Photos from the "old days"

Apparently it was every other day, and B&M E-7's were a regular visitor to Montreal as well, the CP actually purchased the three E-8's they rostered for international service, and as they downsized in the late 50's and early 60's, CPR Budd cars were regular visitors to North Station. I'm like you, born in the mid 50's, and not old enough to remember seeing this stuff (although I do remember CP Budds as late as 1965) I was fortunate to have worked with a lot of old timers from the B&M as well as the New Haven. They told me that all was not as nice as it would appear with this arrangement, for instance CP ALWAYS took exceptional care of their equipment, even had brass spitoons bolted to the cab floors to accomodate tobacco chewers. CP was horrified on many occaisions to find their beautiful E-8's come back to home rails with stuff missing or litter strewn around the cabs, I have one photo in my collection of a sideswipe collision at Yard-5 at Boston Engine Terminal when a hostler backed a pair of FT's into a CP E-8 boing extensive damage to the sheetmetal.

What line did the "New Power For America" end up on?

>>Was it usual to see CP at North Station ?

Almost daily, IIRC.

PBM

The "More Power for America" PA-2s - 8375 A & B- went to the New York Central.

PBM

Thanks for sharing these photos, Dave. It's a novelty to see color shots of the late 40s--early 50s. Don Ball Jr. compiled a book of color photos from that era, called America's Colorful Railroads, and I spent a lot of time looking at it. It's probably old news to anyone here, but it's worth a mention.

That shot of the four Pacifics at the roundhouse is great!

3rdrail wrote:Beautiful, Dave ! Just when I thought that it couldn't get better ! I was amazed to see a Canadian Pacific diesel leading the Alouette out of North Station. I had always thought that their equipment got swapped on/off at the border or nearby like Burlington or White River Jct. Was it usual to see CP at North Station ?

Hi Paul, yes, in fact, CPR E-8's 1800 - 1802 were purchased for "Alouette" service, and as per agreement, our E-7's went to Montreal, I can remember CP Buddliners coming into North Station as late as 1965.

Didn't want to leave you folks on the other side of the city out, here is a shot of "The Patriot" making a station stop at Back Bay Station on July 21,1951.

3rdrail wrote:Beautiful, Dave ! Just when I thought that it couldn't get better ! I was amazed to see a Canadian Pacific diesel leading the Alouette out of North Station. I had always thought that their equipment got swapped on/off at the border or nearby like Burlington or White River Jct. Was it usual to see CP at North Station ?

The CP 1800 class were purchased to alternate with B&M E7's on the daytime Alouettes and nightime RedWings. The roads supplied an engine on each train every day. If a train was B&M powered on the southbound, the northbound would have a CP unit and vice versa.

The Alouettes ran between Boston and Montreal through the Woodsville to Concord line. The engines ran the entire route so you would see CP in Boston and B&M in Montreal. The Red Wings took a different route to/from Boston via White River Jct. The difference being that the CP engines were changed at WRJ and did not run through to North Station.

Duane Goodman

Interesting information ! Makes me even more sad that I missed steam and the early multi-road diesels ! So, I'm assuming that you would see the Alouette on both B&M and CP's timetables, regardless of who's road was pulling ? Canadian crews all the way south and Americans north or did they swap off somewhere ?
Beautiful shot of the Alco PA at BB. The NH PA's were the real "straw that broke the I-5's back", ending steam on the New Haven.

And lastly we have train #5 the "Alouette" getting ready to depart North Station on August 4,1952. [/quote]

Could one of you gentlemen help me orient myself in regards to the photograph of the Alouette......is this looking south toward downtown Boston from the end of the platform? What are freight cars doing south of the draw bridges? Were there customers on the Boston side?

Track 18 looking southerly into North Station Terminal towards Causeway Street. The tallest building to the right is the old Manger Hotel which has since been torn down. The second highest structure looking left is North Station and the Boston Garden complex. If you look carefully between the Manger and the Station, you might see a seven year old PCC up on the West End El at North Station elevated station. You can see the elevated structure in the pic. Our locomotive is almost out of the station area and is close to the draw bridges. The freight cars on the right are at the truck delivery area off Nashua Street directly opposite the old RMV building where the Nashua Street Park lot is now. I believe (Dave, please correct me if I'm wrong) that large deliveries which were going to be transferred to trucks for local delivery that tended to be commercial went here. Baggage and Railway Express were on the other (east) side of the station yard accross from the B&M Building. I think that the only thing in the photo that may still be there are those buildings immediately above the red boxcar on Causeway.

I think you've got it covered, Paul.

Today we have Pacific 3631, on train #3366 from Concord,N.H., making a station stop at Winchester,Mass. on July 2,1950, in the days before elevation. And next, who could forget the Talgo, shown here east of Woburn Street crossing at Reading,Mass. waiting for a Buddliner to leave ahead of it on July 15,1958.

Did they run CP engines on the Mt St Royal or the Montrealer?

NRGeep wrote:Did they run CP engines on the Mt St Royal or the Montrealer?

There was no train called the "Mt.St.Royal", there was however, a train that ran to Montreal over the Rutland called the "Mount Royal". The "Montrealer"/"Washingtonian" ran via the Central Vermont, therefore neither train used CPR equipment or power.

3rdrail wrote:Track 18 looking southerly into North Station Terminal towards Causeway Street. The tallest building to the right is the old Manger Hotel which has since been torn down. The second highest structure looking left is North Station and the Boston Garden complex. If you look carefully between the Manger and the Station, you might see a seven year old PCC up on the West End El at North Station elevated station. You can see the elevated structure in the pic. Our locomotive is almost out of the station area and is close to the draw bridges. The freight cars on the right are at the truck delivery area off Nashua Street directly opposite the old RMV building where the Nashua Street Park lot is now. I believe (Dave, please correct me if I'm wrong) that large deliveries which were going to be transferred to trucks for local delivery that tended to be commercial went here. Baggage and Railway Express were on the other (east) side of the station yard accross from the B&M Building. I think that the only thing in the photo that may still be there are those buildings immediately above the red boxcar on Causeway.

Thank you, sir.