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79-668: The Ware River Railroad was an independent line that ran from Palmer to the Cheshire Railroad in Winchendon . It was built in 1868. The first section, from Palmer to Gilbertville , opened in 1870, and the rest three years later. Until 1873 it was leased to and operated by the New London Northern Railroad . It was eventually taken over by the Boston and Albany Railroad and run as its Winchendon Branch. The B&A wanted to run

158-643: A branch from Grout's Corner west to Greenfield opened. A short branch to Turner's Falls opened in 1870 or 1871. The original main line north from Miller's Falls was leased to the Rutland Railroad in 1870, which leased itself to the Vermont Central Railroad in 1871, which became the Central Vermont Railroad in 1872. This was a continuation of the New London Northern Railroad , built south from Miller's Falls in 1867 and also leased to

237-407: A colorful assortment of shops, restaurants, and bars. Moody Street's booming nightlife, convenience to the commuter rail and lower rents have attracted younger professionals to Waltham in growing numbers in recent years. Moody Street is also referred to as "Restaurant Row" and has become a destination because of the number, variety and quality of its locally owned restaurants. The city of Waltham has

316-703: A connection between the Fitchburg Railroad and the Vermont Central Railroad (via trackage rights over the V&;M east of South Ashburnham). The Cheshire Railroad was merged into the Fitchburg in 1890, becoming the Cheshire Branch. Passenger service ended in 1958, and the line was abandoned in sections, Winchendon north in 1970 (after the bankruptcy of the Rutland RR) and in 1984 for the rest. The Monadnock Railroad

395-500: A democratic process for city-wide decision-making. For over 25 years, the Waltham Arts Council has sponsored "Concerts On Waltham Common", featuring a different musical act each week of the summer, free of charge to attendees. "Concerts On Waltham Common" was created and organized by Stephen Kilgore until his death in 2004. The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University is devoted to modern and contemporary art. The Rose holds

474-552: A difficult time, the Waltham Traffic Commission closed off a segment of the road to allow businesses to have outdoor dining and storefronts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus stops that would typically be on the blocked off part of Moody St. are temporarily relocated to nearby spots. Restaurants are supportive of the closure, as they can offer outdoor seating and increase their capacity for business. However, Moody Street has

553-564: A dispute between Amtrak and Guilford; the MBTA only owned the trackage to Fitchburg. Service was re-extended to Wachusett station in 2016. Guilford Transportation took over the former B&M in June 1983. The Fitchburg Line west of the old Stony Brook Railroad , which now junctions east of the old Ayer Junction , now serves as part of Pan Am Railways ' main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine , and Mechanicville, New York . The Harvard Branch Railroad

632-664: A dozen customers from Palmer Village up to the Reload at South Barre continues to the present, five days a week from its interchange with CSX and NECR (New England Central). From the former Intermodal Yard around milepost one next to the ex Central Vermont Railroad main line (1 customer), with other customers located at the Gibbs Crossing Transload Yard (3); in and around Ware Yard (4); and at the "Wildwood Reload" at South Barre (1), where numerous customers are provided rail to truck services, including warehousing and transloading by

711-769: A few miles in Palmer to the Palmer Depot and the B&;A main line. The State contracted out the continued service to the newly formed Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail). By 1975, the MCER, or as it later became known—the MassCentral. It was formed by three individuals from Western Massachusetts and started limited operations on a few miles of the Boston & Maine trackage in and around the Ware Yard. After

790-596: A free "Tick Tock Trolley" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm–11pm for visitors that provides easy access to local municipal parking lots. Starting in 2020, the City of Waltham in Massachusetts has shut down a large portion of the main road, Moody St., to vehicular traffic from May 1 until October 31 annually. Moody Street is lined with restaurants and other small businesses but typically has high volumes of automobile passage. In an effort to assist these businesses in

869-470: A rail trail - the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. The Lancaster and Sterling Railroad was incorporated in 1846 and immediately merged with the Fitchburg Railroad. It was built from a junction at South Acton roughly southwest to Hudson , opening in 1850. The Marlborough Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1852 and opened in 1855, continuing the line from Hudson south to Marlborough . It

