CSX's former New Haven Branch to Lowell, once the Old Colony RR Northern Division mainline, is being torn up. The portion that made it into Conrail, Framingham Centre to South Sudbury, was operated through the Conrail years into CSX as a stub-ended branch with service once or twice a week to South Sudbury. A few years ago there was a serious enough derailment at South Sudbury to shut down the line. Ties were placed on the line in anticipation of an upgrade and service resumption. However, it did not materialize.
Crossings were paved over and crossing protection was disconnected.
On Sat. 12/04, I came across a crew removing rail from the Edgell Rd. xing south in Framingham. I didn't see them working Sunday, but they had made it all the way to Framingham Centre by the time they finished Saturday. Sunday 12/05 there was a crew stacking ties at South Sudbury.
Sad end to a fine line. This wound up as one of two Old Colony routes to connect with northern and northwestern New England roads without running traffic through downtown Boston by Union Freight RR or other methods. It was never a big passenger route although its around Boston location did allow the routing of seasonal trains over it during the heyday of passenger trains. When freights were short and frequent, four or five a day in each direction used this route. In my time, BL-1 and LB-2 hauled freight from points south of the Boston area, Rhode Island, etc. to the B & M at Lowell. They usually ran at night. Up into the early 1960s there was also a local once to Lowell, later to Chelmsford only to save B&M charges for wying the engine at Lowell. BL-1 made a great sound on a quiet night blasting away at all those grade xings north of Framingham Ctr.
BL-1/LB-2 also used the last four unit set of ex-NH FA's into early Penn Central years.
I rode this line in May, 1967 on a Nelson Blount Steamtown excursion using ex-CPR 127.
Last passenger train about 1934. Route was always single track Framingham Ctr. to Lowell. Very little on-line business. Almost all interchange with B & M at Lowell and a few small customers at Lowell. When I was about 15 (1959), probably about this time of year, caught a potato extra with Alco RS units and State of Maine refrigerator cars!
Crossings were paved over and crossing protection was disconnected.
On Sat. 12/04, I came across a crew removing rail from the Edgell Rd. xing south in Framingham. I didn't see them working Sunday, but they had made it all the way to Framingham Centre by the time they finished Saturday. Sunday 12/05 there was a crew stacking ties at South Sudbury.
Sad end to a fine line. This wound up as one of two Old Colony routes to connect with northern and northwestern New England roads without running traffic through downtown Boston by Union Freight RR or other methods. It was never a big passenger route although its around Boston location did allow the routing of seasonal trains over it during the heyday of passenger trains. When freights were short and frequent, four or five a day in each direction used this route. In my time, BL-1 and LB-2 hauled freight from points south of the Boston area, Rhode Island, etc. to the B & M at Lowell. They usually ran at night. Up into the early 1960s there was also a local once to Lowell, later to Chelmsford only to save B&M charges for wying the engine at Lowell. BL-1 made a great sound on a quiet night blasting away at all those grade xings north of Framingham Ctr.
BL-1/LB-2 also used the last four unit set of ex-NH FA's into early Penn Central years.
I rode this line in May, 1967 on a Nelson Blount Steamtown excursion using ex-CPR 127.
Last passenger train about 1934. Route was always single track Framingham Ctr. to Lowell. Very little on-line business. Almost all interchange with B & M at Lowell and a few small customers at Lowell. When I was about 15 (1959), probably about this time of year, caught a potato extra with Alco RS units and State of Maine refrigerator cars!
