Lowell – Nashua railway line

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lowell MA-Nashua NH
Society: PAR
Route length: 20.12 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track : previously entire route
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 from Boston
Station, station
 0.00 Lowell MA Gallagher Terminal (formerly Middlesex Street)
   
 to Lowell Merrimack Street
Station without passenger traffic
 2.05 North Chelmsford MA
Gleisdreieck - straight ahead, to the left, from the left
 according to Ayer
   
 5.11 Vesper Club MA
Station without passenger traffic
 7.78 Tyngsboro MA (formerly Tyngsboro & Dunstable)
   
 12.72 South Nashua NH (formerly Littles)
Station without passenger traffic
 Nashua NH freight base.
   
 from Rochester
   
 after Concord
Station without passenger traffic
 18.80 Nashua NH Union Station (formerly Nashua Jct.)
   
 to Worcester and North Acton
   
 Nashua – North Acton route
   
 Nashua River
   
 20.12 Nashua NH City Station (formerly Nashua)
Route - straight ahead
 to Greenfield

The Lowell – Nashua railway is a rail link in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ( United States ). It is 20 kilometers long and connects the cities of Lowell and Nashua . The route is operated by Pan Am Railways exclusively for freight traffic.

history

The Nashua and Lowell Railroad was founded in 1835 . In the same year the Boston – Lowell railway line opened. The up-and-coming industrial location Nashua was to be connected to this route. Construction began in 1837, and on October 8, 1838, the eight-mile stretch from Lowell to South Nashua went into operation. On December 23 of the same year, the terminus in Nashua was reached.

After the Concord Railroad opened the Nashua – Concord line a few years later , traffic increased rapidly, so that by 1848 the entire line had been expanded to double tracks. The Concord had built its own terminus in Nashua at the confluence of the Nashua River and Merrimack River . In addition to the junction, Nashua & Lowell also built a station through which passengers could transfer to Concord. These two stations later became the Nashua Union Station , the terminus of Nashua & Lowell was renamed Nashua City Station and remained the terminus for the trains from Boston ending in Nashua. Trains going through in the direction of Concord turned off onto this route directly at Union Station. From 1880, the Boston and Lowell Railroad ran operations on the railroad, followed by the Boston and Maine Railroad seven years later, which bought the line. From this time on, additional express trains from Maine ran over the southernmost section from Lowell to North Chelmsford , which turned off there in the direction of New York.

In the 1950s, the line was rebuilt on one track due to a lack of traffic. Express trains ran for the last time on January 4, 1965, local passenger trains stayed until June 30, 1967. From January 28, 1980 to February 28, 1981, a passenger train ran twice a day on the Concord – Boston route with financial support from the State of New Hampshire Route. It only stopped at Nashua and Lowell along the railway line. However, the travel times were not competitive with buses or private vehicles, so operations were discontinued after the subsidy contract expired. Since 1983 the railway line has been owned by Guilford Transportation , which has operated under the name Pan Am Railways since 2006 . The section from Nashua Union Station to Nashua City Station is now operated as part of the branch line to Greenfield .

Route description

The line begins in Lowell at the Gallagher Terminal , where it branches off the Boston-Lowell railway line. It runs north along the west bank of the Merrimack River. In North Chelmsford , the North Chelmsford – Ayer railway branches off via a track triangle , which is still an important link today. In the further course of the route the place Tyngsboro will be passed and then the state border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Shortly after, Nashua is reached. At Union Station, the route turns west from the Merrimack River, crosses the Nashua River, which flows in here, and runs along this river to the terminus in the center of the city. The continuation of the route is the Nashua – Greenfield railway line .

Sources and further information

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
  • Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000. ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .
  • 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