![Dedham train stations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Dedham_train_stations.png)
The history of rail in
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
begins with the introduction of the first rail line in 1836 and runs to the present day. Multiple railroads have serviced Dedham since then, and current service is provided by the MBTA. The station in Dedham Square built in 1881 out of Dedham Granite was demolished in 1951 and the stones were used to put an addition on the Town's library. There are two active stations today, and multiple others in close proximity.
Dedham Branch service to Dedham Square
History
When
Norfolk County was formed in 1793, Dedham was named as the
shire town
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
, and "an influx of lawyers, politicians, and people on county business forced the town to abandon its traditional insularity and its habitual distrust of newcomers."
Turnpikes, including those linking
Boston and Providence
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a ...
and
Dedham and Hartford, were laid through town during the first few years of the 19th century. Inns and taverns sprung up along the new roads as more than 600 coaches would pass through Dedham each day on their way to Boston or Providence.
Within a few decades of the turnpikes' arrival, railroad beds were laid through Dedham. The railroad was at first "considered dangerous. It was new fangled. People didn’t trust it, so they wouldn’t ride it. Only a very few brave souls in those opening years" ever boarded one.
This fear was short lived, however, as the first rail line came in 1836, and, by 1842, locomotives had put the stagecoach lines out of business.
The first commuter rail service in the Boston area opened in 1839 as a branch connecting
Dedham station
Dedham (formerly Dedham Center) was a train station located in central Dedham, Massachusetts, at the terminus of the Dedham Branch.
Original station
The original Dedham station stood near the intersection of Eastern Avenue and High Streets. It ope ...
to the main Boston-Providence line at
Readville
Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...
.
It consisted of a single coach that connected to the main line train and made stops at
Stone Haven and
East Dedham stations.
All stations on this line would eventually close on April 21, 1967.
Boston and Providence Railroad
The
Boston and Providence Railroad
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the Rail transport in the United States, first rail ...
was chartered in 1831, following several years of inquiries and route surveys. The original route had it going through Dedham, but, when construction began, residents were dismayed to see it laid out through nearby
Canton instead. It was soon discovered that the only two members of the board of directors who lived in New England were from Canton.
The two head engineers for the project,
George Washington Whistler
George Washington Whistler (May 19, 1800 – April 7, 1849) was a prominent American civil engineer best known for building steam locomotives and railroads. He is credited with introducing the steam whistle to American locomotives.
In 1842, Tsar ...
and
William Gibbs McNeil, were living in
Fisher Ames
Fisher Ames (; April 9, 1758 – July 4, 1808) was a Representative in the United States Congress from the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts. He was an important leader of the Federalist Party in the House, and was noted for his o ...
' old home at the time. Residents approached them and asked them to act as intermediaries with the railroad. Though the directors were not pleased, they did come to a compromise, in that, if Dedham could supply the land for the tracks, the railroad would lay them. A collection was taken, and, within three days, the proponents had enough money to buy the land that hadn't simply been donated free of charge.
Construction began very shortly thereafter. The railroad experienced minor difficulties in laying the track. There were about 250 feet of ledge behind what is today
Dedham High School
Dedham High School is a public high school in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, and a part of the Dedham Public Schools district. The school was founded in 1851 by the oldest public school system in the country. It earned a silver medal from '' ...
, and a swamp near present day Cecil Place. When workers arrived at the swamp one morning, they discovered that all the grading work they had previously done was ruined when the wall holding back
Pliny Bingham's swamp gave way overnight and submerged the railbed. The land was filled in, the track was laid, and the project was complete by the first week of December in 1834.
The opening of the line was marked by the English locomotive ''Whistler'' drawing a carload of VIPs to Dedham. When it reached a hill at
Dedham's Low Plain, however, the engine could not make it up the grade. As a result, the entire car of people was forced to disembark and walk the rest of the way to
Bride's Tavern.
For the first year of operation, horses dragged the cars along the tracks to
Readville
Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...
