The Boston and Maine Railroad constructed this spur in 1872 to
connect Merrimac Square and its fine carriage industry to the main
line in Newton Junction, NH. Over time, the horse drawn carriage
shops of Merrimac and Amesbury retooled into luxury automotive
supply manufacture, and later consolidated in Seabrook, NH as a
general auto body parts supplier. With the need of local rail
service long gone, the old rail bed has been converted into a rail
trail known as the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail that is
managed by the Merrimac Conservation Commission. The two mile trail
begins behind the Church Street Cemetery and ends abruptly at the
New Hampshire border. Pedestrian, bike, cross country skiing, and
bridle path use is encouraged. Motorized vehicles are
prohibited.
Street side parking is available at the McLaren Trail crossing
on Brush Hill Road near a cute pond. A slow curve along a crushed
cinder rail bed draws you away from civilization to a trail side
cache placement about a half mile down the easy going path. This
spot is near the trail's end at the state line and features a
picturesque view above a frontier tributary marsh to Back River of
the Lake Attitash watershed that is especially nice at sunset. The
east end of Marshview Trail of the Perkins Conservation Area meets
at the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail along the way to the cache. The
Open Space Committee of the Town of Merrimac provides a
pamphlet with info and trail maps for their Perkins and McLaren
Conservation Areas.
The original (and now replaced) 2 cup Lock&Lock ready
made container for this hide was a door prize we won at the
Sandown Town Forest Expansion Event (GC1DNCW) put on by
plumb69 and
loande. We are adding this hide to our railroad rolling stock
as a seed cache (SENHRR059) from the
SENHRR - Fremont Depot HQ (GC1AWQM) series by
greystones. Hopefully this windfall will add to the fictitious
profits of that ever expanding rail empire.
Ce-2 Class Caboose typically used by the Sante Fe Railroad.
SENHRR Souvenir Ticket as influenced by
an early Boston and Maine Railroad design.