797:
970:
26:
1147:
917:(NY&NE) mainline. It opened in August 1883, allowing through service from Milford to Boston via Franklin. The P&W lease of the Milford and Woonsocket expired that year. The Milford and Woonsocket began independent operation of its own line plus the Hopkinton and the Milford, Franklin and Providence; it purchased the former line in 1884. This gave it a 20-mile (32 km) line between Ashland and Franklin Junction.
583:
993:. A second Milford station was additionally proposed near the intersection of Central and Depot streets, but this location was past where the Grafton and Upton Railroad connects with the line, and it was scrapped from the project. As of May 2018, construction on this extension has not begun, and no indication of when or if it will has been made. On March 1, 2023, the MBTA filed an exemption notice with the
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216:
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in 1914. The southern half of the line was similarly reduced to a mixed train in 1919, and all passenger service between
Ashland and Franklin Junction ended the next year. In 1926, the New Haven replaced Boston–Woonsocket service over the Charles River Branch with Boston–Bellingham Junction–Franklin
936:
The
Milford and Woonsocket was never a strong railroad; the only major population between Franklin and Ashland was Milford, which had a more direct route to Boston via the B&A Milford Branch. From 1911 to 1914, the B&A and the New Haven operated several circuit services, wherein trains would
937:
leave Boston on one mainline and return on another. One circuit used the line between
Ashland and Franklin Junction plus the B&A and the Midland Division mainlines. Service in September 1912 had two daily trips each way over that circuit, plus two Franklin–Ashland–Boston round trips.
843:(B&A) formerly terminated on the opposite side of Central Street, with freight tracks connecting the two lines. The now-abandoned portion of the Milford Secondary continued north, paralleling the Charles River to its source. It turned east in
956:
refused their initial proposal to abandon north of
Milford. The line was further cut back to Fletcher's Quarry in North Milford in 1953, and to Fells Avenue in Milford six years later. Freight service on the remaining section passed to
828:, which is now abandoned except for a short siding south of the former junction (Bellingham Junction). The Milford Secondary continues northwest to its terminus at Central Street in downtown Milford, meeting the
1179:
898:
The
Hopkinton Branch Railroad was chartered in 1869 to construct a branch from Ashland on the B&A mainline to Hopkinton. In 1870, it was combined with another planned line, the
895:(P&W), which connected to the Charles River Branch Railroad at Woonsocket, to forestall competition. Passenger service on the line was focused on Milford–Woonsocket traffic.
920:
The
Milford and Woonsocket was leased by the NY&NE in September 1887. The NY&NE entered bankruptcy in 1893; its 1895 successor New England Railroad was leased by the
1216:
945:
trains plus
Bellingham Junction–Woonsocket shuttles. This lasted until July 18, 1938, when all Charles River Branch service was discontinued as part of the
755:
949:. It resumed briefly in March 1940, but service south of Caryville (including the segment between Bellingham Junction and Franklin) ended again that May.
44:
921:
832:
at a junction just south of downtown. As of 2021, only two active freight customers remain on the line, both between Forge Park and
Bellingham.
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54:
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540:
58:
994:
804:
The southern end of the line is at
Franklin Junction, just southwest of downtown Franklin, where it splits off from the
1201:
961:
in 1969 and
Conrail in 1976. Conrail abandoned a short section from Fells Avenue to Central Street in Milford in 1987.
986:
840:
829:
741:
379:
813:
201:
888:
844:
25:
906:. The railroad opened between Milford and Ashland in December 1872 and was immediately leased by the P&W.
855:. Two portions of the abandoned line have been converted into sections of the Upper Charles Trail, a regional
990:
781:
71:
1146:
852:
848:
809:
785:
600:
81:
76:
977:
In July 2011, a study by the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization proposed implementing new
706:
985:, and the plan was to create a new station in Milford, before the commuter rail would diverge onto the
998:
978:
498:
271:
1113:
1063:
924:
in 1898 as its Midland Division. In August 1898, service on the line consisted of two Ashland–
1139:
1131:
946:
1180:"Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority-Acquisition Exemption-CSX Transportation, Inc"
928:
round trips plus three Milford–Franklin round trips, one of which ran through to Boston.