, at which point the cars were hitched to trains en route to Boston from Providence. The pony-drawn engines, which were attached to the tenders, were named the ''Dedham''and the ''Roxbury.'' In 1837, steam locomotives replaced the carriages. Dedham station burned down in 1837, destroying a great deal of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
in the process, and necessitating a temporary return to horses. A second fire occurred in 1849, leaving only the walls standing, and the station was patched up with boards for temporary use until a new station could be constructed to the south.
There were two trains regularly in use on the branch, the ''Norfolk'' and the ''Suffolk''. The branch would also occasionally be serviced by the ''Tiot'' or the ''
King Phillip''. The engines serving the Dedham Branch were made by G.S. Griggs and the Norfolk County engines by Taunton Locomotive Works. The trains were powered by burning wood that was sawed by horsepower in a building adjoining the Dedham station. The smoke was so thick and profuse that it spread throughout the vicinity. Trains would announce their impending arrival by blowing a long horn blast as they crossed over
Mother Brook
Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. ...
.
In 1881, the Boston and Providence Railroad built a
station in Dedham Square out of
Dedham Granite
Dedham Granite is a light grayish-pink to greenish-gray, equigranular to slightly porphyritic, variably altered, granite south and west of Boston, named for the town of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Qualities
Dedham Granite includes dioritic rock near Sc ...
. The station served more than 60 trains a day in its heyday, but it was demolished in 1951 and the stones were used to build the main branch of the Dedham Public Library.
In 1886, the railroad built a new bridge over High Street, and placed a granite plaque there to commemorate both the new bridge and the 250th anniversary of the town's incorporation.
The plaque was removed sometime thereafter, and ended up in the woods near railroad tracks in
Sharon
Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname.
In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...
.
It has since been returned to Dedham.
The Dedham and West Roxbury Branches
The
Boston and Providence Railroad
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the Rail transport in the United States, first rail ...
(B&P) had opened from downtown Boston to south of
Readville
Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...
on June 4, 1834, and to
Canton on September 12 of that year, but initially had no branch lines.
It did, however, provide
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
connections for Dedham Center, starting on July 28, 1834.
Direct train service between Boston and Dedham Center began on February 5, 1835, with the opening of the first railroad branch line service from Readville to Dedham Center.
For the first several years of the Dedham Branch's existence, service to Dedham changed often between "Dedham Specials" (through trains from Boston to Dedham and vice versa, using the Boston and Providence main line and the Dedham Branch between Readville and Dedham) and horse-drawn cars cut out of mainline trains at Readville.
Dedham Specials became permanent in June 1842, giving Dedham Center reliable direct train service to Boston, and making it possible, for the first time, to commute by train for those living in the areas served by the northern portion of the Boston and Providence Railroad.
This pattern of service persisted for the next eight years, until the West Roxbury Branch from
Tollgate
A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollgat ...
to Dedham via
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
opened in June 1850.
After this point, commuter service to Dedham ran via West Roxbury rather than Readville, although trains continued to run on the old Dedham Branch on non-commuter schedules.
Commuter service to Dedham via Readville resumed in 1858, but was always lighter than commuter service via West Roxbury for as long as the latter service continued to operate.
Some of these trains were horse-drawn shuttle cars to
East Dedham rather than through Boston trains, and these were not entirely replaced with through Boston trains until 1875.
The Norfolk County / New York and New England Railroad
The
Walpole Railroad
Walpole may refer to:
People
* Walpole (surname)
* Baron Walpole, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain
* Walpole G. Colerick (1845–1911), American politician
* Walpole Vidal (1853–1914), 19th century British footballer
Places Austral ...
was chartered on April 16, 1846, to build a railroad from Dedham to
Walpole, but construction had not yet started when it was absorbed by the
Norfolk County Railroad
The Norfolk County Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts, United States. Chartered as two different companies in 1846 and 1847, it completed a rail line between Dedham and Blackstone in 1849. A branch to Medway, Massachusetts was built in 18 ...
in July 1847.
