Lowell and Andover Railroad

The B&M organized this railroad in retaliation against the B&L in their long running rivalry which started when the B&M rented trackage rights on the B&L's main line to access Boston from Wilmington.

The traffic on the B&L main line was so heavy, the B&M was made to sit and wait hours at Wilmington before being given clearance to continue on to Boston.

This led the B&M to build its own main line from North Wilmington to Boston which angered the B&L's management.

Trying to block the B&M from building its line, the B&L filed suit, but lost because its monopoly only covered service between Boston and Lowell.

They rebuilt the Wildcat line and now the B&L was in a much stronger competitive position with the B&M now that they had access between Lowell, Lawrence, and Salem while the B&M did not.