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68-641: OCRR can mean: Old Colony Railroad in Massachusetts, USA (incorporated 1844) earlier Old Colony Railroad (incorporated 1838), see New Bedford and Taunton Railroad , its name from 1839 to 1873 Oil Creek Railroad in Pennsylvania, USA Ottawa Central Railway in Ontario and Quebec, Canada Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

136-548: A 2018 count. Starting on April 30, 2011, weekend service was suspended to allow replacement of faulty concrete ties with wooden ties on the Old Colony mainline. The Greenbush branch itself, which was constructed with a different order of ties, did not need tie replacement. Weekend service resumed on December 24, 2011. On March 28, 2012, the MBTA announced that Greenbush Line service would no longer operate on weekends, as with

204-548: A 99-year lease on the Boston and Providence Railroad , one of New England's earliest railroads, which had been chartered in Massachusetts in 1831 and began service between Providence and Boston in 1835. This major agreement gave the Old Colony Railroad operating rights on the busy double-tracked main line between the two capital cities, along with other branches to Dedham and Stoughton . The deal also included use of

272-525: A day (or 8,400 total daily one-way trips) riding the train by three years after its opening, the MBTA said that ridership was only half that. The ridership numbers were down from 2009, when some 3,081 inbound riders (6,037 total trips) were recorded. These passengers were also more likely to have switched to the train from the MBTA commuter ferries , rather than the predicted car users. Ridership increased 40% between 2012 and 2018, with 6,114 total daily trips in

340-535: A greatly increased cost. The line eventually cost $ 534 million—equal to the cost of the two Old Colony Lines branches combined. The extension of MBTA commuter rail service was intended to reduce congestion along the Southeast Expressway , Route 3 and Route 3A . The line was built with 3,100 parking spaces, and was eventually expected to provide 8,600 one-way rides daily, diverting approximately 5,000 of those trips from automobiles. Construction of

408-473: A joint stock vote on June 20, 1854, forming the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company , which provided a two-pronged line from Boston to Plymouth and Boston to Fall River , splitting at South Braintree. Alexander Holmes from Kingston served as company president during this period, from 1854 to 1866. The Fall River Railroad had been formed on August 8, 1845, with the consolidation of three companies;

476-550: A new, more direct route between Fall River and Boston via South Braintree on September 24, 1866. Part of the new route was over the Easton Branch Railroad between Stoughton and North Easton . In 1871 the Old Colony purchased the Easton Branch. A portion of the old Granite Railway line was acquired in 1870 and later extended to form a loop through West Quincy off the original Plymouth line. In 1872,

544-688: A rail link to Boston. On March 16, 1844, the Old Colony Railroad Corporation was formed to provide a rail connection between Boston and Plymouth . Construction of the line began in South Boston in June 1844 and the 36.8-mile (59.2 km) line opened to Plymouth on November 10, 1845. The extension from South Boston to the newly completed Kneeland Street Station in Boston opened on June 19, 1847. Kneeland Street also served as

612-548: A series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, until it was itself acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad under lease agreement on March 1, 1893, for its entire 617-mile (993 km) network. After this date, all trains, lines, and stations became known as the "Old Colony Division" of the huge "New Haven" system. During this period, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad enjoyed

680-814: A single South Duxbury round trip since 1932, was discontinued in 1939, after the 1938 New England hurricane damaged the causeway over the North River to Marshfield. The railroad enjoyed a brief uptick in traffic in World War II with the construction of the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot and the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex . The number of daily trips was increased from 4 to 8 after World War II under Frederick C. Dumaine, Jr. , and modern diesel trains including Budd RDCs were introduced in

748-570: A virtual monopoly on all passenger and freight rail service in southern New England . Passenger service on the New Haven's Old Colony Division ended in 1959, except for the main line between Boston and Providence, which continues to be used for passenger service by Amtrak and the MBTA . Since 1997, other former OC lines have been reopened to passenger service, including the MBTA's Old Colony Lines with service from Boston to Plymouth and Middleborough/Lakeville . In 2007, MBTA passenger service

