Squannacook Junction – Milford railway line

Squannacook Junction MA – Milford NH, as of 1999
Society:	last BM
Route length:	approx. 34.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Tracks:	1
Legend from Ayer train station , km 0.00 approx 4.8 to Greenville (Squannacook Junction) 5.99 Newell MA 10.25 Primus MA (formerly Hollingsworth) 14.61 Pepperell MA Connecting track to the Worcester – Rochester line 18.04 North Pepperell MA 20.74 West Hollis NH 24.78 South Brookline NH 26.04 Brookline NH 29.63 North Brookline NH 36.60 South Milford NH from Greenfield 39.06 Milford NH to Nashua

The Squannacook Junction – Milford railway is a rail link in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ( United States ). It is about 34 kilometers long and connects the cities of Pepperell , Brookline and Milford . The line is completely shut down and dismantled.

history

The Fitchburg Railroad operated a railroad network in northern Massachusetts. It also intended to connect the city of Brookline, New Hampshire, to its network, since there was produced ice that was to be transported to Boston. She therefore financially supported the Brookline and Pepperell Railroad in Massachusetts, founded in 1891, and the Brookline Railroad in New Hampshire. The railway line should branch off south of Groton from the Ayer – Greenville railway line and lead via Pepperell to Brookline. The standard gauge line was opened in September 1892 and operated from the start by the Fitchburg Railroad. In 1893, the Brookline and Milford Railroad was also founded, which was supposed to connect to the Nashua – Greenfield railway line near Milford . This extension was opened in 1894 and also operated by Fitchburg. In 1895, Fitchburg formally bought all three railway companies and thus the entire railway line. From 1900 the line was under the control of the Boston and Maine Railroad , which had bought the Fitchburg.

The route developed little passenger potential. The main source of income remained the ice, which was mined in a lake near Brookline in winter and spring. In the 1920s, Boston & Maine introduced continuous trains via Milford to Manchester , but these did not bring any additional income. In September 1931, therefore, passenger traffic was stopped on the route. In 1932 all traffic between Brookline and South Milford ended, in 1935 also between Pepperell and Brookline. The route remained operational and so ice could again be transported from Brookline during an ice shortage in March 1937. However, this was the last transport by rail between Pepperell and South Milford, the route was shut down in 1939. Since all rail customers were located in Pepperell on the southern part of the route and the Worcester – Rochester railway also ran through the city and to Ayer, a connection was built in 1940 from Pepperell station to this railway line, which crossed the Nashua River on a specially built bridge. Then in 1942 the remaining stretch from Squannacook Junction to Pepperell and also that from South Milford to Milford could be shut down. The connecting track was not shut down and dismantled until 1982.

Route description

At the Squannacook Junction junction, the route turns off the Ayer – Greenville railway line just under five kilometers north of Ayer and leads north to the Nashua River and its west bank to Pepperell. Here she turns to the northwest and shortly thereafter crosses the state line into New Hampshire. After a few kilometers, Brookline is reached, where the route continues north to Milford. Milford station was designed as a wedge station.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.
2. ↑ Distance kilometers from http://www.trainweb.org/nhrra/Mileage-Charts/BM-RR/Greenville-Milford.htm

literature

• Ronald D. Karr: The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 1995, ISBN 0-942147-02-2 .

Web links

• Boston & Maine Historical Society (English)
• Page of the current operating company (English)