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948-640: A variety of exhibitions and programs, and collections are free and open to the public. The city's history is also celebrated at a number of museums, monuments, and archives. The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation , the Waltham Watch Factory historic district, the Gore Estate, the Lyman Estate, and the Robert Treat Payne Estate are among the most well known of the 109 sites in

1027-442: A variety of other businesses like small grocery stores, clothing stores, and jewelers. Some of these non-restaurant business owners oppose repeating the plan in the future, arguing that closing off the road makes their businesses less accessible due to a lack of automobile access. While Waltham has included a variety of stakeholders in the process of the street closure, it is crucial that they continue to do so in order to continue using

1106-865: A well regarded Ugandan eatery. Wilberforce Kateregga, a Ugandan immigrant to Waltham has since established Waltham College Uganda in Seeta Nazigo, Uganda, a boarding school for over 300 orphans and children affected by AIDS. The school was named in honor of Kateregga's new home city. Among the companies based in Waltham are medtech corporation PerkinElmer , biopharmaceutical services provider Paraxel , energy supply company Global Partners , data services provider Lionbridge , Steel Connect , broker-dealer Commonwealth Financial Network , technology companies Care.com and StudentUniverse , research and development organization Education Development Center (EDC), provisioner of scientific instrumentation Thermo Fisher Scientific , and

1185-468: A year of Conrail operations on the State-owned line, the contract was awarded to MassCentral. The train rarely ran north of Ware until 1999 when a new rail customer, a "reload", justified restored freight service to South Barre. The Commonwealth currently owns approximately 24 miles of mainline connecting the various yard trackage owned by MCER at Palmer, Gibbs Crossing, Ware and South Barre. Service to half

1264-578: Is French-born American conductor, Patrick Botti. Open space in the city is protected by the Waltham Land Trust . Waltham embraces its ethnic diversity in a number of festivals. The annual Latinos en Acción Festival celebrates the many Puerto Rican, Mexican, Peruvian, and Guatemalan residents. It is held by Latinos in Action, a local nonprofit group that helps the Latino population register to vote, understand

1343-412: Is as follows: 13.7% under 18, 20% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 9.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% 65 or older. The median age was 34. The population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The median income for a household was $ 95,851, and per capita was $ 44,977. In 2020, 9.2% of the population and 5% of families lived below the poverty line . 11.7% of those under 18 and 8.45% of those 65 and older lived below

1422-626: Is currently represented in the United States House of Representatives by Katherine Clark . Waltham is also represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by State Representative John J. Lawn and State Representative Thomas M. Stanley, and in the Massachusetts Senate by Senator Michael Barrett . Waltham is close to several U.S. interstate highways. Interstate 95 , multiplexed with Route 128 , runs through

1501-642: Is home to Waltham City Hall and various memorial statues. The Common is on Main Street, which is home to several churches, the Waltham Public Library , and Post Office. The city stretches along the Charles River and contains several dams . The dams were used to power textile mills and other endeavors in the early years of the industrial activity. According to the United States Census Bureau ,

1580-709: The Boston Manufacturing Company , the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning, spawning what became known as the Waltham-Lowell system of labor and production. The city is now a center for research and higher education as home to Brandeis University and Bentley University . The population was 65,218 at the census in 2020 . Waltham is part of the Greater Boston area and lies 9 miles (14 km) west of Downtown Boston. Waltham has been called "watch city" because of its association with

1659-573: The Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main line from Boston to Fitchburg is now operated as the MBTA Fitchburg Line ; Pan Am Railways runs freight service on some other portions. A horse-drawn railroad from Boston to Brattleboro, Vermont , via Fitchburg was proposed in 1828. The Charlestown Branch Railroad was incorporated April 4, 1835, as a short branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad near Lechemere Point in Cambridge, across

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1738-727: The Central Massachusetts Railroad in 1939, and the last passenger traffic to Hudson in 1965 (by then subsidized by the MBTA as the Central Mass Branch ), but it was not abandoned until 1980. Passenger service to Maynard via the Fitchburg mainline in South Acton ceased in 1958. The line was formally abandoned in 1979. It has been converted into the Assabet River Rail Trail . The Peterborough and Shirley Railroad

