Boston and Worcester Street Railway
Boston and Worcester Electric Companies (B&W) was a
In
History
The Boston and Worcester Street Railway was chartered November 16, 1901. Service between Boston and Framingham Junction began on May 5, 1903.
Boston and Worcester Electric Companies was incorporated December 29, 1902 to serve as a holding company. The B&W arranged control of several connecting roads in 1899 and purchased them in 1903–04:[6][7]
- The Framingham Union Street Railway ran local service within Framingham Center–South Framingham that connected to the B&W mainline at the former point, and a Saxonville–South Framingham line that intersected the B&W at Framingham Junction.
- The Framingham, Southborough and Marlborough Street Railway and its subsidiary Marlborough and Framingham Street Railway operated a line between Hudson and Framingham Center via Marlborough and Southborough. The B&W used this line between Fayvilleand Framingham Center.
The B&W opened a short branch to Natick Center in 1909.[8]
In 1925–26, the B&W attempted to replace its entire service with buses, but was rebuffed by Brookline.
Rail trail
The Boston Worcester Air Line Trail is a proposed
Routes
Main line
The main line ran along the old Boston and Worcester Turnpike (now Route 9) for most of its length. It used tracks of the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway between the City Hall terminal and Lake Junction in Shrewsbury (slightly east of the Lake Quinsigamond causeway). Service initially used the Consolidated's Lake View line (the former Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad), which ran partially on private right-of-way west of the lake. Around 1911, some limited service began using a different Consolidated line on Shrewsbury Street and Belmont Street; all service began using that route in 1925.[15]: 35–36
Between Lake Junction and Whites Corner in Southborough, the B&W used a private right-of-way roughly paralleling the Turnpike. East of Whites Corner, it followed the turnpike to
Branches
The B&W also operated several branch line services. The Natick branch split from the main line at Natick Junction, east of Walnut Street. It followed a private right-of-way to Highland Street, then ran on Middle Street, Sawin Street, North Avenue, Washington Street, and Park Street to Natick Common in downtown Natick, Massachusetts. Service ran between Natick Common and Chestnut Hill from 1908 to around 1917, with some through service to Park Square in the mid-1910s. From around 1917 to 1928, it operated as a shuttle service between Natick Common and Natick Junction.[15]: 42
Tracks ran between
A long branch ran between Whites Corner and Hudson via Southborough and Marlborough. Hudson service ran to Whites Corner, South Framingham, Chestnut Hill, and Park Square at various times. A short crosstown line also ran within Marlborough.[15]: 46
References
- ISBN 093831503X.
- ^ "Stagnation Still Rules the Market". Boston Post. May 2, 1903. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wrangle Ends". Boston Globe. December 15, 1900. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cars Running". Boston Globe. July 1, 1903. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Between June 15 and 20". Boston Globe. June 1, 1903. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gets the Marlboro Lines". Boston Evening Transcript. November 13, 1899. p. 6 – via Google News.
- ^ "Two Roads Absorbed". Boston Globe. November 7, 1903. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
- ^ "Bus Franchise for Boston & Worcester". Boston Globe. September 15, 1925. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Brookline Grants Elevated Bus Line". Boston Globe. February 24, 1926. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Humphrey, Thomas J. (August 2020). "Origin and Development of the Fixed-Route Local Bus Transportation Network in the Cities and Towns of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority District as of December 31, 1973: Revised Edition" (PDF). NETransit. pp. 154–159.
- ^ "Boston Worcester Air Line Bike Trail Route Planning: Shrewsbury–Northborough–Westborough" (PDF). Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2016.
- ^ a b WDA Design Group (October 2021). BWALT Shared-Use Path Feasibility Study (Report). Town of Westborough.
- ^ McNamara, Neil (June 15, 2023). "Westborough BWALT Trail Gets $440K State Award For Extension". Westborough Patch. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cummings, O.R. (1975). Trolleys Along The Turnpike. Boston Street Railway Association.
External links
Media related to Boston and Worcester Street Railway at Wikimedia Commons