Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad

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Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad
Drawing of a Worcester and Shrewsbury steam dummy
Overview
StatusAbandoned
LocaleWorcester, Massachusetts
History
OpenedJuly 31, 1873
Converted to streetcar use1896–1900
Closed1933
Technical
Line length2.7 mi (4.3 km)
Track gauge3 ft (914 mm) – 1873–1900
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) – 1896–1933

The Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad line in eastern Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It opened in 1873 and was converted to a standard-gauge streetcar line in 1896–1900.

Route[edit]

An 1874 map and profile of the railroad

The Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad was 2.7 miles (4.3 km) long and ran entirely within the city of Worcester. It was originally built to 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge.[1]: 2  The line's western terminal was near Washington Square, just north of where Union Station was built in 1875.[2][3] It ran east and northeast along Shrewsbury Street, East Worcester Street, private right-of-way, and Albany Street. From Adams Street to Natick Street, it ran along the north side of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A) right-of-way.[4][5] While the B&A ran in the aptly-named "Deep Cut", the W&S stayed at ground level above the B&A tracks.[6] From there it ran southeast into the Lakeview neighborhood, then turned north to its Lincoln Park terminus on the western shore of Lake Quinsigamond near the Boston and Worcester Turnpike.[4][5]

Along with the terminals, the railroad had intermediate stations at Drapers (at Drapers Street), Bloomingdale (at Plantation Street) and Lakeview (at Alvarado Avenue).[7][5] A carhouse, roundhouse, and turntable were located near the eastern terminus.[2] The line had a maximum grade of 3% – 160 feet per mile (30 m/km) – which was sustained for a full mile on the eastern half of the route.[4][8][7]

History[edit]

Railroad[edit]

W&S ticket from the 1880s or 1890s

In 1872, the Massachusetts legislature permitted new railroads to be built to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, which could be built with lower expense than standard gauge lines.[1]: 2  The Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad was chartered that year to transport passengers between downtown Worcester and Lake Quinsigamond, which was becoming a popular recreation and resort area.[9][6] Construction began in May 1873.[10][8] It opened as far east as Lake Signal (east of Bloomingdale) on July 31, 1873.[11][12] The Worcester and Shrewsbury was the first narrow gauge railroad to open in Massachusetts.[1]: 2  Beginning August 7, the railroad operated 20 daily round trips, with trains operating about every 45 minutes.[13] Service over the full length of the line to Lake Quinsigamond began on August 28, 1873.[14]

The line served primarily local passengers and ran a profit carrying excursion traffic to Lincoln Park on the lake shore.[1]: 2 [10] During the 1874 summer season, the railroad operated every half hour from 6 am to 9 am. Fare was ten cents.[15] By 1877, the railroad was carrying 110,000–150,000 passengers annually.[7] Local businessman Horace H. Bigelow purchased the line and several attractions on Lake Quinsigamond in 1883.[6][16][17] By that time, the total cost to the original owners for the railroad and its rolling stock had been $60,048 (equivalent to $1,964,000 in 2023).[18] Events at Lake Quinsigamond were used to promote ridership on the W&S. In August 1886, the company offered $500 to rower Ned Hanlan to break a single scull record.[19][20] By 1890, the railroad was scheduled for 18 daily round trips in the winter and 22 in the summer, with additional trips operated most days.[6]

The W&S was originally intended to continue east from Lake Quinsigamond into Shrewsbury.[8][11] In 1875, the railroad conducted surveys for a 16+1⁄2-mile (26.6 km) extension past Shrewsbury to Marlborough via Northborough. None of the three towns had direct rail service to Worcester at that time.[21][6] In 1882 and 1885, proposals to fund an extension were declined at Shrewsbury town meetings.[6] In September 1887, the W&S tested an electric railcar over its line.[22] Plans for an extension were revived in 1891; in June 1892, the legislature authorized the W&S to cross the Lake Quinsigamond causeway provided the line was completed to Marlborough within three years.[23][24] By 1893, the railroad had plans to electrify its line along with building the Marlborough extension.[25]

