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East Junction Branch
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East Junction Branch
The East Junction Branch (formerly known as the India Point Branch) is a rail line in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally built by the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) in 1835, the line connects Attleboro, Massachusetts, and East Providence, Rhode Island via Seekonk, Massachusetts. As built, the line continued across the Seekonk River to Providence via the India Point Railroad Bridge; this connection was removed during the 1970s. The East Junction Branch meets the Northeast Corridor in Attleboro at a point known as East Junction, and ends at a connection to the East Providence Branch in East Providence. CSX Transportation operates freight service on the branch in Attleboro, while the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) operates freight service in East Providence and across the state line into Seekonk. The line is owned by the P&W in Rhode Island, and by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Massachusetts.
Built as part of the Boston and Providence Railroad mainline between Boston and Providence, the line was downgraded to a branch when a new mainline was built in 1847 west from Attleboro in conjunction with the original incarnation of the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The ill-fated Seekonk Branch Railroad built a short branch off the East Junction Branch within East Providence (then part of Seekonk), which was soon purchased by the B&P and later used as part of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad when that railroad opened in 1855. The P&W completed its East Providence Branch in 1874, which originated in Valley Falls and met the East Junction Branch in East Providence.
The B&P was succeeded by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which was itself taken over by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven) in 1893. The Crook Point Bascule Bridge was completed in 1908 along with the East Side Railroad Tunnel, allowing a new route from the East Junction Branch into Providence. Regular passenger service was discontinued by 1914, though special passenger trains serving Narragansett Park were introduced in the 1930s and continued to 1968.
Penn Central Transportation Company absorbed the New Haven in 1969. The India Point Railroad Bridge was decommissioned in 1974, cutting the East Junction Branch back to East Providence, and the Crook Point Bascule Bridge followed in 1976. The bankrupt Penn Central was merged into government-formed Conrail in 1976, and the newly independent P&W was assigned operation of the East Junction Branch within Rhode Island, with Conrail retaining operations in Massachusetts. After CSX Transportation took over from Conrail in 1999, much of the Massachusetts portion was placed out of service in 2001; P&W reactivated some of this trackage in Seekonk to serve a new customer in 2007. An additional half of a mile (0.8 km) of the branch within East Providence was abandoned in 2006.
The East Junction Branch is part of the original main line of the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P), opened in 1835. To reach Providence from Boston, the B&P chose a largely straight route that avoided curves; it was a straight shot southwest from Mansfield, Massachusetts to what was then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts, (later transferred to Rhode Island as East Providence). Seekonk was just across the Seekonk River from Providence, and a ferry initially made the final leg of the trip into the city until a wooden drawbridge, the first of several incarnations of the India Point Railroad Bridge, was completed and allowed trains to enter India Point. The B&P was joined in Providence by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad in 1837, but the two lines did not directly meet. Ferries ran from India Point to the South Side of Providence to allow passengers to transfer trains.
Once the railroad bridge was completed, the B&P found itself in conflict with another company: the Seekonk Branch Railroad, chartered in 1836 to build a railroad between the B&P in Seekonk and a wharf on the Seekonk River. The Seekonk Branch Railroad intended to use the B&P bridge to run its own trains into Providence, treating the route much like a toll road. However, the B&P objected to this for safety reasons, and upon litigation the Massachusetts General Court refused to permit the practice, requiring Seekonk Branch Railroad trains be hauled by Boston and Providence Railroad locomotives into Providence. In 1839, the Boston and Providence Railroad absorbed the Seekonk Branch Railroad.
Providence's third railroad, the Providence and Worcester Railroad, opened between its namesake cities in 1847. The P&W and B&P collaborated on a new joint line out of Providence which split in Central Falls, Rhode Island; the B&P built a new mainline from that point to its original main line in Attleboro. The new route became the primary line out of Boston, while the original route into Providence was retained as a branch line, named the East Junction Branch for the point where the new route split from the old one. Made largely redundant by the new route into Providence, most passenger service was dropped at this time apart from trains meeting steamboats at India Point.
The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad was completed in 1855, connecting to the East Junction Branch in Seekonk (today East Providence). The bridge across the Seekonk River was initially used by the PW&B to reach Providence via trackage rights. Per the PW&B charter, the railroad also had the right to connect with Boston and Providence Railroad passenger trains in Seekonk to provide service to Boston, but this was not taken advantage of.
