Boston & Maine in the 1960's

It is a sunny December day in 1968 in Portland, Maine.  A train makes its way to Boston.  Forty-foot box cars glisten in the newly fallen snow.  Many are loaded with manufactured goods, headed for Western markets.
In the in 1960's, Boston & Maine is beginning to feel the pinch of trucking.  Once the premier railroad of New England, many of its routes are simply not long enough to compete with the flexibility of the eighteen-wheeler. 
The time-sensitivity of many shipments on these short routes make it hard for the railroad to compete.  A railroad such as Boston & Maine depends on serving customers by branchlines.  Many of these light-trafficked routes are more easily served by trucks.  The 1960's pose a challenge for the Boston & Maine.