The Norfolk County, which had been chartered just three months prior to build from Walpole to
Blackstone station, began passenger service between Dedham and Walpole in April 1849.
Through Boston-Blackstone service via Dedham was instituted the next month.
In December 1853, the Norfolk County merged with two other railroads to form the
Boston and New York Central Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it f ...
(B&NYC).
One of the two other railroads had been the
Midland Railroad, chartered in May 1850 to build a new Boston entrance for the Norfolk County, branching off the original route at
West Dedham.
This new route opened at the beginning of 1855, replacing the original, but ran for only six and a half months before it was shut down by court order following a lawsuit against the B&NYC concerning the new route's grade crossings in
Dorchester.
Service along the original route from Dedham to Blackstone resumed on August 6, 1855, and ran until March 1857, when the entire B&NYC route from Boston to
Mechanicsville, Connecticut
Mechanicsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the southern part of the town of Thompson in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered to the north by North Grosvenor Dale and to the south by ...
reopened for a year under lease to the
East Thompson Railroad.
After the East Thompson shut down in March 1858, service from Dedham to Blackstone (as well as to
Medway
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
via the
Medway Branch) resumed, being operated by trustees for the old Norfolk County.
It was the only service along any of the former B&NYC lines until February 1867, when the entire B&NYC route was reopened by the
Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
(BH&E; the successor to the B&NYC).
From 1867 onwards, the track from Dedham to Islington was little used by the BH&E or its successor, the
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
(NY&NE), and was torn up in 1883.
In 1881, the NY&NE opened a new Dedham route, branching off the NY&NE mainline at
Dedham Junction in southern Dedham and running north to Dedham station.
This route was unable to compete with the B&P's Dedham and West Roxbury branches, and service ended in 1884.
It reopened in 1888 due to technicalities in the NY&NE's charter, but closed again in 1899.
The original Norfolk County Dedham route, running between Dedham and Islington, was rebuilt by the NY&NE in 1890 to provide a Boston entry for 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, ...
's
Wrentham Branch (the NY&NE rebuilt the line to prevent the Old Colony from seizing its right-of-way).
Wrentham Branch trains were rerouted along the NY&NE mainline from Islington to Readville in 1899; an intermittently-operating shuttle between Dedham and Islington was run until 1904, using a self-propelled steam railcar.
After this point, the two ex-NY&NE Dedham lines saw only freight service.
Late 19th and early 20th centuries
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, ...
leased the B&P in April 1888, and was itself leased to 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 in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
(NYNH&H or New Haven) in March 1893, while the NY&NE (which became the New England Railroad in September 1895) was leased to the NYNH&H in July 1898 and merged into the NYNH&H in 1908.
Dedham service reached an all-time peak around the turn of the 20th century, as was the case with the entire Boston-area commuter rail system.
In July 1898, Dedham was served by 36 inbound passenger trains each weekday (two-thirds of which ran via West Roxbury), including six Wrentham Branch trains, and Dedham service via Readville increased in 1901 to an all-time maximum of 17 inbound trains per weekday.
The 1906 opening of the
Needham Cutoff
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just ...
, connecting the West Roxbury Branch to the ex-NY&NE
Needham Branch
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just 1 ...
, was to have a detrimental effect on Dedham service.
Although Needham trains using the West Roxbury Branch did not initially make any stops on the branch (sometimes with the exception of West Roxbury itself), they began to serve local stops between West Roxbury and Forest Hills in 1912, forcing reductions in West Roxbury-Dedham service.
During World War I, passenger service on all U.S. railroads was cut drastically to free up rolling stock and schedule time for military use, and the NYNH&H was no exception.
The original Dedham Branch was one of the hardest-hit lines, being reduced to just ten inbound weekday trains.
Ashcroft station was destroyed by arson on June 29, 1937.
Previously, in 1905, arsonists had set it ablaze twice in two weeks.
From 1926 to 1938, Dedham service was provided by trains looping via the West Roxbury Branch outbound and the Dedham Branch inbound, or vice versa.
