View source for Newton Lower Falls Branch

{{Short description|Former railway line in Massachusetts, US}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width        = 
| name             = Newton Lower Falls Branch
| image            = Newton Lower Falls station from Houghton collection.jpg
| image_width      = 300px
| image_alt        = A one-story stone railroad station in the Richardsonian Romanesque style
| caption          = Newton Lower Falls station in the 1890s
| system           = [[Boston and Albany Railroad]]
| status           = Closed
| locale           = [[Massachusetts]]
| start            = [[Riverside station (MBTA)#History|Riverside]]
| end              = Newton Lower Falls
| stations         = 3
| open             = {{Start date|January 18, 1847}}
| close            = {{end date|May 30, 1972}}
| event1label      = Electric service began
| event1           = January 20, 1904
| event2label      = Electric service ended
| event2           = April 27, 1930
| event3           = August 1957
| event3label      = Passenger service ended
| linelength_mi    = 1.2{{efn|name=length}}
| tracks           = 1
| gauge            = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| electrification  = Overhead lines (1904–1930)
| map              = {{Newton Lower Falls Branch}}
}}

The '''Newton Lower Falls Branch''' was a short branch of the [[Boston and Albany Railroad]] in [[Massachusetts]], United States. The approximately {{convert|1.2|mile|adj=on}} line ran between [[Riverside station (MBTA)#History|Riverside station]] in [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]] and [[Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts|Lower Falls]] in [[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], with one intermediate station.

The branch opened in January 1847 and immediately saw commuter service. After the [[Highland branch]] opened in 1886, the Newton Lower Falls Branch was relegated to shuttle service. A streetcar-like electric railcar powered by [[overhead lines]] provided all passenger service on the branch from January 1904 to April 1930. The northern half of the branch was relocated in 1926. Passenger service dropped from 20 daily round trips in 1904 to just one in 1950; it ended entirely in 1957. 

Freight service continued until 1972. Ownership was transferred to the state in two segments in 1973 and 1982. Proposals in the early 21st century to convert the alignment to a [[rail trail]] resulted in a decade of litigation, which concluded that the line had never been [[Abandoned railway#In the United States|formally abandoned]]. One section of rail trail opened in 2012; another portion is planned.

