Newton Lower Falls Branch

Newton Lower Falls Branch
Newton Lower Falls Branch
	Newton Lower Falls station in the 1890s
Overview
Status	Closed
Locale	Massachusetts
Termini	Riverside; Newton Lower Falls;
Stations	3
Service
System	Boston and Albany Railroad
History
Opened	January 18, 1847
Electric service began	January 20, 1904
Electric service ended	April 27, 1930
Passenger service ended	August 1957
Closed	May 30, 1972
Technical
Line length	1.2 mi (1.9 km)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines (1904–1930)
Route map
	Legend
	to Boston via B&A
	main line \| Highland branch
	0.00 mi
	0 km
	0.82 mi
	1.32 km
	1.25 mi
	2.01 km
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Newton Lower Falls Branch was a short branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad in Massachusetts. The approximately 1.2-mile (1.9 km) line ran between Riverside station in Newton and Lower Falls in Wellesley, with one intermediate station.

The branch opened in January 1847 and immediately saw commuter service. After the Highland branch opened in 1886, the Newton Lower Falls Branch was relegated to shuttle service. A streetcar-like electric railcar powered by overhead lines provided all passenger service on the branch from January 1904 to April 1930. The northern half of the branch was relocated in 1926. Passenger service dropped from 20 daily round trips in 1904 to just one in 1950; it ended entirely in 1957.

Freight service continued until 1972. Ownership was transferred to the state in two segments in 1973 and 1982. 21st-century proposals to convert the alignment to a rail trail resulted in a decade of litigation, which concluded that the line had never been formally abandoned. One section of rail trail opened in 2012; another portion is planned.
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