At some point between the discontinuance of loop service in 1938 and the partial abandonment in 1940 of the West Roxbury Branch, Dedham service via Readville was discontinued entirely.
Readville-Dedham service was reinstated in 1940, after the West Roxbury-Dedham section of the West Roxbury Branch was abandoned (the Forest Hills-West Roxbury segment continued to see service from Needham and
West Medway Branch trains), but was massively reduced from peak levels, comprising just one Boston-Dedham and one Readville-Dedham round trip plus a second Boston-Dedham outbound train.
Dedham service was further reduced in July 1959, this time to just a single Boston-Dedham round trip.
The MBTA era
Dedham Branch
The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA) was formed in 1964 by expanding Boston's
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
(which was responsible for Boston-area bus, trolley, and rapid transit operations), largely in order to save Boston's collapsing commuter rail system.
In April 1966, the MBTA started paying subsidies to the NYNH&H for continued operations on four lines, including the Dedham Branch.
Despite this, Dedham Branch service was discontinued in April 1967, a victim of poor ridership.
The NYNH&H was absorbed by
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
at the end of 1968.
Penn Central went bankrupt less than two years later, in June 1970.
To prevent the possible loss of control over rights-of-way used by (or possibly seeing future use by) its commuter rail services should Penn Central undergo
liquidation
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...
, the MBTA bought a large quantity of Penn Central rights-of-way in January 1973, including both of the original B&P Dedham routes; the Dedham Branch was still intact at this point, while the Dedham segment of the West Roxbury Branch had been completely abandoned, having been reduced to an empty right-of-way.
Franklin Line
The
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 splitti ...
(the NY&NE's main line for much of its existence) passes through southeastern Dedham, and, although it passes much further from the center of town than the Dedham Branch did, still serves a considerable portion of Dedham. On the segment of the Franklin Line located within Dedham, stations have existed at four locations:
Dedham Corporate Center (signed as Dedham Corporate Center/128; a previous station, Rustcraft, had also existed at this location),
Dedham Junction just to the east,
Endicott, and Ashcroft. Of these four, only Dedham Corporate Center and Endicott are currently active. Just to the south in
Westwood is
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
(also currently active), while Ellis station formerly stood further to the south, in far northern
Norwood.
Dedham Junction and Dedham Corporate Center
=Dedham Junction
=
The
Norfolk County Railroad
The Norfolk County Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts, United States. Chartered as two different companies in 1846 and 1847, it completed a rail line between Dedham and Blackstone in 1849. A branch to Medway, Massachusetts was built in 18 ...
completed their Midland Division from
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
to Boston in January 1855.
No station was originally located at the modern location, which was in the middle of a swamp until the middle of the 20th century. The line passed through several operators and finally to the
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
in 1875.
In 1881, the NY&NE built a branch from Dedham Junction (near the modern station site) to
Dedham to replace the Norfolk County's original route to Dedham. This allowed the railroad to (unsuccessfully) compete with the
Boston and Providence Railroad
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the Rail transport in the United States, first rail ...
's
Dedham Loop for Boston-Dedham commuter traffic.
The branch was closed in 1884, but reopened in 1888 by state commission order. In 1890 a short leg allowing Dedham-Islington travel for 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, ...
's
Wrentham Branch was opened; trains using this route skipped Dedham Junction station. By 1898, the NYNH&H had acquired the Old Colony, NY&NE, and the Boston & Providence. With the NYNH&H having no need for four routes to the small town of Dedham, the southern branch was soon abandoned. Service south of Dedham via Dedham Junction ended in 1899 and via Islington in 1904.
=Rust Craft
=
On May 2, 1955, the NYNH&H opened Rust Craft (or Rustcraft) station off Rustcraft Road, just east of the modern station location. The station, which served the
Rust Craft greeting card
A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...
plant, was the first
reverse commute
A reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from an urban area to a suburban one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to trips to work in the suburbs from homes in the city. This is in opposition to ...
