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I am hoping some of the experts out there can clear this up for me. (Click on a thumbnail above for the larger image.)
Today I went for a ride with my daughter. She is 10, and we both had our digital cameras. We just went for a ride, enjoying the foliage on this October day. No particular destination in mind. We happened to drive near the site of a former B&M depot, now long abandoned and gone. There is little there but woods today.
I told her I wanted to show her something. I wanted to have her stand in a certain spot and take in the scene, and then when we got home, show her an old photo taken from the same vantage. The old photo has the depot and a train stopped in front of it. (I think some of you would appreciate the legacy I am working on here- trying to get the next generation hooked on my love of abandoned railroads. Know what I mean? :-)
So we did just that, and when I dig out the photo, I think she will appreciate it. (Or I could be wrong, and she just figures her father is this wacky old fart who likes to poke around out in the woods, rolling her eyes as he goes on and on about steam engines, train depots, and days gone by. Time will tell.)
Not far from the depot site, along the right-of-way, I saw this can- partially buried. Of course it got my interest, and I could see right away that it had the letter "M" attached to it, made of a different metal from the rest of the can. I photographed it just the way I found it, before disturbing it at all. (Photos 1 and 2.)
I was SO sure that when I carefully dug it out, that I would find this letter preceded by "B &". But much to my disappointment, where the letters would have been attached, it had long since rotted away. And yes, I did look to see if they buried alongside or under it. No such luck. The only discernable marking is that one letter. "M". So here is my question....
IS this something from the Boston and Maine Railroad? I think so, but I am far from certain. It may very well be related to the dairies that were in the area and used similar cans to ship milk to market, via the railroad. It's much too small and not quite the right shape to be a milk can. Milk cans would have the name of the farmer on them, not just a letter or two. I am very familiar with antique milk cans, and this is NOT one. This can is perhaps 20" high. You can see it has a wide mouth, and a single handle.
To deepen the mystery a bit, there is one other clue I must tell you. Short of revealing the exact location of this former depot, I will tell you what line it was on, as it may be germane here. The depot was a stop on the former Massachusetts Central Railroad. Which means that if a railroad letter IS missing here, it could have been a "C". I don't think so though, because that would make it before 1886, when the Central Mass was absorbed into the Boston and Lowell RR. (Two years later, the B&L was absorbed into the B&M system.)
In my opinion, the relic in question was either owned by the Boston & Maine, or something that was associated with it in some way. This can was right at a spot where in the past I have found what are unquestionably railroad artifacts. I think it is too recent to be from the Central Mass itself. Yet 100% of the artifacts I have ever found in this spot were from the Boston and Maine, and I am sure they date from the late 1920s to early 1930s. I think this can fits in with them.
So I am hoping one of you can identify it for me. I am hoping someone will tell me they were a fireman on the B&M, and this was used for oiling do-hickey flange bearings on 4-4-0s or was kept head-end as a lemonade bucket. I dunno, something like that. Any clue or input would sure be welcome!
You can e-mail me at 
Oh- in case you were wondering. I was debating whether or not to leave it right where it was or take it with me. It has no value whatsoever- except to a guy like me who loves all things Central Mass RR. It's not in very good shape, and would only add to the worthless "treasures" I have accrued over the years. I figured maybe these photos would suffice, and I should not bother with more useless old crap. Debated it.....
And right now it's out in my trunk. I admit it- I just can't help it. :-)
-Steve
October, 2006