List of Massachusetts railroads

The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

A 1911 map showing approximately the maximum extent of Massachusetts railroads

Common freight carriers

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Passenger carriers

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Defunct railroads

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Name Mark System[nb 1] From To Successor Notes
Agricultural Branch Railroad NH 1847 1867 Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad
Albany Street Freight Railway 1868 N/A
Amherst and Belchertown Railroad CN 1851 1858 Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer Railroad
Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer Railroad CN 1858 1861 New London Northern Railroad
Andover and Haverhill Railroad B&M 1837 1839 Boston and Portland Railroad
Andover and Wilmington Railroad B&M 1833 1837 Andover and Haverhill Railroad
Asbury Grove Railroad B&M 1870 1870 Eastern Railroad
Ashburnham Railroad B&M 1871 1885 Fitchburg Railroad
Athol and Enfield Railroad NYC 1869 1873 Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad
Barre and Worcester Railroad B&M 1847 1849 Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad
Bellingham Branch Railroad NH 1852 1853 New York and Boston Railroad
Berkshire Railroad NH 1837 1910 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Billerica and Bedford Railroad B&M 1876 1878 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Boston and Albany Railroad B&A NYC 1867 1961 New York Central Railroad
Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad B&M 1849 1885 Fitchburg Railroad
Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad NH 1867 1876 Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad
Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad NH 1873 1883 Old Colony Railroad
Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad NH 1863 1874 New York and New England Railroad
Boston, Hingham and Hull Railroad NH 1880 1881 Nantasket Beach Railroad
Boston and Lowell Railroad B&M 1830 1919 Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Corporation BM B&M 1963 Still exists as a lessor of Pan Am Railways operating subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway
Boston and Maine Railroad B&M, BM B&M 1841 1964 Boston and Maine Corporation
Boston and Maine Railroad Extension Company B&M 1844 1845 Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and New York Central Railroad NH 1853 1858 Midland Railroad
Boston and Portland Railroad B&M 1839 1841 Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Providence Railroad NH 1831 1972 Penn Central Transportation Company
Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad 1874 1940 N/A
Boston Terminal Company BTCO NH 1896 1965 N/A
Boston and Winthrop Railroad 1881 1883 Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad
Boston, Winthrop and Point Shirley Railroad 1876 1883 Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad
Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad 1883 1891 Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
Boston and Worcester Railroad NYC 1831 1867 Boston and Albany Railroad
Brookline and Pepperell Railroad B&M 1891 1895 Fitchburg Railroad
Cape Ann Granite Railroad 1894
Cape Cod Railroad NH 1854 1872 Old Colony Railroad
Cape Cod Branch Railroad NH 1846 1854 Cape Cod Railroad
Cape Cod Central Railroad NH 1861 1868 Cape Cod Railroad
Central Massachusetts Railroad B&M 1883 1901 Boston and Maine Railroad
Central New England Railway CNE NH 1899 1938 N/A
Central Vermont Railroad CN 1873 1899 Central Vermont Railway
Central Vermont Railway CV CN 1899 1995 New England Central Railroad
Charles River Railroad NH 1851 1855 New York and Boston Railroad
Charles River Branch Railroad NH 1849 1853 Charles River Railroad
Charlestown Branch Railroad B&M 1836 1846 Fitchburg Railroad
Chatham Railroad NH 1887 1937 N/A
Chelsea Beach Railroad B&M 1881 1892 Boston and Maine Railroad
Chelsea Branch Railroad NYC 1846 1847 Grand Junction Railroad and Depot Company
Cheshire Railroad B&M 1846 1890 Fitchburg Railroad
Chester and Becket Railroad NYC 1896 1931 N/A
Commercial Freight Railway NH 1866 1867 Marginal Freight Railway
Concord Railroad B&M 1856 1890 Concord and Montreal Railroad
Concord and Montreal Railroad B&M 1890 1895 Boston and Maine Corporation
Connecticut Central Railroad NH 1876 1887 New York and New England Railroad
