Boston and Maine Railroad

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The Boston and Maine Railroad ( BM , also B&M ), from 1964 to 1983 as the Boston and Maine Corporation , is a former railroad company in the northeastern United States of America . It was headquartered in Boston (Massachusetts) and existed as an independent company from 1835 to 1983. The main axis of the railway ran from Boston to Portland (Maine) . In the course of its history, Boston & Maine took over numerous branch and parallel railways on this route, including some competing companies. Most of the company's lines had a gauge of 1435 millimeters ( standard gauge ), only the line of the former Profile and Franconia Notch Railroad was built in 914 mm gauge, but was later partially re-gauged.

Since 1983, B&M has belonged to Guilford Transportation , whose rail operations were spun off as Pan Am Railways in 2006 . The transportation to Boston is from since 1973. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates the remote passenger transport on the main routes Boston-Portland and Springfield - White River Junction leads the Amtrak through.

history

Development of the Boston – Maine axis

Bascule bridge over the Mystic River near Boston

In the early days of the railroad, the more densely populated areas were first opened up. The sparsely populated Maine was still completely without a railroad connection in 1833. In order to open up at least the more densely populated southwest of the state, plans were made in the mid-1830s to build a railway line parallel to the coast from Boston to Portland. As early as March 15, 1833 , the Andover and Wilmington Railroad had been founded, which built a short link from Wilmington to the existing route of the Boston and Lowell Railroad to Andover and opened in 1836. This railway was renamed the Andover and Haverhill Railroad with a change in the construction goal on April 7, 1837 . The rail line reached Bradford in 1837. Finally, with the start of further construction in the direction of Maine on April 3, 1839, the name was changed to Boston and Portland Railroad . However, the company only had a concession for the approximately 20 miles long section of the line in the state of Massachusetts , which was completed in 1840.

In New Hampshire the Boston and Maine Railroad of New Hampshire was founded on June 27, 1835 , which from the beginning only served as a link between Boston & Portland in Massachusetts and a railway company to be founded in Maine and the New Hampshire section of the Boston main line –Portland should build. This date is considered to be the hour of birth of Boston & Maine. It opened the line from the border to Exeter in 1840.

Finally, in Maine, the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was founded on March 30, 1836. You should extend the route from the border with New Hampshire to South Berwick first .

From the three names of the companies the ultimate goal of connecting the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine emerged. For this reason, the three railways merged with effect from January 1, 1842 to the Boston and Maine Railroad . The rest of the route to Agamenticus went into operation on February 2, 1843. The section from there to Portland had already opened at the end of 1842 the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad as part of their main line Portland - Portsmouth .

After a dispute over the right to use the Boston – Wilmington line, B&M decided to build its own line on this section. For this purpose, B&M founded the Boston and Maine Extension Railroad on March 16, 1844 , which was incorporated into Boston & Maine on March 19, 1845. The Reading line opened on July 1, 1845, and the Wilmington-Wilmington Junction link closed in 1848. This section was later reopened by Boston & Lowell.

In order to better connect the city of Lawrence to the main line, Boston & Maine moved their main line between North Andover and Ballardvale a few kilometers to the west in 1848 . The old route was closed.

In 1873 Boston & Maine opened its own route between South Berwick and Portland, which ran via Kennebunk , Saco and Old Orchard Beach .

Takeover of branch and competing routes

The Medford Branch Railroad , founded on March 7, 1845, planned to connect the place Medford (Massachusetts) to the Boston & Maine. The small company was bought in 1846 by B&M, which opened the 2.91 kilometer branch line north of Boston the following year.

The Eastern Railroad , the eastern competitor on the way from Boston to Maine, had completed its route from Boston to Portsmouth and also operated a rail link to Maine via the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad (PSPR). Boston & Maine then signed a joint leasing agreement with Eastern for PSPR, which took effect on April 28, 1847. Until the takeover of the Eastern Railroad by Boston & Maine on December 23, 1883, the two companies operated the 82.5-kilometer Portsmouth – Portland route together.

With the Danvers Railroad on May 1, 1853, the Newburyport Railroad on February 21, 1860, the Dover and Winnipiseogee Railroad on November 1, 1863, the West Amesbury Branch Railroad on January 9, 1873, the Lowell and Andover Railroad on December 1 1874 and the Kennebunk and Kennebunkport Railroad on May 15, 1883, six smaller companies were leased in the following years, which together operated about 134 kilometers of routes.

