Old Colony & Greenbush Lines Questions and Discussion

Just south of Savin Hill Station, alongside the Southeast Expressway, there are railroad ties that seem to have been built to form a siding off the Middleborough Main Line, and begin to descend below the level of the Middleborough Main once the ties are completely separate. The ties end just before crossing under the Red Line Ashmont Branch. Were these tracks originally supposed to be a siding or spur to serve a certain area west of the tracks, but was abandoned while being constructed? If so why were they abandoned?


- Thanks

There used to be an industrial spur there serving a customer in one of the lots between Dewar and Freeport streets. The customer and spur have been gone for decades, and the tunnel under the Ashmont Branch was sealed up a few years ago.

That's interesting, does anyone know when exactly the tracks were ripped up and who the former customer was? And does anyone here possibly have or know of a photograph featuring this junction and spur before the tracks were ripped up and the tunnel was sealed? If so, then sharing it would be appreciated.
- Thanks

I can't find any documentation, but they were ripped up about 8 years ago, and the fly over sealed. Cost about $1M to do.

The spur led to what is about to become the Glover's Corner project (hundreds of housing units initially proposed - a whole new community). Two of the big issues for that project are reducing car and bus traffic on Dorchester Avenue, and access to to the Savin Hill T station from the development. I always thought keeping the spur and some creativity could have help answer these, but the T seemed in a hurry to kill this.

I looked at maps around 1918 and couldn't find the spur, so it came post bay fill-in. Not sure of the industries served.

I did just find Bromley's 1933 map and the spur is there. The spur served a number of companies, A & P Teas, Russell Boilers (they just moved to Georgia last year) and other businesses to the south.

It may have been used for transformer deliveries in the 90's. There was a Boston Edison facility there. In the 2013 South Station Expansion layover analysis it was considered for a layover yard (one of many options). Maybe once it was ruled out the siding was no longer worth keeping?

That would make sense, thanks.
I always think nefarious dealing when it comes to the MBTA (as a kid I travelled the Watertown branch), but most of the time it isn't. I can see the SH spur/fly over from my house and think it might have been an opportunity.

Abington High School Senior Fatally Struck By MBTA Commuter Rail Train:
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/ab ... t/2721024/

A preliminary investigation suggests the pedestrian was walking along the right of way when she was struck by the commuter rail train. She died from her injuries, transit police said without identifying the victim.

mbrproductions wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 12:03 pm ...And does anyone here possibly have or know of a photograph featuring this junction and spur before the tracks were ripped up and the tunnel was sealed? If so, then sharing it would be appreciated.
- Thanks

I tried my best to do some digging for you.

Fantastic pictures. Thanks!

Agreed! These are some great finds! Thank you for putting in the effort to find them, I do very much appreciate it!

Since the MBTA seems to have abandoned the idea of using concrete ties, with GLX and SCR being made with wooden ties, is it likely that when the time comes to replace the concrete ties on the Greenbush Line, they will be replaced with wooden ties rather than new concrete ties? Or will the MBTA simply replace them with new concrete ties?

If you are replacing individual ties it "would" make more sense to continue to use concrete, otherwise dissimilar ties would make the ride bumpy or something and more stress on the rolling stock? Complete replacement they would use wood if they could. Maybe in sensitive areas like where the Old Colony was such as the cape, where everything is a sandbar and everything goes straight into the drinking water and cancer rates are above average, the concrete ties (made with fly ash) are less polluting to the ground water than creasote.

Don’t forget that concrete ties are used for higher speed service. Never mind the pollution to our drinking water. If they replaced concrete ties to wooden ties, that means trains would have to operate at slower speeds which equals longer wait times for trains since the intervals inbetween them would increase. That wouldn’t sit well with the greenbush folks. Not only that, it would also affect the Kingston and middleboro folks since the equipments often gets shared between the 3 old colony branches. It’s best to just keep using concrete where there’s concrete ties currently.

Well, the Greenbush Line tops out at speeds that wood ties would be able to handle easily, so top speed is not an issue. And wooden ties only pollute drinking water with creosote when they are disposed of incorrectly, which is avoidable, especially for a government owned agency like the MBTA.