Boston & Worcester

Company History: The B&W was chartered in 1831 and completed their line between their namesake Massachusetts cities in 1835. By 1843, the entire route had been double tracked to handle the traffic. That same year, they established a season pass for passengers between Boston and West Newton for $60. This is generally recognized as the first commuter railroad. A phased merger of five area railroads, including the Boston & Worcester, between 1867 and 1870 created the Boston & Albany Railroad.

Successor/Parent History: The B&A was the result of two mergers accomplished in phases between 1867 and 1870. The merged lines included the Hudson & Boston Railroad, the Albany & West Stockbridge, the Western Railroad (by that time a paper railroad operated by the A&WS), the Hudson & Berkshire and the Boston & Worcester. Construction continued until late in the century. The result was a line running from Boston, Massachusetts west to Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield and on to Albany, New York, plus a number of branches. In 1900 the B&A was leased for 99 years by the New York Central & Hudson River, In 1914, the lease passed to New York Central Railroad. As during the NYC&HR period, Boston & Albany retained their own corporate identity during NYC’s lease although locomotive and rolling stock design practices followed those of parent NYC. Lima Locomotive Works worked with Boston & Albany to develop the 2-8-4 wheel arrangement for locomotives in fast, heavy freight service. This wheel arrangement was named the Berkshire in honor of B&A’s route through the Berkshire Mountains. Commuter traffic on the Boston end was extensive with a 4 or more track mainline required from the city as far as Riverside and triple track all the way to Framingham. For many years, tank engines were used for commuter operations so the power could run in reverse at speed to return to their home terminal. The largest of these were 4-6-6T’s. Around 1951, New York Central lettering began to replace Boston & Albany lettering on locomotives and cars. The B&A was officially merged into NYC in 1961 but many freight cars assigned to specific services continued to receive B&A reporting marks for many more years.

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.