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816-774: The Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line . The MBTA also currently operates commuter rail service over portions of the former Old Colony Railroad network, including its Providence/Stoughton Line and portions of the Needham Line . The MBTA also restored service on the Plymouth/Kingston Line and Middleborough/Lakeville Line in the 1990s, and the Greenbush Line (part of the South Shore Branch ) opened in 2007. Two portions of

884-452: The Boston and Albany Railroad as a local freight office. It was demolished in 1918 after being deemed unsafe. By the 1930s, the New Haven's largest freight terminal and only steam locomotive shop were both on the ex-Old Colony system; more passengers entered Boston on Old Colony lines than entered New York on the New Haven. However, during its 1935–47 bankruptcy proceedings, the New Haven attempted to rid itself of unprofitable portions of

952-658: The Cape Cod Branch Railroad with a line off the Fall River Railroad from Middleborough to Sandwich opening in 1848. Among the proponents of the Cape Cod Branch Railroad was Richard Borden of Fall River, who saw the new line as an opportunity to bring more traffic and business through his hometown. In 1853, the extension of the line to Hyannis was started, reaching West Barnstable on December 22, 1853. On February 22, 1854,

1020-700: The East Bay Bike Path in Rhode Island , as well as others in Lowell, Mansfield , Fairhaven , and the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Cape Cod. By the early 1840s, the city of Boston had six major rail lines connecting it with other places including Lowell , Maine , Fitchburg , and Salem to the north, Worcester to the west and Providence, Rhode Island to the southwest. The southeastern part of Massachusetts had yet to be served by

1088-628: The Fall River Branch Railroad , the Randolph and Bridgewater Railroad and the Middleborough Railroad. The Fall River Railroad was led by Richard Borden , a prominent Fall River mill owner who wanted a direct route to Boston that did not require the use of the Boston and Providence Railroad lines. The line from South Braintree to Myricks in the town of Berkley opened on December 16, 1846, as an extension of

1156-669: The Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard , as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after the "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony . From 1845 to 1893, the OC network grew extensively largely through

1224-626: The Middleborough and Taunton Railroad in 1874 and the South Shore Railroad in 1877, which it had once leased until 1854. A year later in 1878 it acquired the Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad which gave the Old Colony a connection with its original 1845 main line at Kingston . Beginning in 1874, the Old Colony operated the "South Shore, Duxbury and Cohasset and Plymouth Express" between Boston and Plymouth on this line. In 1875,

1292-533: The Needham Line and Plymouth Line . The move came as a part of fare increases and service cuts in order to close the agency's operating budget shortfall for the following year. Weekend service was eliminated beginning July 7, 2012; weekend service was kept for the first week of the new fiscal year to allow for service on the July 4th holiday. Weekend service on the Greenbush Line, as well as weekend service on

1360-568: The 1950s. However, the New Haven Railroad continued to lose money on the service, and after Dumaine was ousted the railroad announced all trains would cease running in 1958. Only an emergency subsidy by the state kept trains running until June 30, 1959 when the Southeast Expressway opened and all passenger train service ended. Freight trains continued to use the line as far south as the Hingham Lumber Yard located, where

1428-701: The Boston and Providence Railroad's Park Square Station in Boston. In 1891 the OCRR signed a 99-year lease of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad . In December 1892, the OCRR signed a 99-year lease of the Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad properties. In 1896 the OCRR acquired the Fall River Railroad (1874) , which it had been leasing since 1882. On March 1, 1893, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H) – commonly known as

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1496-477: The Cape Cod Branch Railroad was renamed the Cape Cod Railroad Company. In the spring of 1854, construction continued, with the railroad reaching Barnstable village on May 8, Yarmouth Port on May 19, and finally Hyannis on July 8, 1854. Connecting steamboat service to Nantucket commenced from Hyannis in late September and would continue until 1872, when the railroad branch to Woods Hole

