The East Brookfield and Spencer Railroad is a

shortline railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

operating in East Brookfield and

Spencer, Massachusetts Spencer is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,992 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated pl ...

that serves the Northeast Automotive Intermodal Gateway. The company is privately owned by an automobile importing company, and connects with the adjacent

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 ...

Boston Subdivision The Boston Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Back Bay Station in Boston west to Wilbraham, just east of Springfield. along a former New York Central Railroad line. The line connects with the N ...

mainline.

History

The railroad was formed in 2004, and that year leased a long

passing siding A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

from

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 ...

, along with a stub track leading to an automotive terminal under construction. Upon the opening of the Northeast Automotive Intermodal Gateway in late 2004, the East Brookfield and Spencer Railroad began operating to provide switching for the terminal.

Operations

The East Brookfield and Spencer Railroad acts as a

switching and terminal railroad A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It gener ...

for the Northeast Automotive Intermodal Gateway, a destination for automobile imports to

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Trains of automobiles are delivered to the site by CSX, while the switching of the trains for unloading is handled by the East Brookfield and Spencer Railroad. It is estimated the railroad handles around 23,000

autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also Flat wagon#Car transporters, car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new ...

s per year.

References

External links

Massachusetts railroads Switching and terminal railroads Transportation in Worcester County, Massachusetts Railway companies established in 2004 {{Coord, 42, 13, 23, N, 72, 01, 25, W, display=title