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Station stops on the line along were
Bedford, Springs Road, Bedford Springs, South Billerica, Turnpike (Nuttings Lake), Billerica, Bennett Hall and North Billerica. (Only the Bedford and North Billerica station depot structures still stand.) Passenger service stopped on the last day of 1931 and the
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of the economies of a two-foot line, and became general manager of the
Billerica and Bedford when it was chartered in 1876. Construction began in May 1877, and the line was completed between
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line was used as a freight line until it was abandoned from
Bedford Depot to Billerica Depot in 1962. The line was further abandoned from Billerica Depot to Bennett Hall about 1980.
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The line was built very cheaply in accordance with narrow gauge doctrine, but rapidly found itself financially embarrassed. Turntables were built at each end of the railroad, and a
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George explained how his idea of a small-gauge railroad was developed based on the needs of small towns followed the railroad depression of that year. He persuaded the citizens of
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570:. This has been a popular idea but Mansfield never made the claim of visiting Wales in any of his numerous writings. In an article in the October 24, 1875
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were built at
Bedford, but no stations were ever constructed along the line. The company went bankrupt and was liquidated in June 1878.
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used most of the B&B roadbed to extend its
Lexington Branch in May 1885. The
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An 1879 description of its location, permanent way, and rolling stock, 27 pages
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60:
562:, allegedly became an early promoter of the two foot gauge after seeing the
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The Rail Lines of
Southern New England - A Handbook of Railroad History
968:
for later history of the right-of-way, including use as a rail trail
28:
Steam locomotive 'Ariel' built by
Hinkley Locomotive Works of Boston
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for the experimental railway through George E. Mansfield's backyard
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Mansfield, undeterred, went on to promote the two foot gauge in
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in August 1877, a distance of 8.63 miles (13.89 km).
1188:
Two Feet
Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years)
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George
Mansfield and the Billerica and Bedford Railroad
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1145:Adams, Robert. "Born and Buried in Six Months".
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1314:Predecessors of the Boston and Maine Railroad
978:Sumner Heights and Hazelwood Valley Railroad
37:Route of the Billerica and Bedford Railroad
537:, built to demonstrate the advantages of a
1324:Railway companies disestablished in 1878
1304:2 ft gauge railways in the United States
1309:Narrow gauge railroads in Massachusetts
1344:American companies established in 1876
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974:for later history of the rolling stock
1319:Railway companies established in 1876
966:Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad
622:The two locomotives were named after
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1339:1876 establishments in Massachusetts
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999:The Billerica and Bedford Railroad.
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1149:(September 1959). Kalmbach: 34.
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1177:Crittenden, H. Temple (1976).
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527:Billerica and Bedford Railroad
432:
113:Billerica and Bedford Railroad
17:Billerica and Bedford Railroad
1:
1267:Billerica and Bedford history
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46:Original drawing of the route
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932:Ranlet Manufacturing Company
891:Ranlet Manufacturing Company
851:Ranlet Manufacturing Company
815:Ranlet Manufacturing Company
779:Ranlet Manufacturing Company
615:took over the line in 1887.
7:
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10:
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1237:Moody, Linwood W. (1959).
1199:Lost Railroads New England
609:Boston and Lowell Railroad
550:
498:Middlesex Central Railroad
160:Boston and Lowell Railroad
1186:Jones, Robert C. (1980).
950:several later rebuilt as
613:Boston and Maine Railroad
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192:North Billerica Junction
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1329:Billerica, Massachusetts
1218:Karr, Ronald D. (1995).
1195:Karr, Ronald D. (1994).
1154:Ball, Donald L. (2012).
732:Hinkley Locomotive Works
685:Hinkley Locomotive Works
560:Hazelwood, Massachusetts
1334:Bedford, Massachusetts
1179:The Maine Scenic Route
1239:The Maine Two-Footers
1222:. Branch Line Press.
1203:. Branch Line Press.
1132:Crittenden 1976 pp.24
1111:Crittenden 1976 pp.11
1045:Crittenden 1976 pp.19
531:narrow gauge railroad
972:Sandy River Railroad
948:Sandy River Railroad
905:Sandy River Railroad
867:Sandy River Railroad
831:Sandy River Railroad
795:Sandy River Railroad
759:Sandy River Railroad
712:Sandy River Railroad
1181:. McClain Printing.
1160:Aubrey Publications
624:William Shakespeare
556:George E. Mansfield
18:
1272:2020-02-06 at the
1243:Howell-North Books
564:Ffestiniog Railway
547:) gauge railroad.
67:Dates of operation
16:
1284:Advertising cards
1190:. Sundance Books.
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747:Forney locomotive
700:Forney locomotive
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1274:Wayback Machine
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1261:External links
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910:#1 & #3
908:baggage cars
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420:(Great Road)
418:Main Street
272:Boston Road
30:
903:Rebuilt as
784:combine car
545:610 mm
232:Salem Road
100:610 mm
89:Track gauge
1293:Categories
1139:References
252:Billerica
985:Footnotes
576:Billerica
540:2 ft
375:Oak Hill
95:2 ft
83:Technical
78:abandoned
75:Successor
1270:Archived
960:See also
946:Sold to
937:flatcars
655:Builder
52:Overview
952:boxcars
865:Became
829:Became
793:Became
757:Became
710:Became
628:sprites
584:Bedford
551:History
335:Cliffs
212:Nasons
1249:
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1207:
1166:
877:&
856:boxcar
803:Sylvan
667:Notes
652:Photo
122:Legend
57:Locale
941:1877
918:thru
898:1877
860:1877
824:1877
820:coach
788:1877
754:1261
751:1877
738:0-4-4
707:1251
704:1877
691:0-4-4
673:Ariel
661:Date
658:Type
649:Name
632:Ariel
602:Maine
568:Wales
558:, of
1247:ISBN
1224:ISBN
1205:ISBN
1164:ISBN
767:Fawn
720:Puck
636:Puck
634:and
593:and
582:and
525:The
869:#2
833:#3
797:#4
761:#2
714:#1
626:'s
591:wye
533:in
1295::
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1116:^
1104:^
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1006:^
638:.
630:,
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1232:.
1213:.
1172:.
920:I
916:D
879:C
875:B
839:A
742:T
695:T
543:(
102:)
98:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
_Railroad_by_the_Hinkley_Locomotive_Works,_Boston,_Mass._(Scientific_American,_16_March_1878).jpg)
_Map_of_the_Billerica_and_Bedford_Railroad.jpg)
