27:
43:
207:, which composes much of the rest of this rail trail network. The tracks from Sterling Center to Pratt's Junction remained in use until the cider mill ceased operation in the late 1970s, at which point they too were torn up and the tracks between Pratt's Junction and Fitchburg essentially became another extension of the former Agricultural Branch Railroad line. Other abandoned sections include the track from
35:
179:(NYNH&H). The NYNH&H discontinued passenger service into Marlborough in 1937 and abandoned the spur altogether in 1966. By the 1960s, the NYNH&H, like many railroads, was struggling to stay solvent in the face of increased competition from alternate modes of transportation, and so in 1961 it petitioned to be included in the newly formed
202:
Today, the line is still in use by CSX, though portions have been abandoned. Starting in 1898, the tracks of the former
Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad between Pratt's Junction and Sterling Junction primarily served a cider mill in the center of Sterling; however, trains only accessed the mill from
171:
for 999 years, but on
October 1 of that same year nonetheless extended its lease of the Framingham and Lowell Railroad to 998 years. On September 10, 1881, the Framingham and Lowell Railroad was deeded on execution sale to the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg, and New Bedford Railroad, forming the
163:. On June 1, 1875, the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad consolidated with the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad, and exactly one year later, on June 1, 1876, the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad merged with the New Bedford Railroad to form the
332:
Report of the Board of
Railroad Commissioners, the Tax Commissioner and the Bank Commissioner, sitting as a commission, relative to the assets and liabilities of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, Feb. 15,
382:
Drury, George H. (1994). The
Historical Guide to North American Railroads: Histories, Figures, and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 222–229, 248.
159:. Less than a year later, on February 2, 1874, the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad entered into a fifty-year lease agreement with the New Bedford Railroad, which provided access to the deep water whaling port at
203:
Pratt's
Junction and thus the tracks from Sterling Center to Sterling Junction were torn up. Today, this section of track bed forms a portion of the Central Mass Rail Trail despite not being a part of the former
46:
Northbound CSXT Framingham local B724 passes MP 28 (miles from
Fitchburg) in Southborough just north of "Marlborough Junction" on its way to service customers at the current end of line in Leominster, MA
81:
A 1.5-mile branch off the 13.2-mile main line from
Marlborough Junction into Marlborough was added in June 1855. In July 1866, the railroad opened a 14-mile extension from Northborough to the
175:
On March 5, 1883, the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New
Bedford Railroad was outright consolidated into the Old Colony network. In 1893, the Old Colony Railroad was leased to the
211:
through
Fitchburg and the branch from Marlborough Junction into Marlborough. Currently, the line is primarily used to haul lumber, corn syrup, scrap metal, and plastic pellets.
164:
247:
The railroad laws and charters of the United States, now for the first time collated, arranged in chronological order, and published with a synopsis and explanatory remarks
183:. On December 31, 1968, all of its properties were purchased by Penn Central. Penn Central, however, soon went bankrupt, and on April 1, 1976, it was taken over by
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176:
470:
220:
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180:
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124:, which connected with the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad in Framingham and provided a connection to the major mill city of
388:
132:
148:
82:
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136:
121:
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372:(2nd ed.). Brimfield, MA: Marker Press/The Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society. 2008. pp. 129–130.
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160:
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63:
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110:
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98:
400:
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329:
Massachusetts. Joint
Commission on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, ed. (1911).
125:
90:
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On April 1, 1872, the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad signed a twenty-year lease of the nearby
156:
168:
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On January 1, 1873, the Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad signed a fifty-year lease of the
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445:
384:
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167:. In 1879, the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad was leased to the
105:, bringing the entire line up to 28.7 miles of track and establishing connections to
55:
30:
Bond of the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad Company, issued 1. January 1872
199:, with the former assuming control of the former Agricultural Branch Railroad line.
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349:
292:
263:
250:. Vol. 2. Boston, Mass.: C.C. Little and J. Brown. pp. 511–513.
336:. Boston, Mass.: Wright & Potter Printing Co. pp. 326, 420–427.
38:
Bridge carrying the Agricultural Branch over Foss Reservoir in Framingham
184:
404:
117:, and in 1869, it merged with the Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad.
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railroad's largest network with 126.2 miles of track system-wide.
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33:
25:
287:. Framingham, Mass.: Agricultural Branch Railroad. pp. 1–4.
341:
255:
147:. On July 1, 1873, the Taunton Branch Railroad merged with the
113:. On May 20, 1867, the name of the railroad was changed to the
192:
62:
on April 26, 1847, to provide a rail connection between
244:
Gregg, Washington Parker; Pond, Benjamin, eds. (1851).
403:. Consolidated Rail Corporation. 2003. Archived from
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Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad
21:Map of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad
444:. Branch Line Press. pp. 192–193, 284–286.
8:
285:Report of the Agricultural Branch Railroad
283:Agricultural Branch Railroad, ed. (1857).
324:
322:
177:New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
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16:Railroad in Massachusetts, United States
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442:The Rail Lines of Southern New England
115:Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad
78:. Service began on December 1, 1855.
7:
181:Penn Central Transportation Company
74:and a small portion of the city of
191:approved the buyout of Conrail by
153:Middleborough and Taunton Railroad
14:
133:Mansfield and Framingham Railroad
149:New Bedford and Taunton Railroad
135:, providing a connection to the
109:and the growing railroad hub of
83:Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad
471:Defunct Massachusetts railroads
205:Central Massachusetts Railroad
137:Boston and Providence Railroad
122:Framingham and Lowell Railroad
1:
221:Worcester and Nashua Railroad
58:. It was incorporated by the
401:"A Brief History of Conrail"
189:Surface Transportation Board
60:Legislature of Massachusetts
52:Agricultural Branch Railroad
492:
440:Karr, Ronald Dale (1995).
226:Boston and Albany Railroad
187:. On August 22, 1998, the
476:Old Colony Railroad lines
141:Taunton Branch Railroad
85:at Pratts Junction in
47:
39:
31:
45:
37:
29:
157:New Bedford Railroad
70:through the town of
423:www.freedomsway.org
169:Old Colony Railroad
54:was a railroad in
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40:
32:
89:via the towns of
483:
456:
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425:. Archived from
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370:The Central Mass
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326:
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197:Norfolk Southern
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451:978-0942147025
450:
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429:on 2012-11-02.
419:"Sterling, MA"
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407:on 2010-11-21.
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427:the original
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405:the original
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378:
369:
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353:. Retrieved
331:
284:
278:
267:. Retrieved
246:
239:
201:
174:
155:to form the
130:
119:
114:
80:
72:Southborough
68:Northborough
51:
49:
161:New Bedford
76:Marlborough
465:Categories
355:2013-01-28
269:2013-01-28
232:References
209:Leominster
64:Framingham
145:Mansfield
111:Worcester
107:Fitchburg
99:Lancaster
350:20532802
342:12033447
293:70930226
264:10741560
256:24029932
215:See also
151:and the
139:and the
95:Boylston
87:Sterling
185:Conrail
103:Clinton
448:
387:
348:
340:
291:
262:
254:
126:Lowell
101:, and
91:Berlin
446:ISBN
385:ISBN
346:OCLC
338:LCCN
333:1911
289:OCLC
260:OCLC
252:LCCN
195:and
66:and
50:The
193:CSX
143:in
467::
421:.
344:.
301:^
258:.
128:.
97:,
93:,
454:.
358:.
295:.
272:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
