Northampton – Williamsburg railway line
| Northampton MA-Williamsburg MA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 12.09 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society: | most recently Penn Central | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The railway Northampton Williamsburg is a railway line in Massachusetts ( United States ). It is around twelve kilometers long and connects the cities of Northampton , Florence and Williamsburg , among others . The standard gauge line has been closed and is used as a cycle path from Northampton to Haydenville.
history
The route was opened in February 1868 by the New Haven and Northampton Railroad . The main line of this railway company ended at this time in Northampton, but an extension was planned. The line to Williamsburg was therefore operated in the first few years as part of the main line with continuous trains from New Haven, with the extension of the main line from Northampton to Shelburne Falls, however, it became a branch line ("Williamsburg Branch") and in the direction of New Haven mostly had to to be switched. From April 1, 1887, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , which New Haven & Northampton had taken over, was in charge of operations.
At the beginning of the 20th century, an overland line of the Northampton tram was opened parallel to the railway line , which also led to Williamsburg and served the same towns along the route. In contrast to the railroad, which already ended on the outskirts of Williamsburg, the tram drove to the center of the town. As early as 1921 or 1922, passenger traffic on the railway was therefore stopped. In 1962, the railway company closed the section from Florence to Williamsburg. Immediately after Penn Central took over the route in 1969 , the remaining section was also closed.
Route description
The line branches north of the former Northampton Union Station from the New Haven – Shelburne Junction railway line and leads in a north-westerly direction. In Florence the railway line reached the Mill River . Along this river it now continued through Leeds and Haydenville to Williamsburg, where the terminus was on the eastern outskirts of the city on Depot Road.
passenger traffic
With the opening of the line, the trains from the south to Williamsburg were tied through. In 1868 two pairs of trains ran from Williamsburg to Granby and one to Westfield. With the start of the continuous train service to New Haven from July 1, 1869, the trains went beyond Granby to there. By 1881 a third pair of trains was added to New Haven. In July 1881, the main line of the railway company was extended to the north, so that the trains from Williamsburg now mostly ended in Northampton, with a connection to New Haven. The Williamsburg – Westfield train pair initially remained on offer, with four pairs of trains running to Northampton in 1893.
With the opening of the parallel tram, three of the five trains, including the continuous train to Westfield, were canceled, so that in 1901 only two pairs of trains ran from Williamsburg to Northampton on weekdays. In 1906 there was only one pair of trains running. In 1921 or 1922 the passenger traffic was completely stopped.
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