The Boston and Maine Railroad, The Route Of The Minute Man
The largest of the New England railroads, the Boston and Maine Railroad is synonymous with the region and for over 170 years now has served it well, albeit today the B&M survives as an affiliate of Pan Am Railways (which was previously known as the Guilford Rail System). Stretching throughout New England the B&M reached from Portland, Maine to Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts (and even Albany, New York). At one time the railroad reached almost 2,000 miles in length and connected to railroads such as the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H), Maine Central Railroad (MEC) and New York Central (NYC). Today, over 1,000 miles of the B&M continues to carry on under the Pan Am Railways banner.
The Boston and Maine Railroad has its beginnings in the summer of 1835 and would connect its namesake city with Portland, Maine (thus where its name comes from). The formation of the B&M came about from the mergers of several smaller lines, which would assume the Boston and Maine banner. These included such names as the Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts Railroad; Boston & Lowell Railroad; Eastern Railroad; Worcester, Nashua & Portland Railroad, Northern Railroad; Connecticut Railroad; Concord & Montreal Railroad; and Fitchburg Railroad. Through these mergers, by the early years of the 20th century the B&M had grown to its largest length, over 2,000 miles, which reached the markets of (aside from Portland and Boston) northeastern Vermont and northern New Hampshire, most of Massachusetts and western New York (basically most of New England).
The growth of the B&M was a result of a heavily industrialized Northeast which existed for many years until following WWII when businesses slowly began to move away (most notably from the 1960s through the 1980s). During this time the B&M was a very profitable railroad and while never a large operator of passenger trains did run commuter services with its more well known named trains including the Ambassador (Concord, New Hampshire to White River Junction, Vermont), Alouette (Boston and Wells River, Vermont), Green Mountain Flyer (Bellow Falls, VT to Montreal via Canadian National Railway and the Rutland Railroad), and the lightweight streamliner Flying Yankee a near identical sister to the famous Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's Zephyr 9900.
Like most Northeastern carriers, following WWII (and especially the latter 1950s) the Boston and Maine Railroad began to see profits drying up and it did not help any that during the late 1950s and early 1960s the railroad had a president unable to effectively manage the railroad (one problem of which was deferring maintenance and allowing the railroad to deteriorate to critical conditions). It was almost inevitable then that the B&M went bankrupt on February 1, 1970 (a time period when almost all of its surrounding competitors were throwing in the towel as well).
Miraculously, however, it was able to avoid inclusion into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), which began operations on April 1, 1976. A new president kept this from happening whose name was Alan G. Dustin. Dustin rescued the railroad from the brink and through aggressive management, marketing, and sound railroading the B&M began to once again see black (which, considering the Northeast rail grid during these years its amazing the railroad was able to accomplish such a feat).
Now a successful regional railroad operation it’s not surprising that someone would be interested in purchasing the B&M. After recently emerging from its 1970 bankruptcy, the Boston and Maine Railroad was purchased by Timothy Mellon, founder of Guilford Transportation Industries in 1983. Mellon’s new railroad system included a black livery with a bright orange trim and white lettering and sub-lettered his equipment to the owning railroad (such as the Maine Central, Boston & Maine, and Delaware & Hudson). Today the D&H is no longer part of the system and Guilford would later change its name to Guilford Rail System and even it no longer exists as its name was dissolved in 2006 in favor of parent Pan Am Systems’ Pan Am Railways. Today the Boston and Maine Railroad is still officially on the books although it survives now mostly in name only and it is unlikely the railroad will ever be spun off from the Pan Am system.
The Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division
Model Type
Road Number
Date Built
Quantity
GP38-2
201-212
1973
12
GP40-2
300-317
1977
18
SW8
800-807
1953
8
SC
1103-1108
1936-1938
6
SW1
1109-1132
1939-1953
24
NW2
1200-1213
1941-1949
14
SW9
1220-1231
1952-1953
12
BL2
1550-1553
1948
4
GP7
1555-1577
1950-1953
23
GP9
1700-1749
1957
50
GP18
1750-1755
1961
6
E7A
3800-3820
1945-1949
21
E8A
3821
1950
1
FTA
4200A-4223A
1943-1944
24
FTB
4200B-4223B
1943-1944
24
F2A
4250-4264, 4224A-4226A
1946
18
F2B
4224B-4226B
1946
3
F3A
4227A-4228A
1948
2
F3B
4227B-4228B
1948
2
F7A
4265-4268
1949
4
F7B
4265B-4268B
1950
4
"Flying Yankee" Trainset
6000
1935
1
Fairbanks Morse
Model Type
Road Number
Date Built
Quantity
P12-42
1-2
1957-1958
2
General Electric
Model Type
Road Number
Date Built
Quantity
44-Tonner
110-119
1940-1948
10
U33B (Ex-Penn Central)
190-192
1968
3
Boston and Maine Railroad Steam Locomotive Roster
For a more complete roster of Boston and Maine Railroad steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving B&M steam locomotives please click here.
Class
Type
Wheel Arrangement
A-13 Through A-47
American
4-4-0
C-3 Through C-21
Ten-Wheeler
4-6-0
D-2
Saddle Tank
0-4-4T
E-1-a/b
Saddle Tank
2-6-4T
F
Switcher
0-4-0/0-4-0T
G
Switcher
0-6-0
H-1 Through H-3
Switcher
0-8-0
J-1
Atlantic
4-4-2
K
Consolidation
2-8-0
L-1
Twelve-Wheeler
4-8-0
M-1
Articulated
2-6-6-2
M-2
Articulated
0-8-8-0
N-1
Mikado
2-8-2
P-1 Through P-5
Pacific
4-6-2
R-1
Mountain
4-8-2
T-1
Berkshire
2-8-4
Notable Boston and Maine Railroad Passenger Trains
Day White Mountains: (New York - Berlin, New Hampshire)
Green Mountain Flyer: (Boston - Montreal)
The Gull: (Boston - Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Kennebec: (Boston - Portland - Bangor)
Minute Man: (Boston - Troy, New York)
Montrealer/Washingtonian: (Washington - Montreal)
Mountaineer: (Boston - Littleton/Bethlehem, New Hampshire)
Pine Tree: (Boston - Portland - Bangor)
Red Wing: (Boston - Montreal)
State of Maine: (New York - Portland)
For more on the B&M you may want to consider Boston & Maine Trains and Services from author Bruce Heald. The book is 128 pages in length and not only offers a well-written history of the Boston & Maine system itself but also goes into detail (to some extent) of the overall growth of the New England railroad industry from its earliest beginnings to the "golden age" of the region. Also from Mr. Heald, you may want to consider Boston and Maine Locomotives, which gives a general history of the railroad's motive power from early steam locomotives to its final diesel models. If you have any interest in the B&M you will likely find either book quite interesting. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.
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