Biography

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) was the successor to the Andover and Wilmington Railroad, which opened in 1836. Over the next 65 years the B&M gained control (through lease, purchase, or stock ownership) of a number of smaller regional railroads, creating a network that covered northern Massachusetts, southern Maine, the state of New Hampshire, and eastern New York and Vermont. At its peak, B&M maintained over 2,300 route miles of track, 1,200 steam locomotives, and a force of 28,000 employees. The railroad's principal shops were located at North Billerica, Massachusetts and Concord, New Hampshire. Major freight yards were built at Boston, East Deerfield, Rigby, and Mechanicville. By the 1960s, railroads were rapidly losing profitability due to the ever-growing use of motor transportation and the advent of the Interstate Highway System. B&M discontinued long distance passenger service after 1960, and was able to continue Boston commuter service only by securing subsidies from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In 1983, Timothy Mellon’s Guilford Transportation Industries purchased B&M as it was emerging from bankruptcy. Guilford acquired Pan American World Airways in 1998, and re-branded itself as Pan Am Railways, and CSX acquired Pan Am Railways in 2022.

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