Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad (FR) is a former railway company in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont ( United States). It built and operated a main line from Boston to Troy as well as some branch lines and existed as an independent company of 1842 until 1919.
History
Construction of the network
The industrial city of Fitchburg had remained until 1840 even without a railway connection. To change this, you founded on March 3, 1842, the Fitchburg Railroad. It acquired in May 1843 Country right next to and in extension of the Charlestown Branch Railroad (CBR ). This short route branched off since 1840 by the Boston and Lowell Railroad and led to Charlestown, a suburb of Boston. On May 20, 1843, construction of the line began initially as an extension of the CBR. The opening between Charles Town and Waltham took place on 20 December of the same year. Until 1 May 1844, the CBR continued the business.
The continued construction went progressed speedily. On June 17, 1844, the train finally reached Concord on October 1, Acton, on December 30, 1844 and Shirley on March 5, 1845 Fitchburg. Meanwhile, built the railway company, the planned track parallel to the CBR and it opened in August 1844. Since the CBR alone could not be economically justified, the FR leased this small train on September 1, 1845, they finally acquired on 31 January 1846.
On April 16, 1846, Lancaster and Sterling Railroad was established, but shortly thereafter merged with the FR, which opened in 1850, the branch line from South Acton to Hudson.
1848 extended the FR their distance from the current endpoint in Boston Charlestown west of the Warren Bridge on a new bridge over the Charles River to a new terminus at Causeway Street. Overall, the standard gauge track had a length of 80 kilometers.
Further development
From the opening of the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad 1846 to its acquisition by the Boston & Lowell in 1870 led the Fitchburg Railroad operation of this web. In addition, she led from 1847 to 1849 the operation on the extension line of Fitchburg by Baldwinsville, which had been built by the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad (V & M). 1874 leased the FR V & M, which has now led to Greenfield ( Massachusetts ) and a turn-off to Turner 's Falls (Massachusetts ) had.
In addition, the FR acquired an additional branch lines:
On 1 July 1900, the Boston and Maine Railroad leased the FR and incorporated it as Fitchburg Division in their grid. The final merger took place on December 1, 1919 with retroactive effect from 1 January of the same year.
Many of the branch lines are now closed, the main route from Boston via Fitchburg in the state of New York is now operated by Pan Am Southern.
Route network
Before 1 July 1900, when the management was transferred to the Boston & Maine, the Fitchburg operating the following routes:
The railway Somerville Harvard Square, which had also operated the Fitchburg, was opened in 1849 and decommissioned in 1855. The railway company also introduced from 1 September 1846 to 31 August 1857 operating on the railway line West Cambridge Lexington, the management handed but then the owner of the track, the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad. From September 1847 to 31 December 1848, it led the operation on the railway line Fitchburg Athol Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, also before this society conducted its path on its own. However, the Fitchburg took this route again on January 1, 1874 ( see table). Also on January 1, 1874, the Fitchburg had also taken over the management on the railway line Millers Falls - Brattleboro ( Brattleboro Branch) of the Vermont & Massachusetts, however, this route sold on May 1, 1880, the New London Northern Railroad.
Sources and further information
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads 2nd Ed. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
- William D. Middleton, George M. Smerk, Roberta L. Diehl (ed.): Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN / Indianapolis IN 2007. ISBN 978-0-253-34916-3
- Page of today's operating company ( freight ) (English)
- Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society (English)
- Former Railroad Company ( Massachusetts)
- Former Railroad Company ( New Hampshire)
- Former Railroad Company ( New York)
- Former Railroad Company ( Vermont)