Boston & Maine's - Marlborough Branch.

Where was the exact spot this branch ended in Marlborough? Was it at the intersection of Lincoln St and Highland St, or did it go along side Cashman St and end at Prospect St? I assume there was a passenger station in this area?
Were there any plans to have it connect to the Boston & Albany's branch, on the other side of downtown?

B&M station was on the east side of Prospect, just north of Washington. (see 1889 map.)

I don't believe there were any plans to connect the two branches. There's a 60-foot vertical difference between the two station locations.

Thank you.
Looking at Google maps, I notice there's still some track in place. It looks like it was a siding to a shipper, so track must not have been railroad property. What year did the B&M abandon the Marlborough Branch? I know the section from Maynard to Hudson, was abandoned long before the southern section was abandoned.

South Action-Maynard: passenger service ended 1958, abandoned 1979
Maynard-Hudson (Central Mass Junction): passenger service ended 1932, abandoned 1943
Hudson (Central Mass Junction)-Marlborough: passenger service ended 1939, abandoned 1980. (Central Mass passenger service used the Central Mass Junction-Hudson section from 1958 to 1965.)

The New Haven's Marlboro Branch had passenger service until 1937 and was abandoned in 1966.

The passenger station was on Lincoln St. and was sold (don't know the date) to Brigham Auto Sales and was torn down about 20 years ago. It still had stained glass windows with FRR initials. The owner of the station resisted all efforts to preserve it. There was also an engine house in Marlboro. One track did cross Lincoln Street at one time.

It must have been moved when it was sold because the 1889 map, shows the station on the northeast corner of Washington, St and Prospect St. Historicaerials.com still shows the station in that location in the 1938 photos. I had always noticed that building in that photo but didn't know what I was looking at, until now. The engine house stood where the dirt parking lot is located, for todays rail trail off of Jefferson St. I think the turntable was located on the southeast corner of the parking lot.

edbear » Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:58 am
The passenger station was on Lincoln St. and was sold (don't know the date) to Brigham Auto Sales and was torn down about 20 years ago. It still had stained glass windows with FRR initials. The owner of the station resisted all efforts to preserve it.

30+ years would be closer. I worked for the then-Middlesex Daily News between 1982 and 1990, and it was there 1 day during the mid-80's and gone the next. Sorry that I don't have a more precise memory.

Here is a photo that I found that shows the turntable which is positioned close to Kelleher field. The station on the corner of Lincoln and Mechanic Streets was torn down in the 80's. There is construction currently going on at the site, but I don't know what is getting built.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/16IF2Nm.png[/img]

Are you guys saying that Maynard could be accessed via either the Central Mass, or the Fitchburg?

I don't believe that was ever possible, The Marlborough branch came down from Maynard and ran under the Central Mass "Skeeterville" bridge. I was at the end of the current RailTrail on Friday in Hudson by the Rod & Gun Club and checked out the area and found where the bridge had been. If you go to the parking lot and head up the hill you will find the Central Mass branch and remnants of an old switch that led to either the Marlborough branch or continue on the Central Mass. Does anyone know when the bridge was taken down?

The bridge was removed about 1942 and filled. CM Junction was at the bottom on the Marlboro Branch and Gleason Junction was at the top at the Boston end of the bridge. The connecting track was steep and was probably only used for passenger trains from Marlboro to Boston. This route was about 5 miles shorter than via Maynard. When the bridge was taken down, Gleason Junction was relocated to a point west of the bridge. There were two grade crossings on Cox Street; the southerly one was for the relocated connection Central Mass. to Marlboro Branch. (Almost all 'borough' towns in Massachusetts had 'boro' on station names and most locals called their towns 'boro' too. It was anti-English. Borough has come back in style in recent years.) The Concord Maynard and Hudson Street Railway also had its line under the bridge west of the Marlboro Branch track.

edbear » Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:12 pm
Almost all 'borough' towns in Massachusetts had 'boro' on station names and most locals called their towns 'boro' too. It was anti-English.

The de-"ugh"ing was more a matter of telegraphic efficiency than anti-English sentiment. When a train order or other communication was sent, "Marlboro" took 3 fewer Morse characters to transmit than "Marlborough." A train order would have to be retransmitted back from the receiving operator to the dispatcher to confirm correct reception, so another 3 characters would be saved. 3 characters saved here and another 3 saved there produced fewer mistakes, fewer corrective retransmissions and fewer confirming retransmissions, reducing wire usage and stress on both dispatchers and operators.