Template talk:Merrimack River

Boston & Maine railroad

Several editors have questioned inclusion of the Boston & Maine (B&M) within this template. Discussion here may be more useful than initial attempts to resolve this disagreement on individual talk pages. Although there is an obvious significance to the net of rivers defining the basin, the habitation centers and other infrastructure listed in the template are similarly separated by the high ground between drainage basins. I suggest the drainage basin concept should be accepted as an equally valid alternative to political subdivisions. B&M built its transportation empire around a virtual monopoly of rail service in the Merrimack Valley. A major fraction of B&M mileage was within the watershed, and main lines connected the watershed to Boston, Maine, Canada, and the rail network west of New England. B&M was the watershed's primary means of transportation through the rail era between the river/canal and highway eras. Thewellman (talk) 20:59, 6 June 2017 (UTC)