==Route==
{{maplink|from=Newton Lower Falls Branch.map|frame=yes|text=Map of the Newton Lower Falls Branch with the pre-1926 alignment in red|frame-align=left|frame-width=240|frame-height=150}}
The approximately {{convert|1.2|mile|adj=on}} line{{efn|name=length|The B&W listed the line as {{convert|1.251|miles}} in 1852.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-Y3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA8-PA14 |page=14 |publisher=Boston and Worcester Railroad |date=1852 |title=Report of the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Railroad}}</ref> B&A timetables gave the Riverside–Lower Falls distance as {{convert|1.10|miles}} in 1899,<ref name=1899ett /> {{convert|1.16|miles}} in 1926,<ref name=1926ett /> and {{convert|1.25|miles}} in 1949.<ref name=1949ett>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:September 1949 Boston and Albany Railroad employee timetable.pdf |title=Time-Table No. 159 For Employees only |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |date=September 25, 1949 |page=33 |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> Other sources give various lengths in this range.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qr8vAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA80 |page=80 |title=Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States |volume=26 |year=1893 |publisher=H.V. & H.W. Poor}}</ref><ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4}}}} originally branched off the Boston and Albany main line west of [[Riverside station (MBTA)#History|Riverside station]] on the [[Weston, Massachusetts|Weston]] side of the [[Charles River]]. The single track ran south, crossing the Charles into the [[Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts|Lower Falls]] section of Newton, with Pine Grove station located at Pine Grove Avenue.<ref name=1917map>{{cite map |title=Atlas of the city of Newton, Massachusetts |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:pv63jq08r |year=1917 |publisher=G.W. Bromley & Co. |map=Part of Ward 4, City of Newton |page=Plate 10 |no-pp=yes |scale=1:2,400}}</ref> The line crossed the Charles River again into the Lower Falls section of [[Wellesley, Massachusetts|Wellesley]], where the Newton Lower Falls station was located just north of [[Massachusetts Route 16|Washington Street]].{{efn|Prior to 1887, the station was located south of Washington Street.<ref>{{cite map |title-link=:commons:File:1880 bird's eye view map of Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts.jpg |title=Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts |year=1880 |publisher=O.H. Bailey & Co. |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref>}} Tracks continued across the street to a freight yard and engine house.<ref>{{cite map |title=Atlas of the town of Wellesley, Norfolk County, Mass |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:mw22xt88n |date=1897 |publisher=Geo. W. Stadly & Co. |map=Part of the Town of Wellesley, Mass |page=1 |scale=1:2,400}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764wm.g038801919 |map-url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764wm.g038801919/?sp=2 |map=Plate 2 |title=Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts |publisher=Sanborn Map Company |date=November 1919 |scale=1:600}}</ref> After 1926, the line branched off the [[Highland branch]] south of Riverside and ran southwest, joining the original alignment at Pine Grove.<ref>{{cite map |url=https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5a8a3a74e4b00f54eb3e3534 |title=USGS 1:31680-scale Quadrangle for Natick, MA 1943 |year=1943 |scale=1:31,680 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey}}</ref> Passenger trains typically covered the length of the branch in five minutes.<ref name=1899ett /><ref name=1926ett /><ref name=1949ett />
{{clear left}}
==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Newton Lower Falls Branch terminal from 1880 bird's eye view map.jpg|thumb|left|1880 illustration of the Newton Lower Falls terminus|alt=A cropped portion of a bird's-eye-view map. It shows a rail line ending in a small village. A station building and several rail yard buildings are shown.]]
The [[Boston and Worcester Railroad]] opened through northern Newton in 1834. It was originally planned to go through Lower Falls, but opposition from residents led it to be built to the north instead.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/41373/637411403001000000 |page=21 |title=Newton's 19th Century Architecture: Newton Upper and Lower Falls |publisher=Newton Historical Commission |year=1982}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw01fisk|last=Fiske|first=Joseph E.|author2=Ellen W. Fiske |title=History of the Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts|publisher=The Pilgrim Press|location=[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Chicago]]|year=1917|oclc=6541911|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw01fisk/page/18 26]|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Around 1845, the inhabitants of Newton Lower Falls and [[Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts|Newton Upper Falls]] requested that the B&W extend a branch to the two villages. The railroad was amenable to the proposal and ordered a survey.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-Y3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA9 |pages=9, 10 |publisher=Boston and Worcester Railroad |date=June 2, 1845 |title=Report of the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Railroad}}</ref> By 1846, the railroad approved plans to build a branch to Lower Falls.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-Y3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA8 |pages=8, 9 |publisher=Boston and Worcester Railroad |date=June 1, 1846 |title=Report of the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Railroad}}</ref> 

The Newton Lower Falls Branch opened on January 18, 1847. "Newton Special" commuter service was extended from {{bts|West Newton}} to Lower Falls.<ref name=150years />{{rp|21}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-Y3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA13 |pages=13, 14 |title=Report of the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Railroad |date=June 7, 1847 |publisher=Boston and Worcester Railroad}}</ref> The branch cost $39,050 to build.<ref name=1850report />{{rp|13}} In 1848, it carried 26,381 passengers, most of them traveling between Lower Falls and Boston.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145374935/ |title=Saxonville and Newton Lower Falls Branch Railroad |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=January 18, 1849 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By 1850, the branch was served by five daily round trips.<ref name=1850report>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-Y3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA9 |pages=9, 13 |publisher=Boston and Worcester Railroad |date=1850 |title=Report of the Directors of the Boston and Worcester Railroad}}</ref>{{rp|9}} Pine Grove station opened by 1856.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145374907/ |title=Horrible Death on a Railroad Track |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=November 3, 1856 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Riverside station opened near the junction point with the main line around 1860.<ref name=150years>{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |page=}}</ref>{{rp|21}} 