1564-604: The Fall River Branch Railroad – which had been completed in 1845. On May 19, 1847, the first "boat train" left the OC's Kneeland Street Station in Boston bound for Fall River, where passengers would board a steamship for New York City. Over the years, the Old Colony Steamboat Express train would become the most famous line of the Old Colony Railroad, with the finest and most up-to-date engines, cars and attention to detail. In 1863

1632-496: The Greenbush Line had not run past Nantasket Junction since 1963 (except for some freight traffic to the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex between 1967 and 1972) and West Hingham since 1979. In 1983, all freight traffic on the line except to the Fore River Railroad ceased. The line was abandoned; with brush covering rusted-out and missing rails. Because residents had gotten used to the line being abandoned, there

1700-687: The Nantasket Junction station now exists, until 1979. All service was terminated in 1983. During the early 1980s, officials from the South Shore area began speaking in support of the restoration of passenger rail service in the area; in 1985, then-Governor Michael Dukakis voiced support for the proposals. In 1990, as part of environmental mitigation for the Big Dig project, both the Greenbush and Old Colony Lines were submitted to

1768-562: The New Haven Railroad – leased the entire Old Colony system for 99 years, which by then included the leased Boston and Providence Railroad and everything substantially east of it, as well as long branches northwest to Fitchburg and Lowell. Along with the lease of the New England Railroad in 1898, the 1893 lease arrangement gave the NYNH&;H a virtual monopoly on rail transport in southern New England. On September 22, 1895,

1836-479: The New Haven converted all former Old Colony lines from left-hand running to right-hand running. On April 6, 1902, a new alignment was opened from Broadway to Crescent Avenue station , eliminating a grade crossing of Dorchester Avenue. The former right-of-way was later paved as Old Colony Avenue. With the opening of Boston's South Station in 1899, the Kneeland Street Station was taken over by

1904-550: The OC network are also currently used for tourist trains during certain parts of the year, including the Cape Cod Central Railroad and the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad . Between 1986 and 2016, the Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum operated in Fall River. The museum had four train cars and exhibits. The following is a description of the Old Colony Railroad lines and branches at about

1972-612: The Old Colony & Newport Railway Corporation built the Shawmut Railroad as a connection between the Dorchester and Milton Branch and the main line to Boston. The Old Colony and Newport Railway merged with the Cape Cod Railroad on May 1, 1872, and the two companies were consolidated on October 1, forming a new Old Colony Railroad Company under the leadership of Onslow Stearns , who served as president of

2040-464: The Old Colony Railroad Corporation from 1844-1845. Nathan Carruth served as the second president of the corporation from 1845 to 1848. Carruth was a successful businessman and enthusiastic supporter of the expansion of railroads in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England . With the opening of the Old Colony line through Dorchester in 1845, Carruth became actively involved in the development of

2108-664: The Old Colony Railroad acquired the Lowell and Framingham Railroad , which before 1871 had been known as the Framingham and Lowell Railroad . In 1887 the Old Colony Railroad acquired the Hanover Branch Railroad . On April 1, 1888, the Old Colony Railroad signed a 99-year lease agreement the Nantasket Beach Railroad with service to Hull . Several days later, on April 7, 1888 the OCRR signed

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2176-661: The Old Colony Railroad began operating the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad , which had been formed in 1863 as a merger between the Warren and Fall River and Fall River and Warren Railroad Companies. The Old Colony would later acquire this line outright in 1892. In 1879, the Old Colony Railroad greatly expanded its network into Central Massachusetts by leasing the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad for 999 years, then purchasing it outright in 1883. The acquisition of this line provided important connections for

2244-486: The Old Colony and Fall River Railroad acquired the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad Company, which it had been leasing since 1848. The Old Colony and Newport Railway was formed in July 1863 when the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad merged with the Newport and Fall River Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1846 to build a road from Newport, Rhode Island to the Massachusetts state line at Fall River. However,

2312-557: The Old Colony in 1854. The Old Colony-backed Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad, chartered in 1867, opened to South Duxbury in 1871 and to a junction with the Old Colony at Kingston in 1874. After an economic collapse in the 1870s, the Old Colony acquired the South Shore in 1877 and the Duxbury and Cohasset in 1878 and combined them as the South Shore Line. The Nantasket Beach Railroad opened in 1880 from Nantasket Junction to

