Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) is a former railroad company based in Massachusetts , New Hampshire and Vermont ( United States ). It existed as an independent company from 1830 to 1887 and under the management of the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1918. Today, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates the main line of B&L between Boston and Lowell as the Lowell Line .
history
founding
The town of Lowell, founded only four years earlier, was granted town charter in 1826 after numerous textile factories had settled there. The city grew rapidly - in 1830 there were already more than 6,000 inhabitants - and the desire for a fast connection to the nearby port city of Boston soon arose. Until the railway was built, the goods had to be transported via the Middlesex Canal or the country road. Since the capacities of these transport routes were quickly exhausted and the first American railroad, which had opened in 1826 near Quincy south of Boston, had proven itself well, the manufacturers from Lowell decided to also build a railroad. Unlike the model in Quincy, however, it was to be operated from the outset with locomotives that could be imported from England.
Initially, the operators of the Middlesex Canal were reluctant to face the threat of competition, but the government could not help admitting that a railroad could run all year round and allow far higher capacities, while the operation of a canal was weather-dependent. So on June 5, 1830, the interest group received approval to build a railroad between Boston and Lowell and, at the same time, approval to establish the Boston and Lowell Railroad , which was completed three days later. The contract included a 30-year transport monopoly, which prevented other companies from building railways between the two cities. The population and industry resident along the route acquired large shares in the company, which enabled the construction to be financed quickly.
Construction of the trunk line
In order to save construction costs and later travel time, attempts were made to build the route as flat as possible and with few curves. As a result, the cities of Medford and Woburn could not be directly connected. Medford was later connected to the railroad network by Boston & Maine, and Woburn by the Woburn Branch Railroad . The opening of the standard-gauge Boston – Lowell railway took place on June 24, 1835. The terminus in Boston was on the western corner of today's North Station . In Lowell, the terminus was on Merrimack Street. Intermediate stops were not introduced until 1842, which increased the total travel time.
For cost reasons, a granite track bed was used to build the initially single-track line, which caused the wagons to run very unevenly due to the lack of flexibility. After a few years, people were forced to install wooden sleepers in order to increase driving stability. At the same time, the entire line was expanded to double tracks by 1841.
Overload of the trunk line
In 1836 the Andover and Wilmington Railroad opened a branch line to Andover , which branched off from the B&L main line in Wilmington. This branch was the nucleus of the trunk line of the Boston and Maine Railroad , which ran to Portland from 1843 . Between Boston and Wilmington this company used the route of the Boston & Lowell. Since the traffic density on this section was very high, the Boston & Maine trains had to wait a long time in Wilmington to be able to go on the route to Boston. Boston & Maine soon decided to build its own line to Boston parallel to B&L. In court, Boston & Lowell failed to sue for its guaranteed monopoly, as this only applied to the transport between Boston and Lowell, but not to parts of it. In 1845 the Boston & Maine opened their route via Reading and closed the connection route at Wilmington shortly afterwards. In 1874, Boston & Lowell built its own route to Wilmington Junction station on a route a little further to the east , as this gave them a shorter connection to the Salem and Lowell Railroad , which was acquired in 1858 , and which crossed the Boston & Maine route there. This link was initially called the Wilmington Branch, but is now called the Wildcat Branch .
Acquisition and construction of further routes
The Woburn Branch Railroad , founded on March 16, 1844, built a branch line from Winchester to Woburn, which opened in 1844. At the same time, B&L took over the company and operated the route as a Woburn Branch . On April 23, 1847, B&L founded the Woburn Branch Extension Railroad , which was supposed to connect the line from Woburn to the north with the main line again. However, the route was not opened until 1885. In Woburn a 1.06 kilometer long freight line branched off to Horn Pond , which was built by the Horn Pond Branch Railroad founded on May 7, 1852 and opened in 1854. The operator was Boston & Lowell from the start. On this route, B&L only transported ice that was extracted from Horn Pond in winter. In 1919 the Horn Pond branch was shut down.
In 1858, B&L leased the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad , which had operated the Salem and Lowell Railroad in addition to its main line to Lawrence . With the Stoneham Branch Railroad , another branch line connected to the main line was opened in 1862 and initially leased in equal parts by the B&L and the Nashua and Lowell Railroad (N&L). It was not until 1870 that B&L bought this train. In the same year she also acquired the Lexington and Arlington Railroad and then built a new link from Somerville to this railway. The Middlesex Central Railroad opened the western extension of this line to Concord in 1873 and was leased by B&L at the same time. The final takeover took place in 1883.
With Nashua & Lowell, which is connected to the main route of B&L to the north, a cooperation agreement was initially concluded with effect from April 1, 1860 for joint operation of the entire route, and finally B&L leased the N&L on October 1, 1880 for 99 years. At the same time, B&L took over the lease agreements that the N&L had concluded under its own management with the Stony Brook Railroad , the Wilton Railroad and the Peterborough Railroad . In 1882, B&L acquired half of the Connecticut River Railroad's shares . The other half was initially acquired by Concord Railroad , but B&L leased this share from July 1, 1884 to December 1, 1885.
The competition with Boston & Maine took on grotesque characteristics in the late 1870s. In order to get direct access to the city center of Lawrence and not have to use the B&M route, Boston & Lowell built a bridge over the Merrimack River and a new terminus for their Lowell – Lawrence route . Both new buildings were opened in 1880. In 1874 Boston & Maine had opened their own route to Lowell.
The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad (BCMR) had extended a route from Concord to the north and built a continuous connection to Woodsville . The Northern Railroad of New Hampshire operated the Concord – White River Junction (Vermont) route. The Concord and Claremont Railroad had a line from Concord to Claremont and a branch line. On June 1, 1884, B&L leased these three companies and also took over the existing leasing agreement with BCMR with Pemigewasset Valley Railroad and the existing agreement with Northern with Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad .
In 1885, the B&L built a line from Billerica to Bedford , connecting the main line with the line of the former Middlesex Central. The line was partly on the track bed of the narrow-gauge Billerica and Bedford Railroad, which was closed in 1878 . In the same year, B&L leased the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad , a year later, on October 1, 1886, the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and finally, on January 1, 1887, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad in Vermont and the Massawippi Valley Railway in Quebec, with which Boston & Lowell expanded its operations to Canada.
The end of Boston & Lowell
After the user fees from Boston & Maine were discontinued, revenue from the route fell suddenly. In addition, the textile industry in Lowell produced less and less. The new acquisitions further weakened the company's financial strength. On April 1, 1887, the Boston and Maine Railroad finally leased the company for 99 years. She took over the management on October 11th of that year. On November 26, 1918, the companies finally merged.
In 1973 the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority acquired the former B&L trunk line Boston – Lowell and has operated passenger services on this route ever since. On 15 December 2001 for the first time launched the " Downeaster ", an express train Boston Portland of Amtrak , the Wilmington Junction to use the route of the former B & L. Most of the branches of Boston & Lowell are now closed. In addition to the Boston – Lowell line, the northern extension of this line to Nashua, the former Lowell and Andover Railroad , the former main line of the BCMR between Concord and Plymouth and the Nashua – Bennington section of the former Connecticut River Railroad are in operation.
Route network
At the time when operations were transferred to Boston & Maine on October 11, 1887, Boston & Lowell operated the following routes:
Sources and further information
- literature
- Edward Appleton (Massachusetts Railway Commissioner) History of the Railways of Massachusetts ( transcribed as HTML ). Bulletin No. 1 - The Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc., 1871.
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
- Web links
- Page of the current operating company (English)
- Side of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (English)
- Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society (English)
