MBTA Wyes South Side

I was reading in another topic that trains had to enter South Station engine first because of a switch issue. this made me think and wonder are there any other Wyes on the South side other than the 2 South Station, and the Wye at Needham? Is Walpole connected? and I am not forgetting the one in Framingham. That however belongs to CSX.

I am also not familiar with the North side. I know there is one at North station area, and in Ayer, (PAN AM) are there any others that are owned by the T? or that the T can use??


Thanks

Bill

Braintree - connection to the Greenbush Branch forms a wye.

Middleboro - Middleboro main/Capeway Branch forms a wye.

Walpole - not a wye, but you could turn something via the Lewis Track and
the connection from the Franklin to the Framingham Secondary (but this
would involve CSX).

D

GP40MC1118 wrote:Braintree - connection to the Greenbush Branch forms a wye.

Middleboro - Middleboro main/Capeway Branch forms a wye.

Walpole - not a wye, but you could turn something via the Lewis Track and
the connection from the Franklin to the Framingham Secondary (but this
would involve CSX).

D

Actually, Walpole is 1 leg shy of a "grand junction." There are, in effect, two wyes there, superimposed.

down in Pawtucket, in the Providence and Worcester Receiving yard off of Track 7 (abutting LAWN interlocking on the Mainline) on the East End, there is a wye. Not MBTA owned, but just for knowledge

I may be wrong but I have heard that Walpole was indeed a grand junction at one time, that missing leg taken out years ago.

Framingham Station sits in the middle of a wye. Of course, the wye is not owned by the MBTA (CSX), but it deserves a mention.

boatsmate wrote:I am also not familiar with the North side. I know there is one at North station area, and in Ayer, (PAN AM) are there any others that are owned by the T? or that the T can use??

MBTA has trackage rights over a couple Pan Am locations that effectively gives them access to 3 wyes - Ayer, North Chelmsford (not in regular passenger service), and the "long wye" of Lowell-Lowell Jct-Wilmington (via the Wildcat branch). There is also a fourth wye at Lowell Jct itself but one leg has been out of service for some time (it has seen use for MoW equipment recently so is not too far gone).

Also serviceable is a big wye in North Billerica around Pan Am's headquarters (one leg would be the Lowell Line). Track conditions are rough but it could be used in a pinch if needed.

There are also 2 wyes in Boston/Somerville - one off the old yard 10 lead and one that goes around BET.

Those Northside wyes are not actual "wyes", but connections with various mainlines to
act like a wye.

1) Tower A to Swift via the Fitchburg, Swift to FX via the 4th Iron, FX to Tower A via
Mainlines 2-3-4 forms a "wye".

2) There is a wye at FX, part of old Tower C, Tower X, but actually part of old Yard 9 & 10.
It is no longer a "through" track, since the east leg is not part of the "T Pad".

D

Being from Walpole and after spending much of my youth at the Walpole Union Station, I don't ever remember seeing any indication of the missing leg of the wye. In fact, I remember seeing engineering diagrams of the track structure around the station and, again, no indication of the missing leg. But I'd be curious if anyone has other information.

charding wrote:Being from Walpole and after spending much of my youth at the Walpole Union Station, I don't ever remember seeing any indication of the missing leg of the wye. In fact, I remember seeing engineering diagrams of the track structure around the station and, again, no indication of the missing leg. But I'd be curious if anyone has other information.

I swear I saw a diagram or some map that indicated that there was a southwest leg at Walpole at one time. If so, it must have been very early in its history - like in the early 1900s.

That said, the northeast leg was added later in Walpole's history, probably long after the southwest leg (if it ever existed) was gone. Thus, Walpole was never a grand union.

Add Yarmouth Jct. to the list if there's ever a need to turn Cape Flyer equipment far away from home.

diburning wrote:Framingham Station sits in the middle of a wye. Of course, the wye is not owned by the MBTA (CSX), but it deserves a mention.

Was two wyes, one to the north and one to the south. It, too, is one leg shy. I don't remember if that was a grand junction or not. I do know that it was an interchange.

The south to east leg of the Framingham wye was removed a number of years ago - I'm thinking around the same time the station was relocated slightly west of its former location. I don't think it was ever a "grand junction" as there was not a through north-south main with a diamond across the east-west main.

Another yet to be mentioned way to turn equipment is the loop track at Southampton Street Yard - the Amtrak car wash located on the loop can be seen from I-93.

elecuyer wrote:

charding wrote:Being from Walpole and after spending much of my youth at the Walpole Union Station, I don't ever remember seeing any indication of the missing leg of the wye. In fact, I remember seeing engineering diagrams of the track structure around the station and, again, no indication of the missing leg. But I'd be curious if anyone has other information.

I swear I saw a diagram or some map that indicated that there was a southwest leg at Walpole at one time. If so, it must have been very early in its history - like in the early 1900s.

That said, the northeast leg was added later in Walpole's history, probably long after the southwest leg (if it ever existed) was gone. Thus, Walpole was never a grand union.

The val plan from 1915 shows no indication of a "fourth leg" at Walpole. There was a sidetrack in that quadrant, but it did not connect to the current Framingham Sec.

DAW

I currently live near Walpole Station. Here is a historical USGS map from 1940 of Walpole. It shows buildings where a SW leg would be along with a small side road now known locally as "Old West Street." From the angles that the main line and present day Framingham Secondary cross at, any old SW leg would be awfully tight and would probably have gone through where some pretty old houses presently are on Old West Street. All this means I highly doubt there ever was a SW leg to the Walpole junction.

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