Boston and Albany Railroad

There was also a Boston and Albany Railroad Georgia.

Boston and Albany Railroad

Overview
Reporting mark	BA
Locale	Massachusetts and eastern New York
Dates of operation	1867–

The Boston and Albany Railroad (reporting mark BA) was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York. It was merged into the New York Central Railroad but kept its name to the public. The tracks are now used by Amtrak and the MBTA for passenger service, as well as by CSX and maybe other companies for freight.

Branches included the Highland Branch, now used by the Green Line "D" Branch, a light rail line.

History

The Boston and Worcester Railroad was chartered June 23, 1831, and construction began August 1832. The line opened in sections - to Newton April 16, 1833, Wellesley July 3, 1833, Ashland September 20, 1833, Westborough November 1834, and the full length to Worcester July 6, 1835.

The Hudson and Berkshire Railroad was chartered in 1828 to build a line from Hudson, New York to the Massachusetts state line. Construction began in 1835 and was completed in September 1838. The company was leased to the Berkshire Railroad, along with the connecting West Stockbridge Railroad, on February 6, 1844, but was bought by the Western Railroad (see below) on November 21, 1854. The name was changed to the Hudson and Boston Railroad on February 23, 1855.

The Western Railroad was chartered February 15, 1833 and incorporated March 15, 1833 to connect the B&W and H&B. Construction began in 1837, and the Eastern Division to the Connecticut River in Springfield opened on October 1 1839. The Western Division, through the Berkshire Hills, opened in sections from both ends - from the state line to Pittsfield May 4, 1841, West Springfield to Chester May 24, 1841, Springfield to West Springfield (across the Connecticut River) July 4, 1841, Pittsfield to "Summit" August 9, 1841, and Chester to Summit September 13, 1841. On October 4, 1841 the first train ran along the full route.

The Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad was incorporated in New York in 1834 as the New York part of the Western Railroad, and changed its name to the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad (chartered May 5, 1836, organized May 20). Construction began in December 1840 and the line opened from Greenbush to Chatham on December 21, 1841 and to the Massachusetts state line on September 12, 1842. It was leased to the Western Railroad for 50 years from November 11, 1841. This railroad replaced the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad east of Chatham, which was abandoned around 1860.

The B&A was formed on September 4, 1867 as a merger of the following railroads, forming a line from Boston to Albany:

• Boston and Worcester Railroad (Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts, chartered June 23 1831)
• Western Railroad of Massachusetts (Worcester, Massachusetts to New York state line, chartered February 15 1833)
• Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad (Massachusetts state line to Albany, New York, chartered May 5 1836 as the successor to the Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad, chartered 1834)
• Hudson and Boston Railroad (a branch southwest from Chatham, New York to Hudson, New York, forming a cutoff to the New York Central Railroad towards New York City, chartered February 23 1855 as a reorganization of the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad, chartered 1828)

The last three worked together long before the merger.

The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad leased the railroad on November 15, 1899, effective July 1, 1900. This lease passed to the New York Central Railroad and eventually the lines became part of Conrail.

Branches

Grand Junction

The Grand Junction Railroad was chartered in 1847 as a reincorpration of the 1846 Chelsea Branch Railroad, meant to connect the lines north and west of Boston. The first section, from East Boston to Somerville, opened in 1849, and the extension to the B&W in Allston opened in 1856. The Eastern Railroad leased the line from 1852 to 1866, using part of it as their new main line. In 1866 the B&W bought the line (keeping trackage rights for the Eastern).

Brookline and Highland

The Brookline Branch split from the main line in the west part of Boston's Back Bay, running southwest for 1.55 mi (2.5 km) to Brookline (the current location of Brookline Village station). It opened in 1847. In Summer 1852 the Charles River Branch Railroad extended the line to Newton Upper Falls; this would eventually become part of the New England Railroad, an alternate route to New York.

In 1882 the B&A bought part of the Charles River Branch, and in 1884 they built a line from [{Riverside (MBTA station)|]] to the branch, forming the Highland Branch or "Newton Circuit". Service ended in 1958, and the MBTA Green Line "D" Branch light rail line started using the tracks in 1959.

Newton Lower Falls

The short 1.25 mile (2.0 km) Newton Lower Falls Branch opened in 1847, splitting from the main line just west of Riverside. At some point it was realigned to split at Riverside.

Saxonville

The Saxonville Branch opened in 1846, running 3.87 miles (6.2 km) from Natick to Saxonville.

Milford

In 1847, the 11.97 mile (19.3 km) Milford Branch, splitting at Framingham, opened. A connection was later made at Milford to the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad and Hopkinton Railway.

References

• Railroad History Database