How did North Shore sleepers get from New York to Rockport?

Here's a question that's been bugging me for a long time. In an old B&M summer timetable, from 1941 IIRC, there was a Friday-only train called the Casco that ran from New York GCT with sleepers for Rockport, Portsmouth, and Portland. I can't find the original timetable, only my notes taken from it. My notes say,
"dp GCT 9:50 pm,
dp New Haven 11:36 pm,
dp Worcester 5:00 am,
arr. Salem 7:38 am,
Beverly 7:47 am,
Rockport 8:29 am,
Portsmouth 8:00 am,
Kennebunk 6:18 am,
Portland 6:54 am."
In other words, it left New York 50 minutes after the State of Maine and arrived Portland 11 minutes after it--reasonable, since the State of Maine made stops in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, whereas the Casco ran apparently non-stop to Kennebunk and must have followed the same route through Lowell and Dover.
I also clearly remember that there was a Rockport local out of North Station that arrived at Salem, Beverly, and Rockport at the times in my notes, so the Rockport sleepers were obviously put on that train somewhere. But there were no Portsmouth or Portland trains listed at those times. There also was no passenger train listed from Worcester to Boston that could have carried the Rockport sleepers to North Station for pickup by the local. I recall there was a train from Lowell that got to Boston just before the Rockport train left, but it would have been a tight connection, unless the sleepers were dropped outside the station and picked up by the outbound. Which makes no sense to me.
So the question is, How were the sleepers routed from Worcester to Salem--via North Station or some other route? And how did the other sleepers get to Portsmouth and Portland--as extra trains or what? The times are too early for them to have been extensions from Beverly, so I figure the train split somewhere, but where? Worcester? Lowell Junction? Rockingham?
Can anyone help? Thanks for any info.

eastwind

Short answer: I dunno, but I found some clues.

I have the public timetable for April 27, 1941, and the employee time table for May 24, 1942. I can confirm that the Salem-Rockport schedule from your notes was that of Gloucester (Rockport) Branch local 2505, leaving North Station 6:00 am.

The Casco is identified as train 89, leaving Grand Central at 8:50 pm, arriving as you noted (although a different train number) for the North Shore towns, and carrying the notation "No coaches." There are no stops indicated for the Casco between New Haven and Ogunquit. Also, per the public timetable, the Casco and the State of Maine were the same train north of Portland, departing that city at 6:10 am.

Another Casco sleeper is shown as arriving in Portsmouth at 7:00 am, obviously by connecting train, but I haven't figured out which one. There is a clue to sleeper handling in the May '42 ETT (which doesn't list the Casco / Train 89) in the notes for train 85, the Bar Harbor Express: "Will drop Pullman cars (presumably for Plymouth, NH for this train) at Hale St. Tower, Lowell." So, probably Hale St. Lowell - Boston for transfer to the Rockport local?

From the PTT, the Casco sleepers were listed as

GCT - Portland 10 sec. D.R., 2 Comp.
GCT - Rockport 12 sec D.R.
GCT - Portsmouth 10 sec. D.R., 2 Comp.

More digging underway.

PBM

PBM, thanks for the clues.
I guess it's safe to assume that the Casco didn't run in 1942 because of Pullman shortages due to the war.
Another question: Where was Hale St. Tower, Lowell? And why drop sleepers there and not at Lowell station, like the State of Maine did?

