Re: Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn

re: 1980 book "Narrow Gauge" Story of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad by Robert C. Stanley with Bill Lieberman

Somebody was asking about BRB&L RR rolling stock.

Within a pocket at the back of that "Narrow Gauge" Story of the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad book, there are two scale plans.

One drawing is for a BRB&L Mason-Bogie Steam locomotive and the other a later series coach. The BRB&L Mason derived 18-foot, 4-inch long engines were different from the Forney type because they were articulated at the frame. The first of the distinctive BRB&L 2-4-4 (& 2-4-6) Bogie engine was built in 1882 with the last out-shopped by American's Schenectady works in 1914. All except one of the BRB&L engines were junked in 1928-29. There were constant fish stories about the former Boston Narrow Gauge engines being seen operating in the Philippine Islands. Other sagas had the 3-foot gauge Bogies chugging around some Banana Republic in Central America. Fact is . . . all but one of the BRB&L steam engines were loaded on B&M railroad flat cars at West Lynn, Massachusetts and shipped down to Bethleham, Pennsylvania where they were fed into the melting furnaces as scrap.

The separate engine plan included with the book, which is 1 1/2" to the foot scale, made by Dave Waddington who was well known for his detailed drawings as seen in many model railroad publications starting in the 1960s. That other coach drawing is in 1/4" scale done by a long time friend Scott Ruffinen. That plan of the coach has both steam era truck and lists the 1928 electrification Brill 77E.

Also, among the popular nicknames used for the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad's Bogie type steam engines there was "Coffee Roaster", The locomotives were also dubbed as "bogies". Never heard of the term "Boston-Bogies" until logging onto this forum. New Englanders knew that railroad entity as simply the "Narrow Gauge".

With regards to the original Boston Street Railway Assn. Narrow Gauge book . . . There are used copies of that 1980 edition floating around on the Internet and offered by "rare" out-of-print book sellers. In the last couple of years, there have been some hefty prices seen for that first and only edition.

Perhaps the time has come for publishing a revised second edition of the "Narrow Gauge" - "Story of Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad." Have most of the material gathered and details collected.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

RCS



BRB&L Manchester Built Bogie #13 at Revere St. Station 1928



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2010 03:30PM by RCS.