Milford Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Holliston viaduct along the Milford Branch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Abandoned | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | CSX (North of Whitney Street in Sherborn) Upper Charles Rail Trail (South of Whitney Street in Sherborn) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | MetroWest Towns of Framingham, Sherborn, Holliston, and Milford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Continues from | Boston and Worcester Railroad, now the Framingham/Worcester Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Boston and Albany Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commenced | 1847 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | September 1847 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Completed | July 1848 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 11.97 miles (19.26 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Character | heavy rail, abandoned | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Milford Branch is an abandoned railroad line in Massachusetts. The line formerly ran from Milford to Framingham, traveling through Holliston and Sherborn, connecting to the Boston Subdivision in Framingham and the Milford Secondary in Milford. The line was originally part of the Boston and Albany Railroad, and the end of the line was later abandoned under Penn Central, before the rest of the line was abandoned by Conrail. [1] Although the line passes through Sherborn and terminates in Framingham, the majority of the line lies in Holliston.
The Boston and Worcester Railroad began construction of the Milford Branch in early 1847, heading south from their mainline at Framingham, and opened from Framingham to Holliston by September 1847. [2] and by July 1848 had reached its southern terminus in Milford. [3] [4] Originally, the line was proposed to continue south to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, but this would have interfered with the Norfolk County Railroad, so it was decided to terminate the line in Milford. [4]
In Milford, the line interchanged with what was then known as the Hopkinton and Milford Railroad, later the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad, and today's CSX Milford Secondary. [5] . This line was built in stages between 1869 and 1872. [2] In 1893, the Natick Street Railway expanded south through Sherborn to Ashland, but the Milford Branch remained the largest railroad in Milford.
The line continued thriving throughout the early 20th century, but by the 1950s, as with many railroads across the country, the line began struggling. By 1958, the line had only one train per day in each direction, running as a shuttle to/from Framingham during the rush hour only and serving Holliston and Milford stations only. [6] [7] Passenger service could not last much longer, and the Milford Branch's very last passenger train arrived into Milford on the evening of March 28, 1959, after 111 years of service. [8]
Freight service still continued under the B&A, but the line was by this point an unimportant branchline. Eventually, as with the rest of the former B&A, the Milford Branch came under the control of Penn Central in their 1968 creation. The line continued having minimal freight service throughout the 1960s and 70s, but in the early 1980s, the line -- which was then owned by Conrail -- was abandoned. [9] [10] Throughout the 1980s, 90s, and into the 2000s, the line sat abandoned, with tracks at least partially intact until 2004. [11] [12] [13]
Starting in 2017, portions of the rail line began being converted into the Upper Charles Rail Trail, which as of 2024 has been completed from Whitney Street in Sherborn south to Downtown Milford. [14] [15] [16]
The following remnants still exist along the line:
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority route 6 roughly parallels the former path of the line. [20]
Town | Station | Notes |
---|---|---|
Framingham | Framingham [21] | still active as an MBTA and Amtrak station |
Sherborn | Whitney [21] | |
Holliston | East Holliston [21] | station building still remains [11] |
Holliston [21] | station building still remains [11] | |
Metcalf [21] | ||
Braggville [21] | ||
Milford | Rocky Hill [21] | |
Milford [21] | station building still remains [17] |
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger suggests it is derived from a branch of the local Neutral Confederacy, referred to as the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps. George R. Stewart posits that it comes from an Iroquois town named Ongniaahra, meaning "point of land cut in two."
Holliston is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Greater Boston area. The population was 14,996 at the 2020 census. It is located in MetroWest, a Massachusetts region that is west of Boston. Holliston is the only town in Middlesex County that borders both Norfolk and Worcester counties.
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over 394 mi (634 km) of track to 134 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis, which took over operations on July 1, 2014, from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Passenger service is provided on the line by Amtrak, as part of their Lake Shore Limited service, and by the MBTA Commuter Rail system, which owns the section east of Worcester and operates it as its Framingham/Worcester Line.
