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77-513: Until 1959, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) operated commuter service along its Western Route from Haverhill and Reading to Boston. In 1959 the section from Reading to Wilmington Junction became freight-only, and Haverhill commuter trains as well as intercity service from New Hampshire and Maine were rerouted over the Wildcat Branch and the lower Lowell Line . Salem Street stop on

154-575: A $ 3 million project to repair the bridge. However, traffic on the bridge was still under heavy speed restrictions, with one freight train at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) or two passenger trains at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) allowed. In 2010, the state applied for $ 110.8 million in federal funding to replace the bridge, but the request was denied in May 2011. In December 2011, the state received $ 10 million in TIGER stimulus funds to aid in rehabilitation of

231-409: A groundbreaking was held in May 2010 with completion then estimated for February 2012. Due to funding issues and construction delays, the work was not finished in 2012. By late 2013, a 1,300 feet (400 m) stone wall at Andover station had been replaced, along with a century-old culvert, as part of drainage improvements. Construction of the track and crossovers was partially complete; the signal system

308-452: A layover yard (to replace the undersized Bradford layover) and a new station. Funding was available, and Plaistow was potentially interested, but wanted to better understand the potential drawbacks of being the location of the layover station. By August 2010, both states said that they were close to reaching a deal that would allow trains to operate over the proposed expansion. Plaistow residents voted down one extension possibility in 2012, but

385-613: A line between Worcester , Massachusetts , and Rochester , New Hampshire , via Nashua . The W&N leased the N&;R in 1874, and the two companies merged into the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1883. The B&M leased the line on January 1, 1886. This acquisition also included the continuation from Rochester to Portland , Maine , incorporated in 1846 as the York and Cumberland Railroad . It opened partially in 1851 and 1853,

462-669: A new alignment was built from Wilmington north to North Andover, Massachusetts in order to better serve Lawrence, Massachusetts . A new alignment to Portland opened in 1873, splitting from the old route at South Berwick, Maine . The old route remained a part of the Eastern Railroad 's Main Line (described below). This completed the B&;M "main line", which would become known as the Western Route Main Line. As

539-544: A non-operating ward of PAR. Boston & Maine owned the property (and also employed its own railroad police), while Springfield Terminal Railway , a B&M subsidiary created by owner Timothy Mellon to break the unions' higher wage scales, operated the trains and performed maintenance. Pan Am Railways and all its subsidiaries are now owned by CSX. Pan Am entered a joint venture with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in April, 2009 to form Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR transferred to

616-701: A number of named passenger trains , which were often the premier intercity service on their routes. Most were through service that were shared between the B&M and other railroads, including the Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), Central Vermont Railway (CV), Maine Central Railroad (MEC), New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH), Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Quebec Central Railway (QC), and Rutland Railroad (RUT). Trains originating in New York City or Washington, D.C., ran through Springfield (using

693-447: A passenger carrier. After steady growth from 1901 to 1913, passenger rail ridership around Boston peaked in 1920 and began to decline due to competition from private automobiles and service cuts during World War I. In the mid-1920s, after several difficult years, the B&M discontinued service on some marginal lines and began using small self-propelled railcars on others. A second round of discontinuances occurred from 1931 to 1936 as

770-651: A rebuilt Bradford station at a cost of $ 2.2 million. It was built without an environmental evaluation process in violation of state law; not until 1992 did complaints from residents prompt the MBTA to belatedly start the process. Because of its proximity to the Bradford residential neighborhood, the noise and diesel fumes from the layover have prompted continued complaint from residents. In 2008, Massachusetts entered negotiations to buy property in Plaistow, New Hampshire for

847-738: A second route to Maine, ending competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland. Along with the Eastern, the B&M also acquired many branch lines, including the Conway Branch , the Saugus Branch , the South Reading Branch , and branches to Marblehead and Rockport , Massachusetts. The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was organized in 1845 (opened 1848) and the Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1847, forming

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924-473: A single entity. The B&M operated the whole MBTA Commuter Rail system under contract to the MBTA until 1987. The final B&M line to lose passenger service was the Woburn Branch (former Woburn Loop), which was cut on January 30, 1981, due to poor track quality. Under public control, commuter rail service has returned to several lines cut by the B&M, and Portland intercity service returned with

1001-403: A year later. Prior to 1987, when the system was operated by B&M successor Guilford Transportation Industries , trains were stored overnight on Guilford-owned sidings north of Haverhill station in a largely industrial area. When the MBTA contracted with Amtrak in 1987 to operate the system, a new layover yard for the line was needed. The MBTA constructed a two-track layover yard adjacent to

