I often look at my copy of “The Rail Lines of Southern New England” By Ronald Dale Karr. The map with the active and abandoned railroad lines reminds me of veins that connected the many hearts of this region with its main, secondary, and branch lines. I wish I could go back to when passenger rail service was at its peak, to see a train station when it was just more than a sign and concrete platform. The railroad stations and depots had character from elegant masonry design to the woodwork of windows, doors, and vergeboards. Often these buildings would be found in the heart of the community. Some stations were small with a ticket office and waiting room. Larger cities had massive concourses, restaurants, newsstands, a theater, and shops. No matter the size, these buildings served as gateways to travel to places across the state or across the country.
For Massachusetts, passenger rail service was at its peak in the late 1800s. Today there is still passenger rail service serving the metro Boston area. The MBTA Commuter Rail services cities and towns just outside of the Interstate 495 beltway around Boston. The MBTA Commuter rail map looks like Boston is like the body of a spider and the legs go out to the north, south, and west.
Today New Bedford and Fall River are just out of reach of the MBTA Commuter Rails spider legs. This wasn’t always the case. The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad was the last to service passengers to these southeastern Massachusetts cities in 1958. Years after that these tracks would only see freight trains. As for the original stations and depots in both New Bedford and Fall River, they are gone.
Since the 1980’s there have been plans of bringing passenger rail service back to New Bedford and Fall River. On April 22, 2019, the South Coast Rail project got a highball signal for phase I of the project. This phase should be completed in late 2023.
Phase I of the project would use the current Middleboro/Lakeville MBTA line to connect the two south coast cities to Boston. Phase II would be a more direct route into Boston by rebuilding the abandoned Dighton and Somerset Railroad line between Taunton and Stoughton.
New Bedford
New Bedford’s first train station, the Pearl Street Depot opened on July 1, 1840. This Egyptian Revival Style depot was located on Pearl St. between Purchase & Acushnet Ave. Russell Warren designed several buildings in New Bedford including Bristol County Courthouse – 441 County St, New Bedford City Hall – 613 Pleasant St (Now the city library), and Mechanics’ and Merchants’ Banks Building – 56-62 N. Water St. This build designed wasn’t well-liked by the community and was demolished in 1886 and replaced by a larger depot.
The larger depot was open June 21, 1886, and designed by Henry Paston Clark of the Old Colony Railroad. A larger structure made of stone had two waiting room spaces, a larger ticket office, restrooms, and open fireplaces. The larger depot served 8 round-trip trains to Taunton and 4 to Fall River.
Fall River
The first station was built and opened in 1870 at Turner Street and Old Colony Street.
The new main station opened in 1892 and was designed by Bradford Gilbert at Lincoln Avenue and Pearce Street. By the early 1900s, the right of way was elevated along with the station eliminating 11 railroad crossings.
Currently, Fall River is now the terminus but that wasn’t always the way. The line continued south 19 miles into Newport, Rhode Island. In the 1980s the Sakonnet River Railroad Bridge was damaged due to an overweight train load damaging the bridge. After that, the swing bridge remained open for boat traffic. In 1988 a barge ran into the bridge. In the mid-2000s the bridge and abutments were removed. The tracks on the Rhode Island side are currently operated by tourist train.
The Future
The current project includes 7 new commuter rail stations and relocating the Middleboro station so it will aline with the current route to New Bedford and Fall River. While I’m happy to see passenger rail service returning to the south coast of Massachusetts, I wish some of the original depots were still standing.