The Boston and Worcester Railroad merged into the [[Boston and Albany Railroad]] (B&A) in 1867.<ref name=sne>{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |edition=2 |last=Karr |first=Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780942147124 |pages=}}</ref>{{rp|342}} On May 16, 1886, the B&A opened its [[Highland branch]], which also connected to the main line near Riverside. Highland branch and main line commuter service were linked into the "[[Highland branch#Suburban service|Newton Circuit]]", while Lower Falls Branch service was reduced to shuttle trains operating between Riverside and Lower Falls.<ref name=150years />{{rp|22}}<ref name=secondsection>{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: Second Section |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1986 |isbn=9780938315025}}</ref>{{rp|4}} By the turn of the century, the shuttle ran 20 daily round trips (seven on Sundays).<ref name=1899ett>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:May 1899 Boston and Albany Railroad employee timetable.pdf |title=Time Table No. 40 |page=19 |date=May 28, 1899 |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref name=sept1903 /> The B&A was acquired by the [[New York Central Railroad]] (NYC) in 1900, but maintained its separate identity.<ref name=sne />{{rp|343}}

Between 1881 and 1894, the B&A replaced 32 of its stations with [[Richardsonian Romanesque architecture|Richardsonian Romanesque]] structures designed by [[H. H. Richardson]] and his successors [[Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge]].<ref name=b&aarch>{{cite journal |jstor=990324 |title=Architecture for the Boston & Albany Railroad: 1881-1894 |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |first=Jeffrey Karl |last=Ochsner |volume=47 |issue=2 |date=June 1988 |doi=10.2307/990324 |pages=109–131}}</ref>{{rp|109}} The new Newton Lower Falls station was built in 1887; later demolished, it was very similar to the still-extant [[Ashland station (MBTA)#History|Ashland station]].<ref name=b&aarch />{{rp|127}} Riverside station was replaced in 1893–94. Both Riverside and Newton Lower Falls were designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.<ref name=b&aarch />{{rp|131}} Pine Grove station was not replaced; it remained a small wooden shelter.<ref>{{cite map |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764nm.g038051910 |map-url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764nm.g038051910/?sp=83 |title=Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts |map=Plate 82 |scale=1:1,200 |year=1910}}</ref>

The B&A eliminated grade crossings on its mainline in Newton in 1895–97.<ref name=150years />{{rp|22}} The city then began planning to eliminate the remaining grade crossings on the Newton Lower Falls Branch, the Highland branch, and the [[Charles River Branch Railroad|Charles River Branch]] within its borders. An 1898 city plan called for Pine Grove Avenue and Concord Street to be placed on bridges above the Newton Lower Falls Branch.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145206809/ |title=Newton Improvements |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=September 20, 1898 |page=12 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The Highland branch crossings were eliminated in 1905–07, but those on the Newton Lower Falls Branch remained.<ref name=150years />{{rp|22}}<ref name=1917map />

===Electrification===
The B&A tested a self-propelled [[steam railcar]] on the line in 1902 in an effort to recapture passengers from competing streetcar lines, but it was not found to be satisfactory.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JYjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA383 |page=383 |title=The Scrap Heap |date=May 23, 1902 |magazine=The Railroad Gazette |volume=34 |issue=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWyhcUkObdYC&pg=PA796 |date=October 31, 1903 |title=Proposed Electric Operation on the Boston & Albany |page=796 |magazine=Street Railway Journal |volume=22 |issue=18}}</ref><ref name=july1903>{{cite magazine |title=Steam Motor Cars |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quw6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA517 |date=July 10, 1903 |page=517 |magazine=The Railroad Gazette |volume=35 |issue=28}}</ref> The B&A ended Sunday service on the line around the end of that year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145208782/ |title=Want Sunday Trains |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 14, 1903 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In May 1903, residents appeared before the Massachusetts Railroad Commission to voice issues about the Lower Falls Branch. Their complaints included the lack of Sunday service, long waits at Riverside for connecting trains, the downgrading of Pine Grove station to a [[flag stop]], and poor freight service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145208813/ |title=Complain Of Service |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=May 13, 1903 |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145208848/ |title=Sunday Trains Demanded |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=May 12, 1903 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
[[File:B&A electric car at Riverside station, 1900s.jpg|thumb|left|The electric car at Riverside in the 1900s|alt=A streetcar-like electric railcar at a train station]]
At that time, the B&A was studying [[third rail]] electrification of the Lower Falls Branch and the Newton Circuit, though it did not plan to construct it for at least several years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145207036/ |title=Third-Rail Plans For Circuit |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=May 26, 1903 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  In June 1903, the commission ruled that the B&A was not required to operate Sunday service on the line. However, it did require the railroad to resume using a [[Fireman (steam engine)|fireman]] on locomotives on the branch; the practice of only having an [[train driver|engineer]] was considered unsafe. The B&A also resolved the transfer delays at Riverside.<ref name=june1903>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145518647/ |title=Sunday Train Service |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=June 30, 1903 |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=july1903 /> In September 1903, the railroad announced that it would electrify the Newton Lower Falls Branch with [[overhead lines]] in the following months.<ref name=sept1903>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-evening-transcript/145206863/ |title=Electrics on the Branch |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=September 25, 1903 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The electrification was intended to reduce the cost of running the shuttle trains.<ref name=150years />{{rp|22}}

