B&M books with details on lines north of Boston

Can anyone recommend any books dealing with the B&M lines (really branch lines) north of Boston - the areas of Salem, Marblehead, Gloucester, Melrose, etc.

More of delineating which branch was what, when it was abandoned, operations, etc.

Thanks.

Charles

Try these books:

The Rail Lines of Southern New England - by Ronald Dale Karr
Lost Railroads of New England - by Ronald Dale Karr
Boston and Maine: City and Shore - by Robert Willoughby Jones

The first two have a lot of detail and (mostly hand drawn) maps.
The third is a hardcover book with a fair number of pictures.

- Stephen

Boston and Maine - Three Colorful Decades by Robert Willoughby Jones has both an overview of history and many color pix of operations, including specifically the various branches north of Boston.

PBM

Thanks for the suggestions. I've ordered all 4.

Charles

For information about why certain lines went in and other history behind them, I like the book " The Formation of New England Rail Systems" by George Baker.

Provides some good background.

High Green and the Bark Peelers is a good book exclusively about the Boston and Maine and Engineman Henry B... can't spell his last name. Good book.

High Green and the Bark Peelers is an excellent read! Utterly fascinating, informative, and entertaining. Many libraries in the New England area have it, so be sure to ask for it at your friendly local public library even if you can't find a copy for purchase.

I really enjoyed that book. The B&M Historical Society has the rights to it. At some point they were planning on releasing an edition with pictures from the archives.

I spoke with former president Buddy Winiarz about that a month or so ago. Don't hold your breath, not on the front burner.

Too bad, with photos added, it would be even more interesting.

I agree, most library consortiums should have the book in at least one library so if your library doesn't have it, it should be a piece of cake getting it on interlibrary loan or as they call it in Mass now "network transfer."

Have you seen the Formation of New England Rail Systems book by something something Baker?

High Green and Bark Peelers is a must for any shelf, as are the Karr books.

You brought up Baker's book on Formation of the New England railroad network. If you want a really detailed look on how and why the railroad network was built in Essex County (particularly the ERR and Georgetown Branch) and southern NH in the 1830s-1850s, check out Connolly, Capitalism, Politics, and Railroads in Jacksonian New England. It was published out of the University of Missouri in 2003. Talks about routes, labor problems, legislative debates, etc.

>>It was published out of the University of Missouri in 2003.

Hmm. R. M. Neal was a professor at UM when he wrote High Green. Is there a B&M history clique in the midwest?

PBM

Vanishing Markers is another MUST READ for B&M fans.

Engineer Spike wrote:Vanishing Markers is another MUST READ for B&M fans.

Absolutely. I had the good fortune to work with the late Ralph Fisher in one of his post-B&M jobs, for a couple years in the l970s, and he was both a nice guy and a great storyteller. His book is not a history as such, but it's a wonderful firsthand account of a brakeman's life on the B&M during the transition from steam to diesel.

Several of Tom Nelligan's books capture the B&M and its successful reorganization in the 1970s. Tom, Bluebirds and Minutemen is a real keepsake of my book collection.

Thank you sir!