Boston and Maine: Forest, River, and Mountain

The Boston and Maine Railroad was for many decades a giant of New England commerce. In 1913 the B&M reached its greatest geographic extent, 2364 route miles. The railroad grew up during the second half of the nineteenth century primarily by acquiring other railroads-ones that in most cases had become competitors by building or acquiring lines into B&M territory or vice versa. Even though too many railroad lines were built, New England was thickly settled, even then, and railroads offered the only transportation faster than a horse could walk. This book depicts the B&M at mid-century, the time when highway transportation outpaced American railroads in overall importance. Included are 217 color and 68 black & white photographs, the work of 46 photographers portraying a broad panorama of steam and diesel operation. Also featured are a prologue by Jim Shaughnessy and 19 fascinating and engaging narratives by longtime employees and observers of this wonderful, colorful New england transportation system...