Eastern Railroad

The Eastern Railroad Company of Massachusetts was first chartered on April 14, 1836. The line followed the coastline, in contrast to the Boston & Maine's inland route through Massachusetts, and it served North Shore cities such as Lynn, Salem, Beverly, and Newburyport. In keeping with its coastal route, the Eastern Railroad chose to place its Boston terminus in East Boston, a short ferry ride from downtown Boston, rather than building tracks around Chelsea Creek, the Boston Inner Harbor, and the Mystic River into the city.

Construction on the railroad began in August 1837 after state loans and a change of route were approved in April. The first stretch to be built was from East Boston to Salem (13 mi or 21 km), completed August 27, 1838. An extension to Ipswich (12 mi or 19 km) was completed on December 18, 1839, followed by an extension to Newburyport (9 mi or 14 km) on August 28, 1840, and to the New Hampshire state line (10 mi or 16 km) on November 9, 1840. A branch line to Marblehead opened on December 10, 1839, followed by a branch line to Gloucester in 1847 and a branch line to Amesbury in 1848. In 1861, the Gloucester branch was extended to Rockport. On August 31, 1846, the Eastern leased the Essex Branch Railroad for 5 years, and in 1865 it bought the branch outright.

The railroad's short segment through New Hampshire was chartered as a separate corporation by the New Hampshire legislature on June 18, 1836. Construction on the New Hampshire segment began in 1839 and was completed on November 9, 1840. On February 18, 1840 the Eastern Railroad of New Hampshire was leased to the Eastern Railroad of Massachusetts for a period of 99 years.

By 1843, the Eastern entered into an agreement with the Boston & Maine to share the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad's tracks in Maine, which allowed both railroads to begin providing Boston-to-Portland service. On April 28, 1847, the Eastern and the Boston & Maine co-leased the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth for a period of 99 years.

Incidents

On September 28, 1841, noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass and James N. Buffum (later mayor of Lynn) were forcibly ejected from a train at Lynn station after Douglass refused to sit in the segregated "Jim Crow car" in an early protest against the racial discrimination by the railroad. Fearing additional incidents, railroad superintendent Stephen A. Chase ordered that trains not stop at Lynn for several days. The actions by Douglass sparked further protests in Massachusetts against the discriminatory policies of the Eastern and other railroads.

On November 3, 1848, an accident occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. A southbound train heading for Marblehead missed an unattended switch and was routed onto the wrong track, into the path of a train heading north from Lynn to Salem. The two engines collided head-on. A total of 6 people were killed on the Marblehead train, and about 40 people were injured in the wreck. The Salem-bound train was carrying a party of Whigs, and the Marblehead-bound train was carrying a party of Democrats who were campaigning for the 1848 presidential election that would take place four days later.

On August 26, 1871, a series of dispatching errors allowed the Portland Express to collide with the rear of a stalled local train in Revere, telescoping the rear cars of the stopped train. Coal-oil lamps ignited the wreckage, and 29 died while 57 were injured. Several prominent Boston citizens were killed, bringing national publicity to the accident. It remains the deadliest railroad accident in Massachusetts history.