The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was a small independent railroad that was chartered in 1846 to build a rail line linking the two giant Merrimack River Valley cities of Lowell, Massachusetts to Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Originally, the line was going to be built along the Merrimack River, but the residents of Tewksbury, upset that they had been bypassed by both the Boston and Lowell Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad requested that the new line come through their town.
Construction began in 1846 and passed through Tewksbury and West Andover and met the B&M main line in South Lawrence. The line opened in 1848 and began running both freight and passenger service between the two cities. Passengers could access Boston by either connecting to the B&M in Lawrence or the B&L in Lowell.
The year the L&L opened, the Salem and Lowell Railroad was chartered and its line was built from Peabody to the L&L's line just a little over a mile east of Tewksbury Center. The S&L was ready for business in 1850 and the L&L ran the line under contract. The meeting of the two lines was a Wye that the two lines gave three different names to. The north point of the Wye was called Lawrence Jct; the west point was called Tewksbury Jct and the south point was called Salem Jct. By the time the two lines fell under control of the Boston and Lowell, the entire Wye was called Tewksbury Jct.
B&M control of operations
In 1852, the L&L allowed the B&M to run passenger service from Wilmington Jct to Lowell along the two lines in defiance of the monopoly owned by the B&L for all rail service between Lowell and Boston. B&L filed suit in 1855 and won in court. Because of this violation, the B&L acquired the L&L and took over operation in 1858.
By the time that the B&M took over control of the B&L in 1887, the Lowell and Lawrence was obsolete. The B&M had built its own branch line to Lowell in 1874, after the B&L's monopoly ran out in 1865, and it closely paralleled the L&L's main line, meaning it was not worthwhile for the B&M to maintain two line between Lowell and Lawrence. The B&M ran some passenger service over the line until 1924 and then slowly started to abandon the line. First from Pikes Siding in South Lawrence to Tewksbury Jct in 1926. Then Tewksbury Jct to Tewksbury Center later that year when the B&M abandoned the Salem & Lowell from Tewksbury Jct to Wilmington Jct.
Between 1895 and 1900, service ended on the line from its start at the Bleachery in Lowell to Wamesit in Tewksbury where the B&M and the L&L shared a station. This stretch of track was not, however, legally abandoned until 1936. The tracks were removed and the line from Tewksbury Center was directly connected to the B&M's Lowell Branch line. Freight traffic ran from Wamesit to Tewksbury Center until 1979 and then was completely abandoned in 1983.
Current status
The only part of the Lowell and Lawrence still in operation today is at either end of where the lines began and ended. In Lawrence, the first two miles of the line from Lawrence to Pikes Siding is still used as an industrial spur. In Lowell, where the two lines paralleled each other only a half mile apart, the B&M abandoned its line from the Bleachery to the Concord River and built a connecting line to the L&L, keeping the first mile of the line in service. Pan Am Railways still uses this part of the line as its main line through the city of Lowell.
Unfortunately, two days into the
new electric service in 1907 a train led by two T-2 class locomotives
number 3407 and 3421 derailed on a curve on the Harlem Line killing 24
and injuring 140. The investigation identified design flaws involving
the long rigid wheelbase and its performance at high speed. The solution
was to convert the entire class to use 2 axle leading and trailing
trucks to better guide the locomotive around curves. Units already
delivered were modified to fit the extra wheels and units not delivered
were modified in the factory. Again the class was changed from T to S.
Finally in 1908 an additional batch of 12 locomotives, class S-3, were
ordered to support the electrification being extended to North White
Plains on the Harlem Line.
The original S-Motor, former No. 6000, awaiting restoration south of Albany, NY in 2012.
With
weight split between powered and unpowered axles the S motors were
never completely satisfactory at pulling long heavy trains at high
speed. The 1907 accident only made matters worse with additional
unpowered axles being added and new speed restrictions imposed. Finally
in 1913 the new class of T-Motors arrived, displacing the S Motors from
first line service. For the next 60 years the S-motors were assigned to
short local commuter trains and empty equipment movements between Grand
Central and the Coach Yards at Mott Haven. They were later re-numbered
into the 1100 series and ultimately the 100 series with some examples
surviving the Penn Central merger. The combination of the New Haven's
new 60 unit strong electro-diesel FL-9 to handle short commuter trains
and the drastic reduction in long distance passenger trains using the
Mott Haven coach yards eventually ended these niche applications as
well. Their final assignment was switching service in the underground
yards of Grand Central Terminal. The last S motor, #115, was finally
retired from Conrail commuter operations in 1981 after 75 years in
service, being replaced by GE E-10 steeplecab units acquired second hand
from the Niagara Junction Railroad after Conrail took control of that
operation.[1]
Three S-Motors were preserved including the
prototype #100. Two are in museums, #113 at the National Museum of
Transportation, and #115 at the Illinois Railway Museum; however, #100,
owned by the Mohawk and Hudson chapter NRHS, is stored outside on an
abandoned rail spur in Glenmont, New York awaiting funds for
restoration. The locomotive was recently secured for transport to the
Danbury Railw
Ephemera
is a word used by appraisers often to cover those objects that don’t
fit into general categories such as fine and decorative art or glass and
porcelain and can be grouped together as everything left over or
oddities needing valuation to finalize an estate or collection value.