I have B & M Employee Timetable #31, 4/17/1941. #89 made an 's' stop at Rockingham (Jct.) station from 4:27 to 4:33 am on Saturday mornings. Returning #88 made an 's' stop at Rockingham from 10:09 to 10:15 pm Sunday nights. I'm guessing this was to drop or attach the Portsmouth and probably Rockport cars. No times are shown between Rockingham and Portsmouth, so a light engine and rider coach probably ran out from Portsmouth picked up the sleepers and returned to Portsmouth and reversed the process for the sleepers bound for New York. This would have been a Passenger Extra. While the Portsmouth-Kittery Bridge was out of service during 1939 and 1940, the Eastern Route service was continued using the Portsmouth Branch to Rockingham but schedules are shown on that segment because the trains were First Class schedules. A decade earlier there was a train called the Surfside and it ran out of New York Friday nights and returned from Portland Sunday nights. It used the State of Maine routing to Lowell Junction then turned south to Wilmington Junction over through North Reading, Danvers, Peabody. Long stop North Street, Salem to drop Rockport car(s) and pick up diner and then it was up the Eastern Route through coastal towns and on to Maine. Might not have had diner on the Sunday night trip. The Surfside info. is from ETT #8 4/26/1931. All times Standard, even though Daylight had been in general use around here since World War I days.

eddiebehr wrote:I have B & M Employee Timetable #31, 4/17/1941. #89 made an 's' stop at Rockingham (Jct.) station from 4:27 to 4:33 am on Saturday mornings. Returning #88 made an 's' stop at Rockingham from 10:09 to 10:15 pm Sunday nights. I'm guessing this was to drop or attach the Portsmouth and probably Rockport cars. No times are shown between Rockingham and Portsmouth, so a light engine and rider coach probably ran out from Portsmouth picked up the sleepers and returned to Portsmouth and reversed the process for the sleepers bound for New York. This would have been a Passenger Extra.

OK! That explains the Portsmouth sleeper. Since we don't know when the extra train might have run, I assume that 8:00 am (7:00 am EST) arrival time was actually the time the (parked) sleeper had to be vacated at Portsmouth. It doesn't take two and a half hours from Rockingham. I can't see holding the sleeper at the junction, either.

What makes less sense to me is running the Rockport sleeper all the way up to Portsmouth, then all the way down to Salem to be picked up by 2505. I also don't understand why my notes say "dp. Worcester 5:00 am." Does your ETT show anything departing Worcester at that hour (4:00 am Standard Time); if so, did it go to Boston in time for 2505? Worcester to Salem seems an awfully long pull for a switch engine with an extra train.

eddiebehr wrote:A decade earlier there was a train called the Surfside and it ran out of New York Friday nights and returned from Portland Sunday nights. It used the State of Maine routing to Lowell Junction then turned south to Wilmington Junction over through North Reading, Danvers, Peabody. Long stop North Street, Salem to drop Rockport car(s) and pick up diner and then it was up the Eastern Route through coastal towns and on to Maine. Might not have had diner on the Sunday night trip. The Surfside info. is from ETT #8 4/26/1931. All times Standard, even though Daylight had been in general use around here since World War I days.

I just happen to have a public TT from June 22, 1931, and you're right. Train 293-11, The Surfside, departed Grand Central at 10:15 pm EST, a good three hours after the State of Maine, stopped at New Haven at 12:00 midnite, and ran without passenger stops to Salem, arriving at 6:05 am and Beverly at 6:07 am. The Number 11 section went to Plymouth; first stop Manchester NH at 5:46 am.

This train carried through sleepers from New York for Portland, Portsmouth, Rockport, and Plymouth, and from Washington to Plymouth and Rockport. Also a dining car Salem-Portland. No coaches. The Washington cars left Penn Sta. at 7:00 pm and presumably sat in New Haven until being picked up at midnight by 293 (or whatever number the New Haven ran it under).

So if I have the picture right, this train ran solid all the way to Lowell (North Chelmsford?), where the Plymouth sleepers split off, then over the route you outlined to Salem, where the Rockport cars split off and the dining car was added, then up the Eastern Route through Ipswich (6:20 am) and Newburyport (6:34 am) to Portsmouth (7:07 am) where the New York sleeper was set out, then on up to Portland (with five more stops in Maine--including "Scarboro Beach"!), arriving 8:40 am.

A question: When the train arrived in Salem, was the train pointing south or north? I'm not familiar with the track layout in that area, and I understand it's changed since the '40s anyway. Did the line from North Reading and Peabody enter Salem station from the south, or was a backup move required? Just wondering if the Pullman passengers ended up riding the Eastern Route backwards...

