Billerica and Bedford Railroad

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Billerica & Bedford Railroad
Steam locomotive Ariel of the Hinkley Locomotive Works
Steam locomotive Ariel of the Hinkley Locomotive Works
Billerica and Bedford Railroad line
Route

George E. Mansfield (1876-1877) Map of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg

Original drawing of the route
Gauge : 610 mm ( 2 foot track )
Minimum radius : 319.6 feet = 97.4 m

In the Gleisdreieck:

127 feet = 38.7 m
Railway station, station - across
Boston and Lowell Railroad
   
North Billerica Junction
   
Nasons
   
Salem Road
   
Billerica
   
Boston Road
   
Nuttings Pond (Nutting Lake)
   
South Billerica
   
Cliffs
   
Bedford Springs
   
Oak Hill
   
Spring Street (Springs Road)
   
Main Street (Great Road)
   
Bedford Junction
   
Middlesex Central Railroad

The Billerica & Bedford Railroad was a 1877 put into operation narrow gauge railway in Middlesex County from Massachusetts . It is considered to be the first publicly operated narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 610 mm (2 feet ) in the United States .

history

George E. Mansfield, of Hazelwood , Massachusetts , loved the 2-foot narrow-gauge railway after seeing the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales operating and building the experimental Sumner Heights and Hazelwood Valley Railroad at his home . He convinced the people of Billerica of the economy of a narrow-gauge railroad and became General Manager of the Billerica & Bedford Railroad when it was founded in 1876.

Construction began in May 1877 and the line between North Billerica and Bedford was completed in August 1877 over a distance of 13.9 km (8.63 miles). The line was built very cheaply according to the narrow-gauge railway concept, but quickly got into financial difficulties. There were turntables at each end of the railroad, and in Bedford there was also a triangle and an engine house, but no stations were built along the line. The company went bankrupt and was liquidated in June 1878.

Mansfield was a staunch advocate for 2-foot narrow-gauge railways in Maine , which eventually became the largest network of these narrow-gauge railways in the United States at the time. The rail vehicles were then used on the Sandy River Railroad .

The Boston and Lowell Railroad used most of the route when they moved their standard-gauge branch line to Lexington in May 1885 . The Boston and Maine Railroad took over the route in 1887. Stops on the route were Bedford, Springs Road, Bedford Springs, South Billerica, Turnpike (Nuttings Lake), Billerica, Bennett Hall and North Billerica (only the station buildings in Bedford and North Billerica are still standing ). Passenger traffic was discontinued on December 31, 1931 and the route was henceforth only used as a freight railway until the section from Bedford Depot to Billerica Depot in 1962 and the remaining route from Billerica Depot to Bennett Hall were abandoned around 1980.

Locomotives and wagons

The two locomotives were named after William Shakespeare's elementals Ariel and Puck . As intended, they were used with the tender facing forward in order to achieve smoother running.

Surname photo Manufacturer design type Construction year Factory number Remarks
Ariel 'Ariel' steam locomotive built by Hinkley Locomotive Works of Boston for the Billerica and Bedford Railroad, 1877.png Hinkley Locomotive Works 0-4-4T Forney locomotive 1877 1251 became Sandy River Railroad # 1
puck Steam locomotive 'Puck' of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Hinkley Locomotive Works 0-4-4T Forney locomotive 1877 1261 became Sandy River Railroad # 2
Sylvan    Passenger car of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Ranlet Manufacturing Company Passenger cars 1877 became Sandy River Railroad # 3
Fawn Combine car of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Ranlet Manufacturing Company Passenger and baggage cars 1877 became Sandy River Railroad # 4
A. Box car of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Ranlet Manufacturing Company closed freight wagon 1877 became Sandy River Railroad # 2
B , C Excursion car of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Ranlet Manufacturing Company Excursion car 1877 converted to Sandy River Railroad luggage cars # 1 and # 3
D to I Flat car of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad.jpg Ranlet Manufacturing Company Flat car 1877 sold to Sandy River Railroad , later converted into closed freight cars

literature

  • Donald L. Ball: George Mansfield and the Billerica and Bedford Railroad , Aubrey Publishing, 2012, IBAN 978-0615593715

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. George E. Mansfield (1876-1877): The Billerica and Bedford Railroad.
  2. ^ The first two-foot gauge railroad: The Billerica & Bedford Railroad of Massachusetts, 1877. Also available as a PDF file.
  3. a b c d e f g Linwood W. Moody: The Maine Two-Footers . Howell-North, 1959. pp. 50-53.
  4. a b c d e f Robert C. Jones: Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years) . Sundance Books, 1980. pp. 350 and 355.
  5. a b c d e H. Temple Crittenden: The Maine Scenic Route . McClain Printing, 1976. p. 19.