Fitchburg Line

The railway Boston - Fitchburg is a railway line in Massachusetts (United States). It is 79.74 km long and connects with the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Waltham, Concord, Ayer, Leominster and Fitchburg. The standard gauge line is part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ( MBTA ), which operates passenger services on it. The freight operate the Pan Am Railways between Boston and Willows and Pan Am Southern west of Willows.

History

The core of the range is a horse track that led from the present operating station Somerville in the center of Charlestown. For its construction was awarded on April 9, 1836, the Charlestown Branch Railroad Company a concession. The track was built one mile long branch of the railway Boston Lowell and opened on 1 June 1839. First, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad operated the route, from 1 December 1841 railway company itself in the spring of 1842, the company opened an extension of the line to West Cambridge. The final station was first called block Iceland. At the same time the locomotive depot was taken.

On 3 March 1842, the Fitchburg Railroad Company received a concession to build a route from Boston to Fitchburg. The company was set up on July 13th of the year. The line was opened from West Cambridge sections: December 20, 1843 and Waltham, June 17, 1844 to Concord, on October 1, 1844 to West Acton, from 30 December 1844 to Shirley and on March 5, 1845 Finally, to Fitchburg. Operator was initially the Charlestown Branch Railroad, from 1 May 1844, the Fitchburg Railroad itself The Fitchburg used the route of the Charlestown Branch Railroad to Charlestown, and leased them finally on September 1, 1845. So you took over the management of the entire route. The companies merged on 31 January 1846.

Now the railway company wanted access to the city of Boston and built a track for Causeway Street, which went into operation on August 9, 1848. The final station was located east of Beverly Street, while the terminal stations of the other railway companies west of the intersection were, where the Boston North Station is located today. The short branch in the city of Charlestown, who was part of the first section of line opened in 1839, continued to serve as a port connection and was extended in the Hoosac Tunnel Docks on November 11, 1863 at about 1.3 kilometers. 1849 built the railway company the entire distance of two tracks. The Fitchburg Railroad developed in the following years to a successful railway company with a route network that reached in the U.S. states of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Nevertheless, the Boston and Maine Railroad leased the company in 1900 and led from July 1 of the year the operation on the railway line. The passenger trains were performed after installation of appropriate rail connections in the Boston North Station and the 1848 -built railway terminal shut down.

From 1927 were run almost all the passing freight trains between Boston and Hill Crossing on North Cambridge, but now drove but all passenger trains on the routes towards Bedford and Northampton to West Cambridge and Clematis Brook on the Fitchburg line. After the Boston & Maine in 1960 the Express trains set on the track, ended completely in 1965 between Ayer and Fitchburg and in February 1975 between South Acton and Ayer passenger. 1976 bought the MBTA the route and operating passenger services in-house. Since 1965 she had subsidized the suburban Boston area. The Boston & Maine kept a shared right of the line for freight traffic.

In January 1980, the MBTA opened the passenger back to the total distance. In the same year the freight line on North Cambridge had to be shut down, which led to the passing freight trains have now been passed over Lowell and only in the Willows reached the Fitchburg route. The second track between South Acton and Willow had already been closed before. Since 1983, leading the Guilford Transportation, which operates under the name Pan Am Railways since 2006, the freight operation on the track, after taking over the Boston & Maine. 2009 founded the Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Railway jointly the Pan Am Southern and handed over the management of freight from Willows to Fitchburg to this subsidiary.

Route description

The original, operated from 1839 to 1848, the terminus of the route was at the center of the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown on the City Square. The new station in Boston was northeast of the intersection of Causeway Street / Beverly Street. The route took in a northwesterly direction, crossed the Charles River and culminated in the old route of 1839, which continues as a port terminal was in operation, but is now also shut down and dismantled. At the level of today's Metro Station Community College, the old railway track turned to the west, crossed the main line of the Eastern Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad at the same level and about one and a half kilometers to the west, the original route of the Boston and Lowell Railroad.

