. But we think it may be both; so far as it confers a present right, it is executed; so far as it amounts to a stipulation that the covenantor will not disturb the enjoyment Page 31 of the right granted, it may be deemed executory. So a deed, conveying land, transfers, on its delivery, all the title and interest which the grantor can confer, and is also a stipulation that the benefit granted shall not be revoked or impaired. And this is held to apply to the grants of governments as well as to those of individuals. Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 87. He who has the power of conferring a right or a franchise lying solely in grant, and who stipulates, for a valuable consideration, that another shall have and enjoy it, undisturbed and unmolested by any act or permission of his, in effect grants such right or franchise. But more especially, when such right is conferred by the community in the form of a statute, having all the forms of law, and sanctioned by the government, acting in behalf of all the people, and having power to bind them by law, such right would seem to be clothed with as much solemnity, and to have the same force and effect, as if it were the grant of an exclusive right in terms. We are therefore of opinion, that under this form of words, that no other railroad should be authorized to be made for thirty years, the government, as far as it was in their power, intended to engage with the corporation, that no other direct railroad between Boston and Lowell should be legally made; leaving them to guard themselves from unauthorized and illegal disturbance, by the general laws, in the course of the ordinary administration of justice. This is strengthened by the consideration, that as their whole remuneration would depend upon tolls, uncertain in amount, it was intended that they should be to some extent secure against any authorized road, taking the same travel, and of course the same tolls. There is a provision in the close of this Â§ 12, which, in our judgment, adds some weight to this conclusion. There is a right reserved to the Commonwealth, after a certain term of years, to purchase the railroad, and all the rights of the corporation, on reimbursing them the whole cost, with ten per cent. profit, and then follows this provision: "And after such purchase, the limitation provided in this section [that no other railroad shall be authorized to be made] shall cease, and be of no effect." From this provision it is manifest that the restriction, as it is Page 32 termed, was imposed upon the government, and of course upon all the subjects, for the benefit of this corporation; and after the government should have succeeded to their rights, by purchase, then there would be no longer any occasion to impose any restriction on the government; it might do what it would with its own, and it would then be at liberty to make any other grant or not, at its pleasure. This carries a strong implication, that until such purchase, and so long as the income from tolls would enure to the benefit of the proprietors, the exclusive right, so far as these restrictions upon other railroads to take the same travel and the same tolls made it exclusive, should stand part of the charter. III. But it is strongly urged, that if the legislature intended to grant such exclusive right, and the terms of the whole act, taken together, will bear and require that construction, and they did grant such exclusive right, and did restrain succeeding legislatures from making any grant or contract inconsistent with it, the provision itself was beyond the power of the legislature, and was void. We readily concede that, for general purposes of legislation, the legislature, rightly constituted, has full power to make laws, to repeal former laws, and of course the last legislative act is binding, and necessarily repeals all prior acts, which are repugnant. But in addition to the lawmaking power, the legislature is the representative of the whole people, with authority to control and regulate public property and public rights, to grant lands and franchises, to stipulate for, purchase and obtain all such property, privileges, easements and improvements, as may be necessary or useful to the public, to bind the community by their contracts therefor, and generally to regulate all public rights and interests. It is under this authority that lands are granted, either in fee or upon any other tenure, that the uses of navigable streams and waters are regulated, the right to build over navigable waters, to erect bridges, turnpikes and railroads, and other similar rights and privileges, are granted and justified. Page 33 Of the necessity and convenience of all roads and other public works and improvements, of their fitness, and the best mode of providing them, the established government of the State, acting by the legislature for the time being, must necessarily judge and determine. They must decide whether it is best to provide for them, by funds from the public treasury; or to procure individuals to advance their own funds for the purpose, to be reimbursed by tolls; and to make just and adequate provisions, incident to each. Supposing ferries or bridges are obviously necessary over a long and broad river; it is equally obvious that no public convenience would require them to be built parallel and close to each other; on the contrary, such erections would be an unnecessary waste of property. Would it not be for the legislature to decide within what stated and fixed distances from each other public convenience would require them? If they were erected by funds drawn directly from the State, the legislature would plainly have the power to determine such distances, and provide that no one should be built within the distances thus fixed. May they not, with a due regard to the public exigencies and public interests, do the same thing, when such public works are erected by individuals, at the instance and procurement of the government, for public use? Were it otherwise; and were all such grants and stipulations repealable by a subsequent legislature, because they are in the form of laws; then the unlimited power of the legislature to alter and change the laws, sometimes called, rather extravagantly, the omnipotence of parliament, would be a source of weakness, and not of strength. In making such grants and stipulations, no doubt great caution and foresight are requisite on the part of the legislature, a just estimate of the public benefit to be procured, and the cost at which it is to be obtained; and as great changes in the state of things may take place in the progress of time, a great increase of travel, for instance, on a given line, which changes cannot be specifically foreseen, it is the part of wisdom to provide for this, either by limitation of time, reservation of a power to reduce tolls, should they so increase, at the rates first fixed, as to become excessive, Page 34 or of a right to repurchase the franchise, upon equitable terms, so that the contract shall not only be just and equal in the outset, but within reasonable limits continue to be so. In the charter of the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, the government reserved the right, both to regulate the tolls and to purchase the franchise, upon terms fixed and making part of the contract. When such a contract has been made by the legislature, upon considerations of an equivalent public benefit, and where the grantees have advanced their money to the public, upon the faith of it, the State is bound, by the plain principles of justice, faithfully to respect all grants and rights, thus created and vested by contract. Such a power of regulating public rights is everywhere recognized, as one distinguishable from that of legislation, a power incident and necessary to all well regulated governments, and when rightly exercised, is within the constitutional power of the legislature, and binding upon the government and people. The court are of opinion that these principles are well established by authorities, a few of which only are cited. Piscataqua Bridge v. New Hampshire Bridge, 7 N. H. 35. Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. 507. In the case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, both in this court and in the Supreme Court of the United States, it was not doubted that a state would be bound by a grant of an exclusive right to a bridge or ferry, made in terms by the legislature; on the contrary, the validity of such grant was implied. The controversy turned on the question, whether by the simple grant of a toll bridge or ferry, from one terminus to another, any exclusive right could be implied, to take toll for that line of travel, so as to bar the legislature from granting a right to build a bridge to and from other termini, on the same line of travel. 7 Pick. 344. 11 Pet. 420. In Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch, 135, the court say: "When a law is in its nature a contract, when absolute rights have vested under that contract, a repeal of the law cannot devest those rights." So any law granting privileges to others, repugnant to those previously granted, which, if available, would be Page 35 a repeal by implication, is obnoxious to the same objection. That, which cannot be repealed in express terms, cannot be repealed by implication, by the enactment of laws repugnant to the provisions of the former act. The same defect of power which invalidates the one, has the same effect upon the other. IV. But it is earnestly insisted that the grants to the defendant corporations do warrant and justify them in setting up the line of transportation by railroad, by the union of the several sections of their respective railroads; and that it may be regarded as lawfully done, under the right of the government to appropriate private property for public use. It is fully conceded that the right of eminent domain, the right of the sovereign, exercised in due form of law, to take private property for public use, when necessity requires it, of which the government must judge, is a right incident to every government, and is often essential to its safety. And property is nomen generalissimum, and extends to every species of valuable right and interest, and includes real and personal property, easements, franchises and incorporeal hereditaments. Even the term "taking," which has sometimes been relied upon as implying something tangible or corporeal, is not used in the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights; but the provision is this: "Whenever the public exigencies require that the property of any individual should be appropriated to public uses, he shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor." Declaration of Rights, art. 10. Here again the term "appropriate" is of the largest import, and embraces every mode by which property may be applied to the use of the public. Whatever exists, which public necessity demands, may be thus appropriated. It was held in the Supreme Court of the United States, that a franchise to build and maintain a toll bridge might be so appropriated; and that the right of an incorporated company, to maintain such a bridge, under a charter from a state, might, under the right of eminent domain, be taken for a highway. West River Bridge v. Dix, 6 How. 507. The same point was afterwards decided in the same court, in the case of a railroad. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad v. Louisa Railroad, Page 36 13 How. 83. Such appropriation is not regarded as impairing the right of property, or the obligation of any contract; on the contrary, it freely admits such right, and in all just governments provision is made for an adequate compensation, which recognizes the owner's right. Nor does it appear to us to make any difference, whether the land, or any other right or interest thus appropriated, be derived directly from the government, or acquired otherwise; for the reason already stated, that it does not revoke the grant or annul or impair the contract, but recognizes and admits the validity of both. If, for instance, government, through its authorized agent, had contracted to convey land to an individual, and afterwards, and before the title passed, it should be necessary to appropriate such land to public uses, such taking would not impair the obligation of the contract; the individual would have the same right to compensation, for the loss of his equitable title to the land, as he would have had for the land itself, if the title to it had passed. If therefore, in the great advancement of public improvements, in the great changes which take place, in the number of inhabitants, in the number of passengers and quantity of property to be transported, or in great and manifest improvements in the mode of travel and locomotion, it becomes necessary to appropriate, in whole or in part, a franchise previously granted, the existence of which is recognized and admitted, we cannot doubt that it would be competent for the legislature, in clear and express terms, to authorize the appropriation of such franchise, making adequate compensation for the same. But we cannot perceive in the acts of incorporation of the three defendant corporations, or in any of the acts in addition thereto, any act of the government, taking or appropriating any of the rights, franchises or privileges of the plaintiff corporation, under the right of eminent domain. The characteristics of such an act of appropriation are known and well understood. It must appear that the government intend to exercise this high sovereign right, by clear and express terms, or by necessary implication, leaving no doubt or uncertainty respecting such Page 37 intent. It must also appear, by the act, that they recognize the right of private property, and mean to respect it; and under our constitution, the act conferring the power must be accompanied by just and constitutional provisions for full compensation to be made to the owner. If the government authorizes the taking of property, for any use other than a public one, or fails to make provision for a compensation, the act is simply void; no right of taking as against the owner is conferred; and he has the same rights and remedies against a party acting under such authority, as if it had not existed. In general, therefore, when any act seems to confer an authority on another to take property, and the grant is not clear and explicit, and no compensation is provided by it, for the owner or party whose rights are injuriously affected, the law will conclude that it was not the intent of the legislature to exercise the right of eminent domain, but simply to confer a right to do the act, or exercise the power given, on first obtaining the consent of those thus affected. Compared with these tests, there is no provision, in any legislative act to which we have been referred, which authorizes the defendant corporations to appropriate or use any of the rights of the plaintiffs. On the contrary, the latest act, and that most relied on, St. 1852, c. 118, negatives any such intent. It provides, that "the Boston and Maine Railroad Company may enter upon and use the Salem and Lowell Railroad, according to law. The Salem and Lowell Railroad Company may enter upon and use the Boston and Maine Railroad, according to law: Provided, that nothing contained in this act shall be construed to impair the rights of any person or corporation." This act carefully limits what the terms might otherwise seem to grant, so that it shall not impair the rights of these plaintiffs. Whatever therefore these rights are, under their charter, they are not diminished or affected by any act of legislation, intending or professing to appropriate them to public use. We think therefore that, whatever may be the power of the legislature, there is no intention manifested on their part, Page 38 to appropriate any part of the plaintiffs' franchise, right or privilege, to public use; and of course those rights and privileges remain as they were granted and established by their charter; and this brings us back to the question before considered, what was the extent of those rights? As the result of the whole case, the court are of opinion that the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation acquired by their charter and act of incorporation a right, at their own charge and expense, but for the public accommodation and use, to locate and construct a railroad from the city of Boston to Lowell, for the transportation and conveyance of persons and property between those places by railroad cars, and to levy and receive, for their own benefit and reimbursement, certain tolls, for the carriage of persons and property; and that, as a part of their franchise, privilege and right, and the better to secure to them a just and reasonable compensation and reimbursement, by the tolls so granted, the Commonwealth did, by the said act of incorporation, grant to and stipulate with the said corporation, that no other railroad, within the time therein limited, and not yet elapsed, should be authorized to be made, leading from Boston, Charlestown or Cambridge, (Charlestown then embracing the territory now composing the town of Somerville,) to any place within five miles of the northern termination of said railroad at Lowell. Without such authority of the legislature, we think that no such railroad within the limits prescribed could be lawfully made by other persons or corporations; and therefore this grant and stipulation, to a certain extent exclusive, was a part, and a valuable part of the plaintiffs' franchise; and that this grant and stipulation it was competent for the legislature, in behalf of the public, to make; and that the same was a valid grant and contract. We are also of opinion that the legislature have not, since the granting of said charter, by right of eminent domain, taken, or manifested any intention to take, any part of the right and franchise of the plaintiffs for public use, and that no act or charter has been granted to the three defendant corporations, either or all of them, to take or use any part of the right and Page 39 franchise of the plaintiffs; and if in any manner the acts of the defendants, under color of their acts of incorporation, do infringe upon the rights of the plaintiffs, such infringement is not warranted by either or all of the same acts, it is unlawful, and constitutes a disturbance and nuisance to the plaintiffs, for which they are entitled to a remedy. We are also of opinion that the several defendant corporations, having been incorporated and chartered to establish railroads between several termini, according to their respective acts of incorporation, have no right, by the use and combination of several sections of their respective railroads, to establish a continuous and uninterrupted line of transportation by railroad, of persons and property, between Lowell and Boston; and that the actual establishment of such a continuous line of transportation by railroad is substantially making a railroad, other than that authorized to be made by the plaintiffs, to their injury, and contrary to the rights conferred on them by their charter. Demurrer overruled. After the foregoing opinion was delivered, the plaintiffs applied for a temporary injunction. On this application a hearing was had, and depositions were read and arguments made for both parties. And the court, on the 1st of February 1855, issued an injunction, to continue in force while this suit was pending, or until the further order of the court, "to enjoin and restrain the said defendant corporations, and each of them, and their several officers, agents and servants, and all persons in the employment of the said defendant corporations, or either of them, [under the penalty of thirty thousand dollars,] against carrying, transporting or conveying any persons, or property of any kind, by one continuous line of conveyance by railroad cars proceeding from Lowell, or from any point within five miles of the northern terminus of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and from thence to Boston in the County of Suffolk, or to Charlestown, Cambridge or Somerville in the County of Middlesex, or from said Boston, Cambridge, Charlestown or Somerville, to said Lowell, or any point within five miles of the northern terminus of the Page 40 Boston and Lowell Railroad, by one continuous line of conveyance by railroad cars, between the said termini; and from doing any act or acts towards the effecting or accomplishing such transportation of persons or property, by connecting together, or using in connection certain sections of their respective railroads, as follows, namely: The section of the Boston and Maine Railroad lying between Boston and its intersection with the Salem and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington; that section of the Salem and Lowell Railroad which lies between the last named point and the intersection of said Salem and Lowell Railroad with the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad in Tewksbury; and that section of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad, between said last mentioned place of intersection and its termination in Lowell; or by any variation or alteration of said places of junction and intersection, or in any other mode, using any sections of said several railroads in such manner as to form a continuous line of conveyance by railroad of persons or property between the said termini. And the said three defendant corporations, their officers, agents, servants, and all persons employed by them, are enjoined and prohibited from using or employing any of the means heretofore stated towards the formation, establishment or maintenance of any such continuous line of conveyance of persons or property, in any of the modes following, to wit: "1st. By any agreement or understanding between themselves, to the effect that either of said corporations shall have the use of the cars of either of the other of said corporations, on its own section of railroad, in such a manner as to form one continuous and uninterrupted transportation of persons or passengers over the said sections of said different railroads, or any two of them, without change of cars or loss of time, or either of them. "2d. Or by taking passengers at one of the said termini to be carried or transported to the other of said termini, without change of cars at the places where any one of the said sections of the said several railroads intersects with either of the other of the said sections; or in any other mode from engaging, Page 41 procuring, employing and using any car or cars, at their common expense or otherwise, for the conveyance of persons or property, for running and passing upon or over the said sections of their respective railroads without change of cars, from either of said termini to the other. "3d. Or by receiving money at either of said termini, as fare or compensation for the passage of any person from one of the said termini to the other, or by selling a ticket for the entire passage, or by taking, at one and the same time and place, payment for said tickets on the several sections of the said respective railroads of the different corporations, or by taking payment in a car, on one section, for a passage on any other section or sections of the same line. "4th. Or by advertising any notice, in any newspaper, pamphlet, written or printed paper, card, circular letter, or by printing or posting up, or causing to be printed or posted up any handbill, placard, or other like paper, giving notice that passengers or merchandise may be carried and transported by railroad through from one of the said termini to the other by one continuous line, or that a passage may be had from one of said termini to the other without change of cars and without stoppage or detention at the said several points of intersection. "5th. Or by painting, or in any way placing upon their cars or any or either of them, the words "Boston and Lowell," or "Lowell and Boston," or by continuing the same or similar words on their said cars or any one of them, or in any other way giving information that a direct and uninterrupted passage by railroad may be had between said termini; or from entering into any other arrangement, or doing any other act, the intent and purpose of which may be to effect a continuous line of travel by railroad for passengers and merchandise in a direct and uninterrupted course between said termini; or from agreeing to use, or actually using the sections or any sections, constituting parts of the lines of their respective railroads, in such manner as form a continuous line of travel or transportation of persons or property from the one to the other of the said termini." Page 42 The following is a copy of the statute of 1855, c. 386, passed on the 18th of May 1855: "An act to establish an independent line of railroad communication between Boston and Lowell. "SECTION 1. The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad Company, the Salem and Lowell Railroad Company and the Boston and Maine Railroad are hereby authorized to make arrangements between themselves for the use in common of those sections of their several railroads which lie between Lowell and Boston, to wit: That section of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad which lies between Lowell and the point of junction with the Salem and Lowell Railroad in Tewksbury; that section of the Salem and Lowell Railroad which lies between said last named point and a convenient point of junction with the Boston and Maine Railroad in Wilmington; and that section of the Boston and Maine Railroad which lies southwardly of said last named point. And the above named corporations, in conformity to such arrangements, may use said sections of their several railroads, or permit the same to be used, for the transportation of persons and property. "SECTION 2. Any person or corporation who may sustain damage by reason of any acts done by the three corporations above named, or either of them, in pursuance of the authority granted by this act, may have the same estimated in the manner now provided by law for the estimation of damages caused by the laying out, making and maintaining of a railroad; but the application shall be made to the county commissioners of the county of Middlesex; and either party, being dissatisfied with such estimate of damages, shall apply for a jury, the jury shall be taken from such towns in said county as any justice of the court of common pleas shall direct, and the sheriff shall apply to some one of said justices for such direction, and it shall be the duty of said justice to name the towns from which the jury shall be taken in the manner prescribed by law. "SECTION 3. The three railroad corporations named in the first section of this act are authorized to run trains through from Lowell to Boston, and from Boston to Lowell, over the three aforesaid sections of railroad, without change of cars or loss of time, for the conveyance of passengers and merchandise over any portion of the line between Boston and Lowell, and to sell tickets, and to receive payment of money in their cars for the transportation of passengers as aforesaid, and to make joint tariffs for the transportation of merchandise: provided, that this section shall not be construed to permit said corporations, or either of them, to transport passengers or freight from Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge or Somerville, to any point within five miles of the northerly terminus of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, or from any point within five miles of the northerly terminus of said last named railroad to Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge or Somerville. "SECTION 4. The first two sections of this act shall take effect when the same shall have been accepted by all the corporations therein named; but the last two sections shall take effect from and after the passage of this act."
834	dbpedia	2	85	http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/fitchburgrr.html	en	Fitchburg Railroad			[ "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/banner_sites.jpg", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/yellow_dot.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/top_nav_bar.jpg", "http://www.cyberbee.com/images/yellow_dot.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/images/home5.gif", "http://www.cyberbee.com/henryhikes/images/henry4.gi...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Railroad Beginnings in the U.S. Transporting goods was the driving force in the development of railroads in the United State. Trains could potentially reach more markets faster. Some of the early railroad cars were pulled by horses. The first railroad that was constructed for the transportation of freight and passengers in this country was the Baltimore and Ohio. Fifteen miles were opened on May 15, 1830. Fitchburg Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad, chartered in 1843, was opened to Fitchburg on March 5th, 1845. Investors worried that there would not be enough profits. However, the Fitchburg Railroad began to pay well, very soon after its completion. 1859 Annual and Semi-annual Dividends Cost of Road Miles Dividends 3,565,800 51 3 and 3 Extending the rail line to the West required drilling the Hoosac Tunnel. Drilling began in 1851 and was completed in 1876. It was sold to the Fitchburg Railroad Company along with the Troy and Greenfleld Railroad by the State of Massachusetts in 1887. By 1896, the Fitchburg Railroad Company had obtained the Vermont & Massachusetts, the Boston, Barre & Gardner, the Troy & Boston, the Cheshire, and the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western. The company also owned 204 locomotives. In 1900 the Boston & Maine bought the Fitchburg Railroad. Today you can ride a commuter train from Boston to Fitchburg operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Math Activity 1. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1829 to 1830? 2. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1830 to 1840? 3. What is the percentage or growth rate from 1840 to 1850? 4. What is the estimate of the growth rate for 1850 to 1860? 5. What is the total growth rate between 1829 and 1856? 6. Predict the percentage of growth for 1860 to 1870. Story Problems 1. If the train to Fitchburg traveled 15 mph and the distance was 30 miles, how long was the ride for Henry's friend? 2. Locomotive Speed "The Lowell Courier says that a new engine called the Camilla, built by Hinkley & Drury, and designed for speed, on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, has driving wheels of 6k feet diameter, and is capable of running a mile in a minute." How many miles per hour would the train travel? Nineteenth Century Periodicals Collection [Scientific American. / Volume 4, Issue 6, October 28, 1848] Ticket Cost Comparison 1. If the distance from Concord to Fitchburg, Massachusetts is 30 miles and the cost of the ticket in 1845 is 90 cents, how much did it cost per mile? 2. If the distance from Concord to Fitchburg, Massachusetts is 30 miles and the cost of the ticket in 2001 is $3.00, how much does it cost per mile? 3. Compare the cost in 1845 with the cost in 2001. Baggage Check/Claim A checking system was invented to keep track of luggage being transported on the trains. Metal disks or checks were placed on each item and a duplicate given to the passenger. At the final destination, the check was presented to claim the luggage. The example on the left is a "through" tag. The item traveled over several railroad lines. Fitchburg Boston Hoosac Tunnel & Western RR New York, West Shore & Buffalo Grand Trunk The manufacturer's mark is also stamped on the check which was a common advertising practice during that time period. Nineteenth Century Periodicals Collection Railway Passenger Travel. [Scribner's magazine. / Volume 4, Issue 3, September, 1888] Economy "One says to me, 'I wonder that you do not lay up money; you love to travel; you might take the cars and go to Fitchburg today and see the country.' But I am wiser than that. I have learned that the swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot. I say to my friend, Suppose we try who will get there first. The distance is thirty miles; the fare ninety cents.... Well, I start now on foot, and get there before night;... You will in the meanwhile have earned your fare, and arrive there some time tomorrow, or possibly this evening, if you are lucky enough to get a job in season. Instead of going to Fitchburg, you will be working here the greater part of the day." - Henry David Thoreau Walden
834	dbpedia	1	87	https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/ushistory1/chapter/transportation-and-industry/	en	Transportation, Land, Industry – US History I: Precolonial to Gilded Age	https://mlpp.pressbooks.…avicon-32x32.png	https://mlpp.pressbooks.…avicon-32x32.png	[ "https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/2017/02/cropped-block-and-wordmark-color-new.png", "https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/481/2019/03/Pittsburgh_1795_large.jpg", "https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/481/2019/03/6151399020_0d824c4cf9_b-1.jpg", "https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Dan Allosso" ]	null		en	https://mlpp.pressbooks.…e-touch-icon.png		https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/ushistory1/chapter/transportation-and-industry/	7 Transportation, Land, Industry In previous chapters, we have examined the social and political changes the United States experienced in its first fifty years. These changes were caused by many factors, and important among the causes are the economic and demographic changes enabled by transportation and technology at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. In this chapter, we’ll focus on the early industrial revolution. On the eve of the American Revolution, the only road that did not hug the east coast followed the Hudson River Valley into western New York on its way to Montreal (this was one reason colonial Americans seemed continually obsessed with the idea of conquering Montreal and bringing it into the United States). Less than thirty years later, riders working for the Post Office Department carried mail to nearly all the new settlements of the interior. The postal system’s designer, Benjamin Franklin, understood that in order for the new Republic to function, information had to flow freely. Franklin set a low rate for mailing newspapers, insuring that news would circulate widely in the newly-settled areas. But it was one thing carrying saddlebags filled with letters and newspapers to the frontier, and something else moving people and freight. Rivers were the first important routes to the interior of North America. The Ohio River, which begins at Pittsburgh and flows southwest to join the Mississippi, helped people get to their new farms in the Ohio Valley and then helped them carry their farm produce to markets. The Ohio River Valley became one of the first areas of rapid settlement after the Revolution, along with the Mohawk River Valley in western New York. The importance of river shipping is illustrated by the fact that over fifty thousand miles of tributary rivers and streams in the Mississippi watershed were used to float goods to the port of New Orleans. The dependence of western farmers on the Spanish port also explains why New Orleans was a considered strategic city by the United States in the War of 1812. Thomas Jefferson’s 1803 purchase of the Louisiana Territory had actually begun as an attempt to buy the city of New Orleans, and Andrew Jackson’s defense of the port during the War of 1812 helped insure the success of western expansion. An important early part of the transportation revolution was the widespread building of roads and turnpikes. In 1811, construction began on the Cumberland Road, a national highway that provided thousands of settlers with a route from Maryland to Illinois. The federal government funded this important artery to the West, setting the pattern of government involvement in building transportation infrastructure for the benefit of settlers and farmers. States and even private companies also built turnpikes, which charged fees for use. New York State, for instance, chartered turnpike companies that dramatically increased the miles of state roads from one thousand in 1810 to four thousand by 1820. New York led the way in building turnpikes. In spite of these new roads, most early westward expansion depended on rivers, and towns and cities built during this era were usually on a waterway. Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul all owe their locations to the river systems they provide access to. Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee utilize the Great Lakes in the same way. These lakeside cities exploded after the Erie Canal opened a route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, and allowed New York to overtake New Orleans as the nation’s most important commercial port. The 363-mile Erie Canal was so successful that another four thousand miles of canals were dug in America before the Civil War. Canal mania swept the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. Even short waterways, such as the two-and-a-half-mile canal that allowed boats to bypass the rapids of the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, proved a huge leap forward by opening a water route from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. In 1800, it took nearly two weeks to reach Buffalo from New York City, a month to get to Detroit, and six grueling weeks of travel to arrive at the swampy lake-shore settlement that would become Chicago. Thirty years later, Buffalo was just five days away, Detroit about ten days, and Chicago less than three weeks. Horses pulled canal boats from towpaths on shore, eliminating the strain of travel for the boats’ passengers. Floating along on calm water was infinitely more comfortable than spending weeks on a wagon, in a cramped stage coach, or on horseback. The number of people willing to make long trips increased accordingly. And the amount of freight shipped to New York, after the canal cut shipping costs by over ninety percent, increased astronomically. Goods flowed along the Canal in both directions, offering life-changing opportunities. Within ten years of the Erie Canal’s completion, the last fulling mill processing homespun cloth in Western New York shut its doors. Women no longer had to spend their time spinning wool and weaving their own textiles to make their family’s clothing. They could buy bolts of wool and cotton fabrics from the same merchant at the local general store who ground their family’s grain into flour and shipped it on the Canal to eastern cities. With fewer demands on their time, many women were able to not only improve the quality of their own lives, but contribute to family income by taking in piece-work, raising cash crops, or keeping cows and churning butter for sale to their local merchants. Steam technology changed the nature of transportation. Until steam engines were put on riverboats, shipping had depended on either wind and river currents or on human and animal power. Goods could easily be floated south from farms on the nation’s rivers, but it was much more difficult and expensive to ship products against the rivers’ currents to the frontier. Flatboats and rafts actually accumulated at downstream ports and were broken down and burned as firewood. Steam engines made it possible to travel upstream as easily and nearly as quickly as down, causing an explosion of travel and shipping that radically changed frontier life. Steam engines were a product of early European industrialism and had originally been designed to drive pumps used to drain mines. Englishman James Watt’s 1781 engine was the first to produce rotary power that could be adapted to drive mills, wheels, and propellers. Robert Fulton, an American inventor who had previously patented a canal-dredging machine, visited Paris and caught steamboat fever. Fulton sailed an experimental model on the Seine, and then returned home and launched the first commercial American steamboat on the Hudson River in 1807. The Clermont was able to sail upriver 150 miles from New York City to Albany in 32 hours. In 1811, Fulton built the New Orleans in Pittsburgh and began steamboat service on the Mississippi. Although Robert Fulton died just a few years later of tuberculosis, his partners Nicholas Roosevelt and Robert Livingston carried on his business, and the age of riverboats was underway. Like Fulton’s prototype and the Clermont, the New Orleans was a large, heavy side-wheeler with a deep draft. This was not the most efficient design for shallow water and it did not take long for ship-builders to settle on the familiar shallow-draft rear-paddle riverboats that carried freight on the Mississippi and its tributaries well into the 20th century. The shallower a riverboat’s draft, the farther upriver it could travel. Steam-powered riverboats soon pushed the transportation frontier to Fort Pierre in the Dakota territory and even to Fort Benton, Montana. Riverboats made it possible to ship goods in and out of nearly the entire area Thomas Jefferson had acquired in the Louisiana Purchase just a generation earlier. And steam-powered ocean shipping made the markets of Britain and Europe readily accessible to farmers and merchants in the middle of North America. The other transportation technology enabled by steam power, of course, was the railroad. But railroads were even more revolutionary than steamboats. In spite of their power and speed, steam-powered riverboats depended on rivers or occasionally on canals to run. A railroad could be built almost anywhere. Suddenly, the expansion of American commerce was no longer limited by the routes nature had provided into the frontier. America’s first small railroads had actually been built on the East Coast before a steam engine was available to power them. The cars were pulled by horses and looked a lot like a train of stage-coaches on rails. But after Englishman George Stephenson’s locomotives began pulling passengers and freight in northwestern England in the mid-1820s, Americans quickly switched to steam. The first locomotive used to pull cars in the United States was the Tom Thumb, built in 1830 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Although Tom Thumb actually lost its maiden race against a horse-drawn train, Baltimore and Ohio owners were convinced by the demonstration of steam technology and committed to developing steam locomotives. The B&O, which had been established in 1827 to compete with the Erie Canal, already advertised itself as a faster way to move people and freight from the interior to the coast. Adding steam engines accelerated rail’s advantage over canal and river shipping. Over 9,000 miles of track were laid by 1850, most of it connecting the northeast with western farmlands. The Mississippi River was still the preferred route to market from Louisville and St. Louis south. But Cincinnati and Columbus became connected by rail to the Great Lake ports at Sandusky and Cleveland, giving the northern Ohio Valley faster access to New York markets. Detroit and Lake Michigan were also connected by rail, making the long steamboat trip around the northern reach of Michigan’s lower peninsula unnecessary. By 1857, rail travelers could reach Chicago in less than two days and could be almost anywhere in the northern Mississippi Valley in three. On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, Chicago was already becoming the railroad hub of the Midwest. The Illinois Central Company had been chartered in 1851 to build a rail line from the lead mines at Galena to Cairo, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers joined. Galena is also located on the Mississippi on the northern border of Illinois, but rapids north of St. Louis made transporting ore on the river impossible, illustrating the advantage of rails over rivers. A railroad line to Cairo, with a branch line to Chicago, would also attract settlers and investors to Illinois. Young Illinois attorney Abraham Lincoln helped the Illinois Central Company lobby legislators and receive the first federal land grant ever given to a railroad company. The company was given 2.6 million acres of land, and Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas helped design the checkerboard distribution of parcels that would become common for railroad land grants. The map below shows the extent of the land the government gave to the Illinois Central Company, which a few years later showed its gratitude by helping to finance Lincoln’s Presidential campaign against Douglas. By 1840, more than three thousand miles of canals had been dug in the United States, and thirty thousand miles of railroad track were laid by the beginning of the Civil War. Together with the hundreds of steamboats that plied American rivers, these advances in transportation made it easier and less expensive to ship agricultural products from the West to feed people in eastern cities, and to send manufactured goods from the East to people in the West. Rural families also became less isolated as a result of the transportation revolution. People who had made the difficult trip on foot or horseback to settle western New York or southern Michigan were thrilled when “the cars” reached their communities, allowing them to visit relatives they had left behind. Traveling circuses, menageries, peddlers, and itinerant painters could also more easily make their way into rural districts, and people in search of work found cities and mill towns within their reach. In the early nineteenth century, people poured into the territories west of the long-settled eastern seaboard and the barrier set by the British Proclamation Line. Among them were speculators seeking to buy cheap parcels from the federal government in anticipation of a rise in prices. The Ohio River Valley in the Northwest Territory appeared to offer the best prospects for many in the East, especially New Englanders. When New England farmers grew old, the farm usually passed to the youngest son, who was still at home when his parents became too old to work and who took care of them in exchange for inheritance. Older sons (and daughters who married other farmers’ sons) moved west and began their own farms, and early American families had an average of about six children. The result was “Ohio fever,” as thousands traveled to this fertile land close to a major river. The federal government oversaw the orderly transfer of public land to citizens at public auctions and at land offices in the new territories. The Land Law of 1796 applied to the territory of Ohio after it had been taken from Indians. The Land Law of 1800 further encouraged land sales in the Northwest Territory by reducing the minimum parcel size by half and enabling sales on credit, with the goal of stimulating settlement by ordinary farmers. Buyers were given low interest rates, with payments that could be spread over four years. Surveyors marked off the parcels in straight lines, creating a landscape of checkerboard squares. Each square-mile section contained 640 acres of land, which could be subdivided into quarter-sections of 160 acres each or half-quarter sections of 80 acres, which most people in the early nineteenth century considered the smallest size for a successful farm. In towns and cities, land could be subdivided down to 60 by 125 foot single family building lots. The price of the land on the frontier would remain low for most of the nineteenth century, falling to $1 per acre and later rising to $1.25 per acre, although after Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular of 1836, payments at the Land Offices had to be made in cash rather than bank notes or on credit. In the cities, speculation could quickly drive land prices up, causing property bubbles like the one that inflated Chicago real estate values by 40,000 percent in the early 1830s, driving land prices to New York City levels before bursting in a storm of foreclosures in 1841. The future looked bright for those who turned their gaze on the land in the West. Surveying, settling, and farming, turning land taken from the Indians, which most Americans considered wilderness, into a profitable commodity, gave purchasers a sense of progress. A uniquely American story of the frontier developed became part of the national mythology, in which hardy individuals wielding an axe cleared land, built a log cabin, and turned the “wilderness” into a farm that paved the way for mills and towns. Many Americans were struck with “land fever.” Farmers strove to expand their acreage, and those who lived in areas where unoccupied land was scarce sought holdings in the West. They needed money to purchase this land, however. Small merchants and factory owners, hoping to take advantage of this boom time, also borrowed money to expand their businesses. When established banks refused to lend to small farmers and others without a credit history, state legislatures chartered new banks to meet the demand. In one legislative session, Kentucky chartered forty-six. As loans increased, paper money from new state banks flooded the country, creating inflation that drove the price of land and goods still higher. Speculators took advantage of this boom by purchasing property not to live on, but to resell at exorbitant prices. During the War of 1812, the Bank of the United States had suspended payments in specie, “hard money” in the form of gold and silver coins. When the war ended, the bank continued to issue only paper banknotes and to redeem notes issued by state banks with paper only. The newly chartered banks also adopted this practice, issuing banknotes in excess of the amount of specie in their vaults. Printing more notes than a bank could back up with hard cash worked only so long as people were content to conduct business with paper money and refrain from demanding that banks redeem notes for the gold and silver that was supposed to back them. In most cases, people were happy to use paper money because gold and silver were bulky and inconvenient, and because the notes often came with interest attached. Much of the paper circulating as currency was actually promissory notes or agreements to pay a certain sum at a future date (for example, $100 in 60 days), including interest. The problem was that if large numbers of people, or banks that had loaned money to other banks, began to demand specie payments, the banking system would collapse because there was not actually enough specie to support the amount of paper money the banks had put into circulation. Some bankers were so afraid of “runs” in which customers would demand gold and silver that in one case an irate bank employee in Ohio stabbed a customer who had the audacity to ask for specie in exchange for the banknotes he held. The economic bubble inflated by land fever burst in 1819, resulting in a depression called the Panic of 1819. It was the first prolonged economic depression experienced by the American public, who panicked as they saw the prices of agricultural products fall and businesses fail. Prices had already begun falling in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, when European demand for American crops began to wane and Britain began to “dump” its surplus manufactured goods, the result of wartime overproduction, in American ports. In 1818, crop prices tumbled by as much 75 percent, leaving farmers unable to pay their debts. As they defaulted on their loans, banks seized their property. However, because the drastic fall in agricultural prices had greatly reduced the value of land, the banks were left with farms they were unable to sell. Land speculators lost the value of their investments. As the countryside suffered, hard-hit farmers ceased to purchase manufactured goods. Factories responded by cutting wages or firing employees. Also in 1818, the Second Bank of the United States needed specie to pay foreign investors who had loaned money to the United States to enable the country to purchase Louisiana. The bank began to call in the loans it had made and required state banks to pay their debts in gold and silver. Severe consequences followed as banks closed their doors and businesses failed. Three-quarters of the work force in Philadelphia was unemployed, and charities were swamped by thousands of newly destitute people needing assistance. In states with imprisonment for debt, the prison population swelled. As a result, many states drafted laws to provide relief for debtors. Even those at the top of the social ladder were affected by the Panic of 1819. Thomas Jefferson, who had cosigned a loan for a friend, nearly lost Monticello when his acquaintance defaulted and left Jefferson responsible for the debt. In an effort to stimulate the economy, Congress passed the Land Law of 1820, allowing smaller parcels of eighty acres to be sold. The Relief Act of 1821 allowed Ohioans to return land to the government if they could not afford to keep it and extended the credit period to eight years. States passed laws to prevent mortgage foreclosures so buyers could keep their homes. After four years, the depression abated and the American economy began to grow again. In the late 1790s and early 1800s, Great Britain boasted the most advanced textile mills and machines in the world, and the United States continued to rely on Great Britain for finished goods. Great Britain hoped to maintain its economic advantage; so to prevent the knowledge of advanced manufacturing from leaving the Empire, the British banned the emigration of mechanics, skilled workers who knew how to build and repair the latest textile machines. Some British mechanics, including Samuel Slater, managed to travel to the United States with information on the workings of water-powered textile mills British industrialist Richard Arkwright had pioneered. In the 1790s in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Slater convinced several American merchants, including the wealthy Providence merchant Moses Brown, to finance and build a water-powered cotton mill based on the British models. Slater’s knowledge of both technology and mill organization made him the founder of the first successful cotton mill in the United States. The success of Slater and his partners inspired others to build additional mills in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. By 1807, thirteen more mills had been established. President Jefferson’s embargo on British manufactured goods from late 1807 to early 1809 (discussed in a previous chapter) spurred more New England merchants to invest in industrial enterprises. By 1812, seventy-eight new textile mills had been built in rural New England towns. Most turned out woolen goods, while the rest produced cotton cloth. Slater’s mills and those built in imitation of his were fairly small, employing only seventy people on average. Under the “Rhode Island system,” families were hired and instead of being paid in cash, the father was given credit equal to the wages on his family’s labor that could be redeemed in the form of rent in company-owned housing or goods from the company-owned store. The Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812 played a pivotal role in spurring industrial development in the United States. Jefferson’s embargo prevented American merchants from engaging in the Atlantic trade, and war further compounded the financial woes of American merchants. New England merchants Nathan Appleton and Francis Cabot Lowell had toured Britain’s largest water-powered textile mills during a stay in Great Britain in 1810. They memorized the designs of the machines they saw at New Lanark in Scotland, especially the power loom which replaced individual hand weavers. In 1813, Appleton and Lowell formed the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC). They raised $400,000 and in 1814 established a textile mill in Waltham on the banks of the Charles River. At Waltham, cotton was carded and drawn into coarse strands of cotton fibers called rovings. The rovings were then spun into yarn, and the yarn woven into cotton cloth. Yarn no longer had to be put out to farm families for further processing. All the work was now performed at a central location—the factory. Work in Lowell’s mills was both mechanized and specialized. The putting out system had begun the process of separating skilled craftwork into repetitive tasks; the factory expanded on this division of labor. And as machines took over labor from humans and people increasingly found themselves confined to the same repetitive step, the process of deskilling began. The BMC opened additional textile mills on the Merrimack River, each employing hundreds of workers who lived in company towns, where the factories and worker housing were owned by the company. The most famous of these company towns was Lowell Massachusetts, built on land the BMC purchased in 1821 from the village of East Chelmsford, north of Boston. The mill owners planted flowers and trees to maintain the appearance of a rural New England town and to forestall arguments, made by many, that factory work was unnatural and unwholesome. The BMC avoided the Rhode Island system, preferring individual workers to families. These employees were not difficult to find. While young men could work at a variety of occupations, young women had more limited options. The textile mills provided ready employment for the daughters of Yankee farm families. To reassure anxious parents that their daughters’ virtue would be protected and to maintain discipline, the BMC established strict rules governing the lives of these young workers. The women lived in company-owned boarding houses they paid for out of their wages. They woke early at the sound of a bell and worked a twelve-hour day during which talking was forbidden. They could not swear or drink alcohol, and they were required to attend church on Sunday. Overseers at the mills and boarding-house keepers kept a close eye on the young women’s behavior; workers who misbehaved lost their jobs and were evicted. Mechanizing the production of formerly handcrafted products and moving production from the home to the factory dramatically increased output of goods. For example, in one nine-month period, Rhode Island women who spun yarn into cloth on hand looms in their homes produced a total of thirty-four thousand yards of fabrics of different types. In 1855, the women working in just one of Lowell’s mechanized mills produced more than forty-three thousand yards. The BMC’s cotton mills quickly gained a competitive edge over the smaller mills established by Samuel Slater and those who had followed his lead. In Massachusetts, the BMC built new mill towns in Chicopee, Lawrence, and Holyoke. In New Hampshire, they built in Manchester, Dover, and Nashua. And in Maine, they built a large mill on the Saco River. Other entrepreneurs copied them. By the time of the Civil War, 878 textile factories operated in New England. All together, these factories employed more than 100,000 people and produced more than 940 million yards of cloth. In addition to textiles, which formed the backbone of the Industrial Revolution in the United States as in Britain, other crafts increasingly became mechanized and centralized in factories in the first half of the nineteenth century. Products like shoes, leather, paper, hats, clocks, and guns that had been produced by craftsmen or by putting out were all produced in mechanized factories by the time of the Civil War. Flour milling became almost completely automated and centralized by the early decades of the nineteenth century using technology developed by Oliver Evans. Evans’s mills were so efficient that two employees could do work that had required five, and mills using Evans’s system spread throughout the mid-Atlantic states. At the end of the eighteenth century, most American families had lived in candlelit homes with bare floors and unadorned walls. They cooked and warmed themselves over fireplaces and owned only a few changes of clothing. Most were farmers who produced most of their needs at home. They occasionally bought manufactured goods made by hand that were usually scarce and fairly expensive. The automation of the manufacturing process changed that, making consumer goods that had once been thought of as luxury items widely available for the first time. Now all but the very poor could afford the necessities and some of the small luxuries of life. When women could buy New England textiles, they no longer had to spend their time spinning and weaving. Rooms were lit by oil lamps, which gave brighter light than candles. Homes were heated by parlor stoves, which allowed for more privacy; people no longer needed to huddle together around the hearth. Iron cookstoves with multiple burners made it possible for housewives to prepare more elaborate meals. Many people could afford carpets and upholstered furniture, and even farmers could decorate their homes with curtains and wallpaper. Clocks, which had once been quite expensive, were now within the reach of most ordinary people. And as more people worked in factories and lived in cities, they no longer grew their own food or made the things they consumed. A new population of consumers grew along with the new products available for them to consume. As production became mechanized and relocated to factories, life changed for workers. Farmers and artisans had controlled the pace and the order of their labor. If an artisan wanted to take the afternoon off, he could. If a farmer wished to rebuild his fence on Thursday instead of on Wednesday, he could. They conversed and often drank during the workday. Indeed, journeymen were often promised alcohol as part of their wages. Work in factories proved to be quite different. Employees were expected to report early in the morning and to work all day. They could not leave when they were tired or take breaks. Those who arrived late found their pay docked and repeated tardiness could result in dismissal. The monotony of repetitive tasks made days particularly long and most factory employees toiled ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week. In the winter, when the sun set early, oil lamps were used to light the factory floor, and employees strained their eyes to see their work and coughed as the rooms filled with smoke from the lamps. Freedom within factories was limited. Drinking was prohibited. Some factories did not allow employees to sit down. Mills were often unbearably hot and humid in the summer and frigid in the winter, which led to health problems. And mills were dangerous. Workplace injuries were common. Workers’ hands and fingers were maimed or severed when they were caught in machines; in some cases, their limbs or entire bodies were crushed. Workers who didn’t die from such injuries but could no longer work lost their jobs. Corporal punishment of both children and adults was common in factories; where abuse was most extreme, children sometimes died as a result of injuries suffered at the hands of an overseer. As the decades passed, working conditions deteriorated in many mills. Workers were assigned more machines to tend and the owners increased the speed at which the machines operated. Wages were cut in many factories and employees who had once labored for an hourly wage were reduced to piecework, paid for the amount they produced and not for the hours they toiled. Low wages combined with regular periods of unemployment to make the lives of workers difficult, especially for those with families to support. In New York City in 1850, for example, the average male wage-worker earned $300 a year; while it cost approximately $600 a year to support a family of five. Women earned even less, even when they did the same jobs as men. Many workers benefited from the new wage opportunities factory work presented. For many of the young New England women who ran the machines in Waltham, Lowell, and elsewhere, the experience of being away from the family was exhilarating and provided a sense of solidarity among them. Though most sent a large portion of their wages home, having even a small amount of money of their own was a liberating experience, and many used their earnings to purchase clothes and other consumer goods for themselves. The long hours, strict discipline, and low wages, however, soon led even these workers to organize and protest their working conditions and pay. In 1821, the young women employed by the BMC in Waltham went on strike for two days when their wages were cut. In 1824, workers in Pawtucket struck to protest reduced pay rates, longer hours, and the reduction of time allowed for meals. Similar strikes occurred at Lowell and in other mill towns like Dover New Hampshire, where the women employed by the Cocheco Manufacturing Company ceased working in December 1828 after their wages were reduced. In the 1830s, female mill operatives in Lowell formed the Lowell Factory Girls Association to organize strike activities in the face of wage cuts and, later, established the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association to protest the twelve-hour workday. Even though strikes were rarely successful and workers usually were forced to accept reduced wages and increased hours, work stoppages as a form of labor protest represented the beginnings of the labor movement in the United States. In cities such as Philadelphia, New York, and Boston that experienced dizzying industrial growth during the nineteenth century, workers united to form political parties. Thomas Skidmore of Connecticut organized the Working Men’s Party which lodged a radical protest against the exploitation of workers that accompanied industrialization. Skidmore was inspired by Thomas Paine and the American Revolution to challenge the growing inequity in the United States. He argued that inequality originated in the unequal distribution of property through inheritance laws. In his 1829 treatise, The Rights of Man to Property, Skidmore called for the abolition of inheritance and the redistribution of property. The Working Men’s Party also advocated the end of imprisonment for debt. Skidmore’s vision of radical equality extended to all; women and men, no matter their race, should be allowed to vote and receive property, he believed. Skidmore died in 1832 when a cholera epidemic swept New York City, but the state of New York did away with imprisonment for debt in the same year. Worker activism became less common in the late 1840s and 1850s. Irish and German immigrants poured into the United States in the decades preceding the Civil War and native-born laborers found themselves competing for jobs with new arrivals willing to work longer hours for less pay. In Lowell, for example, the daughters of New England farmers found themselves competing with the daughters of Irish farmers who had fled the potato famine. Desperate immigrant women were willing to work for far less and endure worse conditions than native-born women. Many native-born “daughters of freemen,” as they referred to themselves, left the factories and returned to their families. Not all wage workers had this luxury, however. Widows with children to support and girls from destitute families had no choice but to stay and accept the faster pace and lower pay that competition for their jobs allowed factories to impose. Male German and Irish immigrants competed with native-born men. Germans, many of whom were skilled workers, took jobs in furniture making. The Irish provided the unskilled labor needed to load and unload ships, lay railroad track, and dig canals. American men with families to support grudgingly accepted low wages in order to keep their jobs. As work became increasingly deskilled, no worker was irreplaceable and no one’s job was safe. One of the most important inventions of the early nineteenth century was the cotton engine or gin, invented by Eli Whitney and patented in 1794. Whitney, who was born in Massachusetts, had spent time in the South and knew that a device to speed up the production of cotton was desperately needed so cotton planters could meet the growing demand for their crop. Whitney’s seemingly simple invention cleaned the seeds from raw cotton far more quickly than slaves working by hand. The cotton gin also aligned the cotton fibers in strands for spinning. As important as Whitney’s invention was, his development of the idea of interchangeable parts was even more innovative. Whitney designed machine tools that cut and shaped metal to make standardized parts for mechanical devices like clocks and guns. Whitney’s machine tools allowed guns to be mass manufactured and repaired by people other than skilled gunsmiths. His creative genius served as a source of inspiration for many other American inventors. While Whitney’s cotton gin enriched the South, a southern-born businessman helped revolutionize life on northern farms. Cyrus McCormick’s father Robert had spent twenty years perfecting the mechanical reaper McCormick patented in 1834, with the help of Jo Anderson, a slave the family held on their Virginia plantation. Cyrus added manufacturing and marketing innovations to the successful reaper design, and moved his McCormick Harvesting Machine Company to Chicago to be closer to his customers. More farmers began using it in the 1840s, and by the 1850s, McCormick’s mechanical reaper and John Deere’s plow had opened the prairies to large-scale commercial agriculture. McCormick’s machines harvested grain faster than men with scythes and Deere’s plow could cut through the thick prairie sod. Agriculture north of the Ohio River became the breadbasket that would lower food prices and feed the major cities in the East. In short order, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois all become major agricultural states. Samuel F.B. Morse added the telegraph to the list of American innovations introduced in the years before the Civil War. Born in Massachusetts in 1791, Morse first gained renown as a painter before turning his attention to the development of a method of rapid communication in the 1830s. In 1838, he gave the first public demonstration of his method of conveying electric pulses over a wire, using the basis of what became known as Morse code. In 1843, Congress agreed to help fund the new technology by allocating $30,000 for a telegraph line to connect Washington, DC, and Baltimore along the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Because railroads were already being granted “rights of way” through the countryside and cities, telegraph lines could easily be added along the tracks and telegraph offices became associated with railway stations. In 1844, Morse sent the first telegraph message on the new link. Improved communication systems fostered the development of business, economics, and politics by allowing for dissemination of news at a speed previously unknown. “Wire services” distributed news and merchants used the rapid communication allowed by the telegraph to establish standardized national pricing for commodities and products. Economic elites gained further social and political ascendance in the United States due to a fast-growing economy that enhanced their wealth and new business innovations like the corporation that allowed capital to be concentrated and a new class of capitalists to grow. In northern cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, leading merchants formed an industrial capitalist elite and the gap widened between wealthy Americans and everyone else. Many of the new capitalists came from families that had been deeply engaged in colonial trade in tea, sugar, pepper, slaves, and other commodities and that were familiar with trade networks connecting the United States with Europe, the West Indies, and the Far East. These colonial merchants had passed their wealth to their children, who began to specialize in new types of industry, spearheading the development of factories and commercial services such as banking, insurance, and shipping. Junius Spencer Morgan, for example, rose to prominence as an international banker. Morgan’s success began in Boston, where he worked in the import business in the 1830s. He formed a partnership with a London banker, George Peabody, and created Peabody, Morgan & Co. In 1864, he renamed the enterprise J. S. Morgan & Co. His son, J. P. Morgan, became the leading financier in the later nineteenth and early twentieth century. Although the Industrial Revolution made many of the existing upper class far richer, technological change also allowed some former artisans to reinvent themselves as manufacturers. Invention and innovation was not limited to men who had inherited wealth, and some of the new industrial leaders came from humble working-class origins. These self-made men embodied a new “American dream” of achieving wealth and social mobility through hard work and discipline. Although this sentiment had always been present and had been celebrated by writers like Ben Franklin, the nineteenth century was a golden age of rags-to-riches stories. Many of these newly established manufacturers formed a new economic elite that thrived in the cities and created a culture that celebrated hard work, an ideal that put them at odds with southern planter elites who prized leisure and with other elite northerners who had largely inherited their wealth and status. Peter Cooper is an example of this new northern manufacturing class. Cooper dabbled in many different moneymaking enterprises before making his fortune in the glue business. He opened a Manhattan glue factory in the 1820s and was soon using his profits to expand into activities including iron production. One of his innovations was Tom Thumb, the steam locomotive he built for the B&O railway. Despite becoming one of the wealthiest men in New York City, Cooper lived simply. Cooper believed respectability came through hard work, not family pedigree. Those who had inherited their wealth derided self-made men like Cooper; he and others like him were excluded from social clubs established by the merchant and financial elite of New York City. Self-made northern manufacturers, however, created their own organizations that aimed to promote upward mobility. The Providence Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers was formed in 1789 and promoted both industrial arts and education as a pathway to economic success. In 1859, Peter Cooper established the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a school in New York City dedicated to providing education in technology. Merit, not wealth, mattered to Cooper, and admission to the school was based solely on ability. Race, sex, and family connections had no place, and every student received a full scholarship. The best and brightest could attend Cooper Union tuition-free, a policy that remained in place for over 150 years until it was modified due to financial difficulties in 2014. In addition to adding new members to the elite class, the Industrial Revolution created the American Middle Class and the Working Class. Not all enterprising artisans were so successful that they could rise to the level of the elite. But many artisans and small merchants did manage to achieve and maintain respectability in an emerging middle class. Others became managers and office workers in the new businesses or in fields such as law, accounting, and finance that supported them. Lacking the protection of great wealth, members of the middle class worried that they might slip into the ranks of wage laborers and strove to maintain or improve their middle-class status and that of their children. Public education, which had always been valued in early America, became even more vital to success. In addition to education, the middle class valued cleanliness, discipline, morality, hard work, and good manners. Middle-class children did not work in factories; they attended school and in their free time engaged in “self-improving” activities that would teach them the skills and values they needed to succeed in life. In the early nineteenth century, members of the middle class began to limit the number of children they had. Fewer children died at a young age, children no longer contributed economically to the household, and raising them “correctly” required money and attention. Raising the next generation was the responsibility of middle-class women, who did not work for wages. Women’s work was caring for the children and keeping the house orderly and clean, often with the help of a servant. Middle-class women also performed the important tasks of cultivating good manners among their children and their husbands and of purchasing consumer goods; both activities proclaimed to neighbors and prospective business partners that their families were educated, cultured, and financially successful. Middle class northerners were also more likely than their upper-class neighbors to support the abolitionist movement. Northern business elites, many of whom owned or had invested in businesses like cotton mills that profited from slave labor, often viewed the institution of slavery with ambivalence. Members of the middle class took a dim view of slavery, however, because it promoted a culture of leisure and was the antithesis of the middle-class view that dignity and respectability were achieved through work. Many members of the middle class became active in efforts to end it. Upwardly mobile middle -class citizens also promoted sanitary reforms in cities and temperance, or abstinence from alcohol. They supported Protestant ministers like Charles Grandison Finney, who preached that people could change their lives and bring about their own salvation, a message that resonated with members of class who already believed their worldly efforts had led to their economic success. The Industrial Revolution in the United States also created a new class of wage workers, and this working class also developed its own culture. Although workers like Lowell’s mill girls first lived in company housing, workers soon formed their own neighborhoods, living away from the oversight of bosses and managers. As large numbers of immigrants from Ireland and then Germany arrived, many settled in northern and later northwestern cities like Boston, New York, Detroit, and Milwaukee. Immigrants generally did not settle in the South, because a slave-based economy provided them with few opportunities. While industrialization and consumer markets brought some improvements to the lives of the working class, these sweeping changes did not benefit laborers as much as they did the middle class and the elites. The working class continued to live a precarious existence and suffered greatly during economic slumps such as the Panics of 1819, 1837, and 1857. Wage workers in the North were mostly hostile to the abolition of slavery, fearing it would unleash more competition for jobs from free blacks. Many were also hostile to immigration. The pace of immigration to the United States accelerated in the 1840s and 1850s as Europeans were drawn to the promise of employment and land in the United States. Many new members of the working class came from the ranks of these immigrants, who brought new foods, customs, and religions. The Roman Catholic population of the United States, fairly small before this period, began to swell with the arrival of the Irish and the Germans.
834	dbpedia	3	4	https://www.loc.gov/collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/articles-and-essays/history-of-railroads-and-maps/the-beginnings-of-american-railroads-and-mapping/	en	The Beginnings of American Railroads and Mapping	http://www.loc.gov/static/images/favicons/open-graph-logo.png	http://www.loc.gov/static/images/favicons/open-graph-logo.png	[ "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/logo-loc-new-branding.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/social-media/facebook.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/social-media/twitter.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/images/share/link.svg", "https://www.loc.gov/static/collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/i...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Railways were introduced in England in the seventeenth century as a way to reduce friction in moving heavily loaded wheeled vehicles. The first North American "gravity road," as it was called, was erected in 1764 for military purposes at the Niagara portage in Lewiston, New York. The builder was Capt. John Montressor, a British engineer known to students of historical cartography as a mapmaker.	en		The Library of Congress	null	Railways were introduced in England in the seventeenth century as a way to reduce friction in moving heavily loaded wheeled vehicles. The first North American "gravity road," as it was called, was erected in 1764 for military purposes at the Niagara portage in Lewiston, New York. The builder was Capt. John Montressor, a British engineer known to students of historical cartography as a mapmaker. Surveying and mapping activities flourished in the United States as people began moving inland over the inadequately mapped continent. The settlement of the frontier, the development of agriculture, and the exploitation of natural resources generated a demand for new ways to move people and goods from one place to another. Privately owned toll or turnpike roads were followed first by steamships on the navigable rivers and by the construction of canals and then in the 1830s by the introduction of railroads for steam-powered trains. The earliest survey map in the United States that shows a commercial "tramroad" was drawn in Pennsylvania in October 1809 by John Thomson and was entitled "Draft Exhibiting . . . the Railroad as Contemplated by Thomas Leiper Esq. From His Stone Saw-Mill and Quarries on Crum Creek to His Landing on Ridley Creek." Thomas Leiper was a wealthy Philadelphia tobacconist and friend of Thomas Jefferson, who owned stone quarries near Chester. Using his survey map, Thomson helped Reading Howell, the project engineer and a well-known mapmaker, construct the first practical wooden tracks for a tramroad. Thomson was a notable land surveyor who earlier had worked with the Holland Land Company. He was the father of the famous civil engineer and longtime president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, John Edgar Thomson, who was himself a mapmaker. In 1873 the younger Thomson donated his father's 1809 map to the Delaware County Institute of Science to substantiate the claim that the map and Leiper's railroad were the first such work in North America. In 1826 a commercial tramroad was surveyed and constructed at Quincy, Massachusetts, by Gridley Bryant, with the machinery for it developed by Solomon Willard. It used horsepower to haul granite needed for building the Bunker Hill Monument from the quarries at Quincy, four miles to the wharf on the Neponset River. These early uses of railways gave little hint that a revolution in methods of transportation was underway. James Watt's improvements in the steam engine were adapted by John Fitch in 1787 to propel a ship on the Delaware River, and by James Rumsey in the same year on the Potomac River. Fitch, an American inventor and surveyor, had published his "Map of the Northwest" two years earlier to finance the building of a commercial steamboat. With Robert Fulton's Clermont and a boat built by John Stevens, the use of steam power for vessels became firmly established. Railroads and steam propulsion developed separately, and it was not until the one system adopted the technology of the other that railroads began to flourish. John Stevens is considered to be the father of American railroads. In 1826 Stevens demonstrated the feasibility of steam locomotion on a circular experimental track constructed on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey, three years before George Stephenson perfected a practical steam locomotive in England. The first railroad charter in North America was granted to Stevens in 1815. Grants to others followed, and work soon began on the first operational railroads. Surveying, mapping, and construction started on the Baltimore and Ohio in 1830, and fourteen miles of track were opened before the year ended. This roadbed was extended in 1831 to Frederick, Maryland, and, in 1832, to Point of Rocks. Until 1831, when a locomotive of American manufacture was placed in service, the B & O relied upon horsepower. Soon joining the B & O as operating lines were the Mohawk and Hudson, opened in September 1830, the Saratoga, opened in July 1832, and the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, whose 136 miles of track, completed to Hamburg, constituted, in 1833, the longest steam railroad in the world. The Columbia Railroad of Pennsylvania, completed in 1834, and the Boston and Providence, completed in June 1835, were other early lines. Surveys for, and construction of, tracks for these and other pioneer railroads not only created demands for special mapping but also induced mapmakers to show the progress of surveys and completed lines on general maps and on maps in "travelers guides". Planning and construction of railroads in the United States progressed rapidly and haphazardly, without direction or supervision from the states that granted charters to construct them. Before 1840 most surveys were made for short passenger lines which proved to be financially unprofitable. Because steam-powered railroads had stiff competition from canal companies, many partially completed lines were abandoned. It was not until the Boston and Lowell Railroad diverted traffic from the Middlesex Canal that the success of the new mode of transportation was assured. The industrial and commercial depression and the panic of 1837 slowed railroad construction. Interest was revived, however, with completion of the Western Railroad of Massachusetts in 1843. This line conclusively demonstrated the feasibility of transporting agricultural products and other commodities by rail for long distances at low cost. Early railroad surveys and construction were financed by private investors. Before the 1850 land grant to the Illinois Central Railroad, indirect federal subsidies were provided by the federal government in the form of route surveys made by army engineers. In the 1824 General Survey Bill to establish works of internal improvements, railroads were not specifically mentioned. Part of the appropriation under this act for the succeeding year, however, was used for "Examinations and surveys to ascertain the practicability of uniting the head-waters of the Kanawha with the James river and the Roanoke river, by Canals or Rail-Roads." In his Congressional History of Railways, Louis H. Haney credits these surveys as being the first to receive federal aid. He /collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/articles-and-essays/history-of-railroads-and-maps/notes/ that such grants to states and corporations for railway surveys became routine before the act was repealed in 1838. The earliest printed map in the collections of the Library of Congress based on government surveys conducted for a state-owned railroad is "Map of the Country Embracing the Various Routes Surveyed for the Western & Atlantic Rail Road of Georgia, 1837". The surveys were made under the direction of Lt. Col. Stephen H. Long, chief engineer, who ten years earlier had surveyed the routes for the Baltimore and Ohio . Work on the 138-mile Georgia route from Atlanta to Chattanooga started in 1841, and by 1850 the line was open to traffic. Its strategic location made it a key supply route for the Confederacy. It was on this line that the famous "Andrews Raid" of April 1862 occurred when Union soldiers disguised as railroad employees captured the locomotive known as the General.
834	dbpedia	3	10	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Line	en	Lowell Line	https://upload.wikimedia…_RTC%2C_2023.jpg	https://upload.wikimedia…_RTC%2C_2023.jpg	[ "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg", "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/MBTA_commuter_rail_t...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Wikimedia projects" ]	2005-06-06T11:41:02+00:00		en	/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Line	MBTA Commuter Rail line Lowell LineOverviewStatusOperationalOwnerMassachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityLocaleNortheastern MassachusettsTerminiStations9ServiceTypeCommuter railSystemMBTA Commuter RailTrain number(s)300–342 (weekday) 1300-1317 (Saturday) 2300-2317 (Sunday)Operator(s)Keolis North AmericaDaily ridership6,485 (October 2022)[1]HistoryOpened1835 (Boston & Lowell Railroad)TechnicalLine length25.4 miles (40.9 km)[2]CharacterElevated and surface-levelTrack gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & Maine Railroad's Southern Division, the line was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in Massachusetts. All stations are accessible except for West Medford, Winchester Center, and Mishawum. History [edit] Boston and Lowell Railroad [edit] The Boston and Lowell Railroad started freight operations in 1835, with traffic from the Lowell mills to the Boston port. Demand for the express passenger service exceeded expectations, and in 1842 local service was added as well. The line north of Lowell was first owned by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, which was chartered in 1844. Trackage was completed as far as Wells River, Vermont, in 1853. The Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) acquired the railroad in 1895.[3][4] The line served as the route for Boston to Montreal service during the Golden Age of Rail (roughly 1880 to 1940). The Ambassador, the train from Boston's North Station to Montreal, ran through Concord, New Hampshire, along this line until 1966.[5] This line, along with the New Englander, via Concord, White River Junction, Montpelier, ran through the northwestern section of Vermont prior to entering Quebec, Canada. The Alouette and Red Wing trains travelled to Montreal via Concord, Plymouth, Wells River and Newport in northeastern Vermont prior to entering Quebec. (The route via Wells River, St. Johnsbury and Newport was the more direct route of the two itineraries.)[6] For this itinerary the Montreal route was marketed as an Air-line railroad. Massive cutbacks on May 18, 1958, included the end of Stoneham Branch service and the closure of Medford Hillside, Tufts College, and North Somerville stations.[7] Cuts on June 14, 1959, ended service north of Woburn on the Woburn Loop; trains for points north were rerouted via the mainline to the east. Boston–Lowell local service was halved to seven daily round trips; Tyngsboro, Bleachery, and South Wilmington stations were closed.[7][8] B&M passenger service to Boston on the line was shortened from Concord, New Hampshire to Lowell in 1967.[9] MBTA era [edit] In 1973, the MBTA bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other local Greater Boston passenger lines. 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 United States 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) purchased it in 1983. For approximately thirteen months in 1980–81, daily passenger service was provided to Concord. Two round-trips were operated on each weekday and one on weekend days. Originally, there were intermediate stops in Manchester and Nashua. A stop in Merrimack was added later. Service was discontinued when federal funding was withdrawn.[10] Anderson Regional Transportation Center opened on April 28, 2001, replacing Mishawum as the Lowell Line's primary park-and-ride station for Route 128. Mishawum was reduced to limited reverse-peak service.[9] On December 15, 2001, the Amtrak Downeaster began operating over the line south of Wilmington.[9] In October 2006, the MBTA added four short turn round trips that terminated at Anderson RTC.[11] The line was shut down on weekends in July through September 2017 for the installation of Positive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline.[12] Substantially reduced schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, and from December 14, 2020, to April 5, 2021.[9] On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Lowell Line.[9] Weekend service on the seven lines resumed on July 3, 2021.[13] As of February 2022 , the line has 21+1⁄2 round trips on weekdays and nine on weekends.[14] By October 2022, the line had 6,485 daily riders – 59% of pre-COVID ridership.[1] In June 2022, the MBTA indicated it was considering improvements to a siding in Woburn, which would allow 30-minute headways between Boston and Anderson/Woburn by 2024.[15] Until December 2020, a small number of Haverhill Line trains ran via the Wildcat Branch and the inner Lowell Line, making stops between Anderson/Woburn and West Medford.[16][17] Some Haverhill Line trains resumed using this routing on April 5, 2021, but no longer make stops on the Lowell Line.[18][19] From September 9 to November 5, 2023, all outer Haverhill Line service was routed over the Wildcat Branch during signal work on the inner part of the Haverhill Line. The diverted trains stopped only at Anderson/Woburn.[20] Beginning May 20, 2024, weekday midday inbound Haverhill Line trains were again temporarily routed over the Wildcat Branch during construction work, again stopping only at Anderson/Woburn.[21][22] The Medford Branch of the Green Line Extension, which opened on December 12, 2022, runs along the Lowell Line through Somerville and part of Medford. There are five Green Line stations on the branch, but no additional commuter rail stops were added.[9] Proposed expansion to New Hampshire [edit] MBTA Commuter Rail service connecting Concord, Manchester and Nashua from the Lowell Line used to exist in New Hampshire until subsidies were ceased in 1967.[10] The service came back in 1980 for a quick 13 month return, but the program grant was cut by the Reagan administration in 1981, and commuter rail service has remained not available.[10] In October 2010, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation received a $2.24 million federal grant to study an extension of the Lowell Line to Concord.[23] In January 2011, a bill was introduced into the New Hampshire legislature to end the proposed extension and give up a potential $4.1 million grant into its planning.[24] The MBTA acquired trackage rights from Pan Am in May 2011 as part of a larger transaction.[25] The project was estimated to cost $246 million in a 2014 NHDOT report.[26] Extending service to NH was projected to provide an expected 34 trains a day to Nashua and 16 a day to Manchester, connecting commuters from Nashua to Boston as low as 54 minutes and commuters from Manchester to Boston in as low as 1 hour and 25 minutes with 3,120 passengers a day.[27][28] Proponents of the extension see expanded rail services as a link to Boston’s growing economy while opponents consider the project to be extraneous and expensive.[29][30] In December 2020, a $5.5 million contract was awarded to AECOM for preliminary engineering and design work, environmental and public engagement services, and final design, for the project to extend MBTA commuter rail service to southern New Hampshire.[31] The project called for the extension of the Lowell Line up through Nashua and Manchester along an existing rail alignment.[28][32][26] The proposed expansion would include four new stops: South Nashua, Crown Street in Nashua, Bedford, and Manchester.[28] In January of 2022, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the location for new facilities to house layover trains adjacent to the Manchester Transit Authority facilities.[33] By autumn 2022, the study was being carried out by AECOM and the State of New Hampshire to design and make a financial plan for the project by 2023. In December 2022, the New Hampshire Executive Council voted to cease state funding for an extension of the AECOM study; the study reported an updated project cost of $782 million.[34][35][36] The MBTA rail extension project to Manchester is currently in the pre-decisional stage, and is awaiting approval by the NH government.[37] Operations [edit] Track speeds [edit] North of Wilmington, the line is authorized for a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). South of Wilmington, the line has an unusual asymmetrical speed limit. The northbound track supports up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) where curvature allows, while the southbound track has a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Additional speed restrictions are in place at Wilmington, through the grade crossings in West Medford, and in the North Station terminal area.[38] Other services [edit] Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine, along with some Haverhill Line express trains, run on the Lowell Line from North Station to Wilmington, then follow the Wildcat Branch to the Haverhill Line. This routing is used to avoid the inner Haverhill Line, which has a number of single-track sections. The line is the designated freight clearance route into Boston from the north; all stations with high-level platforms must either have mini-high platforms or a freight passing track. Pan Am Railways runs freight on the line, including local freights based out of Lawrence Yard and DOBO (a Dover to Boston through freight). Station listing [edit] State Fare zone Location Miles (km)[2][39][40] Station Connections and notes MA 1A Boston 0.0 (0.0) North Station Amtrak: Downeaster MBTA Commuter Rail: Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line MBTA subway: Orange Line, Green Line (D and E branches) MBTA bus: 4 EZRide Somerville 0.8 (1.3) Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility Flag stop for MBTA employees only Medford 4.0 (6.4) Tufts University Open September 1977 to October 1979 5.5 (8.9) West Medford MBTA bus: 94,95 1 Winchester 7.3 (11.7) Wedgemere 7.8 (12.6) Winchester Center Temporarily closed on January 8, 2021 MBTA bus: 134 Former junction with Woburn Branch (closed 1981) 9.0 (14.5) Winchester Highlands Closed June 1978[9] Woburn 10.5 (16.9) Walnut Hill Closed January 18, 1965[9] 10.9 (17.5) Lechmere Warehouse Open 1979 to 1996[9] 2 11.6 (18.7) Mishawum Flag stop with limited reverse commute service. Indefinitely closed on December 14, 2020. 12.7 (20.4) Anderson/Woburn Amtrak: Downeaster Logan Express 3 Wilmington 15.2 (24.5) Wilmington LRTA: 12 Junction with the Wildcat Branch 17.0 (27.4) Silver Lake Closed January 18, 1965[9] Billerica 19.2 (30.9) East Billerica Closed January 18, 1965[9] 5 21.8 (35.1) North Billerica LRTA: 3/4, 13 6 Lowell 25.5 (41.0) Lowell LRTA: 1/8, 2, 3/4, 5, 6/9, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 MVRTA: 24 Chelmsford 28.7 (46.2) North Chelmsford Closed June 30, 1967 NH Nashua 39.0 (62.8) Nashua Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Merrimack 46.1 (74.2) Merrimack Open from April 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Manchester 55.5 (89.3) Manchester Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Concord 73.3 (118.0) Concord Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Currently operating station Woburn Branch [edit] Location Miles (km)[2][39][40] Station Connections and notes Winchester 7.8 (12.6) Winchester Center Junction with mainline Woburn 9.0 (14.5) Cross Street Closed February 1, 1981[41] 9.8 (15.8) Woburn Closed February 1, 1981[41] Currently operating station References [edit] KML is from Wikidata
834	dbpedia	3	51	https://keystonearches.com/History.html	en	Welcome to the 1841 Keystone Arches Web Site			[ "https://keystonearches.com/Images/1837 Crab patent.png", "https://keystonearches.com/Images/image342.jpg", "https://keystonearches.com/Images/image335.jpg", "https://keystonearches.com/Images/image353.jpg", "https://keystonearches.com/Images/image339.jpg", "https://keystonearches.com/Images/image337.jpg"...	[]	[]	[ "Chester Ma Mass Massachusetts Keystone Arches k.a.b. trail historic railroad bridges chester 1841 museum wooden caboose camping rent party's freight tank cars music concert Western Railroad parade speeder work car Fairmont CSX B&A New York Central" ]	null	[ "Peter White" ]	null	A series of keystone arch bridges in Western Massachusetts	en			null	A second, very early railway, the Boston & Providence (1835) which features the Canton Viaduct in Canton, MA, had Capt William Gibbs McNeill as Chief Engineer. He was the brother of Anna Matilda McNeill Whistler, immortalized as "Whistler's Mother" by James A. McNeill Whistler; her and George's son. Maj. Whistler had also been Chief Engineer of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, the first railroad chartered in New England. This was an adjunct of the Lowell Locks & Canals Co. On the B&L, he built the first shops capable of manufacturing locomotives in New England. Stone bridges were constructed only in the West Branch Gorge, a remote area where their durability insured limited maintenance, making them cost effective. Three of these bridges were abandoned 100 years ago and have stood without any maintenance whatsoever for all that time. When Whistler began work on the Western Railway project, in virtually the Paleolithic era of the industry, the only proven best practices and pre-existing standards to draw upon were those he had developed in his own career. At the time, America had no foundries capable of rolling rail and all rail used in construction of the Western was imported from England. Some lines were still laying strap rail (wood topped with metal strapping) during this period. The Western Railroad was surveyed on horseback, by men who were writing the book on railroad engineering as they went. It is said they presented at least a half-dozen alternate routes for each segment upon return from their expeditions. Much of the surveying in the wilderness had to be done from towers built above the trees or at night with torches, in order to be able to spot the mark through the forest on adjoining hillsides. Farmers along the route leased horse and ox teams to the project to move the stone and displaced earth. Most walked the beasts to work daily, sometimes for many miles each way. Among famous persons who passed over these Arches were Abe Lincoln, before he was president, Harry Truman, on a "whistle-stop" tour, and Charles Dickens who wrote in 1842, only a year after this railway opened, "The train stops at stations in the woods, where the wild impossibility of anyone having the smallest reason to get out is only to be equaled by the apparently desperate hopelessness of there being anybody to get in." His snobbery arose from the fact that Britain had invented railroads and theirs were much better established. He was clearly un-aware in the immediacy of history, that this road had launched America to the forefront of railway engineering, leaving Great Britain behind. Maj. Whistler built this rail line through some of the most forbidding wilderness the Berkshires had to offer, without dynamite, using picks, shovels and black powder; removing rock with ox teams and wooden wheelbarrows. He completed the project in 2" years. The abandoned Arches are a result of a re-alignment to ease two sharp curves. Out of 150 miles of innovative railroad, a correction of less than a mile reveals an amazing talent. The mountain section of the railroad consists of 13.89 miles and cost $980,000.00 or $70,000.00 per mile to build in 1841. Construction here slowed to a rate of 20 miles per year. Beyond the resistance factor present in all curvature, a 30 car train going 25 mph in 1841 would have had little trouble with the superseded curves. By 1910, when 100 car trains reached 65 mph, it became cost-effective to re-configure this small segment of Whistler's original survey. There was much wheel and rail wear here, and it forced trains to slow near the base of the hill. The recent addition of nitroglycerin to the contractors" arsenal also made the adjustment more practicable. By 1842, Whistler's reputation was beginning to spread around the world. Immediately after completion of the Western Railroad, summoned by Czar Nicholas I, Whistler left for Russia to construct their first railroad, now known as the October Railroad, from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The same man was responsible for initiating Russian eastward and U.S. westward railroad expansion! It was in America that he encountered the most daunting obstacles geographically. In Russia, The grades and terrain were much less challenging and Whistler thought he would be gone for a couple years at most. Instead, he got bogged down by the politics of Czarist Russia, unrealistic and arbitrary standards, serf labor, and his own integrity, which wouldn"t permit him to abandon the project due to hardship alone. Maj. Whistler died in Russia, on April 7, 1849 at the age of 49, after a long period of illness. Generally believed to have been caused by cholera, some historians claim it was a simple heart attack. Others, including his own son George William, completed the railroad after his passing. The enigmatic Maj. Whistler had stood at the crossroads of history; between British and American eras, railroads and canals, cottage industry and the Industrial Revolution. He managed to insure American leadership in the Industrial Age but died in service to the Russian Empire. The most destructive event in the history of the Arches was the flood of November 4, 1927 when the Ballou and the Silk Mill Dams of Becket both failed, sending a wall of water down the narrow valley. This catastrophe took out three Arches. It skipped some and leveled others. The roadbed and track were totally gone in places. The New York Central brought in crews from all over the system and they were able to open the line in eleven days. Walnut Hill Conservation Area is part of the largest roadless wilderness in the state. The Westfield River is Massachusetts's first National Wild & Scenic River, making the surroundings remarkably alluring and tranquil. They host a number of endangered and "of concern" species. For an appealing glimpse of these environs just as they are about to awake from a long winter, check out: You Tube / The Westfield Beneath the Arches. "Whistler's Western" was substantially built, despite its magnitude. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Keystone Arch Historic District, where up to 70 foot high bridges sit in silent testimony to the labors of the thousands of immigrants who constructed this line. The standards of the Western Railway were set very high by Whistler. How high was largely unfathomable to supporters of the project, as there was little to compare them to. Investors pushed for a single-track line to save money, Whistler insisted on double. All cuts and bridges were built to double track width, though only a single track was initially laid. Within a decade, traffic mandated the second track. Whistler's planning saved the road millions in expansion costs. He had a rare combination of business and scientific acumen. Project backers had insisted that the line could well follow the narrow crooked contours of the land to conserve capital. Thomas B. Wales, President of the corporation, convinced of the correctness of Whistler's vision, declared he would "have nothing to do with such a tuppenny cow path." After the road opened to Chester, The Westfield News-Letter wrote: "It is the last route in the world where we should ever dream of making a railroad." nonetheless it was judged to be "one of the safest and best that we have passed over." The Keystone Arches have surpassed all expectations of their builders. The examples still in use carry trains 30 times heavier than they were designed for. In 1840, a steam locomotive weighed about 12,000 lbs. The average locomotive of 2012 weighs in the neighborhood of 350,000 lbs. A combination of heroic feats of engineering, coupled with superb workmanship, resulted in one of the epochal moments in transportation history, yet remains one of the least celebrated in historic record. TRAINS Magazine called this "the most underrated mountain crossing". The stats of The Western Railroad remain dominant even as subsequent Berkshire crossings, both rail and highway, were built. Whistler, using cut and fill methodology, never lost a foot of altitude as he pushed westward. All but one succeeding crossing utilized a summit higher than the Western. The Fitchburg Railroad sought to lessen altitude through the use of a tunnel, but the technology of the time did not equal the vision. Digging the 5 mile long tunnel put the state of MA in the red deeper than did the 1990's "Big Dig". While it eventually crossed lower (836 ft. ASL) it delayed for 45 years opening that line. Not even begun until 20 years after the Western commenced operations, the tunnel took 25 years and the invention of nitro-glycerin to materialize. Rapid access to the transportation revolution appears to have had more profound effects on local economies than those realized through fuel savings and reduced locomotive costs. Cities and towns along the tunnel route; North Adams, Greenfield and Fitchburg, never attained the size or status of locations like Worcester, Springfield or Pittsfield served by the earlier Western Railroad. In 1910, The "Huckleberry" Trolley Line, designed for light rail, reached a height of about 1,700 ft crossing further south at Blandford, with some grades approaching 7%. Becket, Huntington and Chester are three hilltowns which, in addition to the world's first mountain railroad, play host to the world's first trans-mountain highway designed specifically for the automobile. This is Jacob's Ladder Trail, now U.S. 20, which crosses in Becket at 1,794 ft. The Mass Turnpike, surveyed with helicopters in the 1950's, crosses the Berkshires at Blandford at 1,724 ft. ASL. Those civil engineers are said to have highly praised Whistler's work. The Western Railroad represented a colossal technological leap for railroads, increasing their range, use, and influence. Phase II of railroad development was inaugurated by the Western. It unleashed an explosion of growth, which quickly surpassed the grades, bridges and all the rest which made the Western a superlative civil engineering achievement. Its stats were rapidly eclipsed by its spawn. SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1In 1780, national visionary Thomas Jefferson predicted it would take until the year 2000 to settle all the land in the west. The only thing missing from his hypothesis was the railroad.
834	dbpedia	1	33	https://cs.trains.com/trn/f/507/t/210689.aspx	en	Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms			[ "https://cs.trains.com/themes/groups/grw/images/icons/trains-com-brand.svg", "https://cs.trains.com/themes/groups/grw/images/icons/trains-sm.svg", "https://cs.trains.com/themes/groups/grw/images/icons/model-railroader-sm.svg", "https://cs.trains.com/themes/groups/grw/images/icons/classic-toy-trains-sm.svg", ...	[]	[]	[ "Trains magazine", "TrainsMag.com", "Trains mag", "railroad news", "train news", "railroad industry news", "BNSF Web cam", "UP Web cam", "Union Pacific Web cam", "train web cam", "trains web cam", "Rochelle Web cam", "Rochelle webcam", "Roanoke Web cam", "Roanoke webcam", "Norfolk Sout...	null	[]	null	Trains magazine offers railroad news, railroad industry insight, commentary on today's freight railroads, passenger service (Amtrak), locomotive technology, railroad preservation and history, railfan opportunities (tourist railroads, fan trips), and great railroad photography.		/themes/groups/trn/images/favicon.ico?ver=2		null	Going to Boston, MA, in the beginning of Nov, are there any Hotspots close to Boston? Coming from Norway, and without any knowledge about the city and the surroundings, it would be nice with some advice on where to go, and perhaps not to go. We are planning to rent a car. Any thing on Cape Cod, or is it just Bike Trails now? I have searched the web to find info, but haven't found very much. Regards O.T. The city of Boston itself is a railroad hot spot. It has the the nation's first streetcar suburbs and much of the system is in place. The boston "subway" (sometimes it runs above ground) is called the "T." You can get information on the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) website. Among the nations oldest railroads are the Boston and Providence, today part of the Northeast Corridor line and served by both Amtrak and MBTA commuter service and the Boston and Lowell, also served by MBTA commuter service. Trains depart from Boston's South Station. At South Station you can see an Acela which runs between Boston and Washington. This is America's fastest train but does not compare in speed to European trains. It is also the most expensive. The Boston to Providence line is not particularly scenic but does have a lot of old railroad buildings along it. If you want to see it I suggest you take the MBTA commuter train which is cheaper and slower; you will see a lot more. I've never been to Lowell. It was America's first factory town and today is suppose to be a restored tourist attraction. There is no rail service to Cape Cod. You can certainly drive there. There are a lot of old towns and at the end Province Town is perhaps the best known place. In November it will be fairly quiet as it is very much a summer resort. Boston is one of the few US cities where it is quite possible to live without a car. It was an important city during the American Revolution and important during the industrial revolution. The city has many museums and cultural attractions. I don't know what your interests are beyond railroads. There are plenty of current rail operations to see. In addition to what I mention above there is also the Route 128 station on the line to Providence. Route 128 is a ring road around Boston. It is the first commuter railroad station on a large highway in the country but at the same time is not very interesting unless you like dull architecture and large parking lots. One Amtrak train, the "Down Easter," runs out of Boston's North Station up to Maine. When you arrive at Logan Airport there is a new transit link to South Station with is a transit hub in the city. Boston is notoriously difficult to drive in. If I were going before I rented a car I would make sure I needed it to get to the particular place I was going and use public transit to get around. However, I don't want to tell you how to take your trip. Most of all I hope you enjoy one of our older cities. I'm not familiar with freight railroads in the area so I can't comment. To add for Cape Cod, you reach by Car or Bus. Once on "The Cape" go to Hyannis, The Cape Cod Railroad runs tourist trains from Hyannis to the Cape Cod Canal and back by day and a Dinner Train in the evening. From Boston's South Station, Amtrak, the U.S. Government passenger railroad, runs hourly high speed rail to New York and Washington DC. The Acela Service that reaches 2.5kph (150mph) is at extra cost as it is 1st Class and Business Class only (no coach seats). Standard Northeast Regional trains with coach class service run about every 2 hours. Amtrak "Downeaster" also provide standard passenger service, 3 trips a day, from Boston's North Station to Portland and Brunswick Maine. State supported Commuter Rail runs out of both the North and South Stations to cities and town within 50 miles of Boston. Two freight railroads provide service to the area. CSX freights serve customers to the south and west to Albany NY. Pan Am Railway (Gilford Rail) runs service to the north, and west by way of the 5 mile long Hoosac Tunnel through the Berkshire Mountians to NY state. You can take photos from "public property", you are well advised to stay off of railroad property with a camera. Since 9/11, anyone may be questioned, but not stopped when taking photos.
