The South Reading Branch Railroad or just South Reading Railroad (later Wakefield Branch) was a short line railroad that ran from

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offe ...

Peabody, Massachusetts Peabody () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 54,481 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Peabody is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts, and is known for its rich industrial his ...

. It's origins began sometime in 1850 when the railroad was named after the town of ''South Reading'' before its name change to ''Wakefield'' in 1868. By the time

Boston and Maine The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970 ...

took over the railroad in 1884, the line had already become obsolete due to competing branches. Boston and Maine eventually halted passenger service in 1925 by abandoning 8 miles of track between Peabody and Lynnfield. The tracks of the former Wakefield branch continued to operate from Lynnfield to Boston until 1959 when passenger service ended. Active tracks for freight service are still used from Salem through Peabody Square to South Peabody to serve industrial parks.

History

In 1848, a group of investors from

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

and Danvers were granted a charter to build a railroad line from South Reading to South Danvers. The line took two years to build and opened for business in 1850 and opened up another

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to Salem route as it was given trackage rights to Salem on the

Essex Railroad The Essex Railroad (later known as the Lawrence Branch of the Eastern Railroad) was a independent railroad in Essex County, Massachusetts in the US that connected Salem, Massachusetts, Salem to North Andover, Massachusetts, North Andover. The ra ...

. The Boston to Salem route had long been monopolized by 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 compe ...

and when the South Reading line was opened, it took quite a bit of the business away with lower fares and the fact that passengers had a direct link to downtown Boston via the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970 ...

, the Eastern's most heated rival. Whereas the Eastern had to ferry their passengers from East Boston across the harbor to get to and from Boston, many passengers preferred to take the B&M to Wakefield and go to Salem via the South Reading. In 1851, the Eastern Railroad, fearing that the B&M would take over the South Reading, in self-defense took over the line at steep cost. The Massachusetts State Legislature for years forced the Eastern to keep the Boston-to-Salem route open via the South Reading even after the Eastern had leased the

Grand Junction Railroad Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

in order to provide service directly into downtown Boston. In 1868, when South Reading became Wakefield and South Danvers changed to Peabody, and the line was renamed the Wakefield Branch, but the old name stuck with passengers and rail fans today. When the B&M took over the Eastern RR in December 1884, the South Reading line became obsolete as the B&M had other lines that went to Salem via the Newburyport Branch and the former

Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...

branch line, the Salem and Lowell Railroad. In 1925, the B&M received permission to abandon the line and the tracks were removed from Wakefield Center (where the line split from the Newburyport Branch) to Peabody.

Current status

In the 1950s, the abandoned right-of-way became part of

Massachusetts Route 128 Route 128, known as the Yankee Division Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts maintained by the Highway Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning , it is one of two beltways (the othe ...

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...

in the Montrose section of Wakefield. In 1965, the first two miles of the line were rebuilt between Peabody and South Peabody to service a new industrial park and freight service is now operated on this line by

Pan Am Railways Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Cl ...

. Portions of the right-of-way in Lynnfield and Wakefield are still traceable.

Gallery

File:Txu-pclmaps-topo-ma-salem-1886.jpg, "Wakefield Branch of Boston and Maine" in 1886 (bottom left of map), File:1887 Massachusetts railroads (North Reading Branch).jpg, Wakefield Branch in 1887 (circled), File:1916 Northshore B&M Map.jpg, Boston and Maine Railroad map from 1916, the "Wakefield Branch" is under the word "PEABODY". File:1942 topographic map of Salem USGS.jpg, Topographic map from 1942 showing the remains of the Wakefield Branch, the Salem layover is visible next to "Bridge Street". File:Pan Am Railways Train in Salem.jpg, 2017 picture of a Pan AM freight train in the remains of the Salem layover. File:Peabody Branch 2022 Freight.jpg, 2022 picture of the former layover, the track on the right is now used to switch directions. File:Peabody station 1908 postcard.jpg, Peabody station in 1908. File:Lynnfield station 1911 postcard.jpg, Lynnfield station in 1911. File:Wakefield Centre station 1913 postcard.jpg, Wakefield Centre station in 1913. File:Wakefield Junction station 1913 postcard.jpg, Wakefield Junction station in 1913, the Wakefield branch to Peabody is the track on the right.

History

Current status

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading