Fitchburg Line - History

History

The Fitchburg Railroad opened between 1840 and 1845 from Boston to Fitchburg. The Boston and Maine Railroad leased the Fitchburg Railroad in 1900 and bought it finally in 1919. The portion between Fitchburg and Boston was sold to the MBTA on December 27, 1976 as part of Boston & Maine's divestiture of commuter rail operations.

Passenger service ran only to Fitchburg after 1960, after the Boston and Maine eliminated its through service to its western terminal in Troy, NY. In the early 1960s at least part of the right-of-way was to be utilized to connect Route 2 with the proposed Interstate 695 (Inner Belt) in Union Square, Somerville. On January 18, 1965 service was cut back to West Concord, but was restored to Ayer on June 28, 1965. On March 1, 1975 it was cut back to South Acton, but was restored to Fitchburg and beyond to Gardner on January 13, 1980. Gardner service was ended on January 1, 1987 when Amtrak took over the MBTA contract, due to a dispute between Amtrak and Guilford; the MBTA only owned the trackage to Fitchburg. The Fitchburg route was once double tracked from Boston to Troy, NY. Double tracks now extend only to Acton, MA which is why, operationally, South Acton is the only station beyond Cambridge at which every train stops. Since the advent of Commuter Rail Operations by the Commonwealth, several stations along the Fitchburg lines have been closed. These include Clematis Brook and Beaver Brook in Waltham, West Acton in Acton and Harwood Depot on Taylor Street in Littleton, the last of which was immediately replaced by Littleton/495 station a mile away.

The Fitchburg Line west of the old Stony Brook Railroad, which now junctions east of the old Ayer Junction, now serves as part of Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine and Mechanicville, New York.

The Walden Street Cattle Pass crosses beneath the Walden Street bridge in Cambridge, adjacent to the tracks; it was last used in the 1920s.