834	dbpedia	2	66	https://www.uberfreight.com/	en	Transportation & Logistics Solutions	https://www.uberfreight.…t-Black-Logo.png	https://www.uberfreight.…t-Black-Logo.png	[ "https://www.uberfreight.com/wp-content/themes/uberfreight/images/logo.png", "https://www.uberfreight.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/poster-mobile@2x-375x812.jpg", "https://www.uberfreight.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/icon1-1.svg", "https://www.uberfreight.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/icon2-1.svg", "htt...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2022-08-15T17:09:27+00:00		en	https://www.uberfreight.…icon/favicon.png	Uber Freight	https://www.uberfreight.com/	"Over the years as we’ve expanded and developed new consumer-appealing food products, Uber Freight has adapted its transportation management technologies to support us in staying at the forefront of our industry. Uber Freight consistently rises to our toughest logistics challenges and remains flexible to the day-to-day changes in our dynamic schedules."
834	dbpedia	3	8	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	en	History of the B&M Railroad — Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn....	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/336c133a-16c9-46b9-9496-da9e8334707b/favicon.ico?format=100w	Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	The invention of the steam railroad in the 19th Century radically expanded human mobility and commerce. By “annihilating distance” the railroad forever changed the American landscape and patterns of business and domestic life. Originating in the idea of constructing a continuous inland route between Boston and Portland, the Boston and Maine Railroad gradually gained control of other lines until the B&M system linked hundreds of cities, towns, and villages in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. Shipments of grain, ice, lumber, meat and produce over its rails contributed to the expansion of Boston as a market center and a great seaport. The B&M and its predecessor companies made possible the development of New England’s manufacturing cities and eliminated the crushing isolation of life in the country. For most communities it became the link to the outside world. It also found markets for the products of each town’s industry and in return brought to every locality the whole range and variety of goods that were the fruit of the Industrial Revolution. The Boston and Maine Railroad was the successor to the Andover and Wilmington Railroad which opened in 1836. Over the next 65 years the B&M gained control (through lease, purchase, or stock ownership) of the Eastern, Boston and Lowell, Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers, Concord & Montreal, Connecticut River, Fitchburg, Portland and Rochester, and Worcester and Nashua railroads, most of which themselves were agglomerations of shorter, earlier roads. All had their main lines and branches that wove a tight web of steel through northern Massachusetts, southern Maine, the state of New Hampshire, and eastern New York and Vermont. At its peak B&M maintained over 2,300 route miles of track, 1,200 steam locomotives, and a force of 28,000 employees. The road’s principal shops were located at North Billerica, Mass. and Concord, N.H. Major freight yards were built at Boston, East Deerfield, Rigby, and Mechanicville. Developing Tourism The B&M led the charge for the development of tourism in New England. The delights of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains, the promotion of seacoast resorts, and the romantic attractions of New England’s historic places were captured in B&M view-books, magazines, and extensive newspaper advertising. In the 1930s and 1940s the Boston and Maine Snow Trains were a major boost to the development of the winter sports business. The B&M’s most famous engineering landmark was the five-mile-long Hoosac Tunnel. Hundreds of the railroad’s bridges enhanced the New England landscape, ranging from picturesque covered bridges to the Greenville and Hillsboro trestles, the Clinton viaduct, and huge steel structures spanning the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. Notable, also, was the gradual filling in of the flats of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and their development as New England’s principal freight distribution center. The B&M came under the control of J.P. Morgan and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad about 1910, but shortly thereafter anti-trust forces wrested effective control away from New Haven. The B&M's consolidation with the Eastern RR included assumption of the Eastern's funded debt. This, combined with the debt incurred in the 1870s for construction of a new route to Portland and fixed lease obligations to acquire the Fitchburg and other railroads, led the B&M into a festering financial crisis that was settled by a reorganization of the road in 1919. Several leased lines voluntarily merged with the B&M to avoid a meltdown of the B&M system. About 1890 street railways made the first assault on the B&M’s passenger business. Increased use of the automobile, from about 1915, made more trouble for the B&M as a passenger carrier, beginning the erosion of its local and commuter business. In the 20th Century freight business was adversely affected by the decline of New England manufacturing and by short-haul truck competition. Nevertheless, the B&M made valiant attempts to preserve its freight and passenger traffic by abandoning unprofitable branches, improving freight handling facilities, upgrading passenger equipment, and making forays into the airline, motor cargo, and bus businesses. Advancing through Technology Never technologically backward, the B&M was an early proponent of switch and signal interlocking, automatic block signaling, automatic train stop, and centralized traffic control. Under president George Hannauer hump yards were established at Boston and Mechanicville and the Freight Cut-Off was established to funnel freight cars away from busy passenger routes. It employed gasoline powered rail motor cars on lightly patronized branches and was one of America’s diesel pioneers; its iconic Unit 6000, the Flying Yankee streamliner (1935), symbolized a hopeful new age in railroad innovation. In 1955 financial operator Patrick B. McGinnis gained control of the Boston and Maine. His principal contribution to B&M history was to oversee the completion of dieselization, the discontinuance of many passenger routes and runs, and the closure and sale of railroad stations and equipment. Ultimately he was convicted of and imprisoned for taking kickbacks on equipment sales. In the late 1950s and 1960s profitability was elusive; Government insisted that the B&M should keep commuter and long-distance passenger trains running in the face of mounting deficits and decreasing patronage and made it impossible for the B&M to break even. Demonstration projects to improve passenger earnings by running more frequent trains were inconclusive, and the drain on assets continued. Expenses were reduced by dieselization and the closure of stations and shops, but the B&M ultimately fell victim to the ever-growing use of motor transportation and the advent of the Interstate Highway System. The railroad gave up on long distance passenger service after 1960 and was able to continue Boston commuter service only by securing subsidies from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Reinventing Itself — Freight Service Bankruptcy came in 1970, but ironically it seems to have been the catalyst that the B&M needed to reinvent itself. Alan Dustin (president 1974-84) reduced operating expenses and plowed the savings back into track improvements. The sale of rights of way in the commuter zone to the MBTA (1976) provided cash to satisfy creditors and in 1980 the B&M had its first profitable year, on an ordinary income basis, since 1957. An improving outlook led to the purchase of the B&M by Timothy Mellon’s Guilford Transportation Industries in 1983 and its emergence from bankruptcy. In addition to its freight service the B&M continued to operate Boston commuter trains under contract to the MBTA. Guilford had purchased the Maine Central Railroad in 1981 and then, with B&M in the fold, began to operate the two roads as a continuous system. Guilford changed the complexion of freight operations by concentrating on large shippers and experimenting with dedicated, high volume, services. Guilford expanded its operations into Connecticut by the acquisition, in 1982, of several track segments from Conrail. Combining these segments with trackage rights, Guilford extended its reach from Springfield as far south as New Haven and as far west as Waterbury and Derby. A labor dispute prompted Guilford to lease B&M track (1986-1987) to subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway, which thus became Guilford’s operating company for freight business. B&M lost the contract for running MBTA commuter service to Amtrak in 1987; Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad ran commuter service over former B&M lines from 2003 to 2014; Keolis Commuter Services took over on July 1, 2014. Short line freight railroads such as Providence and Worcester, New Hampshire Northcoast, and New England Central purchased segments of former B&M right of way and continue to serve online customers. Guilford acquired Pan American World Airways in 1998, and re-branded itself as Pan Am Railways. In 1999, in cooperation with Norfolk Southern, Pan Am began running a dedicated intermodal train between Ayer and Mechanicville. This evolved into an agreement with Norfolk Southern in 2008 to own, as a joint venture named Pan Am Southern, former B&M track between those two points, and elsewhere, using NS money to upgrade the track and to finance improved distribution facilities. Containerized freight, raw materials for paper mills, forest products, and automobile shipments constituted a large part of Pan Am business.
834	dbpedia	3	92	https://guides.bpl.org/maritimeindustry/facilities	en	Boston's Maritime Industrial History			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Jay Moschella" ]	null	A guide to select BPL holdings	en	https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/images/MA-BOSTON-BRANCH/favicon.ico		https://guides.bpl.org/maritimeindustry/facilities	The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for management of the navigable waterways of the United States. The Civil Works/Navigation Division provides services to water born transportation systems including rivers and harbors. Homepage for the US Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works/Navigation Division New England District of the Navigation Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers Under its authority under the Clean Water Act, the Corps issues permits for work in the waters of the United States. US Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program and Permits New England District of the Regulatory Program of the US Army Corps of Engineers Periodically, the Corps’ Water Resources Support Center has compiled useful information about the facilities available to commercial shipping interests in the major ports, Boston being Port Series No. 3. Included are detailed maps and descriptions of cargo facilities, dry docking, marine repair, shipbuilding, energy facilities, warehouses, and rail lines into the port. The BPL’s holdings of Port Series No. 3 include volumes from 1922 to 1994. Much of the information that used to be printed is now available online at the Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center. Water Resources Support Center (now Institute for Water Resources: Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center: In addition, some of this series is scanned and available online. Port Facilities guides in the BPL’s holdings are also published by the Port of Boston Authority, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) and the Boston Shipping Association. Selected Boston Public Library resources related to this topic: In the 19th century cargo handling facilities were often associated transport companies, particularly railroad and steamship companies so, for example: Hoosac Tunnel Docks and Elevator of Fitchburg Railroad, Charlestown Mystic Docks of Boston & Maine Railroad, Charlestown Boston & Albany Docks, East Boston New England Railroad Docks, South Boston Cunard Steamship Company, East Boston According to a 1897 publication of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston, Massachusetts, at the time Boston’s principal imports and exports tended toward agricultural products. Our holdings include a number of Boston Chamber reports of maritime activity from the first half of the 20th century. The Army Corps’ Port Series No. 3 identifies the owners, operators and products handled at the terminals, many of them processing energy (coal, petroleum) products and bulk raw materials up through and beyond World War II. The longest strikes in the port’s history developed as technology changed, bringing in mechanized material handling and containerization. The Massachusetts Port Authority now operates: Conley Terminal, South Boston. Containers Moran Terminal, Charlestown. Leased to Boston Autoport Boston Freight Terminals operates a multimodal freight forwarding company intersecting Conley, Logan Airport, and the Boston By-pass Road truck route. Eastern Salt Company operates a dry bulk terminal in Chelsea. Prolerized New England Company handles bulk scrap metal. Energy supplies including home heating oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and liquified natural gas are discharged to fuel terminals found primarily along the Chelsea River and the Everett waterfront: Global Petroleum Companies Terminal, Revere Irving Oil Company Terminal, Revere Sonoco Logistics, East Boston Gulf Oil Company Terminal, Chelsea Distrigas/Suez LNG Terminal, Everett Most of the our holdings on this topic are promotional materials encouraging shippers to use these facilities. Selected Boston Public Library resources related to this topic: Boston at one point had hundreds of wharfs, docks and piers on which to receive and discharge cargo. Many were constructed as end points for railroads coming from inland. A search for wharfs, docks and piers in our catalog turns up many more documents than shown here. Those written in the 19th century certainly pertain to working maritime facilities. The more recent items are plentiful but a significant percentage of them were prepared to advance real estate ventures proposed on derelict wharfs. You may notice that this list does not identify hundreds of wharfs, docks and piers . In most cases, a single item naming those facilities represented in our collections was selected to give an idea of the scope of the holdings. Additional links may be found in the Waterfront Neighborhoods section. Further search on terms such as “Wharfs” AND “Boston” in our catalog may be productive. Selected Boston Public Library resources related to this topic: The 19th and much of the 20th century waterfront was lined with warehouses for dry and cold storage of goods transferring among ships, railroads and local transport. Often built by railroad companies, Boston’s storage facilities held sugar, ice, grain, gypsum, and manufactured goods to name a few. Warehousing companies provided specialized handling equipment in addition to enclosed space and the labor needed to move materials from one transport mode to another. As raw materials and finished products were increasingly moved by rail, warehouse space was converted to other uses. Particularly significant was the change in the 1970s to containerized shipping as products were loaded into steel boxes which could be offloaded directly onto a truck chassis, eliminating the need for purpose-built storage facilities. We have few items that describe maritime storage. Additional information can be found in the Army Corps of Engineers Port Series No. 3. Selected Boston Public Library holdings related to this topic: Boston has or had a number of dry docks and marine railways on which ships could be built or hauled out for repair: East Boston/Crandall/Atlantic Works – No holdings specific to this facility. See MACRIS: Atlantic Works Bethlehem Shipbuilding and Simpson Yard – No holdings specific to this facility. See MACRIS: East Boston Inner Harbor Boston Naval Shipyard: Our holdings include specifications for a number of projects to be carried at the Boston Naval Yard in the very early 20th century as well as numerous studies related to the conversion of the Navy Yard to residential and commercial use. Also see in this document Waterfront Neighborhoods: Charlestown. South Boston Naval Annex – See in this document Waterfront Neighborhoods: South Boston. Dry Dock No. 3 is still used, operated by North Atlantic Ship Repair In the 19th century Boston was noted for building wooden clipper ships, most famously Donald McKay’s yard in East Boston. There are no longer yards that produce new commercial vessels, though we have some historical studies and information about the now-closed Fore River Shipyards in Quincy. Some records are proposals to redevelop closed shipyards. The most complete listing of Boston’s ship repair facilities can be found in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Port Series No. 3, of which we several in the series. Selected Boston Public Library holdings related to this topic:
834	dbpedia	0	28	https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/railroad-history-conrail-it-isnt-quite-dead.999817/	en	Railroad history - Conrail, it isn't quite dead	https://www.physicsforum…rums-logo-og.png	https://www.physicsforum…rums-logo-og.png	[ "https://www.physicsforums.com/styles/physicsforums/xenforo/logo.png", "https://www.physicsforums.com/styles/physicsforums/xenforo/logosmall.png", "https://www.physicsforums.com/data/attachments/268/268662-046bbfbf6c07d7a3af08c63526d51eca.jpg", "https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/fraserriver-jpg.292893...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2021-02-21T14:26:02-06:00	Railroad history is one of my hobbies and somewhat of a passion. Like some people have favorite sports teams, I have favorite railroads, all of which are...	en	https://www.physicsforum…ums_logo_192.png	Physics Forums: Science Discussion, Homework Help, Articles	https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/railroad-history-conrail-it-isnt-quite-dead.999817/	Railroad history is one of my hobbies and somewhat of a passion. Like some people have favorite sports teams, I have favorite railroads, all of which are fallen-flags, i.e., they no longer exist. Conrail grew out of the ashes of the largest bankruptcy at the time involving the Penn Central Transportation Company (formed by the ill-fated merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting marks PRR) and the New York Central Railroad (reporting marks NYC), and subsequently the New York, New Haven and Hartford (NH) Railroad). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_Central_Transportation_Company Interesting story - Daughen, Joseph R. & Peter Binzen (1999). The Wreck of the Penn Central (2nd edition). Boston: Beard Books Little, Brown. ISBN 1-893122-08-5. Anyway, Conrail was a government-owned corporation until 1987, when it was privatized. "The Federal Government created Conrail to take over the potentially-profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and Erie Lackawanna Railway. After railroad regulations were lifted by the 4R Act and the Staggers Act, Conrail began to turn a profit in the 1980s and was privatized in 1987. The two remaining Class I railroads in the East, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), agreed in 1997 to acquire the system and split it into two roughly-equal parts (alongside three residual shared-assets areas), returning rail freight competition to the Northeast by essentially undoing the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad that created Penn Central. Following approval by the Surface Transportation Board, CSX and NS took control in August 1998, and on June 1, 1999, began operating their respective portions of Conrail." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail Recently, I've encountered Conrail Shared Assets trains, and I didn't quite understand it, and then I discovered Conrail Shared Assets Operations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail_Shared_Assets_Operations https://www.conrail.com/system-map/ CSX is perhaps the weaker of the two partners. Recently, CSX has agreed to buy Pan Am Railways in New England. Pan Am is what used to be the Guilford Rail System, itself a combination of the Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Portland Terminal Company and Springfield Terminal Railway. https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about...sx-to-acquire-pan-am-railways-in-new-england/ https://www.railwayage.com/regulatory/definitive-csx-acquiring-pan-am-railways/ The CSX acquisition is complicated by the interest that Norfolk Southern (NS) has in the Pan Am Southern system. Railroads are complicated legal entities, since they are both a transportation and real estate company. Current Class I railroads are the result of many mergers over the passed 60 years, and even the main (Class I) railroads were complicated mergers and acquisitions so smaller entities over the past 180 years. One has to go back to state and federal charters and grants to find out how complex railroads are as corporations. Background on many current and historical railroads can be found at - https://www.american-rails.com/ CALGARY — Canadian Pacific will buy Kansas City Southern in a cash and stock transaction worth approximately $29 billion, CP has confirmed. Financial Times first reported the story Saturday night. In an announcement posted Sunday morning, CP said the deal has the approval of both boards of directors, and confirms the previously reported price valuing KCS at $275 per share, representing a 23% premium on KCS’s closing stock price on Friday. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...to-buy-kansas-city-southern-news-report-says/ https://www.trains.com/trn/canadian...uthern-merger-to-redraw-class-i-railroad-map/ There are now 7 Class I railroads in the US, but there will be only 6 once CP takes control of KCS. As of 2016, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) defines a Class I as having operating revenues of, or exceeding, $453 million annually. https://www.american-rails.com/class.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_classes https://railroads.dot.gov/rail-network-development/freight-rail-overview CP's larger Canadian rival, Canadian National (CN) acquired the old Illinois Central Gulf back in 1996-1998, and fully integrated it in 1999. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-02-11-9802110374-story.htmlUpdate: Big Railroad Deal Seen More Likely to Gain Regulators' OK https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2021-03-22/big-railroad-deal-seen-more-likely-to-gain-regulators-ok Canadian Pacific’s proposed $25 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern would be the first major railroad merger since the 1990s, but analysts say this deal has a better chance of success than past failed ones because there is little overlap between the two railroads. It's basically an end-to-end merger at Kansas City, Mo, with KCS serving south to Louisiana, Texas and Mexico, and CP serving north up to Canada. Astronuc said: Railroad history is one of my hobbies and somewhat of a passion. Like some people have favorite sports teams, I have favorite railroads, all of which are fallen-flags, i.e., they no longer exist. In the late 1970's, I several times joyfully rode the Southern Crescent round trip to DC from Charlottesville. It would roll through Charlottesville at 6 am : and get you to DC in time to do a day's business while it went on to NYC. The return south left DC at 5:00pm(?) so I could eat fried chicken and peas (served on linen tablecloths with real cutlery) while passing frustrated rush hour drivers at every crossing. That was fabulous fun. Of course the wait staff was almost entirely elderly black men and the experience was clearly borrowed from a different and not entirely idyllic era. But it is a lovely memory. It went Amtrak shortly there after Years ago, I loved taking the train from Schenectady to NYC. It was a scenic ride on some spots and then a desolate ride as you entered NYC. Grand Central was an amazing place and it was easy to get lost trying to find the right subway platform. It was also a good time to read a book, since there were no iPods, iPhones, or iPads around. Transistor radios would have to be retuned as you lost stations. But the book remained as the best source of long term distraction. The one downside for me was the train always took a break in Albany for 30 to 40 minutes and you felt you were never getting to where you wanted to go. Later, I would drive to Albany and take the train from there to skip that time. Kansas City Southern in talks on dueling rail takeover bids As deal talks begin, Canadian National railroad says it is receiving broad support for its $33.7 billion bid to buy Kansas City Southern https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...ern-talks-dueling-rail-takeover-bids-77320144 CN's north-south line, the old Illinois Central Gulf (ICG) is parallel with KCS and is somewhat redundant. Geographically, the CP-KCS merger makes more sense, as it would provide more competition. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue and the physical size of its rail network, spanning Canada from the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia to the Pacific coast in British Columbia across approximately 20,400 route miles (32,831 km) of track.[1] In the late 20th century, CN gained extensive capacity in the United States by taking over such railroads as the Illinois Central. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Railway) https://www.cn.ca/en/our-services/maps-and-network/ The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) (reporting marks CP, CPAA, MILW, SOO), known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996 and simply Canadian Pacific, is a historic Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, it owns approximately 20,100 kilometres (12,500 mi) of track in six provinces of Canada and into the United States, stretching from Montreal to Vancouver, and as far north as Edmonton. Its rail network also serves Minneapolis–St. Paul, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and Albany, New York in the United States. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway) CP took over Soo Line (SOO), which had taken over remnants of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road (MILW). CP had also taken over the former Delaware & Hudson (DH) in New York, and operates it as part of Soo Line. The old D&H had been part of Guilford Transportation Industries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soo_Line_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson_Railway Jean-Jacques Ruest and Patrick Ottensmeyer, CEOs of CN and KCS, respectively Rail merger is a key to economic growth, supply chain security https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rail-merger-is-a-key-to-economic-growth-supply-chain-security/ar-AALoVMM?li=BBnb7Kz The headline is an overstatement. They can already do runthroughs, which railroads did before end-to-end mergers. A merger of KCS with CP would do the same. CN operates from the Canadian border to New Orleans via the old Illinois Central Gulf (a merger between Illinois Central and Gulf, Mobile and Ohio). KCS runs parallel with the ICG line for much of the distance. CN is interested in a seamless (under one company) line between Canada and Mexico through the gateway which KCS in Texas would provide. If successful, the CN-KCS combined network would help relieve the chronic shortages of long-haul truck drivers and reduce the carbon footprint of long-haul truck traffic heading up and down Interstates 35, 55 and 94 between Mexico, Texas and the Midwest. That could be happening now. It hasn't happened. We have calculated that for a single route, from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to Detroit, Mich., moving freight from trucks to trains would save 260,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of the average annual emissions of more than 300 long-haul trucks. Multiply that across multiple routes and years, and the impact would be significant. This is true, IF shippers move to rail transport from truck. This doesn't require a merger - just good economic practice. CN's proposal - https://www.railwayage.com/freight/cn-counters-cpkc-with-a-superior-proposal/ WASHINGTON — For the third time since February, CSX Transportation has filed an application with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railways. On Friday, the railroad announced it had submitted an “amended and supplemented application” to the STB in an effort to convince the federal regulator that the proposed transaction would be good for shippers and passengers alike. CSX first submitted its plan to acquire Pan Am back in February but a month later it was rejected after the board deemed it would be a “significant” transaction. In April, CSX filed a 478-page amended application. But in May, the board said that was not enough either and that the new application didn’t have a “market analysis” looking at how the deal might impact the New England rail network. On the same day that CSX submitted its revised application to the STB, it also launched a new website, nefreightrail.com, to convince the public of the merits of the combination. https://railfan.com/third-times-a-charm-csx-tries-again-to-acquire-pan-am/ Late last year, CSX announced that it would purchase Pan Am for an undisclosed amount of money. As part of the proposed plan, Genesee & Wyoming would operate Pan Am Southern — a joint venture between Pan Am and Norfolk Southern — and NS will get trackage rights over CSX’s Boston Line so that it can move double-stack trains to Ayer, Mass. The new G&W line would be called Berkshire & Eastern. CSX would operate the railroad east of Ayer, Mass., into New Hampshire and Maine. Ayer, MA is ENE/NE of Boston between Fitchburg and Lowell. The line between Boston and Albany used to be a mainline of the old Boston & Maine (BM) Railroad, which ran more or less parallel (and in competition) with the Boston & Albany (BA) Railroad, which ran through the southern part of Massachusetts. BM was folded into the Guilford System during 1983, and Guilford Transportation was rebranded Pan Am Railways in March 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Maine_Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Albany_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Railways https://www.ayer.ma.us/edc/railroads/pages/new-england-freight-railroad-hub I have told this many times, probably here as well, but my dad ran away from home in about 1906 and joined first the circus and then the railroad, probably the L&N, Louisville and Nashville. He was once stalked on his train by an infamous local gunman seeking revenge for his witness testimony in a trial. My dad got behind the gunman but sympathetically called out to him rather than shoot him in the back, which was a nearly fatal choice. The gunman got off the first shot but my dad was more accurate, at least wounding his assailant and knocking him off the train. At his death, my dad unfortunately left unfinished his intended book "Fifty years on the railroad". I try to attach a photo of him in about 1910-1920 in front of one of the circus wagons. This looks like a horse drawn wagon although I assumed the fact that circuses traveled by train was the entree for my dad to that life. Attachments JardSmith1915.jpeg KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern is inching toward making Canadian Pacific its merger partner. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...ard-a-merger-agreement-with-canadian-pacific/ KCS said today that it will begin merger discussions with CP after its board unanimously determined that CP’s Aug. 10 bid could be deemed superior to the agreement it reached with Canadian National in May. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s Aug. 31 ruling that denied CN’s request to put KCS into an independent voting trust threw a monkey wrench into a proposed CN-KCS merger. The board’s ruling also set a high bar for Class I mergers – except for a tie-up involving CP and KCS, whose voting trust proposal received the STB’s blessing in May. About the only way for the CN-KCS merger to work from a regulatory standpoint (i.e., competition) would be for CN to cede the old Illinois Central (IC, formerly Illinois Central Gulf, formed by merger of old IC and Gulf, Mobile and Ohio (GM&O)) to CP. Canadian National Railway acquired control of the IC in 1998. On August 10, 1972, the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (reporting mark ICG). Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Central_Railroad#Illinois_Central_Gulf_Railroad_(1972–1988) At the end of 1980 ICG operated 8,366 miles of railroad on 13,532 miles of track; that year it reported 33,276 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 323 million passenger-miles. Later in that decade, the railroad spun off most of its east–west lines and many of its redundant north–south lines, including much of the former GM&O. Most of these lines were bought by other railroads, including entirely new railroads such as the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway, Paducah and Louisville Railway, Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad and MidSouth Rail Corporation. In 1988 the railroad's then-parent company IC Industries spun off its remaining rail assets and changed its name to the Whitman Corporation. . . . On February 29, 1988, the newly separated ICG dropped the "Gulf" from its name and again became the Illinois Central Railroad. With the consolidation of the Class I railroads, there has been some consideration/speculation of a final round, e.g, UP+NS and BNSF+CSX, leaving two main Class Is, besides the Canadian-based CN and CP. That would leave all the regional and shortline roads, which operate what were marginal lines/operations of the old, now defunct Class Is.
834	dbpedia	1	72	https://www.fnrrt.org/history/tab.shtml	en	Friends of the Nashua River Rail Trail			[ "https://www.fnrrt.org/Heart.png", "https://www.fnrrt.org/upIcon.png", "https://www.fnrrt.org/history/RRMarker.jpg", "https://www.fnrrt.org/history/photos/RailroadGraniteMarker2.jpg", "https://www.fnrrt.org/history/photos/RailTrailTall3.jpg", "https://www.fnrrt.org/history/photos/DunstableBlood.jpg", "h...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	The path of the current rail trail originally operated as the single-track Worcester & Nashua Railroad starting 1848. The track was extended to Portland, Maine, in 1874 and was taken over by the Boston & Maine Railroad in 1886. The original granite markers along the trail give the distance to Worcester and Portland. In the early 20th century, the Ayer-Nashua line carried a heavy load of freight traffic as well as passenger trains traveling between New York City and Bar Harbor, Maine. Although a second track and signals were added around 1912, most traffic moved to the rail line running from Ayer to Portland via Lowell, Mass. Passenger service on the Nashua line ended in 1934. Freight service ended in 1981.
834	dbpedia	3	84	https://newengland.com/travel/massachusetts/lowell-timeline/	en	Timeline of Lowell History			[ "https://newengland.com/static/images/gift-box-icon-992ab574f63e5064e3540c8d9c497fc6.svg", "https://newengland.com/static/images/search-4d2dd99fcf3e174bbd82f8ae83c5685c.svg", "https://newengland.com/static/images/login-03747048024d8ab0eb61c70b7e163838.svg", "https://newengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/n...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Paul Marion" ]	2009-10-08T14:40:00+00:00	c. 1600: Passaconaway, a Pennacook chief living at Pawtucket Falls, emerges as leader of the Merrimack Valley's native peoples. 1635: English settlers	en		New England	https://newengland.com/travel/massachusetts/lowell-timeline/	c. 1600: Passaconaway, a Pennacook chief living at Pawtucket Falls, emerges as leader of the Merrimack Valley’s native peoples. 1635: English settlers move into the valley. 1652: The area called Wamesit, between the Merrimack and Concord rivers, is declared Indian territory. 1655: Chelmsford is chartered on the Merrimack River, on land that is now Lowell. 1710: The Varnum family builds a gristmill on the Merrimack River. 1737: A small textile mill is built on land that will become Lowell. 1814: Francis Cabot Lowell invents the American power loom. Boston Mfg. Co. is established on the Charles River in Waltham, MA. 1822: The first large textile mill is built on land that will become Lowell. Local men and Irish workers from Boston dig Lowell’s first power canal. 1823: Merrimack Mfg. Co. produces its first textiles. Most workers are young Yankee women from the countryside: “mill girls.” 1826: The Town of Lowell is incorporated. 1831: Lowell High School is founded: first co-ed public high school in the U.S. 1834: James Abbott McNeill Whistler is born in Lowell (his father is chief engineer for Proprietors of Locks & Canals). 1835: Boston & Lowell Railroad begins service. 1836: The City of Lowell is incorporated. The city seal reads “Art Is the Handmaid of Human Good.” 1843: Dr. J. C. Ayer opens a lab for patent medicines, soon a major local industry. 1844: Sarah Bagley and the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association fight for a 10-hour workday. 1850: Lowell is home to 40 textile mills, 10,000 looms, and 10,000 millworkers, producing 50,000 miles of cloth a year: largest industrial complex in the U.S., second-largest MA city. 1861: Volunteer militiamen Luther Ladd and Addison Whitney of Lowell are killed in a riot in Baltimore, MD: first Union casualties of the Civil War. 1876: Dr. Augustin Thompson invents Moxie. Marketed initially as a “nerve food,” it outsells Coca-Cola into the 1920s. 1877: Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates his telephone in Lowell. Two years later, Lowell is the first U.S. city to have phone numbers. 1894: Lowell Normal School for teacher education is founded, followed by Lowell Textile School a year later: roots of today’s University of Massachusetts at Lowell. 1900: 43 percent of Lowell’s population is foreign-born (Irish, French Canadian, Scottish, Greek, Polish, Italian, Armenian, Portuguese, Swedish, Lithuanian, Syrian, Lebanese, Russian, and other nationalities). 1908: Bette Davis is born in Lowell. 1912: Lowell’s labor activists organize in sync with the “Bread & Roses” strike downriver in Lawrence, MA. 1920s: Lowell’s textile industry declines, with companies moving to the South. City population peaks at 112,759. 1922: Jack Kerouac is born in Lowell. 1925: Edith Nourse Rogers represents Lowell and surrounding District 5 communities in Congress, serving through 1960: longest continuous congressional service by a woman. 1931: Harper’s Magazine describes Lowell as a “depressed industrial desert.” 1936: A major flood ravages Lowell. 1940: Only three major textile mills are left in Lowell; shoe industry is failing; 40 percent of the population is “on relief.” 1950: Jack Kerouac publishes his first “Lowell” novel: The Town and the City 1975: First Southeast Asian refugees settle in Lowell, building toward the second-largest Cambodian American enclave in U.S. by 1990. 1976: Computer manufacturer Wang Labs opens its international headquarters in Lowell. 1978: Lowell National Historical Park is created to recognize the beginnings of the American Industrial Revolution. 1986: Charles, Prince of Wales, visits Lowell to see historic preservation in action. 1987-89: Lowell hosts the National Folk Festival three years running. 1988: Jack Kerouac commemorative sculpture and park are dedicated. 1990: First Lowell Folk Festival, now an annual tradition. Preservation magazine hails Lowell as “the relevant precedent emulated by rehabilitated gritty cities worldwide.” 1992: Wang Labs files for bankruptcy protection. Lowell native and former U.S. senator Paul Tsongas wins 8 presidential primaries and caucuses. 1996: The Lowell Spinners, a minor-league Red Sox affiliate, begin play. 2000: National Trust for Historic Preservation names Lowell one of America’s “Dozen Distinctive Destinations.” 2006: UMass Lowell announces a plan to build an $80 million nanotechnology center. 2009: Brazilian, African, and Iraqi families are among Lowell’s newcomers.
834	dbpedia	1	25	https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Lowell_Line	en	Wikiwand / articles	https://upload.wikimedia…_RTC%2C_2023.jpg	https://upload.wikimedia…_RTC%2C_2023.jpg	[ "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/MBTA_commuter_rail_train_at_Anderson_RTC%2C_2023.jpg/1100px-MBTA_commuter_rail_train_at_Anderson_RTC%2C_2023.jpg", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/MBTA_commuter_rail_train_at_Anderson_RTC%2C_2023.jpg/300px-MBTA_commuter_rail_tra...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire M...	en			https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Lowell_Line	The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & Maine Railroad's Southern Division, the line was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in Massachusetts. Quick Facts Overview, Status ... Lowell LineOverviewStatusOperationalOwnerMassachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityLocaleNortheastern MassachusettsTerminiStations9ServiceTypeCommuter railSystemMBTA Commuter RailTrain number(s)300–342 (weekday) 1300-1317 (Saturday) 2300-2317 (Sunday)Operator(s)Keolis North AmericaDaily ridership6,485 (October 2022)[1]HistoryOpened1835 (Boston & Lowell Railroad)TechnicalLine length25.4 miles (40.9 km)[2]CharacterElevated and surface-levelTrack gauge4 ft8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Close All stations are accessible except for West Medford, Winchester Center, and Mishawum. Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad started freight operations in 1835, with traffic from the Lowell mills to the Boston port. Demand for the express passenger service exceeded expectations, and in 1842 local service was added as well. The line north of Lowell was first owned by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, which was chartered in 1844. Trackage was completed as far as Wells River, Vermont, in 1853. The Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) acquired the railroad in 1895.[3][4] The line served as the route for Boston to Montreal service during the Golden Age of Rail (roughly 1880 to 1940). The Ambassador, the train from Boston's North Station to Montreal, ran through Concord, New Hampshire, along this line until 1966.[5] This line, along with the New Englander, via Concord, White River Junction, Montpelier, ran through the northwestern section of Vermont prior to entering Quebec, Canada. The Alouette and Red Wing trains travelled to Montreal via Concord, Plymouth, Wells River and Newport in northeastern Vermont prior to entering Quebec. (The route via Wells River, St. Johnsbury and Newport was the more direct route of the two itineraries.)[6] For this itinerary the Montreal route was marketed as an Air-line railroad. Massive cutbacks on May 18, 1958, included the end of Stoneham Branch service and the closure of Medford Hillside, Tufts College, and North Somerville stations.[7] Cuts on June 14, 1959, ended service north of Woburn on the Woburn Loop; trains for points north were rerouted via the mainline to the east. Boston–Lowell local service was halved to seven daily round trips; Tyngsboro, Bleachery, and South Wilmington stations were closed.[7][8] B&M passenger service to Boston on the line was shortened from Concord, New Hampshire to Lowell in 1967.[9] MBTA era In 1973, the MBTA bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other local Greater Boston passenger lines. 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 United States 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) purchased it in 1983. For approximately thirteen months in 1980–81, daily passenger service was provided to Concord. Two round-trips were operated on each weekday and one on weekend days. Originally, there were intermediate stops in Manchester and Nashua. A stop in Merrimack was added later. Service was discontinued when federal funding was withdrawn.[10] Anderson Regional Transportation Center opened on April 28, 2001, replacing Mishawum as the Lowell Line's primary park-and-ride station for Route 128. Mishawum was reduced to limited reverse-peak service.[9] On December 15, 2001, the Amtrak Downeaster began operating over the line south of Wilmington.[9] In October 2006, the MBTA added four short turn round trips that terminated at Anderson RTC.[11] The line was shut down on weekends in July through September 2017 for the installation of Positive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline.[12] Substantially reduced schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, and from December 14, 2020, to April 5, 2021.[9] On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Lowell Line.[9] Weekend service on the seven lines resumed on July 3, 2021.[13] As of February 2022, the line has 21+1⁄2 round trips on weekdays and nine on weekends.[14] By October 2022, the line had 6,485 daily riders – 59% of pre-COVID ridership.[1] In June 2022, the MBTA indicated it was considering improvements to a siding in Woburn, which would allow 30-minute headways between Boston and Anderson/Woburn by 2024.[15] Until December 2020, a small number of Haverhill Line trains ran via the Wildcat Branch and the inner Lowell Line, making stops between Anderson/Woburn and West Medford.[16][17] Some Haverhill Line trains resumed using this routing on April 5, 2021, but no longer make stops on the Lowell Line.[18][19] From September 9 to November 5, 2023, all outer Haverhill Line service was routed over the Wildcat Branch during signal work on the inner part of the Haverhill Line. The diverted trains stopped only at Anderson/Woburn.[20] Beginning May 20, 2024, weekday midday inbound Haverhill Line trains were again temporarily routed over the Wildcat Branch during construction work, again stopping only at Anderson/Woburn.[21][22] The Medford Branch of the Green Line Extension, which opened on December 12, 2022, runs along the Lowell Line through Somerville and part of Medford. There are five Green Line stations on the branch, but no additional commuter rail stops were added.[9] Proposed expansion to New Hampshire MBTA Commuter Rail service connecting Concord, Manchester and Nashua from the Lowell Line used to exist in New Hampshire until subsidies were ceased in 1967.[10] The service came back in 1980 for a quick 13 month return, but the program grant was cut by the Reagan administration in 1981, and commuter rail service has remained not available.[10] In October 2010, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation received a $2.24 million federal grant to study an extension of the Lowell Line to Concord.[23] In January 2011, a bill was introduced into the New Hampshire legislature to end the proposed extension and give up a potential $4.1 million grant into its planning.[24] The MBTA acquired trackage rights from Pan Am in May 2011 as part of a larger transaction.[25] The project was estimated to cost $246 million in a 2014 NHDOT report.[26] Extending service to NH was projected to provide an expected 34 trains a day to Nashua and 16 a day to Manchester, connecting commuters from Nashua to Boston as low as 54 minutes and commuters from Manchester to Boston in as low as 1 hour and 25 minutes with 3,120 passengers a day.[27][28] Proponents of the extension see expanded rail services as a link to Boston’s growing economy while opponents consider the project to be extraneous and expensive.[29][30] In December 2020, a $5.5 million contract was awarded to AECOM for preliminary engineering and design work, environmental and public engagement services, and final design, for the project to extend MBTA commuter rail service to southern New Hampshire.[31] The project called for the extension of the Lowell Line up through Nashua and Manchester along an existing rail alignment.[28][32][26] The proposed expansion would include four new stops: South Nashua, Crown Street in Nashua, Bedford, and Manchester.[28] In January of 2022, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the location for new facilities to house layover trains adjacent to the Manchester Transit Authority facilities.[33] By autumn 2022, the study was being carried out by AECOM and the State of New Hampshire to design and make a financial plan for the project by 2023. In December 2022, the New Hampshire Executive Council voted to cease state funding for an extension of the AECOM study; the study reported an updated project cost of $782 million.[34][35][36] The MBTA rail extension project to Manchester is currently in the pre-decisional stage, and is awaiting approval by the NH government.[37] Track speeds North of Wilmington, the line is authorized for a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). South of Wilmington, the line has an unusual asymmetrical speed limit. The northbound track supports up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) where curvature allows, while the southbound track has a maximum of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Additional speed restrictions are in place at Wilmington, through the grade crossings in West Medford, and in the North Station terminal area.[38] Other services Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine, along with some Haverhill Line express trains, run on the Lowell Line from North Station to Wilmington, then follow the Wildcat Branch to the Haverhill Line. This routing is used to avoid the inner Haverhill Line, which has a number of single-track sections. The line is the designated freight clearance route into Boston from the north; all stations with high-level platforms must either have mini-high platforms or a freight passing track. Pan Am Railways runs freight on the line, including local freights based out of Lawrence Yard and DOBO (a Dover to Boston through freight). More information State, Fare zone ... State Fare zone Location Miles (km)[2][39][40] Station Connections and notes MA 1A Boston 0.0 (0.0) North Station Amtrak: Downeaster MBTA Commuter Rail: Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line MBTA subway: Orange Line, Green Line (D and E branches) MBTA bus: 4 EZRide Somerville 0.8 (1.3) Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility Flag stop for MBTA employees only Medford 4.0 (6.4) Tufts University Open September 1977 to October 1979 5.5 (8.9) West Medford MBTA bus: 94,95 1 Winchester 7.3 (11.7) Wedgemere 7.8 (12.6) Winchester Center Temporarily closed on January 8, 2021 MBTA bus: 134 Former junction with Woburn Branch (closed 1981) 9.0 (14.5) Winchester Highlands Closed June 1978[9] Woburn 10.5 (16.9) Walnut Hill Closed January 18, 1965[9] 10.9 (17.5) Lechmere Warehouse Open 1979 to 1996[9] 2 11.6 (18.7) Mishawum Flag stop with limited reverse commute service. Indefinitely closed on December 14, 2020. 12.7 (20.4) Anderson/Woburn Amtrak: Downeaster Logan Express 3 Wilmington 15.2 (24.5) Wilmington LRTA: 12 Junction with the Wildcat Branch 17.0 (27.4) Silver Lake Closed January 18, 1965[9] Billerica 19.2 (30.9) East Billerica Closed January 18, 1965[9] 5 21.8 (35.1) North Billerica LRTA: 3/4, 13 6 Lowell 25.5 (41.0) Lowell LRTA: 1/8, 2, 3/4, 5, 6/9, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 MVRTA: 24 Chelmsford 28.7 (46.2) North Chelmsford Closed June 30, 1967 NH Nashua 39.0 (62.8) Nashua Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Merrimack 46.1 (74.2) Merrimack Open from April 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Manchester 55.5 (89.3) Manchester Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Concord 73.3 (118.0) Concord Closed June 30, 1967; open from January 28, 1980 to March 1, 1981[9] Currently operating station Close Woburn Branch More information Location, Station ... Location Miles (km)[2][39][40] Station Connections and notes Winchester 7.8 (12.6) Winchester Center Junction with mainline Woburn 9.0 (14.5) Cross Street Closed February 1, 1981[41] 9.8 (15.8) Woburn Closed February 1, 1981[41] Currently operating station Close
834	dbpedia	2	71	http://www.holdenhistory.org/holden_railroads.htm	en	Holden Historical Society : Holden History : A Brief on Railroads in Holden			[ "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/clear.gif", "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/banner.gif", "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/clear.gif", "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/65754d.gif", "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/clear.gif", "http://www.holdenhistory.org/images/navigation/home_off.gi...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	< HOLDEN HISTORY A Brief on Railroads in Holden In 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (BB&G) commenced construction of a railroad from Worcester (at Barber), through Holden, to Gardner. This 26-mile line, which cost 1.2 million dollars to build, opened in 1871. It was extended 10 miles to Winchendon in January, 1874 and later that same year the company leased the Monadnock Railroad north another 16 miles to Peterborough, New Hampshire. The BB&G thus attained a total length of 52 miles. Beset by financial reversals, the Monadnock lease was surrendered to the Cheshire Railroad in 1880. The BB&G was leased itself to the Fitchburg Railroad in 1884. The following year it was merged into the Fitchburg and became that road's Worcester Division. In 1900 the Fitchburg was leased and soon thereafter merged into the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M), becoming the B&M's Fitchburg Division. As a part of the B&M system's Fitchburg Division the line through Holden was referred to at different times by various names including the Worcester & Contoocook (N.H.) Branch, the Worcester & Hillsboro (N.H.) Branch, the Peterboro (N.H.) Branch, and finally after the line was severed north o f Gardner, as the Worcester Branch of the Fitchburg Division. At Worcester, the line joined the B&M Portland Division's "Worcester Main Line" at Barber. The original 52-mile BB&G line through Holden remained under B&M control for 73 years. In 1974, the line was bought by the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W). The last B&M freight left Holden for Worcester in January 1974 and the P&W operated its first train over the line on February 2, 1974. At various times, passenger stops existed at Chaffins, Dawson, Holden, Jefferson, and at North Woods. Holden and Jefferson were small country depots, while the others were flag stops with small shelters. Only two station structures remain: the Holden depot in its original location and the Jefferson depot which was moved in 1975 to a site next to the Wong Dynasty Chinese Restaurant on Reservoir Street. In 1878 there were four round trip passenger trains between Worcester and Winchendon. This increased to six round trips at the turn of the century. Under B&M ownership, the old BB&G line became part of a rather unlikely through passenger route from Worcester to Concord, NH. This service ended after the floods of 1936 severed the line north of Peterboro. However, a round trip passenger local from Worcester to Peterboro would survive another 17 years, handling passengers and mail. In its last years, it acquired a certain degree of fame and became known as the "Peterboro Local" or the "Blueberry Special." By the early 1950s the B&M was hemorrhaging financially from passenger train losses and was given permission to discontinue this train. It made its last run, with extra coaches and much fanfare, on March 7, 1953. It had remained a steam train with an ancient wooden combine and one coach almost to the very end, at which time steam power had been taken off and a diesel locomotive substituted. In the late 19th century, traffic was mostly milk and ice. Ice originated at many ice-houses on the ponds along the route. In winter, the first passenger train north would stop at each of these ice-houses to let off the ice harvesting crews. In summer, long strings of box cars would be lined up on the ice-house sidings. They were loaded with ice and dispatched daily to Worcester, Boston, Providence and other cities for next day delivery by horse-drawn wagon. This business declined rapidly with the advent of modern refrigeration. B&M operated through symbol freights Worcester to Mechanicville, NY (WM-1), and Mechanicville, NY, to Worcester (WM-2), as well as a local freight that switched customers between Worcester and Gardner. The through freights between Worcester and Mechanicville, NY, operated until about 1968. WM-1 would arrive punctually in Holden at 7:30 every evening, switch the small yard, and then depart for Gardner and points west. The eastbound WM-2 passed through in the small hours of the night. The local switcher out of Worcester worked during the day. By the end of B&M control, through service on the line had been discontinued and the Worcester switcher ventured out the line only to service customers as needed. The line underwent a dramatic renaissance when the P&W commenced operations in 1974. The P&W rehabilitated the line and operates through freights from Providence, RI, and other southern New England points to Gardner, where traffic is interchanged with the B&M. Currently (2005), P&W runs about six trains each way through Holden weekly, hauling coal, lumber, scrap iron, paper goods, plastic resins and other commodities. Currently there are no customers receiving or shipping by rail in Holden. Twelve years after the BB&G was built, a second railroad line, the Massachusetts Central Railroad, was built into Holden, running roughly east-west across the northern part of town. This railroad, which was chartered to build a line from Stony Brook on the Fitchburg Railroad west to Northampton (distance of 98 miles) opened as far as Jefferson in 1882. The company then encountered financial problems and promptly shut down in May 1883. In November of that year the company reorganized as the Central Massachusetts Railroad. The directors contracted with the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) to operate the line until final lease arrangements were consummated and operations restarted on September 28, 1885. The line was formally leased to the B&L on December 7, 1886 and construction of the line westward from Jefferson into Rutland and beyond resumed. The line was completed and opened to Northampton in December 1887. Meanwhile, the B&L had been leased for 99 years to the B&M on April 1, 1887, and was later purchased outright by the B&M on February 20, 1902. Thus the Central Massachusetts came to be the B&M Southern Division's Central Massachusetts Branch. Passenger service began as soon as the line opened. There were four station stops in Holden: Springdale, Canada Mills, Quinapoxet, and Jefferson. Thus, the BB&G and the Central Massachusetts each had their own separate Jefferson Stations. The two lines intersected at a point known as Holden Junction on the Central Massachusetts and Carr Junction on the BB&G. One can still view the old abutments that once carried the Central Massachusetts over the BB&G. Although the two lines were connected at this point, little traffic was ever interchanged here. The Massachusetts Central/Central Massachusetts Railroad is often cited as a railroad that should never have been built. It was largely a redundant road from the start, located as it was between two dominant east-west roads: the Boston & Albany to the south and Boston & Maine's Fitchburg Division across the northern part of the state. Although there were times when freight and passenger traffic were strong, the road served a very sparsely populated area and it ultimately failed to meet expectations. All service from Oakdale through Holden to Rutland was discontinued June 1, 1938. This turned out to be a prescient decision as the line was seriously compromised later that year by the Hurricane of 1938. On November 7, 1939, track was formally abandoned between Oakdale and Barre Junction, thus breaking the Central Massachusetts into western and eastern parts. Listen carefully and you will sometimes hear especially in the night train whistles (2 long, 1 short, and a long) at Industrial Drive, Bailey Road, Pleasant Street, Sunnyside Avenue, Quinapoxet Street and Princeton Street. On still nights, one can sometimes hear the whistles for crossings further out the line into Princeton for Brooks Station Road, Ball Hill Road, and Hubbardston Road. Today, while the remaining railroad line through Holden is part of a viable, modern railroad, the locomotive whistles offer an unmistakable sense of historical continuity.
834	dbpedia	0	87	http://www.middlesexcanal.org/Phase_IV_Report.html	en	MIDDLESEX CANAL COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	PHASE IV SURVEY REPORT 1999 Virginia H. Adams Matthew A. Kierstead Submitted to: Middlesex Canal Association 65 Summer Street Milford, New Hampshire 03055 and Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Facility 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Submitted by: PAL 210 Lonsdale Avenue Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860 PAL Report No. 989-2 November 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Review of Existing Documentation III. Survey Boundaries and Criteria for Property Selection IV. Survey Methodology and Results V. Conclusions, Future Survey and Planning Recommendations VI. National Register Recommendations V. Appendices A - Middlesex Canal Bibliography B - Index of Surveyed Properties C - Middlesex Canal Narrative History Note: Reconnaissance Archaeological Survey Report submitted separately for this project. I. INTRODUCTION The Middlesex Canal Comprehensive Survey Project was undertaken by PAL for the Middlesex Canal Association (MCA). The project was funded jointly by the MCA and the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC), and by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, through a matching survey and planning grant administered by the MHC. The purpose of this project was to provide the MCA and the MHC with information to form the foundation of a future nomination of the Middlesex Canal, in its entirety, to the National Register of Historic Places, and more generally to provide a context for preservation planning issues related to the Canal. The original scope of the project involved completing MHC Area forms for the nine communities in the Canal corridor (Charlestown, Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Lowell), a historic narrative, historic archaeological site forms, base maps indicating archaeological and historic resources within the survey corridor, an archaeological reconnaissance report, Canal bibliography, list of National Register-eligible resources, and a final survey report. This Survey Report was prepared as part of the project Phase IV tasks and is an update and expansion of the Phase I Methodology Statement of October 1998. This Survey Report pertains to the above-ground component of the project. It includes an outline of the survey objectives, lists the research sources identified, provides an assessment of previous research, outlines criteria for selecting the survey properties, describes fieldwork procedures and products, and the amount and kinds of information gathered in the survey. It also includes an explanation of how results differed from expectations and reflects how the methodology changed during the course of the project. It also presents conclusions about the kind, number, location, character, and condition of the properties recorded; a list of National Register recommendations; an inventory of surveyed properties; and recommendations for future research and planning. All project deliverables meet the MHC criteria, methodology, and current standards for community surveys. PAL attended meetings with the MHC and the MCA at the end of each project phase. Virginia H. Adams, Director of Architectural Projects at PAL, was responsible for overseeing the project. She was assisted by PAL staff members Matthew A. Kierstead, Industrial Historian; James C. Garman, Principal Investigator; Paul Russo, Project Archaeologist; and Emily L. Paulus, Project Assistant. The project coordinator for the Middlesex Canal Association was Nolan M. Jones, president of the MCA. II. REVIEW OF EXISTING DOCUMENTATION Overview A thorough search of historic archival and documentary research materials pertinent to the purpose, scope, and focus of the survey was completed. Resources reviewed included records of the Middlesex Canal Association and their representatives in the nine Middlesex County communities through which the Canal passes. Records of state agencies including the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Metropolitan District Commission were reviewed. Middlesex Canal-related material at academic repositories including the Baker Business Library at Harvard University and the Lowell Cultural Center were examined. Previous Canal surveys were consulted. A final resource list encompassing all known historical resources associated with the Middlesex Canal appears in the bibliography in Appendix A. Canal Organizations and Communities PAL staff consulted with the Middlesex Canal Association and the Middlesex Canal Commission for initial identification of Canal-related documentary material. PAL met with representatives from the nine Canal corridor communities to assess and document the Canal-related archival and written resources reposited in those communities for use in the survey and inclusion in the project bibliography. Information was requested from local historical societies and libraries within the Canal corridor. PAL also received a resource list from the Lowell National Historical Park. The MCA provided copies of the assessors maps for the project study area, and a copy of Middlesex Canal Guide and Maps by Bert VerPlanck. The VerPlanck guide and maps provided general location information for only the most prominent Canal features, which are indicated on schematic maps. The MCC contributed a package of color-coded Canal route GIS maps that included assessors map and parcel information, however, they were found to be incomplete and of questionable accuracy in some areas and were ultimately not used in this survey. Massachusetts Historical Commission PAL consulted with Michael Steinitz, Survey Director, and Leonard Loparto, Archaeologist, for initial assistance in identifying Canal-related resources within the Canal corridor. The MHC files were reviewed and pertinent materials, including survey and National Register forms, correspondence, and background information were copied. National Register of Historic Places Properties within the Study Area MHC files were reviewed to identify Canal-related National Register-listed properties within the survey area. The segment of the Canal between Kilby Street in Woburn and the Merrimack River in Lowell was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. PAL obtained a copy of this nomination. This nomination set wide, arbitrary boundaries and did not include a list of specific Canal-related resources. Properties included in the Inventory of Historic and Archaeological Resources of the Commonwealth within the Study Area The MHC survey files were reviewed to identify Canal-related properties within the survey area. The MHC survey files contain individual inventory forms for 12 previously-surveyed Canal-related buildings, structures, and historic archaeological sites within the survey area. Metropolitan District Commission Maps and other documentation were obtained from the Metropolitan District Commission, which owns land including the Canal corridor along the Mystic Valley Parkway and Sandy Beach in Medford and Winchester. Major Archival Repositories Two major archival repositories of material relating to the Middlesex Canal were located. The Manuscript Division, Baker Library, Harvard Business School, holds the Baldwin Collection, which includes over four boxes of catalogued material related to the survey and construction of the Middlesex Canal. Materials from this collection that proved particularly useful during the Canal survey were the 1829 Survey Notes and Canal Plans, and the 1830 Canal Profile. The University of MassachusettsLowells Center for Lowell History at the Mogan Center in Lowell holds the Middlesex Canal Corporation Records, which have been completely catalogued, and the archives of the MCA, which have been partially catalogued. Previous Surveys In 1980 Industrial Archeology Associates (IAA) surveyed the Middlesex Canal for the MCC, Northern Middlesex Area Planning Council (NMAPC), Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), and MHC, which funded the survey. This report, Middlesex Canal Survey, was incorporated into the NMAPC-MAPC report, Middlesex Canal Heritage Park Feasibility Study. These studies identified selected Canal-related resources, but offered no comprehensive resource lists. Notably absent from these studies was a map component showing the exact locations of individual resources. During Phase III an incomplete, water-damaged, blueprint copy set of the IAA field survey maps were located in a private library in Woburn. Although faded, these maps were of some use in determining the location of expected resources in several communities. III. SURVEY BOUNDARIES AND CRITERIA FOR PROPERTY SELECTION The Canal survey corridor begins at the former Middlesex Canal Company Mill Pond Complex in Charlestown, and proceeds north through Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, Chelmsford, and to the Merrimack Locks site on the Merrimack River in Lowell. The survey area boundary followed a 75-foot corridor, centered on the Canal bed, which included the entire width of the Canal prism. Where appropriate, the survey boundaries widened to include resources associated with Canal operation, including ponds, basins, feeder streams, etc., where encountered. Discontiguous Canal-associated resources of exceptional significance outside this corridor, including those that have been relocated, were also included in the survey. The resources included in the survey were limited to those associated with the period of construction and physical and commercial operation of the Canal. As the corridor was recorded on MHC A area forms, it was divided into nine areas corresponding with community political boundaries. IV. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS Phase I Phase I included preliminary review of historical materials to identify themes, events, and persons that were important to the history of development of the Middlesex Canal. Contributions of relevant materials were solicited from the Canal corridor communities and enthusiast groups. Major repositories of information were identified. PAL staff conducted a two-day windshield reconnaissance survey of the Canal route with MCA members Roger Hagopian and Nolan Jones. This survey identified above-ground, archaeological, and potential archaeological resources within the corridor associated with the Canal. The survey results were incorporated into an annotated set of maps based on the VerPlanck Middlesex Canal Maps. A preliminary site list was generated, using an ACCESS-based matrix table including categories for map number, community, site name, address, and date of construction. Phase II In Phase II, additional documentary research was conducted, including the archival holdings at Harvard University and the University of Lowell. Using the survey criteria developed in Phase I, these materials were used to generate a list of known and expected resources for the intensive field survey. The list was organized by town, Canal segment, and, where appropriate, street address and identified any State Register of Historic Places properties to be included in the survey. A sample MHC Area form for Winchester was prepared to develop field survey and survey form preparation methodology. An outline narrative history of the Canal was prepared. A preliminary bibliography of Canal-associated archives and publications was compiled. Phase III Phase III involved the major work efforts of final research, intensive field survey, mapping, and photography of above-ground properties selected for survey. The field survey of the Canal corridor included taking detailed notes and photographs, and mapping the route and associated visible and expected features on sets of assessors maps for each Canal community. PAL staff were accompanied in the field by MCA members knowledgeable with the Canal route, including Roger Hagopian and Nolan Jones. Field application of the survey criteria yielded a list of 243 resources, 10 of which had been previously recorded in MHC survey files, and 17 that had not that were surveyed by PAL. Draft copies of the remaining eight MHC Area forms were prepared and submitted to MHC and the MCA for review and comment. These forms included draft Canal route maps based on assessors maps. A site list was generated, using an ACCESS-based matrix table including categories for map number, PAL record number, MHC number, name, community, location, date of construction, visibility and National Register status and photograph number. National Register criteria were applied to inventoried properties, and recommendations were prepared. Due to logistical problems associated with the delayed procurement of the assessors maps and difficulties encountered during generation of the list of known and expected resources, the project scope and products were altered during Phase III. The concept of a single base map detailing individual Canal resources was discarded as too unwieldy, and the Area form maps were deemed adequate for this purpose. The bibliography was finalized with the information collected at that date. The narrative history component was set aside as a separate contract. Phase IV This final phase involved developing, in consultation with the MHC survey and MACRIS staff, an approved lettering and numbering system for inventoried properties and adding the numbers to the forms; fine tuning the resource list data tables; and preparing conclusions, and future survey and planning recommendations. Products generated during this phase included two sets of MHC inventory forms (one set for MCA and the second for MHC on 24 lb. bond paper of at least 25% cotton fiber content and accompanied by a full set of original black-and-white photographs); and four paginated, unbound copies of the Survey Report (two copies for MHC and two for MCA). This phase also included preparation of National Register recommendations, preparation of a Middlesex Canal Bibliography (Appendix A), and preparation of a final resource list data table (Appendix B). Two copies of the Reconnaissance Archaeological Survey Report were also provided. V. CONCLUSIONS, FUTURE SURVEY AND PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions The primary goal of this project was to locate and document known and potential structural and archaeological resources along the Middlesex Canal corridor using MHC survey methodologies to support future efforts to expand the National Register district and other planning and interpretive objectives. The survey recorded a total of 243 resources, ten of which had been previously documented on MHC survey forms, and 17 that had not that were surveyed and assigned MHC numbers through this survey. The resource types included segments of the Canal with widely varying integrity ranging from obscured and of questionable integrity, to intact and watered. The locations and archaeological remains of various types of Canal-associated infrastructure including locks, aqueducts, bridges, basins, landings, sluiceways, and culverts were recorded. Ten surviving Canal-associated buildings were also included in the survey. Four of these, the Tavern/Canal House at 76 Canal Street, Medford (MDF.397, pre-1803), the Horn Pond House (Hudson Mansion) at 7 Lakeview Terrace , Woburn (WOB.21, ca. 1840), the Toll Keepers House at5 Middlesex Street, Woburn (WOB.22, ca. 1802), and the Samuel Thompson House at 31 Elm Street, Woburn (WOB.23, ca. 1730), were recorded through this survey. The remaining six, the Allens Tavern at 286 Salem Road, Billerica (BIL.148, ca. 1740), Mears Tavern at 12 Elm Street, Billerica (BIL.94, ca. 1814), CLM.2 Merrimack River Locks Toll House on the Chelmsford Town Common (CLM.2, 1832), LOW.3 Long Block Glass Workers Tenement at 139-143 Baldwin Street, Lowell (LOW.3, ca. 1802), Gillis Lock Tenders House at 10 Shawsheen Avenue, Wilmington (WMG.209, a. 1803), and the Kimball Canal Toll House at 3 Middlesex Street, Winchester (WNT.538, ca. 1803), were previously surveyed. All of these properties have the potential to contain privies, trash pits, wells, and other resources that could yield information about the lifeways of the people who built, lived on, and serviced the Canal. Of the total number of recorded archaeological sites, the survey documented seven sites ancillary to the function of the Canal. Included were two Canal accommodation bridge abutment sites. These included the Baldwin/Carter Farm Bridge Abutments site (WOB-HA-1) in Woburn, and the Browns Footbridge Abutments site (BIL-HA-36) in Billerica. Both of these sites were found to be in satisfactory condition on well-preserved portions of the Canal. These two sites are the only remains of dozens of bridges that once spanned the Canal. The survey recorded two aqueduct abutment sites, the Ipswich River (Settle Meadow) Aqueduct Abutments site (WMG-HA-4), and the Sinking Meadow (Lubbers Brook) Aqueduct Abutments site (WMG-HA-5), both located in Wilmington. Unfortunately, the aqueduct remains have been affected, to varying degrees, by impacts related to post-abandonment development; however, each retains enough integrity to be potentially useful for study. Recorded ancillary sites also included two sluiceways, the Content Brook Sluiceway site (BIL-HA-37), and the Richardsons Mill Sluiceway site (BIL-HA-38), both in Billerica. These sites are also located in a well-preserved section of the Canal, and possess good physical integrity. In addition to the above, the survey recorded two culvert sites, one associated with the Richardsons Mill Sluiceway site, and the other (BIL-HA-42) located on Lowell Street in Billerica. Though each of the culvert sites possess only fair integrity, survival of culvert sites along the Canal is apparently rare, making them important elements in the archaeological interpretation of the Canal. The survey identified and recorded one site associated with the construction of the Canal. Located in the Wilmington Town Forest alongside the Middlesex Canal, the Maple Meadow Aqueduct Stone Quarry site (WMG-HA-2) includes a quarry pit and quarried boulder field. Within the quarry boundaries, the survey also recorded the location of the Tow Line Grooved Boulder site (WMG-HA-3), perhaps a singular surviving example of its kind. Both sites, especially the quarry, retain good integrity. These sites were recorded together. The survey recorded four sites, all in the town of Billerica, that directly relate to the operation of the Canal. The Floating Towpath Peninsula site (BIL-HA-39), and the Floating Towpath Anchor Stone site (BIL-HA-40) were part of an ingenious system carrying the Canal across a mill pond on the Concord River. Both elements of the Floating Towpath survive with good integrity. A short distance away, the survey recorded a surviving Lock Chamber (BIL-HA-9) under a parking deck in the Talbot Mill yard. The Lock Chamber, complete with carved granite pivot posts, is in a remarkable state of preservation. Finally, the survey recorded the Red Lock Basin Retaining Wall site (BIL-HA-41). Unfortunately, like most lock basins along the Canal corridor, this site has been affected by post-abandonment development. Two aqueduct sites had been previously surveyed, including the Maple Meadow Aqueduct in the Wilmington Town Forest (WMG.902, ca. 1802, 1930s), and the Shawsheen River Aqueduct on Route 129 at the Billerica-Wilmington line (BIL-HA-2, BIL.909, and WMG. 900, ca. 1802). The discovery of the intact segment of the Middlesex Canal in the Metropolitan District Commissions Sandy Beach Reservation in Winchester prompted in part this thorough survey of the Middlesex Canal in the hope that major previously-undiscovered resources would be found. A particular area of concern was the Mystic Valley parkway corridor east of the Mystic Lakes in Medford and Winchester, where linear features east of the Parkway were thought to be remnants of the Canal prism. Field reconnaissance and review of historical documents indicate that this area was historically highly disturbed by the construction of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, the Mystic Valley Parkway, Mystic Valley Sewer (said to have been laid in the bed of the Canal), and adjacent residential development. Linear features thought to represent the towpath (and curiously not including the corresponding berm) were identified as the Mystic Valley Sewer embankment or remnants of elevated lake terraces that correspond to similar features elsewhere on the shores of the Mystic lakes. Future Survey and Planning Recommendations The Middlesex Canal survey demonstrated the historic archaeological potential of the Middlesex Canal corridor, and identified potential avenues for further research. The Canal corridor includes a wide range of resource types including the operational infrastructure of the Canal itself, and sites associated with the people who tended and supported it. Canal infrastructure sites recommended for further study include the prism itself, as well as the sites of locks, bridges, stop gates, culverts, towpath bridges and crossovers, and quarry sites. Canal-related engineering and construction technologies are potential research areas, and could include comparison of designed versus as-built specifications, qualifications and selection of contractors, variation of prism and other components, procurement of construction materials, and adaptive re-use of Canal components after its transportation function ended. The areas around standing Canal-associated buildings and the sites of former associated structures including houses, taverns, lock keepers and toll collectors houses, and farms have the potential to contain privies, wells, trash pits, outbuildings, and other features that have the potential to reveal information about the lifeways of Middlesex Canal employees, builders, travelers, and suppliers. VI. NATIONAL REGISTER RECOMMENDATIONS The Middlesex Canal is a 27.25-mile long, linear archaeological resource that traverses, from south to north, the Massachusetts communities of Charlestown (Boston), Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Lowell. The northern 15.25 miles of the Canal from Kilby Street in Woburn to the south bank of the Merrimack River in Lowell were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This section of the Canal was nominated based on its physical integrity. No physical remains of the Canal were known to exist south of Kilby Street at that time. The Canal infrastructure generally averages 75 feet in width, however; its route is sinuous. In order to establish simple National Register boundaries, the Canal was divided into six, wide, rectangular sections with arbitrary boundaries that include abundant non-contributing land and resources. The nomination did not include an itemized list of contributing archaeological sites or standing structures, and did not thoroughly address the varying physical integrity of the nominated portion. A major task that will need to be performed if the Middlesex Canal National Register Nomination is to be extended, and the boundaries of the currently-listed section are to be defined, is the confirmation of the exact location of the Canal and its major infrastructural features. This survey determined that the exact location of the Canal and some of its features are not known in places, particularly within the segment outside the current National Register boundaries south of Kilby Street in Woburn. Through careful parcel-level deed research, a Middlesex Canal historian was able to trace the exact route of the Canal in Medford (Corbett n.d.). This level of research is recommended for each Canal community to determine the exact path of the Middlesex Canal. The exact location of features such as locks, bridges, and other structures can be determined through a combination of documentary research and limited subsurface archaeological testing, as demonstrated by recent investigations associated with the Cummingsville Branch Replacement Sewer Project in Winchester (Strauss and Cook 1998). The following specific National Register recommendations are divided into two categories: recommendations for the previously-listed segment, and recommendations for the unlisted segment. Within the National Register-listed segment north of Kilby Street in Woburn, it is recommended that the boundaries be narrowed to focus on Canal-related infrastructure. The redefined boundaries should include only those geographically- and historically-associated parcels identified upon completion of GIS mapping. Several resources identified during the field survey could then be included in the revised nomination as discontiguous resources. Within this segment, all Canal-related resources should be documented on an individual level. Intact sections of the Canal should be discussed in terms of their relative integrity. The Middlesex Canal Commission and Association should work with the towns that include National Register-listed resources to establish Local Historic Districts or to develop preservation easements or other mechanisms for the protection of Canal resources. Within the unlisted segment south of Kilby Street, three Canal-associated buildings were identified that should be added to a revised National Register nomination as discontiguous contributing resources. Field work revealed the presence of no additional visible Canal infrastructural remains other than the recently-identified segment of the Canal within the Metropolitan District Commission land at Sandy Beach in Winchester, which should be added to the existing nomination as a discontiguous contributing resource. Features along the east side of the Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford and Winchester previously thought to be Canal towpath remains appear to be natural lake terrace features and man-made historic disturbance associated with the construction of the Boston and Maine Railroad right-of-way, the Mystic Valley Sewer, the Mystic Valley Parkway, and adjacent residential construction. Aside from these specific recommendations, additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing in the segment of the Canal south of Kilby Street. The following are detailed National Register recommendations from south to north by community: Charlestown: Additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing. Somerville: Additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing. Medford: Property deed and map research has accurately located the Canal route in Medford with the exception of the Metropolitan District Commission property associated with the Mystic Valley Parkway near the Winchester border. Additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains in that area. Archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains elsewhere in Medford and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing. The existing National Register nomination should be amended to include one discontiguous resource, the Tavern (Canal House) (MHC MDF.397). Winchester: Additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing. The existing National Register nomination should be amended to include two discontiguous resources, the intact Canal segment on Metropolitan District Commission land at Sandy Beach, and the Canal Toll House (MHC WNT.538). Woburn: The segment of the Canal north of Kilby Street in Woburn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. South of, and outside the Kilby Street National Register boundary, additional property research and archaeological investigations are recommended to confirm the location and integrity of Canal remains and to assess whether resources exist that are eligible for National Register listing. The existing National Register nomination should be amended to include one discontiguous resource, the Toll Keepers House (MHC WOB.22). Additional Research is required to determine the age, associations, and National Register eligibility of the Horn Pond House (MHC WOB.21). North of, and inside the Kilby Street National Register Boundary, the existing National Register nomination should be amended to include one discontiguous resource, the Samuel Thompson House (MHC WOB.23). Wilmington: The segment of the Middlesex Canal in Wilmington was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This nomination set arbitrary, wide boundaries and did not document resources individually. It is recommended that the boundaries be redefined to include only geographically- and historically-associated parcels upon completion of GIS mapping, and that Canal-related resources be documented on an individual level. Billerica: The segment of the Middlesex Canal in Billerica was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This nomination set arbitrary, wide boundaries and did not document resources individually. It is recommended that the boundaries be redefined to include only geographically- and historically-associated parcels upon completion of GIS mapping, and that Canal-related resources be documented on an individual level. Chelmsford: The segment of the Middlesex Canal in Chelmsford was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This nomination set arbitrary, wide boundaries and did not document resources individually. It is recommended that the boundaries be redefined to include only geographically- and historically-associated parcels upon completion of GIS mapping, and that Canal-related resources be documented on an individual level. The existing National Register nomination should be amended to include one discontiguous resource, the Merrimack River Locks Canal Toll House (MHC CLM.2), moved from Lowell to the Chelmsford Town Common. Lowell: The segment of the Middlesex Canal in Lowell was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This nomination set arbitrary, wide boundaries and did not document resources individually. It is recommended that the boundaries be redefined to include only geographically- and historically-associated parcels upon completion of GIS mapping, and that Canal-related resources be documented on an individual level. APPENDIX A Middlesex Canal Bibliography MIDDLESEX CANAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Published Sources Anon. 1813 Remarks on the Importance of Inland Navigation from Boston by the Middlesex Canal and Merrimack River. Boston, MA. ________. 1860 Statement to the Public in Reference to the Act of the Legislature to Remove the Dam Across the Concord River at Billerica. Stone & Huse Book Printers. ________. 1877 Official Reports of the Canal Commissioners of the State of New York. New York, NY. ________. 1885 A Sketch of the Life and Works of Loammi Baldwin, Civil Engineer. Boston, MA. American Society of Civil Engineers 1972 Biographical Dictionary of American Civil Engineers. Committee on History and Heritage of American Civil Engineering, A.S.C.E., New York, NY. Amory, T. C. 1859 Life of James Sullivan: with Selections from his Writings. Boston, MA. Baldwin, Charles C. 1881 The Baldwin Genealogy from 1500 to 1881. Cleveland, OH. Baldwin, George R. 1860 Report on Supplying the City of Charlestown with Pure Water: Made for the City Council by Order of Hon. James Dana, Mayor of Charlestown, by George R- Baldwin and Charles L. Stevenson, Civil Engineers. Boston, MA. Baldwin, Loammi 1834 Report on the Subject of Introducing Pure Water into the City of Boston. Boston, MA. Barry, John Stetson. 1855 The History of Massachusetts. 3 Vols. Boston, MA. Beers, F. W. 1875 County Atlas of Middlesex, Massachusetts. New York, NY. Brooks, Charles. 1855 History of the Town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement, in 1630, to the Present Time. Boston, MA. Cadbury, George and Dibbs, Sealey P. 1929 Canals and Inland Waterways. New York, NY. Chapman, Henry S. 1936 History of Winchester, Massachusetts. Winchester, MA. Clarke, Mary Stetson 1971 Guide to the Middlesex Canal, 1793-1853. The Middlesex Canal Association ________. 1974 The Old Middlesex Canal. Center for Canal History and Technology, Easton, PA. Coolidge, John n.d. Mill and Mansion: Architecture and Society in Lowell, Massachusetts 1820-1865. The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA. Davis J. S. 1917 Essays in the Earlier History of American Corporations. 2 Vols., Cambridge, MA. Drake, S. A. 1899 Historic Mansions and Highways around Boston. Boston, MA. ________. 1880 History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. 2 Vols.,Boston, MA. Eddy, Caleb 1843 Historical Sketch of the Middlesex Canal with Remarks for the Consideration of the Proprietors. Samuel N. Dickinson, Boston, MA. Ellis, G. E. 1871 Memoir of Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, with Notices to His Daughter. Boston, MA. Eno, Arthur L., Jr., ed. 1976 Cotton Was King: A History of Lowell, Massachusetts. New Hampshire Publishing Company in collaboration with the Lowell Historical Society, Lowell, MA. Farmer, John 1816 Historical Memoir of Billerica. Amherst, NH. Frederick, John H. 1932 Development of American Commerce. New York, NY. Fulton, Robert 1796 Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation. London, England. Gallatin, Albert. 1808 Report of-the Secretary of the Treasury, on the Subject of Public Roads and Canals. Washington, DC. Goodrich, Carter. 1961 Canals and American Economic Development. New York, NY. Gould, L. S. 1905 Ancient Middlesex, with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Officially since Its Settlement. Somerville, MA. Hadfield, Charles 1969 The Canal Age. New York, NY. ________. 1971 Canal Enthusiasts' Handbook. Newton, MA.. Hale, Edward Everett 1893 A New England Boyhood. New York, NY. Harlow, Alvin F. 1964 Old Towpaths. New York, NY 1926; New Edition, Kennikat Press Inc., Port Washington, NY. Hart, A. B., Ed. 1927 Commonwealth History of Massachusetts, Vol. IV. New York, NY. Hazen, H. A. 1883 History of Billerica. Boston, MA. Holmes, Cary W. 1975 The Middlesex Canal and the Coming of the Railroad 1792-1853: Towpaths to Oblivion. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, MA. Hoxie, Wilbar M., P.E. 1967 Precis in Partial Justification for Recommending the Middlesex Canal 1793-1853 as an Historic Landmark of American Civil Engineering under the History and Heritage Program of the American Society of Civil Engineering. Hurd, D. H., Ed. 1890 History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of' Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, 3 Vols. Philadelphia, PA. Jennings, W. W. 1926 A History of Economic Progress in the United States. New York, NY. Lawrence, Lewis M. 1942 The Middlesex Canal. Middlesex Canal Association, Boston, MA. Locher, Harry 0., Ed. 1963 Waterways of the United States. New York, NY. Massachusetts, Commonwealth of 1965 Report of the Water Resources Commission Relative to the Public Water Supply Resources of the Ipswich River. Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, MA. Meyer, B. H., Ed. 1917 History of Transportation in the United States before 1860. Washington, DC. Middlesex Canal Association, 1967 The Middlesex Canal 1793-1859. pamphlet, Billerica, MA. Morison, Samuel Eliot. 1921 The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860. Boston, MA. Munro, Melville Smith. 1932 The Old Middlesex Canal in 1932, 3 Vol. Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert 1959 The Canal Builders: The Story of Canal Engineers Through the Ages. New York, NY. Peters, Wayne R. 1984 This Enchanted Land: Middlesex Village. Martin Publishing Co., Lowell, MA. Poor, Henry V. 1860 History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States. New York, NY. Preble, G. A. 1883 A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation. Philadelphia, PA. Roberts, Christopher 1938 The Middlesex Canal, 17931860. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Seaburg, Carl and Alan, and Thomas Dahill 1997 The Incredible Ditch, A Bicentennial History of the Middlesex Canal. The Anne Miniver Press, for the Medford Historical Society, Medford, MA. Secor, J. 1817 Treatise on Internal Navigation: The Report of Albert Gallatin on Roads and Canal. U.F. Doubleday, Ballston Spa, NY. Sewall, Samuel 1868 The History of Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston, MA. Sherbourne, R. P. 1888 What Has Been: A Sketch of the Old Middlesex Canal. pamphlet, Woburn Public Library, Woburn, MA. Smiles, Samuel 1868 Lives of the Engineers, 4 Vols. London, England. Stuart, C. B 1871 Lives and Works of Civil and Military Engineers of America. New York, NY. Sullivan, John Langdon 1818 Letters First Published in the Boston Daily Advertiser. Boston, MA. Tanner, H. W. 1840 A Description of the Canals and Rail Roads of the United States, Comprehending Notices of All the Works of Internal Improvement throughout the Several States. New York, NY. Thoreau, Henry David 1849 A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. 1849. Reprint The Concord and the Merrimack. Dudley C. Lunt, ed., Bramhall, New York, NY. Town of Billerica 1855 Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of Billerica, Massachusetts, May 29th, 1855. Lowell, MA. Vose, George L. 1885 Notes on Early Transportation in Massachusetts. New York, NY. Waters, Wilson 1917 History of Chelmsford. Lowell, MA. Weston, William 1799 Report on the Practicability of Introducing the Water of the River Bronx into the City of New York. New York, NY. Winthrop, James 1838 "Biographical Memoir of the Honorable James Sullivan, Esq." Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 1, Second Series, Boston, MA. Unpublished Sources Adams, Charles Francis. n.d. "A Paper on the Middlesex Canal." M/CFA/21, Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 315. Adams, George R. 1977 Lowell Locks and Canals Historic District National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. On file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. Anon. n.d. The Old Middlesex Canal: A Story in Pictures, 1932. 2 Vol. Scrapbooks with photographs. Archives, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA. ________. n.d. Badger and Porter's Stage Register. Boston, MA. Baldwin Family n.d. Vertical files and manuscripts relating to the Middlesex Canal. On file at Harvard University, Baker Business Library Historical Collections, Cambridge, MA. Baldwin, Loammi, et al. 1793 Press Report of a Preliminary Route Survey of the Middlesex Canal. On file at the Mogan Cultural Center, Lowell, MA Condon, Henry S. 1985 The Former Middlesex Canal and the Medford Branch Canal in Medford, Middlesex County, MA 1793-1853. Unpublished manuscript on file at the Middlesex Canal Commission, Winchester, MA. Elia, Ricardo J. and Nancy S. Seasholes 1990 Phase II Archaeological Investigation of a Section of the Middlesex Canal in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Office of the Public Archaeology, Boston University, Boston, MA. Fitch, Virginia A., Mary E. Myer, and Dr. Charles E. Stearns 1983 Billerica Mills Historic District National Register of Historic Places Nomination. On file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. Fitzsimmons, Neal 1966 The Old Middlesex Canal: Civil Engineering Landmark. Kensington, MD. Franceschi, Michael 1971 Middlesex Canal Shawsheen Aqueduct National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. On file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. Hagopian, Roger 1996 Middlesex Canal Access Charts. The Middlesex Canal Association. Hale, Richard W. 1972 Middlesex Canal National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. On file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. Harvard University 1800 Class Book of Harvard, Class of 1800, "Loammi Baldwin" (11). Cambridge, MA. Industrial Archaeology Associates 1980 Middlesex Canal Survey. Report on file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. Joy, Thomas and Gretchen Sanders Joy 1991 Early Canal Transportation: The Boats of the Middlesex Canal. Exhibit at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center, University of Lowell, Center for Lowell History, Lowell, MA. Lawrence III, William A. n.d. The Middlesex Canal: A Technological Triumph, a Business Enterprise, and a Financial Fiasco. Massachusetts Historical Commission 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Billerica, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Charlestown, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Chelmsford, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Lowell, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Medford, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Somerville, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1980 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Woburn, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1981 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Wilmington, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1981 MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report, Town of Winchester, MA. Original report on file at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. McCormick, Patrick A. n.d. The Rise and Decline of the Middlesex Canal. North Billerica, MA. Metropolitan Area Planning Council 1979 "Renewal Plans Inject Life Into Century-Old Canal." Metropolitan Area Planning Commission Regional Report, February, p.1. ________. 1980 Middlesex Canal Heritage Park Feasibility Study. Prepared for the Middlesex Canal Commission. Middlesex Canal Association 1793-1859 Records of the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal. On file at the Mogan Cultural Center/ Center for Lowell History, Lowell, MA. Molloy, Peter M. 1976 Middlesex Canal Dam and Locks HAER Inventory Card. Pearsall, Paul P. 1982 Middlesex Village Grand Reunion: A Historic Report on Middlesex Village. Lowell, MA, 12 September. Rawson, Michael J. n.d. Imprints of the Past: The Brooks Estate in Medford, Massachusetts. Silver, Ruth n.d. "The Middlesex Canal." manuscript, Woburn Public Library, Woburn, MA. Smith, Tom 1984 Baldwin Mansion History. The Middlesex Canal Association. Strauss, Alan E. and Lauren J. Cook 1998 Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey of the Cummingsville Branch Replacement Sewer Project, MWRA Contract NO. 6092. Boston Affiliates, Inc, Boston, MA. Sullivan, John L. 1821 Public Documents Relating to the New York Canal. Part of Report Regarding the New York Canal Commission. VerPlanck, Burt 1996 Middlesex Canal Guide and Maps. Middlesex Canal Association. Weible, Robert and Betsy Bahr n.d. Lowell National Historical Park Historic Resource Study. