The Boston and Albany Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

connecting

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, later becoming part of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

system,

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, and

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight as the Berkshire Subdivision and Boston Subdivision. Passenger service is provided on the line by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, as part of their ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

'' service, and by the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

system, which owns the section east of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and operates it as its Framingham/Worcester Line.

History

When the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

opened in 1825,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's advantageous water connection through the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

threatened Boston's historical dominance as a trade center. Since

the Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

made construction of a canal infeasible, Boston turned to the emerging railroad technology for a share of the freight to and from the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. The Boston and Worcester Railroad was chartered June 23, 1831 and construction began in August 1832. The line opened in sections: to West Newton on April 16, 1834; to Wellesley on July 3; to Ashland on September 20; to

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

in November 1834; and the full length to

on July 4, 1835. The original single-track line was double-tracked from Boston to Framingham in 1839, and on to Worcester by 1843. In 1843 the B&W introduced season passes to West Newton for $60, effectively introducing the concept of

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

. The ''Western Railroad'' was chartered February 15, 1833 and incorporated March 15, 1833 to connect the B&W to the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad at the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state line. Construction began in 1837, and the Eastern Division to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

in Springfield opened on October 1, 1839. The summit of Charlton Hill drainage divide between the Atlantic coast and the Connecticut River is a rock cut west of Boston. The Western Division, through the

Berkshire Hills The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

, opened in sections from both ends from the state line to Pittsfield May 4, 1841, West Springfield to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

May 24, 1841, Springfield to West Springfield (across the Connecticut River) July 4, 1841, Pittsfield to "Summit" August 9, 1841, and Chester to Summit September 13, 1841. The summit through the Berkshires is known as Washington Hill. Eastbound trains climb of 1.4% grade while westbound trains climb of slightly steeper grade to reach the of fairly level track across the drainage divide between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers. On October 4, 1841, the first train ran along the full route. The only true tunnel on the B&A is State Line Tunnel in Canaan, New York, about west of the Massachusetts state line. The original bore was augmented by an improved-alignment second tunnel in 1912, and the original bore was abandoned in the late 20th century. The ''Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad'' was incorporated in

in 1834 as the New York part of the Western Railroad, and changed its name to the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad (chartered May 5, 1836, organized May 20). Construction began in December 1840 and the line opened from Greenbush (east of Albany) to Chatham on December 21, 1841, and to the

state line on September 12, 1842. It was leased to the Western Railroad for 50 years from November 11, 1841. This railroad replaced the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad east of Chatham, which was abandoned around 1860. The connection from Boston to Albany formed the longest and most expensive point-to-point railroad yet constructed in the United States. Two mergers, on September 4, 1867, and December 28, 1870, brought the three companies, along with the Hudson and Boston Railroad, together into one company, known as the Boston and Albany Railroad. The

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

leased the B&A for 99 years from July 1, 1900. This lease passed to the

in 1914; throughout this, the B&A kept its own branding in the public eye. The NYC merged into

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

on February 1, 1968. New York Central began a major modernization program in 1924. The Castleton Cut-Off with a very large hi-level bridge over the Hudson River was built from the B&A at Post Road to a new rail yard at Selkirk, New York, to avoid the steep NYC grade from the Hudson River up West Albany Hill. Berkshire locomotives were designed to provide faster freight service over the B&A. In 1883, the B&A acquired track then owned by the

New York and New England Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

as far as Newton Highlands, and, in 1884, began the construction of a line northwest to the B&A mainline, creating a commuter loop. "The Circuit," as this route was called, officially opened in May 1886, providing double-track operation from downtown Boston through Brookline to Newton Highlands, then north into Riverside, and four tracks on the mainline from Riverside back to downtown so that commuter and mainline operations did not conflict. By 1889, as many as 35 trains traveled the Circuit daily, providing commuter service. In 1899, the new

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan I ...

union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

opened in Boston, a few blocks northeast of the old terminal. That terminal had been located on the west side of Utica Street (Boston, from Kneeland Street south to Harvard Street, now part of the South Bay Interchange. Even earlier, the terminal was in the block bounded by Kneeland Street, Beach Street, Albany Street (now Surface Artery), and Lincoln Street. By the early part of the 20th century,

service was provided east of

, with

intercity rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

continuing on west. During the 1940s period of peak passenger volume, the New Haven Railroad (with the cooperation of the New York Central) ran several Boston-New York City trains along the route to Worcester and Springfield and then south. The service included an overnight train with sleeping car service. The last passenger service on the line on April 30, 1971, before the creation of Amtrak was an unnamed Chicago-bound successor to the New York Central's '' New England States.'' The intercity trips were taken over by

on May 1, 1971, and, on January 27, 1973, the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

acquired the line east of Framingham. Service beyond Framingham was discontinued October 27, 1975, as the state did not subsidize it.

took over Penn Central on April 1, 1976. On September 26, 1994, some

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

trains started to serve

on Conrail trackage (which became

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

trackage on June 1, 1999), extending to other times beginning on December 14, 1996. The MBTA acquired the rest of the line from Framingham to Worcester as part of an agreement announced in 2009. As part of the deal, clearances on the line west of Interstate 495 were improved, permitting full double stack service from Selkirk Yard in New York to an expanded CSX intermodal freight facility in Worcester and a transload facility near I-495. The deal was closed on June 17, 2010. CSX's Boston Subdivision retains the right to use certain MBTA-owned track. Since 1959, the former "Circuit" line, later called the Highland branch, has been used as the grade-separated right-of-way of the MBTA's

Green Line D branch The Green Line D branch (also referred to as the Highland branch or Riverside Line) is a light rail line in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, and Somerville, Massachusetts, operating as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authorit ...

