Commuter rail service before the Southwest Corridor

I was currious to find out how different service was for the all of the southside lines before the Southwest corrider was built. I am assuming the Framingham line was relatively uneffected, but what about the Franklin, Needham and Attleboro lines? Was the Fairmount line the only way to go for Attleboro and Franklin?

Before the Southwest Corridor was rebuilt, service was pretty much the same as it is today. Only during about seven years of construction was service diverted to the Fairmount line.

Did back bay and all of the tunnels that exist now, exist then as well?

Back Bay station was torn down and replaced. The old railroad line between Forest Hills and Back Bay was on an embankment, whereas now it is in a depressed and partially covered right-of-way. But it's in the same place.

The former New Haven RR Second District freight line -- today's Fairmount branch -- had no passenger service at all between 1944 and 1979, so that was one big difference from today's situation. Construction of the Southwest Corridor ditch necessitated rerouting service via the branch from 1979 to 1987, and when everything else went back to the original line the Readville shuttles remained. Since there was no reasonable way to get to the Needham Branch from South Station, Needham service was suspended during the construction period. Also, since Attleboro and Franklin trains that were rerouted via the Fairmount line missed Back Bay, Framingham Line service to Back Bay was supplemented by South Station-Back Bay RDC shuttles.

railfan101 wrote:Did back bay and all of the tunnels that exist now, exist then as well?

Next time you're at Back Bay look at the maps on the track #1&3 platform, there are a couple shots of Forest Hills and Back Bay back in the day.

TomNelligan wrote:The former New Haven RR Second District freight line -- today's Fairmount branch -- had no passenger service at all between 1944 and 1979, so that was one big difference from today's situation.

Unfortunately it is now the opposite as the last freight customer on the Dorchester Branch, Bay State Paper, stopped getting rail service over a year ago and the switch was removed by the MBCR a couple months ago.

Other changes to South Station commuter lines since 1979, though not related to the Southwest Corridor construction:

- Old Colony line service added, to Plymouth, Kingston, and Middleboro

- Attleboro service extended to South Attleboro at all times, and most weekday trips additionally extended to Providence

- Franklin service extended to Forge Park

- Some Framingham trips extended to Worcester

- Saturday service discontinued to Stoughton

- Saturday and Sunday service added to Framingham/Worcester

- Saturday service improved, and Sunday service added, to Franklin and Attleboro

- Saturday service improved to Needham. A short experiment with Sunday service was tried, but dropped after a year or so.

- Yawkey station added on the Framingham line

Also, Ruggles station was added as a result of the construction. A station in Roslindale(?) called "Mount Hope" was discontinued.

Don't forget service to Gillette Stadium for the Patriots, and occasionnally other special events such as the World Cup.

Here's a couple of old photos of Forest Hills and what is now Stoney Brook Station.

Guys: And lest we not forget the re-routing of the Orange Line replacing the old Washington Street EL. I found during the re-construction the proximity of the old and new Forest Hills stations to be interesting. Tom Nelligan is right on about the SW Corridor work. It was a class job in my opinion done for the right reasons. Could you imagine if some of the money spent on the Big Dig were used on the T Commuter Rail system-would a unified system like SEPTA's Regional Rail lines exist today? MACTRAXX

Was the patronage on Saturday Stoughton service low enough to justify
discontinuing it??

MickD wrote:Was the patronage on Saturday Stoughton service low enough to justify
discontinuing it??

It was probably a combination of low ridership and the short distance between Stoughton and Canton Jct.

MACTRAXX wrote:Guys: And lest we not forget the re-routing of the Orange Line replacing the old Washington Street EL. I found during the re-construction the proximity of the old and new Forest Hills stations to be interesting.

Too bad we couldn't have kept the old Forest Hills Station, less problems in the neighborhood, mainly due to the fact that there were not any large areas for the big groups of kids to hang-out and get in the way of commuters.

For a "cab ride" view of the Dorchester freight branch ("Fairmount Line") check out Railroad Video Productions Tape #9B, "NY., NH. & H. Shoreline, Providence to Boston." It was shot in 1985 with Herbie Clark as the Amtrak's "Yankee Clipper" engineer. Because if the construction on the main line, Amtrak's trains used the old freight line into Boston, turning off at Readville.

It was recorded in the summertime and the trees are in full foliage. However, you can still see a lot of railroad scenery, i.e. sidings, buildings, factories, and old station platforms (Morton Street, Upham's Corner & Fairmount) in their deterioated condition.

It is amazing to see the good condition of the branch as a result of being used for all of the years the old main line was being rebuilt.

It was at this time the tracks in Providence RI were being moved to the current Amtrak Station. At one point (between Pawtucket and Attleboro, the train's speed was announced as 95mph!

Paul

The few Saturday trips to Stoughton were probably discontinued so that all service could run to Attleboro instead.