My names is Jim. I model in z scale and am in the process of completing several modules of the NH railroad in the South Boston (Freight) and the Roxbury (Passenger) areas. I grew up on Columbus Avenue directly across the street from the South Station to NYC mainline. I moved to South Boston (Southie) in 1966 and lived not very far from the Dover Street maintenance yards and equally close to the vast waterfront freight yards on the South Boston waterfront. I am trying to replicate various scenes from these areas. I have completed most of the scenery but am looking for guidance on track laying and wiring. I am also looking for photos/written info on the old Heath Street station that was on Columbus Avenue between Heath St and New Heath Streets in Roxbury. As a kid we would play on the old platforms that were on both sides of the 4 track mainline. What little info I have seen indicates that it was originally the Boston & Providence RR and then the Old Colony RR and finally the NH railroad. I believed that the station closed in or around 1918 when prohibition closed the many breweries that were then in the Lower Roxbury area, making this station unnecessary. However, I saw an article recently that showed the Jamaica Plain station, also on this mainline, and the article stated that it stopped serving passengers after the civil war. Was Heath Street also closed around that time? Does anybody know? I would like to model this station if I could get more info on it. It was on an elevated viaduct, now home to the MBTA's orange line to Forest Hills, made of massive blocks of granite. There were stairs at both end, leading to Heath Street at one end and New Heath Street at the other. In the center were the remains of stairs that led to Columbus Avenue, and on the opposite side, stairs that led to Lamartine Street(?) There was a tunnel that ran under the viaduct near these stairs that connected both sets of stairs. Only the risers remained. The stairs having been removed long before me. Can anybody out there shed a little light on this long, lost station. Thanks everybody. I hope to be a frequent contributor. Jim in Boston
Welcome to TrainBoard! I don't know anything about the area of your interest. However, we do have several folks from New England who frequently post. Hopefully, one of them might know. This would be a topic for our Fallen Flags Forums.
Hello, Jim. Welcome aboard! I would expect most or all of your questions could also be answered by taking a gander at your local historical society. Around here, it's a wealth of information. Good luck.
Hi Jim, Welcome. I rode the B&M often as a youth, and fondly remember the North Shore and northern New England. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the South Shore, so can't help with your search. However, I look forward to whatever you find and your modeling.
bostonjim, Welcome aboard! I too cannot answer your questions about the history in Boston. Even as old as I am, I was stuck in upstate NY along the NY Central Mohawk Division. We didn't travel far back in those days, unless it was by train. I will second the suggestion to check historical societies on line. Bostonians are proud of the area's history.
Thank you, Fitz. I am a second generation Bostonian. Both of my parents were born here as well. Mom in the North End and Dad in the South End. I am an avid reader of all things Boston, and have volumes of books on the city and its past. I still walk from my job in Brookline to South Station several times a month just to keep an eye on the changes going on around me. It has stymied me that I cannot find a photo or article anywhere about Heath Street station. The closest I have come is an old ward map from the 1890's that showed its footprint on the map. Until 1918 the Lower Roxbury/Jamaica Plain area was home to over 30 breweries. With the passage of prohibition they all closed and many never reopened. Some became "tonic" bottlers. One of them located on Heath Street was a Moxie plant called "Moxieland." Another became a "White Rock" tonic plant and was still in operation when we moved in 1966. It was on Columbus Avenue. The building still stands but I'm not sure what, if anything, is going on there. I think
Thank you, Dom, We z-scalers seem to scattered far and wide. I am modeling the NH in and around Boston. I have begun to assemble a couple of small modules into a larger layout. I am modeling the South Boston waterfront railyards, the Dover Street facilities and the mainline thru Roxbury, which will feature passenger cars. Now, if only somebody would come out with NH passenger cars to fulfill my wish list (HINT!! HINT!!) I would not have to substitute PRR livery. I do have a couple of NH RDC's and, they did operate on this line, but actual coaches would be what I remember the most. Take care, Jim in Boston.
Hello new to TrainBoard, live in Brockton Ma. Hobby in HO & N Scales!! z is too tiny for me!! Will be willing to share Photos of NH with you, If you have any of Boston let me know, my email should be here some where.