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was known as the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, which had been formed from several smaller railroads that dated back to 1846. After a bankruptcy in 1893, the NY&NE was reorganized and briefly operated as the New England Railroad before being leased to the competing New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898.
The Franklin/Foxboro Line is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most trains use the Northeast Corridor before splitting off onto the namesake Franklin Branch at Readville, though some trains use the Dorchester Branch to reach Readville. Most weekday trains, and all weekend trains, bypass Hyde Park.
The Fitchburg Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Fitchburg southeast to Framingham Center along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. Its south end is at the Boston Subdivision; the MBTA's Framingham Secondary continues southeast from Framingham.
The Boston Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Back Bay Station in Boston west to Wilbraham, just east of Springfield. along a former New York Central Railroad line. The line connects with the Northeast Corridor its east end and continues as the Berkshire Subdivision at its west end. Along the way, the line junctions with the Framingham Subdivision and Fitchburg Subdivision at Framingham.
Forge Park/495 station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail station served by the Franklin/Foxboro Line. It is located off Route 140 near Interstate 495 in Franklin, Massachusetts, United States. A park and ride station serving southwestern Boston suburbs and northeastern Rhode Island, it is the outer terminus of the Franklin/Foxboro Line. The station has two side platforms serving a single track, with an accessible mini-high platform and a station building on the south platform.
Grafton station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in the North Grafton village of Grafton, Massachusetts, served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. The station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms serving both of the line's two tracks.
Framingham station is a historic Boston and Albany Railroad station located in downtown Framingham, Massachusetts. Designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson, it was one of the last of the railroad stations he designed in the northeastern United States to be built. The station, built in 1884–85, served as a major stop on the B&A Main Line as well as a hub for branch lines to Milford, Mansfield, Fitchburg, and Lowell. After years of deterioration, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Framingham Railroad Station, and restored a decade later.
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) is a regional public transit authority in the state of Massachusetts providing bus and paratransit service to sixteen communities in the Boston MetroWest. The MWRTA was formed in 2006 and began service on July 1, 2007 with the purpose of filling a void in public transportation service in the MetroWest. Through a commitment to deliver expanded public transportation service to the business and commercial hubs across the MetroWest region, the goals and purpose of the MWRTA are embodied in its mission statement: "Build a public transportation system to deliver convenient and dependable service that enhances mobility, environmental quality and economic vitality in the region." Funding for the MWRTA comes partially from the state and local governments of the communities it operates within.
Medfield Junction is a railway junction and former train station located in northwest Medfield, Massachusetts. It is the junction of the Framingham Secondary and the former Millis Branch. The station was open from November 1861 until April 1967.
Union Station is a railway station located at Washington Square in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the western terminus of the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line and a stop for the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited service. A bus terminal adjacent to the station is the hub for Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) local bus service; it is also used by PVTA, MART, Peter Pan, and Greyhound intercity buses.
The Agricultural Branch Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated by the Legislature of Massachusetts on April 26, 1847, to provide a rail connection between Framingham and Northborough through the town of Southborough and a small portion of the city of Marlborough. Service began on December 1, 1855.
Braggville is a former postal village located in Massachusetts, now within the towns of Holliston in Middlesex County, Medway in Norfolk County and Milford in Worcester County. Though people had settled the land long before the incorporation of the town of Holliston, Braggville's unofficial history began on March 8, 1785, when Alexander Bragg purchased farmland there. The village itself however, would be named for his nephew, Colonel Arial Bragg, Holliston's first shoe and boot maker as well as the agrarian community's first wholesale manufacturer. Braggville was also the site of several quarries of Milford pink granite, which supplied buildings and railroad projects in the United States in the late 19th century. After a century of economic prowess, the village fell into decline following the First World War.
The Charles River Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It ran from a connection with the end of the Charles River Branch Railroad in Dover to Bellingham through the current-day towns of Medfield, Millis, and Medway.
The Milford Secondary is a railroad line that runs between Franklin and Milford, Massachusetts, United States.
Media related to Milford Branch at Wikimedia Commons