As the nexus of the Cheshire, Manchester and Keene, and the Ashuelot Railroads, the City of Keene became one of the most significant centers of industry in the region. The railroad provided transportation for passengers and goods, and the Keene Repair Shops employed hundreds of people in locomotive manufacturing and repair. Keene's transportation history included the Boston and Maine Railroad from 1848 to 1936, Peterboro from 1934 to 1952, and Consolidation from 1935 to 1957. Marium E. Foster, 1898 to 1983, was Keene's own dedicated Boston and Maine employee for 41 years and a B and M Magazine correspondent for 30 years, documenting the railroad's history through her camera and writing; her collection of over 1300 paragraphs and corporate documentation preserves a now all but vanished New England railroad culture.