Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad (BRB & L) was an American railroad company based in Massachusetts. The company, founded in 1874, linked Boston with Revere Beach , Lynn and Winthrop . In 1940 the company was liquidated.
history
Local entrepreneur Alpheus Blake founded the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad on May 5, 1874. The 914.40 mm (3 foot) track led along the recreation area on the Atlantic beach of Massachusetts Bay from East Boston to the emerging industrial estate of Lynn. In East Boston there was a company-owned ferry service to Rowes Wharf in Boston.
The 14.2 kilometer East Boston – Lynn route opened on July 22, 1875. In Eastern Boston there was a ferry connection to Rowes Wharf in Boston. Mainly Mason- type locomotives were used . The dimensions of the passenger cars corresponded to those for the standard gauge. The operation was successful and it was possible to capture a market share from the competing Eastern Railroad. July 1, 1891, the Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad was taken over. There was now a connection to Winthrop and Point Shirley . In 1896 there was a fire in the locomotive shed in which most of the locomotives were badly damaged.
In 1911, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad tried to take over the company. The plan was to re-gauge the line to standard gauge and electrify it. The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad had some of the highest traffic volumes in the United States at the time. In 1914 over 7 million passengers were carried. That is why the company was working on its own electrification plans to increase the efficiency of the line. In particular, the short distances between the stops and the high train frequency were unsuitable for steam operation.
In 1919 and 1920 the company had to post losses due to high operating costs. The incipient competition from car traffic and bus routes also made itself felt. From the mid-1920s, the company was back in the black. In the mid-1920s, more than 13 million passengers were carried annually. In 1927 a New York engineering company took control of the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad. Immediately thereafter, the company's lines began to be electrified with 600 volts direct current for 1.4 million dollars. The work was carried out by General Electric and began in April 1928. The bridges for the overhead line were built at a distance of around 90 meters. Local power plants supplied the electricity to the rectifier stations using 2 kV and 1 kV lines. These were in Lynn and Orient Heights. 60 of the 96 passenger cars were converted into railcars. A bogie was fitted with two GE-295A electric motors. In addition, the cars received driver's cabs, multiple controls and the necessary electrical equipment. After completing the construction work, a steam locomotive drove as scheduled for the last time on December 2, 1928. Electrification has shortened travel times between the two endpoints by 10 to 15 minutes.
As a result of the global economic crisis that began in the following year, the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad also got into financial difficulties. In 1934 the Sumner Tunnel was opened between Boston and East Boston. This made it possible for the Bostonians to more easily reach the destinations previously only served by the BRB & L by car or bus. In the same year a law was passed in the Massachusetts Parliament, under which the Boston Elevated Railway should receive the right to purchase the route. This law was not passed, but acquired the Boston Elevated tram routes to Revere, becoming a direct competitor of the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad.
In 1937 the BRB & L finally had to file for bankruptcy. After the elevated railway that served the ferry in Boston was discontinued in 1938, the company finally applied for the line to be closed in July 1939. The trains and the ferry ran for the last time on January 27, 1940. The company was dissolved on July 19, 1940.
Part of the track bed between East Boston and Revere has been used by the Blue Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority since 1952 .
