Middleborough, Massachusetts isn’t known as a railroad town, but I hope I can change your mind by the end of this post. What is Middleboro known for then? Well, it’s been called the “cranberry capital of the world” this town is home to the corporate headquarters for Ocean Spray. They produce cranberry products from canned jelly to juice. It’s hard to drive through the area without seeing a cranberry bog. The town was also known as the “shoe capital of the world”. Since 1884 Alden Shoe Company has and still calls Middleboro its home. Alden is one of the last remaining shoe manufacturers in the United States.
Middleboro is in the “middle” of Southeastern Massachusetts. Being centrally located it is easy to get to Boston, New Bedford, Fall River, Cape Cod, and Providence, RI.
Old Colony Main
South Shore Line
Construction began in the 1840s connecting Southeastern Massachusetts and Boston. The first route started construction in 1844 on the Old Colony Railroad main line running out of Boston to Plymouth, MA. A few years later in 1847 construction began on the more coastal South Shore route from South Braintree to Kingston, MA.
Middleboro Railroad Corp
Fail River Railroad
In 1844 construction also began on the first railroad that would connect Middleboro to Boston via South Braintree. Not long after this railroad line merged into the Fall River route. Running through Lakeville to Myricks then straight into Fall River. Middleboro main station was 23 miles from South Braintree. Just south of the Middleboro & Plymouth Railroad and just north of Cape Cod Branch, Middleboro & Taunton, and Fall River Railroad. Middleboro was the railroad hub for Southeastern Massachusetts with five lines going in different directions.
Middleboro’s main station was built in 1890 and served the community until the late 1950s. The building later served as a freight office for ConRail. In 1988 the building was destroyed by a fire and was torn down shortly after that.
Abandonment of a section of the Fall River Railroad
The 7-mile stretch between Middleboro and Myricks was abandoned in 1937. Passenger rail service extending out to Fall River ended in 1931. By 1937 this section of the track was abandoned. Today the right of way is extremely difficult to locate. All that remains is the Lakeville Train Station.
Cape Cod Branch
In 1848 eastern segment of the Cape Cod Branch opened between Middleboro and Wareham. Years later the line would extend out a total of 86 miles to the tip of Cape Cod with the terminus in Provincetown. There were several branches off this main line including Fairhaven, Woods Hole, Hyannis, and Chatham. Middleboro had two depots on the Cape Cod Branch “Rock” (Miller Street) and “South Middleboro” (Spruce Street). Both of these depots are gone.
Middleboro & Taunton
This 8-mile stretch built in 1856 runs west of Middleboro to Cotley (Middleboro) Junction in Taunton. This would be the connection to the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad.
Middleboro & Plymouth Line
The final railroad line that would connect to Middleboro would be Middleboro & Plymouth Line. The 16-mile route opened in 1892 serving as a connector for freight and passenger service between the two main lines. By 1937 the eastern part of the line was abandoned between North Carver and Plymouth. The remaining route between North Caver and Middleboro served the cranberry growers during its harvest season between October and December. Track conditions deteriorated fairly quickly since the line was only used three months out of the year. In 1939 the tracks were removed and the line was abandoned. This railroad line followed what is known as Route 44 today and parts of the right of way are now what is known as the Route 44 Freeway segment between Caver and Plymouth.
Return of Passenger Service
Passenger Rail service rolled through Middleboro during the summers of 1986 to 1996 with Amtrak’s Cape Codder. This was a weekend-only service running from New York City to Hyannis, MA. Trains would travel up the northeast corridor to Attleboro, MA taking the Middleboro Secondary. Then round the curve of the Middleboro Wye onto the Cape Cod Branch. Trains would only travel through not making any stops in Middleboro.
Passenger rail service returned to Middleboro in 1997 with the MBTA’s Middleboro/Lakeville Commuter Rail line. The MBTA provides 7 days a week round trip service into Boston using the formerly known Fall River Line then travels the rest of the way on the Old Colony Mainline into South Station.
In 2013 the MBTA with Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority launched a rebirth of the Cape Codder which is known as CapeFlyer. The CapeFlyer would provide summer weekend rail service from Boston to Hyannis. The Flyer would use the current Middleboro commuter rail line, and then onto Cape Cod Branch.
Middleboro Today
All of the original stations are gone. Leaving only the modern MBTA Commuter Rail Station with a Layover facility. Currently, the MBTA is building a new station on the southwest leg of the wye. This station will replace the current station located on the Cape Cod Branch. This is all part of the South Coast Rail project opening in late 2023. The original MBTA station will be used as a station stop for Capeflyer and for future commuter rail expansion to Cape.
As for freight, CSX serves businesses north of Middleboro and west including Taunton and Attleboro. Mass Coastal Railroad handles freight for Cape Cod, Fall River, and New Bedford. CSX has a small rail yard in Middleboro and this yard serves as an interchange between Mass Coastal and CSX.
This was an overall look at how Middleboro played a key role in connecting all of Southeastern Massachusetts. While doing research there were so many mergers, I didn’t want to get into the weeds with all of that. I’m sure we can cover that another time.
