The Suffolk Railroad was a

street railway A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

company that operated in

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, in the mid-nineteenth century. It provided

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...

service for passengers traveling between

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 ...

and

Downtown Boston Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, c ...

History

The Suffolk Railroad was incorporated on May 30, 1857,. But also : "April 30, 1857" and commenced full operations in September 1860. The company was mainly focused towards building and operating routes running in East Boston and the city mainland, using the ferries operating across

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

to transport their cars between the two areas. The railroad was initially authorized to lay track in East Boston from the ferry wharves to Maverick Square and hence to the bridges leading to Chelsea. On the mainland, it was to run from the North End ferries to along Hanover Street as far as

Scollay Square 300px, Scollay Square, Boston, 19th century (after September 1880) 350px, Scollay Square, Decoration Day, 19th century (after September 1880) Scollay Square (c. 1838–1962) was a city square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was named for ...

, where it would connect with the tracks of the

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and

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Railroads before looping back along

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, Moon, and Fleet Streets to Commercial Street. Subsequent location grants permitted service to the Northern Depots and parts of the West End, as well as down

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Tremont Streets as far as

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and the Boston & Providence Depot at Park Square. On the mainland side, the company had several routes that ran along the tracks of other horsecar railroads, notably the Metropolitan, and likewise its competitors were able to utilize its tracks for their own cars. The Suffolk Railroad was acquired by the Metropolitan on July 27, 1864 for $190,000. In its final full year of operations, it had run 113,046 miles and carried 557,083 passengers.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{refend Streetcars in the Boston area Tram, urban railway and trolley companies Defunct Massachusetts railroads