In
the matter of paper ephemera we are referring primarly to magazines,
comic books and even dime store novels and other similar publications
that were meant to be read and then disposed of later. Much of this
material when first published did not register among the balance of the
collecting public and endless stories exist of people who bought every
issue of Superman or Mad Magazine in their youth only to discover that
their parents had thrown them away years later. Today collecting of
paper ephemera has become a major field driven by the Baby Boomer
generation as well as those born in the 60s and 70s. Collectors use
grading companies to slab (place in plastic) and grade their copies of
comic books and magazines considered rare such as Golden Age issues of
Batman and Superman or the earliest issues of Mad Magazine and even TV
Guide. The higher the grade the more valuable the issue. The subject of
grading will be addressed in the next post.
“ephemera” are vintage printed or written items which originally served
some specific purpose and were not expected to be retained or
preserved, but which are now cherished. A few decades ago much of it was
called “Paper Americana”, though ephemera is not necessarily American.
Or even paper: these days the field has been expanded to include such
things as tobacco tins, photographs, radio premiums, textile swatches,
vinyl record albums, items made of celluloid or wood. Also included are
various items which were indeed likely to have been saved, such as
wedding invitations, marriage certificates, passports, birth
certificates, wills, deeds, divorce papers, stock certificates,
promissory notes, and many other vintage documents.
Antique Vintage,
Old, Retro, Distressed, MCM, Mid-century Modern, Collectible, Collecting
Collection, relic Rustic Historic Memorabilia Rare Classic Early, Authentic,
Aged, Ancient, Last , Historical, Bygone Era, Artifact, , Antiquated, Archaic,
Rarity, Primitive Valuable, Uncommon, Unique, Prized, One Of A Kind, Hard To
Find, Desirable, Exclusive, Only, Sought After, Museum Piece, Souvenir,
Curious, Keepsake, Treasure,
Unique Pieces Decorative
Design Designed Fabulous Grand Elegant Beautiful Timeless, Classical,
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Glorious, Garnished, Superb, Distinctive, Aesthetic, Charming, Fascinating,
Sensational, Fabulous, Wonderful, Lovely, Great, Fantastic, Stunning, Incredible, Delightful, Sensational, Fabulous, Wonderful,
Lovely, Great, Fantastic, Drool-worthy, Stunning, Incredible, Enjoy,
Appreciate, Delightful, Fun, Precious, Glowing, Luxurious, Enticing, Classic,
Beautiful, Glorious, Garnished, Superb, Distinctive, Aesthetic, Charming,
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Lovable, Special, Sure To Please, Colorful, Muted, Perfect, Superlative,
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Curio, Memento, Remember, Heirloom, Specimen, Trophy, Keepsake
Industry,
Industrial, Steam Punk Steampunk Company Factory, Style, Architecture,
Architectural Architect Machine
Warehouse Abandoned, Retro, Pop Culture,
Hardware, Junk Metalwork Embellish,
Restoration, Repurposed, Repurpose, Renovation, Renovate, Restore,
Remodel, Refurbish, Versatile, Customized,
Supplies, Salvage, Salvaged, Art,
Artsmith, Rusty, Ornamental , Salvage, Metalwork Iron, Bronze, Brass,
Copper Patina Iron, Steel, Scrap, Craftworks
Supplies Junk Hardware Metal Relic, Sculpture Welded, Machinery, Engine, Mechanical
The origins of the caboose appear to date back to the 1840s when Nat
Williams, a conductor of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad (a later
affiliate of the New York Central).
He became fed up with cramped
and uncomfortable quarters to do paperwork (a common job of the
conductor, whose responsibility is general oversight and control of a
train, passenger or freight). This was usually done within either a
free space on a passenger car or combine/baggage car.
To fix this
problem, Williams found an unused boxcar and, using a simple box and
barrel as a seat and desk, set up shop to do his duties. Not only did he
find there was plenty of room to work but also figured he could use the
unused space to store tools (flags, lanterns, spare parts, etc.) and
other essentials when needed.
UTU - United Transportation Union