Thanks for all the info. Much appreciated.

eastwind

Eastwind,
The lines that entered Salem from Lawerence, North Reading, Peabody, Danvers joined the eastern route at the north end of the Salem tunnel at a "Y". the Salem station was at the south end of the tunnel This allowed the trains to go north towards Maine and Rockport or south to Boston when entering the eastern route. There was a small yard at the end of these lines that would allow the swapping of cars for the northward moves.The Salem tower and round house were in the middle of the 'Y". Currently the Boston leg of the "Y" is a comuter parking lot and the round house was taken down in the "70s". The switch for the Boston leg was in the tunnel so the north end of the tunnel had two portals. All of the connecting tracks that went to Lawrence etc. has been pulled up except for a small branch that goes to outside Peobody center. When I say north and south I mean compass north and south. I think the railroad called it railroad east and west?

Peter

Eastwind:
Back to TT #31, 4/27/1941. B & M #500 Railway Express Train, no psgrs. Depart Worcester 4:00 am Ayer A 4:43, L 4:52, Boston via Waltham Arrive 5:45 am. No other stops. Standard time. This train carried traffic primarily from the Boston & Albany which had a solid Mail & Express train each way between Springfield & Worcester. #500 ran except Sun & Mon. If you can find someone with a North Station Track & Yard book for that date, it might give a clue to the existence of a Rockport sleeper. ( These books say things like "switcher takes express cars from Track 19 and places on head end of #107 on Track 4" or something like that or "sleeprs from #5502, #22 and #8 placed on Track 7 until 7:00 am"). You might be right because one of the oldtimers in the B & M General Office where I worked 1968-86 said that the Rockport summer sleeper came through Boston. He grew up in Beverly, was born in 1921 or 1922 and was somewhat of an enthusiast. (Now deceased.) Don't know how this would have been handled on the Sunday return. The Boston-Worcester via Waltham job didn't run Sundays. Sleepers for Concord, Plymouth and Lakes region were dropped at the Hale Street Tower in Lowell. This notation applies to both #85 which appears to be the Washington-Bar Harbor Exp. and #87 which appears to be the NY-Bar Harbor. I don't have the public for that date in front of me. By the way, for one glorious summer from the time the WNP was downgraded east of Ayer in 1928 and the late 1930s, the train for the Lakes Region ran Ayer-Nashua. I'd have to dig out that timetable for exact date.

Given a Salem passenger stop and the required switching, the 1931 "Surfside" probably pulled up to Northey Point (easterly leg of the wye, left as it came from Peabody) and either backed or was pulled by a switcher through the tunnel and into Salem station. That way the switcher could work the rear while the train was in the clear on double track, and put the Rockport cars in the easterly stub track for easy attachment to an outbound during its station stop.

OK, I see where Hale Street, Lowell is in the satellite view--a block south of Lowell station, in fact just a few feet south of the end of the platform. Presumably that's where the tower in question was (is?).

The Bar Harbor arriving from New York, prior to taking the switch at Bleachery to head east to Lowell Junction, would be pointing compass south towards Boston.
If it dropped the Plymouth sleepers there, for pickup by the outbound from Boston, the sleepers would ride backwards all the way to Plymouth, would they not? Unless they were turned somewhere.

The way I always pictured it was that the Bar Harbor, coming compass north on the line from Ayer, would drop the sleepers just before taking the east leg of the wye at North Chelmsford. (There used to be a yard there, didn't there? I don't see it in the satellite view now, but I could've sworn I did before.) The outbound from Boston, after leaving Lowell station, would then pass the wye, back up on the west leg of the wye and attach the waiting sleepers, then pull forward towards Plymouth. That way the sleepers would be pointing in the right direction.
This is not how it was done?