Streetcar conversion[edit]

A Boston and Worcester Street Railway streetcar on the line in the early 20th century

The Worcester Consolidated Street Railway, which operated an extensive streetcar system in Worcester and surrounding towns, received permission from the state legislature in June 1896 to lease the W&S and the Worcester and Shrewsbury Street Railway (an unrelated streetcar company).[26] The lease of the W&S took effect on July 1, 1896, with an annual rental of $3,750 (equivalent to $137,000 in 2023). In its final 12 months of independent operations, the line had carried 575,512 passengers and earned a net profit of $4,253 (equivalent to $156,000 in 2023).[27] The Consolidated had also leased Lincoln Park by this time.[28]

The Consolidated soon added an electrified standard gauge track on the north side of the W&S track between Bloomingdale and Lincoln Park. This track connected to the existing Consolidated streetcar line on Shrewsbury Street and Belmont Street near Liscomb Street and at Lincoln Park, forming a loop line know as the "Lake line" (also "Lake View line").[29][30][31] After the new streetcar track entered service, steam-powered service on the W&S track operated only intermittently, such when there was high ridership to the lake or events at the nearby Worcester Oval, or when the streetcar line was blocked.[32][33] Despite this, eastward extension of the W&S was again considered in 1898.[34] The "dummy" operated only a handful of times in 1899, and some equipment was sold off that year.[35][36]

The Boston and Worcester Street Railway (B&W), an interurban line between its namesake cities, began operation on July 1, 1903.[37]: 29  All B&W service initially used the Lake View line to enter and leave Worcester.[37]: 10  The B&W introduced limited-stop service in 1909. By 1911, eastbound limited cars exited the city on the Shrewsbury/Belmont line, which saved four minutes compared to the longer Lake View line.[37]: 35  Beginning on October 12, 1925, all B&W cars used the Shrewsbury/Belmont route.[37]: 36 

The W&S and the Worcester and Shrewsbury Street Railway were consolidated into the Consolidated on March 29, 1929.[38] The Lake View line was replaced with buses in 1933, ending rail service on the former Worcester and Shrewsbury.[39]: 6 [40]

Rolling stock[edit]