1817-782: The Miller's River to the Charlestown waterfront, ending at Swett's Wharf (Sweet's Wharf in some sources ) right before the Charlestown Navy Yard . It opened in January 1840 with horse-drawn trains. The Fitchburg Railroad was incorporated March 3, 1842, to run from Boston to Fitchburg, and bought land next to the Charlestown Branch in May 1843. Construction began on May 20, and the first section to Waltham opened on December 20, 1843, operated by

1896-675: The Robert Treat Paine Estate , a residence designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted for philanthropist Robert Treat Paine, Jr. (1810–1905), and the Lyman Estate , a 400-acre (1.6 km ) estate built in 1793 by Boston merchant Theodore Lyman . In 1857, the Waltham Model 1857 watch was produced by the American Watch Company in the city of Waltham, Massachusetts. In

1975-655: The Wilton Railroad in Milford, New Hampshire . It was merged into the Fitchburg in 1895. The Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad was chartered in 1844 and immediately merged the Brattleborough and Fitchburg Railroad of Vermont into itself. The first section, from Fitchburg to Baldwinville , opened in 1847 and was operated by the Fitchburg Railroad until 1849. Further extensions opened to Athol and Miller's Falls in 1848, and to Brattleboro, Vermont , in 1850. Later in 1850,

2054-439: The 1920s. In 1854, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his work Walden about his skepticism of the Fitchburg Railroad near Walden Pond . Although Thoreau often resented the noisy trains, he found the railroad line itself fascinating: he frequently studied the vegetation growing along the tracks, as well as the soil layers visible in a railroad cut. He often walked along the tracks to reach Concord from Walden Pond. A third track

2133-513: The 19th century; Sacramento Street and Kane Street were cut (with pedestrian "subways" under the tracks) in the 1890s. Planning to eliminate the eleven remaining grade crossings in Somerville, five of which were on the Fitchburg Route mainline, began in 1900. In 1906, the city engineer proposed to raise 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of the line between Beacon Street and Somerville Avenue to eliminate

2212-482: The Anglo-Saxon words, weald or wald "forest" and ham "homestead" or "enclosure." Waltham had no recognizable town center until the 1830s, when the nearby Boston Manufacturing Company gave the town the land that now serves as its central square . In the early 19th century, Francis Cabot Lowell and his friends and colleagues established in Waltham the Boston Manufacturing Company —the first integrated textile mill in

2291-498: The BHT&;W in 1882. In 1886 they were consolidated to form the Troy, Saratoga and Northern Railroad . The combined line was built in 1886 and 1887, with a main line from Mechanicville (never built south to Troy ) north and west to Saratoga Springs , and a branch east to Schuylerville . The Fitchburg Railroad leased it in 1887. This list shows all stations and junctions that have existed on

2370-464: The Charlestown Branch until May 1, 1844. Further sections opened to Concord June 17, 1844, Acton October 1, 1844, Shirley December 30, 1844, and Fitchburg March 5, 1845. The new track next to the Charlestown Branch opened in August 1844; the Fitchburg Railroad leased the Charlestown Branch itself on September 1, 1845, and outright bought the branch on January 31, 1846. The original Charlestown terminal

2449-743: The Cheshire Railroad at Winchendon. The BB&G leased the Monadnock Railroad in 1874, but reassigned the lease to the Cheshire in 1880. The BB&G was merged into the Fitchburg in 1885. The Troy and Greenfield Railroad was incorporated and chartered in 1848, with a planned line from the Vermont border in Williamstown east through the Hoosac Tunnel to Greenfield . The first section opened from

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2528-458: The City Hall and one near Brandeis University. MBTA bus service also covers the city, including routes 61, 70, 170, 505, 553, 554, 556 and 558. The Charles River runs through Waltham, and bike and walking paths cover most of the south bank, as well as part of the north bank from Prospect Street to Moody Street. Some commuters ride the path to offices in Cambridge and Boston. The city of Waltham

2607-727: The First Avenue area. New retail development has also been active at a former Polaroid site. According to the city's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top ten non-city employers in the city are as follows. Waltham is home to: The Waltham Public Schools system includes seven elementary schools (Northeast, Fitzgerald, MacArthur, Plympton, Whittemore, Stanley, and the Waltham Dual Language Elementary School), two middle schools (McDevitt, Kennedy), and one senior high school ( Waltham High School ). Waltham High School's sports teams had been referred to as