In the years that followed, more and more rival companies and larger branches in New Hampshire and Vermont were taken over. At the end of 1883, as mentioned, the Eastern Railroad started. On January 1, 1886, the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad followed , whose 152 km long railway line connected Worcester (Massachusetts) with Rochester (New Hampshire) .

The Boston and Lowell Railroad , with which Boston & Maine already had disputes in the 1840s, could be leased on April 1, 1887, including the railways leased by this company itself. The contracts with the Central Massachusetts Railroad , Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad , St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad were transferred to B&M. The Boston, Concord & Montreal split off on September 19, 1889 and merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad . Boston & Maine leased this company again on April 1, 1895. The leasing contract that Boston & Lowell had with Northern Railroad for 99 years had initially not been transferred to B&M. The extensive network west of Concord (New Hampshire) could not be taken over until January 1, 1890 .

In the meantime, the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad was leased for 50 years from June 1, 1887, and the York Harbor and Beach Railroad was taken over in the same year . At the beginning of 1893, the Connecticut River Railroad , which operated the main line between Springfield (Massachusetts) and White River Junction , also went to Boston & Maine. In the same year, the Orchard Beach Railroad was affiliated.

Route map of the B&M from 1898

The Boston and Maine Railroad received a second connection to Portland on New Year's Day 1900 when it acquired the Portland and Rochester Railroad . The eight-mile long line between Rochester and Portland had been a major competitor for traffic to Maine.

The Fitchburg Railroad , which was leased on July 1, 1900, represented the westernmost branch of the B&M network. The route went from Boston to Albany (New York) and ran through the Hoosac Tunnel , a 7.6 km long railway tunnel through the Hoosac Range , which was the longest mountain tunnel in North America until 1928 and is still the longest outside the Rocky Mountains to this day . The route through the tunnel was one of the first electric railways in North America from 1911.

In the early 20th century, Boston & Maine also acquired a majority stake in the Maine Central Railroad , which operated an extensive rail network in Maine and New Hampshire. This gave the B&M almost a monopoly in New England. However, this company remained largely independent.

The Boston and Maine Railroad itself was briefly taken over by JP Morgan , the owner of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , around 1910 . However, since the shareholders of B&M revolted against it, the takeover of control could soon be reversed. Due to financial difficulties, Boston & Maine had to be reorganized in 1919 while retaining the name, which was taken as an opportunity to finally take over the leased companies.

The end of the railway company

In 1925, Boston & Maine sold the Wells River - Sherbrooke line , which had come into their possession through the takeover of Boston & Lowell, to the Quebec Central Railway , which was later taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway . The last expansion of the route network took place in 1949 with the purchase of the Springfield Terminal Railway , which continued to exist as a subsidiary as Springfield Terminal Co.

After the goods and passenger transport had already declined sharply from the 1930s, Boston & Maine stopped long-distance passenger transport in 1966. Only the mass transit around Boston was preserved with the help of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which acquired vehicles and the mass transit routes around Boston in 1973.

On March 27, 1963, the Boston and Maine Corporation was founded as a new railway company, into which the Boston & Maine Railroad merged on April 30, 1964. Following the general trend in the rail industry, the Boston & Maine Railroad also founded a holding company on May 31, 1968 with the Boston and Maine Industries Inc. This was intended to open up the possibility of investing in other industries beyond the control of the regulator, the Interstate Commerce Commission. I By June 1969, the holding company had already acquired 80% of the preferred shares and 95% of the common shares in the railway company.

On April 24, 1970, the B&M had to file for bankruptcy and was led by three judicially appointed insolvency administrators. Since the participation in the railway company was now largely worthless for the holding company, all shares were transferred to the insolvency administrator in 1977. The bankruptcy proceedings lasted until 1983. At the end of the corporate reorganization, 3,000,000 new common shares were issued and the old shares were declared invalid. After the financial renovation, the lines and signal systems were modernized and new rail vehicles were leased. Ultimately, Guilford Transportation Industries acquired the troubled company in 1983 for only $ 24 million. Due to labor law conflicts based on existing agreements, Guilford Transportation decided in 1986/1987 to lease all of its routes and operations to the Springfield Terminal Railway , which had less stringent agreements. From this point on, the entire Guilford Transportation network operated as ST Rail Systems . In 2001, Amtrak opened an express train connection ("Downeaster") between Boston and Portland with four daily trains in each direction on the tracks of the former Boston & Maine. In Portland, however, the trains do not end at Union Station, the city's former central station, but at a new station at Thompson's Point on the former MEC route to Vermont, where you can also change to the long-distance bus to Bangor .

