The Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad originated in the 1860s with the chartering of the Rhode Island Mining Railroad in 1865.[1] Initially envisioned to transport iron ore from Cumberland, Rhode Island, the company expanded its scope and was renamed the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad in 1872.[2] A separate corporation was chartered in Massachusetts in 1875 to construct the portion of the line within that state. Construction proceeded in the 1870s, and by 1877, approximately 13 miles (21 km) of track were completed between Franklin, Massachusetts and Valley Falls, Rhode Island. The route passed through Franklin and Bellingham in Massachusetts, and Pawtucket and Cumberland (Valley Falls) in Rhode Island. The line connected with the New York and New England Railroad (the Norfolk County Railroad, which currently operates as the MBTA'sFranklin/Foxboro Line) at Franklin and the Providence and Worcester Railroad at Valley Falls at the Valley Falls Yard. Stations were established along the route, including a depot in the village of Abbott Run in Cumberland, Rhode Island.[3]
From its inception, the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad was operated under agreement by the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE), which supplied rolling stock and crews.[4] The branch functioned as a supplementary route between Boston and Providence, though its alignment via Franklin made it less direct than the competing Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) mainline.[2] In 1887, the NY&NE formally leased the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad, fully integrating the branch into its network.[2] In May 1892, J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller acquired a controlling interest (2,000 of the 2,800 outstanding shares) in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad, effectively placing the branch under the influence of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H) even before the NY&NE itself came under New Haven control.[5] By 1895, the New Haven had secured majority control of the entire NY&NE system, eliminating its last major competitor in southeastern Massachusetts.[2] The Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad corporations were formally merged into the NYNH&H between 1907 and 1910, after which the line became known as the Valley Falls Branch.[2][5]
In 1903, a 4.6-mile (7.4 km) extension was constructed from the Wrentham Branch (a former Old Colony Railroad line) at North Attleborough, Massachusetts to Adamsdale Junction near the Massachusetts–Rhode Island border in Pawtucket.[6] This new connection allowed the New Haven Railroad to sell off the original Attleboro Branch between North Attleborough and Attleboro station on the Boston and Providence (B&P) mainline.[2] The extension enabled through-routing of trains from Boston via the Wrentham Branch and Valley Falls Branch to Providence under New Haven control.[6] During this period, the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment between Adamsdale Junction and Valley Falls Yard was often referred to as part of the Wrentham Branch, despite technically being the southern end of the former Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad. Conversely, the segment north of Adamsdale Junction to Franklin was considered the Valley Falls Branch.[2] By 1905, an interlocking tower had been constructed to manage the complex junction at Valley Falls, where the Providence and Worcester mainline, the East Providence Branch, and the Wrentham Branch connection (via the Valley Falls Branch) converged.[7]
Decline and abandonment
A section of the former Valley Falls Branch near Diamond Hill Park
Under New Haven ownership in the twentieth century, the Valley Falls Branch was regarded as a secondary route within the railroad’s consolidated network.[2] Once the New Haven controlled both the Shore Line route (Boston–Providence via Attleboro) and the Franklin–Wrentham–Providence routing, it had little incentive to maintain parallel passenger services. The Valley Falls Branch subsequently held greater value as a freight corridor.[2] The last regular passenger trains to use any portion of the branch were those operating over the Wrentham Branch; these services were discontinued in July 1938 as part of the New Haven’s "88 Stations Case," a system-wide service reduction.[6]
In 1941, the New Haven abandoned operation of the branch between Franklin and Adamsdale Junction. The lightly used trackage was deemed non-essential and dismantled shortly thereafter, with the rails salvaged for scrap during World War II.[2][8] The southernmost two miles (3.2 km) of the branch, extending from Valley Falls north to Adamsdale Junction, were initially retained by the New Haven to serve local freight customers. This stub included trackage within and adjacent to Valley Falls Yard.[7] By 1963, the New Haven removed the remaining segment of the Valley Falls Branch and discontinued service to Adamsdale, severing the Wrentham Branch's through route in the process.[2] The Wrentham Branch itself was gradually abandoned and was mostly out of service by 1976.[6]
In 1973, the Providence and Worcester Railroad was reorganized as an independent freight carrier and took control of many former New Haven secondary lines in Rhode Island.[7] The P&W inherited Valley Falls Yard and some remaining track, including a short stub of the former Valley Falls Branch. This spur remained in limited use for local freight switching until it was taken out of service by approximately 2000.[5] Following the branch’s abandonment, portions of the former right-of-way were repurposed as utility corridors, and some sections remain identifiable as wooded embankments.[9] Valley Falls Yard itself continues to be used by the Providence and Worcester Railroad.[5] While no formal preservation projects have been pursued, regional planners have occasionally proposed developing recreational rail trails along portions of the former Valley Falls Branch corridor.[6]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Karr, Ronald Dale. The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History. 2nd ed., Branch Line Press, 2017, p. 196.
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