Testing of the electrification took place on January 19, 1904.<ref name=test /><ref name=publicuse /> A single electric railcar replaced the shuttle trains the next day, operating on the same schedule.<ref name=publicuse>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145206940/ |title=In Public Use |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 20, 1904 |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>{{efn|Several sources incorrectly claim that electric service began on February 1, 1900.<ref name=dana /><ref name=150years />{{rp|22}}<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4}}}} The electrification resembled that of suburban streetcar lines, with a single wire strung from lineside poles.<ref name=test>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145206976/ |title=Trolley System Test |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 19, 1904 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Power was purchased from the Boston Suburban Electric Company – a holding firm for several streetcar lines that eventually were merged as the [[Middlesex and Boston Street Railway]] (M&B) – with electricity supplied from its [[Boston Edison Power Station|Newton power station]]<!--actually the adjacent power station until 1910, per the NRHP form-->. The company's Newton–Framingham streetcar line on Washington Street, then part of the Newton Street Railway, crossed the line at Lower Falls.<ref name=test /><ref name=busreport /> The southern track of the four-track B&A mainline was electrified for the short distance between the branch junction and Riverside station.<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|36}}

All service on the line was provided by the single electric car, originally numbered 11 and later 01, which was built in the company's [[Beacon Park Yard|Allston shops]].<ref name=test /><ref name=secondsection />{{rp|37}} The car resembled a typical [[interurban]] car save for the [[cowcatcher|pilot]] on each end. It was a {{convert|60|feet}} long [[combine car|combination car]] with a 40-passenger coach section, a small central baggage section, and a 20-passenger smoking section. Propulsion was a pair of {{convert|125|hp}} electric motors. It was equipped with a [[dead man's switch#Train|dead man's switch]] – a "novel device" at the time.<ref name=publicuse /><ref name=post>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/boston-post/145206900/ |title=Combination Baggage, Smoking and Passenger Electric Given Trial Trips Over Newton Line |newspaper=Boston Post |date=January 21, 1904 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The car was locally known as the "Ping-Pong".<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/150279880/ |title=Newton |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=April 6, 1909 |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1913, the B&A tested an [[Battery electric multiple unit#United States|Edison-Beach storage battery railcar]] on the branch, as the NYC was considering purchase of a fleet of the cars for lightly-used branch lines.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145206750/ |title=Storage Battery Car |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=May 7, 1913 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-pMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA134 |title=New Record Trip Made by a Storage Battery Car |magazine=Street Railway Bulletin |page=134 |date=March 1913 |volume=12 |issue=3}}</ref> However, the "Ping-Pong" remained the sole passenger car on the branch after the test.<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4}} Service on the line was reduced during World War I and was down to 15 daily round trips by 1926.<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4}}<ref name=1926ett>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:July 1926 Boston and Albany Railroad employee timetable.pdf |page=44 |title=Time Table No. 107 For Employees Only |date=July 18, 1926 |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> In February 1926, the [[Massachusetts General Court|state legislature]] approved plans for the B&A and the [[Department of Conservation and Recreation|Metropolitan District Commission]] to [[land exchange|swap land]] near Riverside.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2CxAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2CxAAAAMAAJ |page=161 |chapter=Chapter 166: An Act Authorizing An Exchange By The Metropolitan District Commission And The Boston And Albany Railroad Of Two Parcels Of Land, One Lying In The City Of Newton And The Other Partly In Said City And In The Town Of Weston, And A Relocation Of The Newton Lower Falls Branch Of The Same Company |year=1927 |title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts in the Year 1926 |author=Massachusetts General Court}}</ref> This allowed the B&A to relocate the northern half of the line to remove tracks from [[Upper Charles River Reservation|parkland]] and to avoid replacing the Charles River bridge. The relocation took place later in 1926, leaving the Lower Falls Branch connected to the Highland branch south of Riverside.<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|36}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/annual-nyc-1926.pdf |title=Report of the Board of Directors to the Stockholders for the year ended December 31, 1926 |year=1927 |publisher=New York Central Railroad |page=17}}</ref>

