Is Guilford still serving West Cambridge?

When the frieght cut-off was first abandoned, how did that freight which would have come over the cut-off get into boston? I live about one block from the cut-off but was born in 79 so I don't have any memories of it. I do recall seeing guilford switch out the last customer on the line. They would usually bring 2 covered hoppers filled with plastic pellets and remove the empties. Mick, doesn't BODO come through Somerville too? What purpose does LOSA serve between Lowell and Salem. What about the few remaining customers in Woburn Wilmington? Too many questions.

"When the frieght cut-off was first abandoned, how did that freight which
would have come over the cut-off get into boston?"

Before the big retrenchment, all freight came via Lowell and the New Hampshire Route mainline into Boston at Somerville Jct. DOBO/BODO
always operated via the Wildcat.

Local freight was dropped off/picked up at Montvale, Swanton St siding and Wilmington (which had numerous tracks compared to today). EDSA
and SAED usually did this work. BO-4 operated out of Somerville to
S.Wilmington and WI-1 was based out of Wilmington, worked the area
south to S.Wilmington. It was not uncommon for both to meet/swap some
cars at S.Wilmington. BO-4 also worked the Stoneham Branch. Of course,
all of this is pretty much gone.

Today, LOSA runs to Lawrence via the Freight Main and gets its train, then
heads to Somerville. They perform all local switching left between Wilmington and Winchester. Customers are: Woburn Jct (cement), S.
Wilmington (Cold Storage), Woburn (Atlantic Plywood, Rothsteins and a
team track in Walnut Hill). Down at Montvale Yard, Tighe Warehouse gets
cars every now and then.

Dave

The freight to and from the cut-off was mostly on the road freights to and from East Deerfield and Mechanicville via the Fitchburg Route. When the cut-off was abandoned, freight destined to and from the west went the New Hapshire Route to North Chelmsford, and over the Stony Brook Branch to the Willows, just east of Ayer, which was the junction with the Fitchburg. The state paid to improve signals and clearences from Boston to Lowell to accomodate the extra freight traffic, but as the fates would have it, the B&M was retrenching from Boston at that time anyway.

I grew up practically in visual distance of the Eastern Route, and my first job was in Central Square , Lynn and I would constantly see the through freight for Salem, with 50 - 70 cars, even into the early 80s. At night, they would comeback with 3 Geeps, anything from tired old GP7s to the brand new GP-40-2s, and set off half the burglar alarms in the Swampscott station area. After the Beverly Draw fire, and the coming of Guilford(not to mention the closing of the Freight cutoff), it was like they had never even been there. Very sad...

GP40MC1118, What about that brick yard type place on Salem st. in Woburn, do they still get service. Also, what is a team track? I believe the lead to Montvale yard was cut during some drainage construcion recently.

I can't think of the name of the company, but they do occassionaly
get loads of brick. The railroad's name for this location is Walnut
Hill.

Montvale Yard on the north end was severed several years ago by
the MBTA. GRS still switches Tighe Warehouse from the south end.

Dave

Whoops, forgot...

A team track is like a Public Delivery siding where multiple
customers can receive cars - especially if they don't have
their own siding. Sometimes there's an unloading platform.

Back at home in the New Bedford area, the team track at
Tarklin Hill Road was primarily used for inbound clay/kaolin
in ACL/SCL boxcars that J.Paulding got. Paulding's plant was
just up the hill (where the Shaw's/Flagship Cinemas are
today). The siding also got inbound Hiwide loads for the
electric company and covered hoppers for Lambert Rope.
The last major use of this siding was for inbound steel loads
for some large building project in the area.

Dave

It appears that Montvale Yard is now cut off at both ends. The switch at the North end has been gone for quite a while and the south end switch has been gone for at least a few months.
Any update on either an MBTA or GRS rehab of Montvale? There was some discussion of this a while back.
Thanks,
Stephen

As far as I can tell, there's a bit of misinformation here regarding Tighe's Woburn operations. Based on many passes in the Downeaster and a little nosing around, it looks like Montvale Yard has been dead for a long time, and has not seen a single car in years. All the action is at Tighe's Wildwood facility, which is the buiding next to Rohtstein. I don't precisely know the definition of the term "team track"; there is a single switch to get off the main for both customers, but then it splits into separate sidings, one for each building, and both are switched regularly.
Tighe does own the building next to Montvale yard, but I have never seen a single car there in 3-4 years.
I do see a car at Woburn Brick once in a while.

Where is/was this montvale yard? I live in the area, and I've been along those tracks many times, I've never seen any rail yards, even small ones, anywhere near montvale.

Calling it a yard is maybe a little kind, it's really only about four rusty tracks wide along the back of an ochre-colored warehouse building. There's a Jewish cemetery on the other side of the tracks from which the "yard" can be viewed without trespassing; this is accessible from Washington St. just a block or two south of Montvale Ave.

I know where that is but i've never noticed other tracks. Is it 4 tracks plus the 2 main tracks or is it 4 total? I'll have to go trespass and check it out... SHHH!!!

Ya know, I thought I'd seen a few short Guilford Hauls a few years back. Now I missed em!!! However, you can sometimes still se light Guilford engines moving from boston to Ayer, so i guess i'll have to be content

Wow I didnt know Guilford Still went through Belmont !
and montvale yard, hasnt that been outtof service for awhile I think the approach tracks are long gone