Bay Colony

Company History: Bay Colony began operation on 6 unconnected former New Haven lines in eastern Massachusetts in 1982. The lines, which were discarded by Conrail, are owned by the state and Bay Colony became the designated operator. Total mileage at startup was 124 with five to ten locomotives to do the good work between 1982 and 2007. The longest line linked Middleboro (and its Conrail connection) to Buzzards Bay and on toward Falmouth and Hyannis, both of which are on Cape Cod. This line includes a massive lift bridge over the Cape Cod Canal at Buzzards Bay.

In the early years, the Bay Colony's diesel fleet was concentrated on 3 of the 6 lines while the other 3 were served by a single Whiting Trackmobile leased from Springfield Terminal. The Trackmobile was moved from line to line on a flatbed truck! In 2007, the contract with the state to run the Cape Cod line expired and another railroad, Massachusetts Coastal, won the bidding. Today, the Bay Colony is down to operating 3 of the original 6 routes. So what does a shortline haul in a state whose biggest products are lawyers and Kennedys? Garbage, coal, lumber, cement, LP gas and salt among other things. Bay Colony is owned by the same folks who own Florida's Seminole Gulf Railroad.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.