===Closure===
[[File:Newton Lower Falls Branch bridge over Route 128 ramp, May 2012.JPG|thumb|left|The 1951-opened bridge over the Route 128 ramp seen in 2012|alt=A two-span girder railroad bridge over a section of highway. The left half of the road is disused.]]
The M&B replaced its Newton–Framingham streetcar line with buses in late 1929. Its final streetcar service, the [[Middlesex and Boston Street Railway#Auburndale–Lake_Street via Commonwealth Avenue|Auburndale–Lake Street line]], was replaced with buses around April 1, 1930.<ref name=busreport>{{Humphrey Bus Report}}</ref>{{rp|252}} With power no longer readily available, the B&A switched the line back to steam operation on April 27, 1930.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145203060/ |title=Many Changes In Railway Schedules |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=April 26, 1930 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=dana>{{cite magazine |title=Riverside Line Extension, 1959 |magazine=Transportation Bulletin |publisher=Connecticut Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society |date=October 1960 – July 1961 |first=Edward |last=Dana |issue=65 |page=19}}</ref> Service was reduced to {{frac|7|1|2}} daily round trips at that time.<ref name=150years />{{rp|22}}<ref>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:May 1931 Boston and Albany Railroad timetable.pdf |page=13 |title=Time Tables |date=May 7, 1931 |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> It was further reduced to four daily round trips – two in the morning peak and two in the afternoon peak – by 1934.<ref>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:September 1934 Boston and Albany Railroad timetable.pdf |page=7 |title=Time Tables |date=September 30, 1934 |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref>  Saturday service ended in the 1940s; by 1949, Pine Grove was only served on peak-direction trips.<ref>{{cite book |title-link=:commons:File:New York Central timetable effective April 27, 1941.pdf |page=21 |title=Form 2 |date=April 27, 1941 |publisher=Boston and Albany Railroad |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref name=1949ett /> Lower Falls station was demolished in 1944; Pine Grove and Riverside stations are also no longer extant.<ref name=khan /><ref name=depots>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |last=Roy |first=John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780942147087 |page=117}}</ref><ref name=b&aarch />

