Millis Branch

MILLIS BRANCH

The former station building at Dover, as seen in 2014
Overview
Type Commuter rail
System Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Status Abandoned
Locale Southeastern Massachusetts
Termini Boston South Station
Millis
Stations 14[1]
Operation
Opened 1861 (Charles River Branch Railroad)
Closed 21 April 1967[2]
Owner New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Operator(s) New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Character Surface-level
Technical
Line length 22.1 miles[1]
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

The Millis Branch was a branch of what is now the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Branching off the still-operating Needham Line at Needham Junction, it ran through the towns of Dover, Medfield, Millis, and Medway. Due to lack of subsidies and poor ridership, the line was cut back to Millis station in April 1966, and all service ended on April 21, 1967.

History

The Charles River Branch Railroad was extended from Needham Center to Woonsocket, Rhode Island in stages between 1861 and 1863 under the New York & Boston Railroad, with service operating to Boston via the Highland Branch.[3] Ownership of the line passed through the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, New York and New England Railroad, and finally to the New Haven Railroad as it consolidated southern Massachusetts rail lines under its umbrella. After the Needham Cutoff opened on November 4, 1906, service from Woonsocket and intermediate stops ran over the cutoff rather than via the Highland Branch.[3]

With the Franklin Line as the primary Woonsocket route for the New Haven Railroad, the Charles River Branch served as a minor branch line. All service beyond West Medway was cut in 1941. After 1955, service on the line was one single-car round trip to West Medway, which was combined with a longer Needham Heights train at Needham Junction.[2][3]

By the time the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was founded in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service, the West Medway line was moribund. Subsidies to the New Haven Railroad for the Needham, West Medway, Dedham, and Franklin lines began on April 24, 1966; out-of-district Medway declined to provide additional funding and the line was cut back to Millis as the Millis Branch.[2] The sole remaining round trips to Millis and Dedham were cut on April 21, 1967, due to extremely poor ridership.[3][2]

The former stations at Dover (now a cafe) and Millis (now town offices) are still extant; the other six stations west of Needham Junction have been demolished.

Station and junction listing

Milepost[4][1] City Station/junction Notes
0.00 Boston South Station Still operating
Junction with Midland Branch (now MBTA Fairmount Line)
1.2 Back Bay Still operating
Junction with Framingham/Worcester Line
5.0 Junction with Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin Line, and Dedham Branch
6.4 Roslindale Village Still operating
7.2 Bellevue Still operating
7.6 Highland Still operating
8.0 West Roxbury Still operating
10.9 Needham Bird's Hill Still operating
12.0 Needham Junction (station) Still operating
12.1 Needham Junction Junction with Needham Line
13.8 Charles River Closed 21 April 1967
Former branch to Ridge Hill
15.2 Dover Dover Closed 21 April 1967; station building still survives as a café
18.2 Medfield Farm Street Closed 21 April 1967
19.3 Medfield Closed 21 April 1967
21.5 Millis Clicquot Mainly a freight station by the 1960s;[5] closed 21 April 1967
22.1 Millis Closed 21 April 1967; station building survives and is rented for commercial purposes
24.6 Medway Medway Closed 24 April 1966
26.1 West Medway Closed 24 April 1966
27.3 Bellingham Caryville Closed 1941
28.2 North Bellingham Closed 1941
30.5 Bellingham Junction Closed 1941
34.7 Blackstone East Blackstone Closed 1941
35.5 Woonsocket Junction Closed 1941
36 Woonsocket, RI North Main Street Crossing Closed 1941
37.1 Woonsocket Closed 1941; planned to be a stop on the future Boston Surface Railroad from Worcester to Providence

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Millis Branch.
  1. 1 2 3 "SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND RAILROADS (2) – SL 198" (PDF). Jim Fergusson's Railway and Tramway Station Lists. 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Belcher, Jonathan (27 June 2015). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Humphrey, Thomas J. and Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–46. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. ↑ "2014 Bluebook 14th Edition" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Another Millis/Cliquot question New Haven days". The NHRHTA New Haven Railroad Forum. 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.