-focused station on the MBTA system, and was "hailed as the start of a new era".
Rust Craft station was closed in 1977 due to low ridership.
=Dedham Corporate
=
During the 1980s, the Dedham Corporate Center office park was built nearby due to convenient access to Route 128 and Route 1. On January 15, 1990, Dedham Corporate Center station was opened just off exit 14 of
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
/
Route 128
The following highways are numbered 128:
Canada
* New Brunswick Route 128
* Ontario Highway 128 (former)
* Prince Edward Island Route 128
Costa Rica
* National Route 128
India
* National Highway 128 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 128 ...
, near the old Dedham Junction and Rustcraft stations.
As well as providing access to the office park, the station provides nearly 500 parking spaces for commuters riding to Boston, as well as access to the office park for workers coming from both directions on the line. The station consists of two platforms (each a long low asphalt platform with a short high-level platform for
handicapped accessibility
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advoca ...
) serving the Franklin Line's two tracks. Original plans called for a much larger "transportation center" on the site, including a 1,000 car garage on Rustcraft Road, but town officials were opposed.
In late 2014, a
kiss and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapi ...
dropoff lane was built on the north side of the station off Rustcraft Road.
Dedham Corporate Center is the only stop between
Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...
and
Foxboro on special game-day service for
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
home games at
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
.
Endicott
The Endicott station on the Franklin Line is located off Grant Avenue near East Street.
The Norfolk County Railroad opened its
Boston Extension (the Midland Branch) from
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
to Boston on January 1, 1855 to end its dependence on the
Boston and Providence Railroad
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the Rail transport in the United States, first rail ...
for access to downtown Boston. East Street (later known as Endicott) was among the original stops on the extension.
The line was closed from July 14, 1855 until late 1856 due to a lawsuit, but has been continuously open since 1867, with service via the Midland Branch until 1898, and thereafter mostly (and, at times, entirely, with the most recent such period being from 1944 until 1979) via the B&P mainline.
Nearby stations
Readville
Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...
, located at the intersection of the NY&NE main line with the B&P main line (now the Providence Branch of the
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Provi ...
and the Dedham Branch), is located in far southern
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, just to the east of the Dedham town line. It serves the Franklin Line and the
Fairmount Line
The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, running southwest from South Station through the neighborh ...
(the proximal portion of the former NY&NE main line), but not the Providence/Stoughton Line (Providence and Stoughton trains pass through the station, but do not stop there except during service disruptions). Also in Hyde Park are
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
station, somewhat to the north, which serves primarily Providence/Stoughton Line trains, as well as, formerly, Glenwood Avenue station on what is now the Fairmount Line. South of Readville, the Providence/Stoughton Line passes through far southeastern Dedham en route to
Route 128
The following highways are numbered 128:
Canada
* New Brunswick Route 128
* Ontario Highway 128 (former)
* Prince Edward Island Route 128
Costa Rica
* National Route 128
India
* National Highway 128 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 128 ...
station. Although Route 128 straddles the border between Dedham and Westwood, it is located in an unpopulated area, and mostly serves
park-and-ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapi ...
rs; however, it is the only
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
station located even partially in Dedham.
Although both the original Norfolk County main line and, later, the West Roxbury Branch passed through Dedham, neither had any stops in Dedham apart from Dedham Square. The old Norfolk County (later NY&NE) mainline had no stops between Islington and Dedham Center, a situation also true for the 1881-opened NY&NE Dedham branch, while the West Roxbury Branch did have one stop between Dedham and its namesake
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
station—this was Spring Street, also located in West Roxbury, slightly to the south of West Roxbury station.
The only other rail line to pass through any part of Dedham was the
Needham Cutoff
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just ...
(running from West Roxbury to a junction with the
Charles River Branch), opened in 1906 and now part of the
Needham Line
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just ...
(as well as, prior to 1967, the
Millis Branch
The Millis Branch was a branch of what is now the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Branching off the still-operating Needham Line at , it ran through the towns of Dover, Medfield, Millis, and Medway. Due to lack of subsidies and poor ridership, the l ...
