Wow, it seems like yesterday, but one look at the Bleachery and you realize how much mother nature can do in 26 years. Let's see if I can remember, going from west to east (or north to south if you're on the New Hampshire Division) there was the TURNOUT and the NEW SIDE, across Gorham Street was the BLEACHERY, and just past Lundberg Street overhead bridge was the FAIRGROUNDS and the NEW YARD. Now, going way back to pre 1948, there were two signal towers, one at Hale Street and the other at Bleachery, both were retired and replaced by Lowell Tower when the B&M CTC'd the New Hampshire Division in 1948. There were also three passenger stations in Lowell in the modern era, Lowell station, Bleachery station, and Wigginville. Lowell always was a busy RR junction, I remember as a young man just hiring out on the B&M and working in Lowell yard in the mid 1970's, there would always be at least 5 switch engines and 1 road engine based out of the Bleachery just to cover the switching and local freight assingnments. My hero and mentor, Yardmaster Clark Shay said to me my first day "Welcome to f---kin ray-road town USA kid, hope you brought your lunch, 'cause you're gonna be busy", boy was he right, no matter what trick you worked, IT WAS BUSY. Now, Lowell is just a shadow of its former self, sure is hard to believe, and even sadder to have watched its demise over the last 40 years.
David Hutchinson