Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad

The Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad was a railroad line between the towns of Middleborough and Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was in service from 1882 to 1939.

A black-and-white postcard of a small wooden railway station
Darby station around 1905

History

Incorporated in 1890, the 15-mile (24 km) line opened on November 30, 1892. The next day, it was leased to the Old Colony Railroad for 99 years.[1] In 1893, it became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad as part of the lease of the entire Old Colony Railroad network.[2]

Passenger service, never more than a few trips per day, was often operated as Providence–Plymouth or Taunton–Plymouth trains.[3][4] After a competing bus line opened in 1925, passenger service ended in 1927.[5][6] Beginning in early 1928, freight service was suspended for the winter after the end of the October–December cranberry season.[7]

Freight service between North Carver and Plymouth was discontinued in 1934, and that section of the line was abandoned in 1937.[5][8] The remainder of the line was abandoned in early 1939 with no objections from shippers.[5]

Stations
Municipality Station Miles (km) Notes
Middleborough Middleborough 0 (0) Junction with Middleborough Main Line, Middleborough–Taunton line, and Middleborough–Fall River line
Namasket (Putnams) 3.1 (5.0)
East Middleborough (Mt. Carmel) 5.4 (8.7)
Carver North Carver 7.5 (12.1)
Plymouth Darby 10.8 (17.4) Next to Darby Pond in West Plymouth[9]
Plymouth 15.7 (25.3) Junction with Old Colony Railroad main line

References
  1. Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, Feb 15, 1911, page 437
  2. Weston, Thomas (1906). History of the Town of Middleboro, Vol. 1. Cambridge: Riverside Press. p. 512. ISBN 9781548456856. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. "New Haven Announces New Cuts in Train Service". Boston Globe. August 12, 1919. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "New Train Schedules on Railroads Sunday". Boston Globe. April 23, 1925. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 406, 407. ISBN 9780942147124.
  6. "Plymouth Branch Line Discontinued". Boston Globe. December 31, 1927. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. "Darby Branch Not Being Abandoned". Boston Globe. December 31, 1927. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. "Abandon 23 Miles of Road". Boston Globe. June 11, 1937. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. Baker, James W. (2005). Plymouth Labor and Leisure. Arcadia Publishing (Images of America series). ISBN 9781439632222. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
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