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East Junction Branch
The East Junction Branch (formerly known as the India Point Branch) is a rail line in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally built by the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) in 1835, the line connects Attleboro, Massachusetts, and East Providence, Rhode Island via Seekonk, Massachusetts. As built, the line continued across the Seekonk River to Providence via the India Point Railroad Bridge; this connection was removed during the 1970s. The East Junction Branch meets the Northeast Corridor in Attleboro at a point known as East Junction, and ends at a connection to the East Providence Branch in East Providence. CSX Transportation operates freight service on the branch in Attleboro, while the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) operates freight service in East Providence and across the state line into Seekonk. The line is owned by the P&W in Rhode Island, and by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Massachusetts.
Built as part of the Boston and Providence Railroad mainline between Boston and Providence, the line was downgraded to a branch when a new mainline was built in 1847 west from Attleboro in conjunction with the original incarnation of the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The ill-fated Seekonk Branch Railroad built a short branch off the East Junction Branch within East Providence (then part of Seekonk), which was soon purchased by the B&P and later used as part of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad when that railroad opened in 1855. The P&W completed its East Providence Branch in 1874, which originated in Valley Falls and met the East Junction Branch in East Providence.
The B&P was succeeded by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which was itself taken over by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven) in 1893. The Crook Point Bascule Bridge was completed in 1908 along with the East Side Railroad Tunnel, allowing a new route from the East Junction Branch into Providence. Regular passenger service was discontinued by 1914, though special passenger trains serving Narragansett Park were introduced in the 1930s and continued to 1968.
Penn Central Transportation Company absorbed the New Haven in 1969. The India Point Railroad Bridge was decommissioned in 1974, cutting the East Junction Branch back to East Providence, and the Crook Point Bascule Bridge followed in 1976. The bankrupt Penn Central was merged into government-formed Conrail in 1976, and the newly independent P&W was assigned operation of the East Junction Branch within Rhode Island, with Conrail retaining operations in Massachusetts. After CSX Transportation took over from Conrail in 1999, much of the Massachusetts portion was placed out of service in 2001; P&W reactivated some of this trackage in Seekonk to serve a new customer in 2007. An additional half of a mile (0.8 km) of the branch within East Providence was abandoned in 2006.
The East Junction Branch is part of the original main line of the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P), opened in 1835. To reach Providence from Boston, the B&P chose a largely straight route that avoided curves; it was a straight shot southwest from Mansfield, Massachusetts to what was then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts, (later transferred to Rhode Island as East Providence). Seekonk was just across the Seekonk River from Providence, and a ferry initially made the final leg of the trip into the city until a wooden drawbridge, the first of several incarnations of the India Point Railroad Bridge, was completed and allowed trains to enter India Point. The B&P was joined in Providence by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad in 1837, but the two lines did not directly meet. Ferries ran from India Point to the South Side of Providence to allow passengers to transfer trains.
Once the railroad bridge was completed, the B&P found itself in conflict with another company: the Seekonk Branch Railroad, chartered in 1836 to build a railroad between the B&P in Seekonk and a wharf on the Seekonk River. The Seekonk Branch Railroad intended to use the B&P bridge to run its own trains into Providence, treating the route much like a toll road. However, the B&P objected to this for safety reasons, and upon litigation the Massachusetts General Court refused to permit the practice, requiring Seekonk Branch Railroad trains be hauled by Boston and Providence Railroad locomotives into Providence. In 1839, the Boston and Providence Railroad absorbed the Seekonk Branch Railroad.
Providence's third railroad, the Providence and Worcester Railroad, opened between its namesake cities in 1847. The P&W and B&P collaborated on a new joint line out of Providence which split in Central Falls, Rhode Island; the B&P built a new mainline from that point to its original main line in Attleboro. The new route became the primary line out of Boston, while the original route into Providence was retained as a branch line, named the East Junction Branch for the point where the new route split from the old one. Made largely redundant by the new route into Providence, most passenger service was dropped at this time apart from trains meeting steamboats at India Point.
The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad was completed in 1855, connecting to the East Junction Branch in Seekonk (today East Providence). The bridge across the Seekonk River was initially used by the PW&B to reach Providence via trackage rights. Per the PW&B charter, the railroad also had the right to connect with Boston and Providence Railroad passenger trains in Seekonk to provide service to Boston, but this was not taken advantage of.