B&M FTSB's

Boston and Maine Railroad
Freight Train Symbol Books

After Public Timetables and Employee Time Tables, Freight Train Symbol Books were a third type of train scheduling document used by the B&M. However, unlike the passenger train schedules, FTSB's carried no formal weight with respect to day-to-day operations on the railroad; rather the symbol books spelled out an operating PLAN. As such, the day-to-day operations frequently deviated from what was published in the FTSB's, with seasonal and additional movements quite the norm. Despite those frequent deviations, the FTSB can be a useful reference, as the relative service levels and traffic patterns are explained from the perspective of what the line expected would be needed. Ultimately, traffic levels and scheduling changes resulted in these FTSB being published as frequently as ETT's. The title of the document was derived from the use of alphanumeric symbols to indicate the various train services. The first letter indicated the place of origin, the second letter the destination, and a numeral, odd for outbound, even for inbound, and sequential as required.

This collection of early B&M FTSB has been put together with the assistance of several people. I am particularly interested in finding resources that would clarify how the operating schemes changed between 1927 and 1932.

The B&M RR Historical Society has a large collection of FTSB's, with excellent coverage from the late 1930's until the present day. This collection complements the Society's.

Please help preserve and share the history of New England railroads.

WANTED!

The image shows the cover of B&M FTSB #17, dated 1/1/1929, which had been on eBay for a while during the spring of 2015. Unfortunately, the cover actually contained FTSB #27, from 1935, a copy of which I already have. #17 appears to have been the very first FTSB published in the new loose leaf format and represents a gap in the record, as it shows the B&M's freight operating plan with the improvements put into place during the late 20's under the Hannauer presidency, including the opening of the new Mechanicville hump yard on January 14, 1928, but prior to the reduction in service that occurred during the Depression. More recently, I found a 1940 FTSB in the B&MRRHS collection also contained within the same cover. If you come across a copy of this book or any others from the 1920's and 1930's, please share it!

FTSB #1 - in effect Aug 1, 1912, collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #2 - in effect Sep 15, 1913, collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #3 - in effect Jan 1, 1915, from the collection of Brent Michiels. 5.4 MB pdf. Also collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #4 - in effect Aug 30, 1920, collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #5 - in effect Jun 27, 1921, from the collection of Brent Michiels. 4.6 MB pdf.

FTSB #6 - probably in effect Sep 25, 1921, not known to exist.

FTSB #7 - probably in effect Jun 26, 1922, not known to exist.

FTSB #8 - in effect September 24, 1922, John R. Snopek railroad collection, University of Connecticut.

FTSB #9 - in effect June 25, 1923, collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #10 - in effect October 22, 1923, current location/owner unknown.

Copies of FTSB #3, #4, #9, & #10 were discovered in an old auction listing, having been auctioned off in Maine on 11/15/2010, but the current location/owner unknown. These may very well be the copies now in the B&MRRHS collection.

FTSB #11 - in effect June 23, 1924, from the collection of Brent Michiels. 4.4 MB pdf.

FTSB #12 - probably in effect Jun 29, 1925, in the collection of Rick Conard.

FTSB #13 - in effect June 30, 1926, in the collection of Rick Conard.

FTSB #14 - in effect Dec 20, 1926, from the collection of Earl Tuson (formerly Tim Gilbert's.) 1.1 MB pdf.

FTSB #15 - in effect August 1, 1927, not known to exist.

FTSB #16 - in effect Oct 31, 1927, from the collection of Scott Whitney, found in the Hinsdale, NH, station (it appears to have since entered the B&MRRHS collection.) This FTSB would have been the last issued prior to the opening of the new Mechanicville hump yard. 1.5 MB pdf.

FTSB #17 - in effect January 1, 1929, not known to exist.

Alternative Spring 1929 Resources:
LCL Schedule - issued April 1, 1929, originally from the collection of Tim Gilbert.  248 kB jpeg.
    This is a partial symbol freight schedule taken from a B&M pamphlet on the subject of Merchandise Car service.
Portland Division Run Book - (probably) in effect 4/28/29, from the collection of Earl Tuson.  24MB pdf.
    Refer to runs 130 thru 180, inclusive, for scheduled departure and arrival times for symbol and local freight trains.
Southern Division Notice #36, 4/23/1929, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 4/28.
Southern Division Notice #37, 4/23/1929, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 4/28.
Connecticut River Division Circular #43, 4/24/1929, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all freight run departures and crew times effective 4/28.
Connecticut Division Notice #52, 4/24/1929, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 4/28.

FTSB #18 - probably in effect Fall 1929, not known to exist. An undated transcription of the schedule of Symbol Freight P-M 1 from FTSB #18, along with detailed train data from Nov, 1930, was included as an appendix to a 1931 MIT dissertation by John P. Ramsey, Jr., "A Study of Freight Train Operation on the Boston and Maine Railroad with Special Reference to Tonnage Rating and Utilization of Motive Power". Here is Appendix M of that work.

Alternative Spring 1930 Resources:
LCL Schedule - issued May 1, 1930, from the collection of Earl Tuson. 245 kB jpeg.
This comes with the same explanation as above.

FTSB #19 - ONE page known to exist (in effect November 6, 1930,) from the collection of Earl Tuson.

