Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) Discussion

On another not I wonder if G&U is going to continue rebuilding the rest of the line. The RXR posted a ad on railroad supply website offering Relay ties for sale. Im suprised they are selling ties when they need ties?

NNR wrote:On another not I wonder if G&U is going to continue rebuilding the rest of the line. The RXR posted a ad on railroad supply website offering Relay ties for sale. Im suprised they are selling ties when they need ties?

It doesn't seem they are abandoning the Upton to Hopedale section at all. They are still using a tracked backhoe to clear the tracks and have worked south from the Upton yard. They are currently halfway between the Paintball facility and Chestnut St.

In addition, they are continuing to clear the land at the Milford CSX interchange.

They are building new additions to the concrete block building and they are going up fast.
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure138.jpg

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure139.jpg

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure140.jpg

For comparison, compare the first pic to this from just a couple weeks ago.
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure131.jpg

Explored the line last Friday and saw lots of activity from end to end. Trackwork in the N Grafton yard, starting to repaint the new locomotive at N Grafton, the construction activity depicted by slashmaster, and continued line clearing at Milford which included track removal most likely to make way for new track construction.
I had a friend with me who had seen the line in 2 years and needless to say he saw many changes!
Here's a possibility - once the G&U is opened to Milford, they will be poised to take over CSX freight work on the ex-NH Milford branch, seeing how CSX is shedding some of their operations in eastern Mass. (like announced in the Fall River-New Bedford area)
Thanks again to all you locals who keep track of the line on this site - and thanks to the photographer who gave some helpful info on Friday at N Grafton.

The excavator and a pick up were parked at Chestnut st tonight.

I took this pic toward the end of tuesday, you can see to the left of the trailer a short but large diameter silo they just completed. I went to this same place at the end of saturday with no sign at all that this silo would exist other than the foundation (which is rectangular, not round). So they got this thing together fast! You can also see they added a lot more layers of cinder blocks to that new addition they are building.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure160.jpg

I was going to give you guys a 90's G & U history lesson with a bunch of photo's I've got but my scanner isn't working right. Anyone know what causes these horizontal lines? It's like looking at the pix through blinds. This scanner is easy to take apart if anyone knows what I might be able to do.


http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... tled-1.jpg

They've been making serious progress in West Upton, these pix are from yesterday. I was mistaken about the silo, looks like they build it from the bottom up and jack it up as they build it. It's much taller now.
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure163.jpg


http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure164.jpg

I'm wondering how much taller this building is going to get? There is no I beam reinforcement so can't get a lot taller can it?
http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo64 ... ure170.jpg

Has anything happened yet with the driveway going across the tracks? I wonder if the driveway will have to be relocated altogether or if it will become a private crossing.

b&m 1566 wrote:Has anything happened yet with the driveway going across the tracks? I wonder if the driveway will have to be relocated altogether or if it will become a private crossing.

I have not checked lately but get the feeling no. All rehabilitation seems to be happening either in North Grafton, West Upton, Chestnut street or Milford right now.

I received this notice from a friend at the Grafton Historical Society. As some of you may know, Grafton is celebrating its 275th anniversary, which just so happens to be the 175th anniversary of railroads in the town. This should be a great event so if you are available, I'd highly recommend attending.

Public Tours of Grafton and Upton Railroad Engine and Caboose Set For Saturday, May 15th
New Photo Exhibit Highlights 175th Anniversary of Railroads in Grafton Massachusetts



GRAFTON - A new photographic exhibit on the history of the North Grafton railroad station and the Grafton & Upton Railroad debuts on Saturday, May 15th from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Grafton Historical Society Museum, One Grafton Common in Grafton, Massachusetts. The exhibit, which is part of the town's 275th anniversary celebration called Grafton History Day, highlights the 175th anniversary of the completion of the Boston to Worcester railroad through North Grafton in 1835.

As part of the Grafton History Day celebration, the Grafton and Upton Railroad will bring one of its newly repainted engines and caboose to Grafton center where it will be available for public tours and photographs also from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

The historical society's exhibit traces the growth of business, social and transportation life that was centered around the Boston and Albany Railroad's North Grafton depot from 1835 to 1961. Included are a series of photographs on the Nelson and Forbush shoe factories, two trolley car lines, Wilson's general store, the 1936 construction of the Route 140 bypass, and the Nelson Memorial Library.

A scale model replica of the North Grafton railroad depot built by Richard Boberg of North Grafton will be on display. The exhibit is coordinated by Maryanne Boberg with photographic contributions from Jean Deschennes, Dan Wenc, Michael Rossi, Troy Chauvin and Richard Boberg and an historical narrative and timeline by John LaPoint.

In addition to Grafton History Day on May 15th, the 175th anniversary railroad exhibit will be open to the public on the second and fourth Sunday afternoons from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. For additional information about the railroad exhibit and the Grafton Historical Society, contact Historical Society president Linda Casey at 508-839-6390.

b&m 1566 wrote:Has anything happened yet with the driveway going across the tracks? I wonder if the driveway will have to be relocated altogether or if it will become a private crossing.

I looked it up in the Registry of Deeds database a while back (and posted in this thread). That property has a deeded right to a "farm crossing" as stated in his deed registered in 1978.

As such they wouldn't have to relocate the driveway, but should certainly expect to have to rebuild it to handle the grade crossing better.

I saw the G&U logo on the GP9 and the caboose while they were displayed at the Grafton 175th Anniversary celebration. The engine/caboose looked rather bland with just the Grafton & Upton spelled out in the heavy block lettering, but with the retro logo, it brings them to a nice heritage-type look. GREAT job! Just my 2 cents!

I agree the 1950's G and U logo brings some class and pride to the equipment. I am glad to see that the owner has paid his respects to the past. The one thing he added to the logo which is cool is the establish date 1873. Love the paint scheme and logo A+. Looking forward to future progress.

http://eastmassparanormal.rrpicturearch ... id=2059783

Here is a photo I took of this logo.