Needham Line

Do any trains other than MBTA Needham line trains run anywhere on that branch between Forest Hills and Needham Heights? Is the Millis line beyond the wye at Needham Junction still active or have the rails been pulled up? It's hard to tell on google maps.

The only trains that run on the line are MBTA trains.
The line becomes a rail trail just past Needham Junction through Needham; there are no tracks from there to the Charles River bridge. Rails on and past the Charles River bridge are there but the line is long since abandoned. Dover is fighting over whether to make a rail trail or not.

There hasn't been any freight service between Forest Hills and Needham Junction in at least 50 years. NH/PC/Bay Colony ran to Newton Upper Falls via Medfield Junction and Needham Junction, so Needham Junction-Needham Heights saw occasional freights until the Bay Colony cut back.

Would this line be the one to service Pope Lumber where Roche Bros . is now in West Roxbury and The liquor distributor that was on Rivermoor by the old City of Boston dump ?

The line does go right by those points. There's even remnants of a spur to the latter, assuming it's the self-storage place opposite Gardner St from the Home Depot.

Exactly, seen cars on that siding when it was a liquor warehouse.Not sure how the rail bridge that ran over Spring street nearby connects into all this , as it is gone now , and my memory is clouded. Fairly certain what is now Roche Bros used to be Pope Lumber, and it got rail cars as well.

The bridge over Spring St was on the original line down to Dedham.

Apologies for the cheesy quality of attached iPhone photo of Needham Heights layover yard taken on Saturday 1/19/19 but the train on the right appears to be facing the wrong direction. Wonder why?

The last few years they've started turning trains ahead of big storms, so the first train inbound runs engine first. The engines fare a little better striking heavy snowbanks and trees.

Clever idea! Thanks!

I notice that T train engines are idling at the Needham Heights layover yard - doesn’t the T have external engine /train heating power there so engines can be shutdown in the winter?

Sometimes the weather will force them to Idle the prime movers,"block heaters" are not always effective at certain temps.
May have a open circuit in in the block heater coils.
May have a problem with the Standby Ground power setup at the layover site!

Sometime yesterday the continued announcements of No Saturday Service on the Needham line (for PTC) changed from finishing up on October 12th to finishing up on November 9th.

Also noticed in the past few days there is a quiet electronic announcement on the trains (Needham line, at least) reminding folks that the Quiet Car is the one nearest the engine. I didn't know this was still a thing!

Of course, on off-peak trains, the coach closest to the engine is the only one in use as it stops at the high level platforms!

The quiet car is only a peak train thing anyway.