The Springfield, Athol and North–eastern Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was also referred to as the Athol Branch, most commonly, or the Athol and Enfield Railroad.
History The Athol and Enfield Railroad was chartered in 1869, and succeeded by the Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad in 1873, opening in 1873 as a branch from Athol Junction in Springfield to the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad in Athol. The Boston and Albany Railroad bought the line in 1880. In 1900, the New York Central Railroad leased the B&A. The line was nicknamed "Rabbit Run" by engineers due to its stations being short distances apart, meaning the trains would have to hop between them like a rabbit. The line was never all that busy mostly due to its rural nature, but other railroad lines had already connected Springfield to Athol, making the line a bit redundant.
The majority of the line was closed in 1934 due to the formation of the Quabbin Reservoir.Map showing the towns buried under Quabbin as they looked in 1903 with original house locations and current reservoir water levelInteractive Map Interactive version of the 1903 map above (showing the towns buried under Quabbin as they looked in 1903 with original house locations and current reservoir water level) South of Bondsville operated after the truncation of the line but was closed by 1960.
A rail trail, the Rabbit Run Trail, is planned for the remaining portion of right-of-way in Athol and New Salem. A model of the line through the Quabbin towns is on display at the Swift River Valley Historical Society.
Station Listing +Station NameMilepostCity/TownImages/Additional InformationSpringfield Union Station (Massachusetts)0.0SpringfieldAthol Junction2.2SpringfieldJunction with B&A MainlineFiberloid5.5SpringfieldNamed for Fiberloid Plastic CompanyIndian Orchard6.4SpringfieldLudlow7.6LudlowStation torn down in 1960Collins10.5LudlowRed Bridge12.4LudlowThree Rivers15.5PalmerBarrett's Junction16.9PalmerJunction with Central Vermont RailwayBondsville18.4BelchertownWest Ware22.6WareEnfield26.8EnfieldSmith's Village27.7EnfieldGreenwich Lake*29.0GreenwichGreenwich Plains29.9GreenwichGreenwich Village31.7GreenwichMorgan Crossing34.6GreenwichSoapstone35.7DanaNamed for a soapstone quarry located nearbyNorth Dana37.0DanaNew Salem39.4New SalemSouth Athol42.5AtholAthol47.6Athol *Not listed on Boston and Albany 1913 Timetable
References
Further reading
Pierce, Elizabeth (2003). Images of America, The Lost Towns of the Quabbin Valley. Arcadia Publishing.
External links
Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad (Digital Commonwealth) History of Ludlow, Massachusetts (Including B&A Athol Branch and Hampden Railroad) (Archive.org Copy of defunct website.)