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The Watuppa Branch (also called the North Dartmouth Industrial Track, and formerly the Fall River Branch) is a roughly six-mile freight railroad line in southeastern
The Watuppa Branch originates in New Bedford, where it diverges from the New Bedford Secondary and passes beneath MA Route 140. After traveling through the western portion of downtown New Bedford, the railroad crosses into Dartmouth and travels just north of downtown, passing through the "Dartmouth Business Park II" before crossing into Westport. After crossing the border, the track passes beneath Interstate 195 and continues for just over a mile, until passing beneath MA Route 88, at which point active trackage ends and only abandoned, disused track remains. The disused track continues for another short distance until it terminates near Watuppa Ponds, at which point the Quequechan River Rail Trail eventually takes over where the track formerly laid.
The Fall River Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1875 from the
Quequechan River Rail Trail Map
Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail
Old Colony Railroad lines Railway lines {{FallRiverMA
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. The track originates at Mount Pleasant Junction, where it diverges from the New Bedford Secondary
The New Bedford Subdivision is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, with freight operations handled by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad. The line runs from the end of the CS ...
, and runs through Dartmouth before terminating in north Westport. The line is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and is operated by Bay Colony Railroad
The Bay Colony Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Massachusetts.
Formerly operating along most of the south coast region (including all lines on Cape Cod), Bay Colony currently operates only along a roughly six-mile stretch of track ...
, which interchanges with Massachusetts Coastal Railroad at the junction in New Bedford. The abandoned western portion of the right-of-way is used by the Quequechan River Rail Trail.
Route
The Watuppa Branch originates in New Bedford, where it diverges from the New Bedford Secondary and passes beneath MA Route 140. After traveling through the western portion of downtown New Bedford, the railroad crosses into Dartmouth and travels just north of downtown, passing through the "Dartmouth Business Park II" before crossing into Westport. After crossing the border, the track passes beneath Interstate 195 and continues for just over a mile, until passing beneath MA Route 88, at which point active trackage ends and only abandoned, disused track remains. The disused track continues for another short distance until it terminates near Watuppa Ponds, at which point the Quequechan River Rail Trail eventually takes over where the track formerly laid.
History
The Fall River Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1875 from the New Bedford Railroad
The New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated on July 1, 1873, as a merger between the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad, the Taunton Branch Railroad, and the Middleborough and Taunton Railroad. The main line ran fr ...
at New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
to Fall River
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
through the towns of Dartmouth and Westport. The line was built to provide rail access to the mills in the eastern part of Fall River along the Quequechan River
The Quequechan River is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts, Fall River, Massachusetts, that flows in a northwesterly direction from the northwest corner of the Watuppa Ponds, South Watuppa Pond through the heart of the city of Fall River, M ...
valley. The western terminus of the line was located Watuppa Station at Plymouth Avenue near Front Street. In 1882 the line was leased to 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, ...
for 99 years, but sold outright to the Old Colony in 1896. At some point following the closure of Old Colony Railroad, the track between Westport and Fall River was removed; the current track ends shortly after the Massachusetts Route 88 crossing in the town of Westport.
Beginning in 1982, Bay Colony Railroad took over all freight operations on the line. While most of Bay Colony's operations were subsequently taken over by Massachusetts Coastal Railroad
The Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class III railroad serving south-eastern Massachusetts. The railroad maintains track from Hyannis to Framingham, with the railroad operating its own trains on the 97 miles of lines betwe ...
in 2007, the Watuppa branch remains under the operation of Bay Colony.
In 2008, the first section of the Quequechan Rail Trail opened over a portion of the former Fall River Railroad right-of-way along the shore of South Watuppa Pond east of Brayton Avenue at a cost of $462,000. It was later extended west to Britland Park and Rodman Street. State funding was awarded in 2022 for a extension east to the Westport town line.
References
External links
Quequechan River Rail Trail Map
Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Rail Trail
Old Colony Railroad lines Railway lines {{FallRiverMA