Guilfords South Reading Branch

Bud,

Ah, you are right about the age...

JJ Newbury could be counted on for 2-3 boxcars every day or two. The local worked that line every day. My hunch is that it was general merchandise. The warehouse was about the same period as the establishment of the area shopping centers. The trucks would head out like clockwork every evening. We lived on the main street near the warehouse and in the summer, with the windows open and no air conditioning, the house filled with the smell of diesel fumes.

On the other side of our house was Remis leathers, which also received a couple gon cars each day filled with hides...more like scrap hides. They also got a few boxcars at the platform on Corwin Street. In later years Remis built a warehouse with the track into the building for unloading as the smell of the hides was pretty intense. I think that building is still there.

We thought it was pretty cool in the 60s when they extended the line from BAYCO, which is the large brick building after the tracks on the left on Corwin Street, to the Centennial Industrial park. The line ended just past their building beyond the switch for their siding. One day they showed up with a sting of gons and panel tracks and a few days later a string of hoppers filled with gravel for the tamping. We thought we had struck it rich with all the activity.

Peabody Square seemed busy in those days. There was a local that served the businesses in the square, and maybe the same crew serviced the South Peabody line. You could also count on the Danvers bound freight to follow the local. I recall the B&M engine looked like an ALCO...impressive sounding. A switcher engine usually worked the branch up to South Peabody

Steve

Would have loved to see more action on that branch years back. Must of been pretty busy! Did the grain place (by Metro Bowl) get hoppers or boxcars of grain/feed?

Mostly boxcars as I recall

Also, in Peabdy square where the branch begins, before it actually enters the square, there was a freight house where the parking lot is (right near the existing post office). They often exchanged small loads there with trucks and there was a scale house there for the trucks.

One other bit of trivia...the steel for the Rt 95 bridge over Rt 114 in Danvers was brought in by railcar to that parking lot. If you check out that bridge you will see that the steel girders are each one piece. It was quite a sight. They used cranes to gently guide the trucks around the monument in the square, then up toward wilson square.

Steve

How active was the yard at Bridge St years back? It must have had more tracks? And what was located where FW Webb is now on Bridge St? Looks like there was a spur into that place.

I do not recall the yard being that much bigger than it is now. There may have been one or two more tracks, at the most. The other yard at the South end of the tunnel along canal Street was probably much bigger.

In recent years (less than 20?) the bridge street yard had a metal building with track into the building where they could house or do limited repairs. This was removed just a few years ago. It was located not far from the monument business...that end of the yard.

Webb did have a siding...you saw the remnants of the tracks still in the street. Next to Webb was a scrap dealer who, for the longest time, had a couple of old WW II army troop cars...fancy boxcars on a small siding next to bridge street. These were also removed within the past few years. Before they built the park I seem to recall a siding that started around flint street and went back over the canal/river toward the lumber yard. I would have to look at an old track map to be sure that my info/memory is correct. They did sort quite a few cars in the bridge street yard. before the days of radios (early 60s), the brakemen still rode the top of the cars and worked through hand signals back to the engineer. They would also let some of the cars roll free into the track that they were sorting. Once in a while you could hear the bang if it was going a bit fast when it coupled onto the next car.

Steve