2380-470: The Old Colony's "Northern Division", with headquarters in Fitchburg, while the older OCRR lines became known as the "Central Division" with headquarters in Boston. In 1882 the Old Colony Railroad signed a 99-year lease on a line between Fall River and New Bedford through the towns of Dartmouth and Westport owned by the Fall River Railroad (1874) – not to be confused with its 1846 namesake . In 1886

2448-474: The Old Colony, such as with the Boston and Providence Railroad at Mansfield , the Boston and Albany Railroad at South Framingham and the Fitchburg Railroad at Fitchburg , among others. This deal also gave the Old Colony Railroad direct access to the important industrial port of New Bedford. Upon this acquisition, the lines of the former Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad became known as

2516-536: The Old Colony. The New Haven's bankruptcy trustees rejected the Old Colony lease in June 1936, but were forced to continue operating it under court order. In the 88 stations case , the railroad abandoned 88 stations in Massachusetts and five in Rhode Island on a single day in 1938. The Supreme Court ruled in November 1939 ( Palmer v. Massachusetts ) that the railroad had not been given proper permission, and 32 of

2584-670: The Pemberton section of Hull in 1880 and joined the Old Colony in 1881. After closing in 1886, it reopened in 1888. A second track was added to the South Shore Line in 1890 from Braintree to Nantasket Junction to support Nantasket Beach service. In March 1893, the Old Colony Railroad and all its trackage, including the South Shore Line and the Nantasket Beach Branch, were taken over by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . The New Haven had plans to electrify some southside commuter lines, and some infrastructure

2652-581: The Plymouth/Kingston Line and Saturday service on the Needham Line , resumed on December 27, 2014. Substantially reduced schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, and from December 14, 2020, to April 5, 2021. On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Greenbush Line. Service changes on April 5, 2021, added midday service as part of

2720-584: The area. He built an estate on the east side of Dorchester Avenue called Beechmont/Beaumont which would become one of the first railroad suburbs in America. All OC locomotives were named until 1884, after which they were simply numbered. Among the early engines were the Mayflower , Governor Carver , Governor Bradford , and Miles Standish . The new railroad company also built the Samoset Hotel near

2788-500: The company from 1866 to 1877. The 1872 merger formed a system with three main branches; Boston to Plymouth, South Braintree to Fall River and Newport, and a third splitting from the Newport branch at Middleborough to Hyannis . At this point, the newly acquired lines became known as the Cape Cod Division, with a new superintendent's office located at Hyannis. The Cape Cod Railroad Company had been established in 1846 as

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2856-467: The control of the New Haven Railroad, the South Shore Line and others set all-time records for number of passengers. The popularity of the train was short-lived, however. Cutbacks in service due to World War I were not reversed afterwards, due to the increasing usage of the automobile. The New Haven Railroad went bankrupt in 1935 and only kept a few passenger trains running because of a court order directing it to do so. Service south of Greenbush, limited to

2924-474: The early 1970s, Amtrak has provided passenger service from South Station in Boston over the former Boston and Providence lines of the Old Colony Railroad. Since December 2000, Amtrak has also used this line for the Acela Express high-speed passenger rail service to Washington, D.C. Between 1986 and 1996 Amtrak also operated regular passenger service between New York City and Hyannis on Cape Cod during

2992-529: The end of its line in Plymouth. In 1847, the OC completed a short 6.2-mile (10.0 km) connector line from its main line at Whitman to the Fall River Railroad line at Bridgewater Junction. On April 1, 1849, OC signed a lease of the South Shore Railroad for a period of five years. By 1851, traffic on the line had increased enough to warrant the opening of a second track running between Boston and South Braintree . The OC and Fall River Railroad merged with