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, MA. Newspapers Amaro 1998 "Commission Seeking Support for Restoring Part of Middlesex Canal." The Sun, 5 February. Anon. 1897 "The Old Middlesex Canal." Boston Sunday Herald, 26 September. ________. 1900 "Charming Boulevard in the Valley of the Mystic." Boston Globe, 17 March. ________. 1909 " Only Living Ex-Locktender of the Old Middlesex Canal." Boston Journal, 22 August. ________. 1911 "Old Landmark Gone: Destruction of the Granite Arch Bridge Over the Middlesex Canal Is Regretted on Account of Its History and Beauty." Medford Mercury, 25 August. ________. 1933 "Granite Arch Destroyed." Medford Daily Mercury, 1 May. ________. 1941 "The Middlesex Canal." Boston Traveler, 11 November. ________. 1955 "Mementos of Famed Middlesex Canal Are Still Visible." Medford Daily Mercury, 14 June. ________. 1962 "New Fire-Police Bldg. Rising on Part of Old Middlesex Canal: Branch of Waterway Served Wagon Factory." Medford Mercury, 22 August. ________. 1962 "New Englanders Aim to Restore Part of the Old Middlesex Canal." Christian Science Monitor, 27 November. ________. 1967 "The Middlesex Canal." Boston Sunday Herald, 8 January. ________. 1971 "The Middlesex Canal, 1793-1853." Vol. 6, No. 1, March. ________. 1980 "Henry Condon is a Professional "Canal Sleuth"." Medford Daily Mercury, 3 September. ________. 1983 "Walk the Historic Middlesex Canal." 19 October. ________. 1988 "Plaque Notes Path of Middlesex Canal." Medford Daily Mercury, 1 February. Atkinson, Roy 1967 "Middlesex Canal Trip a Test of Endurance." Boston Sunday Herald, 8 January. Britton, Sharon 1995 "Middlesex Canals History Still Runs Deep in Woburn." The Boston Globe, 23 April. Condon, Henry 1980 "The Middlesex Canal." Medford Mercury, 3 September. Dame, Lorin 1962 [2part article on Middlesex Canal]. Royal House Reporter, April and July. ________. 1998 [article on Middlesex Canal]. Medford Historical Register, April. Doyle, Laura 1995 "Chelmsford Toll House Gets New Life." The Sun, 3 July. Hyde, Fred G. 1934 "Old Middlesex Canal Was Empires Dream." Lowell Sunday, 30 March. Ingraham, Alec 1995 "Shawsheen Aqueduct: A Local Landmark." Billerica Minuteman, 13 July. Laidler, John 1997 "Dream of Canal Restoration Nears Reality." The Boston Globe, 17 August. ________. 1998 "New Grant Boosts Canal Project." The Boston Sunday Globe, 25 January. Lovering, Frank W. 1966 "Middlesex Canal Called 'Highway of Waters'." Lewiston Journal Magazine Section, 8 January. Mahoney, Joan 1972 "The Incredible Ditch." The Boston Sunday Globe, 23 April:10-16. Ristino, Kristen 1995 "The Canal That Once Was King." Lowell Sunday, 2 November. Periodicals and Journals Anonymous 1909 "A Pioneer Railroad and How It Was Built." Medford Historical Register,12 July. ________. 1909 "Wood's Dam and the Mill beyond the Mystic." Medford Historical Register, 12 January . ________. 1920 "Medford Branch Canal." The Medford Historical Register, 23(2):24-31. ________. 1926 "Memorial Service to Hon. Samuel P. Hadley, Late President of the Society." Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. 11, No. 3, Baldwin, Loammi 1785 "An Account of a Very Curious Appearance of the Electrical Fluid Produced by Raising an Electrical Kite in the Time of a Thunder Shower." Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1. Colonial Society of Massachusetts 1905 Publications, Vol. V11. Cambridge, MA. Dame, Lorin L. 1884 "The Middlesex Canal." The Bay State Monthly, November, Vol. II, No. II. Dickson, Brenton H. 1968 "Comparison of the Blackstone and Middlesex Canals." Old-Time New England, Bulletin of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Vol. 58, No. 4, April-June. Durivage, Francis A. 1855 "The Middlesex Canal." Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, 15 September. Edes, Henry Herbert 1905 "An Excursion on the Middlesex Canal in 1817." The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Vol. VII. Fitzsimons, Neal. 1967 "William Weston: The Seven American Years." Civil Engineering-ASCE, October. 1967 "The Old Middlesex Canal: Civil Engineering Landmark." Civil Engineering-ASCE, August. Hadley, Samuel P. 1911 "Boyhood, Reminiscences of Middlesex Village." Contributions of the Lowell Historical. Society, Vol. 1, No. 2. Hill, Mabel n.d. "The Old Middlesex Canal." Lowell Book. Hopkins, Arthur T. 1898 "The Old Middlesex Canal." The New England Magazine, January, Vol. XVII, No. 5. Mann, Moses Witcher. n.d. "The Middlesex Canal: An Eighteenth Century Enterprise." Medford Historical Register, Vol. VII. Middlesex Canal Association n.d. Towpath Topics. Middlesex Canal Association. Middlesex Canal Corporation 1830 "Regulations Relative to the Navigation of the Middlesex Canal." Mechanicks Magazine. Pressey, Park. 1956 "Old New England Canals." Old-Time New England, S.P.N.E.A. Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 4, Serial No. 164. Proctor, Thomas C. 1984 "The Middlesex Canal: Prototype for American Canal Building." Canal History and Technology Proceedings 7:125-174. Stark, George 1886 "Navigation of the Merrimack River." Old Residents Historical Association, 111. Maps and Atlases The American Society of Civil Engineers 1967 Middlesex Canal, 1793-1853. Middlesex Canal Association. Anonymous 1868 City of Charlestown. Published by Sampson, Davenport & Co. ________. 1898 Middlesex Canal within the Limits of Medford. From the original plan of George R. Baldwin. Baldwin 1795 Field Survey Book. Collection of the Baker Business Library Archives, Boston, MA. ________. 1829 Field Survey Book. Collection of the Baker Business Library Archives, Boston, MA. Baldwin, George 1829 Plans of the Middlesex Canal. Located at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1830 Profile of the Middlesex Canal. Baldwin, James 1829 Middlesex Canal Survey Map. Copy located at Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. ________. 1836 A Plan and Profile of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (and the Middlesex Canal). Boston, MA. Baldwin, Loammi 1880 Sections of the Middlesex Canal. Condon, Henry S. 1980 Map of Medford Massachusetts Showing the Former Middlesex Canal 1793-1853. Published in Medford Daily Mercury 3 September. Eddy, R.H. 1844 Plan of Horn Pound Estate, Woburn, October 15. Hadley, Judge 1911 Map of Middlesex Village. Copied by Leon Cutler, 1931. Middlesex Canal Association Middlesex Canal Maps. Various dates. Middlesex Registry of Deeds. 1840 Plan of Canal from Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Plan Book 20, Plan 2. Works Progress Administration 1934 Tracing of the Middlesex Canal Route. Located at the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, MA. (Clarke 1974:51) Weston, the English engineer who had surveyed the Canal and introduced Baldwin to the technique of "puddling", advised that two feet of clay should be applied to the walls in separate layers of six inches each. However, in constructing the Middlesex Canal, Baldwin and the directors realized that Westons technique was too expensive and time-consuming and consequently adapted it to their own needs and capabilities (Proctor 1988:152). Baldwins new technique consisted of pounding the interior walls of the Canal and then allowing some water into the Canal in order to "season" the banks. After the water had drained Baldwin then applied a layer of clay to seal the walls. While this new technique of "puddling" was not completely successful in preventing leakage, the small amount of water that did leak out was accepted by most neighboring residents as a natural consequence. Furthermore, the unavoidable leaking of the Canal bed was also accepted by the Massachusetts Supreme Court: when several farmers protested against the flooding of their fields and sought payment from the Canal Corporation, the court strongly supported the rights of the Canal proprietors and rejected the farmers claim (Proctor 1988:150). The construction of the Middlesex Canal included, in addition to the excavation of the Canal bed, the establishment of culverts, bridges, and aqueducts where the Canal had to be lifted over other rivers, streams, and lakes. The practice of not allowing the waters of any stream to mix with the waters of the Canal adopted by James Brindley, engineer of Englands first canal, was accepted by Baldwin and consequently many aqueducts and culverts had to be constructed in order to provide a single unobstructed path for the Middlesex Canal. Baldwins use of stone for the construction of locks, aqueducts, and bridges required that he pioneer new methods for cutting and moving the large pieces of granite which he required for these structures. The aqueduct over the Shawsheen River in Billerica (BIL.909/HA-2/WMG.900) is a good example of Baldwins use of large granite blocks, for the aqueduct which he constructed was built on six abutments with four central piers, all made of stone (Proctor 1988:151). To move the large pieces of stone used in the construction of the piers and abutments Baldwin had to develop an especially strong hoist, using a gin pole and block and tackle. The trough of the Canal, which was made of wood, was supported by the aqueduct 35 feet over the Shawsheen River and crossed a span of 188 feet. A total of eight aqueducts were needed along the length of the Canal. The first to be constructed was over Black Brook in Middlesex Village and was 110 feet long. The Black Brook Aqueduct was supported by stone abutments and wooden piers (Clarke 1974:57). On November 7, 1797 the first six miles of the Canal, between the Concord and Merrimack rivers, were opened and tested by the directors of the Middlesex Canal Corporation and a group of prominent citizens who all traveled on barges down this section of the Canal. While the directors traveled without problems, the opening of the Canal, which Baldwin had protested, caused a fissure in the one of the locks and a breach in the wall near the Black Brook Aqueduct (Proctor 1988:153); despite these setbacks, Baldwin and the directors remained positive about the Canals prospects as a major trade corridor between Boston and the Merrimack River Valley. However, by the end of 1798, only 9.75 miles of the Canal, from the Merrimack River to south of the Concord River and the Billerica Mill Pond , had been completed, and as a result there was increasing tension between the directors and Baldwin (Proctor 1988:154). At one point tensions between Baldwin and the board of directors became so difficult that a search even began for a new superintendent. The difficulty Baldwin was experiencing in his relationship with the board of directors and the construction of the Canal was further heightened in 1799 when Baldwins wife died, and in fact the difficulties between Baldwin and the board continued up until the Canal was finished, for tensions worsened appreciably as the deadline drew near and the Canals completion seemed increasingly doubtful. Sullivan, however, remained a constant supporter of Baldwin throughout these conflicts, and continued to be supportive of the Canal and its prospects for being completed on time. In addition to the conflict between Baldwin and the board, the Canal also encountered financial difficulties serious enough to force Sullivan to offer the state 200 shares in return for $50,000 to complete the Canal (Proctor 1988:155). The state did not accept Sullivans offer, and instead he was forced to increase the assessments levied on the Canal shares. He also made several particular efforts between 1800 and 1803 to make sure that Canal received favorable publicity and that it was well received by elite of Massachusetts. The Canal was finally completed for travel over its entire length at 2:30 in the morning on December 31, 1803, less than 24 hours before the deadline set almost ten years before by the Massachusetts State Legislature. Total cost for the construction of the Canal amounted to $528,000, of which one-third was for the purchasing of land, and the completed Canal included eight aqueducts, 20 lock chambers, and approximately 50 bridges (Hopkins 1898:145). At the time it was the longest canal in the nation and the most complex and innovative in construction. The completed Canal served as a transportation corridor for freight and passengers, and when it opened it quickly became the cheapest and most efficient means of transporting goods between the Merrimack River Valley and the busy port of Boston. A horse could pull 25 tons of coal on the Canal as easily as it could one ton of coal on the road, while one team of oxen could tow almost one hundred tons of cargo, an amount that would require eighty teams of oxen on the road (Clarke 1974:71). The clear difference in these numbers demonstrates the immediate attraction which the Canal presented to businessmen in both Boston and the Merrimack River Valley who desired to transport their goods, be they raw materials or finished products, from one point to the other. Barges and rafts brought agricultural products, timber, building stone, and other raw materials and bulk commodities from Merrimack River Valley communities as far north as Concord, New Hampshire, and the Canal towns south to Boston markets. Imported ocean trade products and manufactured goods were moved from Boston to new markets to the north. Both Canal Corporation barges and private craft carried passengers between Boston and Lowell. To aid in the loading and unloading of the Canal barges, the Middlesex Canal Corporation maintained eight official landings at Charlestown, Medford, Woburn, Billerica, and Chelmsford, where goods could be loaded and exchanged. The operation of the Canal and its use by freight and passenger boats were strictly controlled by a set of regulations established by the proprietors. Passage on the Canal was forbidden at night, and numerous taverns were located at lock and basin sites for the evening accommodation of Canal boatmen and passengers. A maximum speed of four miles per hour was also established as well as a strict hierarchy of boats which determined which boats could pass others and which must allow themselves to be passed. The journey for many of these barges began in Charlestown, Massachusetts at the southern terminus for the Middlesex Canal and the site of its main administrative offices. From Charlestown, the barges and rafts carrying goods and passengers traveled north till they reached Middlesex Village and the Merrimack River. Operating History From its opening in 1803 to 1807, under Canal Superintendent John Sullivan, the Canal was not operated well and was slow to demonstrate its potential; the operation of the Canal was hampered by repairs, uncollected tolls, and detained boats (Hopkins 1898:154). However, this did not prevent the proprietors from looking to increase their involvement and soon after the Canal opened, the proprietors bought the entirety of the Charlestown Mill Pond and began to use it as a storage pool for barges and rafts waiting to be towed up to Middlesex Village. However, the purchase of this property also meant that the barges which came down the Canal from the Merrimack River Valley could now be easily connected to the ships docked at Bostons port, and the Canals productivity increased. To accomplish this end, the Canal Corporation constructed a floating towpath, similar to the one they had first constructed along the easterly side of the Billerica Mill Pond, which enabled the barges to be towed directly to the seaward side of Boston Harbor. After being towed along the edge of the mill pond , the barges would pass through a set of locks down to the Charles River. The barges would then pass along the Charles River by means of a long cable that was weighed down with anchors but served to provide the bargemen with a handhold by which they could tow their craft. On the Boston side of the river the barges entered the Mill Creek Canal which connected directly with Bostons seaport. To facilitate the business which these barges conducted, the Middlesex Canal Corporation established an office at the river end of the Mill Creek Canal. (Clarke 1974:103) In 1808 both Loammi Baldwin and James Sullivan died, and though their deaths seemed to portend hard times for the Canal, John Langdon Sullivan, the son of the Governor, immediately took over as the superintendent of the Canal and began to conduct the Canals business in a more effective and efficient manner (Hopkins 1898:154). Under Superintendent John L. Sullivan (18081820), tolls and other charges were enforced, and repairs were made. John L. Sullivans practice was so effective that by 1810 the Corporations receipts had risen to $15,000 and by 1816 had reached $32,000, resulting in the first dividends to shareholders in 1819. John L. Sullivan also undertook several ambitious projects to increase the profits of the Canal by expanding its range and the ease of passage for the Canal boats. While the Canal was not an overwhelming financial success during its period of profitability in the 1810s and 1820s, it did serve as a model for more ambitious projects, and a delegation from New York State visited the Canal in 1817 as part of efforts to develop the Erie Canal. After extending their services south towards Boston and its seaport, the Canal Corporation also began to think of extending the navigable path for Canal boats further northward. To achieve this end John L. Sullivan began a series of projects to make the Merrimack River more easily accessible to the freight barges that would transport the raw materials produced farther north in New Hampshire. To accomplish this goal, Sullivan helped to establish several canals and locks which would allow the barges to circumvent the Merrimack Rivers dangerous falls and rapids (Clarke 1974:106). While John L. Sullivan was only the superintendent of the Middlesex Canal, he worked vigorously to encourage the construction of these additional canals. Furthermore, he also acted to purchase shares in these additional canals in the name of the Middlesex Canal Corporation (Clarke 1974:107). John L. Sullivans efforts to extend the navigable water corridor between Boston and New Hampshire were effective, and by 1814 a fully navigable route had been established between Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, and Concord, the capital of New Hampshire (Clarke 1974:105). In 1812 John L. Sullivan became involved in another ambitious project to increase business on the Canal, for in October of that year the first steam powered boats appeared on the Canal under his direction. Sullivan purchased the first steam engine from Philadelphia, but it quickly proved incompatible with the Canal boats as its vibrations shook the boats too much (Clarke 1974:76). Sullivan then introduced a second type of steam engine, this one a rotary steam engine the patent of which he had purchased from Samuel Morey. This type of engine was eventually built in a mill in which Sullivan owned half the interest, and in June of 1819 the steamboat Merrimack was launched on the Canal and used successfully to tow large cargoes of both passengers and goods (Clarke 1974:77). However, the strict regulations limiting the speed of travel on the Canal, designed to prevent the banks from washing out, restricted the usefulness of the steamboat and John L. Sullivans steamboats were the only ones to have been used on the Middlesex Canal. John L. Sullivan served as the superintendent of the Canal until 1825, at which time Caleb Eddy became the new superintendent. Under Caleb Eddy (18251845), the Canal remained profitable, and the Corporation undertook a major capital rebuilding program in the late 1820s, rebuilding many of the timber locks and wharves with stone. Middlesex Canal Community Resource Histories Charlestown was the southern terminus of the Middlesex Canal and was the site of a cluster of significant buildings as well as other Canal resources. In 1803 the Canal proprietors bought the Charlestown Mill Pond as well as its dam and mills, all of which has since been filled. Within the mill pond there were two locks, in the present vicinity of Rutherford Avenue, and Bridge No.1 and a tow path which was later built across the pond. In addition to these features a large wharf, known as Landing No.1, was constructed at the mill pond in 1808 in the vicinity of the present-day Essex Street. A pre-existing two-story building near the landing in Charlestown was made into offices for the collector of the tolls and for the Canal agent. Also near the wharf was a storehouse, moved in from Billerica, which was 80 feet long and 60 feet wide. As the Canal left the pond it passed across Charlestown Neck and under Bridge No. 2 and Bridge No.3. Bridge No.2 was called Adams bridge and was rebuilt in 1823 before being moved to a farm in Medford three years after the reconstruction. The third lock in Charlestown was the Malden Road Lock, located near Alford Road. Near this lock was Landing No. 2 and beyond the lock was an accommodation bridge. Between the third and second lock was a dwelling house built in 1825, which also served as a public house for boatmen. At this site a 100 foot long wharf was also built. In 1826, a productive year, Adams bridge was moved, the swing bridge over Lock No.1 was rebuilt, the old boat house was turned into a stable for 21 horses, and a breakwater was built in the mill pond. In 1827 a pre-existing house at Main and Canal Streets was turned into a tavern and a stable was constructed on the site. An addition was made to the house in the same year and several were also made to the Bunker Hill tavern in 1828. A year later a brick office was built for the Canal Corporation near the tavern. Built to the Corporations specifications, it was 26 feet long, 16 feet wide, and two stories high. Within the building were the lock tender and inspectors office, the collectors office, and an area to accommodate boatmen during rainy weather. In the same year another dwelling house was built at the first lock for the lock tender and inspector. The last Canal related structure built in Charlestown was a storehouse/shed erected in 1834 on the wharf (Lawrence 1942:106-108). All above-ground traces of these resources have been obscured by subsequent industrial, transportation, and residential development, and their integrity is unknown. The Middlesex Canals passage through Somerville was dotted with only a few features and structures related to its operation. Heading in a westerly direction after entering Somerville, the Canal passed beneath Bridge No.5. Another bridge, Tufts Accommodation Bridge, spanned the Canal just beyond the hill known as Plowed Hill or Mount Benedict, near the present location of Garfield and Kensington streets. The only other features important to the Canals operation through Somerville were Lanes Bridge, a culvert, and a stop gate to prevent water loss when parts of the Canal were emptied for repairs. The Canal ran very close to the Mystic River before it crossed into Medford. The curvature of the Canal, combined with the geographical boundaries of Somerville and Medford placed the route of the Canal briefly in Somerville later along its path. This brief segment of the Canal contained stop gates before the Canal re-entered Medford (Lawrence 1942:108-109). All above-ground traces of these resources have been obscured by subsequent industrial, transportation, and residential development, and their integrity is unknown. The town of Medford was rich with Canal-related features and structures. Due to its proximity to the Mystic River, Medford was the site of a branch Canal that connected the main Middlesex Canal with the Mystic River and the shipyards of Medford, located at present on Mystic Avenue near Grava Chrysler. Whereas there was only one lock along the Canal in Medford, there were many bridges which spanned the Canal. As the Canal entered Medford, but before it reached the place from where the branch Canal extended, the Canal passed under two accommodation bridges, one called Adams, and over two culverts, one of brick. The outlet from the main Canal to the Medford Branch Canal was regulated by gates and led to a circular basin. The branch Canal, which required a pair of locks, extended from the basin and fed into the Mystic River. On the main Canal, boats and rafts waiting for passage into the branch Canal were assembled in an area of the main Canal that widened just beyond the basin outlet. Beyond Medford bridge was Landing No.3 where a warehouse and wharf sat on the south side of the Canal, in the present vicinity of Summer Street south of Walnut Street. Bridge No.9 was named Touros Bridge, No.10 was called Tufts Bridge, and No.11 was known as Cutlers Bridge, Teals Bridge, or Leonards Accommodation Bridge. After passing under Cutlers Bridge the Canal briefly exited Medford into Somerville before re-entering Medford. At this point was an aqueduct that carried the Canal over the Mystic River, situated where Boston Avenue currently crosses the Mystic. This imposing aqueduct was 135 feet long and 14 feet wide within the wooden trough. The two granite abutments were 100 feet from each other and each of the three piers and two abutments was 20 feet long, 6 feet thick, and 12 feet high. First constructed in 1803, the trough and piers were rebuilt in 1829, and today the Boston Avenue bridge is located on the site. The only lock on the main Canal passing through Medford was immediately north of the aqueduct. Medford, or Gilsons, Lock had a lift of 8 feet and was rebuilt in 1829. In the immediate vicinity of the lock and aqueduct was Landing No. 4, in the present vicinity of the Boston Avenue and Arlington Street intersection. The tavern for boatmen passing through Medford was called the Canal House (MDF.397) and served as the lock tenders house as well. Most taverns related to the Canal were owned by the Corporation and usually rented to the lock tender. He would make income off of the boatmen and their horses who paid for a place to rest, eat, and drink. The bar at these taverns was often the center of night time activity. Facilities for keeping horses were also available at most taverns. Five years after its opening a barn was added and in 1830 the house and related buildings were repaired and enlarged to hold more guests. An extant building, the Canal House is now located at 76 Canal Street. After leaving the Mystic River and its complex of aqueduct, lock, and tavern the Canal traveled beneath Brooks Accommodation Bridge, Bridge No. 12, and Peter C. Brooks Bridge. Mr. Brooks Bridge, formerly located on the site of Sagamore park, was built in 1821 and was an expensive, well-crafted, Chelmsford granite, elliptical arched bridge. As the Canal reached the Medford-Winchester line it crossed a wooden culvert and passed a set of stop gates (Lawrence 1942:109-110). Other than the Canal House, all above-ground traces of these resources have been obscured by subsequent industrial, transportation, and residential development, and their integrity is unknown. Crossing into Winchester, the Canal ran along the area now occupied by the Mystic Valley Parkway, past Medford Pond, and over several brick culverts. The only intact segment of Canal in Winchester passes through the Metropolitan District Commissions Sandy Beach Reservation, west of the Mystic Valley Parkway. This intact segment includes the remains of a Canal boat basin. The Canal then crossed the Symmes (Aberjona) River on an aqueduct which was 127 feet long and was supported by two stone abutments and three stone piers. This structure was situated at the western end of Mystic Lake, just north of the present overlook. The trough of the Canal was supported thirty feet above the Symmes River. The Symmes Aqueduct was repaired in 1818 and then rebuilt completely in 1828. Unfortunately, the aqueduct was completely destroyed by dynamite when it caused flooding in the winter of 1865. Past the Symmes River Aqueduct, the Canal reached Gardners Locks, marking the seven mile point from the landing at Charlestown, and located in the vicinity of the present-day No. 1 Edgewater Place. Gardners Locks consisted of a double set which had a total lift of 12.5 feet. The locks, which were originally constructed in 1803, were rebuilt in 1825 and in 1830 a house and barn were erected adjacent to the locks. A little farther north of the locks was a set of stop gates. Once past the locks, the Canal ran under the site of Huffmeisters Bridge, No. 14, named after Andrew Huffmaster, an old Hessian soldier captured in the Revolutionary War, and situated at the present intersection of Church and Fletcher streets. The Canal continued past Bridge No. 15, the site of which is not fully determined as it was destroyed in 1819 and not replaced. The Winchester segment of the Canal route includes one extant building, the Kimball Canal Toll House at 3 Middlesex Street (WNT.538) dating from prior to 1803. Past Bridge No. 15 and the eight mile mark, the Canal crossed Horn Pond Brook, the only source of water used by the Canal in addition to the Concord River. After crossing Horn Pond Brook, the Canal arrived at Holliss Locks, known also as Stone Lock and Greys Lock and placed in the vicinity of the present Canal street and Horn Pond Brook. Originally constructed of wood, Hollis Lock was rebuilt in stone circa 1825. A carpenters shop was also added to the site that same year (Lawrence 1942:111-113) Woburn was the site of many taverns related to Canal travel as well as numerous bridges, culverts, and locks. As the Canal entered Woburn from Winchester it soon reached Horn Pond, where much recreational activity took place. Three sets of double locks were employed at Horn Pond to raise and lower the Canal boats a distance of almost fifty feet. The locks, which were originally all constructed from wood, were located along the present stretch of Arlington Road that runs parallel to the northern end of Horn Pond. Between 1828 and 1837 nearly all of the Horn Pond Locks were rebuilt of stone. Culverts, sluiceways, and basins were also incorporated into this process of raising and lowering boats, as well as a large basin which separated the middle set of locks from the other two. This basin was designed to provide the water necessary for the middle lock to operate, but because, as Hopkins writes, "These locks were so near Boston, the journey thither in the packet boat General Sullivan was such a pleasant one, the view of Canal and lake was so picturesque and interesting," the basin became a popular recreation area. At this site also stood two taverns which were run by the lock tender whose name, Stoddard was closely associated with the set of locks (Clarke 1974:74). The first of the taverns near Horn Pond was a small one consisting of a bar room for the boatmen and an open shed for horses. It was situated opposite the upper locks and east of the tow path. Sometime around 1824 a second tavern was constructed opposite the middle locks on the same side of the tow path. Larger than the first, it was further enlarged in 1827. Later still a larger tavern was built just south of the first tavern on Horn Pond. An exception to the general manner in which taverns were built and owned by the Corporation was made as Horn Pond grew into a noted resort area. A private Corporation built a very large and finely appointed tavern that had various outbuildings and other recreation features. The Horn Pond House (WOB.21) at 7 Lakeview Terrace may have been associated with the resort activities at Horn Pond. The Middlesex Canal Corporation also owned an ice house on the north shore of Horn Pond. After exiting the Horn Pond locks the Canal ran beneath Wymans Bridge and crossed two culverts, one of brick and the other of wood. Next the Canal widened into three basins followed by a sluiceway and more stop gates. At 5 Middlesex Street the Canal Corporation built a toll keepers house (WOB.22). The Canal then passed below a series of bridges, starting with Wrights Bridge. It was at this bridge that the Canal was most difficult to navigate. The Canal snaked through a cut 25 feet deep and was only 21 ½ feet wide at Wrights Bridge, which was followed by a severe curve. From Kilby Street, the site of Wrights Bridge, to its northern terminus at the Merrimack River in Lowell, the Middlesex Canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. After Wrights Bridge the Canal went under N. Parkers Accommodation Bridge, Edgells Bridge, Baldwins Bridge, and Loammi Baldwins Accommodation Bridge. Abutments from the Baldwin Accommodation Bridge (WOB-HA-1) are extant, and situated north of the Loammi Baldwin Mansion. South of this bridge was Landing No. 5. Loammi Baldwins house, The Loammi Baldwin Mansion (WOB.1) still stands today, at No. 2 Alfred Street, and is situated a short distance from the Canal in what was Newbridge Village. The house was first built by Henry Baldwin, an ancestor of Loammi Baldwin, and was enlarged by Loammi in 1801 or 1802 (Lawrence 1942:28). To the west and north of the Baldwin Mansion was the 1790 House (WOB.12), a structure that was not inhabited but was instead where Loammi Baldwin held many social events. Beyond the 1790 House the Canal passed over a half-culvert before heading under several more bridges. Samuel Thompson, who made the first attempt to survey the land and plan the Canals route, lived in a house (WOB.23) west of these bridges which is currently located at No. 31 Elm Street. Interspersed between Nichols Bridge, Eatons Accommodation Bridge, Buxtons , or Thompsons, Accommodation Bridge, Lymans Bridge, and Tays Bridge were several sluiceways, brick culverts, and stop gates. Before leaving Woburn the Canal passed Kendalls Tavern and Tays Tavern, the latter of which was situated next to Tays Bridge in the vicinity of present-day Main Street, north of North Maple Street (Lawrence 1942:113-115). Across the Wilmington-Woburn line, past a small wooden culvert, was the Ox-Bow curve, a sharp S-turn in the section of the Canal located in the Town Forest near Main Street. The turn was so sharp that the tow ropes crossed over the bank on the opposite side, and the large boulders (WMG-HA-2) on that shore were permanently marked by the many towropes which rubbed against their surface. The Maple Meadow Aqueduct (WMG.902) just north of the Ox-Bow carried the Canal over the Maple Meadow Brook, located in the Wilmington town forest. Supported on two stone abutments 19 feet apart and resting on one stone pier, the aqueduct was rebuilt in 1819 and remains today after further reconstruction by the WPA and CCC during the 1930's. A quarry (WMG-HA-3) is also extant just south of the aqueduct where the Canal Corporation obtained the stone for the aqueducts reconstruction (Clarke 1974:173). Before reaching the Ipswich River Aqueduct the Canal passed beneath Butters Bridge, widened into two large pools, passed beneath Jacques Bridge, and passed by a culvert and sluiceway. The aqueduct across the Ipswich River was approximately 15 feet long and rebuilt in 1826. Abutments from the aqueduct (WMG-HA-4) still survive at its former site on the Ipswich River near the present Main Street. Four years before the Ipswich River Aqueduct was rebuilt, Gilliss Lock, a wooden lock northwest of the aqueduct at the present No. 10 Shawsheen Avenue, sometimes called Jacques lock, was rebuilt. For the tender of Gilliss Lock a two-story house (WMG.209) was built in 1808. The Canal Corporation expected the house to also be used as a tavern for travelers along the route. Several bridges crossed the Canal before it reached a third and final aqueduct in Wilmington. Bridges No. 31 and 32 did not have names, but No.33 was known as either Carters Accommodation Bridge or Walkers Bridge. The third aqueduct in Wilmington spanned a small stream known as Lubbers Brook or Sinking Meadow Brook and was situated northwest of the current intersection between Shawsheen Avenue and route 129. The aqueduct, called Sinking Meadow Aqueduct, was 18 feet long and rebuilt in 1828. Abutments (WMG-HA-5) from the bridge are still extant as is a stretch of Canal to its north, including the basin where the Canal barges waited their turn to cross over the aqueduct. Burnaps Bridge and Nichols Bridge both crossed the Canal before it encountered Nichols, or Hopkins Lock. In the same vicinity was landing No.6 and possibly a tavern maintained by Nichols the lock tender, all located just to the north of the current intersection between Shawsheen Avenue and Nichols Street. Four years after Nichols Locks was rebuilt in1821, a 100-foot-long wharf was built at the foot of the lock. Before the Canal passed over the town line into Billerica, it crossed over a small, brick, half-culvert (Lawrence 1942:115-116). At the town line of Wilmington and Billerica stood the Shawsheen River Aqueduct on what is now Route 129 (BIL.909/HA-2/WMG.900). This structure carried the Canal over the Shawsheen River and was arguably the most imposing structure along the Canal. First built in 1797 of wood, the aqueduct rose 35 feet above the river and spanned 140 feet between the abutments. When the wooden structure was rebuilt in stone during the summer of 1817 traffic was interrupted for six weeks. Some discrepancy exists regarding the dimensions of the rebuilt aqueduct, but the most generous figures assign the structure a length of 187 feet and a height of 30 feet. A third rebuilding was undertaken in 1841-1842 when the structure was shortened to include only one pier. Past the Shawsheen River Aqueduct, the first bridge across the Canal was Kendalls Bridge, located on the present-day George Brown Street, followed closely by Mannings Accommodation Bridge, also known as Pattens Bridge. The smaller Browns Foot Bridge, the abutments of which (BIL-HA-36) are extant, spanned the Canal before it crossed Shawsheen Street and passed under Allens Bridge. In close proximity to Allens Bridge was Allens Tavern (BIL.148) which stands now at 286 Salem Road. Richardsons Bridge, named for the owner of several mills in North Billerica, is the fifth overpass the Canal runs beneath in Billerica. Past Richardsons Bridge, the Canal passed two sluiceways which still remain, the first leading from Content Brook (BIL-HA-37) and the second leading from Richardsons Mill (BIL-HA-38), and then flowed under Davis Bridge and Tufts Bridge before reaching Lincolns Lock, located just before the Canal meets the Concord River and at present just south of Roger Street. The lock was first built in 1809 and rebuilt in 1818. After Lincolns Lock the Canal was crossed by Rogers Bridge, which collapsed in 1819 and was rebuilt shortly thereafter. The Middlesex Canal encountered a serious obstacle further west of Rogers Bridge at the Billerica Mill Pond, which is still extant, for here there was no existing strip of land to allow the tow animals to cross the river. In response Loammi Baldwin and his workers constructed a floating towpath, a famous innovation which the Corporation also later used to transport their customers across the Charles River at Boston (Clarke 1974:45). The towpath was also designed so that a portion of the structure could be moved to allow river debris to pass through the mill pond . The towpath peninsula is still extant (BIL-HA-39) as well as the dam which blocked the Concord River to create the mill pond and they are presently located on Faulkner Street. Construction of the dam was authorized in 1708, many years prior to the planning of the Canal. The 150-foot-long, 8-foot-high dam was originally made of wood, but in 1828 a stone dam was built to replace the deteriorating wooden one. Waste gates constructed in the dam allowed overflow from the river into the Canal (Clarke 1974:45). A final remnant of the boats that moored in the pond while waiting for their opportunity to enter the locks still stands on the northern edge of the mill pond in the form of a mooring stone with an iron ring (BIL-HA-40). Also at the mill pond, but not extant, was Landing No. 7. Usually comprised of a wharf and warehouses or other storage sheds, landings were meant to be the only places along the Canals route where items were allowed to be transferred between land and boats. A Corporation employee tended the landing site. Parts of the locks which allowed the Canal barges to be raised to the level of the mill pond still remain (BIL-HA-9, HAER) as does Mears Tavern (BIL.94), a popular watering hole for passengers waiting for their boat to enter the locks, which is currently situated at 12 Elm Street (Clarke 1974:45). The Talbot Mill now stands on this site, and the mill later used the defunct Canal as part of its water power system (Hopkins 1898:146). Once beyond the mill pond the Canal ran beneath Canal Bridge, also called Lunds Bridge, and just beyond that a new lock was built in 1837. This lock, often called the Red Lock, was particularly important as it connected the Canal with the Concord River so that boats could travel directly to Lowell via the river. The Red Lock basin retaining wall (BIL-HA-41) is an extant feature of the lock, which was located just northwest of the current intersection between Lowell and Faulkner streets. Past the Red Lock, the Canal was crossed by Farmers Bridge and then by Spragues, or Livingstons, Bridge which was located at the site of the current intersection of Boston Road and Lowell Street. In between these two bridges was a stone culvert (BIL-HA-42) the ruins of which are still visible on Lowell Street. Once across this stone culvert and past Spragues Bridge the Canal flowed along its course across the town line and into Chelmsford (Lawrence 1942:116-120) As the political boundaries that defined the town of Chelmsford shifted frequently in the nineteenth century, certain features that were once in Chelmsford are now geographically in Lowell. There are few structures and features that existed within the current boundaries of Chelmsford. Upon entering Chelmsford the Canal passed a sluiceway and two culverts, one of brick and one of wood. The first of two bridges in Chelmsford crossed the Canal shortly after the second culvert. After passing under Mannings Bridge, which was located at the present-day Riverneck Road, the Canal was carried over River Meadow Brook, also called Hales Brook or Mill Brook. The first aqueduct at the site was built in the late eighteenth century, but was rebuilt in 1808 due to inadequate foundations. The trunk of the aqueduct was wood and ran 40 feet on stone piers. In 1819 repairs were made to the structure and in 1831 the entire aqueduct was rebuilt. (Today the site of the aqueduct is found within Lowells political boundaries.) The final Canal feature of Chelmsford, which was situated right as the Canal brushes the corner of what is currently Lowell, was the Long Causeway, or Long Causey, Bridge. The bridge was originally of wood, but it was rebuilt in 1825 and stone was used for the new abutments and towpath. The only building in Chelmsford related to Canal activity is an original toll house (CLM.2) for the Middlesex Canal. Originally located at the Merrimack River locks in Lowell, the house was moved to its current site at Chelmsford Center from its original site at Middlesex Village, now part of Lowell (Lawrence 1942:120). The northern end of the Middlesex Canal was located in Middlesex Village where the Canal was joined to the Merrimack River. In addition to the business brought by the Canal, Middlesex Village was a busy commercial and industrial center in its own right. As the northern termini of the Middlesex Canal, Lowell was the site of several features and structures crucial to the Canals operation. Before reaching a cluster of important administrative and operations buildings, the Canal encountered culverts, an aqueduct, and some bridges. Near the Canals entrance into Middlesex Village it encountered a sluiceway and a wooden culvert before it passed beneath the Glass House Bridge. After passing another culvert the Canal was carried over Black Brook by way of an aqueduct which first dates from 1817 and was then situated in the vicinity of where Lauriat Street currently crosses the brook. At that time it had two stone abutments, 110 feet apart, and ten wooden piers supporting the aqueduct sixteen feet above the brook. An 1818 or 1819 rebuilding of the aqueduct extended its length to 120 feet. A second rebuilding occurred in 1846, at which time the aqueduct was shortened to 75 feet and was supported with only two stone abutments and four stone piers. Slightly south of the aqueduct was a basin where a dry dock was located; north of the aqueduct was the final bridge over the Canal. Assigned the number 48, it was 21 feet, 6 inches in length and 25 feet, 10 inches wide. To the east of the dry dock, and at 139-141 Baldwin Street, was the Glassworkers Long Block (LOW.3), tenement housing for workers at the Lowell glassworks in which the Canal Corporation leased the basement for storing Canal boats during the winter. As the Canal came to its northern terminus in Lowell it passed by and between several important buildings. Once under Bridge No. 48 the Canal passed within 25 feet of the Baldwin House, built by Cyrus Baldwin in 1800. Currently the house sits on a plot of land on Middlesex Street, east of where it was originally built. Beyond the Baldwin house was Landing No. 8, where the Canal passed between two wooden wharves and which was situated just north of the present Middlesex Street. The Canal storehouse, which was on the western wharf, was two stories high, sixty feet long, and forty feet wide and served several functions: a boardinghouse, a bar, and for storage, and before 1832 a room in the finished part of the building was the Canal office. Beyond the storehouse, opposite a circular basin used for turning the boats, was a stable that held horses that pulled boats along the Canal. In 1832 a building was erected beyond the stable to house the Canal and collectors offices. The building was clapboarded, 15 ½ feet wide, and 12 ½ feet long. One of the two rooms was the office and the smaller one was for boatmen and the public to conduct business with the office. Near these official Canal Corporation buildings was the Middlesex Tavern. Sometimes called Clarks Tavern, the structure was built in the early eighteenth century and stood on the north side of Middlesex Street, east of the Canal. Boatmen used the Middlesex Tavern mostly during the summer and otherwise it had transient guests. The building was taken down in 1929. Just as the Canal reached the Merrimack River it encountered three locks. Their construction dates from 1797 and was of stone masonry. Due to their durable construction, the locks never required rebuilding. Each was 80 feet long and their total lift was nearly 25 feet. The locks terminated in a nearly semi-circular basin on the river which marked the northern terminus of the Middlesex Canal. Decline, Closing, and Subsequent History Shortly after the start of the Early Industrial Period (18301870), the Middlesex Canals fortunes began to decline in the face of competition from new, parallel railroads. The Boston & Lowell and the Nashua & Lowell railroads, completed in 1835 and 1840 respectively and offering faster, year-round transportation, cut dramatically into Canal traffic and profits, and moved civic and industrial development away from the Canal route. With its income so dramatically reduced the Canal Corporation was unable to cover the costs of maintaining the Canal and the Corporations buildings, and so Caleb Eddy began to look for alternative sources of income (Clarke 1974:125). By 1843 Caleb Eddy proposed sale of the Canal as a water supply for Boston which was at that time experiencing a water shortage. However, Eddys proposal was rejected by the state legislature and revenues began to decrease even further (Clarke 1974:127). In 1846, under the last Superintendent Richard Frothingham, the Canal Corporation began to sell its property, though it maintained the right to use the Canal for transportation purposes. The last boat run between Boston and Lowell was in November of 1851, and the last trip on the Canal was in April of 1852. Later in that year the Corporation began to refill portions of the Canal, thereby ending its life as a navigable water passage between Boston and northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire (Clarke 1974:129). The last recorded meeting of the Middlesex Canal Corporation was held in 1854, and finally on October 3, 1859 the Supreme Court of Massachusetts decreed that the Corporation no longer enjoyed their rights and the Middlesex Canal Corporation ceased to exist as a corporate entity (Clarke 1974:130). Through the Late Industrial (18701915), Early Modern (19151940), and Modern (19401960) periods, and until the present time, the route of the Middlesex Canal has been slowly impacted by transportation, civil engineering, and residential construction, the last of which has been pervasive in all communities through which the Canal route passes. Along the Canals former path there are portions which still remain somewhat intact, but there are also segments where nothing is visible. Some of the modifications to the Canal are old enough to be of historical significance in their own right, while newer ones have simply obscured it. The integrity of the remains of the obscured portions of the Canal and its associated infrastructure is unknown. In Charlestown, there are no visible traces of the Middlesex Canal Company complex, originally located in what is now the vicinity of Essex Street and Rutherford Avenue, due to residential construction and the construction of Rutherford Avenue itself. The mill pond was filled in for railroad yards in the mid-nineteenth century. Interstate 93 and the Sullivan Square rotary and underpass overlay the Canal route, and residential and industrial development obscure the Canal route from this point to the Somerville line. The Canal route in Somerville and Medford is obscured by extensive late-nineteenth century residential development, as well as several instances of park, highway, and railroad construction. In Medford there is one remaining visible resource, the old Canal tavern which was moved from its original location. The portion of the Canal along the Mystic Valley Parkway between the north end of Sagamore Street in northern Medford and Sandy Beach in southern Winchester was variously impacted by the construction of the Boston & Lowell Railroad in the 1830s, the Mystic Valley Sewer in the 1890s, and the Mystic Valley Parkway itself. A short visible section of the Canal is visible at the Metropolitan District Commissions Sandy Beach Reservation. This is the only visible segment of the Canal in Winchester and the first visible segment north of Charlestown. Further north in Winchester and Woburn the Canal route was impacted in places by the mid-nineteenth-century construction of the Horn Pond and "Woburn Loop" railroad lines of the Boston & Maine Railroad. Late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century residential home and street construction in Winchester and the south half of Woburn has obscured the remains of the Canal. The Canal between Kilby Street in Woburn and its northern Terminus in Lowell has fared better since its abandonment and includes numerous watered stretches. A major interruption exists at the Route 95/38 interchange, where the Canal was culverted for modern highway construction. From this point north to School Street, the Canal was restored and watered for recreational use in the late 1960s with unknown impact to its bed and towpath. Late-nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century residential construction has obscured the Canal north to the Wilmington line. In Wilmington, acquisition of stretches of the Canal by the Town of Wilmington and the Middlesex Canal Association have resulted in preservation of a significant, scenic section of the Canal route. The construction of the modern Sweetheart Plastics industrial complex resulted in the covering of the Canal route and reconfiguration of the Ipswich River near its crossing with the Canal. The insensitive restoration of a short stretch of the Canal north of Route 129 during the 1970s has impacted the Canal. Lighter density residential construction and the proximity of the Boston & Maine Railroad right-of-way have let to relatively good preservation of the Canal in northern Wilmington, although the remains of the Lubbers Brook Aqueduct appear to have been impacted by post-Canal drainage changes. A major gap in the Canal resulted from the late-nineteenth-century expansion of the Boston & Maine Railroads Billerica Shops complex, around which the Canal was rerouted. At the Billerica Mill Pond area, mid-nineteenth-century adaptive reuse of the Canal as a mill raceway has resulted in the preservation of the only intact lock chamber on the Canal. Further north, the construction of the modern Route 495/3/110 interchanges and the Wang industrial complex at the Chelmsford-Lowell line has obscured the Canal route, as has dense twentieth-century residential construction between Route 3 to the Merrimack River in Lowell, where railroad construction has obscured the site of the Canals northern terminus. Despite the impacts to the Canal since its closure, the section between Kilby Street in Woburn and the Canals northern terminus possesses sufficient physical integrity to have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Canal was also declared a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1967. The Canal route constitutes a significant historic archaeological resource associated with the history of American civil engineering and regional commerce and trade. REFERENCES CITED Clarke, Mary Stetson 1974 The Old Middlesex Canal, Center for Canal History and Technology, Easton, PA. Hopkins, Arthur T. 1898 "The Old Middlesex Canal," The New England Magazine, January, Vol. XVII, No. 5. Lawrence, Lewis M. 1942 The Middlesex Canal, Middlesex Canal Association, Boston, MA. Proctor, Thomas C. 1984 "The Middlesex Canal: Prototype for American Canal Building," Canal History and Technology Proceedings 7:125-174. NOTE: For complete Middlesex Canal bibliography see: Adams, Virginia H. and Matthew A. Kierstead, 1999 Middlesex Canal Comprehensive Survey, Phase IV Survey Report, PAL Report No. 989-2, Appendix A.
834	dbpedia	1	24	https://www.facebook.com/DacusPhotography/posts/808353862604657/	en	Facebook			[]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		de	https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yT/r/aGT3gskzWBf.ico		null
834	dbpedia	1	73	https://trolleymuseum.org/	en	World's First and Largest Electric Railway Museum	https://trolleymuseum.or…707-1024x768.jpg	https://trolleymuseum.or…707-1024x768.jpg	[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=442126519555037&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://trolleymuseum.org/wp-content/themes/seashoretrolley/img/seashore-trolley-logo.jpg", "https://trolleymuseum.org/wp-content/themes/seashoretrolley/img/seashore-trolley-logo.jpg", "https://trolleymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2017-03-22T19:47:44+00:00	Seashore Trolley Museum is the world's first and largest electric railway museum, with over 350 vehicles that span decades of public transportation history.	en	/wp-content/themes/seashoretrolley/img/favicon.ico	Seashore Trolley Museum	https://trolleymuseum.org/	All Aboard! Seashore Trolley Museum is open every Wednesday-Sunday through October 27. Check out our 2024 hours HERE. Railbike Excursions with Revolution Rail Co. also offers railbike rides every Thursday-Sunday. To learn more and book your railbike ride, Click Here. As the first and largest Electric Railway Museum in the world, our guests learn about and gain a new appreciation for the role public transportation has played throughout history. Take a ride on our heritage railroad in a vintage trolley from the early 1900s. Explore three carhouses filled with beautiful, restored trolleys and several other precious transit artifacts around our outdoor campus. Our world-renowned collection includes vehicles from almost every major city in the United States that had streetcar systems, as well as from across the world. From the omnibus, to electric streetcars, buses, light rail vehicles, and rapid transit cars, we’ve got them all. Visit our Restoration Shop where you can view many cars in the process of maintenance or comprehensive restoration. Our brand new Maine Central Model Railroad Building is sure to amaze guests of all ages. If you would like a snack or to shop for a memento of your visit, stop in at the Museum Store. We carry a wide variety of transit themed clothing, games, puzzles, books and other souvenirs to purchase for yourself or as a gift for a special person. Enjoy our beautiful grounds and picnic areas. It is our goal to provide a relaxing, fun and educational place to enjoy by yourself or with family and friends. We welcome individuals, families, transit fans, school groups, tourists, historians, and anyone looking to re-live their childhood in our nostalgic setting. Because dogs are part of the family, we are dog-friendly. They are also welcome on our trolleys! Seashore Trolley Museum is located in beautiful Kennebunkport, Maine, just 30 minutes south of Portland, Maine and 90 minutes north of Boston, Massachusetts. Our year-round satellite museum is the National Streetcar Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts.
834	dbpedia	3	85	https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmrrhs/48864370587	en	Boston & Lowell Railroad No. 20 BILLERICA (4-4-0) c1885	https://live.staticflick…58db928e97_b.jpg	https://live.staticflick…58db928e97_b.jpg	[ "https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48864370587_58db928e97.jpg", "https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48864370587_58db928e97.jpg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Flickr", "Boston and Maine Railroad Historical Society", "Maine Railroad Historical Society" ]	2024-08-25T19:37:20.357000+00:00	Built by Wm. Mason Feb. 22, 1869 as Boston, Lowell & Nashua No. 20. (Cons. No. 304). To B&L No. 20 BILLERICA, c1878. To B&M (pre-1911) No. 320 (1st), Class A, c1887. Cylinders 16x24. Scrapped Concord, N.H. Sep. 1, 1905. Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Digital image made from photograph in Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society Archives. Cat. No. 1998.12. Gift of Kenneth F. McCall Estate. Copyright Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, Inc. Learn more about the B&MRRHS at <a href="http://www.bmrrhs.org" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.bmrrhs.org</a>. Photo 1848	en	https://combo.staticflickr.com/pw/favicon.ico	Flickr	https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmrrhs/48864370587	Built by Wm. Mason Feb. 22, 1869 as Boston, Lowell & Nashua No. 20. (Cons. No. 304). To B&L No. 20 BILLERICA, c1878. To B&M (pre-1911) No. 320 (1st), Class A, c1887. Cylinders 16x24. Scrapped Concord, N.H. Sep. 1, 1905. Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Digital image made from photograph in Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society Archives. Cat. No. 1998.12. Gift of Kenneth F. McCall Estate. Copyright Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, Inc. Learn more about the B&MRRHS at www.bmrrhs.org. Photo 1848
834	dbpedia	3	9	https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/10/14/the-men-of-the-boston-lowell-and-nashua-line-train-life-in-the-1870s/	en	The Men of the Boston, Lowell and Nashua Line – Train Life in the 1870s	https://forgottennewengl…ll_rrstation.jpg	https://forgottennewengl…ll_rrstation.jpg	[ "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2350786645_boston_and_lowell_rrstation.jpg?w=601", "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/boston-lowell-rr-station-lowell.jpg?w=224&h=300", "https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Lowell_depot%2C_by_Lea...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Forgotten New England" ]	2012-10-14T00:00:00	My two-year-old son loves trains. One of his first words was "train". And, he likes to announce the arrival and departure of trains, with the word "train", repeatedly, while pointing. The fascination people have with trains can be traced back much further than today's living generations. In fact, before planes and automobiles, trains, or iron…	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2c266ba2f2cfe38d321f9683f872ffaf63db6ecf82a041cb991e5e909157918b?s=32	Forgotten New England	https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/10/14/the-men-of-the-boston-lowell-and-nashua-line-train-life-in-the-1870s/	My two-year-old son loves trains. One of his first words was “train”. And, he likes to announce the arrival and departure of trains, with the word “train”, repeatedly, while pointing. The fascination people have with trains can be traced back much further than today’s living generations. In fact, before planes and automobiles, trains, or iron horses – as they were sometimes admiringly called, captivated young people in cities, towns, and out on country farms. In the years following the close of the Civil War, young men on rural farms looked with fascination at the trains that passed through their New England towns. They looked to the trains to deliver them from the boredom they had come to associate with farm life. For young rural women, a trip to the depot to watch the train come in allowed them to break up the monotony of farm life by seeing who was arriving from Boston, the ‘big city’. In the 1870s, young people everywhere saw railroad life as offering a certain charm and urban sophistication. Men who were able to land positions with the railroad could count on steady employment and a solid career. And, they would travel through the city and surrounding countryside once or maybe even twice daily. Men landing railroad jobs started off as brakemen, who brought trains to a stop at approaching stations. From there, with time, experience, and some politicking, they were elevated into baggage-master positions. Baggage masters were charged with caring for and delivering the bags and suitcases to traveling passengers. All young men on the railroad hoped one day to become conductors, who held the awe of all. Conductors wore gold-laced caps, and were the ones who announced the ‘all aboard!’ at each stop along the line. Railway men, and those who loved them, knew that a job on the railroad meant many hours away from home, but most of the men wouldn’t trade the job for any other, and often, a man who started his career as a brakeman retired decades later after a lifetime of employment on the railroad. The conductors of the railroad were known by their uniforms. Made of distinctive dark blue cloth, each man wore a sack coat and vest with pants, decorated with stripes. The men fastened their uniforms in place with brass buttons, which bore the date of the railroad’s incorporation. As part of their compensation, conductors received a stipend of $200 annually to buy their uniforms. Strict regulations were enforced to ensure that conductors always appeared in uniform, and that they were neatly dressed. Upon each completion of five years of experience, conductors added a black velvet stripe with gold trimming to their right sleeves. Life on The Boston, Lowell, and Nashua Line In 1874, the vast network of railroad lines connecting Boston with the outside world included the Boston & Providence, the Old Colony, the Fitchburg, the Boston & Albany, the Boston & Maine, the Eastern, and the Boston, Lowell & Nashua. During the years following the Civil War, the Boston, Lowell, and Nashua line was known for its austere, direct conductors. Most of the men who ran the line had grown up in the towns of New Hampshire where, as boys, they dreamt of one day becoming conductors. In 1874, sixteen men served as conductors for the Boston, Lowell, and Nashua line on its “Boston End”; three more served as additional help when collecting and punching tickets on the trains when they ran their short trips. Forty-six men supported the conductors’ efforts in the roles of and baggage masters. The line prided itself on hiring men who had the ability to grow into the conductor role. On the Boston, Lowell & Nashua line, men working the Lowell, Concord and Greenfield routes averaged 120 miles daily. Men who worked the Woburn, Lexington, and Stoneham routes averaged some 60 or 80 miles, daily. It was said that the more frequent stops on the shorter routes were more exhausting. Conductors earned monthly salaries between $70 and $85. Brakemen and baggage masters earned salaries around $50, monthly. The men of the Boston, Lowell & Nashua line were described as a “steady-going” set, and almost all were married. Those who had seen the conductors’ room described scenes of “high, low, jack” or backgammon. The conductors on the line included some of the railroad’s longest-serving veterans. One, John Barrett, had run the first train to ever make the route some forty years earlier, on June 26, 1835. Barrett had held his conductorship through 1860, when he became a depot master for several more years. By the 1870s, Barrett was still serving the railroad, even at the advanced age of 74. Another veteran of the line, Josiah Short, had served the railroad some forty years; by the mid-1870s, he had become a ticket agent at the Lowell station. Another conductor, Albert Carter, had served for so long on the line’s Woburn branch that generations of schoolboys had come to know him as “Old Carter”. Old Carter had developed no small part of his reputation by catching and reprimanding train stowaways who tried to steal rides between stations in the Winchester area during the years surrounding the Civil War.
834	dbpedia	3	93	https://forgottennewengland.com/home-new/the-beginners-guide-to-the-history-of-lowells-neighborhoods/	en	The Beginner’s Guide to the History of Lowell’s Neighborhoods	https://forgottennewengl…l-timeline-2.jpg	https://forgottennewengl…l-timeline-2.jpg	[ "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/lowell-timeline-2.jpg?w=410", "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/img_6449.jpg?w=642", "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/downtown-lowell-1906.png?w=826", "https://forgottennewengland.com/wp-content/up...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2020-10-22T19:56:05+00:00	A complete guide to the history of Lowell's neighborhoods: what they are, where they are, and where they came from.	en	https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2c266ba2f2cfe38d321f9683f872ffaf63db6ecf82a041cb991e5e909157918b?s=32	Forgotten New England	https://forgottennewengland.com/home-new/the-beginners-guide-to-the-history-of-lowells-neighborhoods/	Without its rivers, there would be no history of Lowell’s neighborhoods. There would be no Lowell. When a group of entrepreneurs and investors carved Lowell from East Chelmsford in 1826, they started with the 2,800 acres of land where the Merrimack and Concord Rivers meet. Those first 2,800 acres became Lowell’s downtown, the Acre, Back Central, Lower Highlands, Ayer’s City, and Sacred Heart neighborhoods. Lower Belvidere came next in 1834, from Tewksbury. By the time Lowell annexed Christian Hill and the rest of the southern half of Centralville from Dracut in 1851, its population had grown to over 30,000 people. Lowell’s last two annexations came from Tewksbury’s land. The 1888 annexations grew Lowell’s Belvidere neighborhood by more than 50%. Belvidere grew again in 1906, along with South Lowell and Wigginville. Just a few years later, in 1920, Lowell’s population grew to 112,759 people, more than 5% higher than its population in the 2010 US Census. Why is Lowell Called Lowell? Lowell wouldn’t be Lowell if Francis Cabot Lowell’s Boston Manufacturing Company hadn’t built its first mill along the Merrimack River at the Pawtucket Falls. It’s still strange that Lowell got the name ‘Lowell,’ though. After all, Francis Cabot Lowell actually died nearly nine years before the 1826 founding of the town that grew into the city that bears his name today. Downtown Lowell When: The land that became Downtown Lowell came from Chelmsford’s original land grant to Lowell in 1826. Where: The Merrimack River forms Downtown Lowell’s borders with Pawtucketville to the north and its border with Belvidere to the east. On the west, Downtown Lowell’s border with the Acre follows Arcand Drive and Dutton St. On the south, Downtown Lowell borders South Lowell’s Back Central neighborhood, following Appleton Street. It’s not that Downtown Lowell didn’t exist before the city’s founding almost 200 years ago, it just wasn’t Lowell yet. Very little remains of the downtown area’s East Chelmsford origins. In the years before the mills came, two farmers, Fletcher and Tyler, divided the downtown area between themselves, with the dividing line following today’s Merrimack Street. Bridge Street and Central/Gorham Street were there too. They were there even before the bridge across the Merrimack was even built. By the early 1820s, the Merrimack Mills set up operations in Lowell, recruiting young, unmarried women from the countryside–just like the Boston Manufacturing Company had done in Waltham. Soon, St. Anne’s Church was built. Boardinghouses like Dutton Street’s New Block appeared on the city’s skyline. More mills were added too. Lowell Street was extended into Downtown Lowell and renamed Market Street. Lowell’s first schools opened. By the 1830’s, Middle Street was being added too. Lowell’s population hit 6,400 people. Throughout the 19th century, Downtown Lowell continued to grow, drawing the attention of writers like Charles Dickens in 1842 and rising politicians like President Polk in 1847 and Abraham Lincoln during his 1848 visit. Local stores, like Bon Marché, Pollards, and O’Donnell & Gilbride, rose up and thrived, serving the growing city. Downtown Lowell developed an entertainment scene, with theaters like the Savoy and the Rialto, and personalities like Uncle Dudley, a Civil War veteran turned confectioner whose clock still stands outside the site of his candy shop. Downtown Lowell lived and died with the fortunes of its mills, and suffered greatly when the mills left for the South, starting in the 1920s. Stores closed, jobs vanished, and people left. World War II briefly injected some life into the city when the factories supported the war effort. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s and the establishment of the National Park that Lowell’s renaissance arrived and the city started moving toward prosperity again. Today, Downtown Lowell offers a vibrant college population, artist’s communities, and a number of public and private museums showcasing the city’s history. Downtown Lowell is still known for its historic mill buildings, but now people also come for its annual summer folk festival, its dining scene, and its minor league baseball team, the Lowell Spinners. The Acre When: The land that became the Acre came from Chelmsford’s original land grant to Lowell in 1826. What: Lowell’s Acre neighborhood includes Little Canada and the lesser known communities of Uptown and Gageville. Where: The Acre neighborhood spreads outward from its core at the North Common, St. Patrick Church and the Fletcher Street Market Basket. The neighborhood’s boundaries roughly follow Dutton Street along its border with Downtown Lowell and the Merrimack River along its border with Pawtucketville. The Pawtucket Canal and Broadway form its border with Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood. The Acre proudly wears its long history. As the story goes, in 1822, thirty Irish men walked from Boston to what was then East Chelmsford. Why?There was work there building the boardinghouses, canals, and factories in the new city on the banks of the Merrimack River. The story of those men became the story of the Acre. As each wave of new immigrants arrived in Lowell looking for the promise of work, they passed through the Acre. Each generation, each wave of immigrants brought its culture, language, and contributions to Lowell. The Irish came first and built St. Patrick Church, on land donated from Kirk Boott of the Merrimack Mills. The Greeks soon joined the Irish and built the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. They were followed by the French Canadians, Portuguese, Poles, and Jews from Eastern Europe. Later waves of immigration to Lowell brought Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and immigrants from Southeast Asia. Today, the Acre boasts some 200 years of history, and holds the stories of many families’ first landings in the United States and their earliest steps toward the American dream. Along the Acre’s border with Pawtucketville–where Pawtucket Street crosses Mammoth Road–prominent 19th century businessman Frederick Ayer built his stately home, which later became the Franco American Orphanage, and then the Franco American School. As the Acre’s largest park, the North Common has long been a central part of the Acre’s culture and landscape. On the southeastern edge of the Acre, the Giant Store, which once helped form the core of Downtown Lowell’s department store heyday, now serves as an example of the city’s once-abandoned commercial buildings that have repurposed as residential properties. Centralville (“Centerville”) When: Centralville was annexed from Dracut in two parts, first in 1851 and again in 1874. What: Centralville includes the smaller neighborhoods of Christian Hill, Jersey, and West Centralville. Where: Centralville is bordered by Dracut on its north and east. The Merrimack River separates the neighborhood from the rest of Lowell to its south. The only land border it shares with another Lowell neighborhood lies to its west, where the Beaver Brook marks its boundary with Pawtucketville. Centralville started off as Central Village, a farming community that grew up between Chelmsford and Dracut–on the Dracut side of the Merrimack River. Centralville really didn’t become Centralville until the Central Bridge was built in 1826. Even today, the bridge remains a central part of the neighborhood’s identity. For years before the first bridge was built, villagers from Dracut and Central Village could only cross the Merrimack River by ferry. Bradley’s Ferry, as it was once called, crossed the river at the location of today’s bridge. After the bridge was built and it was easier to cross the river, Centralville came to identify more with Lowell. As Centralville residents watched Lowell’s mills grow across the river, they increasingly called for Centralville to be annexed. That happened in 1851. The Central Bridge (now Cox Bridge) spans over 500 feet in length. At some points, it crosses depths of over 30 feet of water. The bridge cost $21,000 to build (in 1826 dollars) which was subsidized with high tolls in its early years. The tolls continued until late into the 19th century. The original Central Bridge, built of wood, burned in one of Lowell’s biggest fires in 1882, leaving Centralville again cut off from Lowell for more than a year. When the Central Bridge was again destroyed in 1936, by the flood, the city replaced it with steel, and a great debate raged over whose name the bridge would memorialize. City residents proposed naming the bridge for Benjamin Butler, Kirk Boott, John Jacob Rogers, and Dudley Page. For years, Dudley Page, a Civil War veteran, local personality, and downtown merchant, nearly won the contest and even received Lowell City Council’s unanimous approval in 1937. The decision was overturned however, because Page was still alive at the time. Even after he died, the name of the bridge did not change, until it was renamed for John E. Cox in 1986, after the longtime city councilor and member of a Centralville family. When Civil War General Benjamin Butler first came to Lowell in the 1820s, he saw Christian Hill first, or more specifically, the views that one of Lowell’s highest points offered of the growing town. Those impressive views from spots like the Christian Hill Reservoir haven’t faded with time and still attract photographers and city sightseers today. But, Christian Hill’s history goes back even earlier. Deep in Christian Hill’s early history—in 1758—Solomon Abbott bought a 110-acre farm that spanned from today’s First Street to Tenth Street and from Bridge Street to the top of Christian Hill. Lowell residents remembered the Abbotts for generations when they named the islands at the base of Hunts Falls after the Abbott family. Over the years, Centralville has called Christian Hill by other names, including Dracut Heights and Centralville Heights. For over a century starting in the 1830s, Christian Hill was home to the Central Village Academy (also known as the Dracut Academy), a well-known private boarding school where Benjamin Butler once taught. Dracut Academy later evolved into the Varnum School, which itself closed in the 2000s. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Today, Centralville’s Christian Hill offers commanding views of Lowell’s city skyline and is one of Lowell’s most residential neighborhoods. Closer to Dracut, in West Centralville, visitors can retrace the life and steps of Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation novelist who was born here in 1922. Pawtucketville When: Pawtucketville was annexed to Lowell from Dracut in 1874. What: Pawtucketville includes the small neighborhood of Rosemont Terrace in its extreme east, bordering Centralville. Where: Besides Pawtucketville’s eastern border with Centralville which follows Beaver Brook, Lowell’s largest neighborhood shares no other land borders with any other Lowell neighborhoods. To the north and west, Dracut surrounds Pawtucketville. To its south, the Merrimack River separates Pawtucketville from most of Lowell. Pawtucketville, home to the Pawtucket Boulevard and the historic Pawtucket Congregational Church, is Lowell’s largest neighborhood. Like Centralville, Pawtucketville also started as part of Dracut, but was annexed to Lowell about 20 years later, in 1874. Pawtucketville still has Dracut’s oldest cemetery, Claypit, behind Brunswick Lanes. However, even today, nearly 150 years after the area’s annexation to Lowell, it’s not clear whether the cemetery falls under Lowell’s or Dracut’s jurisdiction. Dating to the 1660s, Pawtucketville is one of the first places that European explorers visited in the area. The name Pawtucket came from a Penacook word for a place of loud noise, a reference to the falls splashing against the bedrock far below. Before the bridge was built in 1792, the only way across the river and to Dracut and New Hampshire was by ferry. That ferry today is remembered in the name of Old Ferry Road. As transportation to and from Pawtucketville improved and the remoteness of the village decreased, Pawtucketville grew and achieved many of Lowell’s firsts, including its first schoolhouse (the Colburn Schoolhouse) in 1755 and its first church (Pawtucket Congregational in 1797). Irish and French-Canadian families settled the area as it grew. By the turn of the 20th century, the Lowell Textile Institute (later UMass Lowell) came to Pawtucketville. Soon after, an isolation hospital was built, which later became Lowell General Hospital. Today, Pawtucketville may be best known for its picturesque walking trails against the Pawtucket Boulevard, which started as a car racing track in the early 20th century. The neighborhood also boasts an interesting mix of college students, parks, and historic buildings like the Pawtucket Congregational Church. South Lowell When: South Lowell came to Lowell in two main annexations, in 1826 and 1906. Small amounts of land were also added to South Lowell in 1834, 1874, and 1888. What: South Lowell includes many smaller communities such as: Sacred Heart, Wigginville, Riverside Park, The Bleachery, Concord Heights, Chapel Hill/Back Central, The Grove, The Flats, and the South End. Where: Today’s South Lowell is bordered by Tewksbury on its south and east. To its north, the southern end of the Lowell Cemetery and the JG Pyne School properties form its border with Belvidere, extending across Calvin Street and to the Tewksbury line. To the west, across the Concord River Bridge on Lawrence Street, South Lowell’s Sacred Heart neighborhood has the River Meadow Brook as its northern border with Back Central. Ayer’s City borders the Sacred Heart neighborhood to its south and west. The neighborhood’s Back Central section forms South Lowell’s northernmost community, bordering Downtown Lowell to its north, Belvidere to its east, and the Highlands to its west. Both Sacred Heart and Back Central are often considered neighborhoods in their own right. In the southeast of the city, South Lowell feels more like a collection of neighborhoods than a single neighborhood with one identity and history. As Lowell expanded through waves of annexations, South Lowell grew in spurts, from northwest to southeast. The communities that formed in their wake are as diverse as the city of Lowell itself. South Lowell grew in three waves: In 1826, Lowell annexed what is now Back Central/Chapel Hill and the Sacred Heart neighborhoods. In 1834, 1874, and 1888, small slivers of land around the Spaghettiville bridge on Lawrence Street and the railroad bridge on Boylston Street were added to South Lowell. In 1906, the rest of South Lowell was added, including most of Wigginville, Riverside Park, and land that follows Woburn Street to today’s Tewksbury line. In the 19th century, as businesses and the city grew further and further away from downtown, workers followed, settling further and further into lands that had once been farms. The Irish followed jobs further south, building St. Peter’s Church in 1841. By a generation later, they had pushed deeper south still, into Lowell’s new Grove neighborhood, and built Sacred Heart Church and School in the 1880s, reinventing a neighborhood that had already been known for its Bleachery as early as the 1840s and even a Civil War training camp on Gorham Street in the 1860s. When the Bleachery closed during the Great Depression and Prince Macaroni Manufacturing Company and its Prince Grotto Restaurant moved in, the neighborhood’s next identity was born. Ghosts of it still survive today in the Prince Spaghettiville signage that still hangs on the bridges leading into and out of this section of South Lowell. Today, South Lowell is the name given to this wide variety of neighborhoods, from the tightly knit homes that grew up around Sacred Heart Church and School in the late 1800s to the Back Central neighborhood that borders downtown. Further south, South Lowell’s Wigginville and Riverside School areas still retain a feeling of Tewksbury, of which they were a part until 1906. Ayer’s City When: The land that became Ayer’s City was annexed from Chelmsford when Lowell was created in 1826. What: Swede Village lies in the southern part of the Ayer’s City neighborhood off Gorham Street across from the cemeteries. Where: Maps regularly add Ayer’s City to South Lowell or to the Highlands, but it developed as a distinct Lowell neighborhood during most of the 19th century. The Sacred Heart neighborhood lies to its east along with the Concord River, which separates Ayer’s City from South Lowell. To the west, the Lowell Connector forms its border with the Highlands. Back Central lies to the north. The Chelmsford town line forms its boundary to the south. Ayer’s City grew up on the land between South Lowell and the Highlands with its own unique and interesting history. Before there even was an Ayer’s City, farming families from Chelmsford settled along the River Meadow Brook and grew fruits and vegetables for generations as the city of Lowell’s developed around them. Ayer’s City emerged from its quiet obscurity when a dry goods merchant named Daniel Ayer began speculating in real estate in the late 1840s. In developing the land, Ayer set aside Tanner Street for business since it was closest to the Boston & Lowell railroad line. Several tannery businesses soon moved in and settled on Tanner and nearby Lincoln Streets, and served as the neighborhood’s main employers, in an area of Lowell that had been considered remote … and flat. That flat land gave its name to one of Ayer’s City’s main roads, Plain Street. Over time, more trains were added and other industrial employers moved in, including a garbage incinerator, a glue factory, and a brewery that eventually became Lowell’s famous Harvard Brewery. Today, Ayer’s City is mostly residential. Plain Street, perhaps known best as the home of Lowell’s Target location, is its main commercial street. Ayer’s City is also home to many of Lowell’s cemeteries. Highlands When: The Lower Highlands came to Lowell from Chelmsford in 1826. The Upper Highlands and Middlesex Village were added in 1874. What: The Highlands neighborhood includes the Upper Highlands and Lower Highlands as well as Middlesex Village and the Hale-Howard neighborhood. Where: The Merrimack River and Broadway form the northern border of Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood. Chelmsford lies to its west and south. The Lowell Connector forms its eastern border with Ayer’s City. In the extreme northeast of the neighborhood, it shares a small border with Lowell’s Back Central neighborhood. The Highlands forms the southwest corner of Lowell. Largely residential with many mid-century homes, the Highlands also boasts Victorian mansions. With its deep history as one of Lowell’s first residential neighborhoods, the Highlands has its monuments to its past, including the the Wilder Street Historic District and the Tyler Park Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and 1989, respectively. One of the neighborhood’s most notable intersections, Cupples Square is named for Lorne E. Cupples, a WWI veteran. Another neighborhood landmark is Lincoln Square and its statue of Lincoln, which was bought with pennies donated by schoolchildren in 1909, the 100th anniversary of his birth. Wang Towers and now Cross Point, built on land that once belonged to the city’s Poor Farm, rises above the Highlands. On Stevens Street, Lowell Catholic High School, Lowell’s last remaining Catholic high school, occupies the former site of St. Peter’s Orphanage. Annexed to Lowell from Chelmsford in 1874, Middlesex Village owes much of its early development to the completion of the Middlesex Canal in 1803, however, a small village has existed there since the 17th century. Lowell’s oldest known home can be found on today’s Wood Street, where Jerathmell Bowers’ one-and-a-half story Cape Cod style house was built, circa 1673. Today, Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood reflects the area’s residential beginnings and the city’s commercial growth along its main roads. Although the city’s poor farm has been gone for more than a generation, its footprint remains in the commercial properties that have emerged to the south of Chelmsford Street along the neighborhood’s border with Ayer’s City. Belvidere When: Belvidere came to Lowell from Tewsbury in four parts, in 1834, 1874, 1888, and 1906. What: Beyond Upper Belvidere and Lower Belvidere, Lowell’s Belvidere neighborhood also includes the Oaklands, Belvidere Hill and Atherton Village communities. Where: The Tewksbury line forms the eastern border of Belvidere. Its southern border with South Lowell follows the southern end of the Lowell Cemetery and the JG Pyne School properties and extends across Calvin Street and to the Tewksbury line. The Concord River forms Belvidere’s western boundary with Back Central and Downtown Lowell. To its north, the Merrimack River separates Belvidere from Centralville. Belvidere, meaning “beautiful to behold” in Italian, has always been about the views. This Lowell neighborhood got its name in 1816 when it was still part of Tewksbury. Edward Livermore, a judge, bought a 150-acre farm there and renamed it Belvidere, a name that caught on and is now used for this entire neighborhood on Lowell’s eastern border. From the hills in Belvidere, you can see the city’s two main rivers, the Merrimack and the Concord, as well as the downtown area. These days, you can also see modern additions to Lowell’s skyline like Cross Point in the Highlands. Lowell’s wealthiest have always called Belvidere home due to its proximity to the downtown area. Many of its mansions, built by early mill owners are still some of the most valuable properties in the city. Everywhere you look in Belvidere, you find the neighborhood’s history. The Pow-Wow Oak, or the stump marking the space where it lived for some 300 years, remains on Clark Road. Kittredge Park, named for Captain Paul Kittredge, a Belvidere resident killed during WWI in France, is also notable for the late Senator Paul Tsongas’ contributions to beautify and restore it during the late 1980s. Across Rogers Street/Rte. 38 lies the city’s largest park, Shedd Park, donated in 1910 by Freeman Ballard Shedd, a local Civil War veteran and downtown druggist. Abutting Shedd Park, Rogers Fort Hill Park offers commanding views of the city during the winter and a leafy escape from the city during the rest of the year. On the other side of Rogers Street, Rogers Hall, now apartments, still recalls the elite school for girls that operated at the site for 80 years before closing in 1973.
834	dbpedia	1	65	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/rail-history/	en	Rail History – Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	https://buildingsofnewen…/image.jpg?w=200	[ "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/img_1956.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/img_1139.jpg?w=939", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/img_5163.jpg?w=1024", "https://buildingsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Buildings of New England" ]	2023-04-30T13:52:04-04:00	Posts about Rail History written by Buildings of New England	en	https://buildingsofnewen…5/image.jpg?w=32	Buildings of New England	https://buildingsofnewengland.com/tag/rail-history/	Historic train stations are among some of my favorite types of buildings as they transport you to a different time (no pun intended). The Waterbury Railroad Depot was built in 1875 by the Central Vermont Railroad, connecting Montreal, Quebec with New London, CT and to other lines to Boston and Albany on the way. Waterbury service began in 1849, but this updated station was built later as the railway prospered and expanded. The station suffered from some deferred maintenance for decades in the mid-20th century and its fate (like many such stations) was unknown. Beginning in the late 1990s into the 2000s, Revitalizing Waterbury worked with the Great American Station Foundation, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Foundation, establishing a capital fundraising campaign meeting the goal of $1,200,000 through donations from the private sector and community members. These funds helped restore the building in phases, beginning when Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. agreed to lease the station from Revitalizing Waterbury, and created a visitor center and cafe (now Black Cap Coffee and Bakery) that has become a first-class attraction and provided an economic boost to the downtown. Starting in 1848, rail service connecting New Haven and New London, Connecticut commenced to provide transit between two of the state’s economic centers. The New Haven and New London Railroad was completed in 1852 and almost immediately, work commenced on extending the line eastward as the New London and Stonington Railroad. This completed the “Shore Line” route between New York City and Boston through other lines and the span became re-organized and named the Shore Line Railway. One of the many village stops along the route was in Noank, in this 1858 rail depot. The small train station is covered in board-and-batten siding with an overhanging gable roof supported by brackets. In 1976, much of the shoreline track was purchased by Amtrak, which is now known as the Northeast Corridor. The Noank station was cancelled as a stop, and the building was sold from the holdings, it is now office space, seemingly for the Noank Village Boatyard. Trinity Place Station was the Boston & Albany Railroad’s second depot for trains running outbound from its newly completed South Station. The depot was designed by Alexander Wadsworth “Waddy” Longfellow, Jr., who from Harvard University in 1876, later studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and then worked as senior draftsman in Henry Hobson Richardson‘s office upon his return to the United States. A. W. Longfellow was also the nephew of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He designed the station of pink granite with a covered platform 375 feet in length. The building long served train commuters leaving the ever-changing Back Bay neighborhood. Consolidated lines led to the station being deemed obsolete, and it was scheduled for demolition. Much of the old line route would be cleared for the right-of-way for the Mass Pike Expansion into Boston. The demolition on Trinity Place was postponed until early 1964 to allow for scenes of the movie, “The Cardinal” to be filmed there. TOOT TOOT! Next stop, Willington, Connecticut. Historically, all of central Connecticut was occupied by various Algonquin tribes which for thousands of years inhabited the region, the larger Pequot and Mohegan, and the smaller Nipmuck, Podunk, Shenipset and Skunkamaug all sharing a common-lineage, and language. In 1720, a party of eight men, originally from England, bought 16,000 acres of the region and called it Wellington after the town in England. Willington was incorporated in 1727. Like many early towns, Willington began as a farming community with modest industry until the 19th century, when the American Industrial Revolution saw mills and factories sprouting up all along the river towns in the region. Villages spouted up in town, mostly following their geographic location in relation to the town center (South Willington, West Willington, etc.) and each had their own industry and character. By the 20th century with industry in decline, many of the former mills and villages closed up and residents moved to “greener pastures”. The town is today mostly rural and serves as a suburb to larger towns nearby. This train depot is located in West Willington just over the town line of Tolland. Due to this, the depot was originally named Tolland Station. Rail service began here in 1850, when the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company built a freight and passenger station near this location. The rail line was later absorbed into the larger Central Vermont Railway in 1871. The original depot burned down in 1894, and was replaced that same year by this structure. The line, and this station, were in use for passenger service until 1947, when it closed. The depot has luckily been occupied by businesses ever-since, preserving this building typology in America that we are losing every year. The first train arrived in Gardiner, Maine in 1851. Rail here introduced a new mode of transportation for passengers and freight, which previously relied on horse or ship up the Kennebec River. When the old station was deemed too small and outdated, the Maine Central Railroad Company decided to hire Portland architect, George Burnham to complete plans for a more fitting station. This building is a mix of styles, the two I would categorize it as are Romanesque Revival and Spanish Revival. The building incorporates a number of influences of the two along with a deep overhanging roof supported by large brackets, heavy rusticated granite blocks at the base, and quoining around the windows and corners. The station was in operation until about 1960 when rail service here halted. Since that time, the building has been adaptively reused as a retail store, today as a recreational cannabis dispensary. So you can get high and look at cool architecture! All Aboard!! The Kneeland Street Station was built at the southern edge of Downtown Boston in 1847 for the newly established Old Colony Railroad Company. By the early 1840s, the city of Boston had six major rail lines connecting it with other places including Lowell, Maine, Fitchburg, and Salem to the north, Worcester to the west and Providence to the southwest. The southeastern part of Massachusetts had yet to be served by a rail link to Boston. On March 16, 1844 the Old Colony Railroad Corporation was formed to provide a rail connection between Boston and Plymouth. Construction of the line began in South Boston in 1844 and the line opened to Plymouth in 1845. The company needed a more accessible station to the residents and businessmen of Downtown Boston, so they acquired a large parcel of land on Kneeland Street to extend the line. The corporation hired architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, who designed this stunning railroad station constructed of brick with strong stone trimmings. As was common, a large clock was affixed to the building to allow waiting passengers to know how long they would be waiting. From 1845 to 1893, the Old Colony railroad network grew extensively through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, serving lines to Providence, Newport, Fall River, New Bedford and down the Cape. The railroad was acquired in 1893 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and sought to consolidate the many local stations into a larger building. They soon after began construction on Boston’s South Station, re-routing lines to that new building. They sold off the excess stations, including this one on Kneeland Street, and it was eventually demolished in 1918. The railroad line through Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire was completed and opened in 1875 by the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, and had a transformative effect on the local economy. Soon after completion, tourists arrived in droves during the summer months to take in the area’s scenic beauty and clean air. From this, wealthy investors built large resort hotels, like the Mount Washington Hotel, to satisfy the demand of the affluent visitors. The Portland and Ogdensburg was taken over by the Maine Central Railroad in 1888, and this depot was built in 1891. It was one of the most elaborate stations built by that railroad’s Mountain Division, because of its prominent location in the mountains. The Crawford Depot presently serves as a visitor center and shop operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Nearby is the trailhead to Mount Willard, which has some of the best views for a modest hike. The Southport railroad stations in Fairfield, Connecticut, are reminders of the important role of railroad passenger service in the historical development of the town which continues to this day. In Southport, there are two stations, an east-bound and west-bound, one on either side of the tracks. The older east-bound station was built in 1884 to replace a depot destroyed by fire. It is typical of the substantial brick stations built at small-town stops throughout the state in the period. The use of brick was likely to prevent fire destroying yet another station. The stations were commonly large enough to accommodate spacious waiting rooms, ticket counters, offices, restrooms, and a baggage area. The brick station was converted to a restaurant, with a modern addition by Roger Ferris + Partners completed by 2017. The wooden west-bound station was built around 1895 as part of a massive rebuilding of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad’s main line. At this time, the railroad adopted a single design-concept for all the stations, reverting to wood construction, and limited the stylistic details. The Southport station has an interesting design however; with its saltbox-like roofline, bargeboards, and stick detailing. Imagine all the people and stories that passed through these buildings. Parents saying goodbye to children going off to college or war, businessmen and women commuting to and from work, or people like me who took it to Manhattan! The village of Waban in Newton, Massachusetts, was named after a Massachusett Chief who had previously resided atop Nonantum Hill on the Newton-Brighton line. This location is believed to have been a favorite hunting ground for Waban (the Wind) and his people. Throughout much of the 19th century, Waban remained a quiet agricultural region. As late as 1874, fewer than 20 families held title to all of its land. In the mid-1880s, however, interest in suburban developments near the Boston and Albany Railroad became increasingly widespread. Seeing suburbanization in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. The station that allowed all the development in the early days of Waban was built in 1886. The Boston & Albany Railroad hired renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson to design the station, and many others on branches of the various lines radiating out from Boston. The Highland Branch (which this station was on) was later acquired by the MBTA in Boston, which operated it as a Commuter line. Waban Station closed along with the rest of the Highland Branch commuter rail line in 1958 and reopened a year later in 1959 as part of the Green Line’s D Branch. The gorgeous H.H. Richardson-designed station was demolished in order to build a 74-space parking lot. They literally paved paradise, and put up a parking lot… It is impossible to overstate the significance of the railroad in the 19th century to the industrial growth and economy of New England and American cities. In order to connect Boston and its ports to the Hudson Valley in New York, a western rail line was constructed in the southern part of Massachusetts but was not an ideal route. In response, businessmen and politicians began to envision a more direct rail line across Massachusetts, but with one problem: trains hate climbing mountains! Instead of going around Hoosac Mountain, a massive detour, engineers thought they could tunnel through it, and that’s what they did, creating the Hoosac Tunnel. The tunnel through Hoosac Mountain is just under 5 miles long. Its active construction period consumed roughly a quarter-century and cost at least $17 million in 1870s dollars – an enormous sum. The cost was paid in dollars and the lives of nearly 200 miners (many of whom suffered terrible deaths as you can imagine). The first train passed through the tunnel in 1875, with the eastern portal wall constructed in 1877 (seen here). By 1895, roughly 60% of Boston’s exports traveled through the tunnel. Since then, some small collapses and deferred maintenance have left their mark on the tunnel, though it is still in operation today!