In addition, the Vermonter travels once a day on the route of the former Connecticut River Railroad (Springfield – White River Junction).

Boston and Maine Industries

Boston and Maine Industries was founded on May 31, 1968 as a holding company for the railroad company. In contrast to many other holding companies in the railway sector, the railway company did not have enough financial resources or tax write-offs to invest in other branches of the economy on a large scale.

In early November 1969 the company merged with the California real estate company United Continental Development Corporation (UCDC) founded in 1968 (Gerald M. Bronstein, Richard S. Gunther, Irving S. Kalsman). The UCDC received 48% of the shares in Boston & Maine Industries and thus took control of the company. The aim was, among other things, to use the tax refunds accrued from the rail company's losses for other investments. Due to the bankruptcy of the railway company in 1970, the plan to generate further income from its sale failed. Subsequently, the company was renamed Bomaine Corporation in 1971 and later became a subsidiary of UCDC. Therefore, only a few small holdings in the automotive supplier sector were acquired. The Bomaine Corporation acquired a stake in the home textile manufacturer Brentwood Originals in 1978, with which it later merged.

Richard J. Mulhern (also president of the railway company) was president of the company until April 1, 1970 , and from then on Gerald M. Bronstein. From 1969 he was also Chief Executive Officer. The investment banker Burt Kleiner was Chairman of the Board until April 1, 1970. He had also organized the merger of the two companies.

Misfortunes

On January 6, 1853, the express train from Boston to Lawrence derailed at a speed of 40 miles / h when an axle broke at Andover. Three passenger coaches fell down the embankment and broke. The baggage car and the locomotive remained on the track bed. Among the three dead was the twelve-year-old son of the future US President Franklin Pierce . First it was reported that the politician himself was killed because he was on board the train. However, he survived with severe bruises.

In the early morning of September 15, 1907, a head-on collision of an express train from Quebec to Boston with a northbound freight train occurred due to human error six kilometers north of Canaan, New Hampshire . The express transported the guests of a trade fair back south and was accordingly overcrowded. 25 people died and many more were seriously injured. As there was fog that day, the express was delayed. As a result, a dispatcher moved the train crossing to West Canaan, but incorrectly stated "Canaan", whereupon the express passed through West Canaan and collided with the freight train that had received the correct station. Boston & Maine then renamed the West Canaan train station "Pattee".

statistics

In fiscal 1909/10, net sales were approximately $ 12.8 million. 47.3 million passengers and 22.8 million tons of goods were transported. On June 30, 1910, the company had 1,133 locomotives, 1,826 passenger cars (of which 285 were baggage cars and 34 mail cars), 25,195 freight cars and 999 other vehicles.

President

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credentials

  1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999, page 28.
  2. ^ Addendum to corporate history of Boston and Maine Railroad System 2011 by Frederick N. Nowell, III
  3. ↑ http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct06/W03.pdf (PDF)
  4. ↑ http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct06/P55.pdf (PDF)
  5. ^ 1 Nov 1968, 17 - Dayton Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  6. ↑ 13 Jul 1969, 68 - Oakland Tribune at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  7. ^ Official Summary of Security Transactions and Holdings Reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 . United States Securities and Exchange Commission., 1970 ( google.de [accessed on May 6, 2019]).
  8. ↑ 5 Nov 1969, 67 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  9. ^ Addendum to corporate history of Boston and Maine Railroad System 2011 by Frederick N. Nowell, III
  10. ↑ 25 Sep 1969, 14 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  11. ↑ 23 Jun 1978, 79 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  12. ^ 2 Apr 1970, Page 64 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
  13. ^ Poor's Manual of Railroads, 44th Annual Number. Poor's Railroad Manual Co., 1911, p.11.
  14. ^ Poor's Manual of Railroads, 44th Annual Number. Poor's Railroad Manual Co., 1911, p. 9.

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

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