3060-423: The environmental impact of the restored train service. These included constructing an 890-foot (270 m) long tunnel costing $ 40 million under downtown Hingham, another trenched underpass at Weymouth Landing, and the soundproofing of homes and businesses located near the railroad tracks. Ultimately, the legal and political delays and ensuing mitigation delayed the opening of the line for many years and resulted in

3128-450: The erection of fencing in populated areas, lasted into 2008. The 7 stations built for the line are similar in construction; each has a single 800-foot-long high-level side platform, serving a single track. Each station has 200 to 500 parking spaces, except for Greenbush, which houses 1000 spots in order to serve commuters driving from Hanover , Norwell , Marshfield , and Duxbury . By 2010, despite predictions of 4,200 inbound passengers

3196-521: The federal government in order to receive funding for the Big Dig. Both Old Colony lines were granted federal funds, but due to local opposition the state did not receive funds for the construction of the Greenbush Line. The Old Colony Lines were prioritized and opened in September 1997. The Old Colony Lines saw continuous freight usage between 1959 and their restoration, but the freight traffic on

3264-413: The former OC on Cape Cod are also still used to operate the Cape Cod Central Railroad tourist train from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay during the summer and fall months. Another tourist railroad, the Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway operates on part of the former OC from Newport on Aquidneck Island . Several abandoned portions of the OC have been converted into multi-use rail trails . These include

3332-739: The former Old Colony Railroad network, including lines in Taunton , Fall River, New Bedford and Leominster . Since 2008, the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad has taken over operation of the state-owned freight lines on Cape Cod from the Bay Colony Railroad. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) currently operates passenger service on portions of the network, including the Red Line rapid transit service to Dorchester , Quincy and Braintree, and

3400-510: The fortunes of the New Haven. The reorganization continued; the railroad was ultimately required to continue Old Colony passenger service unless losses exceeded $ 850,000 in a single calendar year. The New Haven emerged from bankruptcy on September 11, 1947, and fully acquired the Old Colony a week later; the B&;P was kept as a separate New Haven-owned company. Palmer v. Massachusetts had been just one of eight Supreme Court cases generated by

3468-411: The grounds that it would increase noise levels and aesthetically mar the neighborhoods through which the new rail service was to run. Concerns were also raised about traffic jams being created at the grade crossings while the gates were down for trains to pass. Partially as a result of extensive litigation, the MBTA then worked with the towns along the Greenbush route to enact several measures to mitigate

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3536-401: The headquarters for the OC until the 1893 consolidation. There had previously been an Old Colony Railroad formed in 1838 for a line between Taunton and New Bedford , but the name was changed to the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad in 1839 before service began in 1840. This line would later become part of OC in 1879. John Sever of Kingston, Massachusetts , served as the first president of

3604-448: The late 1950s. All service to Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford (which used the B&P rather than the Old Colony mainline) ended in 1958. All remaining year-round Old Colony Division service ended on June 30, 1959, after the completion of the Southeast Expressway , though limited seasonal service continued for several more years. The NYNH&H merged into Penn Central in 1969, which in turn merged into Conrail in 1976. Since

3672-579: The line began in 2003 and major work was completed on February 6, 2007. The first test train ran on May 19, 2007. Testing of the signals along the line began in earnest in August 2007 in anticipation of opening the line later in the fall. Ceremonial trains were run on October 30, 2007, the day before the line opened for regular service. The front of MBTA locomotive #1052 was painted for the occasion. The Greenbush Line opened for regular passenger service on October 31, 2007, with 12 round trips on weekdays and 8 on weekends. Some minor construction projects, like

3740-445: The line since 1959. Before passenger train service stopped in 1959, commuter trains had been using parts of the Greenbush line for over 100 years. Train service was first started by the South Shore Railroad which was chartered in March 1846 to build a branch off the Old Colony Railroad at Braintree . It opened to Cohasset on January 1, 1849, running three round trips per day with Old Colony equipment. The South Shore separated from

3808-499: The reorganization. Losses on the Old Colony reached the critical value in October 1948; after threatening to discontinue all service, the New Haven cut back to a 26-train peak-only schedule on the Boston Group in March 1949. Under the 1951–1954 presidency of Frederic C. Dumaine Jr. , the New Haven increased passenger service, using new Budd Rail Diesel Cars to reduce costs. Boston service reached 86 trains in April 1954. As losses mounted, Boston-area railroads made major cuts in