The railway line continues through the city centers of Somerville and Cambridge. In Cambridge, is now home to the station in Porter Square, can be switched to the to the metro Boston. The station is equipped as only along the route with a central platform. At West Cambridge train station, which was from 1842 to 1843 as the terminus of route, branch two routes from Lexington and Watertown. The railway reached shortly after the previous breakpoint Hill Crossing. From here to the railway line Clematis Brook North Cambridge Northampton was right next to the Fitchburg route. Crossovers were installed later and eventually shut down the parallel route and led all trains on the Fitchburg line. The trains stop in Belmont Center and Waverley, a suburb of Belmont. After the previous station Clematis Brook the route leads through the center of Waltham. In a short piece, from east of Newton Street to the west side of the station the route is single track Waltham. The passenger station consists of two parts. Between Elm Street and Moody Street is a simple breakpoint in the single-track section where the trains to Boston. This breakpoint is located in the former railway triangle on the einmündete the railway line West Cambridge - Watertown Waltham. West of Moody Street, where the railway line is double-tracked again, another platform is on track route toward Fitchburg.

The track has a short stretch along the Charles River in southwestern direction, but then turns off to the northwest. In the curve of the breakpoint Brandeis - Roberts, who is still in the city of Waltham and Brandeis University, and the district Roberts connects lies. The continuous from Boston urban development proceeds in a much more sparsely populated rural area here. In the heyday of the railroad many suburban trains ended in Roberts. Near the outskirts of Weston crosses the disused railway line to Northampton the route on a steel bridge, which is still available today. This is followed by three break points, all located in the city of Weston, Kendal Green, Hastings and Silver Hill. In Hastings there are changes of track, so here can end features. The route continues through Lincoln, where the passenger station is located on Lincoln Road. Another breakpoint Baker Bridge was further north on Concord Road.

In the course of the railway line passes through the Walden Pond and runs through a wooded piece to Concord. Close to the city center stop passenger trains in Concord Station on Thoreau Street. The station is now only a breakpoint with the usual along the entire route Seitenbahnsteigen. The route turns to the west, then crosses the Sudbury River and the Assabet River and reached West Concord, where there is also a train station. This station was originally a railway junction, where the railway line Framingham Lowell crossed at the same level. The intersection was immediately west of the station building of the Fitchburg route. A monument on the southern station forecourt remembered today on this track crossing. Further towards the west, the railway line is now leading to Acton. In the former South Acton Station today ends of the double-track section of route. Here branches off the disused track off to Marlborough. The breakpoint and stop at the Today passenger trains is, west of Main Street. The web is now headed back to the northwest and crosses from West Acton, where once was located a further passenger station.

The route now continues through Boxborough and Littleton. In Littleton is no longer the original station served but a breakpoint south of the city near Interstate 495 on the previous breakpoint Willows, the route turns back to the west. In the double-track railway line Willows North Chelmsford Ayer flows, which bears the brunt of freight transport in the direction of Maine. In the following section to Ayer daily drive numerous freight trains coming from the direction of turn Maine in Ayer towards Worcester, or continue on Fitchburg addition to the west. From Willows to Fitchburg, the route is double track again. The railway line from North Chelmsford was originally from Willows to Ayer next to the Fitchburg route, but was shut down in this section in 1946, and all trains were passed over the Fitchburg route. A few kilometers further the Ayer Train Station is finally reached, and then Ayer Junction was originally called Groton Junction. Here ended off the track of North Chelmsford and the railway line Ayer -Greenville and it crossed the same level as the railway Worcester Rochester, which is, however, shut down north of Ayer and today leads into a track triangle into the Fitchburg route. As in West Concord the passenger station was located here directly on the track crossing, and still keep the trains within the wye on the side platforms.