834	dbpedia	0	91	https://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/harvard-harnesses-the-heavens-episode-158/	en	Harvard Harnesses the Heavens (episode 158)	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu…?fit=2498%2C1349	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu…?fit=2498%2C1349	[ "https://i0.wp.com/www.hubhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-statehouse-logo-1.png?fit=248%2C248&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/www.hubhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/patreon_banner.png?w=150", "https://i0.wp.com/www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif?resize=1%2C1&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/www.h...	[ "https://cast.rocks/player/6062/ep158-harvard-observatory.mp3?episodeTitle=Harvard%20Harnesses%20the%20Heavens%20(episode%20158)&podcastTitle=HUB%20History%20-%20Our%20Favorite%20Stories%20from%20Boston%20History&episodeDate=November%2010th%2C%202019&imageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fcast.rocks%2Fhosting%2F6062%2Ffeeds%2F71W3...	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "jake", "Author jake" ]	2019-11-10T23:00:45+00:00	Since we “fell back” to Standard Time this past weekend, Boston has been forced to adjust to 4:30 sunsets. To help us understand why the sun sets so early in Boston in the winter and what we could do about it, we’re going to replay a classic episode about how the idea of time zones … Continue reading Harvard Harnesses the Heavens (episode 158)	en	https://i0.wp.com/www.hu…it=32%2C32&ssl=1	HUB History	http://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/harvard-harnesses-the-heavens-episode-158/	Since we “fell back” to Standard Time this past weekend, Boston has been forced to adjust to 4:30 sunsets. To help us understand why the sun sets so early in Boston in the winter and what we could do about it, we’re going to replay a classic episode about how the idea of time zones and standard time was born in Boston, with the help of the Harvard Observatory. And because we’re talking about the observatory, we have to share the story of the women who worked as human computers at the Harvard Observatory. Boston Standard Time Marking Modern Times: a History of Clocks, Watches, and Other Timekeepers in American Life, Alexis McCrossen “Time Balls: Marking Modem Times in Urban America, 1877-1922,” in the American Culture Review, by Alexis McCrossen Selling the True Time: Nineteenth Century Timekeeping in America, by Ian Bartky “The Distribution of Time” in The North American Review, by Leonard Waldo We also discussed the Harvard Observatory in our episode about the women who worked there as “human computers.” The Woods Hole Time Ball “The Boston Time Ball” via Brown University’s Ladd Observatory blog. “America’s First Time Zone” via the Harvard Gazette “The New Time Ball About to be Installed at Boston, Mass,” in the Jeweler’s Circular and Horological Review Work at the Royal Greenwich Museum and watch a time ball drop every day A Boston Globe editorial arguing in favor of joining Atlantic Time A Hartford Courant editorial arguing against joining Atlantic Time The report of the Massachusetts Time Zone Commission Harvard’s Human Computers Hat tip to the Self Rescuing Princess Society blog for first introducing us to Williamina Fleming and the Human Computers. As long as we’re at it, some praise for the children’s book Rejected Princesses for sharing Annie Jump Cannon with the next generation. Williamina Fleming’s journals from 1900. kept by Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, and Cecilia Payne, or the volumes yourself. Two views of a nebula discovered by Williamina Fleming. An article about the computers, including Annie Jump Cannon’s obituary for Williamina Fleming. Williamina Fleming’s obituary in the Annals of the Royal Astronomical Society. An article about the . An article focusing on the long evolution of the computers from menial workers to full professors. Here’s that book by the Harvard physician who claimed that girls who are “apt to be quick, brilliant, ambitious, and persistent at study … need not stimulation, but repression.” Boston Book Club Two years ago, a legislative commission looked at what it would mean if Massachusetts moved to the Atlantic time zone, effectively keeping Daylight Saving Time year round. In the end, their conclusions were fairly optimistic for those of us who hate 4:30 sunsets. They said that Massachusetts residents would likely be happier, healthier, and wealthier than they are now, due to increased economic activity, opportunities for fitness activities, and evening sunlight. However, they stressed that we could only move to Atlantic time if the other New England states came along, as well. Read their report, and then listen to the episode to find out what the other states are up to. Upcoming Event(s) David J Silverman of George Washington University will be giving a presentation titled “This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving” in two different Boston events. Here’s how the event is described: Ahead of the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, historian David J. Silverman offers a transformative new look at the Plymouth colony’s founding events, told for the first time with the Wampanoag people at the heart of the story, in This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. Silverman is a professor of Native and Colonial American history at George Washington University and has worked with modern-day Wampanoag people for more than twenty years. Through their stories, other primary sources, and historical analysis, Silverman sheds profound new light on the events that led to the creation, and bloody dissolution, of the alliance between the Wampanoag tribe and the Plymouth settlers. The result complicates and deepens our current narrative of the first Thanksgiving, presenting us with a new narrative of our country’s origins for the twenty-first century. You can see the presentation at 6pm on Monday, November 18 at the Massachusetts Historical Society, or at noon the next day at the Boston Athenaeum. In both cases, admission is $10 and advanced registration is required. Don’t forget about recent podcast guest Nancy Seasholes’ upcoming event for the Atlas of Boston History. She’ll be appearing at the Mass Historical Society with Bob Allison, Jim Vrabel, and Richard Garver at 6pm on November 14. Transcript (Note: This text is automatically generated and may contain errors) [0:04] Welcome Hub history, where we go far beyond the Freedom Trail to share our favorite stories from the history of Boston. The hub of the universe. This is Episode 1 58 Harvard harnesses the heavens. Hi, I’m Jake. This week, Nikki and I are visiting America’s other cradle of Liberty, Philadelphia. While we’re there, we’re hoping to walk in the footsteps of great Bostonians like John Adams and hopefully visit lots of great history museums. [0:32] Meanwhile, back home, we’ve been trying to adjust to this year’s first week of 4 30 sunsets, thanks to falling back to standard time last weekend to help us understand why Boston’s sunsets air so early in the winner and what we could do to fix it. We’re going to replay a classic episode about how the idea of time zones and standard time was born in Boston with the help of Harvard Observatory. And because we’re talking about the Harvard Observatory, we just have to share the story of the women who work there as human computers. But before we talk about 4 30 sunsets in the Harvard Observatory, it’s time for this week’s Boston Book Club selection and our upcoming historical event my pick for the Boston Book Club this week is a bit of a spoiler for our segment about Boston standard time. But two years ago, a legislative commission performed a comprehensive study relative to the practical economic, fiscal and health related impacts of the Commonwealth. Remaining on Eastern daylight time four hours behind coordinated universal time, also known as Atlantic Standard time throughout the calendar year, that is, they looked at what it would mean if Massachusetts moved to the Atlantic time zone, effectively keeping daylight saving time year round. In the end, their conclusions were fairly optimistic. For those of us who hate for 30 sunsets, the recommendations included. [1:53] Based on its research and findings, and after weighing the costs and benefits associated with the observance of time in Massachusetts, the commission believes that under certain circumstances, the Commonwealth would make a data driven case for moving to the Atlantic Time zone year round. Although appreciable costs associated with making this change would result on balance, the commission finds that doing so could have positive benefits that largely stem from the absence of a spring transition to daylight savings time and the additional hour of winter evening light. [2:24] Providing an additional hour of winter evening light could bring societal benefits to Massachusetts, largely by boosting consumer spending and economic development opportunities, reducing certain types of crime, increasing the population’s physical activity level. And cutting greenhouse gas emissions. And associated energy costs for residences in Massachusetts from early November 2 mid March, when Massachusetts currently observes standard time. The adoption of year round daylight savings time would also eliminate this spring transition to daylight savings time and the week of population wide sleep loss that results. Preventing that sleep loss could have broad and powerful impacts on public health in the Commonwealth. During the weekend question, Massachusetts residents could experience fewer traffic fatalities, workplace injuries and heart attacks with many lives and tens of millions of dollars saved. As a result, However, that commission also concluded that it only makes sense for Massachusetts to move to Atlantic time. If the other New England states do as well, what are the chances of that happening? Well, stay tuned for this week’s main story to hear a legislative update from around the region, and for our upcoming event this week, we have a talk by David Jay Silverman of George Washington, university titled This Land Is Their Land, the Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. [3:44] Here It Hub history. We are the world’s biggest fans of Thanksgiving dinner. But the story of the first Thanksgiving we all learned his children isn’t without its problems. Here’s how this events described. [3:56] Ahead of the 4/100 anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, Historian David Jay Silverman offers a transformative new look at the Plymouth Colonies, founding events told for the first time with the Wampanoag people at the heart of the story. And this land is their land. The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony and the troubled history of Thanksgiving. David J. Silverman is a professor of native and colonial American history at George Washington University and its work with modern day Wampanoag people for more than 20 years. Through their stories, other primary sources and historical analysis, Silverman sheds profound new light on the events that led to the creation and bloody dissolution of the alliance between the Wampanoag tribe and the Plymouth settlers. The result complicates and deepens our current narrative of the first Thanksgiving, presenting us with a new narrative of our country’s origins for the 21st century. [4:49] Now the cool thing about this talk is that you have your choice of venues and dates. You can catch it at 6 p.m. On Monday, November 18th at the Massachusetts Historical Society, or at noon the next day at the Boston Athenaeum. In both cases, admission is $10 advanced registration is required as long as we’re talking about upcoming events. Don’t forget about Nancy Seashells. Upcoming event For the Atlas of Boston history, she’ll be appearing at the Mass Historical Society with Bob Alison, Jim Vrabel and Richard Garver at 6 p.m. On November 14th. Check out Episode 1 56 for more on Nancy and her new book that will link to the registration page for this talk as well as both of your options for this land is your land in this week’s show. Notes at hub history dot com slash 158, before we move on to this week’s featured stories, we just want to say a big thank you to all of our patriotic sponsors. Your support allows us to cover the expenses of making hub history and keep this show going as we kick off our fourth year. If you’re not a supporter yet and you’d like to be, you can check out patri and dot com slash hub history or just goto hub history dot com and click on the support Us. Like there, you’ll see the special rewards available of the $2.5 dollar and $10 monthly levels. Or, as we like to call them, the Amelia Earhart, Louis Hayden and Abigail Adams levels thanks again to everyone who helps us make hub history. [6:18] And now it’s time for this week’s main topic since we set the clocks back last weekend, we’re entering the dark season in Boston this past week, the sunset at about 4:35 p.m. Before long Sunset will creep back to 4:10 p.m. And Sunrise is gonna push forward toa after 7 a.m. Which means that my poor dog basically never gets to go outside. Well, it’s light out. In honor of this transition, we’re gonna play a clip from a show we released back at New Year’s about how Boston used technology to establish ultra precise timekeeping in the 19th century and how that led to our local time being established as the first time zone. So Boston Standard time kept early railroad safely in sync. You’ll also hear why setting our clocks forward and back every year is a terrible system and how our Legislature could fix it. This story, originally aired, is part of Episode 1 13. [7:14] Are you planning to watch the ball drop in Times Square tomorrow night? Or if you’re listening to this later in the week? Did you tune in to watch the ball drop in the small rural town where I grew up? There really wasn’t anything to do on New Year’s Eve, but my parents would let me stay up late and watch the ball drop every year. Of course, now that I’m pushing 40 staying in and watching the ball drop is starting to sound like a pretty good way to spend a night again. [7:38] When the giant illuminated ball reaches the bottom of its 141 foot drop, it’s officially the new year. It’s a very visual symbol of a landmark time. According to the official website of the Times Square Ball, the tradition began in 1907 and has been repeated every year except during wartime precautions In 1942 and 43, the website says the first New Year’s Eve ball bait of iron and wood and adorned with 125 watt light bulbs was five feet in diameter and weighed £700. It was built by a young immigrant metal worker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the 20th century, the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball. [8:23] In 1924 £100 ball, made entirely of wrought iron, replaced the original in 1955 the Iron Ball was replaced by an aluminum ball weighing a mere £150. This aluminum ball remained unchanged until the 19 eighties, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the ball into an apple for the I Love New York marketing campaign. From 1981 to 1988 after seven years, the traditional glowing white ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995 the ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes and computer controls, but the aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1988. [9:08] There have been two more designs since then, including the most recent adoration, a quote permanent big ball weighing nearly six tons and 12 feet in diameter. The 2688 Waterford crystal triangles are illuminated by 32,256 Phillips led ese. [9:25] What you might not know is that a similar time ball used to drop every day at noon right here in Boston. In his book Marking Modern Times. A History of Clocks, Watches and Other Timekeepers in American Life, Alexis MK Ross and described the scene in the spring of 18 78. Boston clock Maker’s daybook noted the time ball on top of the building of the Equitable Life Insurance Company at the corner of Milk and Devonshire Street, was dropped for the first time today. Harvard College is observatory sent the time signal gratis. The United States Army’s Signal service operated the mechanism each day, and Equitable Life insurance paid for the apparatus. [10:05] In a rapidly industrializing nation, people were beginning to demand more accuracy in time keeping than the layman could get from observing when the sun was directly overhead or from listening to a little local church bells, chime, factories, clipper ships and especially railroads all demanded accurate time and, in particular synchronised time, where everybody kept the same clock. Time balls were a very public way to tell an entire city what time it waas, and they had to be accurate enoughto literally set your watch to, in a 2000 article in the journal Material Cultural Review across and dug deeper into what the’s time balls were and where they came from. [10:45] During the decades after the Civil War, time balls joined the array of newly erected monuments across the nation, many of which embodied the cultural, commercial and political aspirations of Americans, typically perched atop the highest point in the central part of a city, usually a tower, thes globes with metal ribs and canvas covers of various colors were rigged to an electric pulse, which caused them to drop it nude. The daily except Sunday. In most cases, dropping of the ball was a public event, and on occasion of error or failure to drop notice was published in city papers. [11:19] In this respect, Boston was far from unique. Starting in the 18 thirties, time balls were installed around the English speaking world, first in England than the U. S. And then Australia. New Zealand in South Africa there are less common in other areas, but time balls eventually came to Chile, Poland and probably other countries around the world. An article published by the Woods Hole Observatory itself, eventually the site of a Time bowl, describes the earliest time balls. In the 18 twenties, various visual means flags, Gunsmoke, searchlights, rockets were tried in different ports to delineate some pre selected moment in time. But it was not until late in 18 29 that an experimental time ball hoisted to the top of a mast and dropped at a precise time, was tried at Portsmouth, England, and found satisfactory, time balls were subsequently his donut, Liverpool and Greenwich, England. [12:16] Now the reason all these time balls were getting built and the reason keeping accurate time was important all comes down to sailing ships. In the days before GPS, they used a system known a celestial navigation to plot their positions on the open ocean using the stars. My stepfather was a navigator in the U. S Navy during the Vietnam era, and he always likes to joke about the time when he used celestial navigation to steer the ship from San Diego to the Philippines and he got a medal. Because there are only 100 miles off course. By the 19 sixties, that was apparently seen as a pretty good error rate for such an ancient navigational art. The basic principles of celestial navigation have been known since the days of Ptolemy, the Greek mathematician who lived almost 2000 years ago to find your position on a map, you need to know both your latitude and your longitude. The latitude is how far north or south you are relative to the equator, with lines of latitude circling the earth parallel to the equator, while longitude is your position. East or west around the globe, with lines of latitude circling the earth in the other direction, all intersecting with one another at the north and south poles. Because the system was laid out during the height of the British Empire, the prime meridian, the line of longitude that everything is based on runs through Greenwich, England. [13:33] Finding your latitude. Assuming you have the training of the necessary reference tables is actually pretty simple. The navigator simply has to measure the angle of the sun stars or other celestial bodies above the horizon when they reach their highest point. Take the North Star, for example, a remains within one degree of true north. So all you need to know is when it has reached its highest elevation of the night. When it’s there, look directly ahead at the horizon, then tilt your head back until you’re looking at the North Star. If you tilted your head back in a 15 degree angle, your latitude is approximately 15 degrees north. [14:10] Navigational tables and manuals give the calculations for using the sun or another star. And, of course, a navigator far out at sea will use a device called a sextant to shoot the precise angles. Rather than just tipping their head back and guessing, Longitude gets more tricky. Calculating. It also relies on measuring the angle of the North Stars highest point for longitude, though ah, second angle must be taken to a star directly on the eastern or Western horizon. Again. Navigational tables give the calculation to turn these two numbers into a longitude. However, in this case there’s a catch. The earth spins at 1000 miles an hour, so the navigational tables have to be adjusted for the local time. For this to work, there had to be a reliable way to know the time, so sailors couldn’t practically calculate longitude until an accurate chronometer was invented in 17 61, when a ship was in port, they could use the very public, very visible tool of a dropping time ball to calibrate their chronometer, sze, in turn, ensuring that they would be able to navigate accurately when they were out of sight of land. [15:16] We should mention that the navigational calculations and tables that sailors used were all created by a Massachusetts man who spent the last 15 years of his career in Boston. Nathaniel Bowditch was born in Salem and 17 73 to a family of modest means. At 12 he became an indentured servant to a merchant serving as a bookkeeper and discovered that he had a knack for math, saying Nak really under sells it because he managed to teach himself algebra, calculus, navigation and theoretical astronomy over the next five years or so. He also learned Latin and French, so we could read the latest scientific papers and journals. [15:54] From 17 95 to 18 02 he went on four sea voyages during which he detected and corrected the many errors in the state of the art navigational manual in common use. At that time, he went on to completely rework the standard navigation tables from scratch and put in place methods of calculation that any crew member could learn. Finally, in 18 02 he published about Itches American Practical Navigator, which remained the standard instructional text for navigation. For over 150 years. It was said that on his fifth voyage after its publication, every crewman, even the cook could work out their position from bandages, charts and methods, but about it. His calculations, like those in every navigational texts in 17 61 relied on an accurate chronometer that kept accurate time to know the accurate time. Port cities began installing time balls in the mid 19th century. Following the lead of the Greenwich Observatory, a time ball was set up at the Naval Observatory on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D. C. And 18 45 however, is Ian Barchi, noted in selling the true time 19th century timekeeping in America. It was of limited practical use. [17:11] The Naval Observatory is signal Ball did not serve as a need to navigation for few if any vessels plying the Potomac River carried chronometer. Sze Navy officials, however, wrapped it in all the trappings of a navigational device in their budget requests in public documents. Actually, the time ball was an innovation in public timekeeping, giving residents what they lacked an authoritative source by which all other timekeepers, clocks and watches could be regulated. The time ball that was installed in Boston in 18 78 served both practical and ceremonial purposes. At first, proponents argued that the time ball should be placed on the most prominent and important building in town, the State House perched right on top of Beacon Hill. In the pre skyscraper era, it was visible from far and wide. However, as Alexis McCraw send notes, some critics were worried that it would not be visible enough. Around mid century, a prominent Boston chronometer maker pointed out that were a time ball placed on the couple of the state House on Lee, a small number of city inhabitants would see the ball drop. Furthermore, most navigators in port if they could see the ball, could little afford to prepare and watch for the signal. [18:24] A blood, published by Brown University’s Lad Observatory, describes what the first time ball to be lofted over Boston looked like the ball was four feet in diameter and made of rolled plate copper. It was raised on a staff 20 feet high, giving a clear 16 foot drop. Ah, break mechanism was used to stop the ball after to drop to within six feet of the bottom. The time signal to release the ball was related from the standard clock at Harvard College Observatory by telegraph wire to the ball on the roof of the Equitable Building. A ball of this size could be seen from about four miles away. The Equitable building had been newly constructed after Boston’s 18 72 great fire on the corner of milk and Devonshire streets across from the main post office. The massive insurance company building in a prominent location was visible bar across the harbor, making it perfect for the newly standardised time signal. A late 19th century author extols the virtues of the Boston time Ball, the Observatory of Harvard College, in connection with the United States Army Signal Service drops a time ball for the benefit of Boston Harbor. And perhaps there is no one public signal of the Harvard Time service, which is received with more public favor than this, not only by the commanders of vessels lying in the harbor by the many people living on the surrounding highlands and numerous factories and institutions from which the signal is visible. [19:48] The need for a new universal timekeeping standard became apparent in the 18 forties as railroad networks grew and began to cover wider geographic regions. The long stretches between stations were often covered by only a single track, with trains travelling in opposite directions. Needing to share while a north bound train was stopped at a station, the South bound train would pass by on the single track. When an eastbound train was scheduled to pass, the westbound train would turn out into a siding. To make all this work, the railroads required very precise timetables governing which training needed to beware at what time to be able to follow a timetable everyone involved in railroad business needed to keep very accurate time. [20:33] The potential problems that could arise when the time was off at any point in the chain were illustrated by a terrible crash on the Providence in Worcester Railroad in 18 53 has described by Barchi. [20:46] On August 12th a terrible collision on the Providence and Worcester brought railroad timekeeping once again under the public scrutiny at 7:20 a.m. A. P and W train left Providence bound for Worcester. Meanwhile, the PM W’s crowded excursion train running south toward Providence arrived late at Valley Falls, a town just north of the city. Checking his time, this train’s neophyte conductor concluded that he still had four minutes in which to reach the double track section of rail 3/4 of a mile away, he signaled his train to move on down a section of curving track. [21:24] Out of sight. Around the bend, the up train waited while it’s engineer observed the five minutes allotted for the excursion train to cross the switch on to the double track. Five minutes past, a guard raised the signal ball, giving the up train the right to move through the switch. The conductor called all aboard the engine driver waited a minute or so and then started the train forward, passing through the switch to the single track. The two engines struck less than a minute later. The impact of the collision was so great that some of the excursion trains wouldn’t passenger cars telescoped, ramming and tearing through adjacent cars. In all, 14 passengers were killed and 23 were injured. An investigation concluded that the conductor of the excursion train was using a watch that ran over a minute and 1/2 slow. He was arrested and eventually tried for manslaughter. The immediate aftermath of the accident was photographed and the grisly pictures were published in newspapers. Soon, people all across New England were clamoring for improved accuracy in time keeping. [22:30] Luckily, another technological innovation had been developed alongside the railroads that allowed synchronization of clocks across a wide reaching geographical area, from the very moment that telegraphs were developed, they were used for comparing times, as Barchi describes, on Friday, the 24th of May 18 44 the American government’s 40 mile line along the Baltimore and Ohio railroads, right away from Baltimore to Washington, open for trials after transmitting an Old Testament comment. What hath God wrought? Operator sent additional messages toe awe and entertain those assembled at the Capitol? What is your time? Was the day’s fifth message. From that moment on, Americans were captivated by the near instantaneous transmission of time to distant places. [23:18] Telegraphs gave people the means to set their clocks to an agreed upon time across the region, rather than simply calculating the moment when the Sun reached its highest point for the day and calling that noone, in Boston the agreed upon time was set by the astronomers at Harvard Observatory in 18 49 the president of the observatory was also the best clockmaker in Boston. William Bonds telescopes were used to take the astronomical measurements from which an exact time could be calculated. William Bonds, Chronometer Sze were used at first to carry the time from the observatory to its watching clock shop near Downtown Crossing, and the time it William Bond shop was used as the basis of standard times for Boston based railways. Technically, the time of the Harvard Observatory in Cambridge was 16 seconds earlier than astronomical time with Watch Shop in Boston. Then, when the railroad’s began standardizing time in 18 49 they settled on a time two minutes ahead of Boston to coincide with the Meridian, about 30 miles west of the city. Because they were the paying customer, the railroads one and Bond began setting his clocks to match the railroad time in 18 41. A telegraph wire lengthy observatory to the shop, allowing the instant transmission of the time without having to carry a clock back and forth. [24:37] In 18 50 to the observatory, Telegraph was wired into the city wide fire alarm telegraph system, allowing anyone in town to determine accurate time. The bells of the many churches in Boston would finally begin Chai Ming or less in sync instead of spread out over five minutes or Maura’s they had in the past. When the time Ball was introduced in 18 78 it to used the telegraph signal from the Harvard Observatory. The procedure used in dropping Boston’s time ball every day was described by IBM Personal of the U. S. Army Signal Corps in Winslow Upton’s report on time signals. [25:14] The rules by which the display of the ball is governed are as follows. Number one at 11:55 a.m. The ball is to be at half mast. Number two At 11:58 a.m. The ball is to be at the top of the mast. Number three at 12 o’clock, zero minutes and zero seconds. Exact noon Boston Statehouse time. The ball will fall. Number four Should the ball for any reason failed to drop it 12 o’clock sharp, and the trouble is of a nature that could be readily removed. The ball will remain at the top of the mast and be dropped at 12 05, And if the ball should by accident fall before 12 o’clock, it will immediately be raised again and dropped at 12 05, If for any reason it becomes necessary to lower the ball, it will be done very slowly so that ship masters may not miss. Take the movement for the noon signal. [26:09] By 18 70. The railroad had given up on the two minute delay, and they adopted the true time broadcast from the Harvard Observatory to Bond’s watch shop as their standard, which would be known across the New England rail system as Boston Standard time. It was America’s first time zone, but as a 2011 article in the Harbor Gazette put it, instead of covering the large geographic swaths that we’re familiar with today, that first time zone followed the rail lines, creating a spider web of towns across the region whose clocks were all synchronized to the Harvard Observatory. [26:42] The adoption of Boston Standard Time was good for much of New England, but the rest of the country continued to struggle with different times in every town, As the Woods Hole Observatory points out in an article. Initially noon meant the local apparent noon, which varied with the locations longitude up to three and 1/2 hours from coast to coast. Each major city had its own local time. When the railroads came, the need for a common time stater became much more obvious. In Pittsburgh, for example, there were six different times standards for train arrivals and departures. A traveler from Maine to California would change his watch some 20 times. Along the way. [27:21] We’ll include an 18 79 railway guide in this week’s show notes showing the dozens of local time standards in cities across the nation. [27:29] Astronomer Leonard Waldo, arguing in favor of nationally standardized time zones in 18 80 essay in the North American Review, describes how the region wide adoption of Boston Standard time was preferable to the hodgepodge of time standard scattered around the rest of the country outside of New England. There has been scarcely any concert of action among the railroads, and there are about 70 different standards of time and use. The result of the experiment in New England fairly justifies the belief that where the railroads in the rest of the United States approached on this question, they would combine to adopt the standards of time now used by a few of the great centres of population. [28:08] The principal systems now in operation comprise the United States Naval Observatory System, which extends its distribution of Washington time to Chicago in the West, The Harvard and Yale Systems, which distribute respectively Boston and New York time over new England. The Allegheny Observatory system, which is concerned chiefly with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the more local service is emanating from the observatory’s at Albany, Chicago Cincinnati in St Louis. Unfortunately, except in New England, the distribution of the time Oven Observatory has not always resulted in the adoption of that time for general use. And it is often the case that the local jewelers, who are the guardians of town clocks and local time as well we’ll convert the time received by telegraph into their own local time on thus make it inconveniently different from the time in use in any other city of their region. [28:59] Having described the chaos of competing local time standards, he introduces a scheme proposed by a professor, Benjamin Pierce, that prescribed four standardised time zones for the country. Each zone would be exactly an hour apart and cover roughly 15 degrees of longitude. They would be centered on the 75th 90th 105th and 120th meridians, Waldo said. It’s great. Merit consists in there being no greater difference than half a now er in any part of the country between the true local time and the arbitrary standard amount, but slightly greater than exists between Greenwich and the west of England. In passing from the Ohio into the Mississippi Valley, for instance, the traveler merely changes his watch by one hour in The Merchant. Remembering the Pacific Time is three hour slow of Atlantic Time knows that in this half past two in San Francisco, when it is half past five in New York. [29:55] The railroad’s hoping to avoid government regulation were quick to pick up the idea of standardized time. They began planning for standard railway time in 18 81 with it going into effect in 18 83 to make sure that the new time zones were accepted, they had to be used by cities, not just railroads. A man named William F. Allen was tasked with convincing municipalities to adopt the new system in marking modern times. Alexis McCraw Sin describes the challenge Alan faced here in Boston. Apparently, railroad managers were worried about Weather Observatory. Time Service’s would provide Meridian time. The sense among Boston railroaders, for instance, was that the Harvard Observatory would stay with the local time. As Alan put it, There is some difficulty in securing the acquiescence of the roads in the vicinity of Boston unless the time Balkan be dropped on the 75th Meridian time. Like the general superintendent of the Boston and Albany Railroad, regional railroad superintendents wanted the time has furnished by the observatory’s to agree with railroad time. Alan reassured them that the time balls at various points in Boston, New York and elsewhere would be regulated in accordance with the new standards. [31:09] Indeed, this would happen. According to Allan, upon the same day that the new standard went into effect, Alan was sure that all of the New England railway companies would gladly conform to the proposed system once arrangements were made for the time ball to drop, according to the new standard. So he proceeded to lobby anyone who had influence over the Harvard Observatory, which was where the time signal for the Boston time ball originated. Foremost was Professor Edward Pickering, its director, who was out of the country for the summer. You may recall the name Edward Pickering from our podcast about the women who worked as human computers at Harvard Observatory, making many important astronomical discoveries in the late 19th and early 20th century’s. It was Pickering who first decided to begin hiring women after getting angry with his mail assistance and shouting, My scotch made could do a better job. Long story short, she did across and continues. When Pickering finally returned from Europe the second week of October, he agreed to consider the change, which in turn persuaded Boston City authorities to take up the question of adopting the new stated for the city. In early November, just a week before the railroads would inaugurate standard time, the Harvard Observatory and Boston City Council resolved to adopt 75th Meridian time. The adjustment for Boston was notable but easily adjusted to as the 1906 Harper’s Encyclopedia of American History explained. [32:35] The true local time of any place is slower or faster than the standard time, as the place is east or west of the time Meridian. Thus, the true local time at Boston Mass is 16 minutes faster than the Eastern standard time, while at Buffalo, New York, it is 60 minutes slower. The 75th Meridian time being halfway between Boston and Buffalo. [32:57] Starting at noon on September 18th 18 83 the nation officially said it’s clocks to conform to the four new time zones. Professor Peter Gallus, a KN director of Harvard’s collection of historic scientific instruments, told the Harvard Gazette about people’s reservations with the new system. If you live at the edge of a time zone when it’s noon, the sun is not in the highest point in the sky. We don’t know or even care about that anymore. But they knew it good and well, when all this was happening, many people didn’t like it at all. They didn’t like being told by New York or Boston that it was noon when they could see that it was not noon. [33:35] Despite early grumbling, the New Time Standard Stock Boston was now officially part of the Eastern Time Zone. But it seems like the older terminology was still in use for a while. For example, here’s a question from the geography section of the 18 87 Boston Grammar School diploma exam. If you are a tte San Francisco and your watch indicated Boston standard time, how would it differ from the clocks of San Francisco? Also indicating standard time the introduction of telegraphic time service and especially wiring a noon bell directly into the city’s fire alarm system. Spell doom for the Boston Time ball. If you could get an instant notification from any fire alarm box, why would you wait around with bated breath watching the mast on the Equitable building with unblinking eyes waiting to mark the split second, the ball began to drop, across and makes it clear that the time balls were of limited utility in the first place. The officer in charge of Boston’s hydrographic office found in 18 86 that a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce had never heard of the time Paul and those city officials who were in the know did not make use of it. Since bells are struck all over the city at noon by the Cambridge Observatory, he further reported that prominent shipping people assured him that the ball is seldom, if ever, made use of by the captains of vessels for rating chronometer. Sze, captains of ships themselves confirmed this report, stating that they seldom see the ball and never think of rating there. Chronometer is by it. [35:02] Nevertheless, enough people still relied on the time ball to keep it going. Whether this reflected the needs of sailors and residents or simply affection for the public ritual of timekeeping, Boston’s time ball persisted into the 20th century. In fact, it was replaced in upgraded at the beginning of the century. An article from September 17th 1902 in the Jeweler Circular and Hora Logical Review describes the new installation, The New Time Ball, about to be installed at Boston Mass. The time ball to be placed on the top of the Ames Building, a 13 story structure at Washington and Court streets, arrived in Boston yesterday with part of the machinery on the steamer Howard, work of installing the ball on top of the Ames building, commanding a view of the harbor and other points will begin at once. The ball will be operated by a direct wire from the hydrographic office at Washington connected with the local branch office. A backup chronometer will be kept in his office at the Custom House will be regulated by the Washington Time in case of wire trouble between here and Washington. This timepiece can be used for dropping the ball until communications air established with headquarters. [36:09] When the apparatus is in place and the wires connected, the ball will be hoisted each day by an employee of the hydrographic office, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes before the noon hour. Either Mr Richardson or one of his assistants will then follow. The time is announced by clicks on the wire from Washington. Thes will cease 10 seconds before the noon hour. Then the switch connecting the Washington wire with shorter one between the custom house and the Games building will be turned on, exactly on the stroke of 12 in the Naval Observatory in Washington will come the tick that causes the time ball to fall from the pole in which it is placed into the drum below. [36:45] The direct connection to the Naval Observatory indicates how centralized and standardized timekeeping was by that time. Then, in 1924 a radio time beacon was introduced instantly, rendering time balls completely anachronistic. Radio signals could carry an accurate time instantly over hundreds of miles. They could be repeated more than once a day at noon, and they could be detected by ships at sea, far out of sight of any land based time ball around the world. And here in Boston, time balls went into a slow decline as neglect and indifference led nearly all to go out of service in the first decades of the 20th century. [37:23] There are said to be at least 60 time ball’s still in existence today, the only a few are still operational. As far as I know the nearest time ball that still standing Is it Plymouth Light on Garnett Point in Plymouth? It has amassed in time ball, but the ball’s permanently parked in the down position. The Titanic Monument in Manhattan incorporates a time bowl, and it was dropped every day at noon until 1967. But when the monument was moved in 1968 the ball was fixed permanently at the top of the mast. The U. S Naval Observatory in Washington carried on, dropping a time ball at noon until 1936. And then in 1999 they installed a new one to mark the millennium down in New Zealand. And 18 76 time ball in Littleton was operational until the building housing it was destroyed in 2010 earthquake. The community is currently raising funds to get it back in service. [38:17] One of the original time balls was installed at the Greenwich Observatory on the Greenwich Meridian home of Greenwich Mean Time in Greenwich, England, in 18 33 today. The bright red ball atop Flam Steed house of the observatory is part of the Royal Museum of Greenwich, but it is still operational, and it still drops at 1 p.m. Every day unless it’s too windy. In fact, the Royal Museums of Greenwich just announced that they’re looking for a new curator of navigation. So if you have a postgraduate degree in a background in public history, you could wind up in charge of the time ball, along with many other collections. [38:56] The closest your humble hosts have ever been to a time ball was at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park in the Park Service Museum overlooking Hyde Street Pier. There’s a display on the city’s time balls, starting with the original installed on Telegraph Hill in 18 52. In the corner of the room stands a section of masked, complete with a metal ball about four feet in diameter. This was San Francisco’s later time ball, installed at the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill. In 1909 we’ll have a picture of it in this week’s show notes. [39:28] Now we know that our listeners love it when we make political comments. [39:33] No, that’s a lie. In fact, the most common feedback we get is that we should cut out the political comments. Well, I’m going there. I’m going to make a deeply controversial fringe political statement in the winter. Sunset in Boston is too dang early. When this episode airs on December 30th Sunset will fall it for 20. But two weeks ago, this sunset in Boston was at its earliest for the year. 4:11 p.m. Friends, Citizens, My fellow Bostonians, We shouldn’t have to live like this. The Eastern Time zone is just too wide, and we’re too far to the north and east. And as bad as it is for us, it could be worse. Up in the former eastern counties of Massachusetts, known today as Maine. Sansa in Mathias on December 11th was 3:49 p.m. Compare that to the other extreme on the same day in the same time zone, the sunset was at 503 Innes Ssh! Coming Michigan. That’s an hour and 1/4 difference in 2014. The Boston Globe took up this cause on its editorial page. [40:45] A look at the map suggests we’re currently in the wrong time zone entirely. Boston lies so far East in the eastern time zone that during standard time, our earliest nightfall of the year is a mere 27 minutes later than in Anchorage. When it comes to daylight, we can do much better than Alaska. [41:03] Fortunately for us, there’s already a time zone one hour ahead of Eastern, the Atlantic time zone, switching to Atlantic standard time. Essentially, keeping the clock in our forward all year wouldn’t be nearly as radical changes. It sounds as it is. We’re actually only on Eastern standard time for about four months a year, from early November until early March. In the spring, summer and early fall, we’re on Eastern daylight time, which is the same as Atlantic Standard time. [41:33] The line between Atlantic and Eastern time now runs east of main, including Nova Scotia and the Canadian maritime provinces. In a perfect world, we would re draw the line to roughly follow the Champlain Hudson corridor. The New England states, Montreal and Quebec City would all fall within the newly expanded Atlantic time zone. New York State, Ottawa and Toronto would remain in Eastern time. [41:59] Imagine my delight when a special state commission on the Commonwealth’s time zone was appointed in 2017 to study whether it makes sense for Massachusetts to remain in the Eastern Time zone. Their final report said that moving to Atlantic Time would have benefits in economic development, worker productivity, reduced traffic and workplace accidents, lower crime and reduced energy costs. They’re finding stated based on its research and findings. And after weighing the costs and benefits associated with the observance of time in Massachusetts, the commission believes that under certain circumstances, the Commonwealth could make a data driven case for moving to the Atlantic Time zone year round, effectively observing year round daylight savings time. Although there are appreciable costs associated with making this change on balance, the commission finds that doing so could have positive benefits, that largely stem from the absence of a spring transition to daylight savings time and the additional hour of winter evening daily. [42:58] Of course, this recommendation came with strings attached. One concern was for school children. Without a switch to standard time, they’ll be left waiting for the bus or walking to school in the dark. Through most of the winter months, the commission recommended moving toe a later school opening time if we switched time zones. The other concern is for pure practicality. Clearly, Massachusetts couldn’t go it alone. Are states so small that it wouldn’t make sense to be a tiny island of Atlantic time surrounded by a sea of eastern time? On this front, the commission concluded that Massachusetts should only move two year round daylight savings time if a majority of the other New England states also do so. [43:41] So how do things look from a regional perspective? Lawmakers in Rhode Island debated legislation to move the state to Atlantic time in 2016 but it didn’t really go anywhere. In early 2017 the New Hampshire House passed a bill stating, This bill provides that if Massachusetts adopts Atlantic standard time, the state of New Hampshire shall also adopt Atlantic Standard Time, the effect of which shall be to make daylight savings time permanent in both states. The legislation, however, died in the state Senate. At about the same time, legislation was introduced in the Connecticut House and Senate that would provide for year round daylight saving time in Connecticut and allow Connecticut to maximize additional daylight in the evening. In order for residents, employers and business is to get the most beneficial use of their time as a way to increase productivity and create additional consumer opportunities for Connecticut residents. The bill did not pass that same summer. The main house passed an act opt out of federal daylight saving time and to ask the United States secretary of Transportation to place the state in the Atlantic time zone. It was contingent on both New Hampshire and Massachusetts switching to Atlantic time. But it never got that far because that bill also failed in the state Senate. [45:01] Vermont hasn’t introduced legislation specific to moving to Atlantic time, but in the spring of 2017 their Legislature did debate a bill that would demand Congress abolished daylight saving time. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but the idea of moving New England to Atlantic time has gone from the realm of cranks and crazies toe what looks like a nascent movement and Boston’s leading the way again. It’ll be a long process, but it seems possible now for the first time. Perhaps if we’re successful one day we can name our new Time Zone, Boston Standard Time and that last story. You heard how the Harvard Observatory used astronomy to establish exact time keeping. They started transmitting their time signal in 18 78 which was just three years before Williamina Fleming join the observatory staff as a human computer. She was the first of a series of women to serve in this role. At first it was considered a menial task, but Fleming, along with successors like Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Annie Jump Cannon, ended up revolutionizing astronomy in helping toe open the hard sciences to women. This story originally aired in December of 2017 as part of Episode 58. [46:15] When we think of computers today, we think of the amazing devices that let us do everything from access books and faraway archives to decode the human genome to record podcasts. As a matter of fact, this microphone is plugged into one right now. But before electronics, the word computer referred to a person, a person who computed or did calculations. [46:38] Human computers may sound like something out of science fiction, like the mint tats from the 1984 movie Dude. [46:51] Human. [46:54] Breath. It is by will alone. I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of that thoughts acquire speed. The lips acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by will alone. I set my mind in motion. [47:07] Riel. Human computers were vital to science and technology right up to the dawn of the space age, with some of the earliest working on problems of astronomy. And 17 50 a team of French computers correctly calculated that Halley’s comet would return in 17 59. British computers calculated navigation tables to include nautical almanacs so sailors could work out where they were anywhere in the world. Later, computers would work on the Manhattan Project and the Apollo missions. [47:34] If the idea of women working as human computers, it’s fresh in your mind, it might be because of the movie Hidden Figures, which came out in January. The film celebrates the lives and careers of a group of African American women who worked his computers for NASA during the early space race. The central character is Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician who grew up in segregated West Virginia, She worked on every major project, from the first American in space to the moon landings to the space shuttle. When John Glenn was chosen to orbit the Earth for the first time, he refused to do it unless Katherine Johnson verified the calculations in early electronic Computer had made. Today. Johnson is 99 years old, and she’s been retired since 1986. Our story, however, begins over a century before that. [48:22] Legend has it that the director of the Harvard Observatory in Cambridge went on a tear in 18 81. [48:28] The young men who worked his computers in the observatory were doing what he considered shoddy work, and while dressing them down, he shouted, My scotch. Mead could do a better job. Luckily for Edward Charles Pickering, his Scottish American made proved that she was more than up to the task. Williamina Stephens grew up in Dundee, Scotland. Meena was an outstanding student and began teaching school when she was just 14 years old. She married an older, widowed carver and builder named James Fleming in 18 77 when she was 21. Together, they immigrated to America, arriving in New York on December 3rd, 18 78 before seeking their fortunes in Boston. About a year later, while Nina was pregnant with their first born child, James left the family Williamina. Fleming found herself alone in a foreign land with no money, no husband and a new child teaching school. The only profession she had any experience with was not available to her Onley. Men and young unmarried women could teach, so Fleming was forced to seek work as a maid. If you tour the Gibson House Museum, imagine Young Nina as your guide describes daily duties. The household servants were expected to perform through sheer look. Williamina Fleming began working as a housekeeper for the Pickering family in 18 79. [49:53] Perhaps out of gratitude, she named her young son, Edward Pickering Fleming. That may sound like a long way from there to the Harvard Observatory. Some accounts say that Pickering, his wife, quickly realized Nina’s intelligence and recommended that he find work for her at the observatory. By 18 80 she was doing some clerical tasks for the observatory alongside her duties as a maid. But in 18 81 she was invited to join a team that would soon revolutionize the field of spectrographic astronomy. Spectrographic astronomy used advanced photographic techniques to allow researchers at Harvard to classify and analyze distant stars. This was happening in 18 81 that July gunfighter Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garret in New Mexico territory. Just a week later, 186 members of the hunk Papa Lakota band, led by Sitting Bull, went to a small fort in Northern Dakota territory and surrendered to the U. S. Army. In September, the Apache band led by Geronimo broke out of their reservation in Arizona territory and continued their war against both the Mexican and U. S Army’s. [51:03] In December 18 81 town Marshal Virgil Erp and his brothers Morgan and Wyatt Erp and their friend Doc Holliday attempted to enforce the town gun control laws in Tombstone, Arizona, Town Ordinance number nine required anyone entering town with a gun or knife to check their weapons until they left town again. After some freedom loving cowboys floated this rule by continuing to openly carry their guns in town, the officers confronted them in a vacant lot on Third Street. You’re the O. K. Corral ahead, skin it, skin that smoke wagon and see what happens. In the gunfight that followed, 30 shots were fired in about 30 seconds. Three cowboys were killed, while Doc Holliday and two of the Earp brothers were wounded. The gunfight at the OK Corral is one of the most iconic stories of the American West, and it happened the same year that Williamina Fleming join the observatory staff at Harvard. For most people, the history of America in the late 19th century is synonymous with the frontier, a lawless, violent place ruled by gunfighters and cowboys and Indian chiefs. That mythological vision of the West has come to define how Americans see ourselves as a nation and how we’re seeing around the world. [52:14] But in 18 81 the vast majority of Americans live lives that were more similar to that of Williamina Fleming than Wyatt her. At the time of the 18 80 cents ist, the vast majority of Americans lived east of the Mississippi and most live north of the Mason Dixon line. [52:32] The country was beginning a process of urbanization that would accelerate and continue well into the 20th century. Already, 28% of the U. S population lived in cities, and that number was much higher in the Northeast, where most of the population lived. Massachusetts was the second most heavily urban state, at 62% behind only little. Rhode Island. [52:55] Boston was the fifth most populous city in the nation. The population of Boston and Cambridge was larger than that of Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Montana. Combined in 18 81 the Northeast was well connected by telegraph lines in a growing rail network, Steamers carried mail and news from Europe in record time, Boston was criss crossed by streetcar lines, and by the end of the decade they would convert from horse drawn cars to electric power. The telephone’s invented by Bostonian Alexander Graham Bell were becoming increasingly popular, and electric light bulbs were just starting to catch on. The iconic image of America in the 19th century. Maybe the Wild West. But the East Shore was civilized in this civilized and technologically advanced Eastern world. Williamina Fleming’s journal casually mentions discovering a few brand new stars and nebulae. After lunch one day before lunch, I found time to examine a few Southern spectrum plates and marked 1/4 type star and a gaseous nebula, both probably known later in the afternoon. I noted a fume or interesting objects among them to fourth type stars, one gaseous nebula and several bright line stars. Some of them may be new. [54:17] Using a new dry glass plate photography method, the Harvard Observatory was able to capture photographs of the night sky that were as clear as directly observing the sky through a telescope. However, instead of taking pictures of the sky as that I would see it. They used a special prism to capture photographs of the spectrum of light emitted by each star, which would in turn reveal its chemical composition. In a book about the women of the observatory, Dava So Bell described how Fleming and the other women would handle these photos. She removed each glass plate from its Kraft paper sleeve without getting a single fingerprint on either of the eight by 10 inch surfaces. The trick was to hold the fragile packet by its side edges between her palm’s set, the bottom open end of the envelope on the especially designed stand and then ease the paper up and off without letting go off the plate, as though undressing a baby. Making sure the emotion side faced her, she released her grip and let the glass settle into place. The wooden stand held the plate in a picture frame, tilted at a 45 degree angle a mirror fixed to the flat base caught daylight from the computing rooms, big windows and directed illumination up through the glass. [55:27] Williamina, Fleming and the other women at the observatory would hunch over the glass plates with magnifying glasses to see the tiny spectral streaks, quickly computing the amount of hydrogen. The spectrum revealed they would classify the stars based on a system Fleming had developed and record the position of the star in the sky. [55:46] Despite discovering the existence of white dwarf stars cataloguing tens of thousands of new stars and dozens of nebula I, including the Horsehead Nebula, Williamina herself treated her daily work as being utterly routine. [56:01] From day to day. My duties at the observatory or so nearly alike that there will be but little to describe outside ordinary routine work of measurement, examination of photographs and work involved in the reduction of these observations. In the Astro photographic building of the observatory, 12 women, including myself, are engaged in the care of the photographs, identification, examination and measurement off them. Reduction of these measurements and preparation of the results for the printer. [56:30] The measurements made with the Meridian for Tom Attar’s Air, also reduced and prepared for publication in this department of the observatory. What Williamina and the women of Harvard treated as a routine day in the office would have been astounding to most men of their era. At the time, conventional wisdom held that women were physically and emotionally unsuited to higher education or work in intellectual fields. Just a few years before, Harvard Professor Edward Clark wrote about the dangers of educating girls in his 18 73 book, Sex in Education. Quoting Dr Fisher, he said, a certain proportion of girls are apt to be quick, brilliant, ambitious and persistent at study and need not stimulation but repression, for the sake of a temporary reputation for scholarship, they risk their health at the most susceptible period of their lives and break down after the excitement of a school life has passed away. [57:32] The fact which Dr Fischer alludes to that many girls breakdown not during but after the excitement of school or college life is an important one and is apt to be overlooked. The process by which the development of the reproductive system is arrested or degeneration of the brain and nerve tissue, said it going is an insidious one, at its beginning, and for a long time after it is well on its progress. It would not be recognized by the superficial observer. A class of girls might and often do graduate from our schools, higher seminaries and colleges that appear to be well and strong at the time of their graduation, but whose development has already been checked and whose health is on the verge of giving away. [58:20] What Dr Fisher fails to consider is that these women might simply be bored. [58:26] Nevertheless, the women of the Harvard Observatory persisted in their work and somehow managed to avoid complete physical or mental breakdown. In fact, the university went out of its way to hire women for work in the observatory. As word of their success spread, other observatories around the country began to hire women as well. However, this preference for women had nothing to do with their innate intellectual abilities and everything to do with the fact that they could be paid about half the salary of a male employees. The director of the Yale Observatory was very frank about this, saying, I am thoroughly in favor of employing women as measurers and computers. Not only are women available at smaller salaries than our men, but for the routine work, they have important advantages. Men are more likely to grow impatient after the novelty of the work has worn off, and would be harder to retain for that reason. [59:24] Despite her lifelong enthusiasm for the work, Williamina Fleming always harbored a secret resentment of the pay gap for women, right up through my own mother’s generation that pay gap was justified by saying that a man should be paid more for the same work because he would have a family to support, as a single woman. That logic didn’t apply to Meena Fleming. She had a family to support a child attending in my tea, ah, home to pay for. And she still made less than the girls who worked in the textile mills and Lowell, much lesser male colleagues in astronomy. Her private diaries are full of comments and complaints about the pay gap, like this one from March 12th 1900. [1:00:04] I had some conversation with the director regarding women’s salaries. He seems to think that no work is too much or too hard for me, no matter what the responsibility or how long the hours. But let me raise the question of salary. And I immediately told that I receive an excellent salary as women’s salaries stand. If he would only take some step to find out how much he is mistaken in regard to this, he would learn a few facts that would open his eyes and set him thinking. [1:00:32] Sometimes I feel tempted to give up and let him try someone else or some of the men to do my work in orderto have him find out what he is getting for $1500 a year for me, compared with 2500 from some of the other assistance. Does he ever think that I have a home to keep in a family to take care of as well as the men? But I suppose a woman has no claim to such comforts, and this is considered an enlightened age. I cannot make my salary meet my present expenses with Edward in the institute and still another year there ahead of him. The director expects me to work from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Although my time called for seven hours a day, and I feel almost on the verge of breaking down. There is a great pressure of work, certainly. But why throw so much of it on me and pay me in such small proportion to the others who come and go and take things easy? Given that there’s a 20% pig up in my field, I can certainly sympathize. [1:01:27] The disadvantage is that women faced in the field of astronomy didn’t stop more women from flocking to the Harvard Observatory. 11 years after Williamina Fleming began working as a computer, Ah, woman, 11 years her junior joined the team. In many ways, Henrietta Swan Leavitt represented a new generation of women among the Harvard computers, rather than stumbling into astronomy after applying for a job in menial clerical work, Leavitt came to the observatory in hopes of earning credit toward a graduate degree from Harvard, Leavitt grew up in Lancaster, Massachusetts, before attending Oberlin College and eventually getting her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College in 18 92 where she was able to take a single astronomy course, with a college degree and an interest in astronomy, Henrietta Swan Leavitt was a perfect candidate for what was becoming known as Pickering’s harem of astronomical computers. Better still, at least in the eyes of Edward Charles Pickering was the fact that she came from a wealthy family and didn’t need to be paid for her work. [1:02:34] Pickering assigned Henrietta Swan Leavitt to study variable stars, which sometimes appear brighter and sometimes appear dimmer To compare their intensity. She would often overlay one glass plate atop another to see how the brightness changed over time. Within a few years, she made a discovery that would change how we understand our universe forever. She published her findings in a 1908 edition of the Annals of Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, and they were published under her own name, though in a 1912 journal article that confirmed her findings and promoted them to the wider scientific world, Pickering put his own name on top and said merely that the supporting data had been prepared by Ms Leavitt. [1:03:21] We’re not really smart enough with scientific terminology to figure out what Leavitt was saying in her 19 await paper. So luckily, Pickering dumbed it down a bit in the 1912 version that he put his name on saying, a remarkable relation between the brightness of these variables and the length of their periods will be noticed in a Che 60. Number four attention was called to the fact that the brighter variables have the longer periods. But at that time it was felt that the number was too small to warrant the drawing of general conclusions. The periods of eight additional variables which have been determined since that time, however, conform to the same law. [1:03:58] Henrietta Swan Leavitt had determined that the length of a selfie ID variable stars pulsation was directly correlated with its brightness. This means that you can tell how far away a faintly pulsing star is based on how long the pulse lasts. This correlation became known as Leavitt slaw, and it allowed astronomers to accurately determine how faraway, distant stars actually are. For the first time in 1920 astronomers held a great debate at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History over the nature of the universe. One side argued that the sun was the center of the universe in all the distant Galaxies and nebulae that astronomers observed were structures in the outer part of our own solar system. The other side argued that these structures were actually different independent Galaxies similar to our own, and that the universe was much larger than anyone had previously imagined. Leavitt slaw allowed astronomers to calculate the true distance to some of these distant Galaxies, so the entire scientific model of the universe was revised. Just a few years later, an astronomer named Edwin Hubble used Leavitt slow to measure the distance between Galaxies and determined that the universe was expanding. [1:05:08] Hubble recognize the magnitude of Henrietta Swan love. It’s contributions to astronomy, often commenting that she should have received a Nobel Prize. In fact, she came close to doing so. According to Air and Space magazine Leavitt CE discovery was so important that in 1924 Goulston Mittag Leffler of the Swedish Academy of Sciences tried to nominate her for the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Henrietta died of cancer three years before this, and the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously. A young woman with one of the greatest names we’ve ever read, joined the Harvard Observatory team in 18 96. Unlike the previous generation of Harvard computers, when Annie Jump Cannon arrived at the observatory, she was already an expert in astronomy and photography. After Annie lost her hearing at a young age, perhaps from scarlet fever, she spent many nights in a home observatory with her mother from the attic windows of their home near Dover, Delaware. The two would stay up late at night, watching the stars, using an old astronomy textbook toe, identify what they observed. Annie Jump Cannon at first attended Wesley College in Delaware, but was soon encouraged to transfer toe Wellesley so that she could have access to a more challenging curriculum. [1:06:26] She studied physics under Sarah Francis Witting, one of the Onley women physicist in the nation. At that time, her interest in astronomy deepened, and she excelled in her studies in 18 84 and he graduated as valedictorian of her class with a bachelor’s degree in physics, because she was young and unmarried and our society could hardly imagine any other path with her. She then moved back to Delaware At some point, Cannon developed an interest in photography, she toward Europe in 18 92 and the photo she took with her Blair camera, where later published in a book titled In the Footsteps of Columbus. The Blair company distributed the book at the 18 93 World’s Fair to promote the quality images that their cameras could produce. So it seems that Anne was a pretty decent photographer. After her mother died in 18 94 and he began looking beyond her childhood home again. She contacted Professor Waiting at Wellesley, and Professor Winning, hired her as a junior physics instructor. Cannon taught, took graduate level physics classes and began studying spectroscopic photography. She soon began taking astronomy courses at Radcliffe, which got her access to the Harvard Observatory. In 18 96 Edward Pickering hired her to work on the team that was classifying and cataloging the stars. [1:07:53] She was frighteningly good at it. In her career, Annie Jump Cannon catalogued over 350,000 stars, and people said that she remembered all of them when somebody would ask about a star she had worked on. She immediately knew the stars type the reference number for the photographic plate it was on and which quadrant of the photo it was in very quickly. After joining the observatory team, she realized that the classifications system developed by Williamina Fleming and a woman named Antonia Murray was woefully inadequate. [1:08:24] Based on the ions president, a star’s spectrum, she would classify them as an O B A, f, g, K, or M type star. [1:08:36] Although it has been extended to include some star types that hadn’t yet been discovered then The classifications system, developed by Annie Jump Cannon in the 18 nineties, is still the standard by which astronomers around the world categorize stars. Astronomy students learn its classes with the pneumonic device. Oh, be a fine girl Kissed me Cannons Career was right at the cusp between two eras. Women who followed her would be recognized, his true astronomers while the women who came before her were dismissed as menial computers, as Aaron Space magazine put it. Though Cannon and Leavitt CE work was fundamental to astronomical research in the early 20th century, they were still limited by their role as computers. Computers reduce data but did not create the data nor interpret their results. [1:09:25] Williamina. Fleming had been named as curator of astronomical photographs at Harvard, but before her death in 1911 she received few other honors or awards to recognize her groundbreaking work. Henrietta Swan Leavitt was considered for a Nobel Prize and was a member of both the American Astronomical and Astrophysical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, but received no awards during life for her discovery that literally changed mankind’s understanding of the universe. Edward Pickering, on the other hand, got plenty of awards before his death. In 1919 he was made a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the vault’s prize of the French Academy of Sciences. The Henry Draper Metal from the National Academy of Sciences. Ah pre You’ll Johnson, the highest award of the society Astronomic Difference and the Bruce Medal for Outstanding Lifetime contributions to astronomy. Not bad for essentially putting your name on someone else’s work. [1:10:26] After Fleming’s death, Annie Jump Cannon took over US Harvard’s curator of astronomical photographs to mark this passing of the torch, Cannon wrote an obituary for Williamina Fleming, saying industrious by nature. She was seldom idle and long years of observatory work, never unfit id her for the domestic side of life, as much at home with the needle as with the magnifying eyepiece. She could make a dainty bag, exquisitely sewed or dress a doll in complete Scott Ceylan costume. She was never too tired to welcome her friends at her home or at the observatory with that quality of human sympathy, which is sometimes lacking among women engaged in scientific pursuits. Her bright face, her attractive manner and her cheery greeting with its charming Scotch accent will long be remembered by even the most casual visitors to the Harvard College Observatory. [1:11:24] Fleming’s obituary from the Royal Astronomical Society followed in the same vein, as an astronomer, Mrs Fleming was somewhat exceptional and being a woman, and in putting her work alongside that of others, it would be unjust not to remember that she left her heavy daily labors at the observatory, toe undertake on her return home. Those household cares of which a man usually expects to be relieved. [1:11:51] She was fully equal to the double task as those who have had the good fortune to be her guests can testify. And it is perhaps worthy of record as indicating how lightly the double burden sat on her, that she yielded to none in her enjoyment of a football match, especially a match between Harvard and Yale. [1:12:10] And they described one of her discoveries as an achievement bordering on the marvelous. [1:12:17] Cannon earned a long list of awards in her own right and completed a master’s degree in astronomy from Wellesley. But she was never granted a phD and the recognition that would come with being a real astronomer. She became the first woman to be awarded the Henry Draper Metal for investigations in astronomical physics and the first woman elected as an officer of the American Astronomical Society. She received honorary doctorates from Oxford and a Dutch university. She won the Ellen Richards Prize from the Association to Aid Scientific Research by Women and in 1929 was named one of the greatest living American women by the League of Women Voters. In 1934 she established the Annie Jump Cannon Award, which recognizes American women who make distinguished contributions to astronomy, and the first would go to her protege. In the meantime, a California pioneer became one of the first American women to earn a doctorate in astronomy and the gravitas that comes with it. Phoebe Waterman did her phD work at Berkeley and wrote a dissertation testing whether Annie Jump Cannon’s classifications system for stars would hold true for a newly discovered type of hot stars. It did as she was awarded her doctor in 1913. [1:13:38] Back at Harvard, Ah, young Englishwoman named Cecilia Payne and rolled it a graduate astronomy program at Radcliffe and began working under Anne Cannon at the observatory. Her 1925 doctoral dissertation further refined cannons classifications system, and she made the breakthrough discovery that stars are mostly made up of hydrogen and helium rather than iron, oxygen and silicon. Like the Earth, astronomer Otto Struve would later describe her work as the most brilliant phD thesis ever written in astronomy. Aaron Space magazine describes what happened when pain shared her work with the world and specifically with a man who was considered a leader in the field. [1:14:19] Pain Center thesis to Henry Norris Russell of Princeton, a leading expert on stars who rejected her conclusions, admitting to an abundance of hydrogen would have required a full rethinking of the theory of how stars work. Ah, conclusion, much too radical for a phD student to make pain changed her conclusion to highlight the similarities between the ratios of the elements in the Spectra and in the Earth’s crust rather than focus on the abundance of hydrogen and helium. [1:14:47] During the next four years, however, evidence in favor of pains findings began piling up. Finally, in 1929 Russell admitted that her findings were correct, writing his own paper that convinced astronomers everywhere of this monumental change. Again, a man basically put his name on a brilliant female. Astronomers work Cecilia Payne, later Cecilia Payne. GE Passion spent her entire career at Harvard Observatory. She worked closely with Annie Jump Cannon until Cannon passed away in 1941 receiving the inaugural Annie Jake Cannon Award in 1934. At the time, her only title was assistant to the observatory director. In 1945 she was given the official title of astronomer, then in 1956 she became the first woman to be promoted to a full professorship at Harvard School of Arts and Sciences. Later, she would be the first woman to chair a department at Harvard so we can draw a straight line from the Scotch made Williamina Fleming to Professor Cecilia Payne, Compassion. [1:15:58] Fleming and Henrietta Swan. Leavitt made significant contributions to astronomy but had no title or recognition. Annie Jump Cannon got the recognition, but never the title or degree. And finally, Cecilia Payne would throw the door wide open, educating and inspiring the next generation of astronomers of both sexes. Although Annie Jump Cannon and later generations of women were able to publish their work and get credit for their discoveries, Williamina flooding and the early pioneers in the field were mostly forgotten by history. For a long time, Fleming’s discoveries were published in scientific journals and articles attributed to Edward Charles Pickering. Sometimes those articles would mention Williamina is contributions, but often they would not. A team of archivists at Harvard is trying to change all that. While digitally scanning glass plate photographs taken at the Harvard Observatory between the 18 eighties in the 19 twenties, Lindsey Smith is all found some long forgotten boxes. Inside were hundreds of notebooks kept by the human computers of Harvard during the early days of spectrographic astronomy. They contain calculations, data, tables and notes about star classifications and new discoveries. [1:17:15] So far, the team has been able to cross reference the initials on the glass plates and notebooks and identify the names of 130 women who worked at the observatory. Many were computers, somewhere assistance and a handful with wives of male astronomers who went to work at the observatory to help with their husbands. Research. For decades, the legacy of this work has been forgotten in dusty boxes in the Harvard basement. But today you can help reestablish the legacy of these extraordinary women. As awareness of these priceless primary source documents spread, the efforts to preserve and digitize them became a joint effort between the Harvard Library, the Smithsonian and NASA. Known as Project Phaedra, Project Fader is appropriately named for a Greek goddess, and it happens to also stand for preserving Harvard’s early data and research and astronomy. [1:18:07] Now that the Harvard Library has scanned the notebook Smith Souls Team found the Smithsonian has put them online, is a crowdsourced transcription project. Volunteers like you can go to the project site, spend a few minutes learning how to transcribe data tables, star charts and sketches, then start transcribing pages. Another volunteer will check your work than experts from the Smithsonian will validate it. The project is expected to take years to complete. When it’s finished, the scientific data collected by the women of the Harvard Observatory will be searchable in the Harvard catalog, the NASA Astrophysics data system and the Smithsonian Transcription Center. Harvard head librarian Dina Boo Quinn says You’ll be able to do a full text search of this research. If you search for Williamina Fleming, you’re not going to just find a mention of her in a publication where she wasn’t the author of her work. You’re going to find her work. I think it’s only fitting to give Annie Jump Cannon The last word in this week’s episode, she gave one of her last interviews with World War Two, already raging in Europe and the US on the brink of entering her advice, seems equally valid today. In these days of great trouble and unrest, it is good to have something outside our own planet, something fine and distant and comforting to troubled minds. Let people look to the stars for comfort. [1:19:34] That about wraps it up for this week to learn more about the human computers of Harvard or Boston. Standard time. Check out this week’s show notes at hub history dot com slash 158 We’ll have tons of photos and sources to help you make sense of both stories. And, of course, we’ll have links to information about our upcoming events and the Legislative Committee’s report on moving Massachusetts to Atlantic Time, this week’s Bustin Book Club pick. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can email us at podcast in hub history dot com. Were hub history on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or just Goto hub history dot com and click on the Contact US link while you’re on the site, hit the subscribe link and be sure that you never miss an episode. If you subscribe on Apple podcasts, please consider writing us a brief review. And if you do drop us a line and we’ll send you a Hub history sticker as a token of appreciation, that’s all for now. We’ll be back next time to talk about Boston’s 1919 telephone operator strength. [1:20:33] Music.
834	dbpedia	2	67	http://findingaids.library.umass.edu/ead/mums130	en	Boston and Albany Railroad Map Collection Finding Aid : Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries	http://scua.library.umass.edu/static/images/scualogomicro.jpg	http://scua.library.umass.edu/static/images/scualogomicro.jpg	[ "http://scua.library.umass.edu/images/credo-front/rotator/rotator.php", "http://scua.library.umass.edu/images/scualogo_fat.jpg", "http://scua.library.umass.edu/images/credo-logo-75.png", "https://www.umass.edu/static/branding/images/UMassAmherst_longform-WHITE.svg" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Albany Railroad. Engineering Department" ]	null		en	http://scua.library.umass.edu/static/images/scualogomicro.jpg		null	Background on Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was formed by a series of mergers beginning in 1867 that subsumed both the first commercial line in New England, the Boston and Worcester Railroad (chartered 1831) and the Western Railroad (1833), the most important line in Western Massachusetts. The expansionist Boston and Albany began extending lines eastward and westward at the same time, absorbing the Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad (incorporated in 1834 and renamed the Albany and West Stockbridge two years later) and the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad, creating a powerful corporation that established the first continuous rail line across the Commonwealth. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Boston and Albany prospered, absorbing a number of branch lines and extending its reach both northward and southward. By the 1880s, it claimed the distinction of operating one of the most efficient commuter operations, connecting Boston through Brookline and Newton Highlands to Riverside, eventually extending commuter service to Worcester. The line was noted, too, for Director Charles Sprague Sargent's initiative to beautify rail travel, hiring the architect Henry Hobson Richardson to design aesthetically pleasing stations. Scope of collection The nineteen atlases comprising this collection include detailed plans documenting the location and ownership of rights of way, land-takings, and other land transfers to or from the railroad company. Dating from the early years of operation for the corporation to just after the turn of the century, the atlases include maps of predecessor lines (Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation and Western Rail-Road), as well as the Grand Junction Railway Company (Charlestown, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea), the Ware River Railroad, and the Chester and Becket Railroad. The collection includes frequent citations of legislation, references to actions with respect to county commissioners, boards of selectman, registries of deeds and deed books, and to the state Board of Railroad Commissioners (later Public Service Commission). Plans regularly specify location of subject properties in relation to the properties of identified abutters. Inventory Grand Junction Railroad: Plan of locations of the several railroads connecting the East Boston freight railroad 19 maps Vol. 1 Also includes Charlestown Branch Railroad (1837) and Fitchburg and Lowell Railroad. Boston and Albany Railroad: Location of the Grand Junction Branch in Charlestown, Everett, Somerville, Chelsea 10 maps Vol. 2 Boston and Albany Railroad: Scrap book no. 2: Back Bay Park, Brighton Vol. 3 Includes Old Colony and Newport Railway Co.; Boston Terminal Co.; Boston, Revere Beach, and Lynn RR; Boston and Providence RR; and Boston Elevated Railway Co. Boston and Worcester Railroad: Brookline 30p. Vol. 4 Includes Roxbury, Faneuil to Riverside. Boston and Albany Railroad: Plan of locations of the several railroads connecting the East Boston freight railroad 36p. Vol. 5 Includes maps of Newton, West Newton, Newtonville, Auburndale, Riverside; Charlestown Branch Railroad (1837), Grand Junction RR (1949), Chelsea Branch RR, and Eastern RR. Boston and Albany Railroad: Wellesley, Newton, Natick 36p. Vol. 6 Boston and Albany Railroad: Plan of new locations of the Boston and Albany Railroad in the town of Wellesley and County of Norfolk 15p. Vol. 7 Boston and Albany Railroad: Additional land taken for railroad purposes in the county of Norfolk 10p. Vol. 8 Alternate title: Plan of a new location of the Boston and Albany Railroad in the town of Wellesley and County of Norfolk, Mass. Boston and Albany Railroad: Plan of a new location of the Boston and Albany Railroad in the town of Natick and County of Middlesex 4p. Vol. 9 Western Railroad: Route from Worcester to Springfield 72p. Vol. 10 Includes maps of Worcester, Brookfield, Palmer, Warren, Chicopee, Springfield. Includes Hartford and Springfield RR (1849); Northampton and Springfield RR; 1842 plan between Chestnut and Main Streets. Boston and Albany Railroad: Springfield to Albany Scrapbook no. 1 35p. Vol. 11 Plans for Pittsfield, North Adams, West Springfield. Boston and Albany Railroad: Springfield to Albany Scrapbook no. 3 58p. Vol. 12 Boston and Albany Railroad: Plan of a new location of the Boston and Albany Railroad in the County of Hampden West of the Connecticut River 63p. Vol. 13 Boston and Albany Railroad: Route from Westfield to Chester 34p. Vol. 14 Includes maps of Westfield, Russell, Montgomery, and Chester. Maps numbered 30-63. Boston and Albany Railroad: Plan of the location of the Chester and Becket Railroad in the towns of Chester, Hampden County, and Becket, Berkshire County, Mass. 15p. Vol. 15 Boston and Albany Railroad: Notice plans 23p. Vol. 16 Includes maps of Becket, Cambridge, Chester, Framingham, Hinsdale, Ludlow, Natick, Newton, West Springfield, Worcester. Ware River Railroad: Land plan of the Ware River Railroad of Massachusetts 51p. Vol. 17 Ware River Railroad: Land taken for railroad purposes in the County of Hampshire 6p. Vol. 18 "These plans were traced from the book of original land plans of the Ware River R.R. The original plans were in such poor condition that they were unfit for use. Jan 1, 1919." Show line from Palmer to Winchendon. Ware River Railroad: Land taken for railroad purposes in the County of Hampshire 6p. Vol. 19 Administrative information Access The collection is open for research. Provenance Provenance unknown. Processing Information Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, December 2012. Related Material The records of the Boston and Albany Railroad are housed at the Baker Library of the Harvard Business School (Mss:724 1831-1898 B747). Language: English Copyright and Use (More information ) Cite as: Boston and Albany Railroad Engineering Department Map Collection (MS 130). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
834	dbpedia	1	32	http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text%3Fdoc%3DPerseus%253Atext%253A2005.05.0012%253Achapter%253D11	en	Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 12., A pioneer railroad and how it was built.			[ "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/east.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/east.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/east.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/east.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/east.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/xml.gif", "http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/img/p...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
834	dbpedia	3	50	https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/first-big-business.html	en	The Railroads: The First Big Business - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism			[ "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/hbs-banner.jpg", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/search.gif", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/pictures/menu3/1_thumb.jpg", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/pictures/menu3/2_thumb.jpg", "htt...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	The Railroads: The First Big Business Beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, local railroads around the world served as a means of conveying coal and iron ore from mines to low-lying coastal areas. Horses drew wagons along rails made of wood and later iron. In the 1820s, the English introduced the first successful steam locomotive engine. As routes were carved out, mining areas transformed into industrial centers and coastal sites into bustling ports. In the United States in the 1830s and 1840s, the railroads linked port cities to outlying areas, and, by the 1850s, they pushed westward and helped settle the frontier. From eastern terminals, American railways grew at an astonishing pace: from 23 miles of track in 1830 to 240,000 miles by 1910. As an Atchison and Pike’s Peak Railroad report of 1866 noted, “So considerable is the existing commerce, and so rapidly on the increase that competent railway authority expresses the belief that within less than the five years from the opening a single track will be inadequate to the business flowing to it.”5 The first vehicles to exceed the speed of a horse, locomotives compressed weeklong journeys into days. By mid-century, the rails moved people, raw materials, and goods around the country relatively quickly, cheaply and, for the most part, in all seasons and weather. With the establishment of the transcontinental lines, shared technological systems among state railroads began to emerge. Coordination of functions became not a choice but a necessity in order for the railroads to perform even the most basic services of running on time and avoiding catastrophic accidents. Passengers, employees, nearby buildings, livestock, and pedestrians could fall victim to the violent force of locomotive trains running at unprecedented speeds or to the hazardous sparks they emitted. In 1841 a tragic collision of two trains on the Western Railroad in Massachusetts killed a conductor and passenger and injured seventeen others, making urgent the need to create and adhere to exact timetables.6 The resulting “Report on Avoiding Collisions and Governing Employees” called for a system of clearly defined responsibilities and lines of communication.