3876-429: The road from Fall River to the Rhode Island state line was not authorized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1860. The newly formed and renamed Old Colony and Newport Railway Company completed the final section of the line from Fall River to Newport which finally opened for service on February 5, 1864. In 1865, the Old Colony and Newport Railway Company acquired the Dighton and Somerset Railroad . It completed

3944-475: The stations were reopened in 1940. After several attempts to end Old Colony passenger service - including a 1939–41 plan to outright abandon the Boston-area lines - the New Haven continued to operate the service. Whether to incorporate the Old Colony into the New Haven, and whether the Old Colony should be required to continue passenger service, continued to be argued as part of the reorganization. Increased passenger and freight traffic during World War II lifted

4012-431: The summer months. With the establishment of Conrail, freight service continued over various portions of the former Old Colony network after 1976. Beginning in 1982, the Bay Colony Railroad provided freight service on various lines which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had purchased from Conrail, including lines on Cape Cod and in Middlesex County . Since 1999, CSX has provided freight service over several portions of

4080-401: The third rail was dangerous at grade crossings, and the South Shore returned to steam-only service in 1902. The double track was extended to Greenbush station in Scituate by 1911, and the station was used as the terminus for many short turn commuter trains. In 1911, service on the line included 8 trains to Plymouth via Kingston, 5 Greenbush short-turns, and 9 Cohasset short-turns. Under

4148-414: The time of the 1893 lease to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , and shortly thereafter. [REDACTED] Media related to Old Colony Railroad at Wikimedia Commons Greenbush Line Modern passenger service on the Greenbush Line began on October 31, 2007. This service restoration, put in place as environmental mitigation for the Big Dig project, was the first passenger service on

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4216-476: The title OCRR . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=OCRR&oldid=528666423 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC)

4284-447: The very tip of Cape Cod, opening on July 23, 1873. In 1874, Old Colony founded the Martha's Vineyard Railroad , built across nine miles (14.5 km) on sand of the island of Martha's Vineyard , running from the Oak Bluffs steamer wharf to Mattakeeset Lodge in Katama , Edgartown . The locomotive Active (later renamed the South Beach ) was the sole operating train. This branch existed until 1896. The Old Colony Railroad acquired

4352-403: 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 , New Bedford , Newport , Providence , Fitchburg , Lowell and Cape Cod . For many years the Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of

4420-421: Was built, including lower-level loop platforms at South Station . However, the only electrification that actually took place was on the South Shore and Nantasket Beach lines. The Nantasket Beach line was electrified in 1895, and trolley service ran on the line until 1932. Between 1896 and 1899, the South Shore was electrified from Braintree to Cohasset, with an unusual center-of-the-track third rail . However,

4488-414: Was more resistance to the Greenbush line being restored than for the Old Colony Lines. The Greenbush Line has 28 grade crossings on the 18 miles of track from Greenbush to where it meets the Old Colony mainline, promoting safety concerns from residents and causing the MBTA to roll out a major public safety campaign. Residents of some communities also opposed restoration of service on the Greenbush branch on

4556-401: Was opened. The Cape Cod Central Railroad was incorporated in 1861 as a branch from the Cape Cod Railroad, running from Yarmouth east and northeast to Orleans , and opening in 1865. The Cape Cod Central was purchased by the Cape Cod Railroad April 21, 1868, and the two railroads were consolidated on July 28, 1868. The newly formed Old Colony Railroad extended the line to Provincetown , at

4624-485: Was restored on the Greenbush Line between Braintree and Greenbush Station in Scituate . The MBTA currently has plans to also restore passenger service to Fall River and New Bedford as part of the South Coast Rail project. Other parts of the former OC system continue to be used for freight service by CSX Transportation and other short line railroads , including the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad which operates on Cape Cod and in southeastern Massachusetts. Parts of

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