Connecticut River Railroad B&M 1845 1919 Boston and Maine Railroad
Connecticut Valley Railroad NH 1876 1876 Connecticut Central Railroad
Consolidated Rail Corporation CR 1976 1999 CSX Transportation
Danvers Railroad B&M 1852 1906 Boston and Maine Railroad
Danvers and Georgetown Railroad B&M 1851 1855 Newburyport Railroad
Deerfield River Company 1883 1888 Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad
Dighton and Somerset Railroad NH 1863 1865 Old Colony and Newport Railway
Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad NH 1846 1885 Old Colony Railroad
Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad NH 1867 1878 Old Colony Railroad
East Boston Freight Railroad NYC 1862 1869 Boston and Albany Railroad
Eastern Railroad B&M 1836 1890 Boston and Maine Railroad
Eastern Junction, Broad Sound Pier and Point Shirley Railroad 1880 1883 Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad
Easton Branch Railroad NH 1854 1871 Old Colony and Newport Railway
Essex Railroad B&M 1846 1864 Eastern Railroad
Essex Branch Railroad B&M 1869 1872 Eastern Railroad
Fairhaven Branch Railroad NH 1849 1861 New Bedford and Taunton Railroad
Fall River Railroad (1846) NH 1846 1854 Old Colony and Fall River Railroad
Fall River Railroad (1874) NH 1874 1896 Old Colony Railroad
Fall River Branch Railroad NH 1844 1845 Fall River Railroad (1846)
Fall River and Warren Railroad NH 1857 1862 Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad
Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad NH 1862 1892 Old Colony Railroad
Fitchburg Railroad B&M 1842 1919 Boston and Maine Railroad
Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad NH 1846 1869 Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad
Fore River Railroad FOR 1919 Still exists as a lessor of the Fore River Transportation Corporation
Fore River Railway FRY 1986 1992 Quincy Bay Terminal Company
Foxborough Branch Railroad NH 1862 1867 Mansfield and Framingham Railroad
Framingham and Lowell Railroad NH 1870 1881 Lowell and Framingham Railroad
Georgetown Branch Railroad B&M 1844 1846 Newburyport Railroad
Grafton Centre Railroad 1873 1888 Grafton and Upton Railroad
Grand Junction Railroad and Depot Company NYC 1847 1862 East Boston Freight Railroad
Granite Railway NH 1826 1870 Old Colony and Newport Railway
Greenfield and Fitchburg Railroad B&M 1848 1848 Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad
Greenfield and Northampton Railroad B&M 1845 1845 Connecticut River Railroad
Hampden Railroad NH 1852 1853 Hampshire and Hampden Railroad
Hampshire and Hampden Railroad NH 1853 1862 New Haven and Northampton Company
Hanover Branch Railroad NH 1846 1887 Old Colony Railroad
Hartford and Connecticut Western Railroad NH 1889 1938 N/A
Hartford and New Haven Railroad NH 1847 1872 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Hartford and Springfield Railroad NH 1839 1847 Hartford and New Haven Railroad
Harvard Branch Railroad 1848 1855 N/A
Holyoke and Westfield Railroad NH 1869 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation
Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad HTW 1886 1971 N/A
Hopkinton Railroad NH 1870 1884 Milford and Woonsocket Railroad
Hopkinton Branch Railroad NH 1869 1870 Hopkinton Railroad
Hopkinton and Milford Railroad NH 1867 1870 Hopkinton Railroad
Horn Pond Branch Railroad B&M 1852 1929
Housatonic Railroad 1842 1892 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Hull and Nantasket Beach Railroad NH 1880 1881 Nantasket Beach Railroad
Lancaster and Sterling Branch Railroad B&M 1846 1846 Fitchburg Railroad
Lexington and Arlington Railroad B&M 1867 1870 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad B&M 1845 1867 Lexington and Arlington Railroad
Lowell and Andover Railroad B&M 1873 1919 Boston and Maine Railroad
Lowell and Andover Railroad B&M 1846 1848 Lowell and Lawrence Railroad
Lowell and Framingham Railroad NH 1881 1886 Old Colony Railroad
Lowell and Lawrence Railroad B&M 1848 1879 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Manchester and Lawrence Railroad B&M 1846 1856 Concord Railroad
Mansfield and Framingham Railroad NH 1867 1875 Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad
Marblehead and Lynn Railroad B&M 1865 1872 Eastern Railroad
Marginal Freight Railway NH 1867 1872 Union Freight Railroad
Marlborough Branch Railroad B&M 1852 1860 Marlborough and Feltonville Branch Railroad
