Watertown Branch (Guilford)

There were 3 cars left on the Watertown Branch for a few days last week. Were these derailed? How long were they there for?

What is the status of service on the Watertown Branch?

On Sunday, this reporter observed trucks in the parking lot-one from Iowa- unloading. And no railcars inside the bakery. Not a good sign.
I recall reading that Guilford had taken this branch off the list for imminent abandonment.

Also, how long has that PRR stainless steel car been part of the restaurant near the Armenian center?

Thanks

JB

Every other year Guilford puts this line on the "To be abandoned within a year" list and every time the NIMBY's actual come out and save the branch. Why? Because they prefer having a small train on the branch once or twice a week, rather than one or two trucks every day.

I was looking around the net and found this site. It has tons of pics of the watertown branch. The captions indicate that the people are amazed trains can make it down at all. I have to agree with them, it is shocking. But let me warn you, the people who made the web site want to dig up the tracks and make it a trail trail I like trail trails and I like trial roads. But IMO I'd rather see trains than fellow bikers, only once the line is truly dead would I want it to become a rail-trail.

http://home.intranet.org/~estin/bicycle ... nch_trail/

Ironically, they talk about digging up all teh tracks, and laying new track back down pushed to one side of the ROW so we they could keep the tracks in use AND have a bike trail. Guilford won't even to maintenance on the tracks as it is now, to stop their trains from sinking in the mud, and they want them to move the entire branch over a few feet!!!!! And you thought I was crazy talking about bringing commuter rail back to stoneham!

I wonder if anyone ever considered this branch in conjunction with the Green Line extensions from Lechmere now being planned.

Oh, and this would have NOTHING to do with the fact that I work right across the street from where the ROW ends..

(Still dreaming of a 2-seat ride from home to work - Commuter rail from Nashua to North Station, Green Line to the Arsenal in Watertown)

Its pretty much hard to get there without a lot of work. You would have to extend the Union Sq. branch of the Green Line extension all the way out to Alewife, which would require getting past Porter Sq., among other obstacles where the ROW isn't wide enough. Then, you'd also have to deal with the fact that the Watertown Branch is a single-track ROW and the grade crossing of Fresh Pond Parkway. Finally, you'd have to account for the fact that it would probably be cheaper to upgrade the 71/73 trackless trolleys to BRT standards than spend all that money getting the Green Line extended for that circuitous a route.