North Chelmsford didn't have a switcher or yard steam lines AFAIK, though the steam wouldn't have mattered in the summer. Lowell had these, plus a RIP track and some repair/service capability. The B&M generally preferred to do its passenger train switching at terminals. Also, Lowell had a wye just south of the present Lowell Connector overpass, where the NH line from Framingham met the B&M. If the B&M was feeling prosperous, it would have been a matter of a few minutes to turn the sleeper. The final Lowell Tower was located in the middle of this wye.

jbvb wrote: Lowell had a wye just south of the present Lowell Connector overpass, where the NH line from Framingham met the B&M. If the B&M was feeling prosperous, it would have been a matter of a few minutes to turn the sleeper.

jbvb,
Thanks for pointing that out. I'd never noticed it before.
Makes a lot of sense to turn the sleepers there and push them onto the rear of the outbound waiting in the station.

Thanks for clearing that up!

eastwind

jbvb wrote:Given a Salem passenger stop and the required switching, the 1931 "Surfside" probably pulled up to Northey Point (easterly leg of the wye, left as it came from Peabody) and either backed or was pulled by a switcher through the tunnel and into Salem station.

I have a hazy memory of being told that the present MBTA Salem station is not where the station used to be. I've been in Salem only once, in 2001, and it was hard keeping my geographical bearings and drive at the same time.

If I'm reading the satellite image correctly, the old station was south of Mill Street at the south portal of the tunnel? It even looks like there's still a stairway down from the street to a platform on the west side of the single track? This is the Salem station you're referring to, yes?

The switching plan you've outlined makes perfect sense to me, and I thank you for it. Clears up that part of the mystery!

May I ask another question: When was the line from Wilmington Junction cut? Before or after the war? My post-war PTTs show the line from Salem ending in a dotted line west of Route 1, just past where that line crossed the Western Route's own branch to Danvers, via Lynnfield. I remember those two grade crossings on Route 1: less than a mile apart, both single-track and both protected not by gates nor by flashers but by ordinary traffic lights! I remember thinking, each time we passed those two on the way between Boston and our home in Maine, that there must not be many trains through those crossings if that's all it took to warn the motorists.

eastwind

eddiebehr wrote:Eastwind:
Back to TT #31, 4/27/1941. B & M #500 Railway Express Train, no psgrs. Depart Worcester 4:00 am Ayer A 4:43, L 4:52, Boston via Waltham Arrive 5:45 am.

Mystery solved!
And #2505 left at 6:00 am, so the switcher would have 15 minutes, if #500 was on time (and of course it was), to get the sleepers off the one and onto the other. Tight by today's standards, but workable.

I can just picture the Pullman passengers raising the shades at 7 am Daylight Time and peering out into a beautiful sunny morning...in North Station!

eddiebehr wrote: Don't know how this would have been handled on the Sunday return.

My notes don't cover the return trip, so I'm as clueless as you are.

eddiebehr wrote:By the way, for one glorious summer from the time the WNP was downgraded east of Ayer in 1928 and the late 1930s, the train for the Lakes Region ran Ayer-Nashua. I'd have to dig out that timetable for exact date.

WNP? I don't know that one.
But it might explain why the Surfside didn't stop at Nashua Union.

Thank you everyone for clearing up this puzzle that's been bothering me for such a long time.

eastwind

Eastwind.

The track from Wilmington Jct. to South Middleton was abandoned 1939.

The Norman Castle Salem station was built 1847; tear down began 1954. It was located between Mill and Norman Streets.The below grade station was built between the two streets and opened in 1958. In the 1958 station, the waiting room and ticket office were at street level, platforms at track level. Most people used the steps, but when the station was attended you could hop a ride in the baggage elevator. The streets were set up in a rotary pattern and the local residents called the area Riley Plaza.

That one glorious summer comment about using WNP to Nashua didn't apply to the Surfside. One or more years there was a NY-Plymouth schedule in 1930s. There were lots of names for seasonal trains on the B & M. And they changed from time to time.