The Flying Yankee was built in 1935 for Maine Central and Boston and Maine Railroads for a passenger train to be jointly run between the two lines. The carbodys were built by Budd with the electrical and mechanical components supplied by EMD. The train was delivered in February 1935 and toured the BM-MEC railroad system before entering service on April 1. The daily route started in Portland, ME, then to Boston, MA, before returning to Portland and continuing North to Bangor, ME, then returning through Portland to Boston and finally back to Portland late in the day. This was a distance of 750 miles in a single day. The train ran six days a week and on Sundays underwent scheduled maintenance. The train was credited with attracting a lot of new ridership for the railroad
Later on, as newer equipment replaced it on one route, it would be switched to other routes, running under such names as The Cheshire, The Minuteman, The Mountaineer, and The Business Man. As railroad passenger ridership was declining nationwide in the 1950s the Yankee was also getting old, and accumulated many miles. The trainset, as The Minuteman, was retired, running its last trip on May 7, 1957. After transferring ownership several times, it currently is owned by the State of New Hampshire and resides at the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln.
Beautiful mountain scenery has made this small state a draw for rail buffs to ride the Mount Washington Cog Railway and the Conway Scenic, among others.
