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59-554: The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge is a lift bridge spanning the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire , and Kittery, Maine , carrying traffic of U.S. Route 1 Bypass . An original bridge by the same name was in operation from 1940 until 2016. A replacement span opened in March 2018. The original Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was the third span to carry motor vehicle traffic between Maine and New Hampshire at Portsmouth, replacing

118-417: A sheave and thrust block in the south tower to jam. On August 22, officials managed to partially raise the main span to allow shipping to pass under, which is given priority by federal law over road traffic. It was deemed unsafe to resume regular lifting, and with NHDOT and MaineDOT officials determining repairs would cost $ 1 million and take at least six weeks (and permanent closure just four weeks after

177-628: A 50-year employee of the Maine-New Hampshire Interstate Bridge Authority who rose from a secretary at its creation in 1937 to executive director. The bridge featured two separate movable spans, the central auto-bearing main lift and a retractable bridge for rail traffic near the Kittery shore. When not in use, the rail span lifted up and retracted south atop its own tracks inside the trusswork. The main span lifted on an as-needed basis for ocean-going commercial traffic, and on

236-624: A decade and a half before the United States embarked on construction of an ambitious Interstate Highway System . The original Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was a double-deck truss bridge , with a road deck above and a railroad bed below. Upon its dedication in 1940 the structure was simply known as the Maine-New Hampshire Bridge , later the Maine-New Hampshire (Interstate) Bridge . It was renamed in 1987 to honor Sarah Mildred Long,

295-600: A line between Worcester , Massachusetts , and Rochester , New Hampshire , via Nashua . The W&N leased the N&;R in 1874, and the two companies merged into the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1883. The B&M leased the line on January 1, 1886. This acquisition also included the continuation from Rochester to Portland , Maine , incorporated in 1846 as the York and Cumberland Railroad . It opened partially in 1851 and 1853,

354-643: A new alignment was built from Wilmington north to North Andover, Massachusetts in order to better serve Lawrence, Massachusetts . A new alignment to Portland opened in 1873, splitting from the old route at South Berwick, Maine . The old route remained a part of the Eastern Railroad 's Main Line (described below). This completed the B&;M "main line", which would become known as the Western Route Main Line. As

413-540: A non-operating ward of PAR. Boston & Maine owned the property (and also employed its own railroad police), while Springfield Terminal Railway , a B&M subsidiary created by owner Timothy Mellon to break the unions' higher wage scales, operated the trains and performed maintenance. Pan Am Railways and all its subsidiaries are now owned by CSX. Pan Am entered a joint venture with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in April, 2009 to form Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR transferred to

472-683: A number of named passenger trains , which were often the premier intercity service on their routes. Most were through service that were shared between the B&M and other railroads, including the Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), Central Vermont Railway (CV), Maine Central Railroad (MEC), New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH), Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Quebec Central Railway (QC), and Rutland Railroad (RUT). Trains originating in New York City or Washington, D.C., ran through Springfield (using

531-447: A passenger carrier. After steady growth from 1901 to 1913, passenger rail ridership around Boston peaked in 1920 and began to decline due to competition from private automobiles and service cuts during World War I. In the mid-1920s, after several difficult years, the B&M discontinued service on some marginal lines and began using small self-propelled railcars on others. A second round of discontinuances occurred from 1931 to 1936 as

590-464: A river crossing at its location dating from 1822. The bridge was the direct result of the work of the Maine-New Hampshire Interstate Bridge Authority, which had been formed in 1937. The major goal of the bridge project was to relieve congestion in downtown Portsmouth and Kittery, where U.S. Route 1 crossed the river via the Memorial Bridge , which had opened in 1923. The bridge was completed in 1940,

649-706: A second route to Maine, ending competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland. Along with the Eastern, the B&M also acquired many branch lines, including the Conway Branch , the Saugus Branch , the South Reading Branch , and branches to Marblehead and Rockport , Massachusetts. The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was organized in 1845 (opened 1848) and the Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1847, forming

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708-513: A single entity. The B&M operated the whole MBTA Commuter Rail system under contract to the MBTA until 1987. The final B&M line to lose passenger service was the Woburn Branch (former Woburn Loop), which was cut on January 30, 1981, due to poor track quality. Under public control, commuter rail service has returned to several lines cut by the B&M, and Portland intercity service returned with