834	dbpedia	3	11	https://www.lexingtonma.gov/914/Suburbanization	en	Suburbanization, 1870-1915	https://www.lexingtonma.gov/images/favicon.ico	https://www.lexingtonma.gov/images/favicon.ico	[ "https://www.lexingtonma.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=63", "https://www.lexingtonma.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=68", "https://www.lexingtonma.gov/ImageRepository/Path?filePath=/Documents/13/28/382/457/492/493/817/Suburb-1.jpg", "https://www.lexingtonma.gov/ImageRepository/Path?filePath=...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	See the period between 1870 to 1915	en	/images/favicon.ico		null	Between 1870 and 1915, Lexington's population more than doubled - from 2,270 to 5,538. During this period, the improved access offered by the railroad continued to have a major impact on development in town, transforming the rural town into a railroad suburb: 1867: the name of the railroad was changed from the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad to the Lexington and Arlington Railroad. 1870: the line became part of the larger Boston and Lowell Railroad 1871: service had been expanded with eight trips a day from Lexington to Boston and two on Sundays. 1873: the line was extended to Bedford and Concord. 1886: the Boston and Lowell laid double track to Lexington. 1900: 11 trains ran daily each way between Lexington and Boston with 7 runs on Sundays. By 1904 there were 5 station stops in Lexington: the main depot North Lexington at Bedford Street East Lexington, at Pierce's Bridge (near Maple Street) Munroe Station in Tower Park. Only the main depot stands today. The Lexington and Boston Street Railway system began service on April 19, 1900. Within a few years, the street railway offered service to Woburn and Waltham as well as Boston. Speculative development occurred along the trolley routes in the early 20th century: Massachusetts Avenue in East Lexington Bedford Street at North Lexington Waltham Street around Marrett Road. The streetcar also brought with it new entertainment possibilities. In 1901 the Street Railway Company purchased Boardman's Grove near the Bedford town line for "Lexington Park", a multipurpose amusement facility which included a theater, casino, dining pavilion, shooting gallery, roller skating rink, library, observation tower, women's building, and zoo. animals. Railroad service introduced several different demographic groups to Lexington. At the lower end of the economic spectrum were a significant number of Irish immigrants who found work in Lexington, building and later maintaining the railroad, laboring on farms, and working as domestics, especially at local hotels. By the late 19th century foreign immigrants constituted a significant proportion of the town's population. The 1885 State Census lists the proportion of residents who were first or second-generation immigrants at 45%. A number of the Irish immigrants who came to Lexington were farmers. By 1870 about a dozen former Irish farm laborers living in Lexington had bought their own farms. The Maguire family purchased the Katahdin Woods property in 1864 and by the end of the 19th century owned the eastern length of Wood Street. The farm-raised corn, potatoes, apples, strawberries, and milk are for sale in Boston and Cambridge. The Kinneen Farm was located at the corner of Burlington and Hancock Streets. By 1888 the 200-acre farm spanned from Grove Street to Diamond Middle School and included what is now Kinneen Park. James Alexander Wilson was born in Ireland in 1859 and came to America in 1877 working on the farm of his uncle, William Wilson, a market gardener who owned land in East Lexington and Arlington. When James became of age, he leased a farm along Pleasant Street, eventually buying it in 1903. He specialized in celery but also grew tomatoes, beets, and carrots. By the late 19th century, Lexington was renowned for its agriculture, especially dairy and animal breeding. In 1875 only Worcester produced more milk and grazed more cows. In 1885 there were 1,320 cows in Lexington. In the late 19th century, the Vine Brook Stock Farm on Middleby Road had a herd of nearly 100 cows. It was later owned by Joseph Middleby, a breeder and trainer of horses, who laid out a half-mile track in the meadow between Middleby Road and Reservoir (Reservoir Stock Farm). Members of the Lawrence family on Pleasant Street were also well-known dairy farmers. In 1890 John Willard on North Street maintained a dairy herd as well as 2000 chickens. In 1875 F.H. Reed began selling milk and other dairy products to the town of Arlington from his farm at 72 Lowell Street in East Lexington. Another important demographic group which came to Lexington due to the railroad was the middle-class businessmen/professionals. The middle-class businessmen and professionals who decided to make Lexington their home settled near the train stations and constructed large Victorian houses on Bloomfield Street and on Meriam Hill and Munroe Hill. By 1887 it is estimated that 23% of Lexington's business and professional workers were commuters. Rail access from Boston combined with the town's higher elevation led to Lexington's popularity in the late 19th century as a summer and winter destination for city visitors. Many of those who would later erect homes initially spent time at one of Lexington's hotels. The two primary establishments were the Russell House and the Massachusetts House. At Massachusetts Avenue and Woburn Street, the Russell House was opened by James Russell in 1882 and became a particular favorite of Boston and Cambridge residents. The house itself was built in the pre-Revolutionary period with a large wing added in the 1880s. The establishment continued to operate into the early 20th century (no longer extant). The Massachusetts House, which was located on the site of 1713 Massachusetts Avenue, also attracted its own following. The building was initially erected as an exhibit at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition, disassembled, and transported to Lexington to serve as a hotel. It closed as a hotel about 1890 and the building was demolished in 1917 to make way for stores. Also at Lexington Center, the Monument House, later known as Adair's Tavern, Central House, Leslie House, and Paul Revere Tavern, generally accommodated more transient lodgers. It was demolished in 1929. Among Lexington's most prosperous late 19th century residents was Francis Brown Hayes, railroad official, lawyer, state senator, and U.S. Congressman, who purchased a home at 45 Hancock Street (no longer extant) in November 1861 and used it as a summer home. Over time he acquired additional small farms extending over Granny Hill to beyond Grant Street, encompassing nearly 400 acres. In 1883-4 Hayes built a 32-room fieldstone mansion "The Castle" or "Oakmount" on what is now Castle Road (it was torn down in 1941). By 1900 only 6 of the 400 acres remained, the rest was sold as house lots. Another prominent resident of Meriam Hill was Charles Goodwin. His house and barn were torn down in 1937. Col. William Augustus Tower, a prominent merchant, and banker, constructed his own luxurious Victorian mansion overlooking Massachusetts Avenue in 1873. By 1886 the Tower estate included a barn and stable, 2 cottages, a tea house with a flower garden and greenhouse, a windmill, 8 horses, 2 cows, and 8 carriages. Initially, Tower spent summers in Lexington and winters on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston but later he lived in Lexington year around. By 1904 when he died, Tower owned 127 acres. His mansion was located on the present site of the Museum of Our National Heritage, close to Pelham Road. Other luxurious, late 19th century mansions which were erected in Lexington but have burned or been demolished include the Cary Mansion which burned in 1895 and 1948, the Benjamin Brown Mansion, and Taylor Mansion. Among those that remain are the A.E. Scott Mansion at 277 Waltham Street (9 Bushnell Drive), the Whipple Mansion at 265 Lowell Street, the Richard Tower Mansion at 33 Marrett Road, and the Harry Fay Mansion at 6 Eliot Road. The arrival of wealthy, professional residents also brought a new range of leisure activities and clubs to town. In 1864 a driving club for the racing of trotters was built on Hayes' land, the first in the state. The half-mile track with a grandstand on each side was located between what is now Saddle Club Road and Grant Street. Harness racing took place at Reservoir Trotting Park at the town reservoir. The Lexington Field and Garden Club was formed in 1876 to preserve and enhance the town's aesthetic qualities. In 1892, the Old Belfry Club, one of the first social clubs in Lexington, was organized. Two years later, a clubhouse was dedicated at the corner of Muzzey and Forest Streets. The facility included a tennis court and bowling alley. It was destroyed by fire in 1979. Three financial clubs - the Lexington Associates, the Lexington Club, and the East Lexington Finance Club - shared an interest in improving the town as well as sharing investment knowledge for personal gain. The Lexington Golf Club was founded in 1895 and began as a nine-hole course on the hill behind the Munroe Tavern. In 1899 the Club leased the Vaille Farm on Hill Street, eventually buying it in 1906. Some of the wealthy city folks who used Lexington as a summer residence also operated gentleman farms, hiring foremen to run their operations. Leisure activities for these gentleman farmers included horse racing, pigeon shoots, fox hunting, and breeding fancy cattle. What is now the Idylwilde Farm Conservation Property near Middle and Lincoln Streets was once the elaborate summer estate of the Cary family. J.W. Hayden's 20-acre estate at 376 Lincoln Street was called Ponywold after the 22 Shetland ponies he kept there in addition to poultry and sheep. His residence was constructed from two former schoolhouses that were moved to Lincoln Street and remodeled into a single dwelling. In the late 19th and early 20th century what was later known as Grassland Farm on Marrett Road near Spring Street was owned by Edward Payson, who operated a stock farm and raised "blooded" Golddust-Morgan horses and Shetland ponies. By the late 19th century Lexington was being transformed from an isolated agricultural town to a more populated suburb. Many old farms had already been sold off and divided into house lots. Levi Prosser purchased the Munroe farm behind the tavern and in 1872 subdivided it into 150-foot square lots along what are now Bloomfield Street, Eustis Street, and Percy Road (originally Mount Vernon Street). (For more information on these areas see Area Forms N and O). In 1881 slightly smaller lots were laid out nearby in the Warren, Washington, and Bennington Streets neighborhood. Richard Blinn laid out the "Belfry Hill Stock Farm" on the land that is now Parker Street in 1872 (see Area Form J). The residential streets of Grant, Sherman, Fletcher, and Sheridan Streets (Area Form G) were laid out in the late 1880s on land owned by David Wood Muzzey and Charles G. Fletcher. Meriam Hill was first divided into house lots in the 1870s although construction did not take place in earnest until the 1880s (see Area Form H). In the northern part of town, Elm Hill Farm, which had passed through six generations of the Reed Family, was sold to Mark Meager in 1891. Meager divided the former farm including Tophet Swamp into over 1,500 building lots measuring 1/16 of an acre (Lexington Heights - Area AJ). By 1895 three hundred lots had been sold but only eleven houses had been built. Another more successful developer, George F. Tewksbury of Winthrop, opened up the Hill Street/Tewksbury Street/Shirley Street neighborhood. The Fair Oaks subdivision was first laid out in 1909 as was developer J.W. Wilbur's "Liberty Heights" subdivision in East Lexington. (These areas are more fully described in Area Forms Y and Q). Industrial activity remained limited, compared to many communities. In 1870 the paint mine on Simond's Farm, off Grove Street, was incorporated as the Lexington and Boston Paint Company. A 350' long rope walk was located on the meadow south of Waltham Street opposite Allen Street in 1880. Matthew Merriam's shop manufacturing trimmings for boots and shoes moved to Oakland Street in 1882 and at its peak employed fifty. Muzzey and Whitcher's Grain Mill was built behind what is now 1775 Massachusetts Avenue in 1884. George Grant opened a gear works near the end of Fletcher Avenue in 1888. The factory building was purchased by Jefferson Union Company in 1905. The influx of professional newcomers along with a number of progressive long-time residents also had a major impact on town government and the provision of local services. Although East Lexington and the Center continued to vie for dominance, a new Town Hall building was constructed at the Center and dedicated on April 19, 1871. The four-story brick building also housed the Cary Library. The Lexington Minuteman weekly newspaper began publishing in 1871. A new engine house was built on Meriam Street in 1876. The Lexington Gas Company began operation in 1875 and sixty-six gaslights were installed by the town to light the Center Village, replacing kerosene oil lamps. Telephone service was first offered in 1882 and two years later there were thirty-one subscribers. The Lexington Water Works was founded in 1881 as a private business. The pumping station on Concord Hill was completed by 1885 with a second reservoir constructed north of Marrett Road a few years later. In 1895 and 1901 the City of Cambridge took at least 220 acres in southwestern Lexington and built a reservoir. Lexington joined the Metropolitan Water District in 1902. At a town meeting in October 1887, William A. Tower offered to fund a library building if the town would provide a site. Mrs. Maria Cary, at the same meeting, offered the town $10,000 toward securing the land. Mr. Tower later withdrew his offer. The Cary Memorial Library was eventually constructed in 1906, a gift of Miss Alice Cary and other family members. In 1892 Miss Ellen Stone gave the Library Trustees the house next to the Follen Church in East Lexington to be used for a branch library. In 1894 Hastings Park was purchased by the Lexington Field and Garden Club; it was given to the town three years later. The Hayes Fountain, incorporating Henry H. Kitson's Minute-man Statue, was unveiled in 1900. The 1870-1915 period also witnessed dramatic changes in local education. In 1890 the school committee merged the six ungraded district schools in town into the Adams School and the Hancock School, thus allowing students to learn with peers of similar ages and encouraging teachers to specialize in the subject matter. A new Hancock School was constructed in 1891 after the previous building was destroyed by fire. As the school population continued to grow, the Munroe School was constructed in 1904. In East Lexington, a new brick Adams School was constructed in 1912 on a site behind the Stone Building. A new High School structure was constructed in 1902 on the same site that had formerly housed the town hall and first high school. Several new religious congregations were formed and structures were built during this period. St. Brigid's Roman Catholic parish was established in response to the influx of Irish immigrants. Masses were held in the Lexington Town Hall in 1852 and at various other sites before the construction of the church in 1875. The Hancock Congregational Church was organized in 1868 and constructed its own building opposite the Green in 1892. A group of summer residents established the Church of Our Redeemer on Meriam Hill in the early 1880s and a chapel was completed in 1886. In East Lexington, a cornerstone for a Jewish synagogue was laid on Sylvia Street in 1913. Antiquarian interest has always been strong in Lexington but became more organized in the late 19th century. In 1884 the Town appropriated funds to mark places of historic interest and two years later the Lexington Historical Society was organized. In 1891 the Society was given the Old Belfry on the Hancock School lot on Clarke Street and in 1894 the Society purchased the Hancock Clarke house and moved it across Hancock Street to save it from destruction. After the initial Belfry was destroyed in 1909, a replica was erected. In 1911 the Munroe Tavern was given to the Society. In 1913 the Town of Lexington acquired the Buckman Tavern. The "restoration" of the Jonathan Harrington House by owner Leroy Brown in 1910 is said to have inspired William Sumner Appleton in establishing the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities the same year. Surviving Properties - Residential Along with the Italianate style, the French Second Empire style dominated urban housing in this country between 1860 and 1880. Although it was intended to be an imposing style, it was also translated to smaller, domestic buildings. Examples of the style frequently resemble Italianate designs but are topped by the ever-present mansard roof. Lexington's most elaborate extant mansard-roofed house is the George Robinson House at 6 Stratham Road. Originally constructed in 1846 as a Gothic cottage, the house was remodeled in the 1870s in the French Second Empire style. Robinson, a successful Boston provisions merchant, made significant additions to the house including a bell-cast mansard roof with arched dormers and bracketed cornice, a bracketed door hood, and a six-sided porch. The addition of a mansard roof could make an older house appear more stylish while adding additional living space. Other houses in Lexington with later mansard roofs include 20 Hancock Street, 956 Massachusetts Avenue, and 2173 Massachusetts Avenue. The French Second Empire style was also used for more modest cottages including houses on Hanover Avenue and Forest Street. The Hanover Avenue cottages were built on speculation by local builder and developer John L. Norris beginning in 1871. The five cottages on the north side of Forest Street between Waltham and Muzzey Streets were constructed in 1873-1874 for J.E. Hodgman. The cottage at 58 Hancock Street is notable for retaining its flat-roofed door hood with milled brackets with pendant drops. Other more altered mansarded cottages include 11 Curve Street, 23 Middle Street, 14 East Street, and 3 Stetson Street. In East Lexington, the structure at 851 Massachusetts Avenue appears to have been the first of a grouping of mansard-roofed row houses although it was the only one constructed. *** The Stick Style is an architectural style which met with limited popularity in Lexington and elsewhere in the 1870s and 1880s. This transitional model is one which was a precursor to the more exuberant Queen Anne style. As its name suggests, it is identified by the vertical and horizontal stickwork which was applied as decoration, with no structural relation to the wood-frame structure. Houses which include elements of the Stick Style include several on Bloomfield Street, Raymond Street, and the Fletcher/Sherman Street neighborhood. The towered Stick Style houses at 39 Highland Avenue and 36 Forest Street were constructed by prominent local builder Abram C. Washburn according to the same plan. The Forest Street house was the builder's own house for almost forty years. * * * The Queen Anne style was widely used throughout Lexington and is evident in many variations, shapes, and sizes. In the most ambitious expressions, there are towers, turrets, projecting pavilions, bays, and porches. The building at 2139 Massachusetts Avenue is one of the best-preserved Queen Anne houses in town and includes many distinctive finishes including a profusion of gables with half-timbering at the tops, contrasting patterned shingles, and wood clapboards, varied window treatments, and a spindle frieze on the front porch. The use of balloon framing in the late 19th century allowed for irregularities in plan and techniques to avoid flat surfaces including cut-away corners, bay windows, wall insets, and cantilevered gables. One of the town's exuberant Queen Anne designs is the house at 25 Parker Street which builder Abram C. Washburn constructed in 1890 for Daniel Owen. The house incorporates many hallmarks of the style including a wraparound porch with turned posts, brackets, bay windows, and stained glass but is distinguished by more unusual features including a porch pediment with carved foliate decoration and a broken front gable which is finished with patterned wood shingles interrupted by a curved bay window. Some examples of Queen Anne-style houses which incorporate prominent towers are houses at 149 Adams Street, 2 and 4 Chandler Street, and 47 Grant Street, 2016 Mass. Avenue, 16 Oakland Street, 29 and 31 Sherman Street, and 14 Stratham Road. Locally, the Queen Anne was also used for many more modest dwellings as well. Typically these were gablefront dwellings where elements of the style may be limited to turned porch posts, spindlework, windows with colored glass, and/or contrasting clapboards and wood shingles. These houses are found throughout the town along and immediately behind main routes. * * * Also dating to the late 19th century, the Shingle Style was a uniquely American style with roots in New England Colonial architecture. Houses built in this style typically mix rough-cut shingles, left to weather naturally, with rubble and fieldstone. Unlike the Queen Anne, decorative detailing is used sparingly. In Lexington, the style was a perfect fit for those who came to town from the city and built vacation retreats. As a result, many of the Shingle Style homes are found in the affluent neighborhoods that saw development in the 1890s including Munroe Hill, Meriam Hill, and Winthrop Road. Other examples are found on Bloomfield Street, Grant Street, Hancock Street, and Waltham Street. The style continued to be used locally until about 1910. Lexington's finest Shingle Style house is the Augustus E Scott House at 9 Bushnell Drive (formerly 277 Waltham Street), constructed in 1891. The house is believed to have been designed by prominent Cambridge architects Hartwell and Richardson. The firm also designed the Hancock School in 1891; A.E. Scott served as the chairman of the building committee. Scott was one of Lexington's most prominent citizens. He was a state legislator, organized the Lexington Field and Garden Club was one of the original members and first president of the Historical Society, and a founding member of the Lexington Savings Bank. He was also an accomplished mountain climber, an early president of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and was active in planning and building paths to important points in the White Mountains. Many of the Shingle Style dwellings in Lexington are capped by gambrel roofs. Among the earliest and best Shingle Style dwellings on Munroe Hill is the house constructed in 1893 at 14 Percy Road for Col. Charles Thornton, a resident of Cambridge who summered at the Russell House for several years. The house next door at 16 Percy Road was constructed at the same time for his sister. Other examples of Shingle Style dwellings with gambrel roofs include 7 Bennington Road, 183 Waltham Street, 50 Bloomfield Street, and 4 Washington Street. The Shingle Style is also exhibited in a number of smaller-scaled, gambrel-roofed cottages including 9 Audubon Road, 6 Forest Street, 2 Oakland Street, 50 Bloomfield Street, 10 Winthrop Road, 60 Pleasant Street, 6 and 8 Glen Road, and 6 Upland Road. The Colonial Revival style was widely used in Lexington in the late 19th and early 20th century. Like the Queen Anne and Shingle-style structures, many of these ambitious, high-style homes are found in the town center and along Mass. Avenue Many of the Colonial Revival dwellings of this period are free stylistic mixtures of "Colonial" features with elements of other styles that were popular at the same time. Typically the designs are without regard to historic precedent or accuracy. Many houses combine the Queen Anne style with the emerging Colonial Revival. Usually, Colonial Revival houses of this period have asymmetrical designs, unlike their historic prototypes, or exaggerated proportions. Some illustrations of this trend include the house which architect SD. Kelley designed in 1893 for Warren Sherburne at 11 Percy Road, 12 Warren Street, 29 Maple Street, and 48 Hancock Street constructed in 1903-4. The Colonial Revival style was also the style of choice for some of Lexington's most formal homes. In 1906 New York architect Oswald Hering designed a massive brick mansion for Harry Fay at 6 Eliot Road. Nearby, the Richard Tower Mansion at 33 Marrett Road is another brick Colonial Revival manse. It is now part of the Museum of Our National Heritage. Gambrel-roofed Colonial Revival dwellings were also popular in Lexington's more affluent neighborhoods at the turn of the century. Several notable examples are found on Munroe Hill and include the houses at 4 Bennington Road and 5 Pelham Road. A number of the most interesting residences constructed in Lexington in the early 20th century were designed by local architect Willard Dalyrimple Brown (1871-1944) who graduated from the MIT School of Architecture in 1894 and set up his own practice in Boston in 1902. Brown's highly original early works reflect the various influences that were prevalent during the eclectic times including the Colonial Revival, Shingle, and Craftsman modes. His own house at 20 Meriam Street (1905), embodies many of his typical details including a low hip roof with broad eaves and exposed rafters and an emphasis on horizontality. The George Whiting House at 8 Adams Street (1903) is one of Brown's earliest commissions and one of the largest high-style Craftsman houses in Lexington. Other houses designed by Willard D. Brown during this period include houses at 18 and 20 Adams Street, 28 Meriam Street, 75 Outlook Drive, 376 Lincoln Street, and 11 and 15 Winthrop Road. The use of fieldstone, stucco, and shingles is common to many of these designs. * * * Today, there are few remnants of the elegant mansions which were erected by Lexington's turn-of-the-century gentry. One of the few is the Whipple Mansion at 265 Lowell Street, a 1903 English Tudor remodeling of a c.1870 Stick Style house. After housing the Fairlawn Nursing Home for many years, this is now the home of the Lexington Prep School. The former stone carriage house at 60 Meriam Street is all that remains of Lexington's most splendid estate, the Francis B. Hayes property, also known as Oakmount. It is one of three carriage houses on Meriam Hill that have been remodeled into residences. The others - at 15 Patriots Drive and 6 Wadman Circle - were part of the Benjamin Brown estate. Other Property Types Town Buildings Population growth and expanded town services resulted in the construction of a number of important town buildings in the 1870 -1915 period. The Meriam Street Fire Station was built in 1876 and stood on its original site until 1947 when the top half of building was moved to 3 Hayes Lane where still stands as VFW Hall (former façade is at the rear). The brick Romanesque Revival Hancock School at 33 Forest Street was erected in 1891 according to designs by the prominent architectural firm of Hartwell and Richardson. The first building in town constructed to house a high school was built at 1475 Massachusetts Avenue in 1902, designed by architects Cooper and Bailey. (It was later substantially enlarged in 1924). The fieldstone and stucco Cary Library at 1874 Massachusetts Avenue was constructed in 1906 according to designs by local architect Willard D. Brown. Brown also designed the Munroe School at 1403 Massachusetts Avenue in 1904. The building was later modernized about 1915 by facing the front and side walls with brick. A new Adams School (739 Massachusetts Avenue) opened behind the Stone Building in East Lexington in 1912. The brick building was designed by Boston architects Brainerd and Leeds. * * * Churches The Church of Our Redeemer (Episcopal) at 17 Meriam Street was completed in 1886. The original simple wood-frame structure with its half-timbered gablefront, slight steeple, and open porch was designed by Boston architect EA.P. Newcomb. A growing congregation led to the construction of a new Hancock Church at 1912 Massachusetts Avenue beginning in 1892. The fieldstone church with squat tower and repeating arches was designed by Walter J. Paine of the Boston architectural firm of Lewis and Paine. Images of the church were published in the national publication American Architect and Building News in 1893. The First Baptist Church at 1580 Massachusetts Avenue also dates to 1892 and replaces an earlier Baptist structure constructed on the same site in 1834, remodeled and enlarged during the 1880s, and destroyed by fire on May 13, 1891. The Shingle Style building was designed by Boston architect J. Williams Beal and was reportedly built after the plan of a church "just completed" in Randolph. The town's first Jewish synagogue was constructed in East Lexington at 23 Sylvia Street in 1913. It was designed to be adaptable for residential use in the event the congregation did not thrive. * * * Commercial / Industrial / Agricultural Constructed in 1903, the Hunt Block at 1752 Massachusetts Avenue (corner of Waltham Street) is of interest as an early work of local architect Willard D. Brown and possibly his only known commercial design. The so-called "Stone Store" at 2219 Massachusetts Avenue was built in 1906 by Nellie and Thomas Breslin. Constructed entirely of fieldstone, it is the only building of its kind in Lexington. Lexington has few surviving industrial buildings and even fewer date to this period. Matthew H. Merriam's former shop at 7 Oakland Street, is a 200 x 35' wood-frame structure constructed in 1882 for the manufacture of trimmings for boots and shoes. The building now serves as housing. George Grant opened a gear works at 31 Fletcher Avenue in 1888. The factory was purchased by Jefferson Union Company, makers of pipe fittings, in 1905. The original building was greatly expanded over the years and a storehouse was built. The property remained in active industrial use until 2005 and has since been converted into residential condominiums. Although the railroad built four additional stations (North Lexington, East Lexington, Pierce's Bridge, Munroe Station) in town during this period, none of them survives today. The former Lexington and Boston Street Railway Company Powerhouse at 177 Bedford Street was constructed in 1900. The impressive brick building combines fireproof construction, utilitarian function, and graceful Classical Revival design. The building is dominated by corbelled semi-circular arched openings. Brick trim includes window caps and a band above the window openings and below the metal cornice. The summer and car houses that stored the trolleys are no longer extant. In 1913, the Boston Edison Illuminating Company constructed a transformer station at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Grant Street (4 Grant Street). The fireproof building was constructed of brick and concrete with steel frames, concrete floors, and roof, and metal sash and trimmings. The stuccoed exterior is Classical Revival in style, with quoins trimming the building corners and the large arched openings. Among the documented agricultural buildings dating to the late 19th to early 20th century is the post-and-beam barn at 160 Wood Street. Set on a fieldstone foundation, the 1 ½-story gablefront structure was built in 1889 during the ownership of Joseph Ballard. Indicative of its period of construction the timbers have circular saw marks and are pinned with machine-turned dowels with hand-carved points and toe nailed with machine-cut nails. * * * Monuments
834	dbpedia	2	0	https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Boston_and_Lowell_RR	en	The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1724614625	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1724614625	[ "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/10/images/libguide_header_nov_2021_copy_v.2_resize.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/B_and_L_RR_001__1_.jpg", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/misc_005.jpg", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/B...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Brad MacGowan" ]	null	Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history.	en	//d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/apps/common/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png		https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Boston_and_Lowell_RR	From Summer Saunterings by the B & L (1885) https://archive.org/details/summersauntering00bost/page/n9/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater The original main line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad was only twenty-six miles in length; and for many years it remained "little among the thousands" of great railway lines. Now that it has suddenly reached out and, by purchase, lease and business contract, secured the management or traffic of many connecting and tributary roads, so that it has become the largest railroad system in New England, it is interesting to recall the fact that, as it was the first railroad chartered in New England for passenger transportation, so it was the first to be completed and operated its entire length, and it was the third or fourth in the United States. In 1821, what is now the city of Lowell was a straggling village of twelve houses; some time previous a canal had been dug around Pawtucket Falls, on the Merrimack River, for purposes of navigation. In 1822, an organization was effected under the name of " The Locks and Canal Co." on the Merrimack River, to utilize the water power for manufacturing purposes, and the first wheel was set in motion Sept. 1, 1823. The facilities for the transportation of raw material to, and manufactured goods from, the place, were the river from Newburyport via Haverhill, the Middlesex Canal from Boston, and the highways; the latter being sandy in summer, muddy in spring and early winter, and often blockaded with snow in mid-winter. In 1820, Messrs. William Appleton, Patrick T. Jackson and Kirk Boott, of Boston, with other far-seeing men of the owners and managers of water power and mills located at Lowell, were convinced that there must be greater transportation facilities for the proper development of their investments; for already on an average as many as twenty-four tons of freight passed daily between the manufacturing village and the then young city of Boston, and "six stage-coaches, drawn by four and six horses each, "conveyed" from 100 to 120 passengers daily from one town to the other." This is a small amount of freight and number of passengers to us, but for that day indicates that great business activity had begun in eastern Massachusetts. It was evident that something must be done speedily, and certain enterprises in England and other parts of this country attracted their attention and directed their efforts. In 1827, a road three miles in length, with rails of wood covered with iron, was opened from the Quincy granite quarries to the Neponset River, and successfully used with horse-propelling power. This same year another similar road, nine miles in length, was opened among the coal mines of the Lehigh region in Pennsylvania; and, in 1821), the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co. constructed a third railroad. All of these were operated either by gravity, animals, or stationary steam engines, and were for freight transportation only. The latter company, hearing of the success of Stephenson in moving loads of coal in England on a railroad, sent an agent there, who purchased a locomotive steam engine named the " Stourbridge Lion," which was tested on their road at Honesdale, Penn., August 8, 1829, "which was, without a shadow of doubt, the day the first locomotive turned a driving wheel upon a road on the American continent." The Massachusetts Legislature of 1829 had ordered a survey, at State expense, to ascertain the practicality of a railroad between Boston and Lowell. It was made by Mr. James Haywood, and his report transmitted to the Legislature by Gov. Levi Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1830. The previous October, Stephenson had made his successful experiment with a locomotive steam engine on the Manchester & Liverpool Railroad. All these movements had been closely watched by those interested in the Lowell "Locks and Canal Co.," and on Jan. 18, 1830, Patrick T. Jackson, Esq., requested Kirk Boott, Esq., agent, to call a meeting of the directors, by whom he hoped a meeting of the "proprietors" would be called, and he states that his "object is to draw the attention of the proprietors of that stock to the project for building a railroad from this place (Boston) to Lowell." The directors' meeting was the 22d and the proprietors the 27th of January, at the house of Mr. Jackson, No. 22 Winter Street, Boston, when the first step was taken for the organization of a company to build the Boston & Lowell Railroad. The project was strenuously opposed by the owners of the Middlesex Canal, but the Legislature of that year granted a charter, giving the company the exclusive right to railroad transportation between Boston and Lowell for thirty years, which rights the courts afterwards sustained them in asserting. The road was so well located and built that there is no grade over ten feet to the mile, except at the overhead crossing of the Fitchburg Railroad in Somerville, and all the curves are wide and easy. A copy of "The Merchants' and Traders' Guide and Strangers' Memorandum Book for the year of our Lord 1836," says: "This road was opened for public accommodation on the 24th of June, 1835, [the Providence road was opened June 11th, and the Worcester, July 4th, of the same year,] and its cost thus far exceeds $1,000,000. The road is built with a single track, and is constructed of the iron edge-rail, supported by cast-iron chairs on stone blocks and stone sleepers, resting on stone foundation walls. A second track is commenced and laid about five miles." This second track was not so expensively laid with stone foundation walls, as it was found that the frost would not heave the sleepers so much as was feared. All of the stone blocks and stone sleepers have now been removed, being replaced with wood; but many of them may yet be seen lying by the railroad side between Boston and Lowell. The rails were not of the now universal "T" pattern, but what were called "fish bellies," because they were wider perpendicularly in the middle than the ends -where they rested on the chairs; they were of iron and weighed only 35 pounds to the yard and broke easily. The first locomotive used on the road was built in England and named the "Stephenson," and, among other peculiarities, had the plates on the side of her fire-box welded instead of riveted. The first passenger car was an open one ; covers were soon provided, above which was a chaise-top for the conductor, who was the lookout, and carried a silver whistle to blow as a signal, which however could hardly be heard when the train was in motion, on account of the force of the wind. The engines had no cabs, and the engineer and fireman were exposed to all the extremes of weather. "The Merchants' and Traders' Guide," before quoted, also contains the following interesting notice in connection with the above: "Before the starting of the cars, stages leave Nos. 9 and 11 Elm Street, and City Tavern, Brattle Street, and call at almost any part of the city for passengers, and take them to the depot free of charge. Arrangements have not yet been made, though they are in progress, for the conveyance of merchandise, but there is a private car attached to the train for the purpose of conveying small quantities of merchandise." Probably this was the forerunner of the modern express companies' cars. The Boston terminus was then at the foot of Lowell Street, where the freight-house now is. In 1857, the present site of the station on Causeway Street was occupied, and the present costly and commodious depot, 700 feet long, having a frontage of 205 feet, with a train-house having an arch with a clear span of 120 feet without any central support, was occupied in 1874. The spot upon which it stands is made land, and the Blackstone Canal which formerly crossed Boston along the line of the street of that name, intersected Causeway Street near this point, that street being originally what its name implies, a causeway with water on either side. The writer's father has told him he had often seen vessel's jib-booms extending over that street, the water allowing them to be moored by its side.
834	dbpedia	3	46	https://merrimackvalley.org/cities-and-towns/lowell-massachusetts/	en	The City of Lowell, MA (01850)	https://merrimackvalley.…_acf_cropped.jpg	https://merrimackvalley.…_acf_cropped.jpg	[ "https://merrimackvalley.org/wp-content/themes/merrimack-valley/img/merrimack-valley-logo-new.svg", "https://merrimackvalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tyngsborough.-RLN_4735-800x600.jpg", "https://merrimackvalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tyngsborough.-RLN_4735-800x600.jpg", "https://merrimackvalley...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2021-10-13T20:23:31+00:00	The 4th largest city in Mass., Lowell, features excellent dining, shopping, culture, and nightlife. Find demographic data, history, and the best places to visit.	en	https://merrimackvalley.…un_fav-32x32.png	Merrimack Valley Massachusetts	https://merrimackvalley.org/cities-and-towns/lowell-massachusetts/	About Lowell, Massachusetts Located 27 miles northwest of Boston, Lowell is the fourth largest city in Massachusetts. Founded as the nation’s first planned manufacturing center for textiles, its strategic location at the intersections of routes 495, 93, and 3, along with its commuter rail link to Boston, makes Lowell an ideal location for businesses and residents alike. The Lowell National Historical Park was the country’s first urban national park and a tribute to the Industrial Revolution and textile industry that boomed in New England in the 19th Century. Shopping, Dining, Art, History, And More The city offers an eclectic mix of dining and shopping and a wide variety of cultural opportunities influenced by its many ethnic groups. There is an eclectic mixture of art and history in Lowell, MA, from its museums, art galleries, theatres, and the nationally renowned Lowell Folk Festival to its trolley tours, canal boat tours, and the working cotton mill exhibits it offers to visitors and locals alike. Live Entertainment The 2,800-seat Lowell Auditorium hosts many of the country’s best performers at affordable prices, while the Merrimack Repertory Theater is one of the few self-sustaining repertory theater groups in the northeast. The Tsongas Center at Umass Lowell is the host to many fabulous shows and special events. Living In Lowell This planned urban community is built along the Merrimack River and its diverse canal system, which provided power to early manufacturers. Today the city is a revitalized urban center offering residents a mix of urban downtown housing located in its refurbished mills and old-fashioned city neighborhoods made up of beautiful older homes. The Last Pow-Wow Oak In New England Lowell, MA, holds the last Pow-Wow Oak located in New England. The oak is over 300 years old and is the site of ancient Native American traditions. The original meaning of Pow-Wow is a practice of a religious or magical ritual, and it also represents a gathering for council or conference. The name for a Native American shaman or healer is Pauwau. The Wamesit Indians met under this tree centuries ago to perform rituals and seek council. The oak has historical significance for the American Revolutionary War as well. Militia gathered under this tree before setting off for Concord and Lexington.
834	dbpedia	0	64	https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/New_York,_New_Haven_and_Hartford_Railroad	en	New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/4/49/3967638391_baa36bfef9_b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230217164347	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/4/49/3967638391_baa36bfef9_b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230217164347	[ "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/e/e6/Site-logo.png/revision/latest?cb=20230729134208", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/e/e6/Site-logo.png/revision/latest?cb=20230729134208", "https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/4/49/3967638391_baa36bfef9_b.jpg/revision/l...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Contributors to Locomotive Wiki" ]	null	The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of the New York and New Haven and Hartford and New...	en	https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/locomotive/images/4/4a/Site-favicon.ico/revision/latest?cb=20210902130506	Locomotive Wiki	https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/New_York,_New_Haven_and_Hartford_Railroad	The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of the New York and New Haven and Hartford and New Haven railroads, the company had near-total dominance of railroad traffic in Southern New England for the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1890s and accelerating in 1903, New York banker J. P. Morgan sought to monopolize New England transportation by arranging the NH's acquisition of 50 companies, including other railroads and steamship lines, and building a network of electrified trolley lines that provided interurban transportation for all of southern New England. By 1912, the New Haven operated more than 2000 miles of track, with 120,000 employees, and practically monopolized traffic in a wide swath from Boston to New York City. This quest for monopoly angered Progressive Era reformers, alienated public opinion, raised the cost of acquiring other companies and increased the railroad's construction costs. The company's debt soared from $14 million in 1903 to $242 million in 1913, while the advent of automobiles, trucks and buses reduced its profits. Also in 1913, the federal government filed an antitrust lawsuit that forced the NH to divest its trolley systems. The line became bankrupt in 1935. It emerged from bankruptcy, albeit reduced in scope, in 1947, only to go bankrupt again in 1961. In 1969, its rail assets were merged with the Penn Central system, formed a year earlier by the merger of the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad. Already a poorly-conceived merger, Penn Central proceeded to go bankrupt in 1970, becoming the largest U.S. bankruptcy until the Enron Corporation superseded it in 2001. The remnants of the system now comprise Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, much of the northern leg of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, Connecticut's Shore Line East and Hartford Line, parts of the MBTA, and numerous freight operators such as CSX and the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The majority of the system is now owned publicly by the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. History[] Predecessors and formation (1839–1872)[] The New Haven system was formed by the merger of two railroads that intersected in New Haven, Connecticut: the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, which began service between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1839, and the New York and New Haven Railroad, which opened in 1848 between its namesake cities. The two companies had a history of cooperation; for a time, they jointly leased the New Haven and Northampton Railroad and coordinated their steamship services with each other. An initial merger attempt between the two in 1870 was rejected by the Connecticut General Assembly, largely over fears that the merged railroad would form a monopoly. But the legislature approved a second attempt just two years later, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed on July 24, 1872. The newly-combined railroad owned a main line from New York City to Springfield via New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, and also reached New London, Connecticut via a lease of the Shore Line Railway (leased in 1870 by the New York and New Haven Railroad). Expansion and acquisitions (1872–1900)[] The company later leased more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtual monopoly in New England south of the Boston and Albany Railroad. In 1882, the railroad leased the Boston, New York and Airline Railroad, the last railroad in New Haven not controlled by the NYNH&H. This new acquisition gave the New Haven Railroad a connection to Willimantic, Connecticut. Two more companies, the Naugatuck Railroad and the Connecticut Valley Railroad, were leased by the New Haven in 1887. With these two leases, the New Haven was in control of 10 of the 22 railroads in Connecticut at the time. Early 20th century (1900–1935)[] Around the beginning of the 20th century, New York investors led by J. P. Morgan gained control, and in 1903 installed Charles S. Mellen as President. Charles Francis Murphy's New York Contracting and Trucking company was awarded a $6 million contract in 1904 to build rail lines in the Bronx for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. An executive at the railroad said the contract was awarded to avoid friction with New York City's Tammany Hall political machine. In response to this contract, the New York State Legislature amended the city's charter so that franchise-awarding power was removed from the city council and given to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which only became defunct in 1989. Morgan and Mellen achieved a complete monopoly of transportation in southern New England, purchasing other railroads and steamship and trolley lines. More than 100 independent railroads eventually became part of the system before and during these years, reaching 2,131 miles at its 1929 peak. Substantial improvements to the system were made during the Mellen years, including electrification between New York and New Haven. Morgan and Mellen went further and attempted to acquire or neutralize competition from other railroads in New England, including the New York Central's Boston and Albany Railroad, the Rutland Railroad, the Maine Central Railroad, and the Boston and Maine Railroad. But the Morgan-Mellen expansion left the company overextended and financially weak. In 1914, 21 directors and ex-directors of the railroad were indicted for "conspiracy to monopolize interstate commerce by acquiring the control of practically all the transportation facilities of New England." Financial difficulties (1935–1969)[] Template:Rail freight Under the stress of the Great Depression the company became bankrupt in 1935, remaining in trusteeship until 1947. Common stock was voided and creditors assumed control. During the 88 stations case, the railroad closed 88 stations in Massachusetts and 5 in Rhode Island in 1938, and unsuccessfully attempted to abandon the Boston-area portion of the Old Colony Division. The twelve-year reorganization resulted in "eight Supreme Court decisions, fourteen circuit court decisions, five district court decisions, and eleven ICC reports." In 1948, the company operated 644 locomotives, 1,602 passenger cars and 8,796 freight cars on 1,581 miles of track. After 1951, both freight and passenger service lost money. The earlier expansion had left NH with a network of low-density branch lines that could not pay their own maintenance and operating costs. The freight business was short-haul, requiring switching costs that could not be recovered in short-distance rates. They operated major commuter train services in New York and Boston (as well as New Haven, Hartford and Providence), but these had always lost money; though heavily patronized, these services operated only during the morning and evening rush hours, and were unable to recover their infrastructure costs. The demise of the New Haven was likely hastened by the 1958 opening of the Connecticut Turnpike, largely paralleling the railroad's mainline across the state, and the subsequent construction of other interstate highways. With decades of inadequate investment, the New Haven could not compete against automobiles or trucks. In 1954, the brash Patrick B. McGinnis led a proxy fight against incumbent president Frederic C. "Buck" Dumaine Jr., vowing to return more of the company's profit to shareholders. McGinnis won control of the railroad and appointed Arthur V. McGowan, a longtime acquaintance, Vice President. McGinnis attempted to accomplish many of his financial goals by deferring all but the most essential maintenance. McGinnis also spent lavishly on a new visual identity for the company: green and gold trim was replaced by black, red-orange and white, accompanied by a stylized "NH" emblem. McGinnis and McGowan had Chrysler Imperial automobiles custom made so that they could travel along the railroad's tracks to their country estates in Litchfield County, Connecticut. When McGinnis departed 22 months later he left the company financially wrecked, a situation exacerbated by severe damage from the 1955 Connecticut floods. In 1959, the New Haven discontinued passenger service on the Old Colony Railroad network in southeastern Massachusetts. Despite this and other cutbacks, the New Haven again declared bankruptcy on July 2, 1961. Merger with Penn Central (1969–1976)[] At the insistence of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the New Haven was merged into Penn Central on December 31, 1968, ending rail operations by the corporation. Penn Central was bankrupt by 1970 and the New Haven corporate entity remained in existence throughout the 1970s as the Trustee of the Estate pursued just payment from Penn Central for the New Haven's assets. A substantial portion of the former New Haven main line between New York and Boston was transferred to Amtrak in 1976 and now forms the northern leg of the electrified Northeast Corridor, hosting high-speed Acela Express and regional rail service. The main line between New Rochelle and New Haven is jointly owned by the state of Connecticut and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and is served by the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line and Shore Line East, providing commuter service from Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal as far eastward as New London, Connecticut. The New Haven Line is coded red on Metro-North timetables and system maps, a nod to the red livery used by the New Haven for the last decade of its history. MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line provides commuter service between Providence and South Station in Boston. Amtrak took over passenger service on the New Haven–Springfield Line in 1976, and was joined by the state of Connecticut's Hartford Line in 2018. On August 28, 1980, American Financial Enterprises, Inc., acquired the remaining assets of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company when the plan for reorganization was approved by the court and the company was reorganized. This brought to an end the 108-year corporate history of the storied railroad, and the end to the 19-year saga of its second bankruptcy reorganization. American Financial Enterprises would become the largest single stockholder of Penn Central Company shares by the mid-1990s, controlling 32% of the stock of the company. The Conrail era and beyond (1976–present)[] Freight operations on former New Haven lines passed to Conrail with its government-overseen creation on April 1, 1976. During the subsequent 23 years, Conrail withdrew from much of that territory, abandoning some track and handing other lines over to the Providence & Worcester, Bay Colony, Boston & Maine, Connecticut Central, Pioneer Valley, Housatonic and Connecticut Southern railroads. Those lines still operated by Conrail in 1999 became part of CSX Transportation as the result of the breakup of the Conrail system. The state of Connecticut frequently alludes to the New Haven in its modern transportation projects; much of the state's commuter equipment is painted in McGinnis-era livery, while the iconic "NH" logo appears on everything from rolling stock, station signage, to tourism materials for the city of New Haven itself. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has painted its diesel commuter rail locomotives used on the non-electrified Danbury and Waterbury Metro-North branches, as well as its Shore Line East operation, in the "McGinnis Scheme," composed of white, black, and orange-red stripes with the iconic NH logo. Although a new livery was introduced with the opening of the Hartford Line commuter service in 2018, much of its equipment is shared with Shore Line East, of which some continue to bear the McGinnis livery and the rest have been repainted into the new "CTrail" livery. All of these lines were formerly owned by the New Haven. The Valley Railroad, a preservation line based in Essex, Connecticut that runs both steam and diesel traction, has painted the authentic script-lettering insignia of the original "New York, New Haven and Hartford" railroad on the tenders of its resident steam locomotives, 2-8-0 Consolidation type Number 97 and 2-8-2 Mikado type number 40. There is a third steam locomotive in restoration to running order; a Chinese SY-class Mikado, formerly known as the 1658, it is being renumbered and painted as New Haven 3025, and is to be based on a Mikado-type engine that was typical to the New Haven. In 2016, the New Britain Rock Cats relocated a few miles to Hartford to become the Hartford Yard Goats. The name reflects the old New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad history and the logo is based on the original NYNHH logo. The team began playing in 2017 in downtown Hartford at Dunkin Donuts Park. Operations[] Passenger[] Passenger trains ran between Grand Central Terminal and Boston's South Station via Providence, Springfield or Willimantic. Several passenger trains a day, including the overnight Federal, ran between Washington, D.C. and New York (Penn Station) via PRR and on to Boston. Passenger service operated from Grand Central Terminal to Hartford, Springfield and beyond. The premier New York–Boston passenger service was the Merchants Limited, leaving Grand Central and South Station simultaneously at 5 PM. Also prominent was the Yankee Clipper, with 1 PM departures. For many years these trains carried no coaches, only parlor cars, dining and lounge cars. NH introduced ideas for passenger rail travel, including early use of restaurant and parlor cars in the steam era, and more during the transition to diesel. NH was a pioneer in many ways; in streamliners with the Comet, in the use of diesel multiple units (DMUs) in the U.S. with both Budd's regular Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) and the all-RDC Roger Williams trainset, in the use of rail-adapted buses, in lightweight trains such as the Train X-equipped Dan'l Webster, and in experimentation with Talgo-type (passive tilt) equipment on the train John Quincy Adams. An audacious experiment was the UAC TurboTrain, which with passive tilt, turbine engines and light weight attempted to revolutionize medium—distance railway travel in the U.S. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Turbo Train holds the U.S. railway speed record of 170 mph, set in 1968. The NH never operated the Turbo in revenue service, as the NH was purchased by PC, which operated the train. Other passenger trains[] Ambassador (New York-Montreal) Bankers (New York–Springfield) Bar Harbor Express (Washington, D.C.-Ellsworth, Maine) (overnight; all-Pullman) (summer only) Bay State (New York–Boston) Berkshire (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield) Bostonian (New York–Boston) Buttermilk Bay (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole) Colonial (Washington–Boston) Commander (New York–Boston) Connecticut Yankee (New York-Quebec City) via Boston & Maine (B&M), Quebec Central Railway Cranberry (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole) Dan'l Webster (New York–Boston) Day Cape Codder (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole) (summer only) Day White Mountains (New York–Berlin, New Hampshire via B&M) East Wind (Washington, D.C.–Portland, Maine, via PRR and B&M) (summer only) Federal (Washington, D.C.–Boston) (overnight) Forty–Second Street (New York–Boston) Gilt Edge (New York–Boston) Hell Gate Express (New York (Penn Station)–Boston) Housatonic (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield) Litchfield (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield) Mayflower (New York–Boston) Merchants Limited (New York–Boston) Montrealer (Washington, D.C.–Montreal, via PRR, Canadian National (CN), Central Vermont Railway (CV), and B&M) (overnight) Murray Hill (New York–Boston) Narragansett (New York–Boston) (overnight) Nathan Hale (New York–White River Junction) (overnight) Naugatuck (New York–Winsted, Connecticut) Neptune (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole) (summer only) New Yorker (New York–Boston) Night Cape Codder (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole) (overnight, summer only) Night White Mountains (Washington, D.C.-Bretton Woods) (overnight, summer only) North Wind (New York-Bretton Woods) (summer only) Nutmeg (Boston-Franklin-Hartford-Waterbury) Owl (New York–Boston) (overnight) Patriot (Washington, D.C.–Boston) Pilgrim (Philadelphia–Boston) (overnight) Puritan (New York–Boston) Quaker (Philadelphia–Boston) (overnight) Sand Dune (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole) Senator (Washington, D.C.–Boston) Shoreliner (New York–Boston) State of Maine (New York–Portland/Bangor via B&M and Maine Central Railroad or MEC) (overnight) Valley Express (New York-White River Junction) Washingtonian (Montreal–Washington, D.C., via PRR, CN, CV and B&M) (overnight) William Penn (Philadelphia–Boston) (overnight) Yankee Clipper (New York–Boston) Commuter[] Commuter service from New York ran through New Rochelle to Stamford, New Canaan, Danbury (and on to Pittsfield), and through Bridgeport to New Haven and Waterbury (and on to Hartford and Winsted). Commuter service from Boston went to destinations on the OC system of Greenbush, Plymouth, Brockton/Campello, Middleboro, Hyannis/Woods Hole on Cape Cod, Fall River, Newport, New Bedford and Providence, Woonsocket, Needham Heights, West Medway and Dedham. Yale Bowl trains[] Beginning November 21, 1914, the railroad operated special trains to bring football fans to and from the new Yale Bowl stadium in New Haven. Passengers rode extra trains from Springfield, Boston, and especially New York to the New Haven Union Station, where they transferred to trolleys for the 2 mile ride to the Bowl. On November 21, 1922, for example, such trains carried more than 50,000 passengers. "There is nothing which can be compared with the New Haven's football movement except a record of one of the mass-movements incidental to the European war," one observer wrote in 1916. Freight[] Major freight yards were at South Boston, Taunton, Fall River, New Bedford, Providence (Northup Avenue Yard), Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven (the major Cedar Hill hump classification yard), Maybrook (another hump yard and interchange point for western connections), New York Harlem River and New York Bay Ridge (where interchange was made with the PRR and other railroads in New Jersey, via barge (car float)). Multiple through freight trains traveled at night between New York or Maybrook and Cedar Hill yard and on to Boston. Other through freights served the yards above as well as intermediate points and also State Line (New York Central interchange), Brockton, Framingham and Lowell (B&M interchange for traffic for Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River). Company officers[] Name From To Term Notes William D. Bishop July 24, 1872 February 1879 6y/6m George H. Watrous February 1879 March 1887 8y/1m Charles P. Clark March 1887 November 1899 12y/8m John Manning Hall November 1899 October 31, 1903 4y Charles S. Mellen October 31, 1903 January 9, 1913 9y/8m Also chairman Howard Elliott January 9, 1913 October 22, 1913 1m/22d Also chairman James H. Hustis October 22, 1913 August 15, 1914 9m/25d Howard Elliott August 15, 1914 January 5, 1917 2y/8m Also chairman Edward Jones Pearson January 5, 1917 March 21, 1918 10m Also chairman Edward G. Buckland March 21, 1918 February 29, 1920 1y/11m Also chairman Edward Jones Pearson February 29, 1920 November 27, 1928 8y/8m Also chairman Edward G. Buckland March 1, 1929 January 3, 1929 2m Also chairman John J. Pelley January 3, 1929 January 11, 1934 5y/8m Howard S. Palmer January 11, 1934 December 8, 1948 13y/9m Longest term Frederic C. Dumaine, Sr. December 8, 1948 August 31, 1948 20d Also chairman; shortest term Laurence F. Whittemore August 31, 1948 December 21, 1949 1y/3m Frederic C. Dumaine, Sr. December 21, 1949 May 27, 1951 1y/5m Also chairman Frederic C. "Buck" Dumaine Jr. May 27, 1951 January 4, 1954 2y/10m Also chairman Patrick B. McGinnis January 4, 1954 January 18, 1956 1y/9m George Alpert January 18, 1956 July 7, 1961 5y/5m Also chairman See also[] EMD FL9 – a dual-power electro-diesel locomotive EP-5 electric locomotive FM P-12-42 – a streamlined locomotive Joy Steamship Company Mary-Ann (turbine generator) Gallery[] []
834	dbpedia	3	66	https://www.bostonintransit.com/products/boston-lowell-railroad-boston-depot-train-hall-circa-1880	en	Boston & Lowell Railroad Boston Depot Train Hall, Circa 1880	http://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=1614350525	http://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=1614350525	[ "https://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/files/Boston-In-Transit-Logo-BookCover.jpg?v=1664889899&width=500", "https://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=1614350525&width=1946", "https://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Date: Circa 1880Source Collection: Walker Transportation Collection of Historic Beverley Boston in Transit - The BookFigure 4.14 - Boston & Lowell Terminal Train Hall, Circa 1880The train hall of the third depot of the Boston & Lowell is occupied by two trains of passenger coaches. In the distance, large round	en		Boston In Transit	https://www.bostonintransit.com/products/boston-lowell-railroad-boston-depot-train-hall-circa-1880	____________________________________________ AUTHENTIC PRINTS We sell antique prints (the actual artifact!) as well as fine art reproductions of the maps in our collection. Select "Authentic Print" from the purchase options to purchase the real deal, an artifact produced years ago. Authentic prints are available when we have them. The website will indicate "sold out" if the authentic print is no longer available. Fine art reproductions of every image in our collection are always available. Lead times: Unframed authentic prints are typically ready for shipment or pickup within a few days of order placement. Some authentic prints listed on our website must be brought in from other dealers. In those cases, additional days are required to get those prints to us before shipping or pickup can take place. ____________________________________________ FINE ART PRINTS/REPRODUCTIONS Printing: We print in-house to control all aspects of print quality and consistency. Printers: We exclusively utilize Epson commercial-grade Ultrachrome printers and pigment inks. Papers: We print onto Epson Premium and Ultra-premium matte-finish papers engineered for Epson Ultrachrome printers. Paper Sizes / Prices: Small 8 1/2" x 11" Paper = $14.95 Studio 11" x 14" Paper = $19.95 Medium 13" x 19" Paper = $29.95 Intermediate 18" x 24" Paper = $49.95 Large 24" x 36" Paper = $69.95 Quality: Our fine art prints are museum-quality, no-fade, color-stable, acid-free, and archival. Layout: All images are printed as large as possible onto the selected paper size. The original proportions of the image are maintained. No stretching to fill the paper occurs. Given that the proportions of each image rarely matches that of the paper, there is always white space around the image. Images are centered onto the paper as much as possible. Watermarks: Watermarks will not be printed on reproduction fine art prints. Watermarks are displayed on website images only. Lead times: Unframed prints are typically ready for shipment or pickup within a few days of order placement. Pricing Policy: We reserve the right to change, lower, or increase the price of any item at any time. If we lower a price for an item, such as when we run a sale or put an item on clearance, we do not provide retroactive refunds or credits. ____________________________________________ FRAMING Fabrication: All of our frames are 100% made in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA. We have a longstanding relationship with a local fine art framer who exclusively produces all of our frames. Framing Types: We offer three types of framing, each with its own styles/colors. Custom/Archival Framing Economy/Non-Archival Framing Studio/No Matting Medium/No Matting Framing Why choose Custom/Archival framing? We recommend Custom/Archival frames when framing any authentic print. All authentic prints can fade when exposed to direct or indirect sunlight. Custom/Archival frames feature UV-resistant glazing to protect antique images from fading. Custom/Archival frames feature acid-free mat boards and backing boards that will not damage authentic prints. Store bought frames typically do not use UV-resistant glass nor acid-free materials. A Custom/Archival frame is the best way to protect and display an antique print for the ages. Why choose Economy/Non-Archival framing? Economy/Non-Archival frames are perfect for our fine art reproductions. Since our reproductions are archival (made with archival inks and acid-free papers), UV-resistant glazing nor acid-free boards are required to protect the reproduction. Economy/Non-Archival frames offer a sensible price point and affordable way to bring a framed image into any space. Frame Prices: All frame prices listed below do not include the cost of any reproduction print, shipping, or sales tax. See any individual map page on our site to explore calculated total costs for print + frame + sales tax + shipping. Custom/Archival Small = $125 Custom/Archival Medium = $175 Custom/Archival Intermediate = $225 Custom/Archival Large = $275 Economy/Non-Archival Small (11" x 14") = $60 Economy/Non-Archival Medium (16" x 20") = $80 Studio/No Matting (11" x 14") = $50 Medium/No Matting (13" x 19") = $60 18" x 24" No Matting = $80 (available in store only) Fine Art Reproduction Map + Frame = Total Framed Map Price: Small Print ($14.95) + Economy/Non-Archival ($60) = $74.95 Small Print ($14.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($125) = $139.95 Studio Print ($19.95) + Studio/No Matting ($50) = $69.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Medium/No Matting ($60) = $89.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Economy/Non-Archival ($80) = $109.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($175) = $204.95 Interm. Print ($49.95) + Economy/No Matting* ($80) = $129.95Interm. Print ($49.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($225) = $274.95 Large Print ($69.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($275) = $344.95 Available in store only. Pricing Policy: We reserve the right to change, lower, or increase the price of any item at any time. If we lower a price for an item, such as when we run a sale or put an item on clearance, we do not provide retroactive refunds or credits. Frame Sizes: Custom/Archival Small: Add approximately 5" to width and 5" to height of the map. For an 8 1/2 x 11" map, frame size works out to approximately 13" +/- x 16" +/- . * Custom/Archival Medium: Add approximately 6" to width and 6" to height of the map. For a 13" x 19" map, frame size works out to approximately 19" +/- x 25" +/- . Custom/Archival Intermediate: Add approximately 8" to width and 8" to height of the map. For an 18" x 24" map, frame size works out to approximately 26" +/- x 32" +/- . Custom/Archival Large: Add approximately 10" to width and 10" to height of the map. For a 24" x 36" map, frame size works out to approximately 34" +/- x 46" +/- . Economy/Non-Archival Small = 11" x 14" Economy/Non-Archival Medium = 16" x 20" Studio/No Matting = 11" x 14"Medium/No Matting = 13" x 19" These sizes are approximate because we build each custom frame around the size of each map reproduction image size or authentic antique map size. Frame Shipping: Small and Medium Fames are shipped in robust packaging with insurance. As of Jan 1, 2023, we no longer offer shipping of Intermediate and Large Frames. We continue to offer in-store pick up for any frame, regardless of size. Framing Lead Times: Custom/Archival Frames are hand-fabricated to order at our outside fine art framer's shop. They have a lead time of 2-3 weeks before they are ready for shipment or pick up. Economy/Non-Archival Frames are hand-fabricated to order at our outside fine art framer's shop. They have a lead time of 1-2 weeks before they are ready for shipment or pick up. Studio/No-Matting and Medium/No Matting Frames have their final assembly produced in house. They have a lead time of approximately 1 week or less before they are ready for shipment or pick up. __________________________________________________ FRAME TYPES We offer three types of framing, each with various styles. Custom/Archival Framing Economy/Non-Archival Framing Studio/No Matting Medium/No Matting Framing Custom/Archival Frames are constructed from painted wood with UV-resistant glazing to protect an antique map from fading. Custom/Archival frames feature acid-free mat boards and backing boards that will not damage the antique map. Each Custom/Archival frame comes with professional paper backing, hanging wire installed, and even a hook and a nail (see photo below). We offer a variety of styles of Custom/Archival frames. Custom/Archival Frame: Black Basic Smooth black with simple profile Custom/Archival Frame: Black Stepped Smooth black with tiered profile Custom/Archival Frame: Cherry Finish This frame has a reddish-brown color with wood texture. Two versions are photographed. The thinner/smaller profile is used with small and medium frames. The thicker/larger is used with intermediate and large frames. Custom/Archival Frame: Walnut Finish This frame is brown in color with wood texture. Two versions are photographed. The thinner/smaller profile is used with small and medium frames. The thicker/larger is used with intermediate and large frames. Economy/Non-Archival Frames are constructed from painted with with plate glass. They are perfect for our reproduction maps. Since our fine art prints are archival (made with archival inks and acid-free papers), UV-resistant glazing nor acid-free boards are required to protect the reproduction. To keep costs down and offer the highest quality at the lowest price, Economy/Non-Archival frames are available in one style, black with a square profile. Each frame comes with claw hanger on the back. Studio/No-Matting Frames accommodate our Studio 11" x 14" prints and do not include a mat. To keep costs down and offer the highest quality at the lowest price, Medium/No-Matting frames are available in one style, black with a square profile. Each frame comes with claw hanger on the back. Medium/No-Matting Frames accommodate our Medium 13" x 19" prints and do not include a mat. To keep costs down and offer the highest quality at the lowest price, Medium/No-Matting frames are available in one style, black with a square profile. Each frame comes with claw hanger on the back. ____________________________________________ Shipping Shipping Unframed Fine Art Prints / Reproduction Maps Small and Medium prints are shipped flat in plastic sleeves with rigid backing boards. Intermediate and larger prints are shipped rolled in rigid cardboard tubes with protective acid free paper linings. Shipping Framed Maps Frames are shipped in robust packaging with insurance. Shipping Charges Calculated rates are determined by the shipping carriers offered. Set rates and options are displayed during checkout. Shipping Carriers Shipping via the USPS and UPS are offered. Rates are calculated by the carriers. International Shipping We do not offer international shipping. We do ship to US territories and US Armed Forces Overseas addresses. ____________________________________________ Picking Up An Order When placing an order, you have the option to pick up your order in person from our retail store. Orders will not be ready until after we contact you to confirm that your order is ready. We will call or email to notify you when your order is ready to be picked up. We will hold orders for 90 days. We are not responsible for orders not picked-up within 90 days. After 90 days from day of purchase, unclaimed orders may be returned to stock and payment may not be refunded. ____________________________________________ Returns & Defective Items All sales are final. We do not accept exchanges nor returns on properly fulfilled and non-defective orders. We will replace or provide a credit for any defective item within 30 days of receipt of item. Please contact us regarding defective items. We will rectify any improperly fulfilled order. Please contact us regarding improperly fulfilled orders. Items Damaged in Shipping Though we use professional and robust packaging methods, damage of items in shipment is always a possibility. Hence, we typically ship items with shipping insurance at our cost. We will ask for a buyer's assistance in processing any claims against a shipper for items damaged in shipment. Once the claim has been resolved with the shipper, we will offer a replacement or credit to a buyer for the damaged item. If we did not ship with insurance, we will do our best to replace the item or issue a credit. ____________________________________________ Pricing Policy We reserve the right to change, lower, or increase the price of any item at any time. If we lower a price for an item, such as when we run a sale or put an item on clearance, we do not provide retroactive refunds or credits. Privacy Policy All purchases made with WardMaps LLC are processed securely by our third party shopping cart and credit card processors. WardMaps LLC is never privy to credit card data inputted on this site. WardMaps never shares the names, emails, nor any personal data about our customers with anyone.
834	dbpedia	3	89	https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/management.html	en	Laying Down the Principles: Management - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism			[ "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/hbs-banner.jpg", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/search.gif", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/pictures/menu8/1_thumb.jpg", "https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/railroads/images/site/pictures/menu8/2_thumb.jpg", "htt...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null					null	Laying Down the Principles: Management A system of centralized management was born from the need to direct the flow of capital and run large-scale railroad operations safely, efficiently, and profitably. The fact that operations did not occur in a single place, but rather over widely dispersed areas made management both imperative and challenging. “An important question in the management of a large railroad system is how to get local responsibility on the part of those engaged in operating different arms of the system,” wrote Charles E. Perkins, President of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad.25 The Pennsylvania Railroad alone, which employed over 110,000 workers by 1891, dwarfed the number of personnel of the United States Army, Navy, and Marines combined. Early surveyors and managers included engineers from West Point or the War Department—individuals well versed in civil and military engineering and rigorous bureaucratic procedures. Railroad managers were responsible for supervising thousands of specialized employees—from surveyors, engineers, and construction workers to conductors, accountants, and ticket sellers—all within distinct units of operation. Management required micro-level, daily supervision as well as macro-level, long-term planning. A hierarchical structure emerged with delineated lines of authority narrowing upward, from middle and top managers to a board of directors. Pioneers in management included Benjamin H. Latrobe of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, who focused on financial accounting; J. Edgar Thomas of the Pennsylvania Railway, who worked on the coordination of regional lines within a large organization; and Daniel McCallum of the New York and Erie Railroad, who devised systems outlining the lines of responsibilities, authority, and communication. Their contributions laid the founding managerial principles of modern big business. By the late 1800s, other large, geographically dispersed organizations—including banks, manufacturers, and department stores—followed the same managerial standards.
834	dbpedia	3	5	https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Lowell_trains_1850	en	The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300386	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300386	[ "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/10/images/libguide_header_nov_2021_copy_v.2_resize.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/B_L_L_N_map.jpg", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/stations_detail.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/b...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Brad MacGowan" ]	null	Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history.	en	//d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/apps/common/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png		https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/Lowell_trains_1850	Map from A Descriptive Guide-Book to the Railway Route Between Boston and Burlington, via Lowell and Concord, Boston: Pathfinder Railway Guide Office, 1850. Detail from Diagram of rail roads diverging from Boston: showing the depots and distances 1846 Text below is from A Descriptive Guide-Book to the Railway Route Between Boston and Burlington, via Lowell and Concord, Boston: Pathfinder Railway Guide Office, 1850. THE BOSTON AND LOWELL AND NASHUA AND LOWELL RAILROADS. The Boston and Lowell Railroad, 26 miles in length, was opened for passengers in June, 1835. It was one of the earliest, as it has been one of the most successful, enterprises of the kind in this country. The road is thoroughly built, with a double track, and in its construction and management special regard has ever been had to the safety of its passengers. There are but few crossings at grade, and very few accidents have ever happened upon it. The road is well equipped for its extensive business. Boston and Lowell Railroad station 1852 (BPL). Leaving Boston, the road crosses Charles River, to ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ East Cambridge, a thriving place, containing 6 churches, a courthouse and jail, and other public buildings. Many branches of industry are carried on here, but the place is noted especially for its manufactures of glass. Leaving this point, the road very soon crosses an arm of Charles River, then the Fitchburg Railroad, and immediately after it passes, at McLean Asylum an elevated position on the right, the McLean Asylum for the Insane. The traveller now sees on his left the neat cottages of Somerville, and the church on Spring Hill. On his right, in the distance, are theruins of the Ursuline Convent. In the Ruins of the Ursuline Convent neighborhood of the ruins are situated Prospect and Winter Hills, in Somerville, from which may be had beautiful views of the city and harbor of Boston. Malden and North Malden may now be seen in the distance, on the right, and soon after, Medford. At length the road crosses Middlesex Canal and Mystic River, just beyond which is ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Medford, 5 miles from Boston. The village is at a little distance from the depot, and is more accessible from Boston by means of a branch from the Maine Railroad. West Cambridge may be seen from the station, on the west, at only a short distance. Medford contains many fertile and highly cultivated farms; but the town is particularly distinguished for ship-building. In five years preceding April 1, 1837, sixty vessels were built here, whose tonnage amounted to 24,000 tons. Leaving Medford, the road approaches the margin of Mystic Pond, of which the passenger has but a glimpse; it then passes the little settlement at Baconville, crosses the stream, and soon the traveller finds himself at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ South Woburn, 8 miles from Boston. This thriving little village owes its prosperity to the railroad, and in the summer months it is much resorted to, for a temporary residence, by persons from the city. Various manufactures are carried on here, the stream which passes the place affording sufficient water power for this purpose. A branch railroad, 2 miles in length, extends from South Woburn to Woburn Centre a large, neat, flourishing village. The surface of the town is uneven, and very much diversified with hills, dales, and woods, being thereby rendered exceedingly variegated and pleasant. Woburn, 10 miles from Boston, is the next stopping-place. This station is 1 1/4 miles from Woburn Centre. Passengers for East Woburn and other places in the vicinity stop here. Immediately above the depot occurs the most extensive excavation on this road. A quick run of 5 miles will now bring us to ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Wilmington, 15 miles from Boston, and 11 from Lowell. This is an agricultural town, the soil, however, being adapted only to some particular crops. Near the depot is a branch, 2 miles in length connecting with the Maine Railroad, but at present little used. Leaving Wilmington, the road passes near the Middlesex Canal, 4 miles, to Billerica and Tewkesbury [sic], (Richardson’s,) 7 miles from Lowell. The station here accommodates passengers for Tewkesbury and Billerica, — the latter a town of considerable importance, having a pleasant village at its centre, 2 miles distant. The next station is at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Billerica Mills, 4 miles from Lowell. The prosperity of the little settlement here has been checked by the repeated burning of the mills, situated on Concord River. During the next stage the railroad crosses Concord River, and soon after approaches the deep rock cutting, the most formidable obstacle in the construction of this railroad. Passing that, the traveller immediately finds himself at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Lowell. This place is so well known as hardly to need any description here. In 1821, it was inhabited by only a few families, and was in no way distinguished; in 1826 it was incorporated as a town, and in 1836 it became a city. It now contains a population of 30,000; 15 or 20 churches; 3 banks; several well-kept hotels; and many important public buildings. Its water power is improved by 12 manufacturing corporations, with a capital of more than 12,000,000 dollars, and employing 12,000 hands. Nor is Lowell a manufacturing city merely. With its growth and increase of business, great care has been taken to promote the moral and intellectual character of its population. This city stands among the first in the cities and towns of Massachusetts in the amount appropriated for public instruction, and its schools are universally acknowledged to be of a high order. A city library was established in 1844, which now contains several thousand volumes, and to which all may have access. There are various other institutions, which, by means of libraries, lectures, &c., are adapted to elevate the character of the population. An elegant and spacious mansion has been purchased by the corporations and converted into a hospital to which all persons employed by the corporations may have access when sick or disabled. A public cemetery has been laid out, on the east bank of Concord River, about a mile above its junction with the Merrimac. This place, from its variety of surface, its rich growth of wood, the graceful bend of the river near by, and the quiet which reigns around, is admirably adapted to the solemn purpose to which it has been consecrated. The passenger for the north sees little of Lowell, the depot being at its outskirts. Lowell passengers, however are taken into the heart of the city by a branch railroad. First Depot in Lowell At Lowell commences the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, 15 miles in length, extending to Nashua, N.H. It was opened in Oct, 1838. Though a short link in the line of communication between Boston and the north, this road is one of the most productive in the country; 200,000 passengers and 150,000 tons freight are annually carried over it - more than four times the amount of the estimated business of the road at the time of its construction! Leaving the Lowell station, the passenger quickly passes along and crosses the old canal, which supplies part of the water power of the city, and then a run of two minutes brings him to the Merrimac River, near the margin of which the road passes till he reaches ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Middlesex, the first stopping-place, 2 miles from Lowell. The cars always stop here to take or leave passengers; but the station is comparatively unimportant, and is frequently passed without stopping. A few rods from the depot is Middlesex Village, in Chelmsford, distinctly seen from the cars. Here is the head of the old Middlesex Canal, the business upon which was the foundation of this settlement. Since the use of the canal has been discontinued, the village has declined. Chelmsford is noted for its granite and limestone. Two miles further is North Chelmsford. Here is a thriving little settlement, at the mouth of Stony Brook; and from this place extends the Stony Brook Railroad, 13 1/2 miles in length, to Groton, where it connects with the Fitchburg Railroad. The next station is at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Tyngsborough, 7 miles from Lowell. The track here, for some 80 rods, is laid upon a wall at the very margin of the river. The Tyngsborough Curve (bmrrhs.org) A short distance above the depot is a little village, occupying a pleasant site, and containing a church and several neat buildings. A few years since, before the construction of the railroad, this portion of the Merrimac was enlivened by the frequent passage of a steamboat which plied between Lowell and Nashua for the transportation of passengers, and by the numerous boats which conveyed merchandise between Boston and Concord. Now, rafts of lumber are occasionally seen upon its surface, but the boats have disappeared. The next station is at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Little's, 4 miles below Nashua. This stopping-place accommodates passengers for the lower part of Nashua and Hudson. The next stopping-place, at the junction of the Concord Railroad, is at ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Map from A Descriptive Guide-Book to the Railway Route Between Boston and Burlington, via Lowell and Concord, Boston: Pathfinder Railway Guide Office, 1850. Nashua, 40 miles from Boston. This station is one mile below Nashua Village, the terminus of the Nashua Railroad. Here is also the point of junction of the Nashua and Worcester Railroad.
834	dbpedia	1	69	https://ashlandnhhistory.org/the-railroad-in-ashland	en	The Railroad in Ashland	https://img1.wsimg.com/i…20Passageway.jpg	https://img1.wsimg.com/i…20Passageway.jpg	[ "https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/9fa2915d-2d9b-4e9b-a191-434ce469380d/RR%20Marker.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:400,cg:true" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Ashland Historical Society" ]	null	Preserving Ashland's Past	en	//img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/static/pwa-app/logo-default.png/:/rs=w:57,h:57,m	Ashland Historical Society	https://ashlandnhhistory.org/the-railroad-in-ashland	In retrospect it is remarkable how quickly the railroad network developed in New England and how quickly it reached Holderness village. The Boston & Lowell Railroad, chartered in 1830, was the first New England steam railroad to actually be completed, with the first train arriving in Lowell in June, 1835. The Nashua & Lowell, the first New Hampshire railroad, was chartered in 1835, after the Boston & Lowell was completed and was opened to Nashua in 1838. The Concord Railroad was completed from Nashua to Concord in 1842. Concord became a railroad hub, with the Concord & Claremont RR to the west, the Concord & Portsmouth RR to the east, the Northern RR up the west bank of the Merrimack to Franklin and then east to Lebanon and White River Junction, and the Boston, Concord & Montreal RR, which had a grandiose name, but the main line actually ran from Concord to Wells River, Vermont, up the east side of the Merrimack from Concord to Tilton, than along the Winnipesaukee River and Paugus Bay through Laconia to Lake Winnipesaukee and Meredith village, then through the Lake Winona - Ames Brook gap in the hills to Holderness (now Ashland) village, up the Pemigewasset valley to Plymouth, then northwest through the Baker River Valley and Oliverian Notch to Haverhill and the Connecticut River. The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad was incorporated by the state legislature in 1844. Obadiah Smith was one of the incorporators named in the bill. Residences were not given in the bill, but the only Obadiah Smith in New Hampshire in the 1840 and 1850 censuses is our Obadiah Smith, the builder of the Whipple House, so at least one Ashland person was an early supporter. Construction of the BC&M RR began in Concord in February1846 and proceeded north in sections. The first section opened to Sanbornton Bridge, now Tilton, in May 1848. The railroad reached Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, in August 1848, and Meredith village in March 1849. Foggs Crossing in New Hampton became the end of the line on July 5, 1849. Service to Holderness Village began on December 3, 1849, to Plymouth in January 1850 and to Warren in June 1851. The BC&M stalled there for nearly two years because of opposition from a Vermont railroad, the Connecticut & Passumpic on the west side of the Connecticut River that did not want any of its traffic siphoned off by a New Hampshire railroad. Finally the BC&M RR bought an existing privately owned highway toll bridge over the Connecticut and rebuilt it in Woodsville as a two tier bridge, with a highway in the lower level beneath the railroad on top of the roof. The BC&M finally opened to Wells River, Vermont on May 10, 1853. Other railroads were built as branches of the BC&M Railroad. The most important to our story is the Pemigewasset Valley Railroad, completed from Plymouth to North Woodstock in 1883, and extended to the new mill village of Lincoln in 1892. The BC& M RR never made much money and did not pay any dividends to its shareholders in its first 36 years of operation. So in 1884, it was leased to the Boston & Lowell RR for 99 years. The Boston & Lowell did begin to modernize the line, (note the picture of the locomotive Ashland, built for the BC&M in 1877, with the Boston & Lowell name on it). However, there were BC&M stockholders who did not like this arrangement with the Boston & Lowell, and fought the lease in court, resulting in a judicial decision invalidating the lease in 1889. So, that same year, the legislature approved the merger of the BC&M RR with the Concord RR to form the Concord & Montreal RR, effective January 1, 1890. The new railroad did invest in the old BC& M line including building new railroad stations, as in Laconia, and remodeling old stations, such as our railroad station. However, the C&M RR only lasted as an independent corporation for five years. In 1895, it was leased to the Boston & Maine. (In 1919, the C&M was formally merged into the B&M.) With the 1895 lease of C&M, the B&M RR came to control most of the railroad tracks in the state. By 1897, of the 1193 miles of track in the state, 1122 were controlled by the B&M Railroad, a virtual monopoly. In 1903, the first paved road in Ashland was built from the railroad station to the downtown, which gives some idea of the importance of the railroad at the beginning of the century. (The concrete road was preceded in 1887 by a concrete sidewalk from the depot to the downtown.) More evidence of the national importance of this railroad came during World War I, when soldiers were detailed to guard the local railroad bridges against saboteurs. But, as the 20th century progressed, particularly after World War II, the automobile and the truck essentially replaced the railroad. The B&M contracted its service, abandoning one unprofitable line after another. In 1954, the Baker River valley section of the old BC&M main line northwest from Plymouth was abandoned, and the tracks were torn up in 1955. The various branch lines connecting the remaining BC&M main line to Franklin, Belmont and Alton had previously been abandoned, leaving a single dead end line that ran from Concord to Lincoln, the old BC&M main line to Plymouth and the Pemigewasset Valley RR north of Plymouth. On October 24, 1959, passenger service ended north of Laconia. I-93 opened to Ashland and Plymouth in 1964. Freight traffic became more and more sporadic and had pretty much ended by 1970. In 1971, the B&M applied for permission to abandon the entire Concord to Lincoln line. 1973 saw serious damage to the line by floods including a 50 foot chasm in Ashland. On October 30, 1975, the State of NH used its eminent domain powers to acquire the Concord to Lincoln line from the B&M, in large part to save the Lincoln paper mill, which needed rail service to continue operating. That however proved a lost cause, as the paper mill closed anyway. Commercial use of the line has practically ceased. The state did repair the line. But, eventually a new use was found for the line. After dealing with different railroad operators over the years, North Stratford RR, Wolfeboro RR, New England Southern RR, the state leased the line from Northfield to Lincoln to the tourist railroad owned by the Clark family, known as the Plymouth - Lincoln RR, the northern portion from Plymouth north in 1987, and the southern section from Northfield to Plymouth in 1991. The company operates two tourist railroads under the brand names of the Hobo RR, out of Lincoln, and the Winnipesaukee Scenic RR, out of Meredith. During the fall foliage season, the Winipesaukee Scenic RR runs trains from Meredith to Plymouth which stop at this station, so for about four or five weekends a year, the station is once again full of travelers. The rail line is used in winter by snowmobiles, sometimes a dog sled, and is one of the main snowmobile corridors in the state. So today this railroad is largely used for recreation. But we are very fortunate to still have the railroad complete with tracks and working trains. Most of the state's railroads are gone or survive only as rail trails, like the Northern RR. Part 1: This presentation of The Railroad in Ashland was delivered by David Ruell to the Ashland Historical Society on September 12, 2019 in the Ashland Railroad Station Museum.
834	dbpedia	2	84	https://theclio.com/entry/63571	en	National Streetcar Museum	https://storage.googleap…63571.174078.jpg	https://storage.googleap…63571.174078.jpg	[ "https://theclio.com/_next/static/images/app-bar-logo-85bcdf195c567dbecc94e4b99e78e9a5.png", "https://storage.googleapis.com/clio-images/medium_63571.174078.jpg", "https://storage.googleapis.com/clio-images/medium_63571.174079.jpg", "https://storage.googleapis.com/clio-images/medium_63571.174080.jpg", "http...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Lowell, Massachusetts is home to the National Streetcar Museum, a satellite of Maine's New England Electric Railway Historical Society's Seashore Trolley Museum. Located in the Mack Building across the street from Lowell National Historical Park, the museum offers both exhibits and trolley ride tours of historic Lowell (3).	en	/_next/static/images/clio-logo-background-small-451d24efda1e099e31bcf2230362805a.jpg	Clio	https://theclio.com/entry/63571	History of Lowell Public Transportation Prompted by growth and suburbanization, Lowell's first public transportation was established in 1864 by the Lowell Horse Railroad Company, with a line connecting the city center to the neighborhoods of Belvidere to the east and Pawtucket Falls to the west. These first streetcars, like those in Boston at the time, were horse-drawn. Working-class residents largely remained in the crowded city center, while middle and upper-class citizens moved to the suburbs due to streetcar access, creating a real estate boom. This was a pattern played out in many American cities in the mid-19th century, including nearby Boston (3; 4). In Lowell, where mills were an integral part of the city's economy, streetcars with low-priced fares provided an essential connection between workers and industry (1). The city's first electric streetcar came in 1889, on the route along the Merrimack River in downtown Lowell. Through mergers and expansions, the old horse-drawn streetcars were gradually replaced with electric models, though horses and wagons were still in use in the early twentieth century. The companies running the lines even built and ran a countryside resort at Canobie Lake in New Hampshire. The turn of the century also brought interurban street railways linking Lowell to nearby towns; unfortunately, companies sometimes overextended themselves, cutting funding to workers and discontinuing services to stay afloat (3). In 1903, the all-male, mainly Irish streetcar workers of Lowell joined the Amalgamated Association of Streetcar Employees to form a union. After strikes by workers and complaints from the public, Lowell's streetcar lines were bought by the Lynn & Boston Railroad Company (renamed the Boston & Northern Street Railway Company), with Patrick F. Sullivan of Lowell in charge. The company merged again with the Bay State Street Railway Company, but the latter went bankrupt in 1918. Streetcar railways declined in the 1920s throughout New England, and Lowell's turn-of-the-century electric trolleys ran for the last time in 1935 (3). History of the National Streetcar Museum During an economic decline in the 1970s, the city of Lowell partnered with the National Park Service to plan an industrial heritage park to generate tourism (see Lowell National Historical Park and American Textile History Museum.) As trolley lines were an important component of Lowell's textile industry, it was decided to use replica streetcars to transport visitors between locations and provide tours within Lowell National Historical Park. The cars were constructed by the Iowa company of Gomaco. The Seashore Trolley Museum of Kennebunkport, Maine, helped to guarantee the accuracy of the replicas, which began operation in 1984. The museum also partnered with Lowell in 1998 with plans to expand the lines, add more trolleys, and create a permanent exhibit space. Unfortunately, the first two components of this concept were determined not feasible after a sixteen-year study; however, the indoor museum became a reality, and features the "On Track" exhibit (1; 2). History of the Streetcars Lowell National Historical Park operates three replica J.G. Brill Company trolleys, two New England "breezer" (open air) streetcars and one "semi-convertible" (all weather) car (2). These were the "first accurate replica trolleys built in the United States," (3). As part of the partnership between Lowell National Historical Park and the Seashore Trolley Museum, Lowell also operates the restored, original New Orleans No. 966 streetcar. The 966 was built in 1924 by Perley-Thomas, and ran in the French Quarter, where Tennessee Williams was inspired to write his famous play, "A Streetcar Named Desire," (1; 2 ; 3).
834	dbpedia	1	12	https://www.nashuacitystation.org/history/boston-and-maine-corporation/	en	Boston and Maine Corporation			[ "https://www.nashuacitystation.org/images/logo.png" ]	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en			http://www.nashuacitystation.org/history/boston-and-maine-corporation/	Nashua and Lowell Rail-road Corporation Main Line - Lowell to Nashville Wilton Railroad - Nashville to Danforth's Corner Concord, Manchester and Lawrence Railroad Concord and Nashua, Manchester and Lawrence - Concord to Nashua, Manchester to Lawrence Concord Railroad Corporation Concord and Nashua - Concord to Nashua Manchester and Lawrence Railroad - Manchester to Lawrence Manchester and North Weare Railroad - North Weare to Manchester Portsmouth Railroad - Manchester to Portsmouth Suncook Valley Railroad - Pittsfield to Hooksett Fitchburg Railroad Company Marlboro' Branch Railroad - Marlboro' to South Acton Peterboro' and Shirley Railroad - Greenville to Ayer Junction Trunk Road - Boston to Fitchburg Watertown Branch Railroad - Watertown Junction to Waltham Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad - Concord to Wells River Mount Washington Branch Railroad - Base Mt. Washington to Wing Road White Mountains N. H. Railroad - Wells River to Groveton Junction Fitchburg Railroad Company Boston and North Adams - Boston to North Adams Marlboro' and Hudson Branch - South Acton to Marlboro' Peterboro' and Shirley Branch - Ayer Junction to Greenville Turner's Falls Branch - Greenfield to Turner's Falls Watertown Branch - Brick Yards to Waltham Concord Railroad Corporation Concord and Nashua - Concord to Nashua Concord and Portsmouth Railroad - Manchester to Portsmouth Manchester and Lawrence Railroad - Manchester to Lawrence Manchester and North Weare Railroad - North Weare to Manchester Suncook Valley Railroad - Pittsfield to Hooksett Concord Railroad Corporation Concord and Portsmouth Railroad - Manchester to Portsmouth Concord Railroad - Concord to Nashua Manchester and North Weare Railroad - North Weare to Manchester Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad - Nashua to Concord Junction Suncook Valley Railroad - Pittsfield to Hooksett The Concord & Montreal Railroad Acton Branch - Nashua Junction to Concord Junction Franklin and Tilton Railroad - Tilton to Franklin Falls Lake Shore Railroad - Lakeport to Alton Bay Main Line - Nashua Junction to Wells River, Groveton Junction, and Mt. Washington North Weare Branch - Manchester to Henniker Junction, Parker to New Boston Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln Portsmouth Branch - Manchester to Portsmouth Suncook Valley Branch - Suncook to Centre Barnstead Tilton and Belmont Railroad - Tilton to Belmont Whitefield and Jefferson Branch - Whitefield Junction to Berlin Boston and Maine Railroad Lake Winnipesaukee, Steamer "Mount Washington" - Lake Winnipesaukee York Harbor and Beach Railroad - Kittery Junction to York Beach Concord Division Bristol Branch - Franklin to Bristol Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Franklin and Tilton Branch - Franklin Junction to Tilton Hillsboro Branch - Contoocook to Peterboro Main Line - Concord to White River Junction Connecticut and Passumpsic Division Ashuelot Branch - South Vernon to Keene Chicopee Falls Branch - Chicopee Junction to Chicopee Falls Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom Junction to Easthampton Lake Memphremagog - Lake Memphremagog Main Line - Springfield to South Vernon, Brattleboro to Windsor, White River Junction to Sherbrooke Stanstead Branch - Stanstead Junction to Stanstead Eastern Division Dover Branch - Portsmouth to Dover Essex Branch - Hamilton and Wenham to Conomo Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Lawrence Branch - Salem to North Andover Main Line - Boston to Portland, Conway Junction to Intervale Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Salisbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Saugus Branch - Everett Junction to West Lynn Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro Fitchburg Division Ashburnham Branch - South Ashburnham to Ashburnham Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to White Creek Cheshire Branch - South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Greenville and Milford Branches - Ayer to Milford, Ayer to Greenville Main Line - Boston to Troy Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Saratoga and Schuylerville Branches - Mechanicsville to Stillwater, Mechanicsville to Saratoga, Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville Turners Falls Branch - East Deerfield to Turners Falls Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Waltham Worcester and Peterboro Branches - Worcester to Peterboro Southern Division Lawrence Branch - Lowell to Lawrence Lexington Branch - Somerville Junction to Reformatory Main Line - Boston to Concord, North Cambridge Junction to Northampton Manchester and Milford Branch - Grasmere Junction to East Milford North Weare Branch - Manchester to Henniker Junction, Parker to New Boston Portsmouth Branch - Manchester to Portsmouth Salem Branch - Salem Junction to Salem Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Stony Brook Branch - North Chelmsford to Ayer Suncook Valley Branch - Hooksett to Centre Barnstead Terminal Division - Boston area Western Division Dover and Lakeport Branch - Dover to Lakeport Georgetown Branch - Georgetown to Bradford Kennebunkport Branch - Kennebunk to Kennebunkport Lowell Branch - Lowell Junction to Lowell Main Line - Boston to Portland Manchester and Lawrence Branch - Lawrence to Manchester Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Medford Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Orchard Beach Branch - Old Orchard to Camp Ellis South Reading Branch - Wakefield Junction to Peabody West Amesbury Branch - Newton Junction to Merrimac White Mountains Division Bethlehem Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Bethlehem Main Line - Concord to Woodsville and Groveton, Wing Road to Mt. Washington Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln Profile Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Profile House Tilton and Belmont Branch - Tilton to Belmont Waumbek Branch - Cherry Mountain to Jefferson Whitefield and Jefferson Branch - Whitefield Junction to Berlin Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division Acton Branch - Concord Junction to Nashua Junction Keene Branch - Nashua Junction to Keene Main Line - Worcester to Portland Boston and Maine Railroad Connecticut and Passumpsic Division Ashuelot Branch - Dole Junction to Keene Chicopee Falls Branch - Chicopee Junction to Chicopee Falls Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom to Easthampton Lake Memphremagog, Steamer "Lady of the Lake" - Lake Memphremagog Main Line - Springfield to Windsor, White River Junction to Sherbrooke Stanstead Branch - Beebe Junction to Stanstead Fitchburg Division Ashburnham Branch - South Ashburnham to Ashburnham Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to White Creek Greenville and Milford Branches - Ayer to Milford, Ayer to Greenville Main Line - Boston to Rotterdam Junction, Johnsonville to Troy, South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Saratoga and Schuylerville Branches - Mechanicville to Saratoga Springs, Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville Turners Falls Branch - Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Waltham Portland Division Dover and Lakeport Branch - Dover to Lakeport Dover Branch - Portsmouth to Dover Essex Branch - Hamilton and Wenham to Conomo Georgetown Branch - Bradford to Georgetown Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Kennebunkport Branch - Kennebunk to Kennebunkport Lake Winnipesaukee, Steamer "Mount Washington" - Lake Winnipesaukee Lawrence Branch - Salem to North Andover Lowell Branch - Lowell Junction to Wigginville Main Line via Dover - Boston to Portland Main Line via Portsmouth - Boston to Portland, Jewett to Intervale Manchester and Lawrence Branch - Lawrence to Manchester Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Medford Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Orchard Beach Branch - Old Orchard to Camp Ellis Salisbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Saugus Branch - Everett Junction to West Lynn South Reading Branch - Wakefield Junction to Peabody Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead West Amesbury Branch - Newton Junction to Merrimac Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro York Harbor and Beach Railroad Company - Kittery Junction to York Beach Southern Division Bristol Branch - Franklin to Bristol Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Franklin and Tilton Branch - Franklin Junction to Tilton Lawrence Branch - Lowell to South Lawrence Lexington Branch - Somerville Junction to Reformatory Main Line - Boston to White River Junction, Northampton Portsmouth Branch - Manchester to Portsmouth Salem Branch - Tewksbury Junction to Peabody Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Stony Brook Branch - North Chelmsford to Ayer Suncook Valley Branch - Suncook to Centre Barnstead Terminal Division - Boston area White Mountains Division Bethlehem Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Bethlehem Main Line - Concord to Woodsville and Groveton, Wing Road to Mt. Washington Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln Profile Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Profile House Tilton and Belmont Branch - Tilton to Belmont Waumbek Branch - Cherry Mountain to Jefferson Whitefield and Jefferson Branch - Whitefield Junction to Berlin Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division Acton Branch - Nashua to Concord Junction Keene Branch - Nashua to Keene Main Line - Worcester to Portland Manchester and Milford Branch - Grasmere Junction to East Milford North Weare Branch - Manchester to Henniker Junction, Parker to New Boston Worcester and Hillsboro Branches - Worcester to Contoocook Boston and Maine Railroad First Operating District, Berkshire Division Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to White Creek Main Line - Greenfield to Troy, Johnsonville to Rotterdam Junction Saratoga and Schuylerville Branches - Mechanicville to Saratoga Springs, Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville Turners Falls Branch - Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls First Operating District, Fitchburg Division Ashburnham Branch - South Ashburnham to Ashburnham Greenville and Milford Branches - Ayer to Milford, Ayer to Greenville Main Line - Boston to Greenfield, South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Waltham First Operating District, Portland Division Amesbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Dover Branch - Portsmouth to Dover Essex Branch - Hamilton and Wenham to Conomo Georgetown Branch - Bradford to Georgetown Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Kennebunkport Branch - Kennebunk to Kennebunkport Lake Winnipesaukee, Steamer "Mount Washington" - Lake Winnipesaukee Lakeport Branch - Dover to Lakeport Lawrence Branch - Salem to North Andover Lowell Branch - Lowell Junction to Wigginville Main Line via Dover - Boston to Portland Main Line via Portsmouth - Boston to Portland, Jewett to Intervale Manchester and Lawrence Branch - Lawrence to Manchester Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Medford Merrimac Branch - Newton Junction to Merrimac Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Orchard Beach Branch - Old Orchard to Camp Ellis Saugus Branch - Everett Junction to West Lynn Somersworth Branch - Rollinsford to Somersworth South Reading Branch - Wakefield Junction to Peabody Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro York Harbor and Beach Railroad Company - Kittery Junction to York Beach First Operating District, Southern Division Bristol Branch - Franklin to Bristol Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Franklin and Tilton Branch - Franklin Junction to Tilton Lawrence Branch - Lowell to South Lawrence Lexington Branch - Somerville Junction to Reformatory Main Line - Boston to White River Junction, Northampton Portsmouth Branch - Manchester to Portsmouth Salem Branch - Tewksbury Junction to Peabody Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Stony Brook Branch - North Chelmsford to Ayer Suncook Valley Branch - Suncook to Centre Barnstead First Operating District, Terminal Division - Boston area First Operating District, Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division Acton Branch - Nashua to Concord Junction Keene Branch - Nashua to Keene Main Line - Worcester to Portland Manchester and Milford Branch - Grasmere Junction to East Milford North Weare Branch - Manchester to Henniker Junction, Parker to New Boston Worcester and Hillsboro Branch - Worcester to Contoocook Second Operating District, Connecticut and Passumpsic Division Ashuelot Branch - Dole Junction to Keene Chicopee Falls Branch - Chicopee Junction to Chicopee Falls Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom to Easthampton Main Line (Springfield and Windsor) - Springfield to Windsor Main Line (White River Junction and Sherbrooke) - White River Junction to Sherbrooke Stanstead Branch - Beebe Junction to Stanstead Second Operating District, White Mountains Division Bethlehem Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Bethlehem Main Line - Concord to Woodsville and Groveton, Wing Road to Mt. Washington Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln Profile Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Profile House Tilton and Belmont Branch - Tilton to Belmont Waumbek Branch - Cherry Mountain to Jefferson Whitefield and Jefferson Branch - Whitefield Junction to Berlin Boston and Maine Railroad First Operating District, Berkshire Division Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to White Creek Main Line - Greenfield to Troy, Johnsonville to Rotterdam Junction Saratoga and Schuylerville Branches - Mechanicville to Saratoga Springs, Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville First Operating District, Fitchburg Division Ashburnham Branch - South Ashburnham to Ashburnham Greenville and Milford Branches - Ayer to Milford, Ayer to Greenville Main Line - Boston to Greenfield, South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Turners Falls Branch - Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Waltham First Operating District, Portland Division Amesbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Dover Branch - Portsmouth to Dover Essex Branch - Hamilton and Wenham to Conomo Georgetown Branch - Bradford to Georgetown Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Kennebunkport Branch - Kennebunk to Kennebunkport Lakeport Branch - Dover to Lakeport Lawrence Branch - Salem to North Andover Lowell Branch - Lowell Junction to Wigginville Main Line via Dover - Boston to Portland Main Line via Portsmouth - Boston to Portland, Jewett to Intervale Manchester and Lawrence Branch - Lawrence to Manchester Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Medford Merrimac Branch - Newton Junction to Merrimac Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Orchard Beach Branch - Old Orchard to Camp Ellis Saugus Branch - Everett Junction to West Lynn Somersworth Branch - Rollinsford to Somersworth South Reading Branch - Wakefield Junction to Peabody Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro York Harbor and Beach Railroad Company - Kittery Junction to York Beach First Operating District, Southern Division Bristol Branch - Franklin to Bristol Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Franklin and Tilton Branch - Franklin Junction to Tilton Lawrence Branch - Lowell to South Lawrence Lexington Branch - Somerville Junction to Reformatory Main Line - Boston to White River Junction, Northampton Portsmouth Branch - Manchester to Portsmouth Salem Branch - Tewksbury Junction to Peabody Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Stony Brook Branch - North Chelmsford to Ayer Suncook Valley Branch - Suncook to Centre Barnstead First Operating District, Terminal Division - Boston area First Operating District, Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division Acton Branch - Nashua to Concord Junction Keene Branch - Nashua to Keene Main Line - Worcester to Portland Manchester and Milford Branch - Grasmere Junction to East Milford North Weare Branch - Manchester to Henniker Junction, Parker to New Boston Worcester and Hillsboro Branch - Worcester to Contoocook Second Operating District, Connecticut River Division Ashuelot Branch - Dole Junction to Keene Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom to Easthampton Main Line - Springfield to Windsor Second Operating District, Passumpsic Division Main Line - White River Junction to Sherbrooke Stanstead Branch - Beebe Junction to Stanstead Second Operating District, White Mountains Division Bethlehem Branch - Bethlehem Junction to Bethlehem Main Line - Concord to Woodsville and Groveton, Wing Road to Mt. Washington Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln Tilton and Belmont Branch - Tilton to Belmont Whitefield and Jefferson Branch - Whitefield Junction to Berlin Boston and Maine Railroad Fitchburg and Southern Divisions Worcester and Contoocook Branch - Worcester to Contoocook Fitchburg Division Ashuelot Branch - Dole Junction to Keene Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to North Bennington Cheshire Branch - South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom to Easthampton Greenville Branch - Greenville to Ayer Johnsonville and Rotterdam Junction - Johnsonville to Rotterdam Junction Milford Branch - Milford to Squannacook Junction Saratoga Branch - Mechanicville to Saratoga Springs Schuylerville Branch - Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville Springfield and Windsor - Springfield to Windsor Portland Division Amesbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Conway Branch - Jewett to Intervale Dover Branch - Portsmouth to Dover Essex Branch - Hamilton & Wenham to Essex Georgetown Branch - Haverhill to Georgetown Lakeport Branch - Dover to Lakeport Machine Shop Branch - North Andover to Machine Shop Manchester and Lawrence Branch - South Lawrence to Manchester Merrimac Branch - Newton Junction to Merrimac Nashua and Portland Terminal Limit - Nashua Union Station to Portland Terminal Limit Navy Yard Branch - Portsmouth to Kittery Navy Yard Portsmouth Branch - Portsmouth to Manchester Somersworth Branch - Rollinsford to Somersworth Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro Worcester-Ayer-Nashua-Lowell and Lowell Junction - Worcester to Nashua, Ayer to Lowell Junction Southern Division Bristol Branch - Franklin to Bristol Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Concord and Wells River - Concord to Wells River Concord and White River Junction - Concord to White River Junction Franklin and Tilton Branch - Franklin Junction to Tilton Groveton Branch - Whitefield Junction to Groveton Keene Branch - Nashua to Keene Mount Washington Branch - Wing Road to Base North Weare Branch - Henniker Junction to Manchester Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln White River Junction and Berlin - White River Junction to Berlin Terminal and Fitchburg Divisions Boston and Troy - Boston to Troy Central Massachusetts Branch - Boston to Northampton Terminal and Portland Divisions Boston and Portland (Eastern Route) - Boston to Portland Boston and Portland (Western Route) - Boston to Portland Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Terminal and Southern Divisions Boston and Concord - Boston to Concord Terminal Division Danvers Branch - Salem to Danvers Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Lexington Branch - West Cambridge to Reformatory Station Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Medford Salem Branch - Salem to Wilmington Junction Saugus Branch - East Somerville to Lynn Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead Watertown Branch - Boston to Waltham Wilmington Junction Branch - Wilmington Junction to Wilmington Boston and Maine Railroad Concord Electric Railways Concord and Manchester - Concord to Manchester Concord and Penacook - Hospital South End to Contoocook Park Boston and Maine Railroad Fitchburg and New Hampshire Divisions Worcester and Contoocook Branch - Worcester to Contoocook Fitchburg Division Ashuelot Branch - Dole Junction to Keene Bennington Branch - Hoosick Junction to North Bennington Cheshire Branch - South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Easthampton Branch - Mount Tom to Easthampton Greenville Branch - Greenville to Ayer Johnsonville and Rotterdam Junction - Johnsonville to Rotterdam Junction Milford Branch - Pepperell to Squannacook Junction Saratoga Branch - East Saratoga Junction to Saratoga Springs Schuylerville Branch - Schuyler Junction to Schuylerville Springfield and White River Junction - Springfield to White River Junction New Hampshire Division Claremont Branch - Concord to Claremont Junction Concord and Wells River - Concord to Wells River Concord and White River Junction - Concord to White River Junction Groveton Branch - Hazen to Groveton Keene Branch - Nashua to Elmwood North Weare Branch - Manchester to Goffstown Pemigewasset Valley Branch - Plymouth to Lincoln White River Junction and Berlin - White River Junction to Berlin Portland Division Amesbury Branch - Salisbury to Amesbury Conway Branch - Jewett to Intervale Essex Branch - Hamilton & Wenham to Essex Georgetown Branch - Haverhill to Georgetown Lakeport Branch - Dover to Alton Manchester and Lawrence Branch - Lawrence to Manchester Nashua and Portland Terminal Limit - Nashua to Portland Terminal Limit Portsmouth Branch - Portsmouth to Manchester Somersworth Branch - Rollinsford to Somersworth Wolfeboro Branch - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro Worcester-Ayer-Nashua-Lowell and Lowell Junction - Worcester to Nashua, Ayer to Lowell Junction Terminal and Fitchburg Divisions Boston and Troy - Boston to Troy Central Massachusetts Branch - West Cambridge to Northampton Terminal and New Hampshire Divisions Boston and Concord - Boston to Concord Terminal and Portland Divisions Boston and Portland (Eastern Route) - Boston to Portland Boston and Portland (Western Route) - Boston to Portland Terminal Division Danvers Branch - Salem to Danvers Gloucester Branch - Beverly to Rockport Lexington Branch - Fens to Concord Marblehead Branch - Salem to Marblehead Marlboro Branch - South Acton to Marlboro Medford Branch - Medford Junction to Park Street Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Newburyport Salem Branch - Salem to South Middleton Saugus Branch - East Somerville to Lynn Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Swampscott Branch - Swampscott to Marblehead Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Waltham Wilmington Junction Branch - Wilmington Junction to Wilmington Boston and Maine Railroad Boston and Fitchburg Divisions Boston and Fitchburg - Boston to Fitchburg Boston Division Beverly Junction and Rockport - Beverly Junction to Rockport Bemis and Waltham - Bemis to Waltham Boston and Haverhill - Boston to Haverhill Boston and Portsmouth - Boston to Portsmouth Boston and Reading - Boston to Reading Castle Hill and Forest River - Castle Hill to Forest River Clematis Brook and Marlboro - Clematis Brook to Marlboro Concord and Meredith - Concord to Meredith Emery and Manchester - Emery to Manchester Everett Junction and West Lynn - Everett Junction to West Lynn Gleason Junction and Berlin - Gleason Junction to Berlin Gonic and Farmington - Gonic to Farmington Haverhill and Portland Terminal Tower One - Haverhill to Portland Lawrence and Manchester - Lawrence to Manchester Lowell and White River Junction - Lowell to White River Junction Manchester and Goffstown - Manchester to Goffstown Medford Junction and Park Square - Medford Junction to Park Street Meredith and Lincoln - Meredith to Lincoln Montvale and Stoneham - Montvale to Stoneham Nashua and Hillsboro - Nashua to Hillsboro North Billerica and Billerica - North Billerica to Billerica Reading and Wilmington Junction - Reading to Wilmington Junction Rollinsford and Intervale - Rollinsford to Intervale Salem-Danvers, Peabody and South Middleton - Salem to South Middleton and Danvers Salisbury and Amesbury - Salisbury to Amesbury Sanbornville and Wolfeboro - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro South Acton and Maynard - South Acton to Maynard Wakefield Junction and Topsfield - Wakefield Junction to Topsfield West Cambridge and Bedford - West Cambridge to Bedford West Cambridge and West Watertown - West Cambridge to West Watertown Wilmington and Lowell - Wilmington to Lowell Winchester and Woburn - Winchester to Woburn Worcester and Lowell Junction - South Worcester to Lowell Junction Fitchburg Division Ayer and Greenville - Ayer to Greenville Ayer and Hollis - Ayer to Hollis Barber and Heywood - Barber to Heywood Dole Junction-Keene - Dole Junction to Keene Fitchburg and Rotterdam Junction - Fitchburg to Rotterdam Junction Hoosick Junction and White Creek - Hoosick Junction to White Creek Johnsonville and Troy - Johnsonville to Troy Mount Tom and Easthampton - Mount Tom to Easthampton Northampton and Wheelwright - Northampton to Wheelwright South Ashburnham and Bellows Falls - South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Springfield and White River Junction - Springfield to White River Junction Waumbek Junction-Groveton - Waumbek Junction to Groveton Wells River and Berlin - Wells River to Berlin White River Junction and Wells River - White River Junction to Wells River Winchendon and Peterboro - Winchendon to Peterboro Woodsville and Blackmount - Woodsville to Blackmount Boston and Maine Corporation Boston Division Bemis and Waltham - Bemis to Waltham Beverly Junction and Rockport - Beverly Junction to Rockport Boston and Ayer - Boston to Ayer Boston and Ipswich - Boston to Ipswich Boston and Lowell - Boston to Lowell Boston and Reading - Boston to Reading Castle Hill and Forest River - Castle Hill to Forest River Clematis Brook and Marlboro - Clematis Brook to Marlboro Concord and Lincoln - Concord to Lincoln Concord and White River Junction - Concord to White River Junction Emery and Manchester - Emery to Manchester Epping and Fremont - Epping to Fremont Everett Junction and West Lynn - Everett Junction to West Lynn Gleason Junction-Berlin - Gleason Junction to Berlin Gonic and Farmington - Gonic to Farmington Ipswich and Portsmouth - Ipswich to Portsmouth Lawrence and Manchester - Lawrence to Manchester Lowell and Concord - Lowell to Concord Manchester and Goffstown - Manchester to Goffstown Medford Junction and Park Street - Medford Junction to Park Street Montvale and Stoneham - Montvale to Stoneham Nashua and Hillsboro - Nashua to Hillsboro Newton Junction and Merrimac - Newton Junction to Merrimac North Billerica and Billerica - North Billerica to Billerica Peabody and South Peabody - Peabody to South Peabody Reading and Wilmington Junction - Reading to Wilmington Junction Rollinsford and Intervale - Rollinsford to Intervale Salem-Danvers, Peabody and South Middleton - Salem to South Middleton and Danvers Salisbury and Amesbury - Salisbury to Amesbury Sanbornville and Wolfeboro - Sanbornville to Wolfeboro Somerville Junction and Hill Crossing - Somerville Junction to Hill Crossing South Acton and Maynard - South Acton to Maynard Tilton and Franklin Falls - Tilton to Franklin Falls Wakefield Junction and Topsfield - Wakefield Junction to Topsfield West Cambridge and Bedford - West Cambridge to Bedford West Cambridge and West Watertown - West Cambridge to West Watertown Wilmington and Portland Terminal Tower One - Wilmington to Portland Terminal Tower One Winchester and Woburn - Winchester to Woburn Worcester and Lowell Junction - South Worcester to Lowell Junction Fitchburg Division Ayer and Greenville - Ayer to Greenville Ayer and Hollis - Ayer to Hollis Ayer and Mechanicville - Ayer to Mechanicville Barber and Gardner - Barber to Gardner Dole Junction-Keene - Dole Junction to Keene East Deerfield and Turners Falls - East Deerfield to Turners Falls Hoosick Junction and North Bennington - Hoosick Junction to North Bennington Johnsonville and Troy - Johnsonville to Troy Mount Tom and Easthampton - Mount Tom to Easthampton Northampton and Wheelwright - Northampton to Wheelwright South Ashburnham and Bellows Falls - South Ashburnham to Bellows Falls Springfield and White River Junction - Springfield to White River Junction Waumbeck Junction-Groveton - Waumbeck Junction to Groveton Wells River and Berlin - Wells River to Berlin White River Junction and Wells River - White River Junction to Wells River Winchendon and Peterboro - Winchendon to Peterboro Woodsville and Blackmount - Woodsville to Blackmount Boston and Maine Corporation Adams Branch - North Adams to Pittsfield Avon Branch - Ville to Avon Bemis Branch - Waltham to Bemis Billerica Branch - North Billerica to Billerica Canaan Branch - Pittsfield to Canaan Canal Branch - Canal to Webster Street Central Mass Branch - Clematis Brook to Waltham North Chicopee Falls Branch - Chicopee to Chicopee Falls Conn River Main Line - Springfield to Berlin Conway Branch - Rollinsford to Mount Whittier Danvers Branch - Salem to Danvers East Deerfield Loop - Deerfield Junction to East Deerfield West East Manchester Branch - Manchester to East Manchester Eastern Route Main Line - Boston to Newburyport Fitchburg Route Main Line - Boston to CPF-WL Freight Main Line - CP1 to Rotterdam Junction Gloucester Branch - Beverly Junction to Rockport Greenville Branch - Ayer to Townsend Groveton Branch - Waumbek Junction to Groveton Hampton Branch - Emery to Salisbury Hazardville Branch - Springfield to Hazardville Hillsboro Branch - Nashua to Bennington Lexington Branch - West Cambridge to Bedford M and L Branch - Andover Street to Manchester Medford Branch - Wellington to Park Street Monadnock Branch - South Ashburnham to Jaffrey New Hampshire Main Line - Boston to Lowell Newburyport Branch - Wakefield Junction to Topsfield Newington Branch - Portsmouth to Newington Northern Main Line - North Chelmsford to White River Junction Portsmouth Branch - Rockingham Junction to Emery Saugus Branch - Everett Junction to West Lynn Stoneham Branch - Montvale to Stoneham Terryville Branch - Berlin to Waterbury Torrington Branch - Highland Junction to Torrington Watertown Branch - West Cambridge to Union Market Western Route Main Line - Boston to Lowell Junction Wildcat Branch - Wilmington to Wilmington Junction Worcester Main Line - Viaduct to Ayer
834	dbpedia	2	47	https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/the-many-faces-of-north-station/	en	The Many Faces of North Station – The West End Museum	https://thewestendmuseum…-sign-1_orig.jpg	https://thewestendmuseum…-sign-1_orig.jpg	[ "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Logo_WestEndMuseum-MainLogo-RedGold-200x200-1-e1633365228887.png", "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Logo_WestEndMuseum-MainLogo-RedGold-200x200-1-e1633365228887.png", "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/commonw...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Bob Potenza" ]	2022-11-25T15:11:45-05:00	For tens of thousands of daily commuters, North Station is a final destination to work and a starting point for home. For many others, it is a stop along the way to somewhere else. But few of today’s commuters know that over the past two centuries, there have actually been several train stations in the West End– built in grand style – that predated the North Station we know today.	en	https://thewestendmuseum…mentBuilding.png	The West End Museum – Boston's Neighborhood Museum	https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/the-many-faces-of-north-station/	For tens of thousands of daily commuters, North Station is a final destination to work and a starting point for home. For many others, it is a stop along the way to somewhere else. But few of today’s commuters know that over the past two centuries, there have actually been several train stations in the West End– built in grand style – that predated the North Station we know today. Boston was one of young America’s principal cities and ports, yet its physical growth had always been constrained by its location on the Shawmut peninsula. In the early 19th century, architect Charles Bulfinch proposed addressing the problem by filling in the marshes around Boston to accommodate new urban development. His first such project, what would later become known as the Bulfinch triangle, was a grid of new streets arranged on the former Mill Pond in today’s West End neighborhood. By the second half of the 19th century, all railroads connecting Boston to points north and west of the city crossed the Charles River, and four of these eight railroads erected depots in the Bulfinch Triangle In 1835 the Boston and Lowell (B&L) Railroad chose Lowell Street as the location for its depot. It was later joined on the same street by stations of the Eastern and Fitchburg Railroads which built their stations on Causeway. To stand out from the others, each chose a unique architectural style―French Second Empire, Italianate, and Gothic Revival, for its depot. Unlike its competitors, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) constructed its depot a few blocks south on Haymarket Square. Despite enjoying some distance from its competitors, the owners of the B&M were still interested in style, choosing a Greek Revival design for its structure. The B&M depot displayed two-story pilasters with elaborate capitals supporting a large pediment in whose center was a clock—an all-important element for travelers trying to make a scheduled departure. Over the next forty years, the B&M became the predominant railway company in the Northeast. Through a calculated campaign of acquisition and consolidation starting in 1842, it the gained charters in New Hampshire and Maine, and later purchased 47 competing regional short lines. By 1887 the B&M had sole control of the Boston-Portland route and access into Vermont and Quebec through lease agreements with the Eastern and the B&L railroads. Seeing a need to unite its services under one roof, the B&M began construction of a new North Union Station in 1893, just south of the current North Station structure. Replacing the former depots on Causeway Street, the North Union Station’s façade would feature an 80-foot-high granite triumphal arch flanked by four massive columns, and its eastern side was formed by a five-story baggage and express building. North Union Station was opened in stages from 1893 to 1894, and by the time it was fully completed, the station had become popularly known as “North Station.” The first North Station stood for only three decades before it was torn down in 1927 in favor of a larger depot that included a new arena―Boston Garden―above the ground-floor waiting room and concourse. This innovative plan was based on New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and in keeping with the trends of the time was designed in the popular Art Deco style. The new station would have an imposing neoclassical design whose façade was dominated by a large triumphal arch that represented the railroad’s power. It also featured a round arch with a coffered ceiling roughly two stories high, flanked on each side by two columns with Ionic capitals that sat upon bases of rusticated stone. Arcaded wings six-bays across spread out from the central arch and their centers supported large clock faces. Beyond the arcades were the waiting rooms that received ample light from bands of clerestory windows. The concourse was similarly brightened by large skylights to dispel the notion that train sheds of the era had to be dark and smoky. The new North Station and Boston Garden opened in 1928. For the next fifty years, the second North Station would go through many alterations. In 1985 it received replacement trestles, new tracks, and platforms after a fire in 1984. In 1989, the MBTA paid $13.7 to raise the five commuter rail platforms for accessibility, and in 1990 an underground garage and platform were added. Finally, in 1993, the state reached a deal to replace the aging Boston Garden. In exchange for the land and easements to construct the new Fleet Center, the developer constructed a train shed and waiting area on the ground floor and a subway tunnel under the arena to replace the subway lines above Causeway Street. The result was a combined underground “superstation,” allowing for pedestrian access to North Station. The third North Station and the new Fleet Center opened in 1995. Two new expansions took place in 2006; the station’s waiting area was enlarged and the number of tracks expanded to 12. This $5 million project, completed in 2007, added 20,000 square feet of waiting and retail space. Along the way, the name of the arena above the station changed several times, ultimately becoming TD Garden. In 2019, North Station got a new entrance and a tunnel connecting Amtrak–commuter rail services. This ended the disjointed journey of commuters who had to go outside when transferring between the subway and the commuter rail or Amtrak. That same year, thanks to Amtrak’s service to Maine, North Station became the 24th busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the sixth busiest in New England. Over the years, North Station – and the West End – has been the focal point of rail travel between Boston and points west and north. The station’s continued importance can be seen in the most recent development projects surrounding it that have added more modern living and office spaces, entertainment venues, and dining and drinking establishments to an increasingly vibrant neighborhood.
