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Grafton And Upton Railroad
The Grafton and Upton Railroad is a Class III short line railroad in east-central Massachusetts. This 24.85 mile line runs from Grafton to Franklin and connects to CSX Transportation lines at both ends. Following a period of decline and neglect, maintenance and repairs began in 2008 with the aim of returning the line to operable condition. History The Grafton Centre Railroad was chartered October 22, 1873 and opened August 20, 1874 as a narrow gauge connection from Grafton to a junction with the Boston and Albany Railroad at North Grafton. The last narrow gauge train ran on July 9, 1887. The line was converted to on September 1, 1887. On February 17, 1888, the name was changed to the Grafton and Upton Railroad by an act of the state legislature. An extension to West Upton opened on March 12, 1889, and an extension to Milford opened on May 17, 1890, connecting to the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad, later a line of the New Haven Railroad. The Upton Street Railway was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Line Railroad
:''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the U.S., railroads are categorized by operating revenue, and most shortline railroads fall into the Class III or Class II categorization defined by the Surface Transportation Board. Shortlines generally exist for one of three reasons: to link two industries requiring rail freight together (for example, a gypsum mine and a wall board factory, or a coal mine and a power plant); to interchange revenue traffic with other, usually larger, railroads; or to operate a tourist passenger train service. Often, short lines exist for all three of these reasons. History At the beginning of the railro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Franklin Draper (politician)
William Franklin Draper (April 9, 1842 – January 28, 1910) was an American businessman, industrialist, and soldier who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Biography Draper was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 9, 1842, and was a descendant of early Massachusetts settler James Draper. Draper attended public, private, and high schools, he studied mechanical engineering and cotton manufacturing. During the American Civil War Draper enlisted as a private in the Twenty-fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, on September 9, 1861. He was soon elected Second Lieutenant of his company and was promoted rapidly to lieutenant colonel. After his discharge Draper was awarded the brevet grades of colonel and brigadier general of Volunteers. After the war he joined his family's textile machine manufacturing business at Hopedale, Massachusetts, and patented many improvements. He also served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1876. He we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bellingham, Massachusetts
Bellingham () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,945 at the 2020 census. The town sits on the southwestern fringe of Metropolitan Boston, along the rapidly growing "outer belt" that is Route 495. It is formally a part of the Boston–Cambridge–Quincy metropolitan statistical area, as well as the Providence metropolitan area. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Bellingham, please see the article Bellingham (CDP), Massachusetts. History The area of the town south of the Charles River constituted the southwestern corner of the Dedham Grant, which sprouted much of what has become Norfolk County. The land was swampy, and the town of Dedham did not believe it worthy of settlement. The area north of the river would be purchased by Edward Rawson, and due to the settlement of borders with the surrounding communities, these two areas would eventually merge. Most of the land to be called Bellingham was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Draper Mill
The Draper Corporation was once the largest maker of power looms for the textile industry in the United States. It operated in Hopedale, Massachusetts for more than 130 years. Beginnings In the early 19th century, Ira Draper was a prosperous farmer from Weston, Massachusetts, with an ability for tinkering and improving machinery, such as a threshing machine that was a great improvement on any previous one made at the time. His great-great grandfather, James Draper had landed in Boston from England in 1650, and was "one of the first men in the American colonies to engage in the business of weaving and selling cloth". In 1816, shortly after the first successful power loom in the United States was developed by Paul Moody at Waltham, Massachusetts, Ira was granted a patent on an improved flyshuttle hand loom and the first self-acting temple. A temple is part of a loom used to improve the edges of the fabric. The improvement allowed a weaver to run two power looms instead of on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forge Park/495 (MBTA Station)
Forge Park/495 station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail station served by the Franklin/Foxboro Line. It is located off Route 140 near Interstate 495 in Franklin, Massachusetts, United States. A park and ride station serving southwestern Boston suburbs and northeastern Rhode Island, it is the outer terminus of the Franklin/Foxboro Line. The station has two side platforms serving a single track, with an accessible mini-high platform and a station building on the south platform. The Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad opened in 1883, with a station built at Unionville soon after. The line was soon acquired by the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad, which became part of the New York and New England Railroad in 1887 and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898. Service on the line, by then down to a single daily mixed train, ended in 1920. It resumed in 1926 (likely without Unionville station) and lasted until 1938, with a brief r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line, also called the Franklin/Foxboro Line, is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splitting off onto the namesake Franklin Branch. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at , though some weekday trains use the Dorchester Branch (Fairmount Line) to access South Station. Most weekday trains, and all weekend trains, bypass . Foxboro station is located on Framingham Secondary, a branch line, which connects with the Franklin Line at Walpole. Previously, trains only served the station during special events at Gillette Stadium. Pilot weekday service to Foxboro ran from October 2019 to November 2020 and resumed in May 2022. History The earliest predecessor to the Franklin Line began in 1835 when the Boston and Providence Railroad built a branch from Dedham, Massachusetts, Dedham to Readville, Massachus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts Route 140
