AIRWAYS HISTORY Northeast Airlines
AMELIA EARHART KNEW a lot about flying airplanes , but she did not know much about running a public swimming pool . In 1933 , she was a wildly popular figure in the world of aviation . But it was her lack of experience in the swimming pool department , not her love of flying , that initially brought her into the Northeast Airlines story .
Northeast ’ s saga began a few years before Amelia entered the picture . In 1930 , Edward S . French became president of the Boston and Maine Railroad ( B & M ). The company had been operating a bus line to supplement its rail services in New England for several years and French ’ s assistant , Laurence S . Whittemore , thought that the time was right to try extending the railroad ’ s reach into the skies above its earthbound tracks .
The B & M had a reputation as a conservative New England enterprise . Founded in 1835 , it had grown to the point where it owned or leased a total of
2,218 miles ( 3,570km ) of track radiating north , east , and west from Boston , Massachusetts . That it was even exploring opportunities in commercial aviation during the early years of the Great Depression says a lot about Whittemore ’ s vision . On the other hand , the company took the narrow view that any air service should be confined to the area served by the B & M and its partner railroads . This limitation would hinder the airline ’ s expansion for years to come .
After Laurence Whittemore convinced French to take the plunge , it was decided that the initial air route would follow the railroad ’ s primary line : from Boston to Bangor , Maine , via Portland . As the Portland to Bangor segment would infringe on territory served by an ally , the Maine Central Railroad , that company ’ s president , Morris McDonald , had to be convinced that this venture was worthwhile . Eventually , the Maine Central came on board , and in spring 1931 exploratory flights were undertaken from Boston to Bar Harbor , via Portland and Bangor .
1 Convair 240 N91237 is seen at LaGuardia with a company DC-3 at the next gate and a United DC-6 in the background . When this photo was taken ( 1952 ), Northeast was operating nine non-stops a day in each direction between New York and Boston . // PHOTO : PAUL ZOGG COLLECTION ( ZOGGAVIA . COM )
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