Marlborough and Feltonville Branch Railroad B&M 1858 1862 Fitchburg Railroad
Martha's Vineyard Railroad 1874 1892 N/A
Massachusetts Central Railroad B&M 1869 1883 Central Massachusetts Railroad
Medford Branch Railroad B&M 1845 1845 Boston and Maine Railroad Extension Company
Medway Branch Railroad NH 1849 1864 Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad
Middleborough Railroad NH 1845 1845 Fall River Railroad (1846)
Middleborough and Taunton Railroad NH 1853 1874 Old Colony Railroad
Middlesex Central Railroad B&M 1871 1883 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Midland Railroad NH 1858 1862 Midland Land Damage Company
Midland Railroad NH 1850 1853 Boston and New York Central Railroad
Midland Land Damage Company NH 1861 1863 Southern Midland Railroad
Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad NH 1882 1910 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Milford and Woonsocket Railroad NH 1855 1910 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Monadnock Railroad B&M 1869 1892 Fitchburg Railroad
Mount Tom and Easthampton Railroad B&M 1871 1872 Connecticut River Railroad
Mystic River Railroad B&M 1853 1871 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Nantasket Beach Railroad NH 1880 1906 Old Colony Railroad
Nantucket Railroad 1910 1917 N/A
Nantucket Railroad 1880 1894 Nantucket Central Railroad
Nantucket Central Railroad 1895 1910 Nantucket Railroad
Nashua and Acton Railroad B&M 1907 1925 N/A
Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad B&M 1871 1906 Nashua and Acton Railroad
Nashua and Lowell Railroad B&M 1836 1944 Boston and Maine Railroad
New Bedford Railroad NH 1873 1876 Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad
New Bedford and Taunton Railroad NH 1839 1873 New Bedford Railroad
New England Railroad NH 1895 1908 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New Haven and Northampton Company NH 1862 1910 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New London Northern Railroad CN 1860 1951 Central Vermont Railway
New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad CN 1848 1861 New London Northern Railroad
New York and Boston Railroad NH 1853 1865 Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad
New York Central Railroad NYC NYC 1914 1968 Penn Central Transportation Company
New York Central and Hudson River Railroad NYC 1900 1914 New York Central Railroad
New York and Harlem Railroad NYC 1831 1976 N/A Was located in present-day New York; the boundary was moved in 1855
New York and New England Railroad NH 1873 1895 New England Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad NH NH 1872 1969 Penn Central Transportation Company
Newburyport Railroad B&M 1846 1906 Boston and Maine Railroad
Newburyport City Railroad B&M 1869 1893 Boston and Maine Railroad
Newport and Fall River Railroad NH 1846 1863 Old Colony and Newport Railway
Norfolk County Railroad NH 1847 1853 Boston and New York Central Railroad
North Brookfield Railroad NYC 1875 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation Plans to rebuild and reopen 2012[1]
Northampton and Springfield Railroad B&M 1842 1845 Connecticut River Railroad
Northampton and Westfield Railroad NH 1852 1853 Hampshire and Hampden Railroad
Norwich and Worcester Railroad NH 1836 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation
Ocean Terminal Railroad B&M 1879 1887 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Old Colony Railroad NH 1872 1947 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Old Colony Railroad NH 1844 1854 Old Colony and Fall River Railroad
Old Colony Railroad NH 1838 1839 New Bedford and Taunton Railroad
Old Colony and Fall River Railroad NH 1854 1863 Old Colony and Newport Railway
Old Colony and Newport Railway NH 1863 1872 Old Colony Railroad
Penn Central Transportation Company PC 1968 1976 Consolidated Rail Corporation
Peterborough and Shirley Railroad B&M 1845 1860 Fitchburg Railroad
Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad NYC 1842 1961 New York Central Railroad
Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad NH 1890 1911 Old Colony Railroad
Plymouth and Vineyard Sound Railroad NH 1868 1871 Cape Cod Railroad
Providence and Bristol Railroad NH 1851 1853 Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad
Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad NH 1853 1862 N/A Was located in present-day Rhode Island; the boundary was moved in 1862
