Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad
The Milton Branch at Central Avenue station in 1928
Overview
Other name(s)Milton Branch
Route map

The Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It ran between Neponset Village in Dorchester, Massachusetts, through the town of Milton to the village of Mattapan. It was opened in 1847 and became part of the Old Colony Railroad system in 1848. The western portion was converted to a streetcar line in 1929, while the eastern portion remained in use for freight until the 1980s.

History

It was incorporated in 1846 as a branch off the Old Colony Railroad main line from Boston to Plymouth. The 3.3-mile (5.3 km) road was completed on December 1, 1847.[1]

The line was leased to the Old Colony Railroad from January 1, 1848 to January 1, 1856, and operated under contract by the Old Colony from 1856 to 1863, when it was merged into the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company.[2] In 1893, it became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad as part of the lease of the entire Old Colony Railroad network.

In 1854 an extension of approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west-southwest was proposed, which would have extended the line from the Mattapan to a connection with the Boston and New York Central railroad (today's Fairmount Line) approximately midway between today's Blue Hill Avenue station and the River Street crossing.[3] This extension was never built.

Milton Branch freight tracks pass under the high-speed trolley line at Shawmut Junction in 1930

From 1848 to 1872, commuter rail service to Ashmont operated over the whole line (as the Milton Branch). When the Shawmut Branch Railroad opened in 1872, Mattapan commuter service was diverted over the new line, and the Milton Branch east of Shawmut Junction saw little passenger traffic.[4] After the Shawmut Branch was closed on September 6, 1926 for construction of the Dorchester Extension, all Mattapan passenger and freight service was rerouted via Neponset over the Milton Branch.[5] Local residents lobbied for the restoration of a flag stop at the Granite Avenue (Granite Bridge) station to serve the Cedar Grove and Ashmont neighborhoods, a request granted in October 1926.[6][7]

The first section of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line opened from Ashmont to Milton on August 26, 1929.[8] The high-speed trolley line entered the center of the Milton Branch right of way on a flyover, and ran to Milton flanked by the Milton Branch tracks. Commuter rail service ended when the trolley line reached Milton, over the protests of Milton residents who wanted limited service kept while the trolley line was extended to Mattapan.[9] After four more months of construction, the full trolley line was opened to Mattapan on December 21, 1929.[10]

Freight service was retained on the line as far as Milton until the 1980s. The Neponset Trail, a multi-use rail trail, was later built on the right-of-way from Neponset Avenue to Central Avenue. From Shawmut Junction to Central Avenue, the trail shares the corridor with the MBTA trolley line, and occupies only the former northern freight track. An extension of the trail to Mattapan, paralleling the line to the north, opened in 2017.

References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, Warren (October 1928). "Dates of Some of the Principal Events in the History of 100 Years of the Railroad in New England. 1826-1926". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. 17 (17): 15–28. JSTOR 43504499.
  2. ↑ Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, Feb 15, 1911, p. 410
  3. ↑ Briggs, Luther Jr (1854). Map showing the proposed connections between the Dorchester and Milton branch and the New York Central and Boston and Providence railroads (Map). Dorchester, Massachusetts. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  4. ↑ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 95. ISBN 9780685412947.
  5. ↑ "Gets Permission to Close Stations: N. Y., N. H. & H. Abandons Shawmut Branch Sept 6 Commission Rules It Necessary to Complete New Service". Boston Daily Globe. August 27, 1926. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Granite Avenue Stop Fight Won: Commission Issues Order to New Haven Road". Boston Daily Globe. October 6, 1926. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Want Stop at Granite Bridge: State House Hearing for New Haven Patrons". Boston Daily Globe. September 17, 1926. p. A6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  9. ↑ "Allows New Haven to Stop Service: Ruling as to Branch From Neponset and Mattapan Public Utilities Order Effective With Rapid Transit to Milton". Boston Daily Globe. August 1, 1928. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Mayor Pilots Party Over Mattapan Line: Chairman Johnson of Milton Also Operates Car — Transit Extension To Carry Public Tomorrow". Boston Daily Globe. December 20, 1929. pp. 1, 18 – via Newspapers.com.
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