The W&S began operation with a single 22-horsepower steam dummy locomotive and two passenger cars. The dummy and one car were made by E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York, at a cost of $3,500 (equivalent to $89,000 in 2023). The other car cost $500 (equivalent to $13,000 in 2023) and was made by J.M. Jones and Co. of West Troy, New York.[11][8] The W&S was locally known as the "dummy" after the steam dummy.[7] By 1875, the W&S owned three locomotives, four passenger cars, four cars for freight or other purposes, and one snowplow.[9] At the time of its lease by the Consolidated, the W&S owned four locomotives, eleven passenger cars, and four freight cars.[27] Some equipment, including one locomotive and two passenger cars, was sold to the Baltimore and Lehigh Railway in 1899.[35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1986). Boston's Commuter Rail: Second Section. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780938315025.
  2. ^ a b Atlas of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts (Map). 1:1,800, 1:3,600. L.J. Richards & Co. 1896. Plate 18, Plate 19.
  3. ^ "Plate 43" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Sanborn Map Company. 1892. hdl:loc.gmd/g3764wm.g038971892.
  4. ^ a b c Wheeler, Daniel Merrick (June 1874). Plan of Worcester and Shrewsbury R.R. (Map). 1:2,400 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  5. ^ a b c Atlas of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts (Map). 1:2,400, 1:4,800. L.J. Richards & Co. 1886. Plate 14, Plate 15.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Perna, Michael P. (1998). Remembering Lake Quinsigamond: From Steamboats to White City. Chandler House Press. pp. 71–73. ISBN 9781886284029.
  7. ^ a b c d "The Dummy Railroad". Pleasure Resorts in Worcester County, and how to Reach Them: Containing Descriptive Sketch of Lake Quinsigamond and Its Environs, with Other Popular Places for the Summer Excursionist. Edward Rice Fiske. 1877. pp. 29–33.
  8. ^ a b c d Fleming, Howard (1875). Narrow Gauge Railways in America. p. 72.
  9. ^ a b Poor's Manual of Railroads. Vol. 9. H.V. & H.W. Poor. 1876. pp. 154–155.
  10. ^ a b Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. p. 428. ISBN 9780942147124.
  11. ^ a b c "Railroad Matters". The Boston Globe. July 26, 1873. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "The Dummy Railroad". Worcester Daily Spy. Vol. 28, no. 181. August 1, 1873. p. 1.
  13. ^ "For Lake Quinsigamond [advertisement]". Worcester Daily Press. Vol. 1, no. 123. August 22, 1873. p. 3.
  14. ^ "Various Matters". Worcester Daily Press. Vol. 1, no. 128. August 28, 1873. p. 2.
  15. ^ "Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad [advertisement]". Worcester Daily Spy. Vol. 29, no. 111. May 11, 1874. p. 3.
  16. ^ "Our Business Pioneers". The Boston Globe. March 31, 1916. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Massachusetts". Boston Evening Transcript. June 15, 1883. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Worcester & Shrewsbury Railroad". The Boston Globe. October 27, 1883. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Hanlan Will Try It". The Fall River Daily Herald. August 3, 1886. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Hanlan's Feat". The Boston Globe. August 13, 1886. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Marlboro". The Boston Globe. April 24, 1875. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Massachusetts". Boston Evening Transcript. September 15, 1887. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Railroad Wants to Extend its Line". Boston Evening Transcript. November 27, 1891. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Chapter 364: An Act to Authorize the Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad Company to Extend its Tracks Across Lake Quinsigamond". Acts and resolves passed by the General Court of Massachusetts in the Year 1892. Massachusetts General Court. 1893. pp. 379–380.
  25. ^ "Newsy News". Transcript-Telegram. January 9, 1893. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Chapter 511: An Act To Authorize The Worcester And Shrewsbury Street Railway Company And The Worcester And Shrewsbury Railroad Company To Lease Their Property To The Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Company". Acts and resolves passed by the General Court of Massachusetts in the Year 1896. Massachusetts General Court. 1897. pp. 513–514.
  27. ^ a b Poor's Manual of Railroads. Vol. 30. H.V. & H.W. Poor. 1897. p. 25.
  28. ^ "Down by the Lake". Worcester Morning Daily Spy. April 12, 1897. p. 3.
  29. ^ "General News". Electricity. Vol. 11, no. 13. October 7, 1896. p. 203.
  30. ^ "Washout on Lake Line". Worcester Morning Daily Spy. April 10, 1897. p. 3.
  31. ^ "City of Worcester" (Map). New topographical atlas of the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. L.J. Richards & Co. 1898. Plate 2.
  32. ^ "Intercollegiate Meet". Worcester Morning Daily Spy. May 11, 1897. p. 10.
  33. ^ "Worst Is Over". Worcester Morning Daily Spy. February 5, 1898. p. 1.
  34. ^ "Mr. Bigelow's Road". Worcester Morning Daily Spy. February 26, 1898. p. 5.
  35. ^ a b
  36. ^
  37. ^ a b c d Cummings, O.R. (1975). Trolleys Along The Turnpike. Boston Street Railway Association.
  38. ^ Moody's Public Utilities. 1935. p. 1361. On Mar. 29, 1929, Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad Co. and Worcester and Shrewsbury Street Railway Co. were consolidated with the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Co. by purchase of all franchises and property of the former two companies for $56,700 Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Co. common stock.
  39. ^ Carlson, Stephen P.; Harding, Thomas W. (1985). Worcester Trolleys Remembered. Worcester Regional Transit Authority.
  40. ^ "Patrons Must Walk as Result of Ruling". The Boston Globe. June 8, 1934. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

Media related to Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad at Wikimedia Commons

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