List of railroad lines in Massachusetts
This is a list of all freight railroad (not streetcar or rapid transit) lines that have been built in Massachusetts, and does not deal with ownership changes from one company to another. The lines are named by the first company to build or consolidate them.
[]
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Boston and Albany Railroad, later part of the New York Central Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boston and Worcester Railroad | Boston | Worcester | Brookline Branch, Beacon Street to Brookline Milford Branch, Framingham to Milford Millbury Branch, to Millbury Newton Highlands Branch, Riverside to Newton Lower Falls Branch, Riverside to Newton Lower Falls Saxonville Branch, Natick to Saxonville |
Framingham Branch became part of the NYNH&H |
Chester | Becket | |||
Grand Junction Railroad | Allston | East Boston | ||
North Brookfield Railroad | East Brookfield | North Brookfield | ||
Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad | North Adams | |||
Webster | East Village Branch, to | |||
Spencer | ||||
Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad | Athol Junction | Athol | ||
Ware River Railroad | Palmer | Winchendon | Massachusetts Central Railroad today, operating between Palmer and South Barre | |
Western Railroad | Worcester | New York state line in West Stockbridge |
[]
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Boston and Maine Railroad.
Connecticut River Division[]
The Connecticut River Division was the former Connecticut River Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Connecticut River Railroad | Springfield | Vermont state line in Northfield | Chicopee Falls Branch, to Chicopee Falls East Deerfield Branch, to Easthampton Branch, Mount Tom to Easthampton |
Eastern Division[]
The Eastern Division was the former Eastern Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wenham | Asbury Grove | |||
Eastern Railroad | East Boston | New Hampshire state line in Salisbury | Amesbury Branch, Salisbury to Amesbury Charlestown Branch, Revere to Boston Essex Branch, Wenham to Essex Gloucester Branch, to Rockport Marblehead Branch, to Marblehead Swampscott Branch, Swampscott to Marblehead |
|
Salem | North Andover | Salem Harbor Branch, Salem to | ||
Newburyport | ||||
Saugus Branch Railroad | West Lynn | Everett | ||
South Reading Branch Railroad | Peabody | Wakefield |
Fitchburg Division[]
The Fitchburg Division was the former Fitchburg Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
South Ashburnham | Ashburnham | |||
Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad | Worcester | Winchendon | ||
Squannacook Junction | New Hampshire state line in Pepperell | |||
Charlestown Branch Railroad | Charlestown | Belmont | ||
Deerfield River Railroad | Hoosac Tunnel | Vermont state line in Rowe | never owned by the B&M or Fitchburg | |
Fitchburg Railroad | Boston | Fitchburg | ||
Harvard Branch Railroad | Somerville | Harvard Square | never owned by the B&M or Fitchburg | |
Hudson | South Acton | |||
Marlborough | Hudson | |||
Monadnock Railroad | Winchendon | New Hampshire state line in Winchendon | ||
Peterborough and Shirley Railroad | Ayer Junction | New Hampshire state line in Townsend | ||
Troy and Greenfield Railroad | Greenfield | Vermont state line in Williamstown | ||
Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad | Fitchburg | Greenfield | Turners Falls Branch, Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls | original main line north from Millers Falls became part of the Central Vermont Railroad |
Watertown Branch Railroad | Waltham | West Cambridge | ||
South Ashburnham | New Hampshire state line in Winchendon |
Southern Division[]
The Southern Division was the former Boston and Lowell Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Andover and Haverhill Railroad | Andover | Bradford | ||
Andover and Wilmington Railroad | Wilmington | Andover | ||
Billerica and Bedford Railroad | North Billerica | Bedford | ||
Boston and Lowell Railroad | Boston | Lowell | Mystic River Branch in Charlestown branch, Somerville Junction to Lake Street |
|
Central Massachusetts Railroad | North Cambridge Junction | Northampton | ||
Horn Pond | Woburn | |||
Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad | West Cambridge | Lexington | aka: Lexington and Arlington Railroad | |
Lowell and Lawrence Railroad | Lowell | Lawrence | ||
Lowell | New Hampshire state line in Tyngsborough | |||
Middlesex Central Railroad | Lexington | Middlesex Junction | ||
Salem and Lowell Railroad | Tewksbury Junction | Peabody | ||
East Woburn | Stoneham | |||
Stony Brook Railroad | Chelmsford | Ayer | ||
Woburn Branch Railroad | Winchester | Woburn | ||
Woburn | North Woburn Junction |
Western Division[]
The Western Division was the original Boston and Maine Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boston and Maine Extension Railroad | Boston | Wilmington Junction | ||
Boston and Portland Railroad | Wilmington | New Hampshire state line in Haverhill | Methuen Branch, Lawrence to New Hampshire state line in Methuen | |
Wakefield | Danvers Junction | |||
Danvers Junction | Georgetown | |||
Lowell and Andover Railroad | Lowell Junction | Lowell | ||
Medford branch | Medford Junction | Medford Square | ||
Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad | Acton | New Hampshire state line in Dunstable | ||
Newburyport Railroad | Bradford | Newburyport | ||
West Amesbury Branch Railroad | Merrimac | New Hampshire state line in Merrimac |
Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division[]
The Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division was the former Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Worcester and Nashua Railroad | Worcester | New Hampshire state line in Dunstable |
[]
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Central Vermont Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Monson | Granite Quarries (Flynt Quarry) | not owned by the Central Vermont | ||
New London Northern Railroad | Connecticut state line in Monson | Millers Falls | ||
Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad | Millers Falls | Vermont state line in Northfield | The rest of the V&M became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad. |