Providence, Webster and Springfield Railroad NYC 1882 1958 N/A
Quincy Bay Terminal Company QBT 1992 2001 Fore River Transportation Corporation
Randolph and Bridgewater Railroad NH 1845 1845 Fall River Railroad (1846)
Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad NH 1876 1910 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Rockport Railroad B&M 1860 1868 Eastern Railroad
Salem and Lowell Railroad B&M 1848 1879 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Salisbury Branch Railroad B&M 1844 1846 Eastern Railroad
Saugus Branch Railroad B&M 1848 1853 Eastern Railroad
Seekonk Branch Railroad NH 1836 1839 Boston and Providence Railroad Was located in present-day Rhode Island; the boundary was moved in 1862
Shawmut Railroad NH 1870 1871 Old Colony and Newport Railway
South Reading Branch Railroad B&M 1848 1892 Boston and Maine Railroad
South Shore Railroad NH 1846 1877 Old Colony Railroad
Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad NH 1849 1853 Boston and New York Central Railroad
Southern Midland Railroad NH 1863 1863 Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad
Spencer Railroad NYC 1878 1889 Boston and Albany Railroad
Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad NYC 1873 1879 Springfield and North-eastern Railroad
Springfield and New London Railroad NH 1875 1887 New York and New England Railroad
Springfield and North-eastern Railroad NYC 1878 1880 Boston and Albany Railroad
Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad NH 1847 1905 Berkshire Railroad
Stoneham Branch Railroad B&M 1859 1870 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Stony Brook Railroad B&M 1845
Stoughton Branch Railroad NH 1844 1873 Boston and Providence Railroad
Taunton Branch Railroad NH 1835 1874 New Bedford Railroad
Taunton and Middleborough Railroad NH 1848 1853 Middleborough and Taunton Railroad
Troy and Boston Railroad B&M 1856 1887 Fitchburg Railroad
Troy and Greenfield Railroad B&M 1848 1862 Fitchburg Railroad
Turner's Falls Branch Railroad B&M 1866 1869 Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad
Union Railroad NYC 1848 1854 Grand Junction Railroad and Depot Company
Union Freight Railroad NH 1872 1969 N/A
Fall River Railroad (1846) NH 1845 1846 Fall River Railroad
Vermont Central Railroad CN 1871 1873 Central Vermont Railroad
Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad B&M 1844
Vineyard Sound Railroad NH 1861 1868 Plymouth and Vineyard Sound Railroad
Walpole Railroad NH 1846 1847 Norfolk County Railroad
Waltham and Watertown Branch Railroad B&M 1849 1851 Fitchburg Railroad
Ware River Railroad NYC 1867 1961 New York Central Railroad
Watertown Branch Railroad B&M 1846 1846 Fitchburg Railroad
Wayland and Sudbury Branch Railroad B&M 1868 1869 Massachusetts Central Railroad
Weir Branch Railroad NH 1847 1848 New Bedford and Taunton Railroad
West Amesbury Branch Railroad B&M 1868 1893 Boston and Maine Railroad
West Stockbridge Railroad NH 1836 1905 Berkshire Railroad
Western Railroad NYC 1833 1867 Boston and Albany Railroad
Winchendon Railroad B&M 1845 1846 Cheshire Railroad
Woburn Branch Railroad B&M 1844 1844 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Woburn Branch Extension Railroad B&M 1847 1848 Boston and Lowell Railroad
Worcester Branch Railroad B&M 1841 1847 Worcester and Nashua Railroad
Worcester and Nashua Railroad B&M 1845 1883 Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad
Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad B&M 1883 1911 Boston and Maine Railroad
Worcester and Norwich Railroad NH 1833 1836 Norwich and Worcester Railroad
Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad 1873
Street and other electric railways
Private carriers
Not completed

Notes

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  1. ^ This is one or more of the Class I railroads that the railroad became part of, if any.

See also

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References

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  • Association of American Railroads (2003), Railroad Service in Massachusetts (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2005.
  • Hilton, George W. (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2369-9.
  1. ^ North Brookfield Seeks Freight Rail Revival, Worcester Business Journal Online, 9/26/2011
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