Mill Street: Boston & Maine Branchline

[garethashenden]

This is the story of a struggling a Boston & Maine branchline in the early '70s. There is a large mill on the line which provides enough traffic to keep the line open, but with the so much manufacturing leaving New England no one's sure how long they'll hang on. There's also a small fuel dealer who's doing ok, but they were a little late to the change from coal to oil and lost a lot of customers in the process. The track continues up the line a couple of towns, but with no online customers no one can quite remember the last time it saw a train. The track conditions are pretty poor, the track gangs left with the Moguls in '53. The only way any work gets done now is when something ends up on the ground, and then it's only the bare minimum. Yet somehow passenger service is still running, two RDCs a day, with only a couple of passengers. They're going to have to find a different way of getting to work soon. It's October 1971 now and the Budliner will be gone by spring.

The layout is 2'x 5' and built in three section because I don't have a permanent place to put it and it will have to be stored in boxes. The track in handlaid code 40. Inspiration came from the Hillsboro, Peterboro and Central Mass branches. Here are some pictures of current progress followed by prototype inspiration. The spur on the left for the fuel dealer has been changed slightly to lie along the siding.

[Chris333]

Me likey! 

[jpec]

Great concept. Love the mock-up...the finished product will be even better.

Jeff

[garethashenden]

As far as the mill itself is concerned, it started as a Railwire challenge: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=43691.0
Two kits combined into one complex, Bergen National Laser’ Warehouse and Atlas’ Middlesex Manufacturing. The concept is that they had a medium sized building that was added on to when production outgrew the building. The name came from my great great grandfather, who had a rubber process. Unfortunately his business ventures weren’t successful in real life, but in the model word they were. On the layout there is a dam just off scene to the front with the river wrapping around the mill. The mill pond will come up to the wall of the mill on the old section. The river will then continue at a lower level under the railroad’s truss bridge.

[Cajonpassfan]

Ooooh...Ahhhh...a leafpeepers’ dream...
Sometimes less really is more. Love what you did with the National Bergen kit, too!
Mr. Orange is obviously as interested as I am...😽
Otto K.

[nkalanaga]

How did the Buddliners survived past Amtrak?  Were they considered "commuter", or did B&M stay out of Amtrak?

[peteski]

How did the Buddliners survived past Amtrak?  Were they considered "commuter", or did B&M stay out of Amtrak?

The B&M RDCs in those photos are pre-Amtrak. But either way, Amtrak was not running North of Boston until fairly recently.  Eventually those RDCs became part of MBTA (commuter trains), again North of Boston.  Then those RDCs had their drive train removed, becoming commuter passenger cars, being pulled by MBTA's FP10s,  then they eventually got scrapped, being replaced by more modern Comet cars and F40PH locos.  Amtrak didn't start running the Downeaster on the tracks North of Boston until 2001.  MBTA is currently ran by a French company.

[peteski]

Excellent modeling!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh hell yeah!

[garethashenden]

How did the Buddliners survived past Amtrak?  Were they considered "commuter", or did B&M stay out of Amtrak?

The B&M stopped running intercity passenger service in 1968. The only Amtrak train on the B&M was the Montrealer running from Washington DC to Montreal via the Connecticut river line on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont. The Buddliners I’m modelling are in commuter service in and out of North Station.

[garethashenden]

Excellent modeling!

Oh hell yeah!

Thanks guys!

[peteski]

The B&M stopped running intercity passenger service in 1968. The only Amtrak train on the B&M was the Montrealer running from Washington DC to Montreal via the Connecticut river line on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont. The Buddliners I’m modelling are in commuter service in and out of North Station.

That's right.  I was also looking at this from the perspective of Boston and commuter lines north of Boston (North Station).  AFAIK, Amtrak was never involved in the commuter rail service (MTA or MBTA) North of Boston.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That's right.  I was also looking at this from the perspective of Boston and commuter lines north of Boston (North Station).  AFAIK, Amtrak was never involved in the commuter rail service (MTA or MBTA) North of Boston.

I thought they took over the commuter ops contract after Mellon bailed on it.

[peteski]

I thought they took over the commuter ops contract after Mellon bailed on it.

I wonder if that was south of Boston? I guess some research would be needed.  The MBTA Wiki page is not helpful in that regard.

[garethashenden]

I wonder if that was south of Boston? I guess some research would be needed.  The MBTA Wiki page is not helpful in that regard.

When Conrail announced they didn’t want to have anything to do with passenger service the B&M took over all Boston commuter service from both stations. At some point Guilford either gave up or lost the MBTA operating contract at which point Amtrak took it over.