1078-636: Is an American lobbyist and former legislator who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974 and the Massachusetts Senate from 1974 to 1990. He is a Democrat from Malden . This article about a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a member of the Massachusetts State Senate

1155-628: Is largely for use by Downeaster trains but may benefit MBTA trains using the Wildcat Branch as well. The $ 26.0 million project (including a $ 5.2 million match from the MBTA) included 14,100 feet of new double main, rebuilt interlockings at Wilmington Junction and Lowell Junction, a maintenance-of-way siding at Wilmington Junction, preparing three grade crossings on the Wildcat Branch for future double tracking, and replacement of 5 miles of old track between Lawrence and Bradford. Work began in 2012 and

1232-464: Is planned. As of February 2022, the line has 13 Boston–Haverhill round trips and 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 Boston–Reading round trips on weekdays, with two inbound and one outbound Haverhill train using the Wildcat Branch. Weekend service has eight Boston–Haverhill round trips. During the closure of the Orange Line from August 19 to September 18, 2022, all Haverhill Line trains stopped at Oak Grove. It

1309-582: The Alouette , Ambassador , Cheshire , Day White Mountains , East Wind , Green Mountain Flyer , Gull , Kennebec , Minute Man , Montrealer / Washingtonian , Mountaineer , Pine Tree , Red Wing , and State of Maine . The B&M even promoted its passenger trains with the Timetable Marble radio advertisement. However, the popularization of the automobile doomed B&M as

1386-596: The Amtrak Downeaster , in 2001. The B&M filed for bankruptcy in December 1970. During bankruptcy the B&M reorganized. It rebuilt its existing fleet of locomotives, leased new locomotives and rolling stock and secured funds for upgrading its track and signal systems. For much of the 1970s, the Boston and Maine limped along. In 1973 and 1974 the B&M was on the brink of liquidation. The B&M

1463-612: The Burlington Northern’s famous Pioneer Zephyr , was retired in 1957 and was then displayed at the Edaville Railroad for another 36 years. The equipment was relocated and eventually purchased by the State of Maine, but both public and private restoration efforts were unsuccessful. In November 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of

1540-504: The Charles River Bridge . Haverhill/Reading Line trains ran to the normally-unused platform at Oak Grove for transfer to the Orange Line during the disruption. Oak Grove was discontinued as a regular stop when North Station and the drawbridges reopened on April 20, 1985, but the platform at Malden Center was permanently reopened for transfer purposes. The switch may have been made due to a request by John A. Brennan Jr. , who

1617-676: The Connecticut River Line ) or Worcester (using the Worcester Branch ) and bypassed Boston. Certain commuter trains with wealthy clientele were also named; several of these lasted into the MBTA era. These tables list major named intercity trains operated by the B&M. The 1935 three-car trainset known as the Flying Yankee , virtually identical to the streamlined equipment the Budd Company built for

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1694-772: The Fitchburg Railroad on July 1, 1900. This was primarily the main line from Boston west via the Hoosac Tunnel to the Albany, New York , area, with various branches. On December 1, 1919, the B&M purchased the Fitchburg Railroad. At one point, the B&M also owned a majority of stock of the Maine Central Railroad , stretching from Quebec via northern New Hampshire to southern and eastern Maine . The B&M flourished with

1771-561: The Ipswich River in Wilmington from September to November 2021. Most off-peak service between Reading and North Station was cancelled, with many Haverhill trains operating using the Wildcat Branch. In June 2022, the MBTA indicated plans to add a second track at Reading station by 2023, allowing 30-minute headways between Boston and Reading. Hourly service to Haverhill was also being studied. A second track and platform at Ballardvale

1848-832: The St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad to northwestern Vermont , and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad from White River Junction into Quebec . However, the BC&;M was separated in 1889 and merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad , which the B&M leased on April 1, 1895, gaining the Concord Railroad's direct line between Nashua and Concord . Additionally,

1925-484: The 1930s, freight business was hurt by the leveling-off of New England manufacturing growth and by new competition from trucking. In 1925, B&M reported 2956 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 740 million passenger-miles; at the end of the year it operated 2291 route-miles, including "42.85 miles of electric street railway". (Those totals do not include B&C, M&WR, StJ&LC or YH&B.) The B&M's most traveled and well known passenger trains included