[]
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
Berkshire Division[]
The Berkshire Division was the former Berkshire Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Berkshire Railroad | West Stockbridge | Connecticut state line in Sheffield | ||
Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad | Pittsfield | |||
West Stockbridge Railroad | West Stockbridge | New York state line in West Stockbridge (at the Boston and Albany Railroad junction) |
Central New England Division[]
The Central New England Division was the former Central New England Railway.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Central New England Railway Springfield Branch | Connecticut state line in Agawam |
Hartford Division[]
The Hartford Division was the former Hartford and New Haven Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hartford and Springfield Railroad | Connecticut state line in Longmeadow | Springfield |
Midland Division[]
The Midland Division was the former New England Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charles River Railroad | Rhode Island state line in Blackstone | Ridge Hill Branch, Charles River to | east from Cook Street Junction to Brookline became part of the B&A | |
Ashland | Milford | |||
Norfolk County Railroad | Dedham | Blackstone | ||
Norfolk | Medway | |||
Midland Railroad | Boston | Dedham Branch, to Dedham | ||
Milford | ||||
Rhode Island state line in Douglas | ||||
Rhode Island state line in North Attleborough Rhode Island state line in Wrentham |
Rhode Island state line in North Attleborough |
|||
Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad | Blackstone Connecticut state line in Webster |
Connecticut state line in Douglas Southbridge |
||
Connecticut state line in Webster | Worcester |
Northampton Division[]
The Northampton Division was the former New Haven and Northampton Company.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Holyoke | Westfield | |||
New Haven and Northampton Company | Connecticut state line in Southwick | Turner's Falls Branch, South Deerfield to Turners Falls Williamsburg Branch, to Williamsburg |
Old Colony Division[]
The Old Colony Division was the former Old Colony Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Branch Railroad | Lancaster Mills Branch, to Marlborough Branch, to Marlborough |
|||
Attleboro | North Attleborough | later operated as a streetcar line | ||
Boston and Providence Railroad | Boston | Rhode Island state line in Attleboro | Dedham Branch, Forest Hills to Readville via Dedham East Providence Branch, to Rhode Island state line in Attleboro Needham Branch, West Roxbury to Needham Junction |
|
Boston and Worcester Railroad Framingham Branch | Framingham | |||
Bridgewater Junction | ||||
Cape Cod Railroad | Orleans | Provincetown | ||
Cape Cod Branch Railroad | Middleborough | Hyannis | Woods Hole Branch, Buzzards Bay to Woods Hole | |
Cape Cod Central Railroad | Yarmouth | Orleans | ||
Harwich | Chatham | |||
Dighton and Somerset Railroad | South Braintree | Part was built by the | ||
Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad | Neponset | Mattapan | ||
Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad | Cohasset | Kingston | ||
Stoughton | Easton | |||
Fairhaven Branch Railroad | Fairhaven | |||
Fall River Branch Railroad | Myricks | Fall River | ||
Fall River Railroad | Braintree Highlands | Myricks | ||
Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad | Fitchburg | |||
Fore River Railroad | East Braintree | Quincy Point | Owned by Bethlehem Steel | |
Framingham and Lowell Railroad | Framingham | Lowell | ||
Atlantic | Braintree | |||
Hanover Branch Railroad | North Abington | Hanover | ||
Mansfield and Framingham Railroad | Mansfield | Framingham | ||
Middleborough and Taunton Railroad | Middleborough | |||
Nantasket Beach Railroad | Nantasket Junction | |||
short connecting track at Taunton | ||||
New Bedford and Taunton Railroad | Taunton | New Bedford | Fall River Branch, New Bedford to Fall River | |
Old Colony Railroad | Boston | Plymouth | ||
Old Colony Railroad Easton Branch | Easton | |||
Old Colony Railroad Elmwood Branch | Elmwood | |||
Old Colony Railroad Raynham Branch | Raynham | |||
Old Colony Railroad Wrentham Branch | Norwood Central | |||
Old Colony and Fall River Railroad | Fall River | Rhode Island state line in Fall River | ||
Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad | Plymouth | Middleborough | ||
Shawmut Branch Railroad | Milton | |||
South Shore Railroad | Braintree | Cohasset | ||
Stoughton Branch Railroad | Canton Junction | Stoughton | ||
Taunton Branch Railroad | Taunton | Mansfield | Attleboro Branch, to Attleboro Taunton River Branch, Weir Village to Old Brewery Wharf |
|
Rhode Island state line in Swansea | Fall River |
Providence and Worcester Division[]
The Providence and Worcester Division was the former Providence and Worcester Railroad.
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Providence and Worcester Railroad | Connecticut state line in Blackstone | Worcester |
Other railroads[]
Name | From | To | Branches | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad | East Boston | Lynn | Winthrop Branch, Orient Heights to loop through Winthrop | see also Boston, Winthrop and Point Shirley Railroad and Eastern Junction, Broad Sound Pier and Point Shirley Railroad, which built lines and later abandoned them |
quarries | ||||
Grafton and Upton Railroad | North Grafton | Milford | Upton Loop, West Upton to Upton | |
Hampden Railroad | Springfield | Bondsville | never opened, built by the Boston and Maine Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad | |
Lancaster Railroad | Lancaster | Hudson | never opened, built by the Boston and Maine Railroad | |
Martha's Vineyard Railroad | Oak Bluffs | |||
Nantucket Railroad | Nantucket | Siasconset | ||
Southern New England Railway | Palmer | Rhode Island state line in Blackstone | never finished, built by the Grand Trunk Railway | |
Union Freight Railroad | connecting lines in downtown Boston |
See also[]
References[]
- Massachusetts railroads
- Massachusetts transportation-related lists
- Lists of railroads by US state