Talk:Fitchburg Railroad

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Split[edit]

I believe that this article should be split into 2 articles titled Fitchburg Railroad and Fitchburg Line. Some of the information currently contained in it pertains to the current MBTA operation, long after the demise of the historical Fitchburg Railroad. DHimmelspach 00:37, 1 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I strongly agree. JNW2 19:58, 2 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

+1. I wrote the German article about the Fitchburg Railroad and I first hesitated to add the interwiki, because it looked like an article mostly about the Fitchburg Line. I was really confused about it. --Thogo (Talk) 00:14, 3 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Done. --Thogo (Talk) 00:52, 3 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Watertown branch[edit]

Did the Watertown brance ever connect thru Watertown? I reacall reading that it never did and I've never seen any sign that a right-of-way once existed. Is there a source?--agr 17:44, 10 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Travelers' Official Railway Guide for June 1870 says under Watertown Branch, "Trains leave Boston for Waltham and intermediate stations, via Mount Auburn and Watertown ..." Info on abandonment comes from The Rail Lines of Southern New England, by Ronald Dale Karr. The branch was supposedly double tracked in 1893. You can see what used to be a bridge west of Waverley Ave. on Main St. (now filled in underneath) and part of the right of way is now a recreation path east of Waverley Ave.--JBH23 05:29, 11 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was never able to find the route through Watertown Sq., but I just did a Google maps search for 2 Waverley Ave, Watertown, MA 02472 and found the path you were talking about on the "satellite" close up. From there it was easy to trace the complete ROW, even through built up areas in the square. Long, skinny parking lots are a give away. Thanks for clearing that up.--agr 13:37, 11 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

More station lists[edit]

All the other branches and affiliates need their own station lists. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 01:32, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I have the Karr book which lists them. I'll do that when I get the chance. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 04:06, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Well, until you use it, I've got a B&M Map at this link. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 20:03, 26 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Fitchburg Branches revisited[edit]

The Catskill Archive has some branches of the Fitchburg Railroad on their site. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 00:43, 16 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

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Fitchburg west of Mechanicville[edit]

I'm trying to nail down the history of the line CPKC calls the "Freight Subdivision" (CPF 468-CPF 485, roughly Mechanicville to Schenectady). I've seen suggestions that the D&H and B&M jointly owned the line between Crescent and Mechanicville. The ICC valuation report for the B&M says that the D&H owned the line between Crescent and Coons.^[1]^: 777 The D&H valuation report, in what has to be an error, states both that the D&H grants trackage rights to the B&M over that part of the line, and that the B&M grants it trackage rights.^[2]^: 695 The B&M report lists the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway as the builder of 23.19 miles (37.32 km) between Rotterdam Junction (west of Schenectady) and Mechanicville, completed in 1855.^[1]^: 777 The D&H report says the D&H built from "Glennville" to Coons, ~9 miles (14 km), in 1881.^[2]^: 679 Now, 9 miles will get you over what is now the Zim Smith Trail from Mechanicville to the D&H main near Ballston Spa. Shaughnessy is vague about what the D&H did in 1881. Mackensen (talk) 22:38, 12 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The New York State Railroad Commission has cleared some of this up:^[3]^: 376

The Schenectady and Mechanicville branch connects with the main line of the Rensselaer and Saratoga near Mechanicville and extends to East Glenville, on the line of the Saratoga and Schenectady branch, 9.93 miles, single track. The portion of the Schenectady and Mechanicville Railroad from Mechanicville to Crescent is used in connection with with a track of the Fitchburg Railroad (operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad) as a double track line, west bound trains of both railroads operating over the track of the Schenectady and Mechanicville Railroad and east bound trains over the track of the Fitchburg Railroads.

Somewhat tangential to this discussion, it's not clear that the Schenectady and Mechanicville Railroad actually existed as a company. The D&H valuation report doesn't mention it and says the D&H itself built the line.^[2]^: 679 Poor does list the company, with an incorporation date of 1867.^[4]^: 141 F. M. Olyphant, secretary of the D&H, testified in 1901 a tax case that "there is no Schenectady and Mechanicville Railroad."[1].Mackensen (talk) 12:07, 13 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Karr's account of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway and related roads in The Rail Lines of Southern New England has some problems. In particular, the Rotterdam extension was not part of the initial line. Mackensen (talk) 22:01, 13 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway is an article now for those following along at home. Mackensen (talk) 15:57, 14 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ ^a ^b Interstate Commerce Commission (1931). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 30. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
^ ^a ^b ^c Interstate Commerce Commission (1927). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 116. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
^ Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York. United States: Weed, Parsons and Company. 1905.
^ Poor, Henry Varnum (1889). Manual of the Railroads of the United States. Vol. 22. United States: H.V. & H.W. Poor.

[icc-bm-1] Interstate Commerce Commission (1931). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 30. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.

[icc-dh-2] Interstate Commerce Commission (1927). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports. Vol. 116. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.

[ny-3] Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York. United States: Weed, Parsons and Company. 1905.

[poor-4] Poor, Henry Varnum (1889). Manual of the Railroads of the United States. Vol. 22. United States: H.V. & H.W. Poor.

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