2686-473: The United States, with the goal of eliminating the problems of co-ordination, quality control, and shipping inherent in the subcontracting based textile industry. The Waltham–Lowell system of production derives its name from the city and the founder of the mill. The city is home to a number of large estates, including Gore Place , a mansion built in 1806 for former Massachusetts governor Christopher Gore ,

2765-557: The Vermont Central in 1871. In 1874 the Fitchburg Railroad leased the rest of the V&M, extending its line west to Greenfield (and beyond via the Troy and Greenfield Railroad - see below). The Ashburnham Railroad was chartered in 1871 and opened in 1874 from the V&M at South Ashburnham to Ashburnham . The Fitchburg bought it in 1885. The Turners Falls Branch connected the main line at Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls . It opened in 1871. The Cheshire Railroad

2844-663: The Vermont state line towards Bennington . It opened in 1852, continuing as the Western Vermont Railroad (leased by the Troy and Boston from 1857 until it was reorganized into the Bennington and Rutland Railway in 1865). The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway opened in 1879 between the Massachusetts state line and Mechanicville, New York . Its route closely paralleled the Troy and Boston from Johnsonville eastward. The line

2923-667: The Ware River Line in conjunction with the Monadnock Railroad in order to gain access to the resort areas of Peterborough, New Hampshire . When the B&A failed to gain control of the Monadnock, the Ware River Line was not very profitable. By 1968, the line came under the control of the Penn Central , and tracks were abandoned between South Barre and Waterville, splitting the line in two. The Boston and Maine Railroad took over

3002-606: The Watchmen and the Crimson, before they changed the name to the Hawks. Waltham is governed by a mayor and a city council. The current mayor is Jeanette A. McCarthy. There are 15 members of the city council, each elected to two-year terms in non-partisan elections. The current president of the city council is John J. McLaughlin. The city is in Massachusetts's 5th congressional district and

3081-404: The age of 18 and 28.4% with people 65 and older. 39.7% of households were married couples living together, 9.9% cohabitating couples, 21.2% male householders with no partner present, and 29.2% female householders with no partner present. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.02. 32.7% of households spoke a language other than English at home. The age distribution

3160-738: The annual Youth Concerto Competition, which provides opportunities for young musicians to perform solo works with the WPO. Annual concerts have included summer Concerts on the Common and the December Holiday Pops. Waltham is home to the Waltham Symphony Orchestra , a high-level semi-professional civic orchestra. The 55 piece orchestra performs five concerts each season at the Kennedy Middle-school Auditorium. Its music director

3239-463: The city has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35 km ), of which 12.7 square miles (33 km ) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km ) (6.69%) is water. Waltham has several neighborhoods or villages, including: It is bordered to the west by Weston and Lincoln , to the south by Newton , to the east by Belmont and Watertown , and to the north by Lexington . As of the census in 2020, there were 65,218 people and 23,891 households in

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3318-416: The city is referred to as "The Waltham". Waltham is located at 42°22′50″N 71°14′6″W  /  42.38056°N 71.23500°W  / 42.38056; -71.23500 (42.380596, −71.235005), about 11 miles (18 km) north-west of downtown Boston , Massachusetts , and approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Boston's Brighton neighborhood. The heart of the city is Waltham Common, which

3397-402: The city on the National Register of Historical Sites. Many festivals are held at these sites each year, such as the annual sheep shearing festival at the Gore Estate. The National Archives and Records Administration Northeast regional branch is located in Waltham. The Waltham Public Library has extensive archives regarding the city's history. The Waltham Museum is devoted solely to the history of

3476-409: The city. Mark Gately is the only stakeholder left of the Waltham Museum. Waltham is known for its embracing of literary arts. Local author Jessica Lucci has written a series of books about Waltham which can be found at the Waltham Museum, The Waltham Historical Society, and many other regional establishments devoted to promoting literary arts. The Waltham Mills Artists Association is located in one of

3555-448: The city. The population density was 5,117.9/mile². According to 2021 census estimates, the racial makeup of the city was 60.5% White , 7.6% Black or African American , 0.5% Native American or Alaska Native, 11.8% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , 5.3% from other races , and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.3% of the population. There were 23,891 households, 19.8% of which included children under

