Medford branch (Boston and Maine Railroad)
| Medford branch | |
|---|---|
_station_1908_postcard.jpg) Park Street station around 1908 | |
| Overview | |
| Stations | 3 |
| Service | |
| System | Boston and Maine Railroad |
| History | |
| Opened | 1847 |
| Closed | October 1, 1957 (passenger service) 2010 (freight service) |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 1.8 mi (2.9 km) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Medford branch was a railroad branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M). Located entirely within Medford, Massachusetts, the branch connected Medford Square to the B&M main line. It had passenger service from 1847 to 1957, with freight service on the inner part of the line until 2010.
History
[edit]The Boston and Lowell Railroad was built in 1835 through West Medford, followed by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) through the east part of Medford in 1844.[1] On March 7, 1845, the state legislature approved the charter of the Medford Branch Rail-road Company to build a branch line from the B&M mainline to Medford Square.[2] The railroad had been formed by a group of citizens including James O. Curtis earlier that year.[3] The group almost immediately acted on the charter provision which allowed them to transfer the line to the B&M, which constructed the line and opened it as the Medford branch on March 2, 1847.[4] It ran about 1.86 miles (2.99 km) from Medford Junction (north of Wellington station) to Medford Square.[4]
By 1875, an intermediate station - East Medford - had been added at Spring Street.[5] A second stop at Park Street was added by 1889.[6] The East Medford station had been renamed Glenwood by then, and was relocated slightly to the east by 1900.[7][8]
In the 1890s, the B&M double-tracked the branch to provide more frequent service to compete with electric streetcars.[9] The branch was then a busy commuter route; at the peak levels of B&M service in 1906, the branch had 21 daily round trips.[10] However, ridership was soon decimated by the streetcars operated by the Boston Elevated Railway and the Bay State Street Railway.[10] The B&M attempted to end service in 1917; after negotiations with the town, the railroad kept four daily round trips.[11] This increased slightly to six daily round trips by 1919.[10] Operation of a gasoline-electric railcar on the branch was considered in 1925.[12]
Service on the branch was discontinued for some period in 1933–34; the station buildings remained closed after service resumed.[9][13][14] They later reopened, but were abandoned around 1943 to reduce the B&M tax bill.[15] As a marginal route, the branch was often closed entirely during service disruptions like those caused by the April 1946 and March 1948 coal mine strikes.[16][17] By 1949, only a single daily round trip remained.[10] This trip was discontinued on October 1, 1957.[18][19]
The section of the line between Park Street and Medford Square was abandoned in 1959, with the Northern Expressway soon built across it.[1] The section between Park Street and Glenwood was abandoned two years later, while freight service continued on the remaining section.[1][20] In the early 1970s, an underpass for the Orange Line and Reading Line was built at Medford Junction as part of the Haymarket North Extension.[10] (Never-realized plans in the 1940s had called for the Medford branch to be reused as an Orange Line branch.[21]) Regular freight service ended in 2008, though a single trip to deliver a single carload of fish was run in 2010.[1] The only remaining station structure is the Park Street station, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1][22]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 289–296. ISBN 9780942147124.
- ^ "Chapter 109: An Act to incorporate the Medford Branch Rail-road Company". Acts and resolves passed by the General Court. Secretary of the Commonwealth. 1845. pp. 455–456.
- ^ "Medford Branch Railroad". Medford Historical Register. 27 (2): 34–39. April 1914 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ a b "Medford Branch Railroad". Medford Historical Register. 20 (2): 37–43. April 1917 – via Google Books.
- ^ County Atlas of Middlesex, Massachusetts. F.W. Beers & Co. 1875. p. 105 – via Ward Maps.
- ^ Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. George H. Walker & Co. 1889. pp. 18, 19 – via Ward Maps.
- ^ Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Vol. 1. George W. Stadley & Co. 1900. Plate 33 – via Ward Maps.
- ^ Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. George H. Walker & Co. 1889. p. 29 – via Ward Maps.
- ^ a b Boulding, Christine; Herza, John (March 1975). "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM: Park Street Railroad Station". National Park Service.
- ^ a b c d e Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 68, 69. ISBN 9780685412947.
- ^ "Summary of the news in and about Greater Boston: Medford". Boston Globe. June 5, 1917. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Medford". Boston Globe. December 9, 1925. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "How would you like to live in a railroad station". Boston Globe. July 15, 1933. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Storm crowds B. & M. trains". Boston Globe. February 20, 1934. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "B.& M. Wants Shelters Instead of 13 Stations". Boston Globe. December 15, 1942. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Trains to Be Discontinued". Boston Globe. March 20, 1948. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "B. & M. WEEK DAY Trains CANCELLED". Boston Globe. May 7, 1946. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "B&M Told to Up Earnings Or Face Control by Court". Boston Globe. August 3, 1957 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Middlesex County Court (April 3, 1962). "CITY OF MEDFORD vs. MARINUCCI BROS. & CO., INC. & another". Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Massachusetts Cases.
- ^ Karr, Ronald Dale (2010). Lost Railroads of New England (Third ed.). Branch Line Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780942147117.
- ^ Casey, Gene R. (April 6, 1947). "10 Electric-Train Lines Proposed by Board in Report to Legislature". Boston Globe. pp. 1, 28 – via Newspapers.com. (second section, third page)
- ^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780942147087.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Medford Branch (Boston and Maine Railroad) at Wikimedia Commons