Steam locomotives
| number | Surname | Manufacturer | design type | Construction year | Retirement | Factory no. | comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1' | ORION | Mason Machine Works | B'2 ' | 1873 | 1888 | 508 | to Nantucket Railroad as no. 1 Sconset sold |
| 2 ' | PEGASUS | Mason Machine Works | B'3 ' | 1875 | 1896 | 549 | scrapped after the fire in Winthrop Junction (Orient Heights) |
| 3 ' | JUPITER | Mason Machine Works | B'2 ' | 1875 | 1896 | 550 | Leased to the Boston, Winthrop & Shirley Railroad in 1883, scrapped after the fire in Winthrop Junction (Orient Heights) |
| 4 ' | MERCURY | Porter Bell & Company | 1'B | 1876 | 1896 | Leased to the Boston, Winthrop & Shirley Railroad in 1878, scrapped after the fire in Winthrop Junction (Orient Heights) | |
| 5 ' | LEO | Hinkley Locomotive Works | 2 B | 1876 | 1240 | sold to the Brown Company of Florida | |
| 6 ' | DRACO | Mason Machine Works | B'2 ' | 1876 | 1885 | 559 | scrapped |
| 1'' | Hinkley Locomotive Works | 2 B | 1879 | 1901 | sold to the Nantucket Railroad as No. 1 | ||
| 4 '' / 7 | Mason Machine Works | (1'B) 3 ' | 1882 | 1904/1929 | 683-684 | 4 '' after the fire in Winthrop Junction in 1896 (Orient Heights) scrapped in 1920 at ALCo, scrapped in 1929 |
|
| 8th' | Mason Machine Works | (1'B) 2 ' | 1883 | 1900 | 692 | scrapped | |
| 5 '' | Mason Machine Works | (1'B) 2 ' | 1885 | 1929 | 720 | Rebuilt in 1917, scrapped in 1929 | |
| 6 '' | Mason Machine Works | (1'B) 2 ' | 1886 | 1929 | 727 | Rebuilt at ALCo in 1920, scrapped in 1929 | |
| 9-10 | Mason Machine Works | 1'B2 ' | 1887 | 1929 | 740-741 | scrapped | |
| 11-12 | Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company | (1'B) 2 ' | 1890 | 1929 | 981-982 | Rebuilt in 1917/1920, scrapped in 1929 | |
| 2 '' / 3 '' | Manchester Locomotive Works | (1'B) 2 ' | 1899 | 1929 | 1707-1708 | scrapped | |
| 8 '' / 13 | Manchester Locomotive Works | (1'B) 2 ' | 1900 | 1929 | 1741-1742 | scrapped | |
| 14th | ALCO Manchester | 1'B2 ' | 1902 | 1940 | 25872 | scrapped | |
| 1 '' '/ 15 | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1903 | 1929 | 27801-27802 | scrapped | |
| 4 '' ' | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1904 | 1929 | 30125 | scrapped | |
| 16 | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1905 | 1929 | scrapped | ||
| 17th | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1906 | 1929 | 39054 | scrapped | |
| 18th | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1907 | 1928 | 42268 | crashed into Boston Harbor in 1928 | |
| 19-21 | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1907 | 1929 | 42741-42743 | scrapped | |
| 22-23 | ALCO Manchester | (1'B) 2 ' | 1912 | 1929 | 50830-50831 | scrapped | |
| 24-26 | ALCO Schenectady | (1'B) 2 ' | 1914 | 1929 | 54590-54592 | scrapped |
Ferries
| Surname | Construction year | origin | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| union | 1875 | acquired from the New Bedford-Taunton Railroad | Scrapped in 1899 |
| Oriole | 1876 | acquired from the Providence, Warren and Fall River Railroad | 1878 sold to the Washington Railroad in Lunder |
| City of Lynn | 1878 | manufactured by the Bath Iron Works | In 1918 it was converted into a sand barge |
| Swampscott | 1882 | made by DD Kelly & Son | Sold to Portland in 1908 for ferry services to Peaks Island |
| Dartmouth | 1889 | built in East Boston | Shut down in 1939 |
| Ashburnham | 1905 | built in Boston | Sold in 1940 |
| Brewster | 1906 | built in Boston | Sold in 1940 |
| Newtown | 1908 | built in Boston | Delivered to Portland in 1940 |
literature
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads . 2nd Edition. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5 .
- William D. Middleton : When the steam railroads electrified . 2nd revised edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN 2001, ISBN 978-0-253-33979-9 (American English).
- Robert C. Stanley Narrow Gauge - The Story of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad . Boston Street Railway Association, 1980