Revere, MA.

can some one tell me a little about the abandoned ROW in North Revere, that leads to sauges and everette.

Known as the Saugus Branch. Originally built to allow the B&M to access Lynn, and compete with the Eastern RR. At one time the west end connected to the West Route ML in Malden. Later changed to connect at Everett Jct. instead, and a connection was built at West Lynn on the other end. Was basically a commuter line for most of its life. The reason it remained intact is that it was the high-wide route into the GE plant at Lynn. Once GE stopped doing transformers, that reason went away. But by that time the MBTA had purchased it, and it then began the long, slow decline typical of MBTA lines not in use as passenger lines.

DAW

theseaandalifesaver wrote:can some one tell me a little about the abandoned ROW in North Revere, that leads to sauges and everette.

does the MBTA still own it?

Yes, the MBTA still owns it along with a number of other derelict freight lines like the B&M Central Mass Branch. In theory it could be used for future rail or transit service, although I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

Although I'd love to see it used again, I'd hate to see the impact it would have on the traffic in Linden Square, uggh. Also, a good amount has been paved-over in Malden Center, east of Main Street.

The last time I saw anyhing run in that old trackage I was 2 years old in 72. But they would have tough problems trying to ressuerct the line.So many abbutters built on and over the ROW. In some place they paved and even removed trackage. Not replacing them. It would be intresting to see its disposition.

Ironically, I was on Western Ave. in Lynn today passing the GE Riverworks, and just managed to remember to look at the crossing, not too far from where it rejoins the Eastern Route(?). The tracks on either side exist and aren't too overgrown, but the crossing itself has been removed.

I do remember seeing B&M freight moves along the Saugus River in the late 70s from my backyard.

I think most of the rest between Saugus and Lynn is intact.

Following with Google Earth, it look like a stretch near Roosevelt Park in Malden (I think) has been paved over for parking, but the tracks appear to exist on each end and may run through the pavement - but I would think there would be no clearance with the cars. Again where it crosses Route 60 its been pretty paved over. THe crossings there seem to be intact, but not the intervening trackage.

I like tracing some of the tracks with Google Earth...you can see features you don't see on the ground, where you can see where there were once branches that you never noticed before...

Malden has obliterated the line pretty bad, considering it was used as recently as 1998. I live right nearby and when I was little we all used to run down the street and watch the train when we heard it, once a month. This was in the late 80s to mid 90s. It used to service that Wayside Compartments building in Linden Square, and a few other places.

Also, this line was used from the 50s to around 1970 I think, to build the unfinished Route 95 in Rumney Marsh. They double tracked the ROW near Rowe Quarry so trains could pass, and there was a spur going out to the new road, right next to where Route 1 goes by that flood gate.

I do not think track has been removed anyplace at all. They just filled in the rails with crushed stone or paved hot top flush with the top of them. Behind the school on Roosevelt Park [Salemwood School, stupid name] they paved a parking lot on the ROW, but the tracks are there. The only place I think the track might be gone is from Maplewood St. to the school, and some in Everett near another new school. When they built that school in Malden, they actually unearthed the old Saugus Branch brook that had been covered up, and created a swamp!:-D

Over the past 2 or 3 years, people have been fencing off parts of the ROW, and RENTING out the spots. Go look behind Smethurst Tile on Eastern Ave, and you'll see what I mean, a landscaping company is doing it. Then closer to the square, the high school parking lot was used for a hockey rink a while back, and the city paved the ROW width and uses it for parking all the way from Bargain Outlet to Main. St. They put meters in on part where people had always parked with no problems. Further down another company has fenced off the ROW, from Main St. all the way around that curve to Canal St.

How are they allowed to get away with this? The MBTA still owns it. Do you guys think they know or care? It's pretty dramatic encroachment. And whatever happened to that bike trail they wanted to make? Malden is the only city doing crap like this along the line from what I can tell..

The Saugus Branch was a busy line with two passenger trains M-F until the late 50’s in addition to one local freight. As Big Bronco mentioned, the line was used by the B&M to bring gravel from Bow NH to the Rumney Marsh in Revere for the purpose of building I95 through Lynn to Peabody. This began in April of 1968. Initially, three trains were used consisting of two diesels and 60 cars. A 4th train was added a few months later and had two diesels and usually 40 cars. A single switcher was used to take the cars to a shaker so the gravel could be loaded onto trucks. The operation was daily Mon-Sat and the first train would arrive around 5:30am and the last run later in the afternoon. It made for one busy line until about November when it was shutdown for the winter. It resumed again in the spring of 69, but only for about two or three months. Interestingly, the road was never finished and I believe a good portion of the gravel was used as fill for some of the coastal beaches.

Did you mean 'two runs' or 'two sets of equipment' each day? Two runs doesn't sound very busy.

Ah...I had thought the use of the line for the road project had started earlier because the bridges at the interchange are dated 1956. It was all way before my time though.

Does anyone know when the construction spur was removed?

Well If the MBTA or whoever owns that ROW will be in for a rude awakening.There was a case in Revere approx 10 years ago where the City of Revere sold a plot of land on North Shore Rd Rte-1a. The company built a complete 4 stry condo complex. The MBTA found out that they built on the former ROW of the Boston Revere Beach & Lynn Narrow gauge. The MBTA stopped the construction from continuing and went afer the construction co for building on private property.They showed the MBTA the City of Revere sold them the plot and that it was their property to build on. The MBTA filed a lawsuit against the City of Revere for selling property that they had no right to and won. It was resolved and the City of Revere paid some big $$$ in fines. i was suprised to find out this and that after all these years after the abondonment of the BRB&L that the MBTA still owned rights to the ROW eventhoough it was not being actively used.

From what I recall, once the gravel trains stopped operating in June 69, the spur was removed.

StevieC48 wrote:Well If the MBTA or whoever owns that ROW will be in for a rude awakening.There was a case in Revere approx 10 years ago where the City of Revere sold a plot of land on North Shore Rd Rte-1a. The company built a complete 4 stry condo complex. The MBTA found out that they built on the former ROW of the Boston Revere Beach & Lynn Narrow gauge. The MBTA stopped the construction from continuing and went afer the construction co for building on private property.They showed the MBTA the City of Revere sold them the plot and that it was their property to build on. The MBTA filed a lawsuit against the City of Revere for selling property that they had no right to and won. It was resolved and the City of Revere paid some big $$$ in fines. i was suprised to find out this and that after all these years after the abondonment of the BRB&L that the MBTA still owned rights to the ROW eventhoough it was not being actively used.

I remember my dad pointing out that building. I think that actually happened in the 1980s! And that building sat unfinished and vandalized until maybe 10 years ago, when they finally finished it up and let people move in. It used to be trashed inside, walls kicked in, squatters, everything.

I also noticed that in Saugus a new apartment or condo complex has gone up next to the ROW in the area of the belmonte middle school, in the section that used to be industrial and multi-tracked...