Medfield Junction is a railway junction and former train station located in northwest Medfield, Massachusetts. It is the junction of the Framingham Secondary and the former Millis Branch. The station was open from November 1861 until April 1967.
In 1882, the state legislature allowed the installation of automatic signals when different railroads crossed at grade. Since 1855, trains had been required to stop at such crossings.[4] Signals were installed at Medfield Junction in 1885.[5]
By 1898, both lines through Medfield Junction were owned by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.[3] Patients traveling to Medfield State Hospital were transported from the station in horse-drawn wagons.[6] A freight wreck at the junction on October 23, caused by an engineer proceeding through an open derail, killed two railroad employees and injured four more.[7]
Closureedit
Passenger service between Mansfield and Framingham ended in 1933, and Medfield Junction (often referred to thereafter as simply Medfield) was once again the sole railroad station for the town.[3]
Passenger service on the Charles River line was cut back from Woonsocket to Bellingham Junction in 1930, and discontinued entirely south of Needham Junction on July 18, 1938.[1] Service south of Needham Junction was restored in March 1940, but cut back in stages to West Medway later in 1940 and 1941 (after which the line was known as the "West Medway Branch"), and reduced to a single daily one-car round trip (which was combined with a longer Needham Heights train at Needham Junction) in 1955.[1][2] The newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) started subsidising continued NYNH&H passenger service on the portion of the moribund West Medway branch running from Boston to Millis on April 24, 1966; service on the truncated Millis Branch was discontinued on April 21, 1967 due to extremely poor ridership.[1][2] The remaining stations, including Medfield, closed at that time; all except Dover and Millis were later demolished.
Current useedit
The Framingham Secondary passed through Conrail, CSX, and finally into state hands in 2015; CSX runs regular freight service on the line through Medfield Junction.[8] The Bay Colony Railroad took over freight service on the former Millis Branch east of the junction from Conrail in 1982, and west of the junction in 1987.[3] As of 2015[update], the only Bay Colony service through the Junction is occasional gravel trains towards Millis.
Referencesedit
^ abcdeHumphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–46. ISBN9780685412947.
^ abcdKarr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 287–290, 307–309. ISBN0942147022.
^Twentieth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1883. p. 8.
^Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1885. p. 7.
^Desorgher, Richard (18 February 2010). . Hometown Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
^Summary of Accident Investigation Reports: October, November, and December 1923. Vol. 18. Interstate Commerce Commission Bureau of Safety. 1924. p. 11.
^Jessen, Klark (16 June 2015). (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
External linksedit
External images
October 1923 freight wreck at Medfield Junction
1934 photo
undated photo of the station building
undated photo showing the track layout
December 1970 photo by Donald Haskel (RailPictures.net)
May 05, 2024
medfield, junction, station, medfield, junction, railway, junction, former, train, station, located, northwest, medfield, massachusetts, junction, framingham, secondary, former, millis, branch, station, open, from, november, 1861, until, april, 1967, medfield,. Medfield Junction is a railway junction and former train station located in northwest Medfield Massachusetts It is the junction of the Framingham Secondary and the former Millis Branch The station was open from November 1861 until April 1967 MedfieldMedfield Junction station on a 1906 postcardGeneral informationLocationWest Mill Street at Adams StreetMedfield MassachusettsCoordinates42 11 52 8 N 71 19 33 6 W 42 198000 N 71 326000 W 42 198000 71 326000Owned byNew York New Haven and Hartford RailroadLine s Millis BranchFramingham SecondaryHistoryOpenedNovember 18 1861 1 ClosedApril 21 1967 2 ServicesPreceding station MBTA Following station Clicquottoward Millis Millis Branch Farm Streettoward South StationFormer servicesPreceding station New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Clicquottoward Woonsocket Charles River Line Farm Streettoward Boston Contents 1 History 1 1 Medfield Junction station 1 2 Closure 1 3 Current use 2 References 3 External linksHistory editMedfield Junction station edit nbsp 1911 diagram of Medfield Junction On November 18 1861 the Charles River Railroad part of the New York and Boston Railroad was extended from Needham Center to Medway via Medfield a station at Medfield opened then or shortly after 1 In 1867 the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened on a perpendicular route crossing the Charles River line at Medfield Junction and opening its own station closer to the center of Mansfield 3 In 1882 the state legislature allowed the installation of automatic signals when different railroads crossed at grade Since 1855 trains had been required to stop at such crossings 4 Signals were installed at Medfield Junction in 1885 5 By 1898 both lines through Medfield Junction were owned by the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad 3 Patients traveling to Medfield State Hospital were transported from the station in horse drawn wagons 6 A freight wreck at the junction on October 23 caused by an engineer proceeding through an open derail killed two railroad employees and injured four more 7 Closure edit Passenger service between Mansfield and Framingham ended in 1933 and Medfield Junction often referred to thereafter as simply Medfield was once again the sole railroad station for the town 3 Passenger service on the Charles River line was cut back from Woonsocket to Bellingham Junction in 1930 and discontinued entirely south of Needham Junction on July 18 1938 1 Service south of Needham Junction was restored in March 1940 but cut back in stages to West Medway later in 1940 and 1941 after which the line was known as the West Medway Branch and reduced to a single daily one car round trip which was combined with a longer Needham Heights train at Needham Junction in 1955 1 2 The newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA started subsidising continued NYNH amp H passenger service on the portion of the moribund West Medway branch running from Boston to Millis on April 24 1966 service on the truncated Millis Branch was discontinued on April 21 1967 due to extremely poor ridership 1 2 The remaining stations including Medfield closed at that time all except Dover and Millis were later demolished Current use edit The Framingham Secondary passed through Conrail CSX and finally into state hands in 2015 CSX runs regular freight service on the line through Medfield Junction 8 The Bay Colony Railroad took over freight service on the former Millis Branch east of the junction from Conrail in 1982 and west of the junction in 1987 3 As of 2015 update the only Bay Colony service through the Junction is occasional gravel trains towards Millis References edit a b c d e Humphrey Thomas J amp Clark Norton D 1985 Boston s Commuter Rail The First 150 Years Boston Street Railway Association pp 43 46 ISBN 9780685412947 a b c Belcher Jonathan Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district PDF Boston Street Railway Association a b c d Karr Ronald Dale 1995 The Rail Lines of Southern New England Branch Line Press pp 287 290 307 309 ISBN 0942147022 Twentieth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co to the Stockholders Old Colony Railroad Company November 1883 p 8 Twenty Second Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co to the Stockholders Old Colony Railroad Company November 1885 p 7 Desorgher Richard 18 February 2010 The State Hospital amp Shutter Island Hometown Weekly Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 Retrieved 19 December 2015 Summary of Accident Investigation Reports October November and December 1923 Vol 18 Interstate Commerce Commission Bureau of Safety 1924 p 11 Jessen Klark 16 June 2015 MassDOT Completes Framingham Secondary Rail Line Acquisition Press release Massachusetts Department of Transportation Archived from the original on 26 June 2015 Retrieved 25 June 2015 External links editExternal images nbsp October 1923 freight wreck at Medfield Junction nbsp 1934 photo nbsp undated photo of the station building nbsp undated photo showing the track layout nbsp December 1970 photo by Donald Haskel RailPictures net Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Medfield Junction station amp oldid 1219809633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