767-477: A varying set schedule for recreational craft unable to pass beneath the rail span, which was left in an open position by default to accommodate small boats and minimize interruption of auto traffic caused by raising the lift. From 1960 until 1972, the U.S. Route 1 Bypass filled a gap in Interstate 95 , linking traffic traveling the otherwise unconnected New Hampshire Turnpike and Maine Turnpike . Although most of

826-691: Is primarily used for the transportation of nuclear materials. Construction of a $ 158.5 million replacement bridge began in January 2015, scheduled to open to traffic in September 2017. The original bridge had been set to close in November 2016, but was moved up to August 21, 2016, by a mechanical problem that would have cost $ 1 million to repair. The new structure was designed by a joint venture of Hardesty & Hanover and Figg Engineering and constructed by Cianbro Corp . Rather than being constructed of structural steel,

885-565: The Alouette , Ambassador , Cheshire , Day White Mountains , East Wind , Green Mountain Flyer , Gull , Kennebec , Minute Man , Montrealer / Washingtonian , Mountaineer , Pine Tree , Red Wing , and State of Maine . The B&M even promoted its passenger trains with the Timetable Marble radio advertisement. However, the popularization of the automobile doomed B&M as

944-579: The Amtrak Downeaster , in 2001. The B&M filed for bankruptcy in December 1970. During bankruptcy the B&M reorganized. It rebuilt its existing fleet of locomotives, leased new locomotives and rolling stock and secured funds for upgrading its track and signal systems. For much of the 1970s, the Boston and Maine limped along. In 1973 and 1974 the B&M was on the brink of liquidation. The B&M

1003-600: The Burlington Northern’s famous Pioneer Zephyr , was retired in 1957 and was then displayed at the Edaville Railroad for another 36 years. The equipment was relocated and eventually purchased by the State of Maine, but both public and private restoration efforts were unsuccessful. In November 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of

1062-645: The Connecticut River Line ) or Worcester (using the Worcester Branch ) and bypassed Boston. Certain commuter trains with wealthy clientele were also named; several of these lasted into the MBTA era. These tables list major named intercity trains operated by the B&M. The 1935 three-car trainset known as the Flying Yankee , virtually identical to the streamlined equipment the Budd Company built for

1121-735: The Fitchburg Railroad on July 1, 1900. This was primarily the main line from Boston west via the Hoosac Tunnel to the Albany, New York , area, with various branches. On December 1, 1919, the B&M purchased the Fitchburg Railroad. At one point, the B&M also owned a majority of stock of the Maine Central Railroad , stretching from Quebec via northern New Hampshire to southern and eastern Maine . The B&M flourished with

1180-793: The St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad to northwestern Vermont , and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad from White River Junction into Quebec . However, the BC&;M was separated in 1889 and merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad , which the B&M leased on April 1, 1895, gaining the Concord Railroad's direct line between Nashua and Concord . Additionally,

1239-462: The bascule and swing-span bridges . Generally speaking, they cost less to build for longer moveable spans. The counterweights in a vertical lift are only required to be equal to the weight of the deck, whereas bascule bridge counterweights must weigh several times as much as the span being lifted. As a result, heavier materials can be used in the deck, and so this type of bridge is especially suited for heavy railroad use. The biggest disadvantage to

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1298-484: The 1930s, freight business was hurt by the leveling-off of New England manufacturing growth and by new competition from trucking. In 1925, B&M reported 2956 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 740 million passenger-miles; at the end of the year it operated 2291 route-miles, including "42.85 miles of electric street railway". (Those totals do not include B&C, M&WR, StJ&LC or YH&B.) The B&M's most traveled and well known passenger trains included

1357-478: The 1950s saw the loss of more significant intercity routes. September, 1952 saw the first cut to the four main intercity mainlines, as Eastern Route service was cut from Portland, Maine to Portsmouth, New Hampshire . (Portland continued to see service to Boston on the Western Route through Dover, New Hampshire .) The New York–Montreal Green Mountain Flyer / Mount Royal , which had Boston sections running on

