Greenfield – Turners Falls railway line

Greenfield MA – Turners Falls MA

Route length:

4.5 km

Society:

last BM

		from Troy and East Northfield
		Greenfield MA

		to Springfield
		Connecticut Valley St. Ry. (Montague City Rd)
	0.0	to Fitchburg (Turners Falls Junction)
		Connecticut Valley St. Ry. (Montague City Rd)
		Connecticut River
	1.5	Riverbank
	2.5	Montague City MA
		Montague Power Canal
	4.5	Turners Falls MA

The Greenfield – Turners Falls (also Turners Falls Branch ) is a railway line in Massachusetts ( United States ). It is 4.5 kilometers long and connects the cities of Greenfield and Montague . The standard gauge line is closed.

history

In the north of the city of Montague on the Connecticut River in the settlement of Turners Falls some industrial companies had settled, which were striving for a rail connection. On February 19, 1866, the Turner's Falls Branch Railroad Company received a concession to build a railway line from Turners Falls to Deerfield , where they should connect to the Connecticut River Railroad . Since the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad , whose main line ran through the south of Montague, had an interest in having the new line connected to their own main line, they bought the railway company on March 19, 1869 and built the line on their own. It went into operation on January 1, 1871.

In 1874 the Fitchburg Railroad took over Vermont & Massachusetts and with it the management of the route. The Boston and Maine Railroad in turn took over Fitchburg in 1900. It stopped passenger traffic to Turners Falls as early as 1913 after a tram line had opened on Montague City Road and Avenue A. In March 1936, a flood destroyed the bridge over the Connecticut River, so that freight had to be stopped. Instead of rebuilding the bridge, Boston & Maine acquired a right of use for the railway line, also called Turners Falls Branch , of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to Turners Falls. However, it was not officially closed until 1947. A section near the Turners Falls Junction served as a siding for many years, but has also been dismantled.

Route description

The line branches off the Fitchburg – Greenfield railway line in Greenfield, east of Montague City Road , and heads north. She crosses Montague City Road and shortly thereafter the Connecticut River. It now runs directly along the river bank or along the Montague Power Canal . In Turners Falls, the route first crosses the canal in order to run along its north bank to the terminus. The bridge over the canal now carries a pipeline. The stretch on the southern bank of the canal serves as a cycle path. To the north of the canal bridge, the route serves as access to the buildings along the route.

passenger traffic

In 1881 five pairs of trains ran from Greenfield to Turners Falls, which were only offered on weekdays. An additional pair of trains was added by 1893. However, when the tram was opened on Montague City Road, the railway company cut the service and in 1901 only one pair of trains ran in rush hour, early in the direction of Turners Falls and in the afternoon to Greenfield. In 1913, passenger traffic ended on the route.

Sources and further reading

Individual evidence

↑ see timetables of the route from the years mentioned.

literature

Ronald D. Karr: The Rail Lines of Southern New England. A Handbook of Railroad History. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 1995. ISBN 0-942147-02-2
Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. (2nd edition) SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 2010. ISBN 1-874745-12-9

Web links

B&M Corporate History, 1914, pages 235–238 (PDF; 5.95 MB) (English)

[1] see timetables of the route from the years mentioned.