Millis Branch

The Millis Branch was a branch of what is now the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Branching off the still-operating Needham Line at Needham Junction, it ran through the towns of Dover, Medfield, Millis, and Medway. Due to lack of subsidies and poor ridership, the line was cut back to Millis station in April 1966, and all service ended on April 21, 1967.

Millis Branch
The former station building at Dover, as seen in 2014
Overview
StatusAbandoned
OwnerNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, later Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
LocaleSoutheastern Massachusetts
TerminiBoston South Station
Millis
Stations14[1]
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Operator(s)New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad later MBTA
History
Opened1861 (Charles River Branch Railroad)
ClosedApril 21, 1967[2]
Technical
Line length22.1 miles[1]
CharacterSurface-level
Track gauge4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

South Station
Back Bay
Roslindale Village
Bellevue
Highland
West Roxbury
Former route to Dedham
Bird's Hill
Needham Junction
Charles River
Dover
Farm Street
Medfield
Clicquot
Millis
Medway
West Medway
Former route to Woonsocket
and Pascoag, Rhode Island

History

The Charles River Branch Railroad was extended from Needham Center to Woonsocket, Rhode Island in stages between 1861 and 1863 under the New York & Boston Railroad, with service operating to Boston via the Highland Branch.[3] Initial plans to extend the line to New York City as an air-line railroad never came to pass, but a small portion of this route was built as the Woonsocket and Pascoag Railroad, opening from Woonsocket to Pascoag, Rhode Island in 1891;[4] the latter line became functionally an extension of the Charles River Branch, with through trains from Pascoag to and from Boston, although not on schedules suitable for commuting.[3][4] Ownership of the line passed through the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, New York and New England Railroad, and, finally, to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (commonly referred to as just the "New Haven Railroad"), which consolidated essentially the entire southern and southeastern Massachusetts rail network under its umbrella. After the Needham Cutoff opened on November 4, 1906, service from Woonsocket and intermediate stops ran over the cutoff rather than via the Highland Branch.[3]

With the Midland Line (now the Franklin Line) as the primary Woonsocket route for the New Haven Railroad, the Charles River Branch served as a minor branch line. After 1926, all service to Woonsocket was provided by shuttle trains from Woonsocket to Bellingham Junction; service north of Bellingham Junction was provided by trains from Boston to Franklin via Needham and Bellingham Junction, as well as trains travelling via the Charles River Branch outbound and the Midland Line inbound or vice versa.[3] Service beyond Bellingham Junction was discontinued entirely in 1930, and the portion of the line between Woonsocket and the state line was completely abandoned in 1934.[3][4] All service beyond Needham Junction was discontinued on July 13, 1938.[3] Service to Bellingham Junction was briefly restored in March 1940 with a single daily round trip between Boston and Franklin via the Charles River Branch, but this was cut back to Caryville station in North Bellingham in May 1940; at the same time, however, additional service was added between Boston and West Medway.[3] In September 1941, all remaining Caryville service was cut back to West Medway, which would remain the terminus of the branch for the next 2512 years.[3][5] After 1955, service on the branch was reduced to one single-car round trip to West Medway, which was combined with a longer Needham Heights train at Needham Junction.[2][3]

By the time the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was founded in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service, the West Medway Branch was moribund. Subsidies to the New Haven Railroad for the Needham, West Medway, Dedham, and Franklin lines began on April 24, 1966; out-of-district Medway declined to provide additional funding, and the line was cut back to Millis as the Millis Branch.[2] The sole remaining round trips to Millis and Dedham were cut on April 21, 1967, due to extremely poor ridership.[2][3]

The former stations at Dover (now a Dunkin Donuts) and Millis (now town offices) are still extant; the other six stations west of Needham Junction have been demolished.

In July 2020, the state awarded $100,000 for construction of the Medfield Rail Trail from Medfield Junction to the Dover line.[6]

Station and junction listing

Milepost[1][7]CityStation/junctionOpening date[3]Closing date[3]Notes[3]
0.0BostonSouth StationJanuary 1, 1899Still operating
1.2Back BayJanuary 1, 1899Still operating
6.4Roslindale Village1870Still operating
7.2Bellevue1870Still operating
7.6Highland1870Still operating
8.0West Roxbury1870Still operating
10.9NeedhamBird's Hill1917
12.0Needham JunctionNovember 4,  1906Still operating
13.8Charles RiverNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
15.2DoverDoverNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
Station building still survives as a café
18.2MedfieldFarm StreetNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
19.3Medfield JunctionNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
Junction with NYNH&H Mansfield and Framingham Railroad
21.5MillisClicquotNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
Mainly a freight station by the 1960s[8]
22.1MillisNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 21, 1967
Station building still survives and is rented out for commercial purposes
24.6MedwayMedwayNovember 18, 1861
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 24, 1966
26.1West MedwaySeptember 1862
March 1940
July 18, 1938
April 24, 1966

References

  1. "SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND RAILROADS (2) – SL 198" (PDF). Jim Fergusson's Railway and Tramway Station Lists. 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  2. Belcher, Jonathan (27 June 2015). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–46. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. "WOONSOCKET". Rhode Island Railroads. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  5. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1986). Boston's Commuter Rail: Second Section. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 32. ISBN 978-0685412947.
  6. "2020 MassTrails Grant Awards". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. July 2020. p. 4.
  7. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  8. "Another Millis/Cliquot question New Haven days". The NHRHTA New Haven Railroad Forum. 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
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