2002-485: The 1950s saw the loss of more significant intercity routes. September, 1952 saw the first cut to the four main intercity mainlines, as Eastern Route service was cut from Portland, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire . (Portland continued to see service to Boston on the Western Route through Dover, New Hampshire .) The New York–Montreal Green Mountain Flyer / Mount Royal , which had Boston sections running on

2079-544: The Ashuelot Railroad, which had been acquired in 1877. The B&M acquired the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1887, but gave it up in 1889, allowing it to merge with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad . That company did poorly on its own and was leased by the B&M on April 1, 1895, giving the B&M the majority of lines in New Hampshire . The B&M leased

2156-504: The B&M grew, it also gained control of former rivals, including: On March 28, 1883, the boards of directors of B&M and the Eastern Railroad Company voted to ratify the proposition that Eastern Railroad would be leased by B&M. However, a disagreement about the wording of the contract delayed its execution until December 2, 1884. On May 9, 1890, B&M purchased Eastern Railroad outright. This provided

2233-666: The B&M via Bellows Falls, ended when the Rutland Railroad discontinued all passenger service, in 1953. The northern section of the Boston– Wells River, Vermont route ended in 1954 (thus ending connections to Quebec City ), as did Manchester –Portsmouth service. Concord – Claremont Junction service ended in 1955, and the Boston section of the Ambassador was reduced to a Boston– White River Junction RDC connecting train in 1956. Fitchburg mainline service

2310-602: The Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New Hampshire state line in 1840. The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27, 1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was incorporated March 12, 1839, in Maine , both companies continuing the proposed line to South Berwick , Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter , New Hampshire , and on January 1, 1842,

2387-593: The COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, and from December 14, 2020, to April 5, 2021. On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Haverhill Line. Weekend service on the seven lines resumed on July 3, 2021. Continuous welded rail was installed on an 11.5-mile (18.5 km) section between Fells Interlocking in Malden and

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2464-536: The Great Depression reduced traffic. Ridership sharply increased during World War II; the B&M had a slower postwar decline than its contemporaries, though major frequency reductions occurred in 1949–1950. The B&M began testing Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in 1952; in 1954, the railroad decided to switch all commuter service to RDCs to cut costs. Discontinuances in the 1920s and 1930s primarily affected minor branches and rural intercity routes, but

2541-495: The MBTA began planning the addition of double track between Reading and Ballardvale that summer. Those plans fell through, but later that year the MBTA was awarded $ 51.5 million of stimulus funding for a variety of projects, including $ 10.2 million for the addition of double track from one mile north of Ballardvale to Andover Street in Lawrence, as well as $ 7.2 million for signal upgrades. The double tracking will increase capacity on

2618-600: The PAS assets that included its 155-mile (249 km) main line track between Mechanicville, New York, and Ayer, Massachusetts, including the Hoosac Tunnel and Fitchburg line as far as Littleton, Massachusetts, and 281 miles (452 km) of secondary and branch lines, plus trackage rights , in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. NS transferred cash and other property valued at $ 140 million to

2695-605: The Plaistow Board of Selectmen voted for the "no build" option to not extend commuter rail to the town in April 2015. As of 2022, the MBTA plans to relocate and expand the layover facility in the mid-to-late 2020s. The line was shut down on weekends in September through December 2017 for the installation of Positive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline. Substantially reduced schedules due to

2772-576: The Shawsheen River in Andover, both dating to the line's opening in 1839. The historic bridges were no longer able to support modern train loads; instead, fill was removed from the arch and modern flat steel bridges placed inside them. The steel bridges carry the train loads so that the stone arches need merely support their own weight. The $ 10.9 million project began in September 2012, with substantial completion in September 2013 and full completion

2849-466: The South Elm Street bridge in Bradford caused Haverhill station to be closed for MBTA service on July 15, 2024. Bradford station will be the temporary terminal of the line until bridge work is completed in mid-2025. Mileages to the New Hampshire stations are via the Wildcat Branch and Wilmington – 0.4 miles (0.64 km) longer than the mainline through Reading – which was the route used at

2926-578: The St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the B&M through stock, was leased to the Maine Central Railroad by 1912. The Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (as the Passumpsic Division). The Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in 1884, but that lease was canceled and the Northern

3003-640: The Swampscott Branch, Marblehead Branch, Danvers Branch , and the north half of the Woburn Loop . The State of Maine Express - the last through service between New York City and Maine - and the Boston–Halifax Gull were discontinued in 1960. Long rural lines to North Conway and Berlin, New Hampshire were cut on December 3, 1961. By 1962, the B&M was preparing ICC applications to discontinue all remaining service. After

