West Cambridge – Watertown – Waltham railway line
| West Cambridge MA-Waltham MA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route length: | 10.83 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | -, previously: entire route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society: | Pan Am Railways | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The railway line West Cambridge Watertown Waltham (also Watertown Loop or Watertown Branch ) is a railway line in Massachusetts ( United States ). It is 10.83 kilometers long and connects the cities of Cambridge , Watertown and Waltham . The standard-gauge line has largely been closed, only in West Cambridge there is still a freight connection that belongs to Pan Am Railways , but has not been served for years.
history
When the main line Boston – Fitchburg of the Fitchburg Railroad was built in 1845 , the city of Watertown on the Charles River was left without a railroad connection, instead the line ran via Belmont . A branch line was to be built to connect to Watertown. The concession for a route from West Cambridge to Bemis was given to the Watertown Branch Railroad Company on April 16, 1846 , which was bought by the Fitchburg Railroad on June 2 of that year. Construction began in 1847 and two years later the line to Bemis (later Quincy Market ) went into operation. In order to get a direct connection to Waltham and to connect the Walthams district on the south bank of the Charles River, the line should now be extended to Waltham station on the Fitchburg main line. On May 2, 1849, the Waltham and Watertown Branch Railroad Company received the concession. On June 17, 1851, Fitchburg also bought this railway company. Since the Charles River had to be crossed by means of two bridges, the construction work was delayed and only in December 1851 was the extension to Waltham opened.
Traffic developed well and the Fitchburg Railroad ran many suburban trains over the route. In 1893 it was expanded to two tracks. From 1900 the operations management of the Boston and Maine Railroad , which had leased the Fitchburg, was incumbent. During this time, numerous interurban trams were opened around Boston, which also connected Cambridge, Watertown and Waltham. Passenger traffic on the railway line was therefore increasingly restricted and finally stopped completely in 1938 after only one pair of trains had run on weekdays. In 1939 the second track was dismantled.
In freight transport, customers were mainly served in Waltham and at Bemis station as well as in East Watertown and West Cambridge. The middle section of the line between Union Market and Quincy Market in the center of Watertown was therefore closed in 1960. The remaining sections of the route from West Cambridge to Union Market and from Quincy Market to Waltham were transferred to Guilford Transportation in 1983 after they had taken over Boston & Maine. The railway company has been operating under the name Pan Am Railways since 2006 . In 1991 the route in Bemis was shortened by about 600 meters. In the late 1990s, traffic on the Quincy Market junction ended and the route was closed. In the first years of the 21st century, the section from West Cambridge to Union Market was finally shut down, except for a short industrial connection in West Cambridge. However, this connection is no longer used either.
Route description
The line branches off the Fitchburg main line at the former West Cambridge station and heads south-west. The overgrown track is still here, but is not used. The railway line crosses Concord Avenue and runs along the east bank of Fresh Pond . This was the first stop on the line, near Lexington Avenue. The route continues into the urban area of Watertown. After the East Watertown stop on Arlington Street, the railway line turns west. Union Market Station was on School Street, up to where isolated freight trains had run in 2000. The end of the line had been east of School Street since 1960. To the west of the level crossing, the route has been partially built over and is otherwise mostly used as a parking area. It runs alongside Arsenal Street and turns north-west after Watertown stop.
In the further course of the route runs parallel to Main Street and crosses it in West Watertown, from where it again leads largely in a westerly direction. Quincy Market Station was on Bridge Street and continued to serve until the late 1990s. The tracks were removed after the closure. The route then crosses the city limits to Waltham, River Street and Charles River and reaches The Chemistry neighborhood . The stop of the same name, also known as Chemistry Station , was on Newton Street . After crossing the river again, the route joins the Fitchburg main line again at a previous triangular track. Both river bridges have been preserved.
passenger traffic
In 1869, seven trains ran on the Boston – Watertown – Waltham route. The train service was increased significantly in the following years and in 1901 19 trains ran on the route on weekdays, 12 of which ran via Waltham to Roberts. On Sundays, seven trains ran from Boston to Roberts via Watertown. As early as 1932, only a daily pair of trains drove from Boston to Waltham over the Watertown Loop.
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 194–195 (PDF; 7.7 MB) (English)
- List of stations (with miles) and staff from 1923 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ see timetables of the route from the years mentioned.