South Sudbury was a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...
station in
Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a rich colonial history.
History
Incorporated in 1639, the bou ...
. It was located at the junction of the
Central Massachusetts Railroad
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Middlesex Central Branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in North Cambridge and ...
and the
Framingham and Lowell Railroad
The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was a railroad in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1870 to provide a rail connection between the growing railroad hub of Framingham and the important mill city of Lowell, passing through ...
slightly north of
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. R ...
(
U.S. Route 20) in South Sudbury. The
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970 ...
station was incorporated into the
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
through subsidies in 1965. The station was closed in November 1971 when the branch's last remaining round trip was discontinued. The 1952-built station building was a private business until its closure in 2019, and the building is now abandoned.
History
The
Framingham and Lowell Railroad
The Framingham and Lowell Railroad was a railroad in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1870 to provide a rail connection between the growing railroad hub of Framingham and the important mill city of Lowell, passing through ...
(F&L) opened between its namesake cities on October 1, 1871.
Its South Sudbury station and freight house were located on the east side of the tracks, on the north side of Boston Post Road.
The
Central Massachusetts Railroad
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Middlesex Central Branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in North Cambridge and ...
(CM) opened from Boston to
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village of Marlborough, Massa ...
in October 1881.
After going out of business in 1883, it was reopened by the
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...
(B&L) in 1885, which was, in turn, acquired by the
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970 ...
(B&M) in 1887.
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 Riv ...
, which had acquired the F&L in 1879, constructed a
union station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
at the southeast corner of the junction of the two lines around 1887-91. This
Victorian-style station included a three-story tower.
The Old Colony Railroad was leased by 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 ...
(often referred to as just the "New Haven Railroad") in 1893, making South Sudbury one of a small number of stations which served both of New England's two largest railroads.
Passenger service ended on the F&L in 1933 (although freight service between South Sudbury and
West Concord lasted until 1982, and between South Sudbury and Framingham Centre into the 1990s).
Service on the CM past
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
ended in 1932 and on the branch to
Marlborough in 1939; by 1950, there were just four daily round trips.
With such drastically-reduced traffic levels, it was no longer economical for the B&M to maintain the large Union Station. A small wooden station was built around 1952; after failed attempts to move and preserve it, Union Station was demolished, with portions of the interior auctioned off to collectors.
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 i ...
was formed in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. On January 18, 1965, services were cut back to the boundaries of the MBTA funding district. Although the MBTA initially intended to discontinue the single remaining trips on the
Central Massachusetts Branch and the
Lexington Branch
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
, they were kept at the last minute. However, the remaining CM trip was cut from
Hudson to South Sudbury.
On November 26, 1971, the remaining South Sudbury round trip was discontinued due to poor track conditions and dwindling ridership.
The circa-1952 station building is still extant, and was in use as a private business, AAA Limousines, until 2019.
Part of the platform and a station sign reading "Sudbury" remain at the building.
References
External links
{{commons category
The diamond at South Sudbury (date unknown)
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Former MBTA stations in Massachusetts
Sudbury, Massachusetts
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1881
Railway stations closed in 1971
1971 disestablishments in Massachusetts
1881 establishments in Massachusetts