3634-423: The completion of tree clearing, though rails and ties were still in place. In July 2020, the state awarded $ 100,000 for removing tracks and paving the western third of the trail. State funding was awarded in 2022 for construction of a 0.6-mile (0.97 km) segment in Groton. The Brookline and Milford Railroad was incorporated and built in 1892 from the Peterborough and Shirley at Squannacook Junction north to

3713-426: The five level crossings, but that scheme was not adopted. The Somerville Avenue crossing of the Fitchburg Route and the parallel Grand Junction Branch was replaced by a road bridge in 1908–09, followed by Webster Street in 1911. A road bridge carrying Dane Street and an underpass carrying Medford Street were completed in early 1913, leaving only Park Street . Numerous grade crossings were eliminated throughout

3792-526: The former factories of the Boston Manufacturing Company. The WMAA Open Studios takes place each year on the first weekend of November. The 76 artists of the WMAA open their homes and studios to the public. Works of all media imaginable are demonstrated, displayed and discussed. The Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra, a civic symphony of the MetroWest area, began in 1985 under the direction of local musicians David J. Tierney and Harold W. McSwain, Jr. With almost 60 professional, semi-professional, and amateur musicians,

3871-405: The hands of the Boston and Albany. The Fitchburg took control of the Monadnock in 1890. The Barre and Worcester Railroad was chartered in 1847 and reorganized in 1857 as the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad. It opened in 1871 between the Worcester and Nashua Railroad at Barber (from which it ran to Worcester via trackage rights) and the V&M in Gardner . An extension in 1874 took it to

3950-463: The late 19th and early 20th century, Waltham was home to the brass era automobile manufacturer Metz , where the first production motorcycle in the U.S. was built. Another first in Waltham industrial history involves the method to mass-produce the magnetron tube, invented by Percy Spencer at Raytheon . During World War II, the magnetron tube technology was applied to radar. Later, magnetron tubes were used as components in microwave ovens. Waltham

4029-399: The laws and find scholarships. The festival includes a parade, music, food, and a beauty pageant. Waltham has in recent decades become a center for Ugandan culture, with an estimated 1500 Ugandans living in the city, leading some to call Waltham "Little Kampala". The Ugandan North America Association is headquartered in Waltham, along with St. Peters Church of Uganda Boston, as well as Karibu,

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4108-416: The line from Waterville to Winchendon and operated it until it was abandoned in 1984. Penn Central continued to operate the line south of Barre, but in 1975 all services between Gilbertville and South Barre were discontinued. Conrail operated the line between Palmer and Ware and applied for abandonment of the remainder of the line. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired most of the line in 1978, except

4187-403: The marketing firm Constant Contact . Footwear manufacturer Wolverine World Wide, Inc. moved their regional headquarters from Lexington to the CityPoint campus in July 2016. C & J Clark America, Inc. moved their headquarters from Newton to the Polaroid site in October 2016. Retail activity is concentrated on Main Street, Moody Street, Lexington Street, River Street, parts of Route 60, and

4266-428: The name of the Waltham watch was pronounced with a reduced schwa in the second syllable: / ˈ w ɔː l θ əm / . At one time, most people would have pronounced it in the British way, "Walthum", but when people came to work in the mills from Nova Scotia, the pronunciation evolved. The local version became a phonetic sounding to accommodate French speakers who could not pronounce it in the British way. In some areas,

4345-401: The orchestra's mission is to provide the Waltham community with the opportunity to perform in and attend classical concerts of the highest quality. WPO musicians come from Waltham as well as from Boston and surrounding communities. The ensemble includes players of a wide range of ages and professions. There are five to six concerts throughout the season, including one that features the winner of

4424-456: The original Fitchburg Railroad between Boston and Fitchburg. Minor relocations of stations are not noted. A list of current stations is also available. Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( / ˈ w ɔː l θ æ m / WAWL -tham ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution . The original home of

4503-478: The poverty line. As of 2020, 26.6% of Waltham residents were born outside of the United States. Of foreign-born residents, 41.5% were born in Asia, 32.7% in Latin America, 11.9% in Europe, and 9.7% in Africa. Waltham's combination of population (especially in central and south Waltham) parks, public transit, stores, and trails gives it 62 (out of 100) walkability ranking on walkscore.com . Moody Street in downtown Waltham offers its own brand of entertainment with

