Draft:Brookline and Pepperell Railroad
Submission declined on 17 July 2025 by Itzcuauhtli11 (talk).
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Comment: Please review WP:GEOFEAT about the notability requirements. — Itzcuauhtli11 (talk) 18:58, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
The Brookline and Pepperell Railroad.[1] connected Ayer, MA, with Milford, NH, and was completed in 1895. It was built by the Fitchburg Railroad. The first segment of the line was opened on September 8th, 1892, and ran from Squannacook Junction (between Ayer, also known as Groton Junction, and Pepperell, MA through Pepperell and on to Brookline (NH). A primary reason for building the line was the transport of ice harvested from Potanipo Pond in Brookline, which began as early as June 13th, 1892[2]. By 1895, the line had been extended to connect in Milford with the Wilton Railroad (later part of the Boston and Maine Railroad from Nashua, NH to Wilton, NH. Indeed, the Fitchburg Railroad itself was first formed to transport ice from Fresh Pond, Cambridge to Charlestown.
In 1894 the Brookline and Pepperell Railroad was absorbed into the Boston and Maine system[3] It does not, however, feature in the 1898 system map of the B&M. The 21.5-mile route from Squannacook Junction, near Groton, MA, to Milford is shown at the globe symbol. The other railroad going North from Squannacook was the Peterborough and Shirley Railroad, built by the Fitchburg Railroad between 1848 and 1876 (although it never reached Peterborough).
In 1893, there were 6 daily passenger trains, reduced to 4 by 1919. Passenger service ended September 1931. The line was never very profitable, although it did haul large quantities of ice in the days before manufactured ice and refrigerators. For part of the route, between Ayer and Pepperell, it competed with the B&M's Worcester & Nashua line which was just over on the other bank of the Nashua River. In fact, by making a connection over the river between the two lines (from Pepperell to East Pepperell), the B & M was able to abandon the only remaining section of the line (Ayer to Pepperell) in 1942.
Parts of the right-of-way have become rail trails (see External Links below). And a section south of Brookline has become NH Route 13.
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- Karr, Ronald D. (1994). Lost Railroads New England. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0-942147-04-9.
- Karr, Ronald D. (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0-942147-02-2.
External Links
[edit]- Nissitissit Rail Trail
- Potanipo Rail Trail
- Granite Town Rail Trail
- Brookline and Pepperell Railroad Opening Day 1892 Souvenir
- Abandoned Rails post on Facebook
- Pepperell Railway Station on Mindtrip
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