On January 9, 1950, all passenger service on the branch was suspended due to a coal shortage during a miner's strike.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145811794/ |title=B. & A. Forced to Cancel 38 Trains Starting Monday |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 6, 1950 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145811665/ 17] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/NewtonGraphicJan_1950/page/n6 |title=Boston & Albany Withdraws 38 Trains From Schedule |newspaper=The Newton Graphic |date=January 12, 1950 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After a petition from residents, a single round trip for commuters was restored on February 6.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145207148/ |title=Newton Commuters Seek Restoration of B. & A. Service |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 24, 1950 |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/NewtonGraphicFeb_1950/page/n7 |title=B&A Restore Service On Falls Branch |newspaper=The Newton Graphic |date=February 9, 1950 |pages=1, [https://archive.org/details/NewtonGraphicFeb_1950/page/n13 6] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Diesel locomotives – typically hauling a single coach – replaced steam locomotives on the branch in April 1951.<ref name=secondsection />{{rp|4, 37}} The state constructed the northern section of the Circumferential Highway ([[Massachusetts Route 128|Route 128]]) in 1950–51. The highway crossed under the Newton Lower Falls Branch between Pine Grove and Riverside, with a bridge built to carry the rail line above the highway.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145207166/ |title=Barletta Wins Road Job With $3,032,419 Bid |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 7, 1950 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145816092/ |title=State's First Super Road Will Be Big Traffic Aid |first=Gene |last=Casey |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 11, 1950 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145207206/ 38] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=twobridges>{{cite magazine |url=https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/17_12_two_bridges.pdf |title=The Two Bridges Trail |first=Ted |last=Chapman |date=Winter 2018 |magazine=Newton Conservators Newsletter}}</ref> Route 128 was relocated slightly to the west in the early 1960s during the construction of the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] extension to Boston. A new bridge for the Newton Lower Falls Branch was constructed over the new alignment, while the old alignment became an interchange ramp.<ref name=twobridges /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145819745/ |title=The Route 128 Interchange |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=April 29, 1963 |page=27 |first=A.S. |last=Plotkin |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In February 1957, the B&A petitioned the state [[Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities|Public Utilities Commission]] for permission to discontinue passenger service on the Newton Lower Falls Branch.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145207127/ |title=B & A Seeks Curtailment In Newton Lower Falls |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=February 7, 1957 |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The commission approved the petition that July, citing "meager patronage" and the availability of other nearby stations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145207080/ |title=D.P.U. Orders Close Of 2 B.&A. Stations |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=July 17, 1957 |page=42 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Passenger service on the branch ended in August 1957, though freight service continued.<ref name=150years />{{rp|24}} The Highland branch was abandoned in mid-1958 for conversion into a streetcar line (now the [[Green Line D branch]]). The short section at Riverside connecting the Newton Lower Falls Branch with the mainline was kept in service.<ref name=sne />{{rp|345}} The B&A was fully merged into the NYC in 1961. The NYC in turn merged into [[Penn Central]] in 1968.<ref name=sne />{{rp|343}}

Freight service to the final customer on the Lower Falls Branch, a lumber yard in Wellesley, ended on May 30, 1972.<ref name=conrail>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIXllJeEb38C |page=497 |title=Final System Plan for Restructuring Railroads in the Northeast and Midwest Region Pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 |volume=2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIXllJeEb38C&pg=PA497 |chapter=Section B: Lines Not Now Being Served or Receiving Only Intermittent Service |date=July 26, 1975 |publisher=United States Railway Association}}</ref>{{efn|A short portion of the former Highland branch near Riverside remained in use for an industrial customer until 1976.<ref name=sne />{{rp|345}}}} In January 1973, Penn Central sold most of its lines in eastern Massachusetts to the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]].<ref name=150years />{{rp|16}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145829217/ |first=Robert B. |last=Carr |title=MBTA gets $19.5m to buy rail lines |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 25, 1973 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> This included the section of the Newton Lower Falls Branch north of the Route 128 bridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://engineering.norfolkcounty.org:8080/pub/Railroad%20Information/4907-632%201973%20deed%20MBTA.pdf |title=Certificate |date=January 1973 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> In 1975, the [[United States Railway Association]] did not recommend that the branch be included in [[Conrail]] because of the lack of traffic on the line.<ref name=conrail /> Penn Central applied by 1975 to [[Abandoned railway#In the United States|formally abandon]] the line; the company removed the rails on the branch in 1976, but formal abandonment did not actually occur.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIXllJeEb38C |page=528 |title=Final System Plan for Restructuring Railroads in the Northeast and Midwest Region Pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 |volume=2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIXllJeEb38C&pg=PA528 |chapter=Section D: Discontinuances Under Section 304(f) of the Act |date=July 26, 1975 |publisher=United States Railway Association}}</ref><ref name=murray2014>{{cite court |reporter=22 LCR 469 |litigants=Elaine K. Murray and Ruth Levens v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |court=Massachusetts Land Court |date=October 6, 2014 |url=http://masscases.com/cases/land/2014/2014-11-453534-DECISION.html}}</ref><ref name=murray2017>{{cite court |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-mad-1_17-cv-10608/context |opinion=17-10608-PBS |court=D. Mass |date=October 11, 2017 |litigants=Elaine K. Murray and Ruth Levens v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation}}</ref> On November 1, 1982, Penn Central deeded the portion of the branch south of Route 128 to the Metropolitan District Commission.<ref name=murray2014 /><ref name=stover2013 /> It included a [[deed restriction]] that disallowed the right-of-way from being used as "a transportation, communication, electrical or other corridor or right of way".<ref name=collins2012 /><ref name=mayturn>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145995552/ |first=Calvin |last=Hennick |title=Bike path may turn on deed |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=June 7, 2009 |pages=W1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145995531/ W5] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