4582-474: The presence of an "Indian Stockade" near today's Cambridge Reservoir , and an "Indian Hollow" in today's Calvary Cemetery. A native trail through Waltham, the "Old Connecticut Path" saw continued use after colonization and became the basis for present day Route 20 . Waltham is most likely named for Waltham Abbey in the County of Essex , England. The first record of the name is from the articles of incorporation, dated January 15, 1738. The name derives from

4661-399: The reload. Principle commodities are plastics, construction and demolition debris, edible oils, waste oil, dimensional lumber, plywood, pipe, and paper. Fitchburg Railroad#Cheshire The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts , United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel . The Fitchburg was leased to

4740-425: The state in the 1930s; those on the Fitchburg Route included Boston Post Road ( Route 20 ) at Stony Brook in 1930 and at Beaver Brook in 1936, Mohawk Trail in Littleton in 1932, and Leominster–Shirley Road in Lunenburg around 1936. In 1935, the city requested that the Park Street grade crossing be replaced with a bridge as part of a Works Progress Administration -funded grade crossing elimination program. It

4819-404: The state line to the west end of the tunnel at North Adams in 1859. The tunnel itself opened in 1875, before which the Troy and Boston Railroad leased the T&G. The T&G was consolidated into the Fitchburg Railroad in 1887. The Southern Vermont Railroad was chartered in 1848 to connect the T&G across the southwest corner of Vermont to the New York state line. It opened in 1859 and

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4898-425: The watch industry. Waltham Watch Company opened its factory in Waltham in 1854 and was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition . The company produced over 35 million watches, clocks, and instruments before it closed in 1957. Waltham borders Watertown and Belmont to the east, Lexington to the north, Lincoln and Weston to

4977-501: The west, and Newton to the south. Waltham was first colonized by Europeans in 1634 as part of Watertown , and was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1738, but the area was inhabited for thousands of years prior to English colonization. At the time of European arrival, Waltham was in a border zone between the territories of the Pawtucket confederation and the Massachusett , with nearby native settlements at Nonantum and Pequosset (Watertown). Early colonizers recorded

5056-426: The western part of the city. Exits in Waltham are 26, 27, and 28. Interstate 90 , which is also the Massachusetts Turnpike , is just to the south in Newton . Due to its proximity to the center of the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a number of state highways are within a few miles. The MBTA commuter rail has two stops in Waltham as part of the Fitchburg-Boston Line : one in Central Square Waltham across from

5135-399: Was abandoned in 1960. This split the branch in two. The west side of the branch was mostly abandoned in 2000. The east side of the branch contained only one customer, Newly Weds Foods. The last delivery made was in early 2007, with the last move occurring on the line in early 2008. The entire branch is now either abandoned or out of service, and the east side of the right-of-way was converted to

5214-446: Was added between Waltham and Roberts in 1886. The Boston and Maine Railroad leased the Fitchburg for 99 years from July 1, 1900, as its Fitchburg Division. The railroad was originally constructed with a number of level crossings in Somerville. The diamond crossing of the Boston and Lowell Railroad was replaced with the Lowell elevated onto "Red Bridge" in 1857. Washington Street and Prospect Street were raised onto bridges in

5293-470: Was also the home of the Walter E. Fernald State School , the western hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities . The storied and controversial history of the institution has long been covered by local and, at times, national media. The name of the city is pronounced with the primary stress on the first syllable and a full vowel in the second syllable, / ˈ w ɔː l θ æ m / WAWL -tham , though

5372-411: Was chartered in New Hampshire in 1844, consolidating with the Winchendon Railroad of Massachusetts (chartered 1845) in 1845. The first section opened in 1847, from the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad at South Ashburnham to Winchendon ; an extension to Troy, New Hampshire , also opened in 1847. Extensions to Keene, New Hampshire , and Bellows Falls, Vermont , opened in 1848 and 1849, forming

5451-422: Was cut back to West Concord , but was restored to Ayer on June 28, 1965. On March 1, 1975, it was cut back to South Acton. The MBTA bought the line from Boston to Fitchburg, along with many other lines, from the B&M on December 27, 1976. Service was restored to Fitchburg and beyond to Gardner on January 13, 1980. Gardner service was ended on January 1, 1987, when Amtrak took over the MBTA contract, due to

