Newton Lower Falls Branch

The Newton Lower Falls Branch was a branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad running a distance of approximately one mile from the Riverside Station (although not the current layout for the Green Line but the original station above the Charles River which was closed in the 1970s, although the platforms and a dilapidated tunnel still exist) in Newton to Lower Falls in Wellesley and Newton.

Track route

The tracks extended across Route 16 after crossing the Charles River a few hundred yards before ending. Most of the rail grade in Newton is intact, while in Wellesley it has mostly been built over.

The line currently branches off from the Highland Branch which has been converted to light rail. It crosses highway ramps and Route 128 before running parallel to the Leo J Martin golf course. It transects a residential area before crossing Concord Street and the Charles in to Wellesley. The tracks have been removed.

The line originally branched off from the Boston and Albany main line on the Weston side of the Charles, and then crossed back over the Charles before continuing on its current course; the grade can still be followed across the golf course. When the Highland Branch was built, it made more sense to connect to that line. The line originally served the mill area at the falls, and later, the Grossman's Lumber Yard.

One of the more interesting aspects of this short branch line was the use of an interrban-looking electric car #01 (nicknamed the "ping pong"), which would provide shuttle service between the Riverside Station on the Boston and Albany main line and a single station at Lower Falls. According to The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History, ISBN 0-942147-02-2 by Ronald Dale Karr, to eliminate the cost and inconvience of running a steam-powered train, early in the 20th century, the Boston and Albany Railroad hung trolley wire over the track. For a brief period before passenger service ended, a single coach was pulled or pushed by an RS-1 locomotive.

Bibliography

• Ronald Dale Karr, The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History, ISBN 0-942147-02-2

External links

• Image of the former crossing at Concord Street