Found in a stack of Suncook Valley Railroad notes, and having been written on the back as scrap paper, this page is the only known page from this particular book. My designation of this as #19 is an educated guess at this time, based on my assumptions regarding the frequency of reissue by the railroad.

Alternative Spring-Summer 1931 Resources:
Portland Division Memo, effective 4/26/1931, collection of B&MRRHS (T6809 BM 4.1931.)
Lists Symbol freights with terminal and/or division crew change point departures and arrival times, addressed "To All Concerned," This date does not coincide with the dates I have listed here as when FTSB became effective, opening up possibilities for supplements I am unaware of, and errors in my assumptions. The trains listed include: BP-1, BP-5, PB-4, PB-8, PW-4, PM-1, N-1, WP-3, P-2, MP-2, BW-1, WB-2, CW-2, WC-1, OM-1, and MO-2. However, as the intro at the top states the document covers symbol AND local freights, it is reasonable to presume that there had been additional sheets, now missing.
B&M Employee Magazine, Aug-Sep 1930
The Maine Bullet was inaugurated on June 15, 1931, dramatically improving service between Maine and points South. The inaugural schedule of Trains M-6 and M-7 was published here. Tim Gilbert's transcription offers that and more.

FTSB #20 - Cover, Page 10 - in effect September 27, 1931, unknown location.

This book was sold at auction back in 2014; I only found the listing and one page image a year and a half later. There is also a copy inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

Alternative Winter 1931-2 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 1/4/1932 (ETT #10, Supplement #1,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #21 - in effect Apr 24, 1932, not known to exist.

Alternative Spring-Summer 1932 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 4/24/1932 (ETT #11,) collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 6/27/1932 (ETT #12,) collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.
NH Division Notice #32, 4/20/1932, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 4/24.
NH Division Notice #33, 4/20/1932, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departure times effective 4/24.

FTSB #22 - in effect Sep 25, 1932 thru Oct 17, 1932, from the collection of Earl Tuson. 4.3 MB pdf. Unlike other FTSB's, the pages contained in this 'edition' have a wide variety of effective dates printed on the individual pages.

Additional Fall 1932 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 9/25/1932 (ETT #13,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #23 - in effect April 20, 1933, inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

FTSB #24 - in effect September 24, 1933, from the collection of Jacob Klerman. 3.4 MB pdf.

Additional Fall 1933 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 9/24/1933 (ETT #15,) collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.
NH Division Notice #88, 9/21/1933, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departure times effective 9/24, reissue and revision of Notice #23.
NH Division Notice #89, 9/21/1933, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 9/24, reissue and revision of Notices #31 and #85.
NH Division Notice #94, 10/10/1933, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departure times effective 9/24, reissue and revision of Notice #88.
NH Division Notice #95, 10/10/1933, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 9/24, reissue and revision of Notice #89.
NH Division Notice #99, 11/6/1933, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departure times effective 9/24, reissue and revision of Notice #94.

FTSB #25 - in effect April 29, 1934, inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

Alternative Spring 1934 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 4/29/1934 (ETT #16,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #26 - in effect September 30, 1934, ONE page known to exist, from the collection of Earl Tuson. There is also a copy inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

Alternative Fall 1934 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 9/30/1934 (ETT #17,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #27 - in effect Apr 28, 1935, from the collection of Earl Tuson. 724 KB pdf.

FTSB #28 - in effect Sep 29, 1935, not known to exist.

Alternative Fall 1935 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 9/29/1935, collection of B&MRRHS (T.6809 BM 9.1935).
    Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.
NH Division Notice #106, 9/23/1935, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all local freights with terminal departure times effective 9/29.
NH Division Notice #107, 9/23/1935, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Lists all Symbol freights with terminal departures and arrival times effective 9/29.
NH Division Notice #128, 12/6/1935, collection of B&MRRHS.
    Restores W-C 1 and C-W 2 effective 12/9, Bristol Branch, Claremont Branch, Bellows Falls, and Manchester-Elmwood local changes.

FTSB #29 - in effect Apr 26, 1936, collection of B&MRRHS.

FTSB #30 - in effect September 27, 1936, inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

FTSB #31 - in effect April 27, 1937, inaccessible from the collection of Don Valentine*.

Alternative Spring 1937 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 4/25/1937 (ETT #23,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #32 - probably in effect Sep 26, 1937, not known to exist.

Alternative Spring 1937 Resources:
Fitchburg Division Run Book, 9/26/1937 (ETT #24,) collection of B&MRRHS.
Lists all Symbol and local freights with terminal and/or Div crew change point departure times.

FTSB #33 - in effect Apr 24, 1938, collection of B&MRRHS.

From issue #33 to the end of this particular series, concluding with #85 in 1967, the collection held by the B&MRRHS is complete, and joined by many Supplements that were irregularly issued between the full editions. The collection of Fitchburg Div Run Books is also quite extensive.

FTSB #37 - in effect Apr 28, 1940, from the collection of Earl Tuson. 4.2MB pdf.

FTSB #51 - in effect Apr 30, 1950. 0.7 MB pdf.

* Don Valentine offered to share the 6 FTSB indicated above, and others I already have copies of, on 10/23/16. He revoked his offer to share these historic documents on 11/6/16.

Posted 3/2/04. Last Updated 9/13/24. Maintained by Earl Tuson

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