The Cape Cod Central Railroad was a railroad in southeastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, more specifically in central

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. It was incorporated in 1861 to extend the Cape Cod Railroad from Yarmouth to Orleans through the towns of

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

and Brewster. The 18.7 mile line opened for service in December, 1865.Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, Feb 15, 1911, page 415 The Cape Cod Central Railroad merged with the Cape Cod Railroad in 1868. Its line later became part of the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

in 1872. In 1873, Old Colony finished extending the line to

Provincetown Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Pr ...

. In 1887, the Chatham Railroad Company would complete its line from the original Cape Cod Central line at

Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham () is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Chatham is located at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod and has historically been a fishing community. First settled by th ...

. Unlike the rest of the rail lines on Cape Cod which became part of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

in 1893 upon its lease of the entire

network, the Chatham line remained independent until 1905 when the New York, New Haven and Hartford contracted to operate the line. Regular passenger service to Provincetown ended in 1938 and in 1959 all passenger service operated by the company on Cape Cod ceased. Today, much of the original 1865 right-of-way of the Cape Cod Central Railroad is part of the popular

Cape Cod Rail Trail The Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) is a paved rail trail located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The trail route passes through the towns of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, Yarmouth, Dennis, Massachusetts, Dennis, Harwich, Massachusetts, Harwich, Brewster, ...

, which runs from South Dennis to Wellfleet. Also, the Cape Cod Central Railroad name continues as a tourist railroad during the summer and fall months with service from Hyannis, although not on the lines of the original Cape Cod Central Railroad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Cod Central Railroad Old Colony Railroad lines Predecessors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Defunct Massachusetts railroads