Hey What's Going On Between Sullivan & Assembly?

So theres two heavy rail tracks behind Sullivan Square orange line station that parallel the Orange line North and formerly pulled in to the Assembly area when it used to be industrial. According to Historic Aerials, it looks like 2005 was about the last time it was used to service a customer.

Since then, it's just been growing in the weeds. From time to time, there's an MBTA MoW train parked partway up the track but that's all I've ever seen. If you follow the tracks up until recently, they just pull away from the orange line as it approaches Assembly and end where the new construction began. You had to look really close to see the tracks through the weeds.

But things have changed, as you can see. What's going on? Clearly they aren't reattaching those tracks to any customer, theres absolutely nowhere for those tracks to go beyond what you can see. But they are doing something, the tracks look great now. All cleared out, fresh ballast etc.

https://i.imgur.com/Nc3VXma.jpg

https://www.railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=168322

Yard 10 rebuild (just the two tracks) for Pan Am now that Yard 8 is no more.

The south leg of the wye, are there plans to put in a cross over that would tie it into the Fitchburg, or will the tail just be a dead end? I know originally this track came in from yard 8.

I don't know yards by name, does someone have a map? It's also hard to look up on maps since so much of this trackage in this area is under the highway.

Yard 8 used to be to the west of Innerbelt Rd, its now being turned into the Green Line ROW extension. Yard 10, use to be up by what is now a new development, adjacent to the Orange Lines "Assembly" station.

This Yard 21 thread in the MBTA section is probably the most relevant to this location.

This should help, its an old post from 10 years ago.
See the rest of the thread here

bmcdr wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:25 pm From what I can remember:-
YARD-1 2 3 & 4 were dedicated passenger coach yards
YARD- 3 & 4 were torn up along with East Cambridge roundhouse to create the PIGGYBACK YARD
YARD-5 was the East End of Boston Engine Terminal
YARD-7 East Cambridge was freight
YARD-8 9 & 10 made up the Hump Yards at Mystic Jct. Somerville
YARD-14 East Cambridge was Fitchburg Division freight
YARD-19 Charlestown was for milk traffic
YARD-21 Somerville was Portland Division freight
YARD-22 Somerville was Portland Division freight
BOYNTON YARD Just west of Tower-H on the Fitchburg Division
WEST CAMBRIDGE YARD Now a MofW yard for MBCR (a shadow of its former self)

There were also the missing freight yards that I can't remember their location or if they had a specific purpose, but I do remember my father telling me that we had 22 numbered yards in the Boston area.

I'm a fourth generation B&M employee - I worked on the B&M from 1974 until 1986.

My apologies I meant Yard 21.