Ayer – Greenville railway line

Ayer MA – Greenville NH, as of 1999
Route length:	38.11 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Owner:	MBTA
Operations management:	PAR
Legend from Boston Link to Worcester 0.00 Ayer MA (formerly Groton Junction, Ayer Junction) Worcester – Rochester route to Fitchburg Nashua River Route to Milford (Squannacook Junction) 6.05 West Groton MA 7.44 Vose MA 13.29 Townsend MA Harbor 16.21 Townsend MA Squannacook River 18.67 West Townsend MA (formerly Skowhegan) Squannacook River 26.15 Mason NH (formerly Mason Center) 30.75 Pratt NH (formerly Wilton, Pratts) 38.11 Greenville NH (formerly Mason Village)

The Ayer – Greenville railway is a rail link in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ( United States ). It is approximately 38 kilometers long and connects the cities of Ayer , Townsend and Greenville . The Ayer – Townsend section is owned by Pan Am Railways , but is out of service north of Vose. The remaining part of the route has been closed and dismantled.

history

The Peterborough and Shirley Railroad , founded on July 8, 1846, intended to build a line to Peterborough that would branch off from the Boston – Fitchburg line of the Fitchburg Railroad . Construction began in 1847 and in January 1848 Skowhegan (now West Townsend) was reached, and in November 1850 Mason Village (now Greenville) was finally reached . It was planned to build over New Ipswich to Peterborough, but this was never carried out.

Before the line opened, the Fitchburg Railroad leased the line for 12 years from January 1, 1848, and finally bought it on March 24, 1860 after the lease had expired. From 1900 the route was under the control of the Boston and Maine Railroad . The main cargo was textiles produced in Greenville, a quarry in Mason and a paper mill in Vose. In addition, there was also a modest passenger traffic. The timetable of September 28, 1913 provided for three workdays and one Sunday pair of passenger trains between Ayer and Greenville. All trains had connections to and from Boston in Ayer. The journey time was between 55 and 60 minutes.

On July 8, 1933, passenger traffic was stopped. Freight traffic north of Townsend ended in May 1972 after part of the route had been washed away. The line was not repaired and officially closed in 1979. In 1976 Boston & Maine sold the rest of the route to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority , but leased it and continued to operate. Freight traffic between Vose and Townsend ended in November 1981, but this section has not yet been closed. The lease and operational management were transferred to Guilford Transportation in 1983 , which has been operating under the name Pan Am Railways since 2006 . The paper mill in Vose will continue to be served by the railway line.

Route description

The train turns off the main line of the Fitchburg Railroad at Ayer Station and initially heads northwest over the Nashua River to West Groton . From here the train follows the Squannacook River and crosses it twice in the urban area of ​​Townsend. In West Townsend the route turns north and crosses the state line into New Hampshire. Here she passes the village of Mason. The station was away from town in the forest. After the Pratt stop, the route curves first to the west and then south to reach the end point in Greenville a few kilometers further.

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
3. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1913. Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 17. page 189.

literature

• Robert M. Lindsell: The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press, Pepperell, MA 2000, ISBN 0-942147-06-5 .

Web links

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