834	dbpedia	0	48	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40242.html.images	en	THE MODERN RAILROAD	https://www.gutenberg.or…cover.medium.jpg	https://www.gutenberg.or…cover.medium.jpg	[ "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/images/cover.jpg", "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/images/frontis.jpg", "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/images/printer.jpg", "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/images/img001.jpg", "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/images/img002.jpg", "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/i...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2012-07-15T00:00:00		en	images/cover.jpg		https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40242/pg40242-images.html	The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Modern Railroad This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Modern Railroad Author: Edward Hungerford Release date: July 15, 2012 [eBook #40242] Language: English Credits: Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.) * START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MODERN RAILROAD * THE MODERN RAILROAD Ready for the day’s run THE MODERN RAILROAD BY EDWARD HUNGERFORD AUTHOR OF “LITTLE CORKY,” “THE MAN WHO STOLE A RAILROAD,” ETC. WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1911 Copyright A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1911 Published November, 1911 Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London, England PRESS OF THE VAIL COMPANY COSHOCTON, U. S. A. TO MY FATHER IN RECOGNITION OF HIS INTEREST AND APPRECIATION THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED [Pg vii] PREFACE To bring to the great lay mind some slight idea of the intricacy and the involved detail of railroad operation is the purpose of this book. Of the intricacies and involved details of railroad finance and railroad politics; of the quarrels between the railroads, the organizations of their employees, the governmental commissions, or the shippers, it says little or nothing. These difficult and pertinent questions have been and still are being competently discussed by other writers. The author wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of the editors and publishers of Harper’s Monthly, Harper’s Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, and Outing in permitting the introduction into this work of portions or entire articles which he has written for them in the past. He would also feel remiss if he did not publish his sincere acknowledgments to “The American Railway,” a compilation from Scribner’s Magazine, published in 1887, Mr. Logan G. McPherson’s “The Workings of the Railroad,” Mr. C. F. Carter’s “When Railroads Were New,” and Mr. Frank H. Spearman’s “The Strategy of Great Railroads.” Out of a sizable reference library of railroad works, these volumes were the most helpful to him in the preparation of certain chapters of this book. E. H. Brooklyn, New York, August 1, 1911. [Pg viii] [Pg ix] CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I The Railroads and Their Beginnings 1 Two great groups of railroads; East to West, and North to South—Some of the giant roads—Canals—Development of the country’s natural resources—Railroad projects—Locomotives imported—First locomotive of American manufacture—Opposition of canal-owners to railroads—Development of Pennsylvania’s anthracite mines—The merging of small lines into systems. CHAPTER II The Gradual Development of the Railroad 15 Alarm of canal-owners at the success of railroads—The making of the Baltimore & Ohio—The “Tom Thumb” engine—Difficulties in crossing the Appalachians—Extension to Pittsburgh—Troubles of the Erie Railroad—This road the first to use the telegraph—The prairies begin to be crossed by railways—Chicago’s first railroad, the Galena & Chicago Union—Illinois Central—Rock Island, the first to span the Mississippi—Proposals to run railroads to the Pacific—The Central Pacific organized—It and the Union Pacific meet—Other Pacific roads. CHAPTER III The Building of a Railroad 34 Cost of a single-track road—Financing—Securing a charter—Survey-work and its dangers—Grades—Construction—Track-laying. CHAPTER IV Tunnels 48 Their use in reducing grades—The Hoosac Tunnel—The use of shafts—Tunnelling under water—The Detroit River tunnel. CHAPTER V Bridges 56 Bridges of timber, then stone, then steel—The Starucca [Pg x]Viaduct—The first iron bridge in the United States—Steel bridges—Engineering triumphs—Different types of railroad bridge—The deck span and the truss span—Suspension bridges—Cantilever bridges—Reaching the solid rock with caissons—The work of “sand-hogs”—The cantilever over the Pend Oreille River—Variety of problems in bridge-building—Points in favor of the stone bridge—Bridges over the Keys of Florida. CHAPTER VI The Passenger Stations 80 Early trains for suburbanites—Importance of the towerman—Automatic switch systems—The interlocking machine—Capacities of the largest passenger terminals—Room for locomotives, car-storage, etc.—Storing and cleaning cars—The concourse—Waiting-rooms—Baggage accommodations—Heating—Great development of passenger stations—Some notable stations in America. CHAPTER VII The Freight Terminals and the Yards 107 Convenience of having freight stations at several points in a city—The Pennsylvania Railroad’s scheme at New York as an example—Coal handled apart from other freight—Assorting the cars—The transfer house—Charges for the use of cars not promptly returned to their home roads—The hard work of the yardmaster. CHAPTER VIII The Locomotives and the Cars 119 Honor required in the building of a locomotive—Some of the early locomotives—Some notable locomotive-builders—Increase of the size of engines—Stephenson’s air-brake—The workshops—The various parts of the engine—Cars of the old-time—Improvements by Winans and others—Steel cars for freight. CHAPTER IX Rebuilding a Railroad 138 Reconstruction necessary in many cases—Old grades too heavy—Curves straightened—Tunnels avoided—These improvements required especially by freight lines. CHAPTER X The Railroad and its President 152 Supervision of the classified activities—Engineering, operating, maintenance of way, etc.—The divisional system as followed in the Pennsylvania Road—The departmental plan as followed in the New York Central—Need for vice-presidents—The [Pg xi]board of directors—Harriman a model president—How the Pennsylvania forced itself into New York City—Action of a president to save the life of a laborer’s child—“Keep right on obeying orders”—Some railroad presidents compared—High salaries of presidents. CHAPTER XI The Legal and Financial Departments 170 Functions of general counsel, and those of general attorney—A shrewd legal mind’s worth to a railroad—The function of the claim-agent—Men and women who feign injury—The secret service as an aid to the claim-agent—Wages of employees the greatest of a railroad’s expenditures—The pay-car—The comptroller or auditor—Division of the income from through tickets—Claims for lost or damaged freight—Purchasing-agent and store-keeper. CHAPTER XII The General Manager 187 His duty to keep employees in harmonious actions—“The superintendent deals with men; the general manager with superintendents”—“The general manager is really king”—Cases in which his power is almost despotic—He must know men. CHAPTER XIII The Superintendent 202 His headship of the transportation organism—His manner of dealing with an offended shipper—His manner with commuters—His manner with a spiteful “kicker”—A dishonest conductor who had a “pull”—A system of demerits for employees—Dealing with drunkards—With selfish and covetous men. CHAPTER XIV Operating the Railroad 220 Authority of the chief clerk and that of the assistant superintendent—Responsibilities of engineers, firemen, master mechanic, train-master, train-despatcher—Arranging the time-table—Fundamental rules of operation—Signals—Selecting engine and cars for a train—Clerical work of conductors—A trip with the conductor—The despatcher’s authority—Signals along the line—Maintenance of way—Superintendent of bridges and buildings—Road-master—Section boss. CHAPTER XV The Fellows Out Upon the Line 243 Men who run the trains must have brain as well as muscle—Their [Pg xii]training—From farmer’s boy to engineer—The brakeman’s dangerous work—Baggagemen and mail clerks—Hand-switchmen—The multifarious duties of country station-agents. CHAPTER XVI Keeping The Line Open 256 The wrecking train and its supplies—Floods dammed by an embankment—Right of way always given to the wrecking-train—Expeditious work in repairing the track—Collapse of the roof of a tunnel—Telegraph crippled by storms—Winter storms the severest test—Trains in quick succession help to keep the line open in snowstorms—The rotary plough. CHAPTER XVII The G. P. A. and His Office 276 He has to keep the road advertised—Must be an after-dinner orator, and many-sided—His geniality, urbanity, courtesy—Excessive rivalry for passenger traffic—Increasing luxury in Pullman cars—Many printed forms of tickets, etc. CHAPTER XVIII The Luxury of Modern Railroad Travel 292 Special trains provided—Private cars—Specials for actors, actresses, and musicians—Crude coaches on early railroads—Luxurious old-time sleeping-cars—Pullman’s sleepers made at first from old coaches—His pioneer—The first dining-cars—The present-day dining-cars—Dinners, table d’hôte and a la carte—Café-cars—Buffet-cars—Care for the comfort of women. CHAPTER XIX Getting the City out into the Country 311 Commuters’ trains in many towns—Rapid increase in the volume of suburban travel—Electrification of the lines—Long Island Railroad almost exclusively suburban—Varied distances of suburban homes from the cities—Club-cars for commuters—Staterooms in the suburban cars—Special transfer commuters. CHAPTER XX Freight Traffic 325 Income from freight traffic greater than from passenger—Competition in freight rates—Afterwards a standard rate-sheet—Rate-wars virtually ended by the Interstate Commerce Commission classification of freight into groups—Differential freight rates—Demurrage for delay in emptying cars—Coal traffic—Modern methods of handling lard and other freight. [Pg xiii] CHAPTER XXI The Drama of the Freight 343 Fast trains for precious and perishable goods—Cars invented for fruits and for fish—Milk trains—Systematic handling of the cans—Auctioning garden-truck at midnight—A historic city freight-house. CHAPTER XXII Making Traffic 355 Enticing settlers to the virgin lands of the West—Emigration bureaus—Railways extended for the benefit of emigrants—The first continuous railroad across the American continent—Campaigns for developing sparsely settled places in the West—Unprofitable branch railroads in the East—Development of scientific farming—Improved farms are traffic-makers—New factories being opened—How railroad managers have developed Atlantic City. CHAPTER XXIII The Express Service and the Railroad Mail 369 Development of express business—Railroad conductors the first mail and express messengers—William F. Harnden’s express service—Postage rates—Establishment and organization of great express companies—Collection and distribution of express matter—Relation between express companies and railroads—Beginnings of post-office department—Statistics—Railroad mail service—Newspaper delivery—Handling of mail matter—Growth of the service. CHAPTER XXIV The Mechanical Departments 388 Care and repair of cars and engines—The locomotive cleaned and inspected after each long journey—Frequent visits of engines to the shops and foundries at Altoona—The table for testing the power and speed of locomotives—The car shops—Steel cars beginning to supersede wooden ones—Painting a freight car—Lack of method in early repair shops—Search for flaws in wheels. CHAPTER XXV The Railroad Marine 404 Steamship lines under railroad control—Fleet of New York Central—Tugs—Railroad connections at New York harbor—Handling of freight—Ferry-boats—Tunnel under Detroit River—Car-ferries and lake routes—Great Lakes steamship lines under railroad control. [Pg xiv] CHAPTER XXVI Keeping in Touch with the Men 418 The first organized branch of the Railroad Y. M. C. A.—Cornelius Vanderbilt’s gift of a club-house—Growth of the Railroad Y. M. C. A.—Plans by the railways to care for the sick and the crippled—The pension system—Entertainments— Model restaurants—Free legal advice—Employees’ magazines—The Order of the Red Spot. CHAPTER XXVII The Coming of Electricity 432 Electric street cars—Suburban cars—Electric third-rail from Utica to Syracuse—Some railroads partially adopt electric power—The benefit of electric power in tunnels—Also at terminal stations—Conditions which make electric traction practical and economical—Hopeful outlook for electric traction—The monorail and the gyroscope car, invented by Louis Brennan—A similar invention by August Scherl. Appendix 449 Efficiency through Organization. Index 465 [Pg xv] ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Ready for the day’s run Frontispiece An early locomotive built by William Norris for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 18 The historic “John Bull” of the Camden & Amboy Railroad—and its train 18 A heavy-grade type of locomotive built for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1864. Its flaring stack was typical of those years 19 Construction engineers blaze their way across the face of new country 38 The making of an embankment by dump-train 39 “Small temporary railroads peopled with hordes of restless engines” 39 Cutting a path for the railroad through the crest of the high hills 44 A giant fill—in the making 44 The finishing touches to the track 45 This machine can lay a mile of track a day 45 “Sometimes the construction engineer ... brings his line face to face with a mountain” 52 Finishing the lining of a tunnel 52 The busiest tunnel point in the world—at the west portals of the Bergen tunnels, six Erie tracks below, four Lackawanna above 53 The Hackensack portals of the Pennsylvania’s great tunnels under New York City 53 Concrete affords wonderful opportunities for the bridge-builders 68 The Lackawanna is building the largest concrete bridge in the world across the Delaware River at Slateford, Pa. 68 The bridge-builder lays out an assembling-yard for gathering together the different parts of his new construction 69 The new Brandywine Viaduct of the Baltimore & Ohio, at Wilmington, Del. 69 The Northwestern’s monumental new terminal on the West Side of Chicago 82 [Pg xvi]The Union Station at Washington 83 A model American railroad station—the Union Station of the New York Central, Boston & Albany, Delaware & Hudson, and West Shore railroads at Albany 102 The classic portal of the Pennsylvania’s new station in New York 102 The beautiful concourse of the new Pennsylvania Station, in New York 103 “The waiting-room is the monumental and artistic expression of the station”—the waiting-room of the Union Depot at Troy, New York 103 Something over a million dollars’ worth of passenger cars are constantly stored in this yard 114 A scene in the great freight-yards that surround Chicago 114 The intricacy of tracks and the “throat” of a modern terminal yard: South Station, Boston, and its approaches 115 One of the “diamond-stack” locomotives used on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the early seventies 126 Prairie type passenger locomotive of the Lake Shore Railroad 126 Pacific type passenger locomotive of the New York Central lines 126 Atlantic type passenger locomotive, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad at its Altoona shops 126 One of the great Mallet pushing engines of the Delaware & Hudson Company 127 A ten-wheeled switching locomotive of the Lake Shore Railroad 127 Suburban passenger locomotive of the New York Central lines 127 Consolidation freight locomotive of the Pennsylvania system 127 Where Harriman stretched the Southern Pacific in a straight line across the Great Salt Lake 140 Line revision on the New York Central—tunnelling through the bases of these jutting peaks along the Hudson River does away with sharp and dangerous curves 140 Impressive grade revision on the Union Pacific in the Black Hills of Wyoming. The discarded line may be seen at the right 141 The old and the new on the Great Northern—the “William Crooks,” the first engine of the Hill system, and one of the newest Mallets 154 The Southern Pacific finds direct entrance into San Francisco for one of its branch lines by tunnels piercing the heart of the suburbs 155 Portal of the abandoned tunnel of the Alleghany Portage Railroad[Pg xvii] near Johnstown, Pa., the first railroad tunnel in the United States 155 The freight department of the modern railroad requires a veritable army of clerks 176 The farmer who sued the railroad for permanent injuries—as the detectives with their cameras found him 177 Oil-burning locomotive on the Southern Pacific system 190 The steel passenger coach such as has become standard upon the American railroad 190 Electric car, generating its own power by a gasoline engine 190 Both locomotive and train—gasoline motor car designed for branch line service 190 The biggest locomotive in the world: built by the Santa Fe Railroad at its Topeka shops 191 The conductor is a high type of railroad employee 208 The engineer—oil-can in hand—is forever fussing at his machine 208 Railroad responsibility does not end even with the track walker 209 The fireman has a hard job and a steady one 209 How the real timetable of the division looks—the one used in headquarters 222 The electro-pneumatic signal-box in the control tower of a modern terminal 228 The responsible men who stand at the switch-tower of a modern terminal: a large tower of the “manual” type 228 “When winter comes upon the lines the superintendent will have full use for every one of his wits” 229 Watchful signals guarding the main line of a busy railroad 229 “When the train comes to a water station the fireman gets out and fills the tank” 248 A freight-crew and its “hack” 248 A view through the span of a modern truss bridge gives an idea of its strength and solidity 249 The New York Central is adopting the new form of “Upper quadrant” signal 249 The wrecking train ready to start out from the yard 262 “Two of these great cranes can grab a wounded Mogul locomotive and put her out of the way” 262 “The shop-men form no mean brigade in this industrial army of America” 263 [Pg xviii]“Winter days when the wind-blown snow forms mountains upon the tracks” 272 “The despatcher may have come from some lonely country station” 273 “The superintendent is not above getting out and bossing the wrecking-gang once in a great while” 273 The New York Central Railroad is building a new Grand Central Station in New York City, for itself and its tenant, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 284 The concourse of the new Grand Central Station, New York, will be one of the largest rooms in the world 284 South Station, Boston, is the busiest railroad terminal in the world 285 The train-shed and approach tracks of Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, still one of the finest of American railroad passenger terminals 285 Connecting drawing-room and stateroom 296 “A man may have as fine a bed in a sleeping-car as in the best hotel in all the land” 296 “You may have the manicure upon the modern train” 297 “The dining-car is a sociable sort of place” 297 An interior view of one of the earliest Pullman sleeping-cars 302 Interior of a standard sleeping-car of to-day 303 “Even in winter there is a homely, homey air about the commuter’s station” 314 Entrance to the great four-track open cut which the Erie has built for the commuter’s comfort at Jersey City 314 A model way-station on the lines of the Boston & Albany Railroad 315 The yardmaster’s office—in an abandoned switch-tower 315 “The inside of any freight-house is a busy place” 328 St. John’s Park, the great freight-house of the New York Central Railroad in down-town New York 328 The great ore-docks of the West Shore Railroad at Buffalo 329 The great bridge of the New York Central at Watkins Glen 340 Building the wonderful bridge of the Idaho & Washington Northern over the Pend Oreille River, Washington 341 Inside the West Albany shops of the New York Central: picking up a locomotive with the travelling crane 350 A locomotive upon the testing-table at the Altoona shops of the Pennsylvania 350 “The roundhouse is a sprawling thing” 351 [Pg xix]Denizens of the roundhouse 351 “In the Far West the farm-train has long since come into its own” 360 “Even in New York State the interest in these itinerant agricultural schools is keen, indeed” 361 Interior of the dairy demonstration car of an agricultural train 361 The famous Thomas Viaduct, on the Baltimore & Ohio at Relay, Md., built by B. H. Latrobe in 1835, and still in use 366 The historic Starucca Viaduct upon the Erie 366 The cylinders of the Delaware & Hudson Mallet 367 The interior of this gasoline-motor-car on the Union Pacific presents a most unusual effect, yet a maximum of view of the outer world 367 A portion of the great double-track Susquehanna River bridge of the Baltimore & Ohio—a giant among American railroad bridges 372 “In summer the brakemen have pleasant enough times of railroading” 373 A famous cantilever rapidly disappearing—the substitution of a new Kentucky river bridge for the old, on the Queen & Crescent system 373 Triple-phase, alternating current locomotive built by the General Electric Co. for use in the Cascade Tunnel, of the Great Northern Railway 390 Heavy service, alternating and direct current freight locomotive built by the Westinghouse Company for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 390 The monoroad in practical use for carrying passengers at City Island, New York 391 The cigar-shaped car of the monoroad 391 A modern railroad freight and passenger terminal: the terminal of the West Shore Railroad at Weehawken, opposite New York City 406 High-speed, direct-current passenger locomotive built by the General Electric Company for terminal service of the New York Central at the Grand Central Station 407 This is what New York Central McCrea did for the men of the Canadian Pacific up at Kenora 420 A clubhouse built by the Southern Pacific for its men at Roseville, California 420 [Pg xx]The B. & O. boys enjoying the Railroad Y. M. C. A., Chicago Junction 421 “The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company has organized a brass band for its employees” 421 A high-speed electric locomotive on the Pennsylvania bringing a through train out of the tunnel underneath the Hudson River and into the New York City terminal 434 High-speed, direct-current locomotive built by the Westinghouse Company for the terminal service of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in New York 434 Two triple-phase locomotives of the Great Northern Railway helping a double-header steam train up the grade into the Cascade Tunnel 435 The outer shell of the New Haven’s freight locomotive removed, showing the working parts of the machine 435 [Pg xxi] The railroad is a monster. His feet are dipped into the navigable seas, and his many arms reach into the uplands. His fingers clutch the treasures of the hills—coal, iron, timber—all the wealth of Mother Earth. His busy hands touch the broad prairies of corn, wheat, fruits—the yearly produce of the land. With ceaseless activity he brings the raw material that it may be made into the finished. He centralizes industry. He fills the ships that sail the seas. He brings the remote town in quick touch with the busy city. He stimulates life. He makes life. His arms stretch through the towns and over the land. His steel muscles reach across great rivers and deep valleys, his tireless hands have long since burrowed their way through God’s eternal hills. He is here, there, everywhere. His great life is part and parcel of the great life of the nation. He reaches an arm into an unknown country, and it is known! Great tracts of land that were untraversed become farms; hillsides yield up their mineral treasure; a busy town springs into life where there was no habitation of man a little time before, and the town becomes a city. Commerce is born. The railroad bids death and stagnation begone. It creates. It reaches forth with its life, and life is born. The railroad is life itself! [Pg 1] THE MODERN RAILROAD CHAPTER I THE RAILROADS AND THEIR BEGINNINGS Two Great Groups of Railroads; East to West, and North to South—Some of the Giant Roads—Canals—Development of the Country’s Natural Resources—Railroad Projects—Locomotives Imported—First Locomotive of American Manufacture—Opposition of Canal-owners to Railroads—Development of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Mines—The Merging of Small Lines into Systems. Fifteen or twenty great railroad systems are the overland carriers of the United States. Measured by corporations, known by a vast variety of differing names, there are many, many more than these. But this great number is reduced, through common ownership or through a common purpose in operation, to less than a score of transportation organisms, each with its own field, its own purposes, and its own ambitions. The greater number of these railroads reach from east to west, and so follow the natural lines of traffic within the country. Two or three systems—such as the Illinois Central and the Delaware & Hudson—run at variance with this natural trend, and may be classed as cross-country routes. A few properties have no long-reaching routes, but derive their incomes from the transportation business of a comparatively small exclusive territory, as the Boston & Maine in Northern New England, the New Haven in Southern New England, both of them recently brought under a more or less direct single control, and the Long Island. Still other properties find their greatest revenue in bringing[Pg 2] anthracite coal from the Pennsylvania mountains to the seaboard, and among these are the Lackawanna, the Lehigh Valley, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and the Philadelphia & Reading systems. The very great railroads of America are the east and west lines. These break themselves quite naturally into two divisions—one group east of the Mississippi River, the other west of that stream. The easterly group aim to find an eastern terminal in and about New York. Their western arms reach Chicago and St. Louis, where the other group of transcontinentals begin. Giants among these eastern roads are the Pennsylvania and the New York Central. Of lesser size, but still ranking as great railroads within this territory are the Chesapeake & Ohio, the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Erie. Several of the anthracite roads enjoy through connections to Chicago and St. Louis, breaking at Buffalo as an interchange point, about half way between New York and Chicago. There are important roads in the South, reaching between Gulf points and New York and taking care of the traffic of the centres of the section, now rapidly increasing its industrial importance. The western group of transcontinental routes are the giants in point of mileage. The eastern roads, serving a closely-built country, carry an almost incredible tonnage; but the long, gaunt western lines are reaching into a country that has its to-morrow still ahead. Of these, the so-called Harriman lines—the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific—occupy the centre of the country, and reach from the Mississippi to the Pacific. The Santa Fe and the Gould roads share this territory. To the north of the Harriman lines, J. J. Hill has his wonderful group of railroads, the Burlington, the Great Northern, and the Northern Pacific, together reaching from Chicago to the north Pacific coast. Still farther north Canada has her own transcontinental in the Canadian Pacific Railway, another approaching completion in[Pg 3] the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The “Grangers” (so called from their original purpose as grain carriers), that occupy the eastern end of this western territory,—the St. Paul, the Gould lines, the Northwestern and the Rock Island—are just now showing pertinent interest in reaching the Pacific, with its great Oriental trade in its infancy. The first two of these have already laid their rails over the great slopes of the Rocky Mountains and so it is that the building of railroads in the United States is nowhere near a closed book at the present time. The better to understand the causes that went to the making of these great systems, it may be well to go back into the past, to examine the eighty years that the railroad has been in the making. These busy years are illuminating. They tell with precise accuracy the development of American transportation. Yet, as we can devote to them only a few brief pages, our review of them must be cursory. When the Revolution was completed and the United States of America firmly established as a nation, the people began to give earnest attention to internal improvement and development. Under the control of a distant and unsympathetic nation there had been very little encouragement for development; but with an independent nation all was very different. The United States began vaguely to realize their vast inherent wealth. How to develop that wealth was the surpassing problem. It became evident from the first that it must depend almost wholly on transportation facilities. To appreciate the dimensions of this problem it must be understood that at the beginning of the last century a barrel of flour was worth five dollars at Baltimore. It cost four dollars to transport it to that seaport from Wheeling; so it follows, that flour must be sold at Wheeling at one dollar a barrel for the Baltimore market. With a better form of transportation it would cost a dollar a barrel to carry the flour from Wheeling to Baltimore, making the price[Pg 4] of the commodity at the first of these points under transit facilities four dollars a barrel. It did not take much of that sort of reasoning to make the States appreciate from the very first that a great effort must be made toward development. That effort, having been made, brought its own reward. The very first efforts toward transportation development lay in the canal works. Canals had already proved their success in England and within Continental Europe, and their introduction into the United States established their value from the beginning. Some of the earliest of these were built in New England before the Revolution. After the close of that conflict many others were planned and built. The great enterprise of the State of New York in planning and building the Erie, or Grand Canal, as it was at first called, from Albany to Buffalo—from Atlantic tidewater to the navigable Great Lakes was a tremendous stimulus to similar enterprises along the entire seaboard. Canals were built for many hundreds of miles, and in nearly every case they proved their worth at the outset. Canals were also projected for many, many hundreds of additional miles, for the success of the earliest of these ditches was a great encouragement to other investments of the sort, even where there existed far less necessity for their construction. Then there was a halt to canal-building for a little time. The invention of the steamboat just a century ago was an incentive indirectly to canal growth but there were other things that halted the minds of farsighted and conservative men. Canals were fearfully expensive things; likewise, they were delicate works, in need of constant and expensive repairs to keep them in order. Moreover, there were many winter months in which they were frozen and useless. It was quite clear to these farsighted men from the outset that the canal was not the real solution of the transportation problem upon which rested the internal development of the United States. [Pg 5]They turned their attention to roads. But, while roads were comparatively easy to maintain and were possible routes of communication the entire year round, they could not begin to compare with the canals in point of tonnage capacity, because of the limitations of the drawing power of animals. Some visionary souls experimented with sail wagons, but of course with no practical results. At this time there came distinct rumors from across the sea of a new transportation method in England—the railroad. The English railroads were crude affairs built to handle the products of the collieries in the northeast corner of the country, to bring the coal down to the docks. But there came more rumors—of a young engineer, one Stephenson, who had perfected some sort of a steam wagon that would run on rails—a locomotive he called it,—and there was to be one of these railroads built from Stockton to Darlington to carry passengers and also freight. These reports were of vast interest to the earnest men who were trying to solve this perplexing problem of internal transportation. Some of them, who owned collieries up in the northeastern portion of Pennsylvania and who were concerned with the proposition of getting their product to tidewater, were particularly interested. These gentlemen were called the Delaware & Hudson Company, and they had already accomplished much in building a hundred miles of canal from Honesdale, an interior town, across a mountainous land to Kingston on the navigable Hudson River. But the canal, considered a monumental work in its day, solved only a part of the problem. There still remained the stiff ridge of the Moosic Mountain that no canal work might ever possibly climb. To the Delaware & Hudson Company, then, the railroad proposition was of absorbing interest, of sufficient interest to warrant it in sending Horatio Allen, one of the canal engineers, all the way to England for investigation and report. Allen was filled with the enthusiasm of[Pg 6] youth. He went prepared to look into a new era in transportation. In the meantime other railroad projects were also under way in the country, short and crude affairs though they were. As early as 1807 Silas Whitney built a short line on Beacon Hill, Boston, which is accredited as being the first American railroad. It was a simple affair with an inclined plane which was used to handle brick; and it is said that it was preceded twelve years by an even more crude tramway, built for the same purpose. Another early short length of railroad was built by Thomas Leiper at his quarry in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It has its chief interest from the fact that it was designed by John Thomson, father of J. Edgar Thomson, who became at a much later day president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and who is known as one of the master minds in American transportation progress. Similar records remain of the existence of a short line near Richmond, Va., built to carry supplies to a powder mill, and other lines at Bear Creek Furnace, Pennsylvania, and at Nashua, N. H. But the only one of these roads that seems to have attained a lasting distinction was one built by Gridley Bryant in 1826 to carry granite for the Bunker Hill Monument from the quarries at Quincy, Mass., to the docks four miles distant. This road was built of heavy wooden rails attached in a substantial way to stone sleepers imbedded in the earth. It attained considerable distinction and became of such general interest that a public house was opened alongside its rails to accommodate sightseers from afar who came to see it. This railroad continued in service for more than a quarter of a century. But the motive power of all these railroads was the horse; and it was patent from the outset that the horse had neither the staying nor the hauling powers to make him a real factor in the railroad situation. So when Horatio Allen returned to New York from England in[Pg 7] January, 1829, with glowing accounts of the success of the English railroads, he found the progressive men of the Delaware & Hudson anxiously awaiting an inspection of the Stourbridge Lion, the first of four locomotives purchased by Allen for importation into the United States. Three of these machines were from the works of Foster, Rastrick & Co., of Stourbridge; the fourth was the creation of Stephenson’s master hand. The Lion arrived in May of that year, and after having been set up on blocks and fired for the benefit of a group of scientific men in New York it was shipped by river and canal to Honesdale. Allen placed the Stourbridge Lion—which resembled a giant grasshopper with its mass of exterior valves, and joints—on the crude wooden track of the railroad, which extended over the mountain to Carbondale, seventeen miles distant. A few days later—the ninth of August, to be exact—he ran the Lion, the first turning of an engine wheel upon American soil. Details of that scene have come easily down to to-day. The track was built of heavy hemlock stringers on which bars of iron, two and a quarter inches wide and one-half an inch thick were spiked. The engine weighed seven tons, instead of three tons, as had been expected. It so happened that the rails had become slightly warped just above the terminal of the railroad, where the track crossed the Lackawaxen Creek on a bending trestle. Allen had been warned against this trestle and his only response was to call for passengers upon the initial ride. No one accepted. There was a precious Pennsylvania regard shown for the safety of one’s neck. So, after running the engine up and down the coal dock for a few minutes, Allen waved good-bye to the crowd, opened his throttle wide open and dashed away from the village around the abrupt curve and over the trembling trestle at a rate of ten miles an hour. The crowd which had expected to see the engine derailed, broke into resounding[Pg 8] cheers. The initial trial of a locomotive in the United States had served to prove its worth. The career of the Stourbridge Lion was short lived. It hauled coal cars for a little time at Honesdale; but it was too big an engine for so slight a railroad, and it was soon dismantled. Its boiler continued to serve the Delaware & Hudson Company for many years at its shops on the hillside above Carbondale. The fate of the three other imported English locomotives remains a mystery. They were brought to New York and stored, eventually to find their way to the scrap heap in some unknown fashion. Mr. Allen held no short-lived career. His experiments with the locomotive ranked him as a railroad engineer of the highest class, and before the year 1829 closed he was made chief engineer of what was at first known as the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad, and afterwards as the South Carolina Railroad. This was an ambitious project, designed to connect the old Carolina seaport with the Savannah River, one hundred and thirty-six miles distant. It achieved its greatest fame as the railroad which first operated a locomotive of American manufacture. This engine, called the Best Friend of Charleston, was built at the West Point Foundry in New York City and was shipped to Charleston in the Fall of 1830. It was a crude affair, and on its trial trip, on November 2, of that year, it sprung a wheel out of shape and became derailed. Still it was a beginning; and after the wheels had been put in good shape it entered into regular service, which was more than the Stourbridge Lion had ever done. It could haul four or five cars with forty or fifty passengers at a speed of from fifteen to twenty-five miles an hour, so the Charleston & Hamburg became the first of our steam railroads with a regular passenger service. A little later, a bigger and better engine, also of[Pg 9] American manufacture and called the West Point, was sent down from New York. Word of these early railroad experiments travelled across the country as if by some magic predecessor of the telegraph. Other railroad projects found themselves under way. Another colliery railroad, a marvellous thing of planes and gravity descents, was built at Mauch Chunk in the Lehigh Valley, and this stout old road is in use to-day as a passenger-carrier. But it was already seen that the future of the railroad was not to be limited to quarries or collieries. Up in New England the railroad fever had taken hold with force; and in 1831, construction was begun on the Boston & Lowell Railroad. This line was analogous to the Manchester & Liverpool, which proved itself from the beginning a tremendous money-earner. Boston, a seaport of sixty thousand inhabitants was to be linked with Lowell, then possessing but six thousand inhabitants. Still, even in those days, Lowell had developed to a point that saw fifteen thousand tons of freight and thirty-seven thousand passengers handled between the two cities over the Middlesex Canal in 1829. Then there developed the first of a new sort of antagonism that the railroad was to face. The owners of the canals were keen-sighted enough to discover a dangerous new antagonist in the railroads. They protested to the Legislature that their charter gave them a monopoly of the carrying privileges between Boston and Lowell, and for two years they were able to strangle the ambitions of the proposed railroad. This fight was a type of other battles that were to follow between the canals and the railroads. The various lines that reached across New York State from Albany to Buffalo, paralleling the Erie Canal, were once prohibited from carrying freight, for fear that the canal’s supremacy as a carrier might be disturbed. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, struggling to[Pg 10] blaze a path toward the West, was for a long time halted by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, which proposed to hold to its monopoly of the valley of the Potomac. The Boston & Lowell, however, conquered its obstacles and was finally opened to traffic, June 26, 1835. Within a few months similar lines reaching from Boston to Worcester on the west, and Providence on the south had also been opened. By 1839 Boston & Worcester had been extended through to Springfield on the Connecticut River, where it connected with the Western Railroad, extending over the Berkshires to Greenbush, opposite Albany. The Providence Road was rapidly extended through to Stonington, Connecticut. From that point fast steamboats were operated through to New York, and a quick line of communication was established between Boston and New York. Before that time the fastest route between these two cities had been by steamboat to Norwich, then by coach over the post-road up to Boston. Norwich saw the railroad take away its supremacy in the through traffic. Finally it awoke to its necessity, and arranged to build a railroad to reach the existing line at Providence. Between New York and Philadelphia railroad communication came quickly into being, the first route opened being the Camden & Amboy, which terminated at the end of a long ferry ride from New York. Even after more direct routes had been established and the Delaware crossed at Trenton, it was many years before the trains ran direct from Jersey City into the heart of the Quaker City. The cars from New York used to stop at Tacony, considerably above the city and there was still a steamboat ride down the river. The railroad route to Baltimore was only a partial one. A steamboat took the traveller to New Castle, Delaware, where a short pioneer railroad crossed to French Town, Maryland. After that there was another long steamboat ride down the flat reaches of the Chesapeake[Pg 11] Bay before Baltimore was finally reached. A little later there developed an all-rail route between Philadelphia and Baltimore although not upon the line of the present most direct route. From Philadelphia an early double-track railroad extended west to Columbia, upon the Susquehanna River. An early route extended due north from Baltimore to York, and then to Harrisburg; the parent stem of what afterwards became the Northern Central. A branch from this line was extended through to Columbia, and the New Castle and French Town route lost popularity. But the Columbia and Philadelphia route was destined to more important things than merely affording an all-rail route to Baltimore. At Columbia it connected with the important Pennsylvania State system of internal canals and railroads, affording a direct line of communication with Pittsburgh and the headwaters of the Ohio River. This was accomplished by use of a canal through to Hollidaysburgh upon the east slope of the Alleghanies, and the well-famed Alleghany Portage Railroad over the summit of those mountains to Johnstown, where another canal reached down into Pittsburgh and enjoyed unexampled prosperity from 1834 to 1854. The Alleghany Portage railroad was a solidly constructed affair and its rails after the fashion of almost all railroads of that day were laid upon stone sleepers, rows of which may still be seen where the long-since abandoned railroad found its path across the mountains. The Portage Railroad was operated by the most elaborate system of inclined planes ever put to service within the United States; one has only to turn to the pages of Dickens’s “American Notes” to read: The Portage Railroad was the first to surmount the Alleghanies although in course of time its elaborate system of planes disappeared, as they disappeared elsewhere, under the development of the locomotive. An interesting feature of the operation of the eastern end of this route of communication across the Keystone State, which was afterwards to develop into the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad, was the communal nature of the enterprise. The railroad was regarded as a highway. Any person was supposedly free to use its rails for the hauling of his produce in his own cars. The theory of the Columbia & Philadelphia Railroad was simply that of an improved turnpike. For ten years after the opening of the line in 1834, the horse-teams of private freight haulers alternated upon the tracks between steam locomotives hauling trains. A team of worn-out horses hauling a four-wheeled car, loaded with farm produce could, and frequently did keep a passenger train hauled by a steam locomotive fretting along for hours behind it. In the end the use of horses was abolished on the Philadelphia & Columbia—the name of the road had been reversed—and in 1857 the road was sold by the State to the newly organized Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Pennsylvania had already built a through rail route from Columbia over the Alleghanies, and, by the aid of the wonderful Horse Shoe Curve and the Gallitzin Tunnel, through to Pittsburgh; it had created its shop-town of Altoona and abandoned for all time the Alleghany Portage Railroad. But before the consolidation came to pass, two companies had been organized to control freight-carrying upon the tracks of the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad. One of these was the People’s line, the other[Pg 13] the Union line; and in them was the germ of the private car lines, which in recent years have become so vexed a problem to the Interstate Commerce Commission. There were other short railroad lines in Pennsylvania, most of them built to bring the products of the rapidly developing anthracite district down to tidewater. Across New York State another chain of little railroads, which were in their turn to become the main stem of one of America’s mightiest systems, was under construction. The first of this chain to be built was the Mohawk & Hudson, extending from the capital city of Albany, by means of a sharply graded plane, to a tableland which brought it in turn to a descending plane at Schenectady. At this last city it enjoyed a connection with the Erie Canal, and for a time the packet-boat men hailed the new railroad as a great help to their trade. It shortened a great time-taking bend in the canal, and helped to popularize that waterway just so much as a passenger carrier. Afterwards the packet-boat men thought differently. Hardly had the Mohawk & Hudson been opened on August 9, 1831, by an excursion trip behind the American built locomotive DeWitt Clinton, when the railroad fever took hold of New York State as hard as the canal fever had taken hold of it but a few years before. Railroads were planned everywhere and some of them were built. Men began to dream of a link of railroads all the way through from Albany to Buffalo and even the troubles of a decade, marked with a monumental financial crash, could not entirely avail to stop railroad-building. The railroads came, step by step; one railroad from Schenectady to Utica, another from that pent-up city to Syracuse, still another from Syracuse to Rochester. From Rochester separate railroads led to Tonawanda and Niagara Falls; to Batavia, Attica, and Buffalo. But the panic of ’37 was a hard blow to ambitious financial schemes, and it was six years thereafter before the all-rail route from Albany to Buffalo was a reality. [Pg 14]Even after that it was a crude sort of affair. At several of the large towns across the State the continuity of the rails was broken. Utica was jealous of this privilege and defended it on one occasion through a committee of eminent draymen, ’bus-drivers, and inn-keepers, who went down to Albany to keep two of the early routes from making rail connections within her boundaries. At Rochester there was a similar break, wherein both passengers and freight had to be transported by horses across the city from the railroad that led from the east to the railroad that led towards the west. This matter of carrying passengers across a city has always stimulated local pride. Along in the fifties Erie, Pa., waged a bitter war to prevent the Lake Shore Railroad from making its gauge uniform through that city and abandoning a time-honored transfer of passengers and freight there. But there seems to be no stopping of the hand of ultimate destiny in railroading. The little weak roads across the Empire State were first gathered into the powerful New York Central, and after a time they were permitted to carry freight, the privilege denied them a long time because of the power of the Erie Canal. After a little longer time there was a great bridge built across the Hudson River at Albany, and soon after the close of the Civil War shrewd old Commodore Vanderbilt brought the railroad that had been built up the east shore of the Hudson, his pet New York & Harlem, and the merged chain of railroads across the State, into the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, his great lifework. That system spread itself steadily. It built a new short line from Syracuse to Rochester, another from Batavia to Buffalo. It absorbed and it consolidated; gradually it sent its tentacles over the entire imperial strength of New York State. [Pg 15] CHAPTER II THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILROAD Alarm of Canal-owners at the Success of Railroads—The Making of the Baltimore & Ohio—The “Tom Thumb” Engine—Difficulties in Crossing the Appalachians—Extension to Pittsburgh—Troubles of the Erie Railroad—This Road the First to Use the Telegraph—The Prairies Begin to be Crossed by Railways—Chicago’s First Railroad, the Galena & Chicago Union—Illinois Central—Rock Island, the First to Span the Mississippi—Proposals to Run Railroads to the Pacific—The Central Pacific Organized—It and the Union Pacific Meet—Other Pacific Roads. All the railroad projects already related were timid projects in the beginning, with hardly a thought of ultimate greatness. Yet there were men, even in the earliest days of railroading, whose minds winged to great enterprises, whose dreams were empire-wide. Of such men was the Baltimore & Ohio born. Baltimore, like Philadelphia, had greedily watched the success of the Erie Canal upon its completion, and noted with alarm its possible effects upon its own wharves. Philadelphia, with the wealth of the great State of Pennsylvania behind, had sought to protect herself by the construction of the long links of canal and railroad to Pittsburgh, of which you have already read. But Baltimore had no great State to call to her support. She must look to herself for strength. Out of her eminent necessity for self-preservation came men of the strength and the fibre to meet the emergency. Baltimore might have retreated from the situation, as some of the New England towns had retreated from it, and become a somnolent reminiscence of a prosperous Colonial seaport. She did nothing of the sort. Instead she made herself the terminal and[Pg 16] inspiration of a great railroad, laid the foundations of a great and lasting growth. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was born February 12, 1827. On the evening of that day, a little group of citizens of the sturdy old Southern metropolis gathered at the house of George Brown. Mr. Brown together with Philip E. Thomas, a distinguished merchant and philanthropist of Baltimore, had been making investigation into the possibilities of railroads. The fact that the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, which was already well advanced in construction, would have its eastern terminus at the Potomac River, near Washington, brought no comfort to the merchants of Baltimore. Wonder not then, that the stern old traders of that city assembled to consider “the best means of restoring to the city of Baltimore that portion of the western trade which has lately been diverted from it by the introduction of steam navigation and other causes.” From that February day to this the corporate title of the Baltimore & Ohio has been unchanged, despite the career of the most extreme vicissitudes—long years of shadows that were almost complete despair, other years that were brilliant with success. It was decided at the outset that the commercial supremacy of Baltimore rested on her conquest of the Appalachian Mountains, of her reaching by an easy artificial highway the almost limitless waterways of the West that linked themselves with the navigable Ohio. But for the beginning it was agreed that Cumberland, long an important point on the well-famed National Highway, and even then a centre in the coal traffic, was a far enough distant goal to be worthy of the most ambitious enterprise. Indeed a long cutting through a hill in the first section of the road proved a serious financial obstacle to the directors of the struggling railroad. But these last were men who persevered. They started to lay their track for the thirteen miles from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills on July 4, 1828. That occasion was honored by an old-time[Pg 17] celebration in which the chief figure was Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who laid the first stone of the new line. After his services were finished he said to a friend: “I consider this among the most important things of my life, second only to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, if even it be second to that.” Of that act President Hadley, of Yale, has written: “One man’s life formed the connecting link between the political revolution of the one century and the industrial revolution of the other.” No sooner had actual construction begun on the new line, than the directors found themselves beset by many difficulties. Their enterprise was then so unusual, that they went blindly, stumbling ahead in the dark. Even the construction of the track itself was experimental. It was first planned to use wooden rails hewn from oak, and these were to be mounted upon stone sleepers set in a rock ballast. The money spent in such track was obviously wasted. All such construction had to be torn out before the traffic was at all sizable, and replaced by iron rails and wooden sleepers. But the track was the least of the company’s problems. It had gone ahead to build a railroad with a very vague conception as to its permanent motive-power. It was soon seen there, too, that horses were out of the question for hauling the passengers and freight any considerable distance. The Baltimore & Ohio Company gravely experimented at one time with a car which was carried before the wind by means of mast and sail. Sturdy old Peter Cooper, of New York, finally solved that motive-power problem. He had been induced to buy three thousand acres of land in the outskirts of Baltimore for speculation. Requests sent by his Baltimore partners for remittances, for taxes and other charges, became so frequent that he went to the Maryland city to investigate. One glance showed him that the future of his investment rested upon the future of the[Pg 18] struggling little railroad which was trying to poke its nose west from Baltimore. He came to the aid of its directors in their problem of motive-power. That problem consisted, for one thing, in the practical use of a locomotive around curves of 400 feet radius. Cooper went back to New York, bought an engine with a single cylinder, rigged it on a car—not larger than a hand-car, geared it to the wheels of that car and solved the chief problem of the B. & O. His little engine—the Tom Thumb—was a primitive enough affair, but it pointed the way to these Baltimore merchants who were pinning their entire faith to their railroad project. Two years after the beginning of the work, “brigades” of horse-cars were in regular service to Ellicott’s Mills; by the first of December, 1831, trains—steam-drawn—ran through to Frederick, Md.; five months later, to a day, they had reached Point of Rocks on the Potomac, seventy miles from Baltimore. At Point of Rocks the road was halted for a long time. The power of the powerful Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, which had been great enough to keep State or national grants from struggling railroads, was raised to defend its claim to a monopoly of the Potomac Valley, by right of priority. This right was sustained in the courts, and the railroad held back two years, until it could buy a compromise. In 1835, a highly profitable branch was opened to Washington, while early in the following year, trains were running through to Harpers Ferry, at the mouth of the Shenandoah. During that same Summer of 1835, definite steps were taken toward the extension of the railroad to Pittsburgh, as well as Wheeling. But it was three years later before the struggling company was ready to make a surveying reconnaissance of these extensions of the road. All through that time actual construction work was slowly but quite surely progressing westward from Harpers Ferry, [Pg 19]and on November 5, 1842, trains entered Cumberland, the one-time objective point of the enterprise. An early locomotive built by William Norris for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad The historic “John Bull” of the Camden & Amboy Railroad—and its train A heavy-grade type of locomotive built for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1864. Its flaring stack was typical of those years But beyond Cumberland the road gradually left the comfortable valley of the Potomac, and these early railroad builders found themselves confronted with new difficulties. To build a railroad across the range of the Appalachians, with the primitive methods and machinery of those days was no simple task. For nine years the construction work dragged. In 1851 the line had only been finished to Piedmont, twenty-nine miles west of Cumberland, and its builders were well-nigh discouraged. Let us quote from the ancient history of the B. & O., from which we derive these facts, in an exact paragraph: “In the Fall of 1851, the Board found themselves, almost without warning, in the midst of a financial crisis, with a family of more than 5,000 laborers and 1,200 horses to be provided for, while their treasury was rapidly growing weaker. The commercial existence of the city of Baltimore depended on the prompt and successful prosecution of the unfinished road.” In October, 1852, it was found that there had been expended for construction west of Cumberland, $7,217,732.51. But the road was going ahead once more. Its Board had dug deep into their pockets and the commercial crisis that hovered over Baltimore was passed. Two years later the road entered Wheeling, and its corporate title was no longer a misnomer. A little later, a more direct line was built to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and direct connection entered with the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, which reached St. Louis. The railroad was beginning to feel its way out across the land. War between North and South had been declared before the long delayed extension to Pittsburgh was finished. In that time a real master-hand had come to the Baltimore & Ohio. In its early days the names of Philip E. Thomas, Peter Cooper, Ross Winans, and B. H. Latrobe[Pg 20] were indissolubly linked with this pioneer railroad; in its second era John W. Garrett gave brilliancy to its administration. Even before, as well as throughout the four trying years of the war, when the road’s tracks were being repeatedly torn up and its bridges burned, Mr. Garrett was laying down his masterly policy of expansion. It was a discouraging beginning that confronted him. The two expensive extensions to the Ohio River had been a severe drain on the company’s treasury, traffic was at low ebb, the great financial panic of 1857 had been hard to surmount. But Mr. Garrett was one of the first of American railroaders to see that a trunk-line should start at the seaboard and end at Chicago or the Mississippi. He pushed his line to Pittsburgh, to Cleveland, to Sandusky, to Chicago. It began to reach new and growing traffic centres. The Baltimore & Ohio entered upon an era of magnificent prosperity. The first cloud upon that era came in the early seventies, when its powerful rival, the Pennsylvania, secured control of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore, the B. & O.’s connecting link on its immensely profitable through route from New York to Washington. Pennsylvania interests tunnelled for long miles through the rocky foundations of Baltimore, purchased an independent line to Washington—the Baltimore & Potomac—and the B. & O. found itself deprived of its best congested traffic district. For eleven years it was unable to retaliate, though not a soul believed the Baltimore & Ohio to be other than a splendid, conservative property. It owned its own sleeping-car company, its own express company, its own telegraph company. The name of Garrett was behind it. Logan G. McPherson says: John W. Garrett died in 1884, and was succeeded in the presidency by his son Robert Garrett, who announced himself ready to continue a policy of expansion. The younger Garrett sought to regain an entrance for his traffic to New York. To that end he built a line into Philadelphia and prepared to strike across the State of New Jersey. He failed in that end by the failure of one of his confidential aides; the line that he had counted on for entrance into the American metropolis was snapped up by his greatest rival just as his own fingers were almost upon it. Later the B. & O. was permitted a trackage entrance into Jersey City, but the terms of that entrance were so stringent as to mean a practical surrender upon its part. If Baltimore & Ohio had won that battle, a different story might have been chronicled. As it was, it stood a loser in a fearfully expensive fight; the English investors in the property became investigators—of a sudden the bottom dropped out of things. The stock went slipping down as only a mob-chased stock in Wall Street can drop; the road that had been the pride of Baltimore became, for the moment, her shame. It was shown, upon investigation, that the road had long gone upon a slender standing: millions of dollars that should actually have been charged to loss had been charged against its capital and included in the surplus. Ten years after Mr. Garrett’s death the road found itself in even more bitter straits. It was a laughing stock and a reproach among railroad men. Its profitable side-properties—the sleeping-car company, the express company, the telegraph company,—the first two of which should never be permitted to go outside of the control of any really great railroad company—had been sold, one after another, in attempts to save the day of reckoning. Just before the Chicago Fair the road reached[Pg 22] low-water mark. Its passenger cars were weather-beaten and ravaged almost beyond hope of paint-shops; it was sometimes necessary to hold outgoing trains in the famous old Camden station at Baltimore, until the lamps and drinking glasses could be secured from some incoming train. In that day of low-water mark it was actually and seriously proposed to abandon the passenger service of the road! Out of that chaos came the B. & O. of to-day, a substantial and well-managed railroad property. Mr. Garrett was the first of the railroaders to construct a single property from the Atlantic seaboard to the Mississippi; John F. Cowan, L. F. Loree, Oscar G. Murray, and Daniel Willard have been his successors in the revamping of the B. & O., eliminating its costly grades, enlarging yard and terminal facilities, and making the historic road a carrier of the first class. The history of the Erie Railroad is hardly less dramatic than that of the Baltimore & Ohio; its financial disasters were not owing to the errors that come of crass stupidity. For the Erie did its good part in the making of railroad law. Built and operated in the earliest railroad days as a single enterprise through the southern tier of counties of New York State from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, while the roads to the north that were eventually to be welded by Commodore Vanderbilt into the great New York Central were still quarrelling among themselves, it was wrecked time and time again by unscrupulous schemes of high finance. It was made to wear mill-stones in the shape of outrageous bonded indebtednesses that acted as a fearful handicap for many years and prevented a remarkably well located property from standing to-day as the peer of the Pennsylvania or of the New York Central. The story of these outrages has been told and retold—they are integral parts of the financial history of the country. Suffice it to say here and now that the Erie[Pg 23] has been operated with more or less success by no less than four struggling corporations; that it has never come closer to achieving success than under its present president, F. D. Underwood; and that no one save those who have stood close to Underwood has known or appreciated the heritage of handicap that was given to him to shoulder. For it has been part of our railroad principle in this country—a mighty sad part, too—that no matter how villainously stocks and bonds may have been issued at any time—only to bring failure swiftly and inevitably,—such bogus paper has always been protected in reorganization. A railroad which becomes bankrupt cannot be abandoned. That has been done only in rare cases. Even the Baltimore & Ohio, at the end of its rope less than twenty years ago, was not permitted to abandon its passenger service. It must pull itself up out of the difficulties, and—in America at least—it must pull its trashy paper up too, in order that no holder of such paper may be unprotected. The paper can no more be abandoned than the right-of-way. The result is seen in railroads staggering under vast and questionable capitalization (there is no cleaning of the slate); but the sins of those that have gone before are truly visited upon the third and the fourth generation, as well as upon the poor humans who, under such burdens, are trying to operate a railroad property. From the beginning the story of Erie has been a story of difficulties. The original scheme of building a New York railroad from Piermont-on-Hudson to Dunkirk on Lake Erie—some 450 miles—seems in the face of the resources of the State at that time and the engineering difficulties to be solved, almost quixotic. But the road was built step by step, section by section, until in May, 1851, a triumphal first train was operated over its entire length. President Fillmore was the guest of honor on the train, but shared attention with Daniel Webster on the trip. Webster, in order that he might see the country, insisted on making the entire tedious journey in a rocking-chair,[Pg 24] which was lashed upon a flat-car. Another flat-car was occupied by a railroad officer who was designated to receive the flags. C. F. Carter, in his interesting sketch on the early days of the Erie, writes: “By a singular coincidence, the ladies at every one of the more than sixty stations between Piermont and Dunkirk had conceived the idea that it would be as original as it was appropriate to present a flag wrought by their own fair hands to the railroad company when the first train passed through to Lake Erie. As it would have consumed altogether too much time to make a stop for each of these flag presentations, the engineer merely slowed down at three-fourths of the stations long enough to permit the man on the flat-car to scoop up the banners in his arms, much like the hands on the old-fashioned Marsh harvesters gathered up armfuls of grain for binding. At the end of the journey the Erie Railroad had a collection of flags that would have done credit to a victorious army.” Mr. Carter has also told how in that same eventful year 1851 the telegraph came into use on the Erie, first of all railroads: A crude telegraph line, built for commercial purposes, had been stretched along the eastern end of the road. People did not think very much of the telegraph in those days. It was only seven years old; and when a man wired another man he wrote his message like a letter, beginning with “Dear sir” and ending with “Yours truly.” The railroads scorned its use. Their trains ran by hard and fast train rules. Then, as now, north and east-bound trains held the right-of-way over those south and west-bound, and the meeting places on single-track lines were each carefully designated on the time-card. If a train was waiting for another coming in an opposite direction, and the train came not after an hour, the first train proceeded forward “under flag.” That meant that a man, walking with a flag in his hand preceded the train to protect it. The locomotive and its train of cars necessarily proceeded at snail’s pace. It was not so very long after that observation-car trip[Pg 25] that Daniel Webster took in the rocking-chair up to Dunkirk, before the Erie’s superintendent, Charles Minot, was taking a trip up over the east end of the road. The train on which he was riding was due to meet a west-bound express at Turner’s. After waiting nearly an hour there, without seeing the opposing train, Minot was seized with an inspiration. He telegraphed up the line fourteen miles to Goshen to hold that west-bound train until he should arrive there. He then ordered his train-crew to proceed. They rebelled. Engineer Isaac Lewis had too much regard for his own precious neck to break the time-card rules, even under the superintendent’s orders. So finally Minot took charge of the engine himself, while Lewis cautiously seated himself in the last seat of the last car and awaited the worst. It never came, of course. When they reached Goshen, the agent had received the message, and was prepared to hold the west-bound train. But it had not arrived, and Minot by repeating his method was enabled first to reach Middletown and then Port Jervis before meeting the delayed train. By the use of the telegraph he had saved his own train some three hours in running time; and it was not long thereafter until the operation of trains by telegraph order became standard on the Erie and all others of the early railroads. At the beginning, one of the promoters of the Erie announced his belief that the road would eventually earn, by freight alone, “some two hundred thousand dollars in a year,” and his neighbors laughed at him for his extravagant promise. Yet, in the first six months’ operation of the road the receipts—mostly from freight—were $1,755,285. To tell the full story of Erie would require a sizable book. It has not yet been told. It is a story of intrigue and deceit, of trickery and of scheming; the story of Daniel Drew and Jim Fisk and Jay Gould; the monumental tragedy of the wrecking of a great railroad property—a[Pg 26] property with possibilities that probably will never now be realized. The present management of the road has labored valiantly and well. It has seen the future of Erie as a great freighting road, has carefully laid its lines for the full development of the property as a carrier of goods, rather than of through passengers. The history of the railroad divides itself sharply into epochs. In the beginning, the different roads—such as Erie, Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, and New York Central—were being pushed west over the Alleghany Mountains to the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. There followed an era where the railroads were reaching Chicago and St. Louis. That was the era which saw the weird railroads of the Middle West, the strange stock-watering companies that made the very names of Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois financial bywords in the late forties and the early fifties. The first railroad in Ohio was the old Mad River & Lake Erie, which was built in 1835, from Sandusky, south about a hundred miles to Columbus, the State capital. The pioneer engine on the road, the Sandusky, was the first locomotive ever equipped with a whistle. The first railroad of the prairies was the Northern Cross railroad—now a part of the Wabash—extending from Merodosia on the Illinois River, to Springfield. It was started in 1837, and late in the following fall a locomotive built by Rogers, Grosvenor, and Ketchum of Paterson, N. J.,—the founders of a famous locomotive works—was landed from a packet-steamer at Merodosia. Then was the first puff of a locomotive heard upon the prairies of the great West. A contemporary account says: In 1846 James M. Forbes was building the Michigan Central west from Detroit, 145 miles to Kalamazoo. A little later it was extended to the east shore of Lake Michigan, at New Buffalo; eventually it reached Chicago with its own rails. While the Michigan Central was pushing its rails, its chief competitor to the south, the Michigan Southern,—afterwards a part of the Lake Shore, and eventually united with its traditional rival in the extended New York Central system—was also pushing toward Chicago as a goal. Both roads reached Chicago in 1852. But railroad building was slow work. The country expanded too quickly after the golden promises of the railroad promoters. Money came too easily; then there would come a fearful financial time, and the reputable railroad enterprises would be halted beside the “fly-by-night” schemes. As late as 1850, Ohio had only the single trunk-line connecting Sandusky and Cincinnati; but the railroad to Cleveland that was afterwards the main stem of the Big Four and the trunk-line connection east to the Baltimore & Ohio, were nearing completion. Chicago’s first railroad was the Galena & Chicago Union, and it was the cornerstone of the great Chicago and Northwestern system, one of the really great railroads of America. The Galena & Chicago Union was incorporated in 1836, but not until eleven years later was work begun in laying tracks, for a short ten-mile stretch from the Chicago River to Des Plaines; and its first locomotive, the Pioneer, had been bought second-hand from the Buffalo & Attica Railroad, away east in New York State. The rails were second-hand, too, of the strap variety, which the Western railroads were already discarding in favor of solid rails. But it was a railroad, and it was with a deal[Pg 28] of pride that John B. Turner, its president, used to ascend to an observatory on the second floor of the old Halsted Street depot to sight with a telescope the smoke of his morning train coming across the prairie. The Chicago and Northwestern, itself, was organized in 1859. For a time it was so desperately poor that it could not pay the interest on its bonds, and there was a time when its officers had to meet the pay-roll out of their own pockets; but it succeeded in absorbing about six hundred miles of railroad at the beginning. In another decade the Union Pacific Railroad, first uniting the Far West with the populous Middle and Eastern States, was completed. The Chicago and Northwestern formed one of the most direct links between the Lakes and the eastern terminal of the Union Pacific at Council Bluffs. The business that came to it because of that linking was the first strong impulse that led to the ultimate greatness of the Northwestern. The distinctive mid-Western road was and always has been the Illinois Central. Originally incorporated in 1836, it was nearly twenty years later when, through substantial aid from the State whose name it bears, construction actually began. The first track was laid from Chicago to Calumet to give an entrance to the Michigan Central in its heart-breaking race to the Western metropolis against the Michigan Southern. The main line through to Cairo was pushed forward rapidly, however, and was ready for traffic at the end of 1855. A large number of Kentucky slaves promptly showed their appreciation of the new railroad enterprise by using it to effect their escape to the North. Of course with the railroad pushing its way westward all the while (the Rock Island in April, 1859, was the first to span the Mississippi with a bridge), it was only a question of time when some adventurous soul should seek to reach the Pacific coast. Indeed it was away back in 1832, while there was still less than a hundred miles of track[Pg 29] in the United States, that Judge Dexter of Ann Arbor, Michigan, proposed a railroad through to the Pacific Ocean, through thousands of miles of untrodden forest. Six years later, a Welsh engineer, John Plumbe, held a convention at Dubuque, Iowa, for the same purpose. The idea would not down. Hardly had Plumbe and his convention disappeared from the public notice when Asa Whitney, a New York merchant of considerable reputation, began to agitate the Pacific railroad. Whitney was a good deal of a theorist and a dreamer; but he was a shrewd publicity man, and he held widely attended meetings for the propagation of his idea, in all the Eastern cities. Eventually, like Judge Dexter and John Plumbe, he was doomed to disappointment. After Whitney had died broken-hearted and bankrupt because of his devotion to an idea, came Josiah Perham, of Boston. Josiah Perham was the Raymond & Whitcomb of the fifties. He began by organizing excursions for New England folk to come to Boston to see the Boston Museum and the panoramas, which were the gay diversion of that day. In one year he brought two hundred thousand folk into that sacred Massachusetts town, and he began to be rated as a rich man. He absorbed the Pacific railroad idea and freely spent his money in its propagation. He organized the People’s Pacific Railroad,—and a part of his scheme formed the foundation of the Northern Pacific. Perham, like the others, spent his money and failed to see the fruition of his plan. There seemed to be something ill-fated about that plan of a railroad to the Pacific. Even the citizens of St. Louis, who had gathered on the Fourth of July, 1851, to see soil broken for the first real transcontinental railroad, found that it could only manage to reach Kansas City by 1856. That particular railroad—the Missouri Pacific—through its western connection, the Western Pacific, only succeeded in reaching the coast within the past year. When Theodore D. Judah brought himself to the [Pg 30]seemingly hopeless task of trying to build a Pacific railroad, he brought with him all the enthusiasm of Asa Whitney, and with it the experience of a trained railroad engineer. The thing was beginning to take shape. The men, like Whitney and Perham, who had been before Congress at session after session, finally brought that august body, even when the nation stood on the verge of civil war, into making an appropriation for a survey for a scheme, which nine out of ten men regarded as a mere visionary dream. Theodore D. Judah, filled with enthusiasm for his mighty plan, went West that he might roughly plan the location of the railroad. He went to San Francisco and he went to Sacramento, where the little twenty-two-mile Sacramento Valley Railroad had been running since 1856. The Californians listened to him with interest, but they proffered him no financial aid. Then Judah went up into the high passes of the Sierras, through which a railroad to the east would certainly have to reach, to find a crossing for the line in which he believed so earnestly. He found it—making a route that would save 148 miles and $13,500,000 over that proposed by the Government authorities. When he went back to Sacramento, to the hardware store of his old friends, Huntington & Hopkins, in K Street, it was with a rough profile of that pass in his pocket. What Judah said to Collis P. Huntington and Mark Hopkins has never been known, but certain it is that in a little time they were sending for the three other capitalists of Sacramento—the Crocker brothers, who had a dry-goods store down the street, and Leland Stanford, a wholesale grocer. Out of the efforts of those six men the Central Pacific Railroad was organized with a capital of $125,000. Work began on the new line at Sacramento on the first day of 1863, while California shook with laughter at the idea of a parcel of country store-keepers building a railroad across the crest of the Sierras. How they built their railroad successfully and amassed[Pg 31] six really great American fortunes is all history now. Sufficient is it that they turned a deaf ear to the ridicule (the project was considered so visionary that bankers dared not subscribe to the stock of the road for fear of injuring their credit), found their route through the mountains just as Judah had promised, brought their materials around the Horn, imported ten thousand Chinese laborers, hurled thousands of tons of solid rock down among the pines by a single charge of nitro-glycerine, bolted their snow-sheds to the mountains, and filled up or bridged hundreds of chasms and valleys. “Two thousand feet of granite barred the way upon the mountain-top where eagles were at home. The Chinese wall was a toy beside it. It could neither be surmounted nor doubled; and so they tunnelled what looks like a bank swallow’s hole from a thousand feet below. Powder enough was expended in persuading the iron crags and cliffs to be a thoroughfare, to fight half the battles of the Revolution.” While the Central Pacific was being built east from the coast, the Union Pacific was pushing its rails west from the Missouri River to meet it. A Federal subsidy was paid to each road for each mile of transcontinental track it laid, and the result was the Credit Mobilier, the worst financial blot upon the pages of American government transactions. Early in the Spring of 1868 the companies were on equal terms in this great game of subsidy getting. Each finally had ample funds and each was about 530 miles away from the Great Salt Lake. So in 1868 a construction campaign began that has never been approached in the history of railroad building. Twenty-five thousand men, and 6,000 teams, together with whole brigades of locomotives and work-trains, were engaged in the work; in a single day ten miles of track was laid and that was a world-beating record. The result of such speed was that the two railroads met, May 9, 1869. Leland Stanford, who was ridiculed when he first turned earth for the Central Pacific[Pg 32] at Sacramento six years before, drove the last spike, and was for that moment the central figure in an attention that was world-wide. After the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific came the Southern Pacific, and after them came Collis P. Huntington binding them into a tight single railroad. But close on the heels of the Southern Pacific, and right into its own territory, reached the Santa Fe, while to the north, first the Northern Pacific and then the Great Northern was built from the lake country straight to Puget Sound. On a November day in 1885 the last spike was driven in the great transcontinental Canadian Pacific, the first and so far the only railroad to lay its rails from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. Within a year the Western Pacific—the westernmost of the chain of Gould roads—has begun to run its through trains to the Golden Gate. As this volume goes to press finishing touches are being placed upon the Puget Sound extension of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, probably the last transcontinental to be stretched across these United States for a number of years to come. Far to the north, the Grand Trunk Pacific is finding its way across the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, creating a great city—Prince Rupert—at its western terminal. It should be ready for its through traffic within the next three years. This then, in brief, is the history of American railroading—an eighty-year struggle from East to West. The railroad has passed through many vicissitudes; days of wild-cat financing, and days when men refused to invest their money under any inducements whatsoever. It has been assailed by legislatures and by Congress; it has been scourged because of the so-called “pooling agreements,” and it has cut its own strong arms by building foolish competing lines. But it has survived masterfully, while the highroads have become grass-grown, and the once proud[Pg 33] canals have fallen into decay. Railroading is to-day in the full flush of successful existence. Science has been brought to each of the infinite details of the business; and for the first time the country sees practically every line, large or small, honestly earning its way. The railroad receiver has all but passed into history. [Pg 34] CHAPTER III THE BUILDING OF A RAILROAD Cost of a Single-track Road—Financing—Securing a Charter—Survey-work and its Dangers—Grades—Construction—Track-laying. The railroad has its beginning in the inspiration and in the imagination of men. Perchance a great tract of country, rich in possibilities, stands undeveloped for lack of transportation facilities. The living arm of the railroad will bring to it both strength and growth. It will bring to it the materials, the men, and the machinery needed for its development. It will take from it its products seeking markets in communities already established. In that way the first railroads began, reaching their arms carefully in from the Atlantic and the navigable rivers and bays that emptied into it. In the beginning there was hardly any inland country. All the important towns were spread along the sea-coast or along those same navigable tributaries, and it was sorry shrift for any community that did not possess a wharf to which vessels of considerable tonnage might attain. Where such communities did not possess natural water-ways, they sought to obtain artificial ones; and the result was the extraordinary impetus that was given to the building of canals during the first half of the nineteenth century—a page of American industrial history that has been told in another chapter. It was found quite impossible to handle bulky freight economically by wagon, no matter how romantic the turnpike might be for passenger traffic in the old-time coaches. The canal was so much better as a carrier that it was[Pg 35] hailed with acclaim, and waxed powerful. In the height of its power it laughed at the puny efforts of the railroad, and then, as you have seen, sought by every possible means to throttle the growth of the steel highway. Within eighty years it was powerless, and the railroad was conqueror. There were hundreds of miles of abandoned canal within the country, many of them being converted into roadbeds of railroads; and the water-highway, with its slow transit and its utter helplessness during the frozen months of the year, was not able to exist except where quantities of the coarsest sort of freight were to be moved. Without railroads, the United States to-day would, in all probability, not be radically different from the United States of a hundred years ago. All the large towns and cities would still be clustered upon the coast and waterways, and back of them would still rest many, many square miles of undeveloped country; the nation would have remained a sprawling, helpless thing, weakened by its very size, and subject both to internal conflict and to attacks of foreign invaders. It has been repeatedly said that if there had been a through railroad development in the South during the fifties, there would have been no Civil War. France for five hundred years before the signing of our Declaration, was a civilized and progressive nation. Yet century after century passed without her inland towns showing material change; and her seaports, lacking the impetus of interior growth, remained quiescent. Such a metropolis as Marseilles is to-day, became possible only when the railroad made this seaport the south gate of a mightily developing nation. Let us assume that we are about to build a railroad. If we are going to strike our road in from some existing line or some accessible port into virgin country, we may hope for land or money grants from the State, county, town, or city Government. That is a faint hope, however, in[Pg 36] these piping days of the twentieth century. So much scandal once attached itself to these grants that they have become all but obsolete. We shall have to fall back upon the individual enterprise and help of the persons who are to benefit by the coming of the railroad. They may be folk who simply regard our project as a good investment, and place their money in it with hopes of a fair return. Even if we are not going into virgin territory to give whole townships and counties their first sight of the locomotive, but are going to strike into a community already provided with railroad facilities but seemingly offering fair opportunity for profit in a competitive traffic, we shall find capital ready to stand back of us. A railroad will cost much money, the mere cost of single-track construction generally running far in excess of $35,000 a mile; and it should have resources, particularly in a highly competitive territory, to enable it to carry on a losing fight at the first. For the money it receives it will issue securities, upon incorporation and legal organization, almost invariably in the form of capital stock and of mortgage-bonds. The stock will probably be held by the men who wish to control the construction and the operation of the line; the bonds will be issued to those persons who invest their money in it, either for profit or as an aid to the community it seeks to enter. The bonds are, in almost all cases, the preferable security. They pay a guaranteed interest at a certain rate, and at the end of a designated term of years they are redeemable at face value, in cash or in the capital stock of the company. There are other forms of loan obligations which the railroad issues—debenture bonds, second-mortgage bonds, short-term notes, and the like. To enter upon a description of these would mean a detour into the devious highways and byways of railroad finance—an excursion which we have no desire to make in this book. In building our line we will issue as few bonds in proportion to our stock as will make our company fairly stable in organization, and its proposition attractive to investors.[Pg 37] For we shall have to pay our interest coupons upon the bonds from the beginning. We can begin even moderate dividends upon our stock after our enterprise has entered upon fair sailing. The all-important initial problem of financing having been at least partly settled, we will go before the Legislature and secure a charter for our road. In these modern days we shall probably have also to make application to some State railroad or public utility commission. It will consider our case with great care, granting hearings so that we may state our plans, and that folk living in the territory which we are about to tap may urge the necessity of our coming, and that rival railroads or other opponents may state their objections. After the entire evidence has been sifted down and weighed in truly judicial fashion, we may hope for word to “go ahead,” from the official commission, which, though it assumes none of our risk of loss in projecting the line, will gratuitously assume many of the details of its management. Perhaps the politicians will poke their noses into our plan; they sometimes do. If we have plenty of capital behind us; if it becomes rumored that the P—— or the N—— or the X——, one of the big existing properties, is back of us, or some “big Wall Street fellow” is guiding our bonds, we can almost confidently expect their interference. After that it becomes a matter of diplomacy—and may the best man win! Let us assume that some of these big obstacles have already been passed, that the politicians have been placed at arm’s length, that the money needed is in sight—we are ready to begin the construction of our line. The location is the thing that next vexes us. A few errors in the placing of our line may spell failure for the whole enterprise. Obviously, these errors will be of the sort that admit of no easy correction. If our line is to link two important traffic centres and[Pg 38] is to make a specialty of through traffic it will have to be very much of a town that will bend the straightness of our route. If, on the other hand, the line is to pick up its traffic from the territory it traverses we can afford to neglect no place of possibilities. We must make concessions, even if we make many twists and turns and climb steep grades; we cannot afford to pass business by. Perhaps we may even have to worm our way into the hearts of towns already grown and closely built, and this will be expensive work. But it will be worth every cent of that expense to go after competitive business. We roughly outline our route, and the engineers get their camping duds ready, particularly in these days when new railroads almost invariably go into a new country. Their first trip over the route will be known as the reconnaissance. On it they will make rough plotting of the territory through which the new line is to place its rails. Our engineers are experienced. They survey the country with practised eyes. The line must go on this side of that ridge, because of the prevailing winds and their influence upon snowdrifts (it costs a mint of money to run ploughs through a long winter), and on the other side of the next ridge, because the other side has easily worked loam, and this side heavy rock. There must be passes through hills and through mountains to be selected now and then, and all the while the engineer must bear in mind that the amount of his excavation should very nearly balance the amount of embankment-fill. Bridges are to be avoided and tunnels must come only in case of absolute necessity. There will be several of these reconnaissances and from them the engineers who are to build the line, and the men who are to own and operate it, will finally pick a route close to what will be the permanent way. Construction engineers blaze their way across the face of new country The making of an embankment by dump-train “Small temporary railroads peopled with hordes of restless engines” Then the real survey-work begins. The engineers divide the line, if it is of any great length, and the several divisions prosecute their work simultaneously. Each [Pg 39]surveying party consists of a front flag-man, who is a captain and commands a brigade of axe-men in their work of cutting away trees and bushes; the transit-man, who makes his record of distances and angles and commands his brigade of chain-men and flag-men; and the leveller, who studies contour all the while, and supervisors, rod-men and more axe-men. Topographers are carried, their big drawing boards being strapped with the camp equipment; and a good cook is a big detail not likely to be overlooked. In soft and rolling country this is a form of camp life that turns back the scoffer: busy summer days and indolent summer nights around the camp-fire, pipes drawing well and plans being set for the morrow’s work. Another summer all this will be changed. The resistless path of the railroad will be stepped through here, the group of nodding pines will be gone, for a culvert will span the creek at this very point. Sometimes the work of these parties becomes intense and dramatic. The chief, lowered into a deep and rocky river cañon, is making rough notes and sketches, following the character of the rock formation, and dreaming the great dreams that all great engineers, great architects, great creators must dream perforce. He is dreaming of the day when, a year or two hence, the railroad’s path shall have crowded itself into this impasse, and when the folk who dine luxuriously in the showy cars will fret because of the curve that spills their soup, and who never know of the man who was slipped down over a six-hundred-foot cliff in order that the railroad might find its way. It is then that the surveying party begins to have its thrills. Perhaps to put that line through the cañon the party will have to descend the river in canoes. If the river be too rough, then there is the alternative of being lowered over the cliffsides. Talk of your dangers of Alpine climbing! The engineers who plan and build railroads through any mountainous country miss not a single one of them. Everywhere the lines must find a foothold.[Pg 40] This is the proposition that admits of but one answer—solution. Sometimes the men who follow the chief in the deep river cañons, the men with heavy instruments to carry and to operate—transits, levels, and the like—must have lines of logs strung together for their precarious foothold as they work. Sometimes the foothold is lost; the rope that lowers the engineer down over the cliffside snaps, and the folk in the cheerful dining-room do not know of the graves that are dug beside the railroad’s resistless path. It is all new and wonderful, blazing this path for civilization; sometimes it is even accidental. An engineer, baffled to find a crossing over the Rockies for a transcontinental route saw an eagle disappear through a cleft in the hills that his eye had not before detected. He followed the course of the eagle; to-day the rails of the transcontinental reach through that cleft, and the time-table shows it as Eagle Pass. Possibly there are still alternative routes when the surveyers return in the fall and begin to make their finished drawings. Final choices must now be made, and land-maps that show the property that the railroad will have to acquire, prepared. The details, of infinite number, are being worked out with infinite care. The great problem of all is the problem of grades; in a mountainous stretch of line this is almost the entire problem. Obviously a perfect stretch of railroad would be straight and without grades. The railroad that comes nearest that practically impossible standard comes nearest to perfection. But as it comes near this perfection, the cost of construction multiplies many times. Most new lines must feel their way carefully at the outset. Moreover it is not an impossible thing to reconstruct it after years of affluence—of which more in another chapter. A three-per-cent grade is almost the extreme limit for[Pg 41] anything like a profitable operation; even a two-per-cent grade is one in which the operating people look forward to reconstruction and elimination. Yet there are short lengths of line up in the mining camps of Colorado, where grades of more than four per cent are operated; and it is a matter of railroad history that away back in 1852, when the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was being pushed through toward Parkersburg, and the great Kingwood tunnel was being dug, B. H. Latrobe, the chief engineer of the company, built and successfully operated a temporary line over the divide at a grade of ten per cent—528 feet to the mile. A locomotive which weighed 28 tons on its driving-wheels carried a single passenger car, weighing 15 tons, in safety and in regular operation over this stupendous grade for more than six months. The ascent was made by means of zigzag tracks on the so-called switchba
