Lot
4369 
(Boston & Maine Railroad) Boston & Maine R.R., Jun 9, superb strike of blue route agent cds tying 3¢ dull red (11A), full margins except slightly in at left, on cover with original enclosure datelined "Lawrence June 8th 1853" to Hebron Me., Extremely Fine and choice, Rarity V, ex-W. Fox. Towle No. 50-A-3 Estimate $200 - 300.
Carried 48 miles north from Lawrence Mass. to South Berwick Me. for transfer north via Portland to Hebron.
Letter from a railroad employee stating "Today I have been out to Boston to work fitting locks on cars. The distance from Lawrence to Boston of 26 miles, you may think is a great distance to go to work, but we went in about 40 minutes." .
Realized: $250
Lot
4370
(Boston & Maine Railroad) Boston & Maine R.R., Aug 8, blue route agent cds with matching "Paid" straightline and blue grid cancel ties 3¢ orange brown (10A), full margins to touched at top, on blue folded cover to Roxbury, Mass., Very Fine and attractive, Rarity V, ex-Wagshal. Towle No. 50-A-3 Estimate $200 - 300.
Realized: $900
Lot
4371
(Boston & Maine Railroad) Boston & Maine R.R., Apr 24, blue route agent cds ties 3¢ dull red (11A) on buff cover to Sutton, N.H., Very Fine and choice, Rarity V. Towle No. 50-A-3 Estimate $150 - 200.
Realized: $130
Lot
4372
(Boston & Providence Railroad) Boston & Providence R.R., Sep 5, balloon route agent cds ties 2¢ Blackjack (73) on fresh unsealed cover to Sunderland, Mass., with original printed English and Classical School, Walpole Mass. circular mentioning "accessible from all points by railroad", Very Fine and scarce railroad circular rate use, ex-Fosdyke. Towle No. 70-A-1 Estimate $500 - 750.
A VERY RARE RAILROAD MARKING PARTICULARLY ON A 2¢ BLACKJACK.
Realized: $725
Lot
4373
(Boston & Providence Railroad) Boston & Providence R.R. Feb 11, neat strike of route agent cds ties 1¢ blue (9) horizontal strip of three on cover with original contents to Cambridge Mass., the strip is Positions 71-73L1L, left stamp triple transfer, one inverted, recut twice at top and once at bottom (only four such recuts on plate), huge margins to clear including part of sheet margin at left, folded between right stamps prior to use; small top edge taped tear, Extremely Fine appearance, a desirable example of the triple transfer/one inverted position used on a cover with railroad route agent marking (Rarity VIII), ex-Vogel. Towle No. 70-A-1 Estimate $500 - 750.
Realized: $1,250
Lot
4374
(Boston to New York Express Mail) U.S. Express Mail, Boston Mass., May 2, red route agent cds with matching bold circular grid cancels tie two 10¢ black (2) singles left stamp with four margins and right stamp in at left otherwise large margins including portion of next stamp at right, both with clear, sharp impression, on blue folded cover from the Ludlow Beebee correspondence to Philadelphia, Pa.; tiny repaired nick at top edge of cover, Very Fine and attractive. Towle No. 73-A-1 Estimate $1,500 - 2,000.
Cover from the extensive Ludlow Beebee archive put onto Route 410 for Philadelphia.
Realized: $950
Lot
4375
(Boston to New York Express Mail) U.S. Express Mail, Boston Mass., Aug 17, red route agent cds with matching well-struck red circular grids tying 10¢ black (2) horizontal pair, clear margins to in, on blue folded cover to Philadelphia; trivial edgewear, F.-V.F. and attractive 1847 issue. Towle No. 73-A-2 Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
A SCARCE 10¢ 1847 ISSUE USE ON THE BOSTON TO NEW YORK EXPRESS MAIL ROUTE.
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Realized: $1,600
Lot
4376
(Boston to New York Express Mail) U.S. Express Mail 'Boston Mass.' Oct 23, red cds with matching red grid cancels tying 5¢ red brown (1) horizontal pair, large margins to clear, pretty color, on blue folded cover to Philadelphia Pa., small indentation at center of pair, Very Fine, ex-Wagshal. Towle No. 73-A-3 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
Cover put onto Route 410 at Boston on October 26th circa 1848 and franked 10 cents for over 300 miles to Philadelphia. From the extensive Ludlow Beebee correspondence. A total of 13 covers from the correspondence are recorded from Boston franked with the 1847 issue five cents stamp.
Realized: $1,200
Lot
4377
(Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad) Concord & Montreal R.R., Apr 18, bold strike of blue route agent cds with matching blue circular grid cancel ties 5¢ red brown (1), large margins to just touching frameline at bottom, on 1851 folded letter datelined "Sanbornton Bridge April 18 / 50" to Salem, Mass., Very Fine and attractive, Rarity V. Towle No. 25-A-1 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
Put onto Route 205 at Sanbornton N.H. and carried 18 miles south to Concord. Transferred via Lowell and Boston to Salem.
Realized: $1,150
Lot
4378
(Boston, Lowell & Nashua Railroad) Boston, Lowell & Nashua Railroad, North Billerica, Sep 4, 1867, blue station cds on cover bearing pen cancelled 3¢ rose (65) to Lowell, Mass., Very Fine and choice, Rarity IV, ex-Beane. Towle No. 24-S-3 Estimate $150 - 200.
The Nashua & Lowell Rail Road was completed in 1838 between those two towns. In 1835 the Boston & Lowell Rail Road was completed and commenced passenger services in 1842. In 1857 the two companies, whilst keeping their individual corporate identities, agreed to operate as one rail road.
The contract for the 42 mile Route 603 for the Boston to Nashua in 1865 listed 11 offices to be served on the route. The station recorded as using a Station Agents date stamp was North Billerica located 22 miles north of Boston. The company was paid $6,300 a year for a three times a day service excluding Sundays.
Put on Route 603 at the North Billerica station carried just four miles north on the route to Lowell.
Realized: $400