Electric car of the Lynn City Street Railway Company

The Lynn Belt Line Street Railway was a former street railway which was chartered for operation in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

in 1889. The line first operated on May 30, 1890.

Route

The street railway ran from a point near Central Square, through East Lynn, Glenmere, West Lynn, and back to Central Square - a circuit of about six miles.

Demise

In 1892, the Belt Line was purchased by the

Lynn and Boston Railroad The Lynn and Boston Railroad was a streetcar railway chartered for operations between Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts in 1859. Following a number of acquisitions, the railway was a part of a 1901 street railway merger that formed the Boston and Nort ...

. When the

Eastern Railroad The Eastern Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine. Throughout its history, it competed with the Boston and Maine Railroad for service between the two cities, until the Boston & Maine put an end to the compe ...

undertook a grade separation project for its Boston-Portland mainline, the line's circuit was disrupted, leading to the use of an alternate, parallel line. Many customers continued to use this alternate line after service to the Belt Line was restored, leading to a motion for abandonment. East Lynn residents protested the abandonment, claiming it would leave them without proper access to the Central and Narrow Gauge railroad stations, as well as several large industries.

Route

Demise

See also