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

line.

Named trains

The Boston & Albany hosted many named long-distance trains of the New York Central system. Below is a list of named trains effective as of November 12, 1939.

Westbound

Empire State Express The ''Empire State Express'' was one of the List of named passenger trains, named train, passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the later New York Central Railroad). On September ...

, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Indianapolis-St. Louis * The Mohawk, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Chicago with connection at Cleveland for Indianapolis and St. Louis * Ohio State Limited, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Indianapolis-St. Louis with connection at Cleveland for Cincinnati * New England States, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Chicago with connection at Buffalo for Ashtabula, Youngstown, thence via Pittsburgh & Lake Erie to Pittsburgh * The Wolverine, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Niagara Falls-London (Ont.)-Detroit-Ann Arbor-Chicago *

, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Chicago * Southwestern Limited, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Indianapolis-St. Louis with connection at Cleveland for Cincinnati * Cleveland Limited, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland * The Niagara, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Niagara Falls-London (Ont.)-Detroit-Ann Arbor-Chicago with connection to Cleveland and Cincinnati at Buffalo * The Iroquois, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Chicago * South Shore Express, Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Chicago with connection to Chicago via Detroit at Buffalo and to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and St. Louis at Cleveland

Eastbound

* The Iroquois, Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * World's Fairliner, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston with connection from Detroit at Buffalo * New York Special, Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit-London (Ont.)-Niagara Falls-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * Fifth Avenue Special, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * Southwestern Limited * The Wolverine * Ohio State Limited * New England States * The Knickerbocker, Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * The Water Level Limited, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * Henry Hudson, Toledo-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston with connection from Grand Rapids and Niagara Falls at Buffalo *

* North Shore Limited, Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit-London (Ont.)-Niagara Falls-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * Maumee-Missourian, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * The Forest City, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * The De Witt Clinton, Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit-London (Ont.)-Niagara Falls-Buffalo-Albany-Boston * Boston Express, Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Albany-Boston

Southbound

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding just after the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home ...

, North Adams-Pittsfield-Chatham-New York City

Branches

Grand Junction

The Grand Junction Railroad was chartered in 1847 as a reincorporation of the 1846 Chelsea Branch Railroad, meant to connect the lines north and west of

. The first section, from

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

to Somerville, opened in 1849, and the extension to the B&W in

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

opened in 1856. The

Eastern Railroad The Eastern Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine. Throughout its history, it competed with the Boston and Maine Railroad for service between the two cities, until the Boston & Maine put an end to the competi ...

leased the line from 1852 to 1866, using part of it as their new main line. In 1866 the B&W bought the line (keeping

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

for the Eastern).

Brookline/Highland

The Brookline branch split from the main line in the west part of

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

, running southwest for 1.55 mi (2.5 km) to Brookline (the current location of Brookline Village station). It opened in 1847. In Summer 1852 the

Charles River Branch Railroad The Charles River Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It ran from a connection with the end of the Charles River Branch Railroad in Dover, Massachusetts, Dover to Bellingham, Massachusetts, Bellingham through the current-da ...

extended the line to

Newton Upper Falls Newton Upper Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Massachusetts, United States. The village is listed as the Newton Upper Falls Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Geography The area ...

; this would eventually become part of the New England Railroad, an alternate route to

. In 1882 the B&A bought part of the Charles River Branch, and in 1884 they built a line from Riverside to the branch, forming the Highland branch, Newton Highlands branch, or "''Newton circuit''". Service ended in 1958, and the

line started using the tracks in 1959.

Newton Lower Falls

The short

Newton Lower Falls Branch The Newton Lower Falls Branch was a short branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad in Massachusetts, United States. The approximately line ran between Riverside station (MBTA)#History, Riverside station in Newton, Massachusetts, Newton and New ...

opened in 1847, splitting from the main line just west of Riverside to Newton Lower Falls.

Saxonville

The Saxonville Branch opened in 1846, running 3.87 miles (6.2 km) from Natick to Saxonville. It hase been converted into the Cochituate Rail Trail.

Framingham

The Framingham branch opened in 1849, running 2.06 miles (3.3 km) from Framingham to Framingham Centre. The Agricultural Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1847 and opened in 1855, continuing the branch to Northborough, and to Pratts Junction in 1866. It was leased by the B&W in 1853, but consolidated into the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad in 1876 and leased to the Old Colony Railroad in 1879 after changing its name to the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad in 1867. This company also used the Framingham branch as part of its main line.

