Boston and Maine 3666 is a coal-fired class P-2 4-6-2 "Pacific" locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in December 1913 for the Boston and Maine Railroad.
Lifespan[]
In its lifetime, 3666 was responsible for pulling commuter and passenger trains between Portland, Maine, and Concord, New Hampshire, as well as Boston, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York. The fleet of 82 total P-2 locomotives (numbered from 3620-3689) had a top speed of roughly 70 miles per hour with a 10-car train, as well as a coal capacity of 250 miles and a water capacity of about 125 miles.
Accident[]
On September 10, 1939, 3666 was pulling the local Passenger Train 2020 from North Berwick, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts. The train was carrying 12 passengers and 5 crew members, as well as Fireman Charles Towle and Engineer John Beattie. At 7:10 P.M, the train was traveling south over the Piscataqua River by means of the 1,650-foot long Portsmouth Bridge when suddenly, the bridge failed due to a shifted truss, that was hit by a cason by the bridge under construction next to it, causing 3666, the tender, and first passenger car to fall into the river.[1] No one was inside the first passenger car when it derailed, as it partially a baggage car, but Towle and Beattie, trapped in the sinking cab of the engine, drowned. Towle's body was found the night of the accident. Several days later, on September 17, Beattie's body was found adrift nearly half a mile from the accident site.
Evaluation[]
Gallery[]
.JPG "Boston & Maine No. 3666 (B M Walker).JPG (75 KB)")
- ↑ "Interstate Commerce Commision, Report of the Accident Investigation Occuring on the BOSTON AND MAINE RAILROAD, PORTSMOUTH, NH." , 1939, https://doi.org/10.21949/1508483