1880 Rand Avery Map of the Eastern Railroad, New England

A scarce c. 1880 map of the Eastern Railroad in the coastal region of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, issued by Rand Avery Supply of Boston for the railroad's Passenger Department.

A Closer Look

Covering from South Berwick, Maine, southwards to Boston, the map embraces the coastal regions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine served by the Eastern Railroad. Cities, towns, post offices, beaches, hotels, islands, steamboat lines, city and state borders, hills, lakes, rivers, and other features are labeled throughout. The rail lines of the Eastern Railroad and its subsidiaries are traced in bold, while other railroads are traced with thinner lines.

The Eastern Railroad

Chartered in April 1836, the Eastern Railroad was one of several that emerged during the 1830s Massachusettes railway boom. The railroad's main competition was the Boston and Maine Railroad, into which it was eventually subsumed. Whereas the Boston and Maine traced an inland route (seen here) between the Boston area and Portland, Maine, through Andover and Haverhill, the Eastern followed the coastline, starting in East Boston (with ferry service to Boston proper, which became a significant disincentive to potential customers) and reaching coastal cities and towns such as Lynn, Salem, Beverly, and Newburyport. The Eastern also operated branch lines to Rockport on Cape Ann, Essex, Lowell, and Wakefield, among others (some allowing for connections with the Boston and Maine despite being competitors). In 1840, it leased the Eastern Railroad of New Hampshire to establish service to Portsmouth, and in 1843 entered into an agreement with the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth Railroad (which it later leased and then bought outright), allowing for service between Boston and Portland, Maine, directly challenging the Boston and Maine. In 1855, the Eastern leased the Grand Junction Railroad. This short line swung around from East Boston to Somerville, including a railroad bridge and a terminal in Boston (near today's North Station), allowing the Eastern to provide direct service into the city.

The Eastern held its own for several decades, but eventually was forced to lease its rival, the Boston and Maine, in 1883. In 1890, the Eastern Railroad was dissolved, though the Boston and Maine maintained the coastal service. In 1893, the Boston and Maine opened North Station in Boston, a meeting point of its own original lines and several it had leased, including the Eastern. This move cemented its dominance of New England railways north of Boston. Much of the former Eastern Railroad operates today as the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Commuter Rail service.

Publication History and Census

This map was printed by the Rand Avery Supply Company for the Passenger Department of the Eastern Railroad c. 1880. It is only noted among the holdings of Harvard University in the OCLC, though the catalog listing suggests a date of 1890, almost certainly too late as the Eastern was dissolved that year. Yet, the map displays the Eastern Railroad at or near its greatest extent, as it would have appeared in the late 1870s or early 1880s.