===Rail trail and litigation===
A 1996 state study of the [[MetroWest]] region identified several disused rail lines, including the Newton Lower Falls Branch, as potential [[rail trail]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/metrowestbicycle00lewi/page/n31 |page=22 |title=MetroWest Bicycle–Pedestrian Study |publisher=Central Transportation Planning Staff |first=Cathy |last=Buckley Lewis |date=October 1996}}</ref> Planning for rehabilitation of the Charles River bridge between Newton and Wellesley for trail use began in 2003.<ref name=rebuilt>{{cite news |url=http://newton.wickedlocal.com/x43412406/Rebuilt-bridge-connecting-Newton-and-Wellesley-open-to-bicycles-pedestrians |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808162753/http://newton.wickedlocal.com/x43412406/Rebuilt-bridge-connecting-Newton-and-Wellesley-open-to-bicycles-pedestrians |archive-date=August 8, 2016 |title=Rebuilt bridge connecting Newton and Wellesley open to bicycles, pedestrians |newspaper=Wicked Local Newton |date=May 8, 2012}}</ref> The trail proposal proved controversial in Newton Lower Falls – particularly the segment between Concord Street and Pine Grove Avenue, where the right-of-way is between residential properties. Trail supporters saw it as an opportunity to reconnect the neighborhood with the rest of Newton, which it is separated from by Route 128; opponents claimed it would further divide the neighborhood. Among the supporters was state representative [[Kay Khan]], whose property abutted the right-of-way.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/145956134/ |first=Peter |last=Schworm |title=Neighbors divided over proposed bike path |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=May 26, 2009 |page=B2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=mayturn /> Trail opponents dumped yard waste and trash on the disputed segment to prevent it from being used as an unofficial trail.<ref name=khan>{{cite magazine |url=https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/16_01_riverside_pathway.pdf |title=An Adventurous Walk Along the Charles: Auburndale to Lower Falls |first=Kay |last=Khan |author-link=Kay Khan |date=Winter 2016 |magazine=Newton Conservators Newsletter}}</ref>

A 2006 lawsuit filed by abutters against the [[Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation]] (DCR) – the successor to the Metropolitan District Commission – alleged that the 1982 deed restriction prevented DCR from using the alignment for a trail. DCR argued that the restriction was intended to be a [[noncompete]] clause preventing railroad use of the alignment and did not preclude a trail.<ref name=mayturn /> A second suit on similar grounds was filed in 2009.<ref name=collins2012>{{cite court |url=http://masscases.com/cases/land/20/20lcr164.html |litigants=Joseph D. Collins v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |reporter=20 LCR 164 |date=March 23, 2012 |court=Massachusetts Land Court}}</ref> It was ultimately dismissed in 2015, as the 30-year deed restriction had expired in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://masslawyersweekly.com/2015/04/29/real-property-restriction-expiration/ |title=Real property – Restriction – Expiration |first=Tom |last=Egan |date=April 29, 2015 |newspaper=Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly |access-date=April 24, 2024}} <!--Case is 23 LCR 258, which doesn't seem to be available online.--></ref>
[[File:Lower Falls Branch pedestrian bridge, April 2016.jpg|thumb|left|The repaired bridge carrying the rail trail|alt=A two-span girder bridge over a river]]
Additional lawsuits were filed in 2011 and 2014 by other abutters claiming that the rail easement had reverted back to the adjacent property owners upon abandonment of the line.<ref name=murray2014 /><ref name=stover2013>{{cite court |reporter=21 LCR 640 |litigants=Charles C. Stover, III and Katharine S. Stover v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |court=Massachusetts Land Court |opinion=MISC 11-449303 |date=November 12, 2013 |url=http://masscases.com/cases/land/2013/2013-11-449303-DECISION.html}}<!-- see https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8754036945589848864&hl=en&as_sdt=2006 for 2015 judgement--></ref> In 2014, the [[Massachusetts Land Court]] found in the latter case that the line had never actually been abandoned under Massachusetts state law, and that whether the line had been abandoned was a federal issue.<ref name=murray2014 /> The [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] affirmed in 2016, and the 2011 case was also dismissed for that reason.<ref name=stover2017>{{cite court |url=http://masscases.com/cases/land/2017/2017-11-449303-DECISION.html |reporter=25 LCR 487 |litigants=Charles C. Stover, III and Katharine S. Stover v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |court=Massachusetts Land Court |date=July 11, 2017}} ([http://masscases.com/cases/land/2017/2017-11-449303-JUDGMENT.html Judgment])<!--appeal dismissed in 2018: https://casetext.com/case/stover-v-dept-of-conservation-1 --></ref><ref name=murray2016>{{cite court |reporter=479 Mass. 99 |litigants=Elaine K. Murray and Ruth Levens v. Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |court=Mass. |date=August 4, 2016 |url=http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/475/475mass99.html}}</ref> In 2017, the [[United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts]] dismissed a further suit by the 2014 plaintiffs, finding that the federal [[Surface Transportation Board]] (STB) had sole jurisdiction over railroad abandonments. At the request of the court, the STB filed an [[amicus curiae]] brief agreeing that it had sole jurisdiction and that the line had not been abandoned.<ref name=murray2017 /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stb.gov/wp-content/uploads/STB-FY-2019-Budget.pdf |title=Budget Request FY 2019 |publisher=Surface Transportation Board |date=February 2018 |page=21}}</ref>