1416-577: The Ashuelot Railroad, which had been acquired in 1877. The B&M acquired the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1887, but gave it up in 1889, allowing it to merge with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad . That company did poorly on its own and was leased by the B&M on April 1, 1895, giving the B&M the majority of lines in New Hampshire . The B&M leased

1475-494: The B&M grew, it also gained control of former rivals, including: On March 28, 1883, the boards of directors of B&M and the Eastern Railroad Company voted to ratify the proposition that Eastern Railroad would be leased by B&M. However, a disagreement about the wording of the contract delayed its execution until December 2, 1884. On May 9, 1890, B&M purchased Eastern Railroad outright. This provided

1534-652: The B&M via Bellows Falls, ended when the Rutland Railroad discontinued all passenger service, in 1953. The northern section of the Boston– Wells River, Vermont route ended in 1954 (thus ending connections to Quebec City ), as did Manchester –Portsmouth service. Concord – Claremont Junction service ended in 1955, and the Boston section of the Ambassador was reduced to a Boston– White River Junction RDC connecting train in 1956. Fitchburg mainline service

1593-587: The Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New Hampshire state line in 1840. The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27, 1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was incorporated March 12, 1839, in Maine , both companies continuing the proposed line to South Berwick , Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter , New Hampshire , and on January 1, 1842,

1652-528: The Great Depression reduced traffic. Ridership sharply increased during World War II; the B&M had a slower postwar decline than its contemporaries, though major frequency reductions occurred in 1949–1950. The B&M began testing Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in 1952; in 1954, the railroad decided to switch all commuter service to RDCs to cut costs. Discontinuances in the 1920s and 1930s primarily affected minor branches and rural intercity routes, but

1711-584: The PAS assets that included its 155-mile (249 km) main line track between Mechanicville, New York, and Ayer, Massachusetts, including the Hoosac Tunnel and Fitchburg line as far as Littleton, Massachusetts, and 281 miles (452 km) of secondary and branch lines, plus trackage rights , in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. NS transferred cash and other property valued at $ 140 million to

1770-561: The St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the B&M through stock, was leased to the Maine Central Railroad by 1912. The Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (as the Passumpsic Division). The Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in 1884, but that lease was canceled and the Northern

1829-626: The Swampscott Branch, Marblehead Branch, Danvers Branch , and the north half of the Woburn Loop . The State of Maine Express - the last through service between New York City and Maine - and the Boston–Halifax Gull were discontinued in 1960. Long rural lines to North Conway and Berlin, New Hampshire were cut on December 3, 1961. By 1962, the B&M was preparing ICC applications to discontinue all remaining service. After

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1888-443: The applications, the B&M discontinued most interstate service on January 4, 1965. Service via Concord to Laconia, New Hampshire and to Montreal via White River Junction ended, though a single Boston–Concord round trip remained. Western Route service to Portland and Eastern Route service to Portsmouth were discontinued; single Boston– Dover and Boston– Newburyport round trips were retained. On January 18, 1965, commuter service

1947-437: The bridge employs cantilevered , post-tensioned concrete spans, allowing eleven fewer piers than the original and an improved ability to absorb ship impact. Its vertical clearance of 56 feet (17 m) when closed to " IC -standard" is approximately 35 feet (11 m) higher than the original bridge, allowing an estimated 68% fewer openings. The bridge deck also has wider shoulders for bicycle lanes. An award of $ 25 million

2006-609: The bridge was "commissioned" in late January 2018 following several simulated lifting scenarios, allowing the states to take possession. The replacement bridge was officially opened on March 30, 2018. In March 2019, the project was recognized as New Hampshire's most outstanding engineering achievement of the prior year by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The project was also one of 16 finalists for ACEC's national award. Lift bridge The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as

2065-455: The bridge was originally part of the Boston & Maine Railroad , which connected to South Berwick, Maine , via an easement that is now Maine Route 236 . In addition to replacing a vehicular span, the bridge absorbed the traffic of a railroad trestle located just upriver which had collapsed on September 10, 1939. It had been weakened when a caisson used in the construction of the new bridge dragged its anchor cables, which pulled out several of

