27:
107:
to
Tewksbury Jct and continue to Lowell on the main L&L track. This was in defiance of the B&L's monopoly on all rail service between Boston and Lowell. In 1855, the courts ordered the B&M to stop running their passenger service and by 1858, the B&L had full control over the two lines. They rebuilt the Wildcat line and now the B&L was in a much stronger competitive position with the B&M now that they had access between Lowell,
106:
began operation around 1849. The Salem & Lowell's tracks crossed over the B&M's main line about a mile north of its North
Wilmington station and the crossroads was called Wilmington Jct. In 1851, the L&L permitted the B&M to run passenger service over the S&L from Wilmington Jct
130:
Today, almost the entire branch is still in operation. In the 1920s, the B&M abandoned the Lowell & Lawrence in favor of the Lowell & Andover. The only part of the L&L that kept in service was the first mile between the
Concord River and the Bleachery. The B&M abandoned their
118:
The B&M, however, knew that the B&L's monopoly would end soon and would not be renewed. When it ended, the Lowell & Andover was put in motion. The line started on the B&M's main line just south of
Ballardvale and went right through East Tewksbury and crossed over the Lowell &
86:
This led the B&M to build its own main line from North
Wilmington to Boston which angered the B&L's management. Trying to block the B&M from building its line, the B&L filed suit, but lost because its monopoly only covered service between Boston and Lowell.
126:
In 1895, the B&M built a bridge across the
Concord River and followed the L&L line to the Bleachery section of Lowell. It re-routed it traffic over this line and they continued to Downtown Lowell via the B&L main line, which the B&M had taken over in 1887.
119:
Lawrence tracks just north of
Tewksbury Jct. From here it paralleled the L&L until it came to Wamesit. There the two lines met on either side of the Wamesit station house. As they entered Lowell, they were running about a half mile apart until they met the
90:
After the new mail line was opened, the B&M removed its track that connected the main line between North
Wilmington and Wilmington so the B&L could not use it. Years later, the B&L would put the track back in and call it the
131:
1895 extension, in 1936 and built a connection from its line on the west side of the river to the L&L line. The original route along the
Concord River from Wigginsville to Downtown was abandoned in 1982.
78:
The B&M organized this railroad in retaliation against the B&L in their long running rivalry which started when the B&M rented trackage rights on the B&L's main line to access Boston from
199:
219:
83:. The traffic on the B&L main line was so heavy, the B&M was made to sit and wait hours at Wilmington before being given clearance to continue on to Boston.
123:
in
Wigginsville a small neighborhood in South Lowell. The Lowell & Andover followed the Concord River to Downtown Lowell and built a station on Central Street.
204:
214:
180:
161:
209:
99:
63:
43:
103:
80:
39:
67:
108:
26:
59:
51:
47:
112:
176:
157:
135:
55:
92:
193:
150:
120:
98:
The two railroads had been at odds with each other earlier when two new lines, the
54:
service ended in 1865. The line opened in 1874 from the B&M's main line at
173:
The Rail Lines of Southern New England - A Handbook of Railroad History
25:
30:
The Lowell and Andover line tracks at East Street in Tewksbury
149:
42:(B&M) and was organized in 1873, after the
200:Predecessors of the Boston and Maine Railroad
8:
138:' main freight line through Massachusetts.
220:Transportation in Lowell, Massachusetts
7:
14:
205:Defunct Massachusetts railroads
62:, just south of the village of
1:
134:Today, this line is part of
100:Lowell and Lawrence Railroad
16:Branch line in Massachusetts
115:while the B&M did not.
36:Lowell and Andover Railroad
236:
152:Lost Railroads New England
44:Boston and Lowell Railroad
104:Salem and Lowell Railroad
66:, west to Lowell through
40:Boston and Maine Railroad
38:was a branch line of the
215:Tewksbury, Massachusetts
171:Karr, Ronald D. (1995).
148:Karr, Ronald D. (1994).
46:(B&L)'s monopoly on
210:Andover, Massachusetts
31:
175:. Branch Line Press.
156:. Branch Line Press.
29:
32:
227:
186:
167:
155:
235:
234:
230:
229:
228:
226:
225:
224:
190:
189:
183:
170:
164:
147:
144:
136:Pan Am Railways
102:along with the
76:
56:Lowell Junction
24:
23:
22:
17:
12:
11:
5:
233:
231:
223:
222:
217:
212:
207:
202:
192:
191:
188:
187:
181:
168:
162:
143:
140:
93:Wildcat Branch
75:
72:
20:
19:
18:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
232:
221:
218:
216:
213:
211:
208:
206:
203:
201:
198:
197:
195:
184:
182:0-942147-02-2
178:
174:
169:
165:
163:0-942147-04-9
159:
154:
153:
146:
145:
141:
139:
137:
132:
128:
124:
122:
121:Concord River
116:
114:
110:
105:
101:
96:
94:
88:
84:
82:
73:
71:
69:
65:
61:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
37:
28:
172:
151:
133:
129:
125:
117:
97:
89:
85:
77:
35:
33:
64:Ballardvale
194:Categories
81:Wilmington
68:Tewksbury
109:Lawrence
142:Sources
74:History
60:Andover
179:
160:
111:, and
52:Lowell
48:Boston
113:Salem
177:ISBN
158:ISBN
34:The
58:in
50:to
21:Map
196::
95:.
70:.
185:.
166:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