3080-533: The Western Route from Wilmington Junction to the New Hampshire border. Despite the passenger cutbacks, the upper Western Route remained in use by freight. During the 1979 energy crisis , the MBTA restored service to much of the outer northside lines, including trains to Fitchburg and for a time Gardner on the Fitchburg Line , and short-lived service to Concord via the Lowell Line. Weekday service

3157-462: The Wildcat Branch opened to replace North Wilmington on the mainline. The MBTA was formed in August 1964 to consolidate and fund Boston's transit system. In December 1964, the MBTA signed a contract to subsidize B&M commuter service within the MBTA funding district. On January 4, the B&M discontinued most interstate service, with a single commuter-oriented round trip to Dover, New Hampshire ,

Haverhill Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-473: The Wildcat Branch to avoid interference from Reading local trains. On December 5, 2005, the new McGovern Transportation Center replaced the old Lawrence station. Due to the Reading line being single-tracked along the Orange Line corridor in the 1970s, and most double track removed north of Wilmington after the 1976 discontinuation, the Haverhill Line has the most single track on the MBTA system. In early 2009,

3311-443: The applications, the B&M discontinued most interstate service on January 4, 1965. Service via Concord to Laconia, New Hampshire and to Montreal via White River Junction ended, though a single Boston–Concord round trip remained. Western Route service to Portland and Eastern Route service to Portsmouth were discontinued; single Boston– Dover and Boston– Newburyport round trips were retained. On January 18, 1965, commuter service

3388-432: The bridge, then to cost $ 43 million. Passenger train speeds would be increased to 40–60 miles per hour (64–97 km/h), while freight speeds will be increased to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) and maximum car loading increased to the 286,000-pound (130,000 kg) standard. The MBTA awarded a $ 23.9 million contract for the first phase in early 2014, with construction expected to last from April 2014 to April 2017. By 2014,

3465-460: The commuters and subsidize service for an additional year. The town declined to subsidize further service, and the three Andover stops (Shawsheen, Andover , and Ballardvale ) were dropped effective April 2, 1976. The round trip, by then stopping just at Lawrence , Bradford and Haverhill , was ended in June 1976. The MBTA bought all B&M commuter equipment and lines on December 27, 1976, including

3542-466: The extension - largely in Melrose , where rapid transit conversion would have required the elimination of grade crossings, possibly blocking important east-west local roads - and funding issues meant that the Orange Line only reached Oak Grove . A single track was retained for Reading Line service to Melrose, Wakefield, and Reading. Pearl Street station in Malden closed on December 27, 1975 concurrent with

3619-518: The extension remained on the table. In August 2013, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation began another study of layover and station sites. A number of station and layover site options were presented in May 2014, and three final options were released in September 2014: a station and layover just past NH-125 , a station there with the layover moved just south of the state line, and a station and layover near NH-121A . However,

3696-447: The growth of New England's mill towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but still faced financial struggles. It came under the control of J. P. Morgan and his New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad around 1910, but anti-trust forces wrested control back. Later, it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the cost of acquiring the Fitchburg Railroad , causing a corporate reorganization in 1919. Beginning in

3773-633: The joint venture, $ 87.5 million of which was expected to be invested within a three-year period in capital improvements on the Patriot Corridor , such as terminal expansions, track and signal upgrades. Springfield Terminal provides all railroad services for the joint venture. Service at B&M's former yard in Mechanicville, New York , was restored as an intermodal and automotive terminal in January 2012, under PAS. The B&M operated

3850-662: The major cuts by the B&M and the New Haven Railroad in the late 1950s, public opinion in Massachusetts began to favor supporting Boston commuter service to prevent it from being cut entirely. From January 1963 to March 1964, the state Mass Transportation Commission funded an experiment testing various fares and service levels on the two railroads. On August 3, 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

3927-409: The north end as part of a grade crossing elimination project. A temporary one-track wooden trestle was constructed to the west of the bridge; the truss spans were jacked up 2 feet (0.61 m) at a time while the masonry piers were built up under them. The truss spans were replaced in 1919, again reusing the piers; the northern approach over Washington Street was replaced in 1928. In 2008, the MBTA began

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4004-399: The only such service remaining on the Western Route. On January 18, the B&M cut back commuter service to the MBTA-subsidized area; the Dover trip was the only service beyond Wilmington, through in-district Reading local service continued. The Wakefield Junction stop on the Reading Line was discontinued at this time. On June 30, 1967, the B&M ended all interstate service. The Dover trip

