Fall River Railroad (1874)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Watuppa Branch (also called the North Dartmouth Industrial Track, and formerly the Fall River Branch) is a roughly six-mile freight railroad line in southeastern
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 ...
. The track originates at Mount Pleasant Junction, where it diverges from the New Bedford Secondary, and runs through Dartmouth before terminating in north Westport. The line is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and is operated by
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad The Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is a Class III railroad serving south-eastern Massachusetts. The railroad maintains track from Hyannis to Framingham, operating over 135 miles of track between Hyannis and Fall River/New Bedford. The railroa ...
, which purchased operating rights from the previous operator,
Bay Colony Railroad The Bay Colony Railroad was a shortline railroad (STB Class III) operating in Massachusetts. Formerly operating along most of the south coast region (including all lines on Cape Cod), Bay Colony's final operations ceased in late 2023, when the ...
, in late 2023. The abandoned western portion of the right-of-way is used by the Quequechan River Rail Trail.


Route

The Watuppa Branch originates in New Bedford, where it diverges from the New Bedford Secondary and passes beneath Massachusetts Route 140. After traveling through the western portion of downtown New Bedford, the railroad crosses into Dartmouth and travels just north of downtown, passing through the "Dartmouth Business Park II" before crossing into Westport. After crossing the border, the track passes beneath Interstate 195 and continues for just over a mile, until passing beneath Massachusetts Route 88, at which point active trackage ends and only abandoned, disused track remains. The disused track continues for another short distance until it terminates near Watuppa Ponds, at which point the Quequechan River Rail Trail eventually takes over where the track formerly laid.


History

The Fall River Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1875 from the New Bedford Railroad at
New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...
to Fall River through the towns of Dartmouth and Westport. The line was built to provide rail access to the mills in the eastern part of Fall River along the
Quequechan River The Quequechan River is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts, that flows in a northwesterly direction from the northwest corner of the South Watuppa Pond through the heart of the city of Fall River and into the end of the Taunton River at ...
valley. The western terminus of the line was Watuppa station at Plymouth Avenue near Front Street. In 1882, the line was leased to the
Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...
for 99 years; it was sold outright to the Old Colony in 1896. The track between Westport and Fall River was eventually removed; the current track ends shortly after the Massachusetts Route 88 crossing in the town of Westport. Beginning in 1982, Bay Colony Railroad took over all freight operations on the line. While most of Bay Colony's operations were subsequently taken over by
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad The Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is a Class III railroad serving south-eastern Massachusetts. The railroad maintains track from Hyannis to Framingham, operating over 135 miles of track between Hyannis and Fall River/New Bedford. The railroa ...
in 2007, the Watuppa Branch remained under the operation of Bay Colony. In November 2023, the Massachusetts Coastal indicated it would be purchasing the line and taking over operations. Operations under Massachusetts Coastal began later that year. In 2008, the first section of the Quequechan Rail Trail opened over a portion of the former Fall River Railroad right-of-way along the shore of South Watuppa Pond east of Brayton Avenue at a cost of $462,000. It was later extended west to Britland Park and Rodman Street. State funding was awarded in 2022 for a extension east to the Westport town line.


References


External links


Quequechan River Rail Trail Map
Old Colony Railroad lines Railway lines {{FallRiverMA