Narrow Gauge to Boston

A Nostalgic Window on the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad

ISBN: 978-0-942035-87-2

There was relatively little the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad in eastern Massachusetts had in common with most of its three-foot gauge cousins across the United States. Its fleet of diminutive Bogie-type steam locomotives scooted over an eight-mile, sea-level, double-track main line from East Boston to Lynn, plus along a double-track loop branch line through the community of Winthrop, while hauling long strings of wood passenger cars. Only one leading commodity was ever carried on the BRB&L -- passengers from surrounding bedroom communities bound to and from Boston. The railroad interchanged only with its own fleet of ferryboats that carried passengers across Boston Harbor. The BRB&L undertook a costly conversion from steam to electric power on the eve of the Great Depression, only to meet its demise in 1940. Depicted in more than 150 rare illustrations is the unique story of traveling by Narrow Gauge to Boston.