834	dbpedia	1	7	https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/early_days_of_railroading_Lowell	en	The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300350	https://libguides.uml.edu/ld.php?screenshot=ecaehd.png&size=facebook&cb=1723300350	[ "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/10/images/libguide_header_nov_2021_copy_v.2_resize.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/first_train_cropped.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/85660/images/Passenger_car_about_1840.png", "https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/accoun...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Brad MacGowan" ]	null	Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history. In Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I.	en	//d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/apps/common/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png		https://libguides.uml.edu/early_lowell/early_days_of_railroading_Lowell	Selections from the Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I, Read March 2, 1909. [Some format changes were made for website readability.] A passenger train of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, now a part of the New York Central System, which was put on September 9th, 1831, between Albany and Schenectady, the road having been previously run with horses, attracted much attention. It was hauled by an English locomotive named the “John Bull” and was driven by an English engineer, John Hampton. This is generally regarded and referred to as the first fully equipped passenger train hauled by a steam power engine which ran in regular service in America. During the year 1832 it carried an average of three hundred and sixty-seven passengers per day. View of the First American Train (The Huntington Digital Library) The first passenger coaches were patterned after the stage coach. They were soon enlarged to a coach about fifteen feet long, six and one-half feet wide, four feet nine inches high, weighing about 6500 pounds. They were divided into three compartments to hold six passengers each or eighteen passengers to a coach, and were mounted on four wheels. America, however, at an early date departed from the stagecoach compartment idea, and adopted a long car in one compartment with an aisle through the middle with seats on either side, which admitted of communication through the whole train as at present. From “The Boston and Lowell Railroad, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the Salem and Lowell Railroad,” by Francis B. C. Bradlee, Salem, MA. The Essex Institute, 1918. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Among the earliest railroads chartered in Massachusetts which completed an organization were the Quincy Granite Railway Company, March 4th, 1826; the Boston & Lowell, June 5th, 1830; the Boston & Providence, June 22nd, 1831 ; the Boston & Worcester, June 23rd, 1831; the Andover & Wilmington, (then a branch of the Boston & Lowell, afterwards a part of the main line of the Boston & Maine) in 1833; the Norwich & Worcester, in 1833; the Nashua & Lowell, in 1836; the Western R. R., afterwards the Boston & Albany, in 1836; and the Eastern R. R., in 1836. At the end of 1840 there were only 285 miles built and in operation in the state of Massachusetts. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The late James B. Francis, in a paper read to this Society May 7th, 1874, referring to the teaming over the road, says at the time of the opening of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, there were from forty to forty-five stages, arriving and departing daily from Lowell, employing from 250 to 300 horses, and that 150 of them were in service between Lowell and Boston, the freight rates were from $2.50 to $4.00 per ton, the stage fare $1.25. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The Boston and Lowell, our own railroad, is generally considered to have been the second railroad to be put in operation in New England, the Quincy Granite Road being the first, although the Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester also began operating in 1835. The road was chartered June 5, 1830, and the building of it commenced at once. The construction of the road bed was a much greater undertaking and achievement than it would be at the present time, the grading was all done by ox-teams and hand labor, the blasting by hand drills and common powder, and when one thinks of the old cut at the Middlesex Street Station, the famous Six Arch Bridge at the Concord River, and the Tunnel at Walnut Hill, all built without the help of steam power or modern conveniences, and those walls laid up so long ago of small stone without mortar or cement, the magnitude of the undertaking seems greater even than the recent building of the Subway in Boston. The entire road bed was completed, including all bridges and culverts, before a rail was laid. The first rails used were the “fish belly” rails before referred to. They were rolled in England, were fifteen and eighteen feet long-, and were laid on stone binders, or sleepers, which rested at each end on stone walls, set three feet deep to avoid the frost affecting the track. Six Arch Bridge Showing Old Stone Sleepers From Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I Section of Track Showing Fish Belly Rails From Early Days of Railroading. By Herbert C. Taft. Contributions of the Lowell Historical Society, Vol. I ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The road bed was laid out, graded, and made wide enough for a double track, but at first only one track was laid. Work was begun at both ends, Boston and Lowell, at about the same time, and by a curious mistake each end commenced laying the right hand track, so that when they came together, a long connection had to be made from one side of the road bed to the other. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The building of the road occupied about four years, and on Wednesday, May 27th, 1835, the rails were used for the first time. The engine named “Stephenson” was built by the Robert Stephenson Company at New Castle Upon-Tyne, England, in 1834. It was taken apart at Boston. loaded upon a canal boat, and brought to Lowell by the Middlesex Canal, whose usefulness it was so soon to destroy. Here it was set up again and the trial trip was made from this end. As to why this was done instead of running it from Boston on its own rails, I have been unable to learn, but it was probably because the promoters of the great undertaking resided in Lowell. Whatever the reason, it has given to Lowell the distinction and honor of having the first steam engine start out of its borders for a run of any considerable length, of any city in New England. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ On that memorable trip the train carried three passengers, Patrick T. Jackson, Agent during the construction, George W. Whistler [Father of the artist James Abbott McNeil Whistler.], Chief Engineer at the Locks and Canals Shops, and James F. Baldwin, the Civil Engineer who had surveyed the road. They made the run to Boston, twenty-six miles, in the astonishing time of one hour and seventeen minutes, and the return trip with twenty-four passengers in one hour and twenty minutes without stops. The train was sent back to Boston where it remained four weeks. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The latter part of the next month, notice appeared in various newspapers as follows: “June 23, 1835. Tomorrow, June 24th, cars will commence running between Boston and Lowell, leave Lowell at 6:00 and 9: 1/2 a. m., leave Boston at 3: 1/2 and 5: 1/2 p. m. The Company expects to run another engine next week. Additional trains will be put on as fast as the public require. Due notice will be given when the merchandise train will be put on. Fare $1.00, tickets at corner Leverett and Brighton Streets, Boston, George M. Dexter, Agent.” On the following day, Wednesday June 24th, the old fashioned “’lection day,” the road was opened for public travel. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The engines and cars of those early days were strange things in comparison with the equipment of today. The engines weighing from seven to nine tons, had four large wheels, the boilers were encased in wooden lagging painted bright colors with black band and stripes, smoke stacks eight to ten inches in diameter and six to seven feet tall like a chimney. No whistle was provided on the first engines, and the bells which were small were near the engineer and rang with a short cord. Nor was there any cab or protection for the engineer or fireman, they were fully exposed to the smoke and sparks from their own engine and to the inclemencies of the New England weather. The cars were modeled after the old stage coach and seated six persons. The conductor, sometimes called captain, rode on the outside without any shelter, in what on the stage coach would be the driver's seat, and on the rear coach looking backward in a similar seat, rode a brakeman. The conductor was provided with a whistle which he blew to signal the engineer. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ It will be observed that although the charter provided that the fare should be seventy-five cents, the company's advertisement, published the day before the road was opened, charged one dollar. The matter was arranged to meet the requirements of the law, also to evade them for the company's benefit and profit, by putting on a second class car with no protection whatever except the top, the sides and ends were open to the weather, the seats simply boards, the car being made as cheap and uncomfortable as possible. In this car the fare was seventy-five cents while in the other cars, or first class cars as they were called, the fare was one dollar. Evidently there was need of a “Big Stick” in those days to keep the railroads up to the spirit and intent of the law as well as now. This second class car was nick-named “Belvidere” and was always known by that name. Second class cars evidently ran for many years, although the fare was reduced below the chartered limit, for, in an advertisement published in 1850, fifteen years after the opening of the road, we find season tickets between Lowell and Boston, three month for $25, six months $45, and one year $80. The fare to Boston was sixty-five cents, second class fare forty-five cents. The freight tariff reads, — “Merchandise generally to Boston $1.25 per 2000 lbs., merchandise by cargoes $1.10 per 2000 lbs. Pig iron, lime, cement, plaster, slate, dyewood in the stick, flour and grain, oil and coarse salt in lots of three tons at cargo prices.” This advertisement gives the depot at the corner of Merrimack and Dalton [Dalton Street is now known as Dutton Street.] streets. The Nashua and Lowell advertise that their depot in Lowell is at Middlesex street; that the general offices are at Nashville Passenger Station, that the fare to Nashville is forty cents, season tickets for three months $15, distance fifteen miles. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ From 1835 to 1842, a period of seven years, there were built in the Locks and Canals shops the following nine engines which went onto the Boston and Lowell and Nashua and Lowell Railroads. The Patrick, Lowell, Boston, with brass wheels, Merrimack, built with wooden wheels but soon replaced with iron ones, Nashua, Concord, Suffolk and Medford. These were all of the same general style, weighing about nine tons, five foot drivers, eleven inch cylinders and fourteen inch stroke. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In 1848, thirteen years after the opening of the road, the double track was completed. The second track was laid with T rails three and one-half inches high weighing fifty-six pounds per yard, and as soon as it was ready for use, the old track was also relaid with T rails. Special care was enjoined upon the workmen by the management in the laying of these second tracks, because they were soon to put three fourteen ton engines on the road which would tax the track to the utmost. The three new engines were named Samson, Hercules and Goliath, their names presumably to indicate their great size and strength. Two years later, two really large and powerful engines also built in Lowell, were put into service, the “Baldwin” and “Whistler,” one with five foot six inch drivers, the other five foot nine inch drivers. On the evening of March 27th, 1850, the “Whistler” with twelve cars driven by Isaac Hall, engineer, made the run from Lowell to Boston in twenty-eight minutes. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In September, 1908, an automobile race was held in Lowell which attracted several thousand people to our city to witness the sport, but nearly sixty years ago or in the Fall of 1850 a far more novel and important race was held here, it being a test of locomotives both for speed and strength. At that time there was a great rivalry between the various roads and locomotive builders as to which was the best type of engine, which the fastest, which the strongest, etc. This meet lasted for several days. Engines came from all directions, from other roads and from builders. There were of all kinds and classes, from the little combination engine and tender to the largest and heaviest engine then built. Some of the engines had foot brakes, the engineer and fireman standing on the foot piece, their weight being the only pressure to stop the engine. Some of the engines had only one pair of drive wheels, others two, and even three pairs. There were engines with outside cylinders, engines with inside cylinders, driving wheels with crank axles, with straight axles and eccentrics, some with small smoke stacks and others almost as large in diameter as the boilers of the engines themselves. One engine which attracted much attention had driving wheels seven feet in diameter. James G. Marshall and Mr. Gifford, who remember the affair say, and I think truly, that Lowell never, before or since, saw such a motley group. The test for speed was made between Lowell and Wilmington and was won by an engine from the Boston and Providence Railroad, a Mr. Griggs, the master mechanic. The test for strength was won by one of our own engines, the “Milow,” Mr. King, master mechanic. The prizes were gold medals about the size of a twenty dollar gold piece, and were very highly prized by the railroads that won them. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The first station in Boston was at the foot of Lowell street. This station was occupied from 1835 to July 30th, 1857, when the headquarters were removed to the present site on Causeway street. The station occupied in 1857 was built under Mr. William Parker. Sixteen years later General Stark built the station which is now the southerly part of the Union Station, over the station of 1857, and then tore the old station down. The station built by General Stark was opened in December, 1873. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The first station in Lowell, was built near Merrimack street, on the site of Old Huntington Hall, where was also located the first freight house and freight yard. The station was of wooden frame construction, and like many buildings in those days, was ornamented by large pillars. The general offices of the company were in this building when the road was first opened. The road having been built principally for the transportation of material to and from the manufacturing corporations, side tracks were constructed when the road was built to the following corporations: the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, the Appleton Company, the Lowell Manufacturing Company, the Suffolk Mills, the Tremont Mills, the Lawrence Manufacturing Company and the Boott Mill's, and the freight to and from these mills has been handled from their very doors from the beginning of the operation of the road. The engine house, machine and repair shops, car house and car repair shops were for many years located in Jackson street, between the present tracks to the Hamilton and Appleton corporations and the canal. For a great many years all locomotives burned wood, and the wood yard was also located on the banks of the canal in Jackson street and the wood delivered from up country by canal boats right to the yard. The building on Fletcher street now occupied by the Omaha Packing Company, was the second freight house of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and the building now occupied by T. J. McDonald, at the corner of Fletcher and Dutton streets, was the Nashua and Lowell freight house, both being used in their present location. The brick building at the end of Dutton street, now occupied by the Nichols Foundry Company, was the engine house and repair shop of the Nashua and Lowell and Stony Brook Railroads. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ In 1853, by a joint agreement between the City of Lowell and the Boston and Lowell Railroad, the city wanting a public hall, and the railroad company desiring larger quarters, the combined Huntington Hall and Merrimack Street Station so familiar to us all was built and was occupied as a railroad station until its destruction by fire, November 6th, 1904. The original station which had been occupied twenty-eight years was moved, part of it up near Fletcher street, where it was used for many years as a passenger car house, it being thought necessary in those days to keep passenger cars housed when they were not in actual use, as we do a carriage. The office part of the old station was sold to John O'Connor, who had lost both legs through an accident on the road. This was moved to what is now the corner of Fletcher and Dutton streets where it served for a dwelling house. It was afterwards raised up and a story put under it, now occupied as a drug store, the upper part still being the home of Mrs. Calvert and Miss O'Connor, daughters of John O'Connor. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ On the 8th day of September, 1838, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad commenced running trains between Nashua and Lowell. Their main line was along Dutton street, the tracks now used for freight tracks to the corporations, the terminus in Lowell, being the Boston & Lowell depot at Merrimack street. The Nashua and Lowell engines were cut off the trains above Market street, the trains switched into the depot, then the Boston and Lowell engine backed onto the train and hauled it to Boston. As this reversed the train, the passengers were obliged to get up and turn over the seats or ride to Boston backwards. On the return trip from Boston the same operation had to be gone through before the train started for Nashua. From “The Boston and Lowell Railroad, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the Salem and Lowell Railroad,” by Francis B. C. Bradlee, Salem, MA. The Essex Institute, 1918. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
834	dbpedia	2	51	https://forums.auran.com/threads/the-abandoned-and-existing-lines-in-my-area-a-bit-of-rr-tycoon-in-the-early-days.168500/	en	The abandoned and existing lines in my area a bit of RR Tycoon in the early days!	http://images.n3vgames.com/trainzportal/mytrainz/76070/screenshots/426629/1000/The-Abandoned-lines-of-the-B%26M.jpg		[ "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png", "https://forums.auran.com/data/assets/logo/trainz-logo-small-website.png", "http://images.n3vgames.com/trainzportal/mytrainz/76070/screenshots/426629/1000/The-Abandoned-lines-of-the-B%26M.jpg", "https://forums.auran.com/data/attachment...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2023-09-11T05:39:42+01:00	The B&M and its predecessor competitors played a game of Railroad Tycoon with the smallest of the lines gaining control of the competition and winning in...	en		Trainz	https://forums.auran.com/threads/the-abandoned-and-existing-lines-in-my-area-a-bit-of-rr-tycoon-in-the-early-days.168500/	The B&M and its predecessor competitors played a game of Railroad Tycoon with the smallest of the lines gaining control of the competition and winning in the end. Today, the B&M no longer exists sadly due to Guilford and later Pan Am Railways destroying much of the rail infrastructure in the region, and more recently with the PAR merger into CSX there will be fewer and fewer traces of the old blue-dip diesels. Here's a map of the lines both existing and abandoned in my area where this played out. Legend: Solid lines, all colors, are existing and operating today Dotted are abandoned. Red = Eastern Railroad Yellow = Boston and Lowell Blue = Boston and Maine The purplish-colored dotted lines near Marblehead are supposed to be red. I decided to refer to those as the original Eastern and instead of B&M. Other lines shown: Green = New Haven Light Blue = Worcester, Nashua, Rochester and Portland Up until 1906, the Boston and Maine (B&M) competed fiercely for its life with two major competitors on either side. The Boston and Lowell, incorporated in 1832 controlled the shots for the fledgling Andover and Wilmington which was the original segment of the present-day Boston and Maine and incorporated around the same time. The A&W ran from its present-day connection in Wilmington all the way to what is today, North Andover (North Andover separated in 1854, with Andover inc. in 1646) where it connected to other segments that made up the present-day B&M. This small railroad struggled daily with the B&L which controlled the connection as it made the A&W trains wait for hours on end. In the 1840s, the B&M had enough and built its own line between Wilmington Jct. and Reading. The B&L brought the B&M to court because no one else was supposed to connect to Boston from that area except for the B&L which had a special decree drawn up by the state congress. The B&L, however, wasn't going to let the B&M grow any more than it did and set out to chop into the line from the west. This was to become the Lawrence and Lowell. This short connector route lasted until around 1925 and was supposed to run along the Merrimack River and instead was rerouted south through Tewkesbury due to wealthy investors wanting a railroad station. This mostly rural area was a small source of revenue on this line, meaning a very, very small amount of revenue. The other being the state infirmary which received hoppers of coal for the power plant. Never a money-maker, the sole purpose was to drain business away from the B&M by pulling the lucrative freight from Lawrence and sending it via the B&L to Boston. Today, a mile-long stub is still in service in Lawrence as it connects to the South Lawrence Industrial Park customers. The customers include a Perlite insulation company, a couple of plastics companies and a distributor of some sort. In the mid-1870s, the B&M built the Lowell Junction connection between its mainline south of Ballardvale to Lowell. This sent the B&L into a tizzy because they again tried to block this move through a legislative move, but the court intervened just as it did when the B&M built its own line through Reading and Wakefield. The B&L also tried to hit the Eastern Railroad, or perhaps cut the B&M off from the south by building the Peabody and Lowell. This line ran from Tewkesbury Junction to Peabody via North Reading. There wasn't much in the way of business in the middle and the line crossed the B&M at Wilmington Jct. The middle of this line too disappeared in 1922-25 and short stubs remained in operation until Guilford did them in. The former Lawrence and Lowell portion was active up to Tewkesbury center until the mid-1980s, and the Peabody to West Middleton was active until the same period. Today all is gone with portions now of course turned into a rail trail. Still to be found, in the woods is an old diamond where the line crossed the former B&M Wakefield to Newburyport branch. There was a small junction put in during the 1970s so the trains could run to West Middleton to remove the really unsafe crossing over Rt 1. The Eastern Railroad too went after the smaller B&M. Incorporated in the 1840s, the Eastern ran along the east coast serving the big cities of Lynn, Salem, Newburyport, and Portsmouth as it continued on its journey to Portland. This railroad was built for speed. It's double tracked mainline was nearly flat as it followed the coastline. The trains literally flew on this line making the Eastern a favored passenger route. The company also served many commuters on its Newburyport to Boston and Rockport branch. This southern portion is still in existence today. The northern part came up in three different eras. The first to go in the early 1950s was the portion between Portsmouth and Portland. This was due to a cash-saving move caused by poor management and overspending by Patrick McGuiness who put more money into his pockets than he did the B&M and New Haven which he controlled. The Portion between Newburyport and Hampton came up after the swing bridge over the Merrimack got stuck, and finally recently the Hampton to Portsmouth came up after Pan Am Railways chased away any remaining customers. Today the northern section, except for the small segment near Seabrook Powerplant, is a rail trail. There are hopes, as in wishful thinking, to restore rail service along this corridor but that won't occur any time soon. The Portsmouth end of the line is served via another branch coming in from the west. The Eastern attempted two digs at the Boston and Maine. The first being the Essex Railroad. This very poor line was built wholly within Essex County, thus that's where it got its name. I've discussed this line in more detail when I showed pictures of the railroad spikes my brother found in North Andover. This line never had much business to begin with and was bankrupt within its first year or two of existence. The ends of the line, meaning North Andover (Andover at the time as mentioned above), and the southern Peabody and Danvers end were the busiest. The remaining portion served the very small rural town of Middleton and nothing else in between. The line was abandoned in 1922-25 in the middle as expected between the Steven's Mills and Danvers Center. Both ends remained operational until the 1980s when Guilford ripped them up. The North Andover end went first shortly after the Davis and Furber Mills closed even though there were other businesses on the line that used rail. The Steven's Mills were long gone by then anyway having burned down suspiciously in the late 1960s and the tracks were removed to High Street North Andover. The eastern end between Danvers and Peabody lasted a bit longer, or until vandals burned the trestle across the Danvers River. Guilford was discouraging business on the line anyway and used this as an excuse to cut it completely. Today, this portion is railbanked with future plans, I mean dreams for a connection to Danvers again. And finally, the other Eastern Railroad branch. The South Reading Branch built between Peabody and what is today Wakefield Center, was another money loser with the sole purpose to eat into the B&M territory and siphon off business. Like the other lines, there was little business in the middle and after the B&M took control the middle of this line was cut as well. The Peabody portion still sees quite a bit of business today with a medical film and gelatin plant located on the line. The City of Peabody retains ownership of the remaining portion of the line up to the end even though there's little active business there today. Guilford ensured the customers saw poor service and discouraged them from using rail, thus when they were going to pull the tracks, the city purchased the stub. The Wakefield portion lasted until the late 1980s early 1990s. The line ran to an industrial park in Montrose (Lynnfield) and served a gravel pit. Today, this is gone although some of the track is in place still today. We can still ride on a portion of this line when we drive down I-95/Rt. 128. The interstate near Montrose makes a sharp jog as the highway follows the former ROW as it turns south towards I-93 in Reading. In the end, the little B&M won the battle. The company grew stronger and more powerful and had the financing behind them from JP Morgan and others. During their peak between 1906 and 1916, they purchased the Eastern Railroad and The Boston and Lowell as well as their other nemesis, the Worcester, Nashua, Rochester, and Portland. This line was a siphon of Central Mass. business to Portland. In 1922, this line was gone and torn up. It was never a money maker due to its cyclic nature of the passenger business and its line had too many hills and sharp curves. By 1916 the B&M was bankrupt, yet again, thanks this time to JP Morgan taking the cash and pocketing it during the panic of 1916. After reorganizing, in 1922 the railroad set about abandoning these redundant spurs along with many, many others. You can read about these here: Abandonment Notices — Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society (bmrrhs.org) It's a dry, but sometimes interesting read as it shows why these lines were removed, along with some others shown on the map. The Lawrence and Lowell for instance, only had $8.36 in passenger revenue the last month before the line was abandoned! Attachments Map.jpg I can see the map fine. That's weird. I'll download it if I can and replace it with a copy located on the Trainz Gallery. This has been an issue since the forum upgrade. @rwk And why did the B&M abandon its line from Ossipee, NH to Conway, NH? Three miles north of Silver Lake was used for the Silver Lake tourist railroad a few years ago but it closed, and north of Conway to North Conway and up the ex-MEC is the Conway Scenic. This portion was abandoned during the early 1970s when the B&M was bankrupt again this time from Patrick McGuiness. McGuiness gained control initially of the New Haven Railroad then very quickly the Boston and Maine during the 1950s. His wife did the weird logo design for both railroads. McGuiness was a scum that set about siphoning off and pocketing the revenue from both railroads. His downfall came in the early 1960s when he sold off the B&M's new Talgo train for scrap and pocketed the cash. He went to jail for this and also for insider trading. In addition to bankrupting the B&M, he did that to the New Haven as well at the same time. Sadly, the New Haven got absorbed into the Penn Central rather reluctantly and got screwed over by that company as well. Once the damage was done, with declining business and increased costs, the railroad faced the inevitable and cut branches including the White Mountain Branch above Ossipee starting about 1970 or 1972. Up until that time, there were daily trains from Boston to Alton Bay, New Hampshire and trains to Rochester, NH where people could take the ski trains up to Mt. Whittier and Conway and people could take the train to Wolfeboro especially in the summer because of the location on Lake Winnipesaukee. There were also daily freights that ran between Rochester and other towns up to Intervale where the railroad interchanged with the MEC. Sadly, the MEC's Moutain Division met the same fate in the mid-1980s under Guilford ownership where the Conway Scenic runs today. Today, the line is railbanked by the state of New Hampshire along with the Mountain Division and there have been long discussions off and on about reopening passenger service on the line from Rochester north again to Conway and beyond. New Hampshire being New Hampshire and anti-rail, and anti-spending on anything but highways, there's little chance that line will see any business again. I'm sorry to hear about the Silver Lake. @Forester1 I agree. It's sad to see the lines gone. Many of the more recent abandonments, such as the Eastern Railroad above Newburyport, would relieve that daily traffic jam on I-95 from Portsmouth to Boston as it moved the commuters from the highway and backroads on to trains again. I remember when trains used the Merrimack River drawbridge. There was passenger service beyond Newburyport to Amesbury, another branch gone now, and up to Portsmouth until the late 1960s. When the bridge went, the passenger service was discontinued on both lines and freight continued from the Portsmouth end down to Amesbury by doing a reverse move to reach that branch. That branch disappeared in the 1980s, thanks to Guilford and is now a rail trail with no chance of being returned to service thanks to a Walmart being built across the ROW in one location. The Marblehead branch is another line. The traffic in the greater Salem area, including Peabody, Marblehead, and Danvers outright sucks. There are only two backroads into Marblehead. These state roads, Rt. 129 and Rt.114, are horrible and the ride up Rt. 114 from North Andover to Marblehead takes almost an hour due to the congestion for a trip that's about 22 miles if that. Rt. 129 isn't much better as that road heads in from Lynn and the back side of Salem and Peabody, and that road too has the same kind of icky congestion. Marblehead is a short peninsula and once had three stops on the main branch between Swampscott and Marblehead center. Both of these stations were busy until the line's closure in the early 1960s and there was a lot of outcries back then when that occurred. Today, the line is of course a rail trail and the problem now is NIMBYs. Marblehead is one of the snootiest areas on the Northshore and they definitely would not allow trains to pass through Cliftondale, Clifton and into Marblehead center. I wonder why Conway Scenic makes no effort to acquire at least the Silver Lake portion, about 3 miles, and an additional mile of track up to Conway Station but there is a big breach through Coleman Concrete in Conway where a dirt road was put over the tracks. I guess they feel that south of Conway is not as scenic as the line to the north through the mountains. But, the part that Silver Lake ran on was scenic with the lakes. There is also some rail gone just south of Silver Lake station in Madison and the road crossing is gone south of the station. The problem with much of NH except for the southern portion which Amtrak serves, is sparse population so Amtrak or any other operator would not make a profit on regular passenger service such as to North Conway but the tourist railroad does well. There's also Lake Winnepesaukee and Hobo Railroad, and the steam trains at Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, which is also the starting point for the Hobo Railroad. I never actually visited NH, I'm from eastern PA, but I knew all about those tourist railroads for years through books, brochures, and now the internet. There has been discussion of opening up the White Mountain branch completely again from Rochester NH as is reopening the full former MEC Mountain Division via Rochester and Portland. Removing a dirt road isn't an issue if there's a reason to do so but part of the problem is the state of New Hampshire. NH is a totally anti-rail state. They will put millions into their highways and nothing into the railroads. Recently, the Hobo Railroad had to fight for its life. Up near Laconia, a group of rich NIMBYs, with the help of some big lawyers and a state representative who had ties to the anti-rail and pro trail group, were pushing to lift the rails and put in trails instead. The railroad won and is able to continue operating for now. There is some freight up there still and this may have been the saving grace. Note - for now. The old Winnipesaukee Railroad is now a trail. It was embargoed in the 1980s and for a while, or maybe they still do operate on what's left of it, rail speeders use the ROW. Much has been lost in New Hampshire while highways are being expanded. The Portsmouth, NH to Salisbury, MA portion of the Eastern Railroad is now a trail. The bridge is out in Newburyport over the Merrimack and there have been thoughts to reopen that line to Portsmouth to alleviate the traffic on I-95. Many other cuts occurred recently but the worst of all is the former Northern Railway. This B&M-owned railroad ran between Concord, NH and White River Jct., VT. The line was operated until the early 1980s and then sat idle. There were serious talks about using this route as a direct Boston to Montreal line but when push came to shove, New Hampshire backed out and the line became a bike and snowmobile trail instead because it meant spending some cash on railroads. Only a couple of stubs are operated in Concord and Laconia, NH today. There are many other lines ripped up - too many to mention. The other loss is the former Manchester and Lawrence. This line is now buried under Manchester Airport in the north and expanded I-93 has taken parts of the ROW. When I-93 was being expanded, there were supposed to be provisions for commuter rail including rebuilding the M&L, but that never happened. Today, the line is a trail all the way through Methuen, MA and expanded I-93 still has traffic backed up from Exit 4 in New Hampshire all the way to I-495 and beyond during weekday commuter hours, and Nashua gained a multi-lane highway interchange and cross-city highway at the same time with similar traffic problems on I-3 from the junction with I-93 near Manchester all the way through to Bedford MA. With most of the traffic on both of these roads coming from New Hampshire. That's really unfortunate, because from what I was trying to learn is that some of those lines were and still struggling to turn a profit, sounds eerily similar to what happened in Britain with that so called modernization plan in the late 50's and 60's, but as far as certain railroad management is concerned, they really made a lot of bad decisions and is beyond corrupt no wonder why the railroad tracks had to be taken up in the areas affected, but if the talk of restoring rail service for areas wherever feasible,I say go for it, that and the fact that the new haven did not spare a single steam engine from the scrapper's torch while dieselizing, and some of the paint schemes are either ugly or questionable at best. Indeed. The rail companies were struggling to keep their heads above water and were ripe for the taking by investors who saw the opportunity to pull them apart like vultures. Patrick McGuiness was one of the more notorious ones but David Fink and his son were right up there as well. Patrick McGuiness was not kind to either the New Haven or Boston and Maine. His main goal was to maximize the profits for the stockholders and to cash out what he could for himself. In some ways, this sounds like modern management of big businesses. During McGuiness's tenure on both companies, his wife designed the logos and paint schemes. No one was particularly happy with the designs because here in New England, people are pretty conservative about things such as that. Both railroads had stylish logo designs but they weren't over the top until McGuiness took over. During McGuiness's era, he cut the long-distance passenger service on the B&M starting around 1952. One of the first trains to go was the Boston to Troy, NY along with the tracks. The other famous trains went including the Boston to Portland Flying Yankee and he abandoned and leveled the Portland passenger terminal in the process. Local trains too were cut or severely reduced including the Marblehead branch mentioned, trains serving the Lakes region in New Hampshire, the White Mountain branch, and many others. He also deferred maintenance on both the New Haven and the Boston and Maine to a point that derailments were occurring and passenger trains were outright filthy. He also scrapped the Boston and Maine's then new Fairbanks Morse Talgo train, and this is what put him in jail. He sold the equipment and put the profits in his own pocket. After he left his president's position, both railroads found themselves in dire straits. There were other contributing factors such as business moving to trucks on the then new nearby interstate highways and industry changing from manufacturing to a service-based industry base, but that didn't mean the railroads couldn't have survived. When McGuiness had taken over, both roads were in pretty good shape but when he left, they were trashed. What kept the scrappers from pulling up the rails for both railroads was their commuter service. Both railroads hauled thousands of passengers daily in and out of the big cities such as New York City, Boston, Worcester, and Springfield and the lines formed the backbone for connections to the rest of the country. When the Penn Central came along in 1969, it was the ICC that forced them to purchase the New Haven - a railroad they didn't want. As a result, the New Haven suffered and when Conrail got the Penn Central, they inherited a very broken-down system. The suspicious fire on the Poughkeepsie bridge really was the nail in the coffin for the New Haven and for many other connecting railroads such as the Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh and New England, and the Leigh and Hudson River because this line was an outside connection to the Northeast outside of the crowded New York City metro area, making for a more efficient connection for those roads. Many people think this was a deliberate action by Penn Central to hurt their competition and force the traffic onto their own lines. The Boston and Maine survived because in the 1960s, the state of Massachusetts formed the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, albeit on a shoestring and did not join Conrail. The state authority took over the operations of all commuter rail, trolley, subway, and bus service in the greater Boston area and has since expanded its service in conjunction with other regional services in other areas across Massachusetts and down to Providence, RI. At one time, they also ran to Concord, New Hampshire but New Hampshire didn't want to pay their subsidy and that service was canceled. With the state taking over the passenger rail service, they also took ownership of the rail infrastructure. Most lines within Massachusetts are now state owned but outside of the commuter area in greater Boston, are maintained by the individual railroads that operate the lines while the MBTA maintains those tracks within the commuter area. This took the expensive maintenance out of the B&M's hands and allowed them to focus on operations instead. At the time, the Boston and Maine ran commuter trains out of the northside, meaning North Station and Penn Central, later Conrail ran the southside out of South Station. When Conrail gave up their commuter operations, the B&M inherited that operation as well. At this time, the B&M had the largest fleet of Budd RDC's in the world. Connecticut did a similar thing with their CDOT and they work closely with both MetroNorth and Amtrak to provide commuter service between Springfield and New Haven, via Hartford and in and out of the greater New York City region into Connecticut. This assistance, however, didn't stop the B&M from heading into bankruptcy where they remained until the early 80s. They had just turned a profit when Guilford saw a low hanging fruit ready to pluck and the cycle started all over again. Hopefully now that CSX has taken over everything that cycle will cease. The New York central was not any better to go along with what you said, John, the not just those railroads mentioned in your post, because it is from what I can gather, not only did that railroads president at the time the name I'm not going to mention, scrapped all of the Hudson and Niagara engines before they had a chance to be preserved, we got lucky with 2 4-8-2 Mohawks, a 0-6-0 Switcher, and a 4-4-0 American, but, back on track, the infamous merger with the Pennsylvania railroad since both of them were struggling, eventually the those involved got absorbed into Conrail back in the 70's, but as far as the New Haven and Boston and Maine, it's really inexcusable for what happened to both of them , point is that some of those lines could have been another railroad, if they had better management and made better financial choices, they would have possibly been around today, what a messy situation to be in, for those reasons, that's why I prefer the Southern, incompetence especially to the high brass who were in charge at that time had no place in the railroading world. Yup, the NYC did some massive "modernizing" of their rolling stock and it's sad to see these great locomotives turned into scrap. Yes, both the big railroads were in tough shape at the time. Their empires were huge, but that merger was one that was headed to disaster. The management was totally working against each other instead of working together to run the company. In a way, this is like the merger of Compaq, Dell, and HP in our modern times. The same PC management ended up running Guilford and did to the MEC, D&H, and B&M what they did to the Penn Central. New England railroads for some reason were always that low hanging fruit even back during the B&M and NH heyday. JP Morgan got ahold of the two companies and while he put a lot of money into them, his purpose was to corner the traffic coming in and out of the Northeast. New England at the time was not only an agricultural region, but also a manufacturing center for many products including shoes, textiles, and other manufactured goods. His control came to an end during the Panic of 1916. He had made some poor investments and rather than file for bankruptcy himself, he caved the B&M and NH by taking the cash out of the railroads to pay his debts. This forced the two railroads into bankruptcy causing them to reorganize in the early 20s and trim many lines. It was then the B&M got rid of the Worcester, Rochester, Nashua, and Portland and completely cut up the Essex Railroad. Neither of these lines were profitable and were the first to go. The New York Central, in addition to dealing with a large sprawling network with a shrinking traffic base, was saddled with high property taxes. NY State, like New Jersey at the time, really taxed the railroads heavily. There's a video about this on YouTube. The then president of the NYC, Alfred Perlman, said that the railroads were responsible for their own maintenance and paid heavy taxes, their taxes were used to subsidize the highways and airlines that competed against them. This unfortunately is still true today. Yikes,I'm sure, if one were to look on Google maps to find any traces of where the two railroads were unprofitable lines that were taken up, if anything ,I find it outright pathetic that the so called personal that you mentioned John could be ever allowed to be either president or vice President of the affected companies, I mean look at the catastrophic damage that was done as a result, bottom line, if any of that happened on a railroad that was mine that I built with blood, sweat, tears and the most important thing is money, I'd be steaming mad, waiting to take those people to court. I would be fuming as well but these deeds occurred long after the founders were gone. The B&M and NH were built in the 1830s and 1840s and these things started in the late 1910s, 50s, and 80s. You are spot on, it's all about money and corporate greed. Guilford for example was formed by the owners of American Filter Corporation which also ran a railroad tie company in Maine. They had the backing of Timothy Mellon who was looking for railroads to buy basically because he liked trains. For him, this was one big tax write-off as the company was run on a shoestring with nothing put into it while the property was sold off underneath the railroads for other purposes. Patrick McGuiness and his hacks went to jail for what they did. The SEC fined them for insider trading and got McGuiness on theft charges. The problem I see is the railroads got pwn'd in the end. The states took what they could out of the companies in taxes on their infrastructure and property at much higher rates than other companies would've paid. The railroads not only built, and maintained their property, but they also paid the employees to run the operations all the while the states and government was taking their money and using that to subsidize the competition as I said above. Sadly, this is still going on today. Management got the hair brain idea of running trains on that so-called Precision Scheduling with 3-mile-long freights tying up mainlines because the companies did away with the classification yards. This wasn't for more efficient operations and was more to cut the labor costs because they needed fewer employees to run the railroad. From what I read management wants to cut the crews further to just the engineer with no one else to run a 3-mile-long freight. We saw what can happen with these freights as they tie up roads, and derail. If you noticed, it's not the railroads that were run by railroad men that do this to the companies. These men worked their way up through the ranks and had pride in the companies they worked for and ran. The people that do that are those that came in like locusts on a cornfield are MBAs and big stock and investment companies who saw the railroads as a way to make a quick buck at the expense of everyone else. A good example of this is the MM&Q disaster in Lac Mégantic, Quebec. The locomotives were so bad that one of them caught fire and the track was so bad on the line that there were broken rails all over. CP Rail discovered the mess with the tracks when they did an inspection of the line during the purchase.
834	dbpedia	3	32	http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/2011/06/lost-train-stations-boston-and-lowell.html	en	And This Is Good Old Boston: Lost Train Stations: Boston and Lowell	https://blogger.googleus…station+1852.jpg	https://blogger.googleus…station+1852.jpg	[ "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMoEUe1mOKPV3CiNg-AjmKjqON2XlA_fAn2TwSJV3dY98QP2WmcrfHYoj4gP9yZqs_XScpT4ERg7EseV1NwlSseoYPiVybLjcYWNzEIjpNC5ksKkoT8RkXm_mCBuRyYx908NAWLMFCBz4/s400/boston+and+lowell+station+1852.jpg", "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibD5SjhwS...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "View my complete profile", "Mark B" ]	null	Boston and Lowell Railroad station 1852 (BPL). First Boston and Lowell Railroad station, 1852, BPL (click for larger image). ( Edited...	en	http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/favicon.ico		http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/2011/06/lost-train-stations-boston-and-lowell.html
834	dbpedia	3	24	http://emergingamerica.org/exhibits/steamboat-barnet/map-boston-lowell-railroad-system-and-its-principal-connections-circa-1890	en	Map of the Boston & Lowell Railroad System and its Principal Connections, circa 1890	http://emergingamerica.org/sites/default/files/favicon_0.ico	http://emergingamerica.org/sites/default/files/favicon_0.ico	[ "http://emergingamerica.org/modules/gtranslate/gtranslate-files/blank.png", "http://emergingamerica.org/modules/gtranslate/gtranslate-files/blank.png", "http://emergingamerica.org/modules/gtranslate/gtranslate-files/blank.png", "http://emergingamerica.org/modules/gtranslate/gtranslate-files/blank.png", "htt...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2024-10-01T12:00:00+00:00	This map represents the spread of the railroad system in the Northeast by the end of the nineteenth century. It shows the northern United States showing cities and towns and the railroad network with emphasis on the main line. This line was chartered in 1830 and opened in 1835. In 1841 a second track was laid. From the collections of the Library of Congress	en	/sites/default/files/favicon_0.ico		http://emergingamerica.org/exhibits/steamboat-barnet/map-boston-lowell-railroad-system-and-its-principal-connections-circa-1890	Everyone is a learner! The offices of the Collaborative for Educational Services are on Pocumtuc land, part of the Nipmuc Nation. Learn about your own community using the Native Land interactive map.
834	dbpedia	2	68	https://wardmaps.com/products/boston-lowell-railroad-system-map-1886	en	Boston & Lowell Railroad System Map 1886 (New England with Detail of White Mountains Region of New Hampshire)	http://wardmaps.com/cdn/shop/products/wmark-boston_lowell_rr_1886.jpg?v=1609631592	http://wardmaps.com/cdn/shop/products/wmark-boston_lowell_rr_1886.jpg?v=1609631592	[ "https://wardmaps.com/cdn/shop/files/WardMaps_Logo_Simple_ca5b1cf3-8d2f-44dd-a146-d65c1833f5e3.jpg?v=1643313822&width=5384", "https://wardmaps.com/cdn/shop/files/WardMaps_Logo_Simple_ca5b1cf3-8d2f-44dd-a146-d65c1833f5e3.jpg?v=1643313822&width=5384", "https://wardmaps.com/products/products/wmark-boston_lowell_rr...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Publisher: Boston & Lowell RailroadType(s): Regional Map, Railroad MapSize: 15.25" wide x 18.25" highID: 17736Collection: WardMaps LLC	en		WardMaps LLC	https://wardmaps.com/products/boston-lowell-railroad-system-map-1886	OUR PRODUCTS We sell both antique maps and fine art reproductions of the maps in our collection. Select "Authentic Antique Map" from the online purchase options to purchase the real deal, an antique map produced years ago. See below for details, including pricing and lead times, about our maps, fine art reproductions, and frames. Gift Products Wood "Entering" Signs are each fabricated and painted to order. Please allow up to 2-3 weeks for production. In-stock, non-custom gift products (books, greeting cards, etc.) typically ship within a few business days. Fine art prints and other printed-to-order map art typically ships withing a few business days. Antique Maps Availability: Antique maps are available when we have them. The website will indicate "sold out" if the antique map is no longer available. Fine art reproductions of every map in our collection are always available. Lead time: Unframed antique maps are typically ready for shipment or pickup within a few days of order placement. Some antique maps listed on our website must be brought in from other dealers. In those cases, additional days are required to get those maps to us before shipping or pickup can take place. If ordering a framed antique map, see lead times for frames below. What are Authentic Antique Maps? Authentic Antique Maps are the real deal, the original artifact. They are authentic maps produced as dated on our website. They are limited in number. How do we determine prices for Authentic Antique Maps? We determine the price of each map based on condition, location mapped, desirability, and rarity, among other factors. We sell for multiple dealers. With each dealer setting their own price, sometimes the same map will be in our collection with different prices. Where do we get our antique maps? We travel the world to source maps for our collection. We purchase on the private market from collectors, dealers, and individuals. There is no single source for antique maps. Knowing where to look, how to source, and what is a good investment are tricks of our trade. What are Cadastral Maps? We specialize in cadastral maps, cartographic time capsules representing the natural and built forms of locales across America. Cadastral maps represent structures, building materiality, property ownership, and infrastructure. Cadastral maps were used by municipalities, real estate firms, attorneys, surveyors, insurance companies and others that needed a detailed record of where properties were located, what was built on them, and who owned them. Cadastral map makers used a graphic code of bright colors to indicate the construction types of the buildings, i.e. pink for brick and yellow for wood. Cadastral maps were published to paying subscribers in bound atlases. Each cadastral atlas depicted a specific county, city or neighborhood and typically had 20-40 maps known as "plates." Each plate showed a specific geographic area, usually only a few city blocks or a portion of a town. A few plates depicted part or all of one city ward, hence our moniker, "ward maps." Fine Art Prints / Reproduction Maps Printing: We print in-house to control all aspects of print quality and consistency. Printers: We exclusively utilize Epson commercial-grade Ultrachrome printers and pigment inks. Papers: We print onto Epson Premium and Ultra-premium matte-finish papers engineered for Epson Ultrachrome printers. Paper Sizes / Prices: Small 8 1/2" x 11" Paper = $14.95 Studio 11" x 14" Paper = $19.95 Medium 13" x 19" Paper = $29.95 Intermediate 18" x 24" Paper = $49.95 Large 24" x 36" Paper = $69.95 Oversize (Special Order Only) 44" Paper = $22.50/SF Quality: Our fine art prints are museum-quality, no-fade, color-stable, acid-free, and archival. Layout: All maps are printed as large as possible onto the selected paper size. The original proportions of the map are maintained. No stretching to fill the paper occurs. Given that the proportions of each map rarely matches that of the paper, there is always white space around the map. Maps are centered onto the paper as much as possible. Lead time: Unframed prints are typically ready for shipment or pickup within a few days of order placement. How do we digitize our maps? The vast majority of our antique maps have been scanned by us, in-house through a large-format, commercial-grade, feed-scanner scanner. Maps are scanned at 300-1200dpi in a single pass, allowing us to capture all of the detailed text, colors, building plans and place names of each map. We do not assemble any of our maps from a series of smaller scans. For oversize and fragile maps we outsource the digitalization and utilize a high resolution digital camera, similar to that used by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston to capture large art work for printing. Certain maps are already digitized by third parties for inclusion in our collection. We only work with digital files of the highest resolution and quality. Who makes our map reproductions? We print in-house to control all aspects of print quality and consistency. What printers and papers do you use? We exclusively utilize Epson commercial-grade Ultrachrome printers and pigment inks. We print onto Epson Premium and Ultra-premium matte-finish papers engineered for Epson Ultrachrome printers. Our fine art prints are museum-quality, no-fade, color-stable, acid-free, and archival. How are maps formatted onto paper? All maps are printed as large as possible onto the selected paper size. The original proportions of the map are maintained. No stretching to fill the paper occurs. Given that the proportions of each map rarely matches that of the paper, there is always white space around the map. Maps are centered onto the paper as much as possible. Maps are oriented onto paper with the long side of the map printed to align with the long side of the paper. Maps are always centered within each piece of paper. Will watermarks appear on printed maps? The "WardMaps LLC" watermarks seen on maps displayed on the website will not appear on either the authentic antique maps nor fine art map reproductions. The watermark is only visible on maps displayed on our website. FRAMING Fabrication: All of our frames are 100% made in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA. We have a longstanding relationship with a local fine art framer who exclusively produces all of our frames. Types:We offer three types of framing. Each has different styles. Scroll down for details about each. Custom/Archival Framing Economy/Non-Archival Framing Small/No Matting; Studio/No Matting; Medium/No Matting Framing Why choose Custom/Archival framing? We recommend Custom/Archival frames when framing any antique map. All antique maps can fade when exposed to direct or indirect sunlight. Custom/Archival frames feature UV-resistant glazing to protect an antique map from fading. Custom/Archival frames feature acid-free mat boards and backing boards that will not damage antique maps. Store bought frames typically do not use UV-resistant glass nor acid-free materials. A Custom/Archival frame is the best way to protect and display an antique map for the ages. We do not offer glare-reducing glazing. Why choose Economy/Non-Archival framing? Economy/Non-Archival frames are perfect for our reproduction maps. Since our fine art prints are archival (made with archival inks and acid-free papers), UV-resistant glazing nor acid-free boards are required to protect the reproduction. Economy/Non-Archival frames offer a sensible price point and affordable way to bring a framed map into any space. We do not offer glare-reducing glazing. Frame Prices/Sizes: All frame prices listed below do not include the cost of any antique map, map reproduction, print, shipping, or sales tax. See any individual map page on our site to explore calculated total costs for map + frame + sales tax + shipping. Scroll down for reproduction map + frame price totals. Custom/Archival Small = $125 Custom/Archival Medium = $175 Custom/Archival Intermediate = $225 Custom/Archival Large = $275 Economy/Non-Archival Small (11" x 14") = $60 Economy/Non-Archival Medium (16" x 20") = $80 Small/No Matting (8 1/2" x 11") = $45 Studio/No Matting (11" x 14") = $50 Medium/No Matting (13" x 19") = $60 18" x 24" No Matting = $80 (available in store only) Frame Sizes: Custom/Archival Small:Add approx. 5" to width and 5" to height of the map. For an 8 1/2 x 11" map, frame size works out to approx. 13" +/- x 16" +/- . Custom/Archival Medium:Add approx. 6" to width and 6" to height of the map. For a 13" x 19" map, frame size works out to approx. 19" +/- x 25" +/- . Custom/Archival Intermediate:Add approx. 8" to width and 8" to height of the map. For an 18" x 24" map, frame size works out to approx. 26" +/- x 32" +/- . Custom/Archival Large: Add approx. 10" to width and 10" to height of the map. For a 24" x 36" map, frame size works out to approx. 34" +/- x 46" +/- . Economy/Non-Archival Small = 11" x 14" Economy/Non-Archival Medium = 16" x 20" Small/No Matting = 8 1/2" x 11" Studio/No Matting = 11" x 14" Medium/No Matting = 13" x 19" *These sizes are approximate because we build each custom frame around the size of each fine art print (map reproduction) image size or authentic antique map size. Frame Shipping: Small and Medium Frames are shipped in robust packaging with insurance. As of Jan. 1, 2023, we no longer offer shipping of Intermediate Frames and Large Frames. We continue to offer in-store pick up for all frames, regardless of size. Lead Times: Custom/Archival Frames are hand-fabricated to order at our outside fine art framer's shop. They have a lead time of 2-3 weeks before they are ready for shipment or pick up. As of Jan. 1, 2023, we no longer offer shipping of Intermediate Frames and Large Frames. Economy/Non-Archival Frames are hand-fabricated to order at our outside fine art framer's shop. They have a lead time of 1-2 weeks before they are ready for shipment or pick up. Small/No Matting, Studio/No Matting, and Medium/No Matting Frames have their final assembly produced in house. They have a lead time of approximately one week or less before they are ready for shipment or pick up. Wood "Entering" Signs are each fabricated and painted to order. Please allow 2-3 weeks for production. Fine Art Reproduction + Frame = Total Framed Map Price Small Print ($14.95) + Small/No Matting ($45) = $59.95 Small Print ($14.95) + Economy/Non-Archival ($60) = $74.95 Small Print ($14.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($125) = $139.95 Studio Print ($19.95) + Studio/No Matting ($50) = $69.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Medium/No Matting ($60) = $89.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Economy/Non-Archival ($80) = $109.95 Medium Print ($29.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($175) = $204.95 Interm. Print ($49.95) + Economy/No Matting ($80) = $129.95 Interm. Print ($49.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($225) = $274.95 Large Print ($69.95) + Custom/Archival Frame ($275) = $344.95 Available in store only. *As of Jan. 1, 2023, we no longer offer shipping of Intermediate Frames and Large Frames. FRAME TYPES Custom/Archival Frames are constructed from painted wood with UV-resistant glazing to protect an antique map from fading. Custom/Archival frames feature acid-free mat boards and backing boards that will not damage the antique map. Each Custom/Archival frame comes with professional paper backing, hanging wire installed, and even a hook and a nail (see photo below). We offer four styles of Custom/Archival frames. Custom/Archival: Black Basic Smooth black finish on simple, modern, squared profile Custom/Archival: Black Stepped Smooth black finish on tiered or "stepped" profile Custom/Archival: Cherry Finish This frame has a reddish-brown color with wood texture. Two versions are photographed. The thinner/smaller profile is used with small and medium frames. The thicker/larger is used with intermediate and large frames. Custom/Archival: Mahogany Finish This frame has brown with slight red tinge color and wood texture. Two versions are photographed. The thinner/smaller version is used with small and medium frames. The thicker/larger version is used with intermediate and large frames. Custom/Archival Frame: Walnut Finish This frame is brown in color with wood texture. Two versions are photographed. The thinner/smaller profile is used with small and medium frames. The thicker/larger is used with intermediate and large frames. Economy/Non-Archival Frames are constructed from painted wood with with plate glass. They are perfect for our reproduction maps. Since our fine art prints are archival (made with archival inks and acid-free papers), UV-resistant glazing nor acid-free boards are required to protect the reproduction. To keep costs down and offer the highest quality at the lowest price, Economy/Non-Archival frames are available in one style, black with a square profile. Each frame comes with claw hanger on the back. Small/No-Matting and Studio/No-Matting Frames are the same as our Economy/Non-Archival frames except that they lack matting. They accommodate our Small 8 1/2" x 11" and Studio 11" x 14" fine art prints. To keep costs down and offer the highest quality at the lowest price, these frames are available in one style, black with a square profile. Each frame comes with claw hanger on the back.
834	dbpedia	1	46	https://corridorrail.com/u-s-amtrak-and-others-will-brightline-work-in-places-such-as-new-england-and-is-boston-really-the-hub-of-the-universe/	en	U.S., Amtrak and Others: Will Brightline work in places such as New England, and is Boston really the Hub of the Universe?	https://corridorrail.com…edia-Commons.jpg	https://corridorrail.com…edia-Commons.jpg	[ "https://i0.wp.com/corridorrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cropped-CRDC-Logo-2-Original-Quarter-Size.png?fit=300%2C237&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/corridorrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Amtrak-train-Providence-June-1978-Wikimedia-Commons.jpg?resize=688%2C459&ssl=1", "https://i0.wp.com/corridorrail.com/w...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	2023-12-03T01:39:58+00:00	A former Penn Central, now Amtrak, heritage locomotive leads new Amtrak power and nearly-new Amfleet passenger cars through Providence, Rhode Island in 1978. Wikimedia Commons photo. By William Lin…	en	https://i0.wp.com/corrid…it=32%2C32&ssl=1	Corridor Rail Development	https://corridorrail.com/u-s-amtrak-and-others-will-brightline-work-in-places-such-as-new-england-and-is-boston-really-the-hub-of-the-universe/	By William Lindley, Guest Commentator; December 2, 2023 Brightline in Florida has refuted the naysayers of profitable intercity trains. As we await its ongoing results from the winter tourist season and the next year of full operation, one might well pose the question: Is Florida unique? Or might the conventional wisdom be wrong elsewhere as well, and do opportunities now present themselves in almost every state of the Union? Having looked ahead and south, then, let us look northward and dispel a few myths about New England, formerly thought by some to be the only place where intercity passenger trains would work. Consider: Boston is thirty-five miles further east of New York (about 150 miles) than it is north (about 115 miles). There are (and have been) ways to get a train from New York to Maine without running into one of Boston’s stub-end terminals. Despite poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.’s 1858 assertion, geographers have failed to reach a consensus that Boston is the Hub of the Universe. The railroad industry prior to Amtrak’s formation did not view New England as having a single main line at all. What we today think of as the Northeast Corridor was assembled more by accident than design. Today’s NEC is a combined result of the fall of the Penn Central Railroad, the belated addition of the New Haven Railroad to P.C., and the ultimate transformation of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). Boston’s South Station, built in the 1890s, is now the northernmost terminus of the electrified district which extends to Washington (D.C.) Union Station. The station was built as, and remains, a stub-end terminal: a not uncommon situation is many cities at the time. This posed little operational difficulty, as each of the various railroads ran their own passenger trains, and as in New York City, having two terminals a few miles apart within a city was viewed as a competitive feature of one road over another. In Boston, the Boston & Maine Railroad operated North Station, with its trains serving west-central Massachusetts and states to the north, while South Station served the other lines: New York Central-controlled Boston & Albany Railroad, and the New Haven road. A brief aside on downtown passenger terminals: The April 1959 Trains Magazine featured a now-renowned article by Editor David Morgan, “Who Shot the Passenger Train.” Regrettably, Morgan’s assessment of train stations includes: “The old 1900-era structure… handled more than 100 trains a day as late as 1929… today traffic is down to 40 trains a day and most of them are through schedules. Both building and track layout are vastly overbuilt. Being pre-automobile in origin, the station is inconveniently planted in downtown traffic congestion, therefore lacks adequate parking space.” The unfortunate proposed solution was to move the station out of the downtown area, as a small pre-fabricated structure behind a vast parking lot. This was one of Morgan’s few blunders in his many years of writing about the railroad industry. In this he understood the railroad implications, but failed to consider the ramifications of an emphasis on automobiles, not persons. Cities and towns that promote walking and bicycling are accessible, human-scale, and amenable to strolling: all of which corresponds to a vitality both social and economic. “Sustainable” is the contemporary buzzword that represents this simple old-fashioned truth. If you wish to experience the results in action, compare Florida’s edge-of-downtown Jacksonville Terminal (and its adjacent, if curious, monorail station) with Amtrak’s “modern” little structure out in the suburbs. Arriving at Amtrak’s station today leaves you in the middle of nowhere, relatively speaking; although not quite as far from civilization as Maricopa, Arizona, a wide in the road thirty miles of desert south of Phoenix. Indeed, the removal from Phoenix Union Station to Maricopa represents the most egregious example to date of taking Morgan’s somewhat ill-advised advice to its logical extreme. The remainder of Morgan’s assessment of the problems confronting the passenger, mail, and express business reflect his generally sage understandings and are well worth reading; fortunately Trains.com has reprints available for a few dollars. The subject was also revisited in the July 2023 TRAINS issue, possibly still available at a newsstand near you. Look back to Morgan’s time and see what can be learned about New England that applies today. The Pennsylvania Railroad, having been effectively shut out of New England by the New York, New Haven & Hartford (NYNH&H) Railroad, did regard that road as a connecting, or feeder, railroad for services beyond New York City. PRR’s solution to the Boston dilemma is worth revisiting. The Bar Harbor Express ran three times weekly, via Putnam, Connecticut to Worcester, Ayer (Fort Devens), and Lowell, Massachusetts, then splitting (Saturdays only) for a branch to Manchester, Concord, and Plymouth, New Hampshire; with the rest of the train continuing to Portland, Maine where it divided again into branches: to Bath and Rockland, Maine; and to Waterville, Bangor, and Ellsworth (with a bus connection to Bar Harbor). Much has changed in Boston since the 1950s, but unchanged is the fact that Boston still has two stub-end passenger terminals, separated by the downtown area. Even the “Big Dig” relocation of Interstate 93 failed in the original grand plan to connect the railway spokes on either side of the “Hub.” The only direct rail link is a back-alley, street-running freight connection through Cambridge (diagram: shown in dark green). Growth of passenger rail in New England will depend not just on improving what is now thought of as the Northeast Corridor to South Station, but on looking back to how the Pennsy and the New Haven ran their train-to-Maine, and beginning to think of all New England as truly part of the national system — not just a appendage of North Station. Given this, the single biggest impediment to a New England passenger rail system is the inability to traverse New Hampshire east-to-west. This forecloses direct service between Boston and Montréal. Deactivation of all rail lines north and west of Concord, NH was a mistake and ought to be reconsidered, before costs and development make future connections even more prohibitive. From Bellows Falls, a B&M branch once ran through Keene, New Hampshire to Winchendon and Gardner, Massachusetts, where today one can ride the MBTA into Boston. See the PRR map above. Today, that line, as all others traversing the Granite State, has been removed. Even without rebuilding the missing connections or creating new rights-of-way, however, we can look to MBTA to provide connecting trains for the new Maine through services: to Boston at Lowell, Ayer, and Worcester. Metro-North, Connecticut’s CT Rail, and MBTA’s “purple line” regional trains then become feeders and distributors for the through trains, not unlike how PRR viewed the New Haven lines. The network connections would work like this: Shown is a service, either originating at New York City’s Pennsylvania Station or at points south and west, through New Haven, New London, Worcester, Mass., Lowell, Dover, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine. In Maine, there has been consideration over the years of extending Amtrak’s Downeaster to Bangor, and trains from North Station through Lowell to Nashua, Manchester, and Concord, New Hampshire. These are shown on the Train-to-Maine map here. The postulated service, however, is shown as serving Bath, famous for its historic and current shipyard, and Rockland, a popular tourist destination and growing cruise ship port. This approach illustrated with New England can be replicated anywhere regional rail services exist, connecting new intercity routes to existing transit systems like city buses, streetcars, and subways. Former Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration Gil Carmichael, who founded the Transportation Institute at the University of Denver in 1996, was an early proponent of this “Intermodal” approach. When your railroad station is an easy taxi ride from home, and when your hotel is likewise easily accessible from your destination station, it becomes possible to vacation without an automobile: a truly relaxing time. You can travel for business or to visit family without the hassle and expense of driving. Conversely, when rail systems are built only to appeal to motorists — such as we see with Minnesota’s Northstar Line, or with Los Angeles Green Line stations placed in the unappealing median of a loud, noisy, polluted superhighway — the appeal is vastly reduced. If you are already driving, you might as well stay in the car. A next step would be a unified pool of equipment, operators, and staff among the various rail operators in a region. Pullman, who ran almost all the nation’s sleeping cars, was expert in providing a wide enough variety of railcars and onboard amenities to satisfy Americans’ far-flung tastes and needs, while maintaining a relatively small number of standards to keep training and operating costs low. Today, especially with the advent of Positive Train Control (PTC) and other simplifying technological advances, there is little reason the MBTA, CTRail, Metro-North, Amtrak, and any other operator in the Northeast should not share at least some of their equipment and personnel, not to mention stations and tracks.
834	dbpedia	2	13	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	en	History of the B&M Railroad — Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	http://static1.squarespace.com/static/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/t/624f41b38dac664dd3dba0ca/1649361332026/BMRRHS_Logo_Circle_Web.png?format=1500w	[ "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/262419aa-16ea-4aec-802a-f3c6589f55cb/BMRRHS_Logo.png?format=1500w", "https://images.squarespace-cdn....	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624efffd8ef1885fd8ab5ca1/336c133a-16c9-46b9-9496-da9e8334707b/favicon.ico?format=100w	Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society	https://www.bmrrhs.org/history	The invention of the steam railroad in the 19th Century radically expanded human mobility and commerce. By “annihilating distance” the railroad forever changed the American landscape and patterns of business and domestic life. Originating in the idea of constructing a continuous inland route between Boston and Portland, the Boston and Maine Railroad gradually gained control of other lines until the B&M system linked hundreds of cities, towns, and villages in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. Shipments of grain, ice, lumber, meat and produce over its rails contributed to the expansion of Boston as a market center and a great seaport. The B&M and its predecessor companies made possible the development of New England’s manufacturing cities and eliminated the crushing isolation of life in the country. For most communities it became the link to the outside world. It also found markets for the products of each town’s industry and in return brought to every locality the whole range and variety of goods that were the fruit of the Industrial Revolution. The Boston and Maine Railroad was the successor to the Andover and Wilmington Railroad which opened in 1836. Over the next 65 years the B&M gained control (through lease, purchase, or stock ownership) of the Eastern, Boston and Lowell, Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers, Concord & Montreal, Connecticut River, Fitchburg, Portland and Rochester, and Worcester and Nashua railroads, most of which themselves were agglomerations of shorter, earlier roads. All had their main lines and branches that wove a tight web of steel through northern Massachusetts, southern Maine, the state of New Hampshire, and eastern New York and Vermont. At its peak B&M maintained over 2,300 route miles of track, 1,200 steam locomotives, and a force of 28,000 employees. The road’s principal shops were located at North Billerica, Mass. and Concord, N.H. Major freight yards were built at Boston, East Deerfield, Rigby, and Mechanicville. Developing Tourism The B&M led the charge for the development of tourism in New England. The delights of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains, the promotion of seacoast resorts, and the romantic attractions of New England’s historic places were captured in B&M view-books, magazines, and extensive newspaper advertising. In the 1930s and 1940s the Boston and Maine Snow Trains were a major boost to the development of the winter sports business. The B&M’s most famous engineering landmark was the five-mile-long Hoosac Tunnel. Hundreds of the railroad’s bridges enhanced the New England landscape, ranging from picturesque covered bridges to the Greenville and Hillsboro trestles, the Clinton viaduct, and huge steel structures spanning the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. Notable, also, was the gradual filling in of the flats of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, and their development as New England’s principal freight distribution center. The B&M came under the control of J.P. Morgan and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad about 1910, but shortly thereafter anti-trust forces wrested effective control away from New Haven. The B&M's consolidation with the Eastern RR included assumption of the Eastern's funded debt. This, combined with the debt incurred in the 1870s for construction of a new route to Portland and fixed lease obligations to acquire the Fitchburg and other railroads, led the B&M into a festering financial crisis that was settled by a reorganization of the road in 1919. Several leased lines voluntarily merged with the B&M to avoid a meltdown of the B&M system. About 1890 street railways made the first assault on the B&M’s passenger business. Increased use of the automobile, from about 1915, made more trouble for the B&M as a passenger carrier, beginning the erosion of its local and commuter business. In the 20th Century freight business was adversely affected by the decline of New England manufacturing and by short-haul truck competition. Nevertheless, the B&M made valiant attempts to preserve its freight and passenger traffic by abandoning unprofitable branches, improving freight handling facilities, upgrading passenger equipment, and making forays into the airline, motor cargo, and bus businesses. Advancing through Technology Never technologically backward, the B&M was an early proponent of switch and signal interlocking, automatic block signaling, automatic train stop, and centralized traffic control. Under president George Hannauer hump yards were established at Boston and Mechanicville and the Freight Cut-Off was established to funnel freight cars away from busy passenger routes. It employed gasoline powered rail motor cars on lightly patronized branches and was one of America’s diesel pioneers; its iconic Unit 6000, the Flying Yankee streamliner (1935), symbolized a hopeful new age in railroad innovation. In 1955 financial operator Patrick B. McGinnis gained control of the Boston and Maine. His principal contribution to B&M history was to oversee the completion of dieselization, the discontinuance of many passenger routes and runs, and the closure and sale of railroad stations and equipment. Ultimately he was convicted of and imprisoned for taking kickbacks on equipment sales. In the late 1950s and 1960s profitability was elusive; Government insisted that the B&M should keep commuter and long-distance passenger trains running in the face of mounting deficits and decreasing patronage and made it impossible for the B&M to break even. Demonstration projects to improve passenger earnings by running more frequent trains were inconclusive, and the drain on assets continued. Expenses were reduced by dieselization and the closure of stations and shops, but the B&M ultimately fell victim to the ever-growing use of motor transportation and the advent of the Interstate Highway System. The railroad gave up on long distance passenger service after 1960 and was able to continue Boston commuter service only by securing subsidies from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Reinventing Itself — Freight Service Bankruptcy came in 1970, but ironically it seems to have been the catalyst that the B&M needed to reinvent itself. Alan Dustin (president 1974-84) reduced operating expenses and plowed the savings back into track improvements. The sale of rights of way in the commuter zone to the MBTA (1976) provided cash to satisfy creditors and in 1980 the B&M had its first profitable year, on an ordinary income basis, since 1957. An improving outlook led to the purchase of the B&M by Timothy Mellon’s Guilford Transportation Industries in 1983 and its emergence from bankruptcy. In addition to its freight service the B&M continued to operate Boston commuter trains under contract to the MBTA. Guilford had purchased the Maine Central Railroad in 1981 and then, with B&M in the fold, began to operate the two roads as a continuous system. Guilford changed the complexion of freight operations by concentrating on large shippers and experimenting with dedicated, high volume, services. Guilford expanded its operations into Connecticut by the acquisition, in 1982, of several track segments from Conrail. Combining these segments with trackage rights, Guilford extended its reach from Springfield as far south as New Haven and as far west as Waterbury and Derby. A labor dispute prompted Guilford to lease B&M track (1986-1987) to subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway, which thus became Guilford’s operating company for freight business. B&M lost the contract for running MBTA commuter service to Amtrak in 1987; Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad ran commuter service over former B&M lines from 2003 to 2014; Keolis Commuter Services took over on July 1, 2014. Short line freight railroads such as Providence and Worcester, New Hampshire Northcoast, and New England Central purchased segments of former B&M right of way and continue to serve online customers. Guilford acquired Pan American World Airways in 1998, and re-branded itself as Pan Am Railways. In 1999, in cooperation with Norfolk Southern, Pan Am began running a dedicated intermodal train between Ayer and Mechanicville. This evolved into an agreement with Norfolk Southern in 2008 to own, as a joint venture named Pan Am Southern, former B&M track between those two points, and elsewhere, using NS money to upgrade the track and to finance improved distribution facilities. Containerized freight, raw materials for paper mills, forest products, and automobile shipments constituted a large part of Pan Am business.
834	dbpedia	1	11	https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/the-many-faces-of-north-station/	en	The Many Faces of North Station – The West End Museum	https://thewestendmuseum…-sign-1_orig.jpg	https://thewestendmuseum…-sign-1_orig.jpg	[ "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Logo_WestEndMuseum-MainLogo-RedGold-200x200-1-e1633365228887.png", "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Logo_WestEndMuseum-MainLogo-RedGold-200x200-1-e1633365228887.png", "https://thewestendmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/commonw...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Bob Potenza" ]	2022-11-25T15:11:45-05:00	For tens of thousands of daily commuters, North Station is a final destination to work and a starting point for home. For many others, it is a stop along the way to somewhere else. But few of today’s commuters know that over the past two centuries, there have actually been several train stations in the West End– built in grand style – that predated the North Station we know today.	en	https://thewestendmuseum…mentBuilding.png	The West End Museum – Boston's Neighborhood Museum	https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/the-many-faces-of-north-station/	For tens of thousands of daily commuters, North Station is a final destination to work and a starting point for home. For many others, it is a stop along the way to somewhere else. But few of today’s commuters know that over the past two centuries, there have actually been several train stations in the West End– built in grand style – that predated the North Station we know today. Boston was one of young America’s principal cities and ports, yet its physical growth had always been constrained by its location on the Shawmut peninsula. In the early 19th century, architect Charles Bulfinch proposed addressing the problem by filling in the marshes around Boston to accommodate new urban development. His first such project, what would later become known as the Bulfinch triangle, was a grid of new streets arranged on the former Mill Pond in today’s West End neighborhood. By the second half of the 19th century, all railroads connecting Boston to points north and west of the city crossed the Charles River, and four of these eight railroads erected depots in the Bulfinch Triangle In 1835 the Boston and Lowell (B&L) Railroad chose Lowell Street as the location for its depot. It was later joined on the same street by stations of the Eastern and Fitchburg Railroads which built their stations on Causeway. To stand out from the others, each chose a unique architectural style―French Second Empire, Italianate, and Gothic Revival, for its depot. Unlike its competitors, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) constructed its depot a few blocks south on Haymarket Square. Despite enjoying some distance from its competitors, the owners of the B&M were still interested in style, choosing a Greek Revival design for its structure. The B&M depot displayed two-story pilasters with elaborate capitals supporting a large pediment in whose center was a clock—an all-important element for travelers trying to make a scheduled departure. Over the next forty years, the B&M became the predominant railway company in the Northeast. Through a calculated campaign of acquisition and consolidation starting in 1842, it the gained charters in New Hampshire and Maine, and later purchased 47 competing regional short lines. By 1887 the B&M had sole control of the Boston-Portland route and access into Vermont and Quebec through lease agreements with the Eastern and the B&L railroads. Seeing a need to unite its services under one roof, the B&M began construction of a new North Union Station in 1893, just south of the current North Station structure. Replacing the former depots on Causeway Street, the North Union Station’s façade would feature an 80-foot-high granite triumphal arch flanked by four massive columns, and its eastern side was formed by a five-story baggage and express building. North Union Station was opened in stages from 1893 to 1894, and by the time it was fully completed, the station had become popularly known as “North Station.” The first North Station stood for only three decades before it was torn down in 1927 in favor of a larger depot that included a new arena―Boston Garden―above the ground-floor waiting room and concourse. This innovative plan was based on New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and in keeping with the trends of the time was designed in the popular Art Deco style. The new station would have an imposing neoclassical design whose façade was dominated by a large triumphal arch that represented the railroad’s power. It also featured a round arch with a coffered ceiling roughly two stories high, flanked on each side by two columns with Ionic capitals that sat upon bases of rusticated stone. Arcaded wings six-bays across spread out from the central arch and their centers supported large clock faces. Beyond the arcades were the waiting rooms that received ample light from bands of clerestory windows. The concourse was similarly brightened by large skylights to dispel the notion that train sheds of the era had to be dark and smoky. The new North Station and Boston Garden opened in 1928. For the next fifty years, the second North Station would go through many alterations. In 1985 it received replacement trestles, new tracks, and platforms after a fire in 1984. In 1989, the MBTA paid $13.7 to raise the five commuter rail platforms for accessibility, and in 1990 an underground garage and platform were added. Finally, in 1993, the state reached a deal to replace the aging Boston Garden. In exchange for the land and easements to construct the new Fleet Center, the developer constructed a train shed and waiting area on the ground floor and a subway tunnel under the arena to replace the subway lines above Causeway Street. The result was a combined underground “superstation,” allowing for pedestrian access to North Station. The third North Station and the new Fleet Center opened in 1995. Two new expansions took place in 2006; the station’s waiting area was enlarged and the number of tracks expanded to 12. This $5 million project, completed in 2007, added 20,000 square feet of waiting and retail space. Along the way, the name of the arena above the station changed several times, ultimately becoming TD Garden. In 2019, North Station got a new entrance and a tunnel connecting Amtrak–commuter rail services. This ended the disjointed journey of commuters who had to go outside when transferring between the subway and the commuter rail or Amtrak. That same year, thanks to Amtrak’s service to Maine, North Station became the 24th busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the sixth busiest in New England. Over the years, North Station – and the West End – has been the focal point of rail travel between Boston and points west and north. The station’s continued importance can be seen in the most recent development projects surrounding it that have added more modern living and office spaces, entertainment venues, and dining and drinking establishments to an increasingly vibrant neighborhood.