2124-412: The bypass is four lanes wide, the bridge had only a three-lane roadbed, with traffic on the center lane originally switching direction depending on load. This, combined with being a drawbridge, placed the bridge far below Interstate Highway standards . The turnpikes, and I-95, did not directly connect until the opening of the "high level" Piscataqua River Bridge and the extensions of I-95 leading to it in

2183-428: The earliest possible re-opening), a decision was made to leave the span partially open until demolition. The premature closure of the bridge was announced on August 24, 2016. Major demolition began with the overnight removal of the center span on October 14, 2016. Removal of the bridge's towers followed, with a goal of removing both towers by November 18, 2016, completed in April 2017. The railroad track that ran across

2242-423: The early 1970s. In the decades leading to the bridge's closure, vehicular traffic had been reduced to just two lanes. On October 12, 1989, a worker was killed when he was riding on a counterweight as the bridge closed and he was crushed against the bridge's superstructure. On April 1, 2013, a large tanker struck the bridge, causing severe structural damage and leading to a temporary closure of vehicular traffic. As

2301-447: The growth of New England's mill towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but still faced financial struggles. It came under the control of J. P. Morgan and his New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad around 1910, but anti-trust forces wrested control back. Later, it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the cost of acquiring the Fitchburg Railroad , causing a corporate reorganization in 1919. Beginning in

2360-563: The joint venture, $ 87.5 million of which was expected to be invested within a three-year period in capital improvements on the Patriot Corridor , such as terminal expansions, track and signal upgrades. Springfield Terminal provides all railroad services for the joint venture. Service at B&M's former yard in Mechanicville, New York , was restored as an intermodal and automotive terminal in January 2012, under PAS. The B&M operated

2419-631: The major cuts by the B&M and the New Haven Railroad in the late 1950s, public opinion in Massachusetts began to favor supporting Boston commuter service to prevent it from being cut entirely. From January 1963 to March 1964, the state Mass Transportation Commission funded an experiment testing various fares and service levels on the two railroads. On August 3, 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

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2478-533: The original Memorial Bridge had been closed in October 2011 and its replacement was under construction, the Piscataqua River Bridge was the only bridge between Kittery and Portsmouth remaining open. The bridge was repaired and re-opened to vehicle traffic on May 13, 2013. On August 21, 2016, the bridge became stuck in the closed position due to a mechanical failure after a shift in one of its trunnions caused

2537-705: The top of the lift towers. See List of vertical-lift bridges . Boston %26 Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad ( reporting mark BM ) 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 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B&M operated 1,515 route-miles (2,438 km) on 2,481 miles (3,993 km) of track, not including Springfield Terminal . That year it reported 2,744 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 92 million passenger-miles. The Andover and Wilmington Railroad

2596-564: The trestle's bents, sending B&M engine No. 3666 and a baggage car to the bottom of the river, where they remain. The tracks led to Kittery Junction, at which point one route split off towards York, Maine , on the York Harbor and Beach Railroad, while the other fork led to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. The York Harbor and Beach branch was abandoned in 1925, leaving only the shipyard branch still in service. That branch

2655-572: The two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad. On February 23, 1843, the B&M opened to Agamenticus , on the line of the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On January 28 of that year, the B&M and Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to both lease the PS&;P as a joint line to Portland . The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension

2714-473: The vertical-lift bridge (in comparison with many other designs) is the height restriction for vessels passing under it, due to the deck remaining suspended above the passageway. Most vertical-lift bridges use towers, each equipped with counterweights. An example of this kind was built in Portland, Oregon, United States in 1912. Another design uses balance beams to lift the deck, with pivoting bascules located on

2773-574: Was cut from Clinton to Hudson . Almost all inner-suburb commuter stations within the MTA transit district were closed. Intercity service to Bellows Falls, Vermont and Brattleboro, Vermont (the Cheshire ) via the Cheshire Branch was also cut. Service was trimmed again from Williamstown to Greenfield on December 30, 1958, and cut to Fitchburg on April 23, 1960. Further cuts on June 14, 1959, terminated