Milford

In 1847, the 11.97 mile (19.3 km) Milford Branch, splitting at Framingham, opened. A connection was later made at Milford to the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad and Hopkinton Railway. Most of the right-of-way (except for the short active section in Framingham) has been converted to part of the Upper Charles Rail Trail.

Millbury

The 3.07 mile (4.9 km) Millbury Branch opened in 1846 from a split at Millbury Junction on the Grafton/Millbury line to Millbury.

Webster

The Providence, Webster and Springfield Railroad was chartered in 1882, opened in 1884, and always leased to and operated by the B&A. The line formed a branch of the B&A from Webster Junction in Auburn to the Worcester and Norwich Railroad in Webster, with a short branch (East Village branch) in Webster to East Village.

Spencer

The Spencer Railroad opened and was leased to the B&A in 1879, as a short branch from South Spencer to Spencer. The B&A outright bought it in 1889.

North Brookfield

The North Brookfield Railroad was chartered in 1874, incorporated in 1875 and opened in 1876, branching from the B&A in East Brookfield and running to North Brookfield. It was leased to the B&A from opening.

Ware River

The Ware River Railroad was chartered in 1868, running from

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

to the Cheshire Railroad in Winchendon. The first section, from Palmer to Gilbertville, opened in 1870, and the rest in 1873. Until 1873 it was leased to and operated by the New London Northern Railroad; at that time the lease was transferred to the B&A, as a reorganization of the earlier company.

Athol

The Athol and Enfield Railroad and Springfield and North-Eastern Railroad were chartered in 1869, and succeeded by the Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad in 1872, opening in 1873 as a branch from Athol Junction in Springfield to the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad in Athol. The B&A bought the line in 1880. The majority of the line was closed in the 1930s due to the formation of the Quabbin Reservoir.

Chester and Becket

The Chester and Becket Railroad was chartered in 1896 and opened in 1897 from

west to

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

in Becket. It was always operated by the B&A.

North Adams

The Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad was incorporated in 1842 and opened in 1846, having been already leased to the Western Railroad. It ran from North Adams Junction in Pittsfield to North Adams, where it connected to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad. Surviving structures along this branch include the Pittsfield & North Adams Passenger Station and Baggage & Express House in

Adams, Massachusetts Adams is a town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,166 at the 2020 census. History Nathan Jones purchased the township of ...

. Most of this line has been turned into the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, but tourist passenger trains now (2021) operate between North Adams and Adams.

Hudson

The Hudson and Berkshire Railroad was chartered in 1828 to build a line from

Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...

to the

state line. Construction began in 1835 and was completed in 1838. The company was leased to the Berkshire Railroad, along with the connecting

West Stockbridge Railroad The Housatonic Railroad ( ; ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York (state), New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwester ...

, in 1844, but was bought by the Western Railroad in 1854. The name was changed to the Hudson and Boston Railroad in 1855, and the part east of Chatham was abandoned around 1860, as it duplicated the newer Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad (part of the B&A main line). The rest of the line formed a cutoff between the

towards

and the B&A.

Post Road/Selkirk

The Post Road branch or Selkirk branch was originally built as part of the Hudson River Connecting Railroad, a southern bypass of the Albany area. It opened in 1924, and the part of it from the B&A at Post Road Crossing (the crossing of the

Albany Post Road The Albany Post Road was a post road – a road used for mail delivery – in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It connected New York City and Albany (NY), Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by U.S ...

) to Schodack Junction on the east side of the

became the B&A Post Road branch. The rest became the

's Castleton Cut-off.

Station and landscape design program

The B&A undertook a significant program of improvement and beautification in the 1880s and 1890s. The B&A hired architect Alexander Rice Esty who designed the Boston passenger station which was completed in 1881, the year of Esty's death.
Richardson, H., & Estey, A.. Boston and Albany Railroad Station (Boston, Mass.). That same year, the B&A hired architect

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

to design a series of passenger stations. Over the next five years, Richardson was responsible for nine B&A stations (Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Elliot, Waban, and Woodland (Newton, MA), Wellesley Hills, Brighton, South Framingham, and Palmer), as well as a dairy building; he also provided designs for passenger cars. At the same time, the B&A hired landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

to design the grounds of several stations and to work with the railroad to establish a landscape beautification program for other stations. After Richardson's death, the B&A commissioned his successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, to design 23 additional stations between 1886 and 1894. The B&A's innovative program of well-designed stations and landscape served as a model for several other railroads around the turn of the 20th century.

Main line station listing

Mileposts noted here reflect the 1899 opening of South Station, which extended the line about from the previous Kneeland Street terminal.

References

Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district
(

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

) * *Mileposts fro
B&A Track Charts
*Industrial history of the United States, Albert Sidney Bolles, 1889. p. 648 ff, available online at books.google.com

External links

Boston and Albany Railroad Company Records at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business SchoolBoston Athenæum: Boston and Albany Railroad Company and South Station. Digital Collection. Photographs.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Albany Railroad Defunct Massachusetts railroads Defunct New York (state) railroads Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1867 Railway companies disestablished in 1961 Standard-gauge railways in the United States American companies disestablished in 1961 American companies established in 1867