), which briefly crosses the northern tip of Dedham en route to
Needham. There have only ever been two stations on the Cutoff (both of which are still active):
Hersey (formerly Bird's Hill) and
Needham Junction
Needham Junction station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Needham, Massachusetts. It serves the Needham Line. It is located on Junction Street near Chestnut Street in the southwestern part of Needham. It opened in 1906 when the New Haven Railro ...
. Although neither is located on the segment of the Needham Cutoff passing through Dedham, both are quite close to northwestern Dedham; further north, though still close, is
Needham Center, located on the segment of the Needham Line which was originally part of the Charles River Branch.
Accidents
In 1906, a man riding between two cars fell off a train and was decapitated near the Ashcroft station.
An 86-year-old man was killed when hit by a train in 1908.
A 30-year-old woman suffered severe lacerations to her left leg when she got off the wrong side of the train and was struck by a train in 1994.
In 1993, a 17-year-old boy was struck by a train, but he may have already been dead before the train hit him.
A 13-year-old boy was killed on the tracks in 2013,
and man was killed on the tracks near the Endicott station in 2017.
Special events
The cornerstone of the
St. Mary's Church was laid at 3:00 on October 17, 1880 by
Archbishop John Williams.
A crowd of between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended,
and special trains were run from Boston and Norwood to accommodate all those who wished to attend.
It was one of the largest gatherings in Dedham's history.
In 1999, a special "Salute to WWII Veterans" saw 2,500 veterans board trains in Dedham, and then travel to South Station where the scene of their arrival home after the war was recreated.
In 2015,
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protesters stood in front of the train running to Foxboro for a
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
game to denounce racism.
Proposed Orange Line extension
Dedham is located in a densely-populated inner suburb of Boston just nine and a half miles from downtown, making Dedham Square a strong candidate for rapid transit service rather than either low-frequency commuter rail service (as was the case until 1967) or no service at all (as has been the case since then). The first such proposal appeared long before commuter rail service ceased, with the 1945 Metropolitan Transit Recess Commission recommending an extension of the Main Line Elevated (now the
Orange Line) from Forest Hills to Dedham via West Roxbury, with five stations (
Roslindale
Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan.
It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby J ...
,
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canada ...
,
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
, and
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
).
Two years later, the 1947 Coolidge Commission Report recommended two extensions of the Main Line Elevated: one from Forest Hills to East Dedham via West Roxbury and Dedham, plus another from Forest Hills to
Readville
Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after the mill owner James Read in 1847. It was part of Dedham until 1867. It is served by ...
, as well as a possible westward relocation of the Main Line Elevated between Essex Street and Forest Hills (only the last of these ever came to pass, as part of the
Southwest Corridor project).
Other
Service to Canton and Milton was provided via the
Midland Railroad in 1850. Dedham was connected to South Boston in 1854 by the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
and to Forrest Hills in 1848.
In 1864, Moses Boyd was the "well-known and gentlemanly" conductor of the Dedham branch of the Providence Railroad.
At a party for his 25th wedding anniversary, his passengers presented him with gifts of cash that totaled between $600 and $700.
In addition to the passengers from Dedham,
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
, and
Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
, the President and Superintendent of the railroad attended the party at his home and presented him with a silver plate.
He was the oldest conductor in the country and lived in a home he built on Spruce Street in 1856. Another conductor, A.M. Smith, lived on Wilson's Lane. Charles Hawkins also worked as a conductor on the line and Mr. Sandish and James H. Price were engineers. William Dana was the yard switchman and Ed Fuller tended the gate on Eastern Avenue.
Officer Drugan, a member of the Dedham Police Department, met the last train from Boston each night at the station. He would watch those alighting for "suspicious strangers," and then turn off the street lights.
See also
*
History of Dedham, Massachusetts (disambiguation)
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
{{Dedham
1835 establishments in Massachusetts
Rail transportation in Massachusetts
*
Dedham Branch