834	dbpedia	2	44	https://www.bostonintransit.com/collections/boston-lowell-railroad	en	Boston & Lowell Railroad	http://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/collections/wmark-BandLDepot014_010c8995-d8da-45b3-8382-751bb72aaf49.jpg?v=1612472154	http://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/collections/wmark-BandLDepot014_010c8995-d8da-45b3-8382-751bb72aaf49.jpg?v=1612472154	[ "https://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/files/Boston-In-Transit-Logo-BookCover.jpg?v=1664889899&width=500", "https://www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=1614350525&width=165 165w,//www.bostonintransit.com/cdn/shop/products/Interior_BMShed_1880s-BHS-wmark.jpg?v=1614350...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null	Historic photographs, maps, and images depicting the vehicles, stations, and infrastructure of public transportation in Boston.	en		Boston In Transit	https://www.bostonintransit.com/collections/boston-lowell-railroad	More filters (0) More filters Boston & Lowell Railroad (10) Boston & Lowell Railroad (10 products) Boston & Maine Railroad (3) Boston & Maine Railroad (3 products) Boston & Providence Railroad (1) Boston & Providence Railroad (1 product) Boston & Worcester Railroad (1) Boston & Worcester Railroad (1 product) Boston In Transit Book Figure (10) Boston In Transit Book Figure (10 products) Boston MA (1) Boston MA (1 product) Chapter 01 (1) Chapter 01 (1 product) Chapter 04 (9) Chapter 04 (9 products) Eastern Railroad (4) Eastern Railroad (4 products) Fitchburg Railroad (3) Fitchburg Railroad (3 products) G.M. Hopkins & Co. (1) G.M. Hopkins & Co. (1 product) Map (4) Map (4 products) Newspaper (1) Newspaper (1 product) Old Colony Railroad (1) Old Colony Railroad (1 product) Photograph (3) Photograph (3 products) Postcard (1) Postcard (1 product) Railroad (10) Railroad (10 products) Railroad Station (6) Railroad Station (6 products) System Map (1) System Map (1 product) Timetable (1) Timetable (1 product) Boston & Lowell Railroad (10) Boston & Lowell Railroad (10 products) Boston & Maine Railroad (3) Boston & Maine Railroad (3 products) Boston & Providence Railroad (1) Boston & Providence Railroad (1 product) Boston & Worcester Railroad (1) Boston & Worcester Railroad (1 product) Boston In Transit Book Figure (10) Boston In Transit Book Figure (10 products) Boston MA (1) Boston MA (1 product) Chapter 01 (1) Chapter 01 (1 product) Chapter 04 (9) Chapter 04 (9 products) Eastern Railroad (4) Eastern Railroad (4 products) Fitchburg Railroad (3) Fitchburg Railroad (3 products) G.M. Hopkins & Co. (1) G.M. Hopkins & Co. (1 product) Map (4) Map (4 products) Newspaper (1) Newspaper (1 product) Old Colony Railroad (1) Old Colony Railroad (1 product) Photograph (3) Photograph (3 products) Postcard (1) Postcard (1 product) Railroad (10) Railroad (10 products) Railroad Station (6) Railroad Station (6 products) System Map (1) System Map (1 product) Timetable (1) Timetable (1 product)
834	dbpedia	2	52	https://www.boston.com/news/wickedpedia/2024/03/19/will-boston-ever-build-the-north-south-rail-link/	en	Will Boston ever build the North-South Rail Link?	https://bdc2020.o0bc.com…6545-768x432.png	https://bdc2020.o0bc.com…6545-768x432.png	[ "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=989222871864976&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://www.boston.com/wp-content/themes/bdc-2020/dist/images/boston-com-logo.png", "https://bdc2020.o0bc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Commuter-Rail-South-Station-65f5913b06545-768x432.png", "https://bdc2020.o0bc.com/wp-content/upload...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Chloe Courtney Bohl" ]	2024-03-19T00:00:00	The rail link could unify public transit up and down the New England corridor. But are Mass. lawmakers ready for another tunnel project?	en	https://bdc2020.o0bc.com…7eee-150x150.png	Boston.com	https://www.boston.com/news/wickedpedia/2024/03/19/will-boston-ever-build-the-north-south-rail-link/	Practically speaking, Boston’s commuter rail system is actually two separate systems. One extends from South Station down the Worcester, Needham, Fairmount, Franklin, Providence/Stoughton, Middleborough/Lakeville, Kingston, and Greenbush lines. The other stretches from North Station along the Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, and Newburyport/Rockport lines. The North-South Rail Link — a 2.8-mile tunnel connecting North and South stations — would bridge the north/south divide, allowing trains to run interrupted across the region. Advocates say the benefits are clear: Building the link would facilitate faster commutes into the city from farther away, easing pressure on Boston’s choked housing market and taking cars off congested highways. Better regional transit is good for economic growth, they say, and for the climate. So why has this seemingly simple fix never quite gained traction? Depending who you ask, it’s a testament to the eye-popping price tag, Boston’s Big Dig hangover, or a deeper aversion to big, ambitious projects. A decades-long debate Massachusetts lawmakers have been talking about building the NSRL since at least the administration of Gov. Michael Dukakis in the 1970s. Congress even voted to fund the Rail Link’s construction in 1987, as part of an $87.5 billion highway and mass transit bill — which also included money for the Big Dig and over 100 other projects around the country. But President Ronald Reagan vetoed the bill, spurring a tooth-and-nail fight in the Senate to override the veto and save the legislation. In the course of that battle, the Rail Link project was sacrificed to appease the 13 Republican senators who broke ranks with Reagan and voted to override. Since the ’80s, successive generations of national, state, and local elected officials have thrown their support behind the NSRL. Congressman Seth Moulton is a particularly staunch advocate; former governors Dukakis and Bill Weld, Sen. Ed Markey, and Mayor Michelle Wu are also supporters, along with a laundry list of state senators and representatives. But building another tunnel beneath downtown Boston would be complicated and expensive. In 2017 a Harvard Kennedy School cost analysis estimated the Rail Link would cost between $3.8 and $5.9 billion in 2025 dollars. The price range reflected different build options: two versus four tracks, different routes beneath the city. The year after the Harvard study came out, Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration released it own “feasibility study.” This time, the Rail Link was estimated to cost a hair-raising $12.3 to $21.4 billion. (For reference, the infamous Big Dig ended up costing about $24 billion.) Which estimate is most accurate? And how would the benefits of this major transit project measure up to its costs? Ever since Maura Healey replaced Baker in 2023, proponents of the North-South Rail Link have been asking these questions with renewed urgency. In response to questions from Boston.com, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation said that “currently there is no new study planned regarding creating passenger rail service between South Station and North Station in Boston.” But supporters of the project are lobbying the Healey administration to reexamine the 2018 feasibility study and recognize their vision for the Rail Link. Why build the North-South Rail Link? Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’ 6th District, has been pushing for the North-South Rail Link for years. In a statement to Boston.com, he stressed the need for bold changes to Massachusetts’ transit landscape. “We say people should use transit, but we only invest in our highways and airports,” Moulton wrote to Boston.com. “I don’t buy the argument that fixing our rail network is too hard or too expensive. If we make smart, transformative investments like North-South Rail, they will pay for themselves in economic benefits many times over.” Today, the disconnected transit system limits where people can live and work within Greater Boston. According to Moulton, the Rail Link would enable you to “travel straight from Salem to Providence, or Worcester to Maine, and the jobs and housing opportunities that open up will be extraordinary.” One of the key promises of the Rail Link is that it would create stronger links between Boston and smaller satellite economies like Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, and Salem. The Rail Link could also open up prime real estate in downtown Boston that’s currently occupied by Amtrak and commuter rail train yards. If North and South Station’s “stub ends” were linked, those yards could be moved outside the city. Jarred Johnson is the executive director of TransitMatters, a nonprofit that advocates for better public transportation in Greater Boston. The way he sees it, the question of whether to invest in improved public transit is an existential one for Boston. “Other places will eat our lunch,” he said, pointing to cities like Toronto, Montreal, and New York, where major transit expansions are either planned or already underway. “A city where the trains are slow, and where they’re not expanding to meet demand — that’s a city that falls behind.” Johnson pointed out that the 2018 feasibility study only looked at costs — not benefits or value created. “Let’s be honest, the last governor had no intention to ever do the project,” he said. “We need a study that actually presupposes that we think this is a good idea.” How much would it cost, really? Remember that Harvard Kennedy School study that estimated the North-South Rail Link would cost at most $5.9 billion, not $21 billion? It was directed by Linda Bilmes, a leading expert on public finance who serves on the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. Bilmes and her graduate students used Federal Transit Administration data to estimate the cost of each component of the Rail Link. They double-checked the result against cost estimates for comparable tunnel projects in other countries, then triple-checked it using a Monte Carlo analysis, a mathematical model that accounts for uncertainty. “We have pretty good confidence that we have got the right order of magnitude amount because of the way that we did the study,” Bilmes told Boston.com. Since 2017, high inflation has raised the expected costs of the tunnel. The study also didn’t account for the cost of electrification. Together, Bilmes estimates those factors could add about $2 billion onto her original estimate, raising the price tag to about $8 billion. That’s still significantly lower than the 2018 Baker-commissioned study’s low-end estimate of $12.3 billion. Plus, Bilmes said, “We weren’t asked to look at the benefits. … If I were going to do a cost-benefit study, I’d be delighted, because the benefits are enormous.” Over 20 years, the economic benefits of opening up North/South travel through Greater Boston for business, recreation, and touristic purposes would “more than pay for the cost of the tunnel, many times,” Bilmes said. The South Station expansion In the short term, though, the MBTA has no budget for capital projects. So state lawmakers have set their sights on a less ambitious plan to relieve congestion on the commuter rail: an expansion of South Station. The South Station Expansion would add 10 new train tracks (alongside the current 13) and a new bus terminal to the downtown transit hub at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion. The plan involves purchasing and redeveloping the adjoining U.S. Post Office site to make space for the new tracks. “MassDOT considers this a priority project as South Station is currently at capacity,” a DOT spokesperson told Boston.com. But the South Station Expansion wouldn’t address the fundamental problem of the north/south divide across Boston’s rail network. Moulton and Johnson both see it as a band-aid solution. “The best way to expand capacity at South Station is to build the North-South Rail Link,” Moulton said. Johnson added: “When I think about South Station Expansion and how expensive that is … and contemplate building tracks all the way up to the [Fort Point] channel, that to me is a wasted opportunity and a waste of money,” considering that land is “some of the most valuable real estate on Earth.” What’s next for the Rail Link? Congressman Moulton expressed optimism that the Healey administration is taking a forward-looking view of the state’s public transportation. “My team and I are in a continuous dialogue with the Healey Administration, from the Governor and Secretary of Transportation on down, and we are pleased to see an administration finally taking the future of transportation seriously,” he wrote to Boston.com. Johnson called for a new feasibility study and an updated cost estimate for the North-South Rail Link. He also urged the Department of Transportation to consider the Rail Link as an alternative to the South Station Expansion. Bilmes and her team at Harvard are working on a cost-benefit analysis comparing the two projects. Results will come out later this year.
834	dbpedia	0	84	https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/tag/connecticut-legislature/	en	Connecticut Legislature Archives	https://newenglandhistor…-512-1-32x32.png	https://newenglandhistor…-512-1-32x32.png	[ "https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nehs.png", "https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/nynh-1.webp", "https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/robert-schuyler-face-274x300.jpg 274w, https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/wp-c...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://newenglandhistor…-512-1-32x32.png	New England Historical Society	https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/tag/connecticut-legislature/	Robert Schuyler was one of the most respected men of his era, the last person likely to pull off one of the greatest swindles in Wall Street history. But in 1853, that’s exactly what Robert Schuyler did. He came from an illustrious family, grandson of Gen. Philip Schuyler, hero of the Battle of Saratoga, and nephew of Alexander Hamilton. His relatives included the landowning Beekmans and Van Rensselaers, New York nobility. When the organizers of the new New York & New Haven Railroad went to look for a president, they chose Robert Schuyler because he represented the last word in respectability and financial responsibility. Years later all hell broke loose when it turned out that he sold thousands of shares of bogus stock, kept three sets of books and stole $137,527.98. “If Robert Schuyler is capable of such a wrong,” editorialized a newspaper, “then no one is to be trusted.” But he was capable of such a wrong, one that ranked with the Bernie Madoff scandal. Robert Schuyler Robert Schuyler was born on Sept. 16, 1798 in Rhinebeck, N.Y., to an aristocratic family with vast semi-feudal landholdings in the Hudson Valley. A man of culture and refinement, he cofounded New York’s Union Club. After graduating from Harvard, Robert Schuyler made the successful transition into commerce, starting his career with steamboats. By 1846 he and his brother George formed R. & G. L. Schuyler, an investment firm specializing in railroads. At one time, Robert Schuyler served as president of five railroads, including the New York & New Haven Railroad, the Harlem, the Illinois Central, the Rensselaer & Saratoga and the Sangamon & Morgan Railroads. People called him the Railroad King. The directors of the New York & New Haven completely entrusted the railroad’s financial affairs to him as president and sole transfer agent. Disasters In May of 1853, the New York & New Haven Railroad train plunged into Norwalk Harbor and killed about 50 people. The dramatic railroad derailment was by far the country’s worst. President Robert Schuyler took a little bit of the blame for the disaster. The Connecticut Legislature, assuming Schuyler spread himself too thin, passed a law forbidding anyone to hold more than one railroad presidency at a time. He resigned several of his presidencies, putting his brother in charge of one. Despite the tremendous loss of life, the Norwalk tragedy didn’t cause the railroad undue financial harm. Then one year later, a second disaster struck the New York & New Haven when the stock prices began to plunge. In less than five weeks it dropped from $93 to $73.5, suggesting some insiders knew about the stock manipulation going on. The railroad board tried to contact Robert Schuyler, who claimed he had fallen ill with a bad hemorrhage of the lungs. The New York Herald, though, on July 6, 1854 reported, “Mr. Schuyler has not been confined to his house by sickness lately….He has gone to Canada or some other cool place. New York was too hot to hold him.” Robert Schuyler had, in fact, fled to France. Swindler Schuyler’s lawyer had already handed the railroad directors a letter of resignation. “Your attention to the stock ledgers of your Company is essential as you will find there is much that is wrong,” wrote Schuyler. It turned out that Robert Schuyler, as sole transfer agent, had sold 19,540 shares in unauthorized stock certificates worth about $54 million today. At first, the board thought Robert Schuyler had started selling bogus stock after the Norwalk accident. But then the directors learned he’d been doing it much earlier. He had also maintained three sets of books kept by three different clerks, none of whom knew what the others were doing. He paid damage claims from the Norwalk accident by taking money from railroad accounts in cash and giving out notes signed by him as president. Confusion reigned upon the discovery of the swindle because it was so hard to tell who held the bogus stock and who held genuine shares. The first official meeting after the discovery of the fraud lapsed into chaos. Anyone who tried to be heard got shouted down by those demanding how many shares he held and where they came from. The meeting adjourned. Stockholders did manage to elect a new slate of officers. And after 10 years of litigation, the court finally ruled that the railroad had to cover all losses. Trouble Signs How had people missed the signs of Robert Schuyler’s misdeeds? In hindsight, warning signs abounded. The New York Herald had received an anonymous letter asking it to demand the board investigate Schuyler. But the paper ignored the letter because of its anonymous author. And then there was Schuyler’s personal life. He had lived as a bachelor, but he had a family of six children by a woman he hadn’t married and who lived in a separate household. Then a minister proposed to his oldest daughter. To his horror, he discovered she was illegitimate. Robert Schuyler acceded to the minister’s demands and married the mother of his children. Soon after the news broke about Schuyler’s swindle, the American Railroad Journal carried an editorial claiming not to be surprised. “His reputation for possessing business qualities of a high order, the influential circle in which he moved, and the unlimited confidence which he enjoyed, gave him a paramount voice in the management of numerous schemes, wrote the Journal.” But, it continued, ‘a blight always seemed to rest on everything he touched.’ In conclusion, the Journal had advised investors to stay away from railroad schemes in which Schuyler was involved. “…we took it for granted that he would rob any project of which he had control of whatever vitality he possessed.” Death in Paris Robert Schuyler supposedly died in France on Nov. 15, 1855, a little more than a year after the revelations about his mammoth swindle. But mystery surrounded his death as well. A classmate in 1857 wrote to the Harvard Librarian doubting that he had died. A coffin had arrived from France, and a funeral took place in New York, “but I could not find that anybody saw the body or identified it. It may have been a sham.” With thanks to The Great Schuyler Stock Fraud by Robert B. Shaw and The Strange Case of Robert Schuyler by Sidney Withington. Images: Allston station by Adam Moss via Flickr, CC By-SA 2.0. This story was updated in 2023. The oldest lighthouse in the country would have been in New England had the British not blown it up during the American Revolution. Today, Boston Light is the second oldest lighthouse in the country — and the oldest in Massachusetts. Lighthouses and history go together like — well, ‘New’ and ‘England.’ Many of the coastal beacons predated the United States itself, but, like Boston Light, were replaced with newer, better versions. Each New England state has multiple lighthouses. Maine, with its long coastline, has 57, while New Hampshire has only two along its 18 mile coast. Vermont actually has six. But which are the oldest? Here, then, is a list of the oldest lighthouse in each New England state. New London Harbor Light Built in 1801, the New London Harbor Light is not only Connecticut’s oldest lighthouse, it is the tallest. The colonial Connecticut legislature in 1760 decided to build the first lighthouse at New London, then one of the busiest whaling ports in the colonies. The government sold lottery tickets to raise 500 pounds to pay for building it. In 1781, Benedict Arnold led a British raid on New London and burned the town, but the stone lighthouse and keeper’s cottage survived the attack. Connecticut ceded New London Harbor Light to the United States in 1789, and 11 years later Congress voted money to rebuild it. Abisha Woodward, a New Londoner, built the 80-foot-tall octagonal stone tower. Lighthouse keepers were political appointees, and Martin van Buren appointed John Munn at New London Harbor Light. Munn lost his job in 1841 after van Buren lost reelection, and before he left he blackened the reflector and trashed the lamps. His successor, a popular fisherman named John Mason, took weeks to repair Munn’s vandalism. But after Mason served only four months as keeper, Munn wrangled his job back, outraging the locals. The controversy died down when Munn passed away and Mason took his place. The Bureau of Lighthouses automated the New London Harbor Light in 1912, and auctioned the property. Today the lighthouse remains in private hands, but New London has others. Today, you can see five lighthouses from Pequot Avenue — and learn more about lighthouses at the Coast Guard Museum. U.S. Coast Guard Museum, 15 Mohegan Ave., New London, Conn. Portland Head Light You may know the Portland Head Light as the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse. The General Court of Massachusetts appropriated $750 to build it on the shores of Cape Elizabeth in 1787. Three years later, the U.S. government took responsibility for lighthouses and provided $1,500 to finish the job. President George Washington reminded the contractors the government didn’t have much money, so they should take building materials from the fields and shores. Sixteen whale oil lamps first lit Portland Head Light on Jan 10, 1791. One of the strangest shipwrecks in history took place at Portland Head Light on Christmas Eve, 1886. The three-masted bark Annie C. Maguire rammed right into the ledge by the lighthouse, though the crew plainly saw the light before the disaster. The keeper, Joshua Strout, along with his family and volunteers used a ladder as a gangplank to rescue all 14 aboard. The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned Maine’s oldest lighthouse in 1989. Today Portland Head Light, which sits next to 90-acre Fort Williams Park, has a museum within the former keeper’s quarters and a seasonal gift shop. 1000 Shore Rd., Cape Elizabeth, Maine Boston Light One would almost think Boston Light was cursed, given the trouble that befell the people who associated with it and the number of attacks it sustained from fire, lightning and warring armies. There had been beacons on Brewster Island before to signal the approach of enemies and ships. The Boston merchant who petitioned the General Court to build Boston Light died before construction began. The first lighthouse keeper drowned. So did the second. The third lighthouse keeper had to clear his name after he was unfairly blamed for a fire in the light. Fire broke out again and lightning struck the lighthouse several times. During the American Revolution, the Americans burned the wooden parts after the British captured it. When the British evacuated Boston, they left a time charge in Boston Light and blew it up. A second Boston Light was built in 1783, and it is now the second oldest lighthouse in the United States. (The oldest is in Sandy Hook, N.J.) Massachusetts gave Boston light to the federal government in 1790. In 1813, lighthouse keeper Jonathan Bruce and his wife watched the battle between the USS Chesapeake and the HMS Shannon. Just before dying, the wounded Chesapeake captain told his men, “Don’t give up the ship.” The crew gave up the ship anyway nine minutes later. The military extinguished the light during World War II as a security precaution, and relit it on July 2, 1945. The Coast Guard decommissioned Boston Light in 1998, but it remains staffed by a keeper who acts mostly as a tour guide. The National Park Service conducts tours of Boston Light twice daily on summer weekends. Little Brewster Island, Boston, Mass. White Island Light White Island Light, also known as Isles of Shoals Light, was built in 1859, though the New Hampshire light station had been around since 1821. Thomas Laighton famously took the job as lighthouse keeper after losing the election for New Hampshire governor in 1839. He sold his business in Portsmouth, moved his family to the small archipelago known as the Isles of Shoals and vowed he’d never set foot on the mainland again. Laighton bought four of the nine islands and wrangled the federal appointment as lighthouse keeper. His daughter Celia wrote a poem about the island’s sandpipers, which the Atlantic magazine published. Laighton later built a summer resort on another island in the Isles of Shoals, and Celia Laighton Thaxter became one of America’s most popular writers. She maintained a salon on the Isles, hosting such luminaries as Childe Hassam, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson. New Hampshire’s oldest lighthouse was built of brick with a cast iron lantern. The island is closed to the public, but you can get close to White Island Light in an excursion boat. White Island, Rye, N.H. Poplar Point Light Built in 1831 in North Kingstown, R.I., Poplar Point Light is not only Rhode Island oldest lighthouse, it’s the oldest with a wooden tower in the United States. Wickford, R.I.’s, protected harbor off Narragansett Bay allowed the village to develop as a shipping point for trade between local plantation and international ports. Congress agreed to spend $3,000 for a light at the entrance to Wickford Harbor, and local contractors finished it by the end of 1831. The Poplar Point Light guided sloops and schooners in and out of the harbor’s wharves. By 1838, a Coast Guard survey concluded the light wasn’t needed, but Poplar Point Light stayed lit. By 1870, the government decided to build a new lighthouse at Old Gay Rock to guide the burgeoning ferryboat traffic. Albert Sherman bought Poplar Point Lighthouse at auction for $3,944.67. By 1932, Edith Grant owned the lighthouse and built a large house around it. The Shippee family bought the building in 1962, and has lived there since. Poplar Point Light is not open to the public, but Rhode Island Bay Cruises and Save the Bay offer lighthouse cruises that may go near. They usually run between May and October. Juniper Island Light Juniper Island Light is not only the oldest lighthouse in Vermont, it’s the oldest cast iron lighthouse left in the United States. Originally a lantern on a post on Juniper Island marked the entrance to Burlington Harbor until a 30-foot-tall brick tower, the first on Lake Champlain, replaced it. That fell to a tower of cast iron in 1846. The lighthouse guided thousands of ships into Burlington Harbor, for many years the second busiest lumber port in the United States. After 108 years of service, an automatic light on a tower replaced the Juniper Island Light. A state senator named Fred Fayette bought the island and the lighthouse in 1956. Careless campers started a fire that destroyed the lighthouse keeper’s house in 1962. Fayette’s 11 children inherited the island after his death and in 2001 began to reconstruct the keeper’s house with reclaimed bricks. They later restored and painted the tower. Juniper Island, Burlington, Vt. Images: Portland Head Light, By Rapidfire – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7161757; Boston Light By Dpbsmith at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1663166. This story was updated in 2023. In 1803, one of the first New England canals made Boston the undisputed commercial center of New England. Called ‘the Incredible Ditch,’ the Middlesex Canal allowed a barge to haul 30 tons of goods back and forth between Chelmsford (now Lowell) and Charlestown (now Boston). A horse and wagon could haul perhaps three tons over the rough roads of the era. Canal fever broke out in New England during the early 19th century with the opening of the Erie Canal, finished in 1825. The Erie Canal gave New York City an unbeatable advantage over other port cities, and a frenzy of canal-building broke out throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic States. New England states built dozens of canals, first to transport goods to seaports and then to power mills and factories. By 1840, there were 3,300 miles of canals in the United States. Today the canals are mostly gone, filled in, paved over or maybe declared a Superfund site. Some still function as recreational trails, waterways for pleasure boats or even sources of hydroelectric power. Here are six canals built in New England before the Civil War. If you know of other interesting canals, please mention them in the comments section below. Farmington Canal The Connecticut Legislature granted six canal charters to private companies, but only two – the Enfield and Farmington – were actually built. Beginning in 1825, Irish immigrants and farmers along the route dug the canal, four feet deep and 20 feet wide using handmade shovels, wheelbarrows and wagons. The private investors got no state help and struggled financially. It took 10 years to dig the canal, which began at New Haven, snaked through Granby and ended at the Connecticut River in Northampton, Mass. The laborers also built 60 stone locks along the 80-mile waterway. When the New Haven-to-Farmington leg of the canal opened in 1828, four African American boys rode gray horses that pulled a boat carrying 200 dignitaries sipping refreshments. For a while the towns along the canal prospered, as apples, butter, cider, and wood flowed south to New Haven; coffee, flour, hides, molasses, salt, and sugar headed north. In Plainville, Edna Whiting built a general store with doors opening onto the canal for dropoffs, which included the original Eli Terry clock weights. But heavy rains damaged the canal, which required repairs, and toll revenue covered only 20 percent of expenses. The Farmington Canal turned a profit in just one of its first 10 years, and canal operations were slowly phased out. Eventually the Farmington Canal owners sold the land to the New Haven and Northampton Company, which built a railroad that became the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The railroad was turned into a rail trail in the 1990s, and today the Farmington Canal Trail runs from downtown New Haven to Northampton, Mass. Cumberland and Oxford Canal Unlike Connecticut, Maine lawmakers decided the state should support a new canal from inland lakes to the Portland seaport. A state lottery raised $50,000 and a bank was chartered to provide the funds for the $206,000 project. The Cumberland and Oxford Canal, opened in 1832, connected the large lakes of southern Maine with Portland along the Presumpscot River. The 38-mile canal required 27 locks to reach Sebago Lake, 267 feet above sea level. Passengers paid a half cent to go through each lock. Barges carried lumber, firewood, masts, barrel hoops and apples from Maine’s forests and farms to the sea. From Windham, the Oriental Powder Company mills sent down the canal a quarter of the gunpowder used in the Civil War. When the railroad that became the Maine Central opened a station in Sebago Lake, the canal started its decline. A steamboat company continued to carry tourists between Portland and the Lake Region until the last steamboat Goodrich burned at its dock in 1932. Songo Lock is still in service for pleasure boats. Tours have been held along the old canal in Portland. Lowell Power Canals Lowell, Mass., contains the world’s largest system of canals that generate hydro-electric power, but they began as a modest transportation waterway in 1796. The Pawtucket Canal was built so New Hampshire logs could be hauled around the Pawtucket Falls in East Chelmsford, Mass., to shipyards in Newburyport, Mass. By 1806, the Middlesex Canal made the Pawtucket Canal irrelevant. In the early 1820s, associates of Francis Cabot Lowell (who had just died) gave new life to the Pawtucket Canal: They saw it could power textile mills instead of hauling canal boats. The subsequent canals that fed off he widened and deepened Pawtucket Canal created the City of Lowell. First the Merrimack Canal powered the Merrimack Manufacturing Co. Then waterpower from the Hamilton Canal was sold to other companies. Then the Northern Canal and the Moody Street Feeder increased the waterpower to the system. The canal owners finally built the Pawtucket Gatehouse to control flow from the Pawtucket Dam into the Northern Canal. Lowell’s six-mile canals are still there and working. They are part of the Lowell National Historical Park, established in 1978. For a map of walks along Lowell’s canals, click here. Amoskeag Canals Manchester, N.H., was a tiny town called Derryfield when industrialist Samuel Blodget declared, “For as the country increases in population, we must have manufactories, and here at my canal will be a manufacturing town, the Manchester of America!” It was 1807, and Blodget was as good as his word. He had gotten money from state lotteries in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1798, he broke ground on the canal, which ran parallel to the Merrimack River. Ten years later, the granite-lined canal was ready for business. Why a canal? It was nearly impossible to travel up the Merrimack River in New Hampshire. Between Chelmsford, Mass., and Concord, N.H., the river falls 135 feet, including a 54-foot drop at the Amoskeag Falls. The canal bypassed the falls through a series of locks. In 1810, the first textile mills were built along Blodget’s canal, then renamed the Amoskeag Canal. They used secondhand machinery bought from Samuel Slater, but it didn’t work well. In 1831 the Amoskeag Manufacturing Co. bought the land and water rights along the canal and built the enormous brick Millyard, which became a manufacturing powerhouse until the 1920s. A second canal was built one block east of the Amoskeag Canal along the length of the Millyard and parallel to the river. The two canals powered the mills. By the 1880s the mill owners switched to electricity and steam power (with disastrous results in 1891). The canals were paved over in the 1970s. One became Commercial Street, the other a railroad track. Today, the remains of two small canals sit at the top of Manchester’s Millyard near PSNH’s Energy Park. Blackstone Canal During the canal mania of the 1820, Providence merchants wanted to profit from trade with the farming communities near Worcester County and the Blackstone Valley. Until then, farmers sent their products by wagon to Boston. In 1823, shortly before the Erie Canal opened, Massachusetts gave a charter to the Blackstone Canal Co. Rhode Island soon followed. Irish immigrants dug the canal, a ditch next to the Blackstone River. In Providence, the Moshassuck River became the lower part of the canal. Benjamin Wright, the chief engineer, had supervised work on the Erie Canal and applied lessons learned to the Blackstone Canal. The 45-mile canal opened on Oct. 7, 1828, when the canal boat Lady Carrington arrived in Worcester. For the next 20 years, the canal brought prosperity to farmers, sparked the construction of textile mills along its banks and sustained the growth of Providence and Worcester. In 1847, the Providence and Worcester Railroad opened, putting the Blackstone Canal out of business the next year. Today, long sections of the canal belong to the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park in Massachusetts and the Blackstone River State Park in Rhode Island. Every summer in Providence, the Moshassuck and Providence rivers attract tourists to the WaterFire Festival. People light 86 fires in braziers anchored just above the waterline to the sound of world music. Pine Street Barge Canal In the 1860s, Burlington, Vt., ranked one of the busiest lumber ports in the United States, and the Lake Champlain waterfront near Battery Street ran out of room. City planners dreamed up the Pine Street Canal to expand the waterfront and allow the loading and unloading of canal boats. A breakwater was also built near the shore of Lake Champlain. The plan worked. Commerce flourished and factories sprang up along the Pine Street Barge Canal. Unfortunately, the factories also dumped toxic waste into the water. The U.S. government has designated the Pine Street canal, now a 38-acre polluted swamp, as a Superfund site – perhaps the only superfund site with four shipwrecks in it. At the canal entrance, surveyors found three construction barges from the mid-20th century and the mid-19th century schooner Excelsior. The brick factories that grew up around the Pine Street Barge Canal are now restaurants, an antiques mall and yoga studios. Images of canals: Farmington Canal By Staib (talk) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22646095; Pawtucket Gatehouse By Emw – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21042220. This story updated in 2022. It should be no surprise that New England’s stony soil should produce a goodly number of strange rocks. They have such nicknames as the Devil’s Footprint, the Narragansett Runestone and the Man-eating Stone of Glastonbery. Folktales grew up around some of New England’s strange rocks, like the one about the devil’s footprint in Maine. Scientific research explained some of the others, like the dinosaur tracks named the Connecticut State Fossil. In some cases, like the Mystery Stone of Lake Winnipesaukee, there has never been a satisfactory explanation for how they got that way. Here then are six strange rocks, one in each state, along with the stories that go with them. If you know of any others, please share them in the comments section. The Connecticut State Fossil In 1802, a Massachusetts farm boy named Pliny Moody came across dinosaur tracks in Holyoke, Mass. That was the first of many discoveries of dinosaur tracks in the sandstone of the Connecticut River Valley. Eubrontes is the name given to the footprint, not the dinosaur. Edward Hitchcock, the president of Amherst College, studied fossils in Holyoke, Mass., and gave them the name. He concluded, wrongly, the tracks were made by large birds. On Aug. 23, 1966, Edward McCarthy was bulldozing a path for I-91 in Rocky Hill, Conn., when he overturned a block of sandstone imprinted with six three-toed footprints. The land turned out to be a former lakebed riddled with dinosaur tracks, the largest in North America. Scientists confirmed the importance of the Rocky Hill dinosaur tracks, which are about a foot long. The highway was moved and the lake bed was designated a Connecticut state park. Scientists found about 2,000 of the three-toed tracks, which have been linked to the Jurassis-era Dilophosauris. The Connecticut Legislature designated the Eubrontes fossil as the official state fossil in 1991. Other state legislatures were doing the same around that time. They did so in Massachusetts (therapod tracks in Granby), Maine (Pertica quadrifaria,a plant, in Baxter State Park) and Vermont (Beluga whale skeleton in Charlotte). Dinosaur State Park, 400 West St., Rocky Hill Devil’s Footprint Next to the meeting house in North Manchester, Maine, lies a cemetery surrounded by a wall with a strange rock in it. The rock, in the corner of the wall, has three imprints said to be the devil’s footprints. One looks like a cloven hoof, the other two look human. Someone conveniently spray painted them red. There is a story that goes with the rock, which may or may not be true (probably not). Years ago, a crew of construction workers was clearing a path for Scribner Hill Road when they came upon a boulder that could not be moved. One of the workmen exclaimed he’d sell his soul to the devil to move the rock. The next day, the rock was moved and the construction worker gone. The devil left his footprints on the rock as a reminder of the deal. The North Manchester Meeting House, built in 1793, is still used as a church. 144 Scribner Hill Rd., North Manchester Dighton Rock Dighton Rock has mystified people since before the colonization of America. The rock is an 11-foot-high boulder covered with ancient petroglyphs of an unknown origin. It once rested on the shore of the Taunton River, but it now has its own museum (operated by appointment only) in Berkley, Mass., once part of Dighton, Mass. Visitors to the strange rock will be in good company as Cotton Mather, George Washington and dozens of scientists have attempted to decode the meaning behind the writing on it. Some theories: A message left by Norse explorers, Native American symbols and a message from God. So far no consensus exists as to the rock’s significance, and its meaning remains a mystery. Dighton Rock State Park, Bayview Ave, Berkley Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone Seneca Ladd was many things: Piano maker, carriage maker, mill owner, banker (He was one of the founders of the Meredith Village Savings Bank), amateur meteorologist, and geologist. New Hampshire’s Lakes Region well remembers his legacy. But his most unusual accomplishment remains a mystery. One day while workmen were digging on his property in Meredith sometime in 1872 or earlier they uncovered an egg-shaped object buried at a depth of two feet and encased in clay. The object, by far the smallest of our mystery stones, is a carved stone bearing markings that remain unidentified. Ladd himself thought his “egg” was Native American in its origins and he displayed it for the curious for much of his life. The egg still baffles scientists as to what exactly it is. Ladd’s daughter gave the object to the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1927, which then displayed it in its Museum of New Hampshire History in Concord. New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St., Concord Quidnessett Rock Quidnessett Rock, also known as the Narragansett Runestone, is a strange rock in North Kingstown, R.I., with a somewhat shaky pedigree. Rhode Island historians first paid attention to the 2.5 ton rock around 1984. The rock bears a series of unusual markings that some claim look like markings made by the religious sect known as the The Knights Templar. This faction claims the stone is a marker, probably documenting a land claim that dates to before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. However, Edward Brown of Providence came forward to clarify that he and his brother made the markings on the rock as young boys in 1964, though not as a hoax. They did it just for fun, he said. Others view the rock as a nuisance. A resident of Pojac Point in North Kingstown caused a kerfuffle when he lifted the rock and dropped it farther out to sea to slow the onslaught of visitors to the stone. After someone caught him he retrieved the stone, now on permanent display in Updike Park in the Village of Wickford. It makes as good an excuse as any for a trip to the charming village. Updike Park, 89 Brown St., Wickford Man-Eating Stone of Glastonbery Between 1945 and 1950, five people disappeared on Glastonbery Mountain, four without a trace: Middie Rivers (1945); Paula Jean Welden (1946); James Tedford (1949); Paul Jephson (1950); and Frieda Langer (1950). Rivers, an experienced hunter, knew the area. Welden, a Bennington College sophomore, disappeared while hiking the Long Trail. James Tedord, a veteran, vanished on a bus exactly three years after Paula Welden disappeared. Jephson, an eight-year-old boy, went missing from the family truck while his mother fed some pigs. And Langer disappeared on a hike near the Somerset Reservoir. Her body was then found seven months later in an area that had been carefully searched. In 2009, a writer named Joseph Citro suggested an explanation in his book, The Vermont Monster Guide: The man-eating stone of Glastonbery Mountain. In it, he wrote, “No one alive has seen this dangerous anomaly on Glastonbury Mountain. Native Americans knew of it, and warned people away. We can only imagine it as a sizable rock, large enough to stand on. But when someone stands upon it, the rock becomes less solid, and, like a living thing, swallows the unfortunate trespasser. A number of disappearances have been reported on Glastonbury Mountain. Could all these vanished folks have stepped inadvertently on this hungry stone?” Citro dubbed the area, part of the Green Mountains, the Bennington Triangle. Glastonbery Mountain, Glastonbery To read about the strange rocks that form mysterious stone structures of New England, click here. Images: Wickford, R.I., By Swampyank at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20433895; Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone By John Phelan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18574963; Green Mountains From the nek – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22873955. This story about strange rocks was updated in 2022. The gravesites of such revolutionary heroes as Paul Revere and John Adams are well known and well marked, but where are the revolutionary heroines buried? The New England Historical Society searched for the stories of courageous women willing to sacrifice for the patriot cause, and then for the their graves. In each state, we found at least one (and often more) heroine and her resting place. Each found a way to support the American Revolution, whether by spying, nursing, publishing and even fighting. Here, then, are six revolutionary heroines and their gravesites. If you know of another, please include it in the comments section at the end of this story. Hannah Bunce Watson Hannah Bunce Watson stepped in to run the pro-patriot Courant newspaper when her husband died suddenly of smallpox. The Courant was crucial to maintaining popular support in New England for the American Revolution, as the British had shut down all the newspapers in Boston. Plus, New York’s Loyalist newspapers printed nothing but pro-British news. Only the Courant could provide reliable news to patriots in the Northeast. Hannah already had plenty to do, with five small fatherless children. She knew little about printing but kept the presses running, even after Loyalists burned down the mill that supplied her paper. The British wouldn’t export paper to the colonies so Hannah persuaded the Connecticut Legislature to lend her money to rebuild the mill. For two years Hannah steered the Courant, publishing stories about battles, local news, analyses of colonial politics and criticisms of the British Parliament. Hannah Bunce Watson died in 1807 and is buried next to her third husband, Barzillai Hudson in the Old South Burying Ground in Hartford. The name on her gravestone is Hannah Hudson. Lucy Knox Of all the revolutionary heroines, Lucy Knox sacrificed the most for her husband. She defied her rich Loyalist parents in 1774 to marry Henry Knox, a mere bookseller. After the Battles of Concord and Lexington, she never saw or heard from her family again. Henry taught himself about war from his books. He famously brought artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston and forced the British to evacuate. He served as the second commander of the Continental Army, first secretary of War and founder of West Point. When Henry left for war, Lucy Knox begged to let her join him. He finally relented, and she stayed with him until he retired in 1794. Lucy was often pregnant, and only three of her 13 children survived to adulthood. She stayed with Henry during the brutal winter at Valley Forge. She cheered the cold and hungry officers with food, wine and sometimes dancing. Lucy and Martha Washington sewed socks and clothing for the soldiers. The two revolutionary heroines also tended to them when they took sick. Lucy and Henry Knox lived in borrowed or rented homes for the first 20 years of their marriage, finally settling in their own house, Montpelier, in Thomaston, Maine. Lucy Knox died in 1824 and is buried along with her husband in Elm Grove Cemetery in Thomaston. Deborah Sampson At five-foot-seven, Deborah Sampson was tall enough to pass as a boy in 1782. That was an advantage for a girl like Deborah who wanted to join the Continental Army and fight in the war for independence. Sampson’s father abandoned her after her birth in Plympton, Mass., in 1760. She grew up in indentured servitude. As a young woman, she taught school in Middleborough, Mass. Her first attempt at enlisting ended as a joke. She disguised herself, joined up and then apparently thought better of it after spending some of her enlistment pay on a drunken bender. In 1782 she tried again. Again disguised, she signed up for service in Uxbridge in the Massachusetts 4th Regiment as Robert Shurtlieff Sampson, her dead brother’s name. Sampson’s undercover act held, for the most part, throughout her 17-month service. She had a close call during a skirmish in Tarrytown, N.Y., when musket fire struck her head and legs. Fellow soldiers brought her to the hospital. Though she let a hospital doctor dress her head wound, she left the hospital before he treated her leg was treated. Fearing discovery, she removed one piece of shrapnel, but she couldn’t retrieve a second. It stayed with her for life. After a cold winter in which she suffered frostbite, Sampson received a promotion to serve as a waiter to General John Paterson in April of 1783. When she came down with a fever that summer, her doctor discovered her secret. But he kept it. His wife and daughters nursed Sampson back to health. With the war ended, Gen. Henry Knox honorably discharged her at West Point in October 1783. Upon returning to Massachusetts, she married Benjamin Gannett of Stoughton and raised four children. Sampson lectured about her adventures and sold a book about her experiences. But she did struggle financially, and didn’t get her military pension until 1816. After that, she lived comfortably until her death in 1827. Deborah Sampson Gannett is buried in Rock Ridge Cemetery in Sharon, Mass. Molly Stark Molly Stark is the best known of the revolutionary heroines because of the war cry uttered by her husband, Gen. John Stark. During the Battle of Bennington, Stark told his men: There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow! But Molly Stark made her own contribution to the revolutionary cause. Born Elizabeth Page on Feb. 16, 1737, she had been married for 17 years to Stark when the American Revolution broke out. They had 11 children. When her husband was camped near Fort Ticonderoga, smallpox broke out among his men. They were cold, hungry and disheartened. Molly Start sent a message to bring the sick home to her. She cared for some 20 patients, including her own children. She saved every patient, but she came down with the disease, which disfigured her for life. Elizabeth (Molly) Stark is buried in Stark Cemetery in Manchester, N.H. A brass cannon captured at the Battle of Bennington – called ‘Old Molly’ – is fired every year in New Boston, N.H. in her honor. Lucretia Allen Lucretia Allen, born in 1770, was easily the youngest of the revolutionary heroines. The oldest child of Judge John and Mary Allen, she lived in North Kingstown, R.I. Judge Allen staunchly supported the revolution and refused to help the British when they occupied Newport in 1776. He gave the patriots livestock and provisions, and wouldn’t let a Loyalist neighbor use his skiff to bring supplies to the British fleet. One cold morning in May 1779, the British came ashore to take care of Judge Allen. They drove off his livestock and marched him at the point of a bayonet to their vessels. Then they set his house on fire. Eight-year-old Lucretia, her mother and siblings fled in their nightclothes to a neighbor’s house. The children were shivering, so Lucretia ran back to her house as the British ransacked it. She faced them and asked for a blanket. A soldier tossed her a quilt. The British released Judge Allen, and he rebuilt his home. Lucretia Allen married Silas Allen and had three children. She died in 1810 and is buried in the Deacon George Allen Lot in North Kingstown (also known as Rhode Island Historic Cemetery North Kingstown #81). The cemetery is off Fletcher Road, deep in the woods behind the old Allen homestead at 415 Fletcher Road. Ann Story Ann Story’s heroics during the Revolutionary War earned her the sobriquet ‘Mother of the Green Mountain Boys.’ Newly widowed, Ann Story moved to West Salisbury, Vt., in 1775 with her five children. Tall and strong, she could handle an ax as well as a musket. When the Revolution broke out, Vermont got dangerous because Loyalists and their Indian allies harassed the patriots. Many Vermonters left their farms. Ann Story not only stayed, but offered to spy for the Green Mountain Boys. In one harrowing incident, Story and her children fled in a canoe while Indians burned their house. To hide from future attacks, the Story family dug a cave in the banks of the Otter Creek. One day, one of her sons discovered a pregnant woman lost in the woods. Indians had captured the woman, but left her behind when she couldn’t keep up. Ann Story took the woman in. Later, the newborn baby’s crying drew the attention of a Loyalist scout, Ezekiel Jenny. He demanded to know the hiding place of the Green Mountain Boys’ supporters. Story defied him. “I had no fears of being shot by so consummate a coward as he,” she recalled. Jenny continued on his way, and Story told the patriots the Loyalists were afoot. Local patriots tracked down Jenny and his scouting party, captured them and hauled them to Fort Ticonderoga. Ann Story later married Capt. Stephen Goodrich. She is buried at the Farmingdale Cemetery in Middlebury. Her headstone bears the name Hannah Goodrich. A second memorial marks her home site on Shard Villa Road, West Salisbury. It’s next to the Shard Villa Nursing Home, once the home of lawyer Columbus Smith. End Notes on Revolutionary Heroines Thanks to: History of Salisbury, Vermont by A.H. Copeland. You can read more about Ann Story here. To find the grave of Lucretia Allen: According to findagrave.com, the easiest access can be made through Chimney Rock Drive, with permission of the owner at 150. A pipe rail and granite post fence enclose the lot. Images: Stark Cemetery By AlexiusHoratius – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26455478; Lucretia Allen and Ann Story, artists’ conceptions. This story about the gravesites of revolutionary heroines was updated in 2018. In 1831, Prudence Crandall bought a large empty house in Canterbury, Conn., setting off a national controversy. She had the effrontery to educate an African-American girl. And then she educated only African-American girls. Prudence Crandall Prudence Crandall was a well-educated Quaker, born 28 years earlier on Sept. 3 in Hopkinton, R.I. Her father moved the family to Canterbury when she was 17 and sent her to the Friends’ Boarding School in Providence. She taught at a girls’ school before returning to Canterbury. Prudence and her sister Almira put $500 down and took out a $1,500 mortgage for the house on the town green. That fall, they opened the Canterbury Female Boarding School in the home. Things went smoothly until the next fall. A young woman named Sarah Harris, the daughter of a free African-American farmer nearby, asked to enroll so she could learn to teach other African Americans. Prudence Crandall admitted Sarah Harris. White parents immediately protested and took their girls out of the school. Prudence Crandall closed her doors — but then opened them immediately, admitting all African-American girls. She recruited students with an ad in William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator on March 2, 1833. She called it ‘Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color.’ By April 1, 20 African-American girls from Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia and Connecticut arrived at the school. The Black Law Prudence Crandall was excited by her mission to help young African-American girls, but not for long. Angry townspeople held meetings to figure out how to shut the school down. On May 24, 1833, the Connecticut Legislature passed the so-called ‘Black Law,’ which banned out-of-state African-Americans from receiving an education unless a town specifically allowed it. Prudence Crandall ignored the law and kept her school going. She was arrested and jailed for one night that summer. She fought legal challenges to her school with the help of wealthy abolitionist Arthur Tappan. The controversy became national news. Townspeople ostracized Prudence Crandall and her students. They closed their shops and meetinghouses to them, and refused transportation and medical treatment. They also poisoned the school’s well with animal feces and tried to prevent her from getting water elsewhere. On July 22, 1834 she won a court ruling. The townspeople of Canterbury responded by breaking windows. Then on Sept. 9, 1834 a mob attacked the house and tried to burn it down. Crandall closed the school the next day. Later Life and Legacy That summer, Prudence Crandall married the Rev. Calvin Phileo. They moved to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Illinois. As a widow she moved to Elk Fall, Kans., where she died on Jan. 28, 1890 at the age of 86. The Black Law was repealed in 1838. Four years before she died, the Connecticut Legislature at Mark Twain’s urging awarded her a $400 yearly pension. This story was updated in 2022.
834	dbpedia	1	27	https://bedforddepot.org/billerica-bedford-railroad/	en	Billerica & Bedford Railroad	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png	[ "http://bedforddepot.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/FBDPmast.jpg", "https://test.gilarde.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Ariel.jpeg", "https://test.gilarde.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BBticket.jpeg", "https://bedforddepot.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BBSchedule.gif", "https://test.gilarde.com/wp-content...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en	https://bedforddepot.org…icon-150x150.png		https://bedforddepot.org/billerica-bedford-railroad/	America’s First Two-Foot Common-Carrier Railway This overview of the Billerica & Bedford Railroad first appeared in the October 1996 issue of “Bedford Depot News,” the newsletter of the Friends of Bedford Depot Park. Bedford’s Two-Footer Was the Country’s First Researched by Friends of Bedford Depot Park August 31, 1877, was an exciting day in the towns of Billerica and Bedford, Massachusetts. People from near and far travelled to these rural communities to witness a novel engineering concept tested–one that promised to solve a local transportation problem and to do so relatively cheaply. The events of this Thursday would ultimately extend beyond local impact and have far-reaching effects throughout railroading. Let’s first set the calendar back to the 1830s, the onset of aggressive railroad building in our country. The upstart Boston & Lowell Railroad was at work, charting a route for a rail line between two important cities of commerce in the Commonwealth, Lowell and Boston. The town of Billerica laid in the path of the proposed new road–but, some inhabitants “feared and repelled” the coming of the iron horse. The B&L compromised upon a path through the town’s northern outskirts, bypassing Billerica Center. (This B&L line later came into the possession of the Boston & Maine Railroad as its New Hampshire Division. It is now owned and operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.) Now, let’s jump ahead four decades to the mid-1870s. The Boston & Lowell Railroad’s Middlesex Central subsidiary had recently extended rail service from Lexington Center to Bedford and Concord. Quickly, Bedford realized the social and economic advantages that come with direct access to modern transportation. Billericans took note of Bedford’s good fortune and came to regret their earlier decision to keep the railroad out. “What to do now, though?” How could Billerica’s residential, commercial and agricultural centers secure the transportation benefits which by this time were common in many other communities? That was the central question in 1875. Enter one George E. Mansfield of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Mr. Mansfield in 1875 was back from a trip to Wales where he observed the Festiniog Railway. This carrier used track of just 2 feet, 23-1/2 inches between the rails. (By contrast, most American railroads by this time had adopted the present standard gauge of 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches.) The Festiniog caught the fancy of Mansfield; he went on to build a small test track in his backyard to study the principles of a miniature-gauge railway. As luck would have it, around this same time he heard of Billerica’s transportation dilemma and thought the narrow-gauge idea just might be the answer. George Mansfield succeeded in convincing the authorities of Billerica that a railroad built upon a skimpy two-foot gauge was an ideal way to unite their town with the outside world. Proposed was an 8.63-mile rail line between the Boston & Lowell’s station in North Billerica and the Middlesex Central’s Bedford Station to the south. Mr. Mansfield’s chief argument for settling upon the two-foot gauge was that it would be relatively less expensive to build and to operate than one of a conventional size. This was so because the two-footer’s rail and ties are substantially smaller; less land is required for the right-of-way (just some 33 feet in width); the smaller rolling stock is cheaper to build; and the diminutive locomotives consume lesser quantities of coal. The Hyde Park promoter also succeeded in enticing the people of Bedford with the benefits of his plan–in particular, Dr. William R. Hayden, proprietor of the renouned hotel and resort, Bedford Springs. Dr. Hayden foresaw the economic advantages of a railway that stopped at his hotel. He became a strong advocate of the plan. When a corporation was chartered in 1876 to build and operate the new line, the Billerica & Bedford Railroad, Dr. Hayden was appointed to a committee to secure investments and George Mansfield was hired as the General Manager. The company quickly went about raising the projected $50,653 needed to build and equip the new road. The Town of Billerica subscribed to 120 shares ($12,000) in the new company. Several prominent members of the local citizenry of Bedford and Billerica also aided financially. Ground-breaking took place in South Billerica on September 6, 1876, with some 500 in attendance; but, it was at a public ceremony in Bedford on May 12, 1877, that construction formally commenced. Those first curious riders were able to answer for themselves a question that had earlier cast some doubt upon the narrow-gauge concept. There were some who felt that the rolling stock used on such a small track would “oscillate,” giving riders an uncomfortable ride or, worse, causing the cars to jump the track. To the delight of Mansfield and his associates, however, the mechanics of their little railway performed very well under the examination of the public and the state’s railroad commissioners. Over the next few months, work to complete the B&B progressed. Turntables to reverse the locomotives were established at Billerica and North Billerica. A wye, a car shed and an engine house were built at the Bedford terminus. Though it has been moved from its original location, the B&B Engine House has survived into the 1990s and is today rented out as a bakery on South Road. Construction cost overruns caused the company to become short on cash in the autumn of 1877. When all was said and done, the road’s total price had risen to some $71,000. To add insult to injury, certain of the stock subscriptions turned out to be unsound–Mansfield himself was on the list of delinquent shareholders. The B&B found itself strapped for cash. On at least one occasion, the railroad had difficulty in meeting the payroll of its construction workers. A labor stoppage resulted, temporarily, until management came up with the demanded money. The scarcity of capital also precluded the erecting of depots at any of the 11 stations between the termini. It seems that the trains simply stopped at marked locations along the route to discharge and receive passengers. For several months the B&B continued to operate while attempts were made to resolve the financial crises. Ultimately, the corporation’s assignees decided to liquidate the corporations’s assets in order to pay its bills. On Thursday, June 6, an auction was held at the railroad’s Engine House in Bedford. The successful bidder for the locomotives and cars was a Mr. Brown of New Hampshire. The price: just $9,000. In early 1879, a new company was chartered to buy back the narrow-gauge equipment and reopen the line. The charter called for a capital investment of $20,000, with the Town of Billerica taking $10,000, the Town of Bedford, $2,000, and the other $8,000 to be raised by individual subscription. At two Bedford Town Meeting sessions, a majority of votes were counted in favor of funding the initiative–but not the two-thirds majority as required by law. When the article came up a third and last time, the results were less favorable: a majority of 23 votes were against the measure. The Billerica & Bedford’s final flicker of hope had been extinguished–but this was not so for the two-foot gauge concept itself. That was proven a success. Even before the B&B trains made their last runs, the citizens of Farmington, Maine, were contemplating a local railroad of their own. Hearing word of this, Mansfield travelled north and promoted the two-foot idea there to anyone who would listen, just as he had done earlier in Billerica and Bedford. It may have been no coincidence, then, that after final efforts to save the B&B failed, the new Sandy River Railroad found a great bargain in buying the rolling stock and track of the now-defunct Massachusetts two-footer. George Mansfield transplanted himself to the Farmington area along with the locomotives and cars from Bedford. He was made General Manager of the Sandy River, the same position he held with the B&B. Once in the woods of Maine, the two B&B steam locomotives were converted to burn the abundant fuel source of their new surroundings, wood. The Sandy River Railroad went on to flourish for decades and even spawned other two-footers in the region. When the railroad ceased operating in the 1930s, it was purchased by the owner of a cranberry farm in South Carver, Massachusetts, and transported there. Not long afterward, Edaville Railroad was opened to the general public as an attraction and has since given generations a chance to experience firsthand an authentic two-foot railway. For much more about the Billerica & Bedford Railroad, see George Mansfield and the Billerica and Bedford Railroad by Donald L. Ball (2011), available at the Store.
834	dbpedia	1	70	https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/boston-north-station-ma-bon/	en	Boston, MA – North Station (BON) – Great American Stations	https://www.greatamerica…21-Glucksman.jpg		[ "https://www.greatamericanstations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GAS-logo-130.png", "https://www.greatamericanstations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/amtrak.png", "https://www.greatamericanstations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Boston-North-Station-2021-Glucksman.jpg", "https://www.greatamericanstations.com...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[]	null		en			https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/boston-north-station-ma-bon/	Boston-North Station is one of three Amtrak stations located within the city of Boston. It only serves the Downeaster, which links Boston with Brunswick, Maine, via Portland. During the fall, riders receive a dazzling show as the leaves outside their windows turn colors and produce a fleeting mosaic of rich oranges, yellows, golds, and reds. On portions of the journey, the train advocacy group TrainRiders/Northeast runs a host program in which volunteers assist customers on-board by doling out useful advice about the train and the stations and towns along the route. Travelers wishing to ride Amtrak routes heading south or west of Boston—Acela, Northeast Regional, and the Lake Shore Limited—must use either the South or Back Bay stations. Furthermore, there is no connecting service between North Station and the other Amtrak locations, so passengers must use either the subway or a taxi. North Station is conveniently served by two subway lines and numerous commuter rail routes. The current North Station is the third one by that name to occupy the northern edge of the Bulfinch Triangle in the North End neighborhood. Opened in 1995, the $100 million dollar complex is composed of a subterranean parking garage and ground-level rail station topped by a sports arena. Known as the TD Banknorth Garden, the stadium is home to Boston’s major league hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams. The train tracks cross the Charles River parallel to Interstate 93 and proceed a few hundred feet south where they then enter the structure. Canopies extend out from this covered area to further protect passengers as they walk up and down the platform to find their car. The stadium and station are contained in a modest rectangular building whose exterior is composed of a base of grey textured concrete masonry units upon which rise walls of precast concrete panels. Inside, the concourse is marked by bold signage, visible from a distance, in which each platform is announced by a large number contained within a circle. The passenger concourse, which was enlarged and renovated in 2006-2007 to better accommodate train and stadium foot traffic, also features cafes and seating areas. The original North Station was built slightly south of the present version in 1893, and it fronted directly on Causeway Street. As a union station, it served a number of railroads and precluded the need for each company to continue to build and keep up its own passenger and maintenance facilities. The primary financier of North Station was the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) which traced its origins to the Andover and Wilmington Railroad, chartered in 1833 in Massachusetts. The company also gained charters in New Hampshire and Maine, and by 1842 the lines in each of those states was merged into one entity. Through a calculated campaign of acquisition and consolidation in the second half of the 19th century, the B&M purchased or leased more than 47 regional short lines and competitors to become the dominant railroad in the far Northeast. Many of the railroads leading to Boston from the areas north and west of the city crossed the Charles River and built stations in the zone referred to as the Bulfinch Triangle. This bit of land, roughly bounded by Causeway, Washington, and Merrimac Streets, had originally been a wetland known as Mill Pond. Sometime in the early 18th century, a dam was built on the pond’s northern edge to harness the power of the tides in order to run mills located on its perimeter. Boston grew into one of the young nation’s principle ports and cities and by the early nineteenth century a proposal was put forth by Charles Bulfinch to fill in the wetlands to accommodate new urban development. Bulfinch, an early American architect who had completed work on the state capitol in the 1790s, laid out a proposed grid of streets in 1808 for the landfill area and eventually it was referred to by his last name. Much of the soil that was dumped into the Mill Pond came from nearby Beacon Hill, then undergoing much new construction, and Copp’s Hill. By the second half of the 19th century, four of the eight railroads entering Boston had erected depots in the Bulfinch Triangle. Along Causeway Street, the depots of the Boston and Lowell, Eastern, and Fitchburg railroads all stood in close proximity, and distinguished themselves from one another through differing architectural styles, including respectively the French Second Empire, Italianate, and Gothic Revival. Each depot featured at least one tower, a common design move in many Victorian-era stations. Those on the Fitchburg’s granite depot were crenellated and resembled a castle. Unlike its competitors, the B&M constructed its depot a few blocks south of Causeway Street on Haymarket Square. In keeping with the theme of creating individual identity, the depot was in the Greek Revival style and proudly displayed two-storey pilasters with elaborate capitals supporting a large pediment in whose center was a clock—an all important element for travelers trying to make a scheduled departure. The B&M leased the Eastern in 1884, thereby gaining sole control over the Boston-Portland route. A lease on the Boston and Lowell was obtained three years later, giving the B&M access to trackage into Vermont and Quebec. With these two contracts in place, the railroad could undertake a Union Station in Boston to unite these services under one roof. The B&M chose the local design team of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge which had taken over Henry Hobson Richardson’s practice upon his death in 1886. After completing many of Richardson’s final commissions, the firm diversified its portfolio and became prominent in the American Renaissance. Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge worked on Stanford University in the late 1880s and became heavily involved in the planning of the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. To construct the new station, the old Eastern terminal was demolished, as was the B&M depot on Haymarket Square. The Fitchburg station remained standing to the east for another generation, as that railroad was not leased by the B&M until 1900. Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge gave the B&M an imposing neoclassical station whose façade was dominated by a large triumphal arch that bore witness to the railroad’s power. Inspired by Roman precedents, it featured a round arch with a coffered ceiling that was roughly two storeys high and flanked on each side by two columns with Ionic capitals that sat upon bases of rusticated stone. The stonework continued on the archway façade, but the rest of the building was faced with cheaper brick. Arcaded wings six bays across spread out from the central arch and at their centers supported large clock faces. Sculptural medallions decorated the spandrels and were in the same color tone as the arch’s stonework and therefore provided unity across the principle façade. Beyond the arcades were the waiting rooms that received ample light from bands of clerestory windows; the concourse was similarly brightened by large skylights that dispelled the notion of dark and smoky train sheds so often associated with the era. The first North Station only stood for three decades before it was torn down for a larger station that included an arena above the ground floor waiting room and concourse. This innovative design was based on Madison Square Garden in New York City and was put forward by boxing promoter Tex Rickard who had overseen the construction of the New York City facility. To make way for the building, the Fitchburg depot was demolished in 1927; interestingly, one of its crenellated towers was purchased by a Boston lawyer who erected it near the shore at Truro on Cape Cod. The story goes that famous Swedish singer Jenny Lind once sang from the tower to her adoring fans; some claim that on nights when the moon grows full, a melodious voice can be heard in the tower’s vicinity. The new North Station and Boston Garden opened in 1928, and in keeping with the trends of the time, it was designed in the then-popular Art Deco style. Faced in buff brick, the Garden had two end pavilions with triangular parapets topped by tall spires. Between these pavilions, the façade was divided into seven bays, with each one dominated by a long rectangular, tripartite window framed by a decorative band of raised brickwork laid in a chevron pattern. The use of raised brickwork allowed a constant play of light and shadow across the façade that provided a sense of movement so essential to the Art Deco aesthetic. The brickwork reappeared in a zig-zag pattern at the ground floor segmented archways leading to the station areas, and at the cornice line. The Garden would host events of every kind over its seven decades, including sports games, political rallies, the circus and rodeo, musical concerts, and evangelical meetings. The station-arena complex closed in 1995 and was torn down in 1997 after the current TD Northbank Garden opened its doors. Boston is one of the most storied cities in the United States, and its history is entwined with the nation’s origins. The Shawmut Peninsula, upon which the city is situated, was originally connected to the mainland by only a narrow neck of land, surrounded by Boston Harbor and the Back Bay, an estuary of the Charles River. The peninsula had been inhabited by American Indians as early as 7,500 years before the Euro-American settlers arrived. The first settlement on the peninsula, begun by William Blaxton in 1625, was called Trimountaine due to the presence of three hills (only an abbreviated Beacon Hill remains today). In 1630, the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony signed an agreement with the English Crown and the Winthrop Fleet sailed to the New World, arriving in Boston by way of Salem and Charlestown. Trimountaine was renamed Boston on September 7, 1630 in honor of the town of Boston, Lincolnshire, from which many of the settlers came. The city grew to be the largest settlement in the American Colonies and remained so until the 1760s. In the next decade, Boston played a primary role in the American Revolution against Great Britain. Boston was the site of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and battles such as Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill. Thus, between revolutionary leaders coming from Boston and the citizen’s fight for rights, the city is sometimes styled the “Cradle of Liberty.” In the19th century, the city became one of the world’s wealthiest international ports, exporting products such as rum, fish, salt, and tobacco. Boston also developed as a major manufacturing center noted for garment production, leather goods, and machinery. By the mid-19th century, manufacturing overtook international trade to dominate the local economy. The many local streams and rivers not only allowed easy shipment of goods inland, but also provided power for mills and factories. For more than a century, the Bulfinch Triangle remained a vital section of Boston’s North End, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States that was settled by the city’s first residents in the 1630s. During the colonial period, it became a fashionable district with commercial ventures and wharves along the Charles River and the handsome abodes of upper class merchants and important civic buildings further inland. Two of the most famous structures remaining from this era are Old North Church and the home of Paul Revere. Most American school children recall Longfellow’s poem that reads: “Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch/Of the North Church tower, as a signal light,–/One, if by land, and two, if by sea.” It commemorates Revere’s hurried gallop to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of advancing British forces. Revere’s house, whose earliest parts date to about 1680, is now a museum dedicated to the silversmith and patriot. The North End welcomed waves of Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants who gained their foothold in America on its narrow streets. Many of the old colonial houses were converted to apartments or torn down and replaced by tenements. Irish laborers changed the shape of the city, working on projects to fill in the Back Bay and to construct bridges, tunnels, and highways across the city. Salem Street became known as the heart of the Jewish community, lined with Kosher butchers, tailors, and food shops. The various Italians who arrived from all parts of the peninsula settled in clusters that reflected their regional origins. The North End is currently thought of as “Little Italy,” and is a destination for a good Italian meal. Religious processions still take place throughout the year based on Italian regional saints; the festivities welcome all into the fold. During the mid-20th century craze for highways, the North End was physically cut off from the rest of Boston by the Central Artery, an elevated freeway that necessitated the bulldozing of the eastern half of the Bulfinch Triangle. In the 1990s, Boston began its “Big Dig” to bury the highway underground and reunite the North End to the revitalizing city. The highway’s path is still discernible through a series of popular parks and public spaces that have replaced the steel and concrete of old. Today, the Boston area’s colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and the region’s economy, with students contributing an estimated $4.8 billion annually. Boston’s long-held reputation as the “Athens of America” derives largely from the teaching and research activities of more than 100 colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area, such as Harvard, MIT, Boston College and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Tourism, healthcare, financial services, publishing, printing and four major convention centers also contribute to the economy, as well as its being the state capital and regional home of federal agencies. The Downeaster is financed primarily through funds made available by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.
834	dbpedia	3	86	https://www.jefftk.com/p/medford-branch-railroad	en	Medford Branch Railroad	https://www.jefftk.com/m…ch_route-big.png	https://www.jefftk.com/m…ch_route-big.png	[ "https://www.jefftk.com/medford_branch_route.png", "https://www.jefftk.com/medford_branch/medford_branch_1-tn.jpg", "https://www.jefftk.com/medford_branch/medford_branch_10-tn.jpg", "https://www.jefftk.com/medford_branch/medford_branch_2-tn.jpg", "https://www.jefftk.com/medford_branch/medford_branch_3-tn.jp...	[]	[]	[ "history", "trains", "transit" ]	null	[ "Jeff Kaufman" ]	null	When they were building the boston and lowell railroad in the early 1830s, railroads were very new. In choosing the route to lowell they made the decision to bypass medford square and instead go through the much less populated west medford, primarily because people didn't like how smoky, noisy, and loud railroads were and wanted to keep them away from people. The boston and maine railroad's boston	en			https://www.jefftk.com/p/medford-branch-railroad	When they were building the boston and lowell railroad in the early 1830s, railroads were very new. In choosing the route to lowell they made the decision to bypass medford square and instead go through the much less populated west medford, primarily because people didn't like how smoky, noisy, and loud railroads were and wanted to keep them away from people. The boston and maine railroad's boston to haverhill line, built a decade later, went through the middle of malden center, partly because by that time people had seen that having a railroad nearby could benefit them. The a branch railroad to connect medford center to boston and elsewhere via the haverhill line started as soon as the haverhill line was complete. It started as a separate company, but merged into the boston and maine almost immideately (started 1845, boston and maine advertising service on it 1847-03-01). By 1917, passenger service on the railroad was suffering, primarily because of competition from streetcars [1]. The medford end of the branch last saw significant traffic during the 1956-1963 construction of interstate 93 (the northern expressway), hauling large amounts of dirt to build up the embankment. [2] No provision was made for the branch to cross 93, and so at that point it must have been cut back, probably to park street station. [3] I've seen some maps that show rails to spring st, so it was probably cut back to there before being cut back to the present end at amaranth ave. The route looks like: On saturday, rick and I walked along the railbed, from pembroke st to park st and then from amaranth st to the fellsway. It was neat to see how the right of way, inactive for around 50 years, was still open, just back yards, pools, and gardens. Rick wanted to look at a bridge, where park st crossed the railroad, but there was just a small rise in the road as it crossed the railbed. Rick thinks they must have filled in the bridge recently; I couldn't tell. Possible orange line branch? Update 2012-03-27: Joe Mondello writes: I lived on Park Street in Medford (just down the street from the Park Street Station), and have been collecting several old postcards and photographs regarding this railroad. ... It's enjoyable to see that someone is interested in the history of this small section of railroad. I grew up when the tracks existed when Friend Lumber existed (I used to take the tracks when I went to Zayre's (a blast from the past!)). ... The Park Street Station was a club called "The Redskins" (basically a bar) in the 1980's, and converted to an elderly Health Care Facility now. He also sent in some pictures and maps: [1] Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 20, 1917 [2] railroad.net forums [3] There is a wonderful old railroad station on washington st between park st and dudley st: Looking at an aerial view, you can see the mostly empty right of way running in front of it: There was another station (in addition to medford square), glenwood station, near spring st, but I didn't see any sign of it.
834	dbpedia	3	69	https://historyofmassachusetts.org/lowell-ma-history/	en	History of Lowell, Massachusetts	https://historyofmassach…1868-rotated.jpg	https://historyofmassach…1868-rotated.jpg	[ "https://historyofmassachusetts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/History-of-Massachusetts-Blog-Banner-1.jpg", "https://historyofmassachusetts.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Lowell-Mass-illustration-published-in-Illustrated-History-of-Lowell-1868-rotated.jpg", "https://historyofmassachusetts.org/wp-content/uploads...	[]	[]	[ "" ]	null	[ "Rebecca Beatrice Brooks →", "Rebecca Beatrice Brooks" ]	2020-08-08T14:49:34-04:00	Lowell is a historic Massachusetts city located on the Merrimack River in Middlesex county about 30 miles north of Boston. Incorporated in the 19th century, Lowell was a mill town named after businessman Francis Cabot Lowell, inventor of a manufacturing system known as the Lowell System. Lowell Mass, illustration published…	en	https://historyofmassach…g-Logo-32x32.jpg	History of Massachusetts Blog	https://historyofmassachusetts.org/lowell-ma-history/	Lowell is a historic Massachusetts city located on the Merrimack River in Middlesex county about 30 miles north of Boston. Incorporated in the 19th century, Lowell was a mill town named after businessman Francis Cabot Lowell, inventor of a manufacturing system known as the Lowell System. Before it became a mill town, Lowell was home to Pawtucket and Pennacook Indians for thousands of years but their population was significantly reduced by an epidemic around 1619. The following is the history of Lowell, Massachusetts: 1605: On June 17, French explorer Sieur De Mont discovers the Merrimack River. 1617-1619: An epidemic significantly reduces the local Pawtucket and Pennacook population in the area. 1643: The Massachusetts General Legislature establishes the county of Middlesex. 1647: Reverend John Eliot makes a series of missionary visits to the Native-American villages at Pawtucket Falls and Wamesit Falls. 1652: Captain Simon Willard and Captain Edward Johnson visits the area and decides to create a settlement there. 1655: On May 29, the Massachusetts General Court incorporates the town of Chelmsford and the town of Billerica. To prevent the local natives from being displaced, Colonial authorities establish the Wamesit reserve, a tract of land, between the Merrimack and Concord rivers, for use by the Pennacook tribe. 1656: The Massachusetts General Court modifies and enlarges the boundaries of Chelmsford and the Wamesit Indian Reservation. 1660: The Massachusetts General Court modifies and enlarges the boundaries of Chelmsford and the Wamesit Indian Reservation for a second time. 1665: A ditch is dug to clearly mark the boundaries between the town of Chelmsford and the Wamesit Indian Reservation. 1669: Wannalancet, sachem of the Penacook Indians of Concord, NH, fears an impending attack by the Mohawk tribe so the Penacook rows down the Merrimack River to Wamesit and builds a fortified fort on the hill at Belvidere, now called Fort Hill. The white settlers shut themselves up in their garrison houses in anticipation of this suspected Mohawk attack. 1726: The village of Wamesit, which later became the center of Lowell, was annexed to Chelmsford. 1792: The Pawtucket Canal is constructed. A bridge is constructed at Pawtucket Falls. 1796: The Pawtucket Canal opens in East Chelmsford. 1803: The Middlesex Canal opens near Lowell. 1813: Phineas Whiting & Josiah Fletcher open a cotton mill on the Pawtucket Canal. Francis Cabot Lowell and associates establish the Boston Manufacturing Company. 1814: Francis Cabot Lowell establishes the first mill in Massachusetts in nearby Waltham. 1817: On August 10, Francis Cabot Lowell dies and Nathan Appleton and Patrick Jackson become the leaders of the company. 1821: The Boston Manufacturing Company decides to open another mill and choose Pawtucket Falls in Lowell as the location. On December 1, Appleton, Jackson, and several others establish the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. Thomas Hurd builds a new mill at Lower Locks that uses power looms. 1823: Merrimack Mills becomes the first major textile mill in East Chelmsford. 1824: St. Anne’s church is established. The first newspaper, the Lowell Daily Journal, is issued in Lowell. The Merrimack Manufacturing Company builds a school on Merrimack Street in East Chelmsford. 1825: The Merrimack Company’s Machine Shop is completed. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company is incorporated. The Middlesex Mechanics Association is incorporated. 1826: On March 1, the village of Wamesit in Chelmsford is incorporated as a town and it is named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell. The population of Lowell at the time is 2,500. 1827: The first Universalist Church is established in Lowell. 1828: The Lowell Manufacturing Company is incorporated. Appleton Manufacturing Company is incorporated. The Lowell Bank is incorporated. 1829: The Lowell Institute for Savings is founded. 1830: The Boston and Lowell Railroad is incorporated. The Lowell fire department is established. The Middlesex, Tremont, and Suffolk Manufacturing Companies are established. The population of Lowell is 6,477. 1831: The Lowell high school opens. Battle of the Stone Bridge takes place. The Lawrence Manufacturing Company is established in Lowell. The Railroad Bank is incorporated. 1832: The Lowell Bleachery is incorporated. 1833: The Lowell Irish Benevolant Society is founded. The Police Court is established. A poor farm is established in Lowell. On June 26, President Andrew Jackson and Vice President Martin Van Buren visit Lowell. On October 25, Henry Clay visits Lowell. 1834: On July 11, artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler is born in Lowell. The Lowell Mill Girls strike. The Belvidere Manufacturing Company is established. David Crockett, George Thompson, Michel Chevalier, and Daniel Webster visit Lowell. 1835: Lowell was connected with Boston, Nashua, Groton, and Lawrence by the Boston and Lowell Railroad. The Boot Cotton Mills is incorporated. The Tri-Weekly Courier is published. 1836: On April 1, Lowell becomes the third incorporated city in Massachusetts. The Lowell Mill Girls go on strike for a second time. The Lowell dispensary is founded. The population of Lowell is 17,663. 1837: The Market House is built on Market Street. 1839: The Massachusetts Mills are incorporated. The Whitney Mills are incorporated. On April 17, Mayor Luther Lawrence killed by falling into the Middlesex Mills wheel pit while showing visitors around his mill. John Street Congregational Church is established. 1840: The Lowell Corporation Hospital opens. The Lowell Museum is founded by dry goods merchant Moses P. Kimball. The population of Lowell is 20,981. 1841: The Lowell cemetery is established on Knapp Ave. The Vox Populi newspaper is established. Louis Bergeron and his family become the first recorded French-Canadian family to settle in Lowell. 1842: Charles Dickens visits Lowell. 1844: The Lowell streets are paved. The Lowell Female Labor Reform is founded. The Lowell city library opens. 1845: The Lowell Machine Shop is incorporated. The Daily Courier is published. 1846: The population of Lowell is 29,127. The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad. 1847: The Lowell Mill Girls donate clothing to the victims of the Irish famine. The city of Lowell raises $1990 for Irish famine relief. The Appleton Bank is incorporated. On Thanksgiving, the Northern Canal is completed. 1848: The Salem and Lowell Railroad is incorporated. On September 18, Abraham Lincoln visits Lowell. 1849: The Battle of Suffolk Bridge takes place. The Lynde Hill Reservoir is constructed by Locks And Canals Company in Belvidere . 1850: County Court House is erected. 1851: Centraville is annexed to Lowell. 1853: Belvidere Woolen Company is established. A strike at the Lowell Machine Shop. Huntington Hall is built. Wamesit bank is incorporated. 1854: Merchants Bank is incorporated. 1856: The Lowell jail is built. The Daily Citizen newspaper is published. 1860: The population of Lowell is 36,827. On March 30, Rhoda M. Wilkins dies of poison and Anna A. Dower is later charged with her murder. On June 19, Elizabeth A. Moore is murdered by Bryant Moore. 1861: The textile mills in Lowell sell off the remainder of their cotton supply and close down production. On April 19, the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment attempt to stop the Baltimore Riot. in Maryland and several soldiers are killed including two from Lowell, Luther Ladd and Addison Whitney. These soldiers are the first casualties of the Civil War. On April 20, the Soldier’s Aid Association formed, the first in the U.S. On September 24, Prince Jerome Napoleon and Princess Clotilde visit Lowell. On July 16, Nathan Appelton dies. 1863: The Lowell Horse Railroad is incorporated. On February 25, the Soldier’s Fair takes place. 1864: The First National Bank is established. On March 1, the Lowell Horse Railroad line opens. 1865: On June 17, a monument to Ladd and Whitney is dedicated. 1866: The Music Hall opens. 1867: St. John’s Hospital is founded. On July 4, the Statue of Victory is erected in Monument Square. The Old Ladies Home is established. On October 8, General Sheridan visits Lowell. 1868: St. Joseph’s Church is established to serve the growing French-Canadian community. Lowell holds its first celebration of St. Jean-Baptiste Day at St. Joseph’s Church. Cowley’s History of Lowell is published. Memorial Day is observed in Lowell for the first time. On December 4, General Ulysses S. Grant visits Lowell. In December, the Old Residents’ Historical Association is established. 1869: The Lowell Hosiery Company is incorporated. 1870: The United States Cartridge Company opens. 1871: A smallpox epidemic leads to the death of 178 Lowell residents. The Central Savings Bank is organized. The Fire Alarm Telegraph is established. The Framingham Railroad is established. On December 9, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia visits Lowell. 1872: The People’s Club is established. The Pawtucket Bridge is completed. The Water Works is established. 1873: The Lowell Morning Times is established. The Young Women’s Home is established. 1874: The first French-Canadian to be elected to public office in Lowell, Samuel P. Marin, is elected to the City Council. A fire at Wamesit Mills causes $40,000 worth of damage. The Grand Army of the Republic Hall is dedicated. The Pawtucketville and Middlesex Village are annexed to Lowell. The Kitson Machine Company is incorporated. The Lowell and Andover Railroad opens. 1875: The Knights of Pythias dedicate their new hall. King Kalakaua visits Lowell. 1876: The First Portuguese boardinghouse in Lowell opens. Lowell holds its semi-centennial celebration. On June 8, Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro visits Lowell. The Reform Club is established. 1877: The French Congregational Church is founded. The Shaw Stocking Company is formed. The J. C. Ayer Company is incorporated. 1878: The Lowell Sun newspaper is established. The Lowell Art Association formed. The First annual regatta of Vesper Boat Club is held. The Lowell District Telephone Company is formed. Charles Cowley’s History of the County of Middlesex published in the Middlesex County Manual. 1879: The Morning Mail newspaper is established. Dr. Moses Greeley Parker invents telephone numbers in Lowell. The United States Cord Company is established. 1880: United Cartridge Company recruits Swedish workers. The first Greek and Polish immigrants arrive in Lowell. Charles Stuart Parnell visits Lowell. Fire breaks out at Chase and Faulkner’s Mills. Armenians began settling in Lowell. The population of Lowell is 59,485. 1881: St. Jean Baptiste procession organized in response to growing anti-French-Canadian sentiment in Lowell. J. H. Guillet establishes the L’Abeille, the first Franco-American daily newspaper in the United States. The Electric Light Company is formed. The American Bolt Company is incorporated. 1882: The first Irish mayor of Lowell, John J. Donovan, is elected. On August 5, Central Bridge burns down. The Citizens Newspaper Company is incorporated. 1883: The St. Joseph’s School opens in Lowell, which is the first Franco-American school in the diocese. Erie Telephone Company formed in Lowell. The City Council vote to make City Library free, and to open a free reading room. The Aiken Street and Central bridges are finished. The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company is organized. 1884: The Pickering Knitting Company is established. 1885: The Naturalization Club is founded. Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church is constructed on Meadowcraft Street. The Lowell Day Nursery is established. The Taylor Street Bridge is completed 1886: The first issue of L’Etoile, a French-Canadian newspaper, is printed. On April 1, Lowell celebrates its semi – centennial of its incorporation as a city. Lowell Co-operative Association is organized. 1887: St. Jean Baptiste Church is founded. L’Union St. Joseph builds headquarters at 266 Dutton Street. Whittier Cotton Mills are incorporated. Pilling Shoe Company is established. Middlesex Safe Deposit and Trust Company is incorporated. The Lowell and Dracut Street Railway Company is chartered. 1888: The J. H. Guillet, Lowell’s first Franco-American lawyer, is admitted to bar. The Criterion Knitting Company is incorporated. 1889: The New Opera House opens. On July 17, the Horse Railroad Stable burns with 117 horses and 31 cars inside. On August 15, President Benjamin Harrison visits Lowell. Thorndike Manufacturing Company is organized. 1890: The Lowell Board of Trade is established. The corner stones of new City Hall and Memorial Hall are laid. An armory is built on Westford Street. The Dracut Strike takes place. The Lowell Trust Company is organized. The Public Market and Packing Company is incorporated. The First Russian Jews arrive in Lowell. Typhoid epidemics break out in Lowell. 1891: The Lowell General Hospital is established. Greek immigrants begin working in the Lowell textile mills. The Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company is incorporated. A Grand reception for three Civil War generals, Nathaniel P. Banks, Daniel Sickles, and Benjamin Butler, is held. The cornerstone of the Odd Fellows Building is laid. The Post Office on the corner Appleton & Gorham is constructed. 1892: The Swedish Methodist Church is established. The Highland Club House is built. On January 11, General Benjamin Butler dies and his body lies in state at Huntington Hall before being buried at Hildreth Cemetery. The Saint Joseph’s Roman Catholic College for Boys is constructed on Merrimack Street. 1893: On June 3, Memorial Hall is dedicated. A French-Canadian High School for boys is established. On October 14, the New Lowell City Hall is dedicated. The Electric Trolley System in Lowell is established. The Consumers’ Brewing Company is incorporated. The Moody School is dedicated on Rogers Street. The Associate Building is completed. The Merrimack Croquet Company, Courier-Citizen Company and Fifield Tool Company is incorporated. The L’Union Franco-Americaine is established. The Courier-Citizen Corporation is founded. 1894: Lowell State Teacher’s College is established. The Lowell chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution is established. The Middlesex Women’s Club is established. The Vesper Country Club is established. 1895: The Lowell Technical Institute is established. 1896: The Merrimack Woolen Mills Company is incorporated. The new Lawrence Street Railroad bridge is completed. The Grace Universalist Church is dedicated on Princeton Boulevard. On March 2, the Merrimack River floods. 1897: The State Normal School is completed. In January, the Lowell Textile School opens. The Moody Street Bridge and new County Court House are completed. 1899: The Lowell Manufacturing Company is sold to Bigelow Carpet Company. The O’Sullivan Rubber Company is established. The Sons of Montefiore Synagogue is constructed on Howard Street. 1900: A tuberculosis epidemic breaks out in Lowell. 1901: St. Casimir’s Church is constructed on Church Street. 1902: The Anshe Sfard Synagogue is constructed on Howard Street. The Ohabe Shalom Shul (“Litrac Shul”) is established by Lithuanian Jews at 63 Howard Street. In May of 1902, the Lowell Historical Society is established. 1903: The Lowell textile mills lock its workers out in anticipation of a strike. A Typhoid epidemic breaks out in Lowell. 1904: The Holy Trinity Polish Roman Catholic Church is established. The St. Louis de France parish is established in Centralville. 1905: The Boott Mills is reorganized. Lowell Chapter of the Polish Falcons is formed. 1907: The St. Stanislaus School is established. 1908: St. Anthony’s church is constructed on Central Street. The Greek Holy Trinity Church is constructed on Lewis Street. The Notre Dame de Lourdes parish and grammar school is established in Highlands. The Franco-American orphanage is established. 1910: The Dom Polski (Polish National Home) Club is established. 1912: The A. A. Johnson & Co. cigarette factory opens. On April 29, former President Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft visit Lowell. 1916: The Bigelow Carpet Company leaves Lowell. 1918: The Middlesex Company ceases production. The Spanish Flu epidemic reaches Lowell. 1919: The St. George’s Antiochian Orthodox Church is established. 1920: Local and Federal agents arrest various Lowell residents are arrested in Lowell during the Red Scare Eamon de Valera visits Lowell. 1922: On March 12, Jack Kerouac is born in Lowell. In September, the Lowell Memorial Auditorium is dedicated. 1923: The Transfiguration Church is established. The St. Jeanne D’Arc Church is established in Pawtucketville. The Laganas Shoe Manufacturing Company opens on Market Street. 1926: The Suffolk Mills is sold. The Lawrence Manufacturing Company is sold. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company ceases production. 1927: Temple Beth-El is established. Temple Beth-El purchases The Highlands Club and establishes a congregation in the upper Highlands. The Appleton Manufacturing Company relocates to the South. The Massachusetts Mills is sold and ceases production. The Tremont Mills ceases production. 1928: The Greek Holy Trinity Church is occupied by dissidents and a fight breaks out on the church steps. The Saco-Lowell Shops ends production in Lowell. 1930: St. Joseph’s Hospital is established. 1931: St. Marie’s Parish in South Lowell is established. 1933: After prohibition is repealed, the Harvard Brewery resumes brewing beer. Workers at the Laganas Shoe Company go on strike. 1935: The electric street cars in Lowell are taken out of serve. 1936: The Great Flood of 1936 takes place. The city of Lowell celebrates its centennial. 1940: The population of Lowell is 101,389. New wave of Greek immigrants flock to Lowell due to war in Greece. 1941: Louis Vergados leads a strike at the Boott and Merrimack Mills. 1946: Prince macaroni begins production in Lowell. 1950: The population of Lowell is 97,249. Jack Kerouac’s novel Town and the City is published. The Wannalancit Textile Company moves into the former Suffolk Mills. 1951: On October 16, President Harry Truman has a whistle stop speech at The Depot. On October 21, Dwight Eisenhower has whistle stop speech at The Depot. 1956: The Boott Mills close. 1957: Joan Fabrics purchases its first factory in Lowell. 1958: Merrimack Manufacturing Company ceases production. 1960: The population of Lowell is 92,107. The Merrimack Mills is demolished. The Merrimack Valley Textile Museum is established. 1963: On August 30, actor Michael Chiklis is born in Lowell. 1964: Ellen A. Sampson becomes the first woman Mayor. 1965: On October 4, professional boxer Micky Ward is born in Lowell. 1970: The population of Lowell is 94,280. 1974: Lowell Heritage State Park is established. 1975: University of Lowell is established. Vietnamese immigrants arrive in Lowell. The population of Lowell is 91,177. 1976: The Lowell Historical Society publishes Cotton was King, the first general history of Lowell in over fifty years. 1978: The Lowell National Historical Park was established. 1979: Cambodian and Laotian immigrants arrive in Lowell. Benjamin Butler’s mansion at 333 Andover street is demolished. 1980: The population of Lowell is 92,418. 1981: The Wannalancit Mills close. 1982: The Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center opens. 1985: The first annual literary festival “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac” is held in Lowell. Lowell’s first Buddhist temple is founded. The Grace Shoe Company, last major shoe factory in Lowell, closes. 1986: The New England Quilt Museum is established. 1987: Major fire in the old Lawrence Manufacturing Company Mill. 1988: The Jack Kerouac Commemorative is dedicated on Bridge Street. 1989: A fire breaks out in the Lawrence Manufacturing Company buildings. 1991: The University of Massachusetts’ Lowell campus is established. 1992: The Boott Cotton Mills Museum opens. 1996: St. Peter’s Church on Appleton Street is torn down. 1997: The American Textile History Museum opens in Lowell. 1998: President William Clinton visits Lowell to attend a fundraiser. 2000: The population of Lowell is 105,167. 2001: Former President George W. Bush visits Lowell for MCC Celebrity Forum. 2008: The movie Invention of Lying is filmed in Lowell. 2009: The movie The Fighter portraying Lowell native Micky Ward is filmed in Lowell. 2010: The population of Lowell is 106,519. 2013: The Richard P. Howe Bridge on University Avenue is completed. 2015: Cambodian Refugee Monument is installed at Lowell City Hall. 2016: The American Textile Museum closes. Sources: Cowley, Charles. History of Lowell. Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1868. “Timeline.” Lowell Historical Society, lowellhistoricalsociety.org/Timeline “An Industrial History of Lowell, Massachusetts for secondary schools.” Open BU, Boston University Libraries, open.bu.edu/handle/2144/8105