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The Taunton Branch Railroad was one of the earliest railroads to be established in Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered by the state in 1835 as a branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad (which opened in 1835) running between Mansfield and Taunton, Massachusetts. The railroad provided a rapid overland connection between the seat of Bristol County and Boston and Providence.
The Taunton Branch Railroad opened for business in 1836. The overall length of the railroad was about 11.5 miles. [1] Thomas B. Wales served as the company's first president. [2]
In 1840 the Taunton Branch Railroad was extended to New Bedford, Massachusetts by the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad, providing Taunton with a direct link to the whaling port city. [3] [4]
The railroad opened up new markets for Taunton's notable ironmaking industry, and would lead to the rapid development of new businesses in the coming decades.
In 1845 another branch, known as the Fall River Branch Railroad, was built between Myricks and the emerging textile town of Fall River. [5] However, in 1846, Fall River trains bypassed Taunton and the Boston & Providence main line with the opening of their own connection, renamed the Fall River Railroad through Middleborough and Bridgewater to the Old Colony Railroad at South Braintree.
In 1856, the Middleboro and Taunton Railroad was opened between Weir Village and the Cape Cod Railroad at Middleborough. [6]
In 1870, an extension of the original Taunton Branch Railroad was opened between Mansfield and Framingham, Massachusetts, known as the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad, and leased by the adjoining Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad (BC&F).
In 1871, the Taunton Railroad built a new connection to Attleboro, providing a shortcut to Providence. [7]
On February 2, 1874, the Taunton Branch Railroad was merged into the New Bedford Railroad. [8] The following year, the BC&F began leasing the New Beford's line. The two companies merged in 1876 to become the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad.
In 1879 the Old Colony Railroad leased the combined company, merging it into itself in 1883.
The southern portion of the original Taunton Branch Railroad northeast of downtown Taunton is part of the CSX Transportation freight network, along with the original extensions to New Bedford and Fall River. The CSX lines connect to an extension with Attleboro that was built in 1871 as a shortcut between Taunton and Providence, Rhode Island. [9]
Much of the original northern portion of the Taunton Branch Railroad has been abandoned, with the northernmost section between Mansfield Center and the Mansfield Municipal Airport having been converted to a bike path. In 2019 the state awarded $265,000 for construction of an extension of the trail. [10]
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 135 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 mainline is currently used by CSX for freight as the Berkshire Subdivision and Boston Subdivision. 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 Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod. For many years the Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of the Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after the "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony.
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during the construction of South Station, and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination.
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Providence station or Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island, while the Stoughton Branch splits at Canton Junction and terminates at Stoughton. It is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line, and the only one that operates outside Massachusetts. The line is the busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system, with 17,648 daily boardings in an October 2022 count.
The Middleboro Secondary is a railroad line owned by MassDOT in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Attleboro to Middleborough via Taunton.
The Framingham Secondary is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Mansfield northwest to Framingham along a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line. Its south end is at Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, over which CSX has trackage rights to reach the Middleboro Subdivision at Attleboro and the Boston Subdivision in Boston. Its north end is at the Framingham/Worcester Line; the Fitchburg Subdivision continues northwest from Framingham.
Mansfield station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Located in downtown Mansfield, it serves the Providence/Stoughton Line. With 1,966 weekday boardings in a 2018 count, Mansfield is the third-busiest station on the system outside Boston.
The Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was formed on June 1, 1876, when the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad merged with the New Bedford Railroad. The Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad connected with the key railroad hubs of Worcester, Framingham, and Ayer, as well as several important industrial towns such as Fitchburg and Lowell, with the latter coming through a lease of the Framingham and Lowell Railroad. The New Bedford Railroad linked Framingham with New Bedford, which was a key deep-water port.
South Coast Rail is a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line will restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford, via the towns of Berkley, and Freetown, on the south coast of Massachusetts. It includes passenger service to some of the southern lines of the former Old Colony Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
East Taunton station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station in East Taunton, Massachusetts adjacent to the interchange between the Route 24 expressway and County Street. It is planned to open in 2025 as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project.
The Fall River Railroad was a railroad that ran between Fall River and Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. It was formed in 1845 as a merger between three railroads, which opened in phases in 1845 and 1846. The railroad merged into the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad in 1854.
The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad was originally incorporated at the Old Colony Railroad Corporation in 1836 as an extension of the Taunton Branch Railroad between Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. The name was changed to "New Bedford and Taunton Railroad" in 1839 before service began in 1840. The line ran 20 miles between Taunton and New Bedford.
The Dighton and Somerset Railroad, currently referred to as the Dean Street Industrial Track, is a railroad that ran between Fall River and Braintree, Massachusetts. It opened in 1866; from the 1890s to the 1930s and again in the late 1950s, it was the primary rail route from Boston to the South Coast. Passenger service ended in stages with the final regular service in 1958, though freight service on two short segments continues into the 21st century. MBTA Commuter Rail service is proposed to be extended onto the northern part of the line around 2030 as part of the South Coast Rail project.
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.
The New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated on July 1, 1873, as a merger between the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad, the Taunton Branch Railroad, and the Middleborough and Taunton Railroad. The main line ran from a junction with the Boston and Providence Railroad in Mansfield through the towns of Norton, Taunton, Berkley, Lakeville, and Freetown to the deep-water whaling port of New Bedford. The railroad also had several branches, including the former Middleborough and Taunton Railroad, which ran from Weir Village, Taunton into Middleborough through Raynham, and a shortcut to Providence via the Boston and Providence Railroad which ran from Taunton to Attleborough through Norton.
The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was a railroad in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1870 to provide a rail connection between the growing railroad hub of Framingham and the important mill city of Lowell, passing through the towns of Sudbury, Concord, Acton, Carlisle, Westford and Chelmsford. The 26.1 mile line opened on October 1, 1871.
The Taunton and Middleborough Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1848 to connect the Taunton Branch Railroad in Weir Village, Taunton with the Fall River Railroad and newly built Cape Cod Branch Railroad in Middleborough through the town of Raynham. In 1853, the railroad changed its name to the Middleborough and Taunton Railroad.
Middleborough station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It is expected to open in May 2025 as part of the South Coast Rail project, replacing Middleborough/Lakeville station for regular service. The station will have a single side platform located inside the wye between the Middleborough Main Line and the Middleboro Secondary.