In response to the controversy, a neighborhood working group was formed in 2009. The group identified 24 potential trail segments – some on streets, some on the railbed, and some on other alignments – that could be connected in various combinations to form a usable trail.<ref name=twobridges /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://newtonlowerfalls.org/resources/Documents/Map%20Path%20Alternative%20Segments%20and%20Names.pdf |title=Bike Path Alternative Segment Names & Descriptions |date=2009 |publisher=Newton Lower Falls Improvement Association}}</ref> The DCR proceeded with the southern portion of the rail trail, between Concord Street and Washington Street, which did not abut residential properties. It allocated state funds for reconstruction of three footbridges over the Charles River, including the 1910-built former railroad bridge, in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/CharlesRiverResFootbridges5-7-09-1.pdf |title=Charles River Reservation Footbridge Projects/Trail Corridor Proposal |pages=28–38 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |date=May 7, 2009}}</ref> Construction took place from late 2010 to May 2011. The bridge and the trail portion opened in May 2012.<ref name=rebuilt />

In 2017, the DCR awarded a grant to a coalition of local nonprofit organizations for a study of the Two Bridges Trail. That short trail would cross the disused rail bridges over I-95 and the interchange ramp, connecting to Clearwater Road and the Riverside station parking lot.<ref name=twobridges /> In November 2020, the DCR released a study of potential trail alignments through the Lower Falls area between the Two Bridges Trail and Quinobequin Road. The preferred alignment would use the railbed between Route 128 and Pine Grove Avenue, and DCR land adjacent to a golf course between Pine Grove Avenue and Concord Street.<ref name=2020study />{{rp|7{{hyphen}}2}} Those two segments were estimated to cost $2 million and $3 million to construct.<ref name=2020study />{{rp|8{{hyphen}}4}} The disputed section of railbed between Pine Grove Avenue and Concord Street was not considered in the study due to the litigation.<ref name=2020study>{{cite book |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/lower-falls-shared-use-trail-feasibility-study-final-report-november-2020/download |title=Lower Falls Shared-Use Trail Feasibility Study: Leo J. Martin Golf Course to Quinobequin Road |date=November 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation}}</ref>{{rp|4{{hyphen}}1}}
{{clear left}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML}}
{{commons category inline}}
*[https://newtonlowerfalls.org/Recreation-Trails-Information Newton Lower Falls Improvement Association – Recreation Trails in Lower Falls]

[[Category:Boston and Albany Railroad lines]]
[[Category:Rail infrastructure in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Closed railway lines in the United States]]