Boston and Maine Railroad

Formed through the consolidation of dozens of smaller New England lines across the middle decades of the nineteenth century, the Boston and Maine Railroad had, by 1900, become the dominant carrier in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Its crucial expansion into the Lakes Region came in 1887, when it leased the Boston and Lowell Railroad, gaining access to the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and completing a network that allowed through service from Boston and New York directly into the heart of the resort district.

The B&M also operated a steamer service, anchored by the Mount Washington, which carried passengers, mail, and freight around Winnipesaukee’s island-dotted waters, creating a seamless rail-and-steam travel system that made the Lakes Region easily accessible to the leisure class of the Eastern Seaboard. To promote this network, the railroad commissioned maps, guidebooks, and illustrated pamphlets, often in collaboration with state agencies and resort operators, positioning Winnipesaukee as the Saratoga of New England. That system would remain dominant until the automobile, in the 1920s, began to offer the independence that even the most comfortable Pullman car could not.