Route 140 is a north—south state highway which passes through Bristol, Norfolk and Worcester counties in Massachusetts. The highway follows a southeast-northwest trajectory, running from U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in New Bedford just north of Buzzards Bay northwest to an intersection with Route 12 in Winchendon, a few miles south of the border with New Hampshire. The southern 19 miles (30 km) of Route 140 between New Bedford and Taunton is a freeway known as the Alfred M. Bessette Memorial Highway, or more commonly, the Taunton-New Bedford Expressway. Route description New Bedford to Taunton Route 140 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 6 (Kempton Street) and Brownell Avenue in Downtown New Bedford. This intersection is signed as exit 1 when traveling southbound on Route 140. About a mile north, Route 140 comes to its first interchange, a cloverleaf with Interstate 195, which connects Providence to Cape Cod. Route 140 then curves slightly to the right to avoid Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grade Crossing Signals
Level crossing signals are the electronic warning devices for road vehicles at railroad level crossings. The basic signal consists of flashing red lights, a crossbuck and a bell (either a real bell or a speaker that mimics a bell sound), attached to a mast. At most crossings, the signals will activate about 30 seconds before the train arrives but there are sensors measuring speed so that the crossing knows when to activate; so, the slower the train is, the longer the delay and the faster the train is, the earlier the crossing activates. In some countries (such as the Czech Republic or Slovakia) there is also a flashing white light, which means that it is possible to pass the level crossing at a higher speed than generally allowed. At many crossings, there will be a gate added to the signal. The gates will be fully lowered 15 to 20 seconds before the train arrives. The gates will rise and the signals will shut off once the end of the train clears the island circuit. The time in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts Route 16
Route 16 is a east–west state highway in Massachusetts. It begins in the west at an intersection with Route 12 and Route 193 in Webster, just north of the Connecticut state border. It runs in a generally southwest-northeast routing through a number of Boston's suburbs and runs to the west and then north of the city before ending in Revere at an intersection with Route 1A and Route 60. Much of Route 16 east of the Newton- Wellesley town line, and especially from Cambridge eastward, is a multi-lane parkway, although it is not limited access for any significant length of road. Segments of Route 16 are also known as the Mystic Valley Parkway, the Alewife Brook Parkway, and the Revere Beach Parkway, among other names. From the western end of the Route 135 concurrency in Wellesley to Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue) in Newton, the route serves as a part of the Boston Marathon, from the halfway point to just before Mile 18 and the hills. Route description Webster to Milfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hopedale, Massachusetts
Hopedale is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located 25 miles southwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. With origins as a Christian utopian community, the town was later home to Draper Corporation, a large loom manufacturer throughout the 20th century until its closure in 1980. Today, Hopedale has become a bedroom community for professionals working in Greater Boston and is home to highly ranked public schools. The population was 6,017 as of the 2020 census. History Hopedale was first settled by Europeans in 1660. Benjamin Albee built a mill on what is now the south end of Hopedale in 1664. A area of the Blackstone Valley was incorporated as the town of Mendon. In 1780, Milford separated from Mendon. On August 26, 1841, Adin Ballou, along with the Practical Christians, gave Hopedale its name, within the town of Milford. Ballou and the Practical Christians established the Hopedale Community based on Christian and socialist ideologies in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milford Secondary
The Milford Secondary is a railroad line that runs between Franklin and Milford, Massachusetts, United States. Route The southern end of the line is at Franklin Junction, just southwest of downtown Franklin, where it splits off from the Franklin Branch. It runs west through Franklin, with Forge Park/495 station located in an industrial park in southwest Franklin. It continues into Bellingham, where it crosses the Charles River in a reverse curve. The middle portion of the curve was formerly shared with the Charles River Branch, which is now abandoned except for a short siding south of the former junction (Bellingham Junction). The Milford Secondary continues northwest to its terminus at Central Street in downtown Milford, meeting the Grafton and Upton Railroad at a junction just south of downtown. , only two active freight customers remain on the line, both between Forge Park and Bellingham. The Milford Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A) formerly terminated on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after Boston. Worcester is approximately west of Boston, east of Springfield and north-northwest of Providence. Due to its location near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth"; a heart is the official symbol of the city. Worcester developed as an industrial city in the 19th century due to the Blackstone Canal and rail transport, producing machinery, textiles and wire. Large numbers of European immigrants made up the city's growing population. However, the city's manufacturing base waned following World War II. Long-term economic and population decline was not reversed until the 1990s, when higher education, medicine, biotechnology, and new immigrants started to make their mark. The cit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