Next to the west crosses the railway line Shirley, where there is another station is located, passes through the southern tip of Lake Shirley and turn off to the southwest. The breakpoint at the Lunenburg Leominster Shirley Road was actually already in the city of Leominster. The route runs to the southwest, but turns just before Interstate 190 in a northwesterly direction from and continues in parallel to a feeder road. At the Main Street Station, the North Leominster, which is equipped with side platforms located. The route crosses the further course the city border to Fitchburg, where several freight terminals and railway stations - are. It crosses twice the North Nashua River and reached the railhead Fitchburg, to have used along the disused railway line here Sterling Junction Fitchburg also the trains. The route this route opens between the two river bridges in the Fitchburg Main Line. In Fitchburg, the route goes to the railway line Fitchburg, Greenfield.

Passenger

Before the opening of the Hoosac Tunnel in 1875 operated on the route only local passenger trains. 1869, these were four trains to Fitchburg, two of which continue on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad toward Brattleboro and Hoosac Tunnel drove. Sunday drove an extra pair of trains according to Fitchburg. In addition, a pair of trains wrong to Groton Junction ( Ayer ), a pair of trains on South Acton to Marlborough and a pair of trains to Concord and one to Waltham. Seven other trains ran from Boston on West Cambridge and Watertown to Waltham.

1901 drove several important express trains on the route, including the daily Continental Limited to Chicago and St. Louis. In addition, wrong on weekdays three other express trains to Chicago and one to St. Louis and on Sundays another train to Chicago. Furthermore, the Boston & Maine offered Express trains running over Fitchburg to Vermont and Canada. These were four trains, one to Montreal, two to Burlington and a perverted by Bellows Falls on working days. Sundays only moved the train to Montreal. Even in the suburbs, there was an extensive rail service on the line. Weekdays left the North Station in Boston 53 persons trains running on the route to Fitchburg. Of this arc 19 in West Cambridge on the track over from Watertown, of which 12 the route sailed again between Waltham and Roberts. A train ended in West Cambridge, ten in Waltham, six in Roberts, three in West Concord, three in South Acton, Ayer and two in five in Fitchburg. A train ran over South Acton to Marlborough, an over Fitchburg to Greenfield and two to Troy. In addition, rode a train from Ayer to Troy. Sundays racing alongside the express trains a train to Troy, one after Fitchburg, one by Ayer, two to South Acton, and four by Roberts. Besides drove seven trains over Watertown to Roberts.

After the First World War and again after the global economic crisis of 1929 the offer was significantly reduced. 1932 reversed the Minute Man, one of the most famous express trains of the Boston & Maine, from Boston to Chicago. In addition, daily drove two trains to Montreal, namely Ethan Allen, of Green Mountain Flyer was Sunday, and the Mount Royal. Another express train on weekdays wrong to Rutland in Vermont. Besides drove on weekdays three passenger trains to Troy, one each to Williamstown and Greenfield, five ( Saturdays six ) to Fitchburg, two by Ayer, two to South Acton, one on South Acton to Maynard and even a single pair of trains on Watertown to Waltham. Sundays wrong only two passenger trains to Troy, a Williamstown, two by Fitchburg and an above Watertown to Waltham.

According to the timetable of 2010, the MBTA provides Monday to Friday at 17 trains, four of which ended in South Acton. Saturdays and Sundays operate eight trains, of which only two to South Acton.

Accidents

The only serious accident on the line occurred on the evening of 26 November 1905. Belated in foggy weather passenger Boston - Marlborough had left just at the breakpoint Baker Bridge, as the subsequent Montreal Express with full speed drove into the train. The engine crew of the express train had not seen the signals to slow speed. By leaking oil a fire broke out, 17 people lost their lives.

References and further reading

• Ronald D. Karr: The Rail Lines of Southern New England. A Handbook of Railroad History. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 1995. ISBN 0-942147-02-2
• Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England and Maritime Canada. (2nd edition) SPV -Verlag, Dunkirk (GB ), 2010. ISBN 1-874745-12-9

• B & M Corporate History, 1914, pages 189-192 (PDF, 7.7 MB) ( English)
• List of stations ( with route miles) and the staff of 1923 ( English)

• 1435 mm
• Railroad track in Massachusetts