South Ashburnham – Ashburnham railway line

South Ashburnham MA-Ashburnham MA

Route length:

4.25 km

Society:

last BM

		from Fitchburg
	0.00	South Ashburnham MA (formerly Ashburnham)
		to Greenfield
		to Bellows Falls
		Whitney Pond
	1.80	Mann's Crossing
	2.57	Carey's Crossing
	3.40	Cashman's Crossing
	4.25	Ashburnham MA

The railway line South Ashburnham Ashburnham is a railway line in the city of Ashburnham in Massachusetts ( United States ). It is 4.25 kilometers long. The standard gauge line is closed.

history

Ashburnham City Railway Station was in South Ashburnham, several kilometers from the center of the city. To connect the center to the railway network, the Ashburnham Railroad received a concession to build a line to South Ashburnham on May 5, 1871 . The company was set up and began building the line in 1873. It went into operation on New Year's Day 1874. However, the traffic did not develop satisfactorily and the company had to cease operations and file for bankruptcy in November 1876. On April 13, 1878, the company was re-established under the name The Ashburnham Railroad Company and acquired the route on May 3 of that year. It resumed operations on July 1st. On April 22, 1885, the Fitchburg Railroad bought the railway company and now ran the line. The Boston and Maine Railroad took over Fitchburg in 1900 and thus the management of the route.

On September 2, 1924, Boston & Maine ceased passenger services. In 1936 the line was badly damaged by floods and the railway company decided against rebuilding it. It was officially shut down in 1937.

Route description

The line begins at South Ashburnham station, where it branches off the Fitchburg – Greenfield railway line. It runs northeast parallel to Center Street and Central Street. The terminus was near the intersection of Central Street and Main Street in the center of Ashburnham.

passenger traffic

In 1893, four pairs of trains ran on the route on weekdays. The access offer was further increased in the following years. In 1901 six pairs of trains ran on weekdays, and in 1916 seven. After the end of the First World War, however, the offer was reduced further and further in the course of increasing individual traffic. In 1920 there were only five pairs of trains left and in 1924 passenger traffic on the line was finally 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

Web links

B&M Corporate History, 1914, pages 203–205 (PDF; 5.95 MB) (English)
List of stations (with miles) and staff from 1923 (English)

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