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  • grape train ?

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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 #1506309  by buddydog
 
i seem to remember family old timers talking about a boston area grape train. northern ave, maybe ? new haven rr ? family old timers were winemakers.
 #1506313  by TomNelligan
 
I don't know about grapes specifically, but up through the 1960s the New Haven Railroad delivered a lot of fresh produce to Boston in refrigerator cars, and the NH's big yard in South Boston off Northern Avenue would have been the terminal. So your family story may well be correct.
 #1506316  by buddydog
 
was there a team track on the other side of northern ave across from the NH yard ? i think that the grapes were unloaded from railcar to truck.
 #1506375  by TomNelligan
 
The NH yard included various freight houses and team tracks where freight was unloaded, but after roughly 50 years I don't remember what exactly was on the harbor side of Northern Avenue. But you can probably find an old map of the area on line that will show details.
 #1507533  by Ridgefielder
 
I know I've read about a "grape yard" as being part of the New Haven's South Boston freight terminal. Whether I read that on here or in an issue of The Shoreliner, though, I don't know. I have a vague recollection that the place had some connection to the later location of Anthony's Pier 4, which would be right for Northern Ave.