Danvers branch

theseaandalifesaver wrote:Where would the train begin? It'd be sweet to see it start in Wakefield where the line branches off the commuter rail ROW.

Newburyport Branch passenger service ended in ?1940?, when the line was abandoned. I don't have a pre-WWII timetable handy, but I recall a couple of daily Newburyport - Boston round-trips. I think Haverhill passenger service operated as a shuttle, connecting with Newburyport trains in Georgetown, but it had ended earlier, possibly before 1930. Like many of the "railroad war" lines built after the Civil War, the Newburyport branch didn't have a lot of on-line population or industry, and once the ERR was leased by the B&M, competitive rate/fare games ended, and with them through traffic.

today I was having my car worked on on Rte 1 and I had a few hours to kill, so I took a little look at the rail line,here: 42.546144,-70.984054. Where the rails leave the grade crossing on the north side of rte 1 there is a patch of impenetrable "fight" woods - sumac, rose, bittersweet, birch and alder all growing together in a mass from the very edge of the pavement. the abutter to the east, has a parking lot edged with a wooden railing whither access is possible, whether or not allowed. the rails are still there, but there has been no brush cutting in I would guess, three years or more. the sumac and birch are growing up though the ballast to such an extent that progress is nearly impossible. I managed about 1000 yards before turning back.
There is a power distribution line using the ROW, looks like 13.8 or 24kv. if/when they needed to access their equipment in there it will be a job of work to make it accessible to vehicles. There was some interesting "urban geography" to be observed, especially under the I-95 underpass to the south of Rte 1, but mostly, it was a good place to pick up deer ticks.