4081-511: The opening of the Orange Line's Malden Center station; a commuter platform at Malden Center - the first high-level platform on the commuter system - opened on May 1, 1977 but closed again in September 1979. In November 1974, North Andover and Andover declined to renew their subsidies. Service to North Andover station ended on November 15. Days before, Andover commuters and businesses raised funds to continue service until April 1975. On April 7, 1975, town residents voted "overwhelmingly" to reimburse

4158-419: The outer section of the line operated via the Wildcat Branch and the inner Lowell Line , while North Wilmington station was closed. From May 20 to September 29, 2024, weekday midday inbound trains were temporarily routed over the Wildcat Branch during rail replacement work. In 2024, the town of North Andover began a planning study for a potential infill station at the Osgood Landing development. Replacement of

4235-413: The section of the line shared with freight service, increasing reliability and allowing for possible travel time decreases for the Downeaster . The second track was not extended through Ballardvale station due to limited space for a second platform, but Andover station was to receive a second platform and possibly additional parking following the removal of a town vehicle yard. Work started in April 2010;

4312-609: The time of discontinuance. Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad ( reporting mark BM ) was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England . It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B&M operated 1,515 route-miles (2,438 km) on 2,481 miles (3,993 km) of track, not including Springfield Terminal . That year it reported 2,744 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 92 million passenger-miles. The Andover and Wilmington Railroad

4389-412: The total cost was expected to reach $ 100 million. Some off-peak trains were substituted with buses during the repairs, and service was suspended on six weekends between September 2014 and November 2016. The second phase of bridge reconstruction - repairs to the piers - lasted from 2016 to 2019. Additional scour protection work was completed in 2021. Repairs were also made to two smaller arch bridges over

4466-457: The trainset. In April 2024, the trainset was sold to the Flying Yankee Association, who hopes to restore and operate the set in the Mt. Washington Valley, with a possibility of running it on the Conway Scenic Railroad . The trainset was moved to North Conway where it regained its trucks. [REDACTED] Media related to Boston and Maine Railroad at Wikimedia Commons John A. Brennan Jr. John A. Brennan Jr. (born September 19, 1945)

4543-417: The two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad. On February 23, 1843, the B&M opened to Agamenticus , on the line of the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On January 28 of that year, the B&M and Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to both lease the PS&P as a joint line to Portland . The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension

4620-433: Was completed around 2017. Several bridges on the line were in poor condition, including the twelve-span, 1,042-foot (318 m)-long bridge over the Merrimack River between Bradford and Haverhill. A single-track covered bridge was built in 1839, and was replaced with a two-track steel truss bridge on the same piers in 1881. In 1904–05, the bridge was raised 11 feet (3.4 m) at the south end and 13 feet (4.0 m) at

4697-409: Was cut back to Haverhill, funded by the towns of Haverhill, North Andover, Lawrence, and Andover. The Salem Street stop was discontinued at this time. In September 1973, the MBTA purchased the Western Route between Somerville and Wilmington Junction, with the intent to replace all Reading Line service with the Haymarket North Extension of the rapid transit Orange Line . However, local opposition to

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4774-421: Was cut from Clinton to Hudson . Almost all inner-suburb commuter stations within the MTA transit district were closed. Intercity service to Bellows Falls, Vermont and Brattleboro, Vermont (the Cheshire ) via the Cheshire Branch was also cut. Service was trimmed again from Williamstown to Greenfield on December 30, 1958, and cut to Fitchburg on April 23, 1960. Further cuts on June 14, 1959, terminated

4851-491: Was cut to the MBTA district and subsidies began. Fitchburg Route service was cut to West Concord ; New Hampshire Route and Western Route service to Wilmington , save for the Concord and Dover trip; Eastern Route service to Manchester and Wenham except for the Newburyport trip; and Central Mass service to South Sudbury . After out-of-district communities agreed to subsidies, service was re-extended to Ayer , Lowell , Ipswich , and Rockport on June 28. The Montrealer

4928-416: Was discontinued in September, 1966; local service on the Connecticut River Line lasted until the end of that year. On June 30, 1967, the Concord trip was cut to Lowell, and the Dover trip to Haverhill . The four routes with single daily round-trips slowly ended: South Sudbury on November 26, 1971; Newburyport in April 1976; Haverhill in June 1976; and Bedford on January 10, 1977. (However, Haverhill service

