SOUTH READING BRANCH RAILROAD

The South Reading Branch Railroad or just South Reading Railroad (later Wakefield Branch) was a short line railroad that ran from Wakefield, Massachusetts to Peabody, Massachusetts. Its origins began sometime in 1850 when the railroad was named after the town of South Reading before its name change to Wakefield in 1868. By the time Boston and Maine took over the railroad in 1884, the line had already become obsolete due to competing branches. Boston and Maine eventually halted passenger service in 1925 by abandoning 8 miles of track between Peabody and Lynnfield. The tracks of the former Wakefield branch continued to operate from Lynnfield to Boston until 1959 when passenger service ended. The remaining tracks were then used for freight service from Salem through Peabody Square to South Peabody to serve industrial parks until October 2023.

South Reading Branch Railroad Map.

(Wikimedia maps | Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors)

History

In 1848, a group of investors from Salem and Danvers were granted a charter to build a railroad line from South Reading to South Danvers. The line took two years to build and opened for business in 1850 and opened up another Boston to Salem route as it was given trackage rights to Salem on the Essex Railroad.

The Boston to Salem route had long been monopolized by the Eastern Railroad and when the South Reading line was opened, it took quite a bit of the business away with lower fares and the fact that passengers had a direct link to downtown Boston via the Boston and Maine Railroad, the Eastern's most heated rival. Whereas the Eastern had to ferry their passengers from East Boston across the harbor to get to and from Boston, many passengers preferred to take the B&M to Wakefield and go to Salem via the South Reading.

In 1851, the Eastern Railroad, fearing that the B&M would take over the South Reading, in self-defense took over the line at steep cost. The Massachusetts State Legislature for years forced the Eastern to keep the Boston-to-Salem route open via the South Reading even after the Eastern had leased the Grand Junction Railroad in order to provide service directly into downtown Boston.

In 1868, when South Reading became Wakefield and South Danvers changed to Peabody, and the line was renamed the Wakefield Branch, but the old name stuck with passengers and rail fans today.

When the B&M took over the Eastern RR in December 1884, the South Reading line became obsolete as the B&M had other lines that went to Salem via the Newburyport Branch and the former Boston and Lowell Railroad branch line, the Salem and Lowell Railroad.

In 1925, the B&M received permission to abandon the line and the tracks were removed from Wakefield Center (where the line split from the Newburyport Branch) to Peabody.

Wakefield Junction station in 1913, the Wakefield branch to Peabody is the track on the right.

(New England Paper and Stationery Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Current status

In the 1950s, the abandoned right-of-way became part of Massachusetts Route 128/Interstate 95 in the Montrose section of Wakefield. In 1965, the first two miles of the line were rebuilt between Peabody and South Peabody to service a new industrial park and freight service is now operated on this line by Pan Am Railways. Portions of the right-of-way in Lynnfield and Wakefield are still traceable.

Wakefield Centre station in 1913.

(Scanned postcard from eBay auction, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Overview

Other name(s) Wakefield Branch
Status Defunct
Locale Massachusetts
Termini
Peabody
Wakefield
Service
Type Heavy rail
Operator(s) South Reading Branch Railroad (1850-1851)
Eastern Railroad (1851-1884)
Boston and Maine Railroad (1884-1964)
Boston and Maine Corporation (1964-1983)
Pan Am Railways (1983-2023)
History
Opened 1850
Closed 1925 (Peabody to Wakefield)
1959 (Lynnfield to Boston)
Technical
Line length 8 mi (13 km)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge