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Thanks for visiting the online home of the Boston Street Railway Association. For over 60 years, the BSRA has been preserving New England’s rich transit history—we invite you along for the ride!
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Our Next Virtual Meeting:
JUNE 6, 2026
Douglas Kydd’s Primer on the Boston & Maine RR: Postwar Years, 1945 till their demise in the late 1980s
The Boston & Maine Railroad (1845 – 1986) was once a household name, recognized all over Massachusetts and northern New England. Its 1,400+ mile network extended as far west as Rotterdam Junction, NY, as far east as Portland, Maine, and as far north as Sherbrooke Quebec. At its North Station terminus in Boston, one could board Pullman sleeping cars for Montreal, Halifax in Nova Scotia, or Chicago, or one could take a commuter train to Saugus, Stoneham or South Sudbury.
Until the 1980s, its name was as recognizable as Coca Cola or Bell Telephone. Today, 90% or more of the thousands of MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak Downeaster riders passing through North Station each day have never even heard of the B&M. This Month, retired engineer Douglas Kydd of the Boston & Maine Railroad (1978 – 1986) and (1997 – 1993) Amtrak will show us a view of the B&M in its final decades, from 1945 until it became a fallen flag in December 1986.
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