5005-407: Was formed (as an expansion of the MTA funding district) to subsidize suburban commuter rail operations. In December 1964, the MBTA and B&M reached an agreement for the MBTA to subsidize in-district service (within about 20 miles (32 km) of Boston) should the ICC applications be approved. Municipalities outside the MBTA district could directly subsidize continued service. After approval of

5082-426: Was incorporated March 15, 1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts , north to Andover, Massachusetts . The line opened to Andover on August 8, 1836. The name was changed to the Andover and Haverhill Railroad on April 18, 1837, reflecting plans to build further to Haverhill, Massachusetts (opened later that year), and yet further to Portland , Maine , with renaming to

5159-409: Was incorporated on March 16, 1844, due to a dispute with the Boston and Lowell Railroad over trackage rights rates between Wilmington and Boston. That company was merged into the main B&M on March 19, 1845, and opened on July 1, leading to the abandonment of the old connection to the B&L (later reused by the B&L for its Wildcat Branch ). In 1848, another original section was abandoned, as

5236-521: Was largely finished. After more delays, the project was completed around 2017. However, second platforms were not built at Andover and Ballardvale, limiting the usefulness of the second track for the MBTA. Instead, Pan Am Railways often uses the second track in Andover to idle freight trains. In 2011, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority won a $ 20.8 million federal grant to add additional double track from Wilmington Junction to just south of Ballardvale station. This second section of double track

5313-482: Was offered the opportunity to merge its properties into the new Conrail in 1976, but opted out. By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service also helped. In 1983, the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries for $ 24 million. This

5390-478: Was on its own until 1890, when it was re-leased to the B&L, then part of the B&M. The Northern owned a number of lines running west from Concord . On January 1, 1893, the B&M leased the Connecticut River Railroad , with the main line from Springfield, Massachusetts north along the Connecticut River to White River Junction, Vermont , where the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (acquired in 1887) continued north. Along with this railroad came

5467-463: Was reorganized as the Portland and Rochester Railroad in 1867, and opened the rest of the way in 1871. It was again reorganized in 1881 and then operated in conjunction with the line to Worcester. On April 1, 1887, the B&M leased the Boston and Lowell Railroad , adding not only trackage in the Boston area, but also the Central Massachusetts Railroad west to Northampton , the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad into northern New Hampshire ,

5544-488: Was restored by MVRTA subsidy in 1979.) On December 27, 1976, the MBTA bought all B&M commuter equipment, as well as most of the B&M's trackage on Boston's northside (including several abandoned lines). On March 12, 1977, the B&M also won the contract for the southside commuter rail lines that had once been part of the New Haven and B&A : the first time that Boston's commuter rail system had been operated by

5621-522: Was restored to Haverhill via Reading with funding from the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority on December 17, 1979. Station stops resumed at North Wilmington, Ballardvale, Andover, Shawsheen, Lawrence, Bradford, and Haverhill but not North Andover. Weekend service to Haverhill began on April 27, 1980, but Shawsheen station was closed. On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the wooden trestles approaching

5698-405: Was retained as a permanent Haverhill Line stop after the closure. By October 2022, the line had 5,806 daily riders; this represented 82% of pre-COVID ridership, the second-highest percentage on the system. All service between Reading and Boston was replaced by buses from September 10 to November 5, 2023 during installation of automatic train control and positive train control systems. Service on

5775-539: Was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as new labor issues which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost-cutting such as the 1990 closure of B&M's Mechanicville, New York , site: the largest rail yard and shop facilities on the B&M system. Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Up until CSX Transportation acquired Pan Am Railways on June 1, 2022, Boston & Maine Corporation continued to exist, but only as

5852-433: Was then constructing a large development near Malden Center station. Daily ridership on the line increased from 2,955 in 1991 to 4,970 in 2001. On December 14, 2001, Amtrak's Downeaster service began operating from Boston to Portland, Maine . The Downeaster runs via the lower Lowell Line and the Wildcat Branch then the Western Route, with a stop at Haverhill. Around this time, some rush-hour Haverhill trains began using

5929-472: Was trimmed from Troy, New York , to Williamstown, Massachusetts , in January 1958, and discontinued soon afterward. The B&M became unprofitable in 1958 and moved to shed its money-losing passenger operations. On May 18, 1958, the B&M severely reduced Boston commuter service. The Maynard Branch, Saugus Branch, Essex Branch , and Stoneham Branch were cut, and the Central Mass Branch

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