2832-595: Was cut to the MBTA district and subsidies began. Fitchburg Route service was cut to West Concord ; New Hampshire Route and Western Route service to Wilmington , save for the Concord and Dover trip; Eastern Route service to Manchester and Wenham except for the Newburyport trip; and Central Mass service to South Sudbury . After out-of-district communities agreed to subsidies, service was re-extended to Ayer , Lowell , Ipswich , and Rockport on June 28. The Montrealer

2891-511: Was discontinued in September, 1966; local service on the Connecticut River Line lasted until the end of that year. On June 30, 1967, the Concord trip was cut to Lowell, and the Dover trip to Haverhill . The four routes with single daily round-trips slowly ended: South Sudbury on November 26, 1971; Newburyport in April 1976; Haverhill in June 1976; and Bedford on January 10, 1977. (However, Haverhill service

2950-499: Was formed (as an expansion of the MTA funding district) to subsidize suburban commuter rail operations. In December 1964, the MBTA and B&M reached an agreement for the MBTA to subsidize in-district service (within about 20 miles (32 km) of Boston) should the ICC applications be approved. Municipalities outside the MBTA district could directly subsidize continued service. After approval of

3009-476: Was incorporated March 15, 1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts , north to Andover, Massachusetts . The line opened to Andover on August 8, 1836. The name was changed to the Andover and Haverhill Railroad on April 18, 1837, reflecting plans to build further to Haverhill, Massachusetts (opened later that year), and yet further to Portland , Maine , with renaming to

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3068-409: Was incorporated on March 16, 1844, due to a dispute with the Boston and Lowell Railroad over trackage rights rates between Wilmington and Boston. That company was merged into the main B&M on March 19, 1845, and opened on July 1, leading to the abandonment of the old connection to the B&L (later reused by the B&L for its Wildcat Branch ). In 1848, another original section was abandoned, as

3127-489: Was made by the U.S. Department of Transportation for the railroad portion of the work, reflecting its role in supporting the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard downriver. The result is a dual-purpose single 300-foot (91 m) lift span with an integrated set of rails, which lowers to railroad level when rail traffic must cross. The new bridge was scheduled to open on September 1, 2017, but construction delays pushed this back into 2018. Maine and New Hampshire's DOT officials maintain

3186-482: Was offered the opportunity to merge its properties into the new Conrail in 1976, but opted out. By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service also helped. In 1983, the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries for $ 24 million. This

3245-478: Was on its own until 1890, when it was re-leased to the B&L, then part of the B&M. The Northern owned a number of lines running west from Concord . On January 1, 1893, the B&M leased the Connecticut River Railroad , with the main line from Springfield, Massachusetts north along the Connecticut River to White River Junction, Vermont , where the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (acquired in 1887) continued north. Along with this railroad came

3304-463: Was reorganized as the Portland and Rochester Railroad in 1867, and opened the rest of the way in 1871. It was again reorganized in 1881 and then operated in conjunction with the line to Worcester. On April 1, 1887, the B&M leased the Boston and Lowell Railroad , adding not only trackage in the Boston area, but also the Central Massachusetts Railroad west to Northampton , the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad into northern New Hampshire ,

3363-431: Was restored by MVRTA subsidy in 1979.) On December 27, 1976, the MBTA bought all B&M commuter equipment, as well as most of the B&M's trackage on Boston's northside (including several abandoned lines). On March 12, 1977, the B&M also won the contract for the southside commuter rail lines that had once been part of the New Haven and B&A : the first time that Boston's commuter rail system had been operated by

3422-539: Was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as new labor issues which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost-cutting such as the 1990 closure of B&M's Mechanicville, New York , site: the largest rail yard and shop facilities on the B&M system. Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Up until CSX Transportation acquired Pan Am Railways on June 1, 2022, Boston & Maine Corporation continued to exist, but only as

3481-402: Was trimmed from Troy, New York , to Williamstown, Massachusetts , in January 1958, and discontinued soon afterward. The B&M became unprofitable in 1958 and moved to shed its money-losing passenger operations. On May 18, 1958, the B&M severely reduced Boston commuter service. The Maynard Branch, Saugus Branch, Essex Branch , and Stoneham Branch were cut, and the Central Mass Branch

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