Webster Mills – East Village Railway
| Webster Mills MA-East Village MA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | approx. 2 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner: | most recently PW&S | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operations management: | most recently B&A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Webster Mills – East Village (also East Village Branch ) railway is a railway line in Massachusetts ( United States ). It is about two kilometers long and runs in the urban area of Webster . The standard gauge line is closed.
history
Webster entrepreneur Horatio Slater owned a number of factories in town, many of which were not connected by the existing railways. In order to be more independent from the New York and New England Railroad , which served the city, he decided to build a separate railroad line to the main line of the Boston and Albany Railroad near Worcester as well as a branch line to the East Village, where also some Slater factories were located . He received the concession for the two routes in 1882 and founded the Providence, Webster and Springfield Railroad (PW&S). In June 1884, the branch line to East Village went into operation along with the main line to Webster Junction. Boston & Albany leased the route and operated it, but did not buy it. Slaters railway company remained its owner during the entire operating time of the line. The route was only used for freight traffic.
As early as April 13, 1940, the railway company applied for the line to be closed, but this was not initially approved. Together with the line to Webster Junction, the railway line was finally shut down in 1958 and subsequently dismantled.
Route description
The line branched off at Webster Mills station from the Webster Junction – Webster railway line and heads east. It crosses the French River and the Groton – Worcester railway line . Both bridges are still there, but are not used and are in ruins. The route runs east and crosses Worcester Road. Here it turns south and ends in an industrial area where most of the route's freight customers were.
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