836:
279:
800:
The junction between the Milford Secondary (left) and the Grafton and Upton in Milford
1210:
982:
821:
817:
805:
429:
913:
was chartered in 1882 to build from Bellingham Junction to Franklin Junction on the
883:
was chartered in 1855. It opened in 1868 from Milford to Bellingham Junction on the
958:
941:
107:
981:
service along the line. The new service was to be an extension of the existing
856:
1001:, with the contract for sale then dated to be completed on April 11, 2023.
1196:
952:
The New Haven abandoned the line north of Hopkinton in 1938, after the
812:
located in an industrial park in southwest Franklin. It continues into
152:
492:
416:
266:
968:
795:
824:. The middle portion of the curve was formerly shared with the
940:
Service between Ashland and Milford was reduced to a single
1120:. September 18, 1914. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
1162:"Franklin rail line could expand to Milford and Hopedale"
30:
North end of the Milford Secondary in Milford in 2017
1102:. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–46.
1062:(2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 370–372.
106:
96:
91:
64:
50:
40:
35:
18:
1098:Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985).
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8:
1100:Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years
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874:Map of the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad
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45:Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
922:New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
911:Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad
1027:
140:
1060:The Rail Lines of Southern New England
1053:
1051:
808:. It runs west through Franklin, with
15:
1049:
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1039:
1037:
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780:is a railroad line that runs between
7:
1217:Rail infrastructure in Massachusetts
102:Abandoned: 11.4 miles (18.3 km)
891:. It was immediately leased by the
14:
1138:. February 22, 1940. pp. 1,
1132:"New Haven Must Open 32 Stations"
915:New York and New England Railroad
893:Providence and Worcester Railroad
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1145:
1011:List of CSX Transportation lines
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100:Active: 8.4 miles (13.5 km)
24:
1160:Milford Daily News (May 2015).
1016:List of Massachusetts railroads
881:Milford and Woonsocket Railroad
475:
255:
241:
222:
215:
177:
989:, and eventually terminate in
973:Forge Park/495 station in 2017
954:Interstate Commerce Commission
900:Hopkinton and Milford Railroad
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1:
885:Charles River Branch Railroad
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995:Surface Transportation Board
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1142:– via Newspapers.com.
887:, which ran from Boston to
851:, meeting the B&A near
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343:
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1058:Karr, Ronald Dale (2017).
987:Grafton and Upton Railroad
841:Boston and Albany Railroad
830:Grafton and Upton Railroad
380:Grafton and Upton Railroad
997:to acquire the line from
965:Renewed passenger service
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1166:www.milforddailynews.com
889:Woonsocket, Rhode Island
507:via Charles River Branch
464:Bellingham Cogeneration
816:, where it crosses the
1114:"Service Discontinued"
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810:Forge Park/495 station
801:
786:Milford, Massachusetts
421:former route to Boston
1204:at Wikimedia Commons
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707:Franklin/Foxboro Line
684:Franklin/Dean College
826:Charles River Branch
430:Charles River Branch
999:CSX Transportation
979:MBTA Commuter Rail
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904:Hopkinton Railroad
847:, then north into
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1202:Milford Secondary
1200:Media related to
788:, United States.
778:Milford Secondary
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19:Milford Secondary
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1182:. March 1, 2023.
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806:Franklin Branch
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868:Early history
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822:reverse curve
819:
818:Charles River
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942:mixed train
108:Track gauge
97:Line length
1022:References
857:rail trail
814:Bellingham
499:Woonsocket
272:Framingham
845:Hopkinton
709:to Boston
143:Route map
92:Technical
79:(current)
1211:Category
1005:See also
991:Hopedale
926:Franklin
782:Franklin
601:Hartford
127: in
84:(former)
36:Overview
932:Decline
863:History
849:Ashland
839:of the
122:⁄
82:Ashland
77:Milford
65:Termini
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51:Locale
820:in a
792:Route
569:I-495
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41:Owner
1064:ISBN
909:The
879:The
835:The
784:and
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757:edit
750:talk
743:view
428:via
278:via
57:and
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1164:.
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1116:.
1078:^
1030:^
859:.
1168:.
1140:6
1072:.
133:)
129:(
124:2
120:1
117:+
115:8
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
