The Boston and Maine Railroad 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.
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired upright and recumbent bicycles. As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it is not an outstanding characteristic. In land speed racing, it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels.
The Downeaster is a 145-mile (233 km) passenger train service operated by Amtrak and managed by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), an agency of the state of Maine. Named for the Down East region of Maine, the train operates five daily round trips between North Station in Boston, Massachusetts, and Brunswick, Maine, with ten intermediate stops.
The General Pershing Zephyr was the ninth of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's Zephyr streamliners, and the last built as an integrated streamliner rather than a train hauled by an EMD E-unit diesel locomotive. It was constructed in 1939 with bodywork and passenger cars by Budd Company and diesel engine, electric transmission, power truck, and other locomotive equipment by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation. Because its intended Kansas City to St Louis route passed near the birthplace and boyhood home of famous World War I General John J. Pershing, the train was named after him. The power car was named Silver Charger, after Pershing's horse Charger, while the passenger cars were named after United States Army badges of rank—Silver Leaf, Silver Eagle, and Silver Star.
The Maine Central Railroad was a U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to 1,358 miles (2,185 km) when the United States Railroad Administration assumed control in 1917. The main line extended from South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada–United States border with New Brunswick, and a Mountain Division extended west from Portland to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and north into Quebec. The main line was double track from South Portland to Royal Junction, where it split into a "lower road" through Brunswick and Augusta and a "back road" through Lewiston, which converged at Waterville into single track to Bangor and points east. Branch lines served the industrial center of Rumford, a resort hotel on Moosehead Lake and coastal communities from Bath to Eastport.
The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streamliner built for mainline service in the United States, the first such train powered by a diesel engine, and the first to enter revenue service.
The Minute Man was a passenger train operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad between Boston, Massachusetts, and Troy, New York. It was the railroad's flagship train on the Fitchburg Division and offered through cars with the New York Central Railroad for service to points west. The Minute Man was introduced in 1926 and discontinued in 1958.
Edaville Railroad is a heritage railroad and amusement park in South Carver, Massachusetts. Originally opened in 1947, it is one of the oldest heritage railroad operations in the United States. It is a 2 ft narrow gauge line that operates excursion trains for tourists, built by the late Ellis D. Atwood on his sprawling cranberry farm in Southeastern Massachusetts.
The Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad is a class III shortline railroad operating on the Concord-Lincoln rail line in central New Hampshire, United States. The railroad consists of two distinct passenger operations, the Granite State Scenic Railway, which offers passenger excursion trains in the White Mountains, and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, which operates passenger excursion trains along the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. In addition to passenger operations, the railroad owns the Lincoln Shops, a railroad equipment maintenance and repair facility located in Lincoln, New Hampshire.
The railroad history of Portland, Maine, began in 1842 with the arrival of the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth Railroad (PS&P). Most of the rail activity in Portland concerned agricultural goods bound for export and European import freight. But Maine's largest city also enjoyed 125 years of continuous passenger rail service from 1842 until 1967, and has been served by Amtrak since 2001. For most of Portland's history, passenger train schedules were designed with intercity travel—to Boston, Montreal, Nova Scotia, and points west—rather than daily commuting.
The Mountain Division is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and White Mountains of New Hampshire, ending at St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the Northeast Kingdom. The line was abandoned in 1983 by MEC's successor, Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). Guilford retained a stub between Portland and Westbrook. A section in New Hampshire remains in use by heritage railway Conway Scenic Railroad.
The Gull was an international passenger train service between Boston, United States, and Halifax, Canada, which operated from 1930 to 1960. Journey time was approximately 24 hours. Westbound trains left Halifax shortly after breakfast and crossed the Canada–United States border in the late evening, as eastbound trains were leaving Boston's North Station to cross the border about dawn. Travel was over the Boston and Maine Railroad from Boston to Portland, Maine, then over the Maine Central Railroad to the border between Vanceboro, Maine, and Saint Croix, New Brunswick, then over the Canadian Pacific Railway to Saint John, New Brunswick, and over the Canadian National Railway to Halifax.
The State of Maine was an overnight passenger train between New York City and Portland, Maine, that was operated jointly for more than 50 years by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It departed New York's Pennsylvania Station at 9:00 p.m. and arrived at 6:45 a.m. at Portland's Union Station, where connections were available on Maine Central Railroad trains to most Maine locations. It ended service in October 1960, the last direct passenger rail service between New Hampshire or Maine and New York City.
Maine Central Railroad began operating diesel locomotives in 1935, and had retired all steam locomotives by 1954. That time interval was a joint operating period with the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M). This article describes diesel locomotives owned by Maine Central through the period of joint operation and later independent operation prior to Guilford Rail System control in 1981.
Union Station was a train station in the Libbytown neighborhood of Portland, Maine, which operated from 1888 to 1960. Located on St. John Street, it was demolished in 1961 and is now the site of a strip mall.
The Ambassador was a passenger train that traveled from Boston, Massachusetts and New York City, New York to Montreal, Quebec. The train was jointly operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Boston and Maine Railroad, the Central Vermont Railroad, and the Canadian National Railway. Beginning service on April 26, 1926, the Ambassador operated on a daytime schedule between Boston and Montreal, with coach, dining, and parlor cars in the consist. The route going north of White River Junction went northwest, through Montpelier and Essex Junction toward Montreal. There were also through cars to New York City offered until the mid-1950s, split from the Ambassador's consist in White River Junction, Vermont and added to the Connecticut Yankee train for points south. In its route from Boston's North Station it passed through Manchester, Concord and Franklin in New Hampshire.
The Alouette was a passenger train jointly operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Canadian Pacific Railway between Montreal, Quebec and Boston, Massachusetts. The Alouette began service on April 26, 1926, operating on a daytime schedule with coach and parlor car service. At Newport, Vermont passengers could transfer to Quebec Central Railway trains bound for Sherbrooke and Quebec City. For passengers originating from Boston on the night train counterpart north, the Red Wing (#325/#302), the train would join with the New York-Quebec City Connecticut Yankee to complete the trip to Quebec City.
The Mountaineer was a summer-only passenger train connecting Boston with Littleton, running via Dover, North Conway and Crawford Notch. The Mountaineer began service sometime in the 1940s, replacing an unnamed train. Like most summer trains, it was suspended during World War II, but resumed service in August 1945 and operated until 1961.
