The West Amesbury Branch Railroad was a railroad line between Newton Junction, New Hampshire, and Merrimac, Massachusetts. It opened in 1873 and was immediately leased by the connecting Boston and Maine Railroad. Passenger service on the branch ended in 1927; freight service continued until the 1972 abandonment of the line. [1]
The New Hampshire half of the former railbed is now a rail trail known as the Peanut Trail. The Massachusetts portion is another rail trail named the Jay McClaren Rail Trail. The two trails are discontinuous due to a closed section in the middle, on private land.
Some track remains of the southern half of the former wye on the Western Route of the former Boston and Maine Railroad, now CSX.
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad's Southern Division.
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main line from Boston to Fitchburg is now operated as the MBTA Fitchburg Line; Pan Am Railways runs freight service on some other portions.
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Middlesex Central Branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in North Cambridge and through which it had access to North Station in Boston. From there, the route ran 98.77 miles west through the modern-day towns of Belmont, Waltham, Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Hudson, Bolton, Berlin, Clinton, West Boylston, Holden, Rutland, Oakham, Barre, New Braintree, Hardwick, Ware, Palmer, Belchertown, Amherst, and Hadley to its western terminal junction at N. O. Tower in Northampton with the Connecticut River Railroad.
The Massachusetts Central Railroad is a short line railroad in western Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1975 to provide railroad transportation services on portions of the Boston & Maine Wheelwright Branch in and around their trackage in Bondsville and Ware, and later between Palmer and South Barre on the old Right of Way (ROW) of the Ware River Railroad.
The Nashua River Rail Trail is a 12.5-mile (20.1 km) paved mixed-use rail trail in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire under control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It roughly follows the course of the Nashua River, passing through the towns of Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, and Dunstable, Massachusetts and ends about a mile across the New Hampshire state border in Nashua, New Hampshire. The trail is used by walkers, cyclists, inline skaters, equestrians, and cross-country skiers.
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846 that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981.
The Eastern Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine. Throughout its history, it competed with the Boston and Maine Railroad for service between the two cities, until the Boston & Maine put an end to the competition by leasing the Eastern in December 1884. Much of the railroad's main line in Massachusetts is used by the MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line, and some unused parts of its right-of-way have been converted to rail trails.
The Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail, full name the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail, formerly the Norwottuck Rail Trail, is an 11-mile (18 km) combination bicycle/pedestrian paved rail trail running from Northampton, Massachusetts, through Hadley and Amherst, to Belchertown, Massachusetts. It opened in 1993, and is now part of the longer Mass Central Rail Trail.
The New Haven and Northampton Railroad was a railroad originally built alongside a canal between 1847 and 1850 in Connecticut. Leased by the New York and New Haven Railroad from 1849 to 1869, the railroad expanded northwards to Massachusetts and its second namesake city in 1859. Upon the end of the lease in 1869, the company expanded further into Massachusetts, reaching as far north as Shelburne and Turners Falls.
The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill Line at Wilmington Junction. The total length of the branch line from the connection with the Lowell Line to the merge with the Haverhill Line is 2.88 miles (4.63 km). It was operated from 1836 to 1848, then rebuilt in 1874, and has been used since.
The Manchester and Lawrence Railroad was a railroad company that was chartered in New Hampshire, United States, by businessmen from Manchester, to build a rail line from that city to the Massachusetts state line.
The Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad was a railroad line that was to link the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, to the city of Portland, Maine, via the New Hampshire cities of Nashua and Rochester, by merging several small shortline railroads together.
The Connecticut River Railroad was a railroad located along the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, formed in 1845 from the merger of two unfinished railroads. Its main line from Springfield to East Northfield, Massachusetts, opened in stages between 1845 and 1849. It built several branches and over the years acquired additional lines in Vermont. The railroad was acquired by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1893.
The Portsmouth and Concord Railroad was a railroad in New Hampshire that existed under various names from 1845 to 1945.
The Concord and Claremont Railroad was an American railroad company during the mid-nineteenth century in New Hampshire spanning from Concord to Claremont.
The Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad (PGF&C) is a former rail line between Rollinsford and Intervale, New Hampshire, in the United States. At Rollinsford, the line connected to other lines to provide service between the White Mountains and coastal cities such as Boston. At Intervale, it connected to the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The rail line takes its name from the city of Portsmouth, near its southern terminus; the city of Somersworth ; and the town of Conway, near its northern terminus. Today, the infrastructure of the former PGF&C is owned by different entities, including the State of New Hampshire, the Conway Scenic Railroad, and the New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation. Some segments are still operated as freight or heritage railways, while other segments are being maintained as rail trails.
The Wolfeboro Railroad or Wolfeborough Railroad is a former short line that provided service to the summer resort town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee.
The Turners Falls branch was a railway line in Franklin County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It ran 9 miles (14 km) from a junction with the Shelburne Falls Extension at South Deerfield, Massachusetts, to Turners Falls, Massachusetts. It was originally built in 1868 by the New Haven and Northampton Railroad, later part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The Boston and Maine Railroad, which had its own branch to Turners Falls, acquired the Turners Falls branch from the New Haven in 1947 and abandoned its own line. The B&M subsequently abandoned the branch in 1985. Part of it is now the Canalside Rail Trail.
The Turners Falls branch was a railway line in Franklin County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It ran 3 miles (4.8 km) from a junction with the Fitchburg route east of Greenfield, Massachusetts, to Turners Falls, Massachusetts. It was originally built in 1868 by the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, later part of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The B&M acquired the New Haven's Turners Falls branch in 1947 and abandoned its own line. Part of the abandoned line is now the Canalside Rail Trail.