Southbridge Branch (New England)

Southbridge Branch
Southbridge station, the western terminus of the line
Overview
Termini	Southbridge, Massachusetts East Thompson, Connecticut
Stations	10
History
Opened	Early 1866
Completed	February 1867
Closed	1937 (eastern portion) 1980s (western portion)
Technical
Line length	16.9 mi (27.2 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map Legend mi 16.9 Southbridge 15.3 Sandersdale 13.5 West Dudley Quinebaug River MA CT 11.0 Quinebaug CT MA French River N&W to Groton 5.8 Webster N&W to Worcester 4.9 East Webster 3.8 Beacon Park Lake Chaubunagungamaug 2.8 Point Pleasant MA CT 1.9 Bates Crossing Midland line 0.0 East Thompson This diagram: view talk edit

The Southbridge Branch was a railway line in Connecticut and Massachusetts, United States. It ran 16.9 miles (27.2 km) between Southbridge, Massachusetts and East Thompson, Connecticut, via Webster, Massachusetts. Originally planned to be part of the Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad, it was ultimately built in 1866–67 by the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad. It became part of the New York and New England Railroad in 1875, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898. Passenger service ended in 1930, and the eastern portion of the line was abandoned in 1937. The western half continued to be used for freight service; it passed to Penn Central in 1969, and to the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) in 1976 as the Southbridge Running Track. The P&W stopped serving the line in the 1980s, but did not abandon it until 2004. Much of the western half of the line in Massachusetts has been converted to the Quinebaug Valley Rail Trail.