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Boston & Maine/Maine Central - Image Gallery
Great railroad for capturing the equipment and consists. Employees were always helpful and informative. I miss the B&M . Grew up in Keene NH and saw lots of different units including the 6000 ,the" Cheshire"
Great photos; my dad would have enjoyed these.
As the son and grandson and godson of now deceased B&M locomotive engineers in steam and diesel, I rode the cab from 1952 to 1985 with these and other B&M’ers until my father’s retirement from B&M/MBTA commuter rail. All images bring back many memories- North Station with its commuter runs, grand concourse, ice tracks, the large mail/baggage/newspaper handling rooms and the “tugs” that brought down the wagons to the platform for loading. North Station with its 4 active drawbrides, The classic “Tower A”, by draw #1 on the banks of the Mystic River, controlled all movements in/out of North Station and to the Charlestown big/new enginehouse, coaling tower, and passenger coach yards on both sides of the respective Fitchburg Division, New Hampshire Division, Portland Division, and Terminal Division mainlines. Every passenger engine crew member and train crew had polished shoes and enginemen wore their white railroad caps (winter and summer versions).The “Rock Island” inspired original paint scheme on some of the the E’s (3800-3821, as delivered, was soon changed over to the classic maroon/yellow. The #6000 streamliner cab of “Flying Yankee”, “Minuteman”, “Mountaineer”, “The Cheshire”, and “Newsboy” was cramped, tight, noisy, loud, even for a 3 year old boy, and even so for my 6’ 5" dad. Rode all her routes in cab, even thru the Hoosac Tunnel to Troy, NY. She could move and when you hit those snowbanks or drifts, what a sight. Air horn was a loud “hooter” version so you knew the train was coming.
Salem, Mass station was Victorian style with inbound trains from Rockport and Gloucester, Ma to Boston and outbound to both sites along with the branch lines that junctioned off at the “Y” to enginehouse just beyond the station looking north (outbound train on right side of picture). Switch was a manual and had to be done for every movement. One track, street running, out to the “Y”