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The Woburn Branch Railroad (known as the Woburn Loop) was a branch line of the Boston and Lowell Railroad ("B&L") and later of the MBTA Commuter Rail system that connected the Lowell Line with the city square in Woburn, Massachusetts.
The Woburn Branch Railroad (known as the Woburn Loop) was a branch line of the Boston and Lowell Railroad ("B&L") and later of the MBTA Commuter Rail system that connected the Lowell Line with the city square in Woburn, Massachusetts.
When the B&L laid out its main line, it respected the wishes of the people of Woburn not to run the line through their town center. Instead, the B&L ran the line through the Montvale, Mishawum, and North Woburn sections of the town, bypassing the center.
As Woburn grew in size from a town to a city, its citizens regretted pushing the railroad to the east end of town and request that the B&L put in a branch line to the center of town. The railroad agreed and in December 1844 opened the new line from its main line at Winchester (then known as South Woburn) to Woburn Square.
The Horn Pond Branch Railroad was a short freight-only branch off the Woburn Branch to ice houses on Horn Pond. The line was built at the request of the Boston Ice Company and train ran only during ice cutting season. The line opened in 1854 and lasted until the line was abandoned in 1919. The old ice houses burned down several years later.
The northern loop, built in 1885, continued the line north to the main line at North Woburn Junction in South Wilmington. This allowed the B&L to route some of its passenger trains down the Loop to serve the city. This service continued until 1959 when passenger service was cut back to Woburn Square. The branch was abandoned from Woburn Square north to the Wilmington/Woburn town line in 1961.
The B&L continued commuter rail service to Woburn on the original branch line from Winchester. The MBTA took over passenger service in 1971 and outsourced it to the Boston and Maine Railroad ("B&M"). Trains ran on the Woburn Loop until 1981 when poor track conditions and budget cuts stopped service. [1] The MBTA and the B&M formally abandoned the branch line in 1982. The MBTA still owns the right-of-way in Woburn, but the portion in Winchester was purchased by the town in 1983, and most was sold off for private development. [2]
The part of the northern loop within the town of Wilmington (about a mile in length) is still used as an industrial spur to service freight customers along the line in South Wilmington.
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 Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & Maine Railroad's Southern Division, the line was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in Massachusetts.
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.
Andover station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Andover, Massachusetts. It serves the Haverhill Line. The station has one platform with a mini-high platform for handicapped accessibility serving one track, while the second track lacks a platform. The previous station building, used from 1907 to 1959, is still extant; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Third Railroad Station.
Ayer station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located off Main Street in the Ayer Main Street Historic District of Ayer, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. There are three tracks through the station, two of which are served by a pair of low-level side platforms, which are not accessible. There is a shelter on the inbound platform.
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.
Wedgemere station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in the southeast portion of Winchester, Massachusetts, served by the Lowell Line. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two elevated tracks. The 1957-built station building, largely unused, is adjacent to the inbound platform. After several years of work, the station was made fully accessible in February 2013.
Mishawum station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line station located in the north part of Woburn, Massachusetts just north of the Route 128/I-95 beltway. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Mishawum is a limited-service flag stop intended for reverse commuting to the adjacent office park, with no weekend service. With just 32 boardings on an average weekday in 2018, Mishawum is one of the least busy stations on the commuter rail system.
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.
Bedford Depot is a historic railroad depot in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Bedford was the junction of the Reformatory Branch and the Lexington Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad; it saw passenger service until 1977 as the stub of the Lexington Branch. The original 1874 depot and 1877 freight house are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; along with a restored Budd Rail Diesel Car, they form the centerpieces of the Bedford Depot Park.
The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was a small independent railroad that was chartered in 1846 to build a rail line linking the two giant Merrimack River Valley cities of Lowell, Massachusetts to Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The Lowell and Andover Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad and was organized in 1873, after the Boston and Lowell Railroad's monopoly on Boston to Lowell service ended in 1865. The line opened in 1874 from the B&M's main line at Lowell Junction in Andover, just south of the village of Ballardvale, west to Lowell through Tewksbury.
The Essex Railroad was an American railroad in Essex County, Massachusetts that connected Salem to Lawrence.
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.
Woburn station was a railroad station on the Woburn Branch, part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Lowell Line.
The Dedham Branch was a spur line of the Boston and Providence Railroad, opened in 1835, which ran from the junction with the main line at Readville through to central Dedham; it was the first railroad branch line in Massachusetts. In 1966, it became part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, but was abandoned the next year.
Lake Street station was a commuter rail station on the Lexington Branch, located in the East Arlington section of Arlington, Massachusetts. The line opened as the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad in 1846, with a station at Pond Street among the earliest stops. It was renamed Lake Street in 1867. The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) acquired the line in 1870 and built a new station building in 1885. Service continued under the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) – successor to the B&L – though it declined during the 20th century. Lake Street station and three others on the line were closed in May 1958. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service in 1965, and Lake Street station reopened in March 1968. All passenger service on the Lexington Branch ended on January 10, 1977; it was converted into the Minuteman Bikeway in the early 1990s.
Winchester Highlands station was an MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line station located at Cross Street in the northern part of Winchester, Massachusetts. It originally opened in the mid-19th century under the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) as a flag stop called North Winchester. In 1877, a local real estate developer constructed a new station building, which was renamed Winchester Highlands. The B&L became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887. Service to the station gradually decreased in the 20th century, and the depot was replaced by a wooden shelter around 1943. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service on the line in 1965. Winchester Highlands and two other stations with low ridership were closed by the MBTA in June 1978.
Cross Street station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in northern Winchester, Massachusetts, on the border with Woburn. The station first opened in the mid-1840s as Richardson Row on the Woburn Branch Railroad, part of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L). It was renamed Cross Street in 1876. The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) leased the B&L in 1887, built a new depot at Cross Street in 1893, and replaced it with a concrete shelter in 1955. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service on the Woburn Branch in 1965 and purchased the line in 1976. The station was closed along with the Woburn Branch in 1981.