5530-403: Was further extended west to Rotterdam Junction in 1884. The Fitchburg obtained stock control of the BHT&W in 1887 and purchased it in 1892. Surveys for a planned extension of the line west to Buffalo, with a branch to Oswego , were instead used by the West Shore Railroad . The Hoosac Tunnel and Saratoga Railway and the Saratoga Lake Railway were both chartered in 1880 and was leased by

5609-422: Was incorporated 1847, first as an independent short line RR, but was quickly taken over by the Fitchburg. It ran from the main line in Cambridge through Watertown to Waltham . It opened in 1851 and was soon the main passenger line between Boston and Waltham and one of the few branch lines to be double tracked. Passenger service on the line ended in 1938. The middle section of the line in the Watertown Square area

5688-568: Was incorporated and opened in 1849, splitting from the Fitchburg in Somerville and running to Harvard Square . It was never leased or owned by the Fitchburg, and was never successful, closing in 1855. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846 as a branch from the Fitchburg near the present-day Alewife Brook Reservation area (now considered part of North Cambridge ) to Lexington . The Fitchburg operated it from opening, leasing it from 1847 to 1859. In 1868 it

5767-561: Was incorporated in 1845 and opened as a branch from the Fitchburg in Ayer to West Townsend in 1848, continuing to Mason, New Hampshire , in 1849 or 1850. The Fitchburg Railroad leased it in 1847 and bought it in 1860, with an extension to Greenville opening by 1876. The Squannacook River Rail Trail is a 3.7-mile (6.0 km) rail trail between Townsend and the Bertoxxi Wildlife Management Area. The trail opened in 2020 after

5846-464: Was incorporated in 1848, but did not open from Winchendon to Jaffrey, New Hampshire , until December 1870 and to Peterborough in 1871, from which the Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad continued the line north after 1878. The Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad , running south from Winchendon, leased the Monadnock in 1874, but transferred the lease to the Cheshire Railroad in 1880 to keep it out of

5925-520: Was leased by the Troy and Boston Railroad , but in 1860 the T&;G bought it. The Fitchburg bought the Southern Vermont directly in 1891. The Troy and Boston Railroad was chartered in 1849 to continue the line west to Troy, New York . It was consolidated into the Fitchburg in 1887. The Troy and Bennington Railroad was organized in 1851 to build a branch from the Troy and Boston at Hoosick Junction to

6004-445: Was leased by the Fitchburg in 1853 and bought outright in 1863. This branch made South Acton a major junction and service point on the Fitchburg Route. A turntable and engine house existed in South Acton to service trains well into the 20th century. Passenger service from Marlborough ceased in 1932, and the section between Maynard and Hudson was abandoned in 1943. The section between Hudson and Marlborough saw its last passenger traffic via

6083-926: Was not, and the location has continued to see collisions. The tracks were lowered through Waverley Square in 1952 to eliminate a pair of grade crossings there. Service was cut back from Troy to Williamstown on January 19, 1958. Cheshire Branch and Maynard–South Acton service ended on May 18 amid systemwide cuts. Service west of Greenfield ended on December 30, 1958; stops dropped at that time were Williamstown, North Adams, Hoosac Tunnel, Zoar, Charlemont, and Shelburne Falls . On June 14, 1959, seven stops between Greenfield and Fitchburg (Montague, Lake Pleasant, Erving, Royalston, Baldwinville, East Gardner, and South Ashburnham) plus Stony Brook were dropped as part of another round of systemwide cuts. The four daily round trips west of Fitchburg were discontinued on April 23, 1960, ending service to Greenfield , Millers Falls, Athol, Orange, and Gardner . On January 18, 1965, service

6162-542: Was reorganized as the Lexington and Arlington Railroad and bought by the Boston and Lowell Railroad in 1870. The connection to the Fitchburg was cut (but reopened in 1927). Passenger service ceased in January 1977 due to a blizzard, never to resume. Freight operation ended in 1981, and the line was formally abandoned in 1991 to make way for the Minuteman Commuter Bike Trail . The Watertown Branch Railroad

6241-549: Was southwest of City Square , west of the Warren Bridge ( 42°22′12″N 71°03′47″W  /  42.370°N 71.063°W  / 42.370; -71.063 ). In 1848, the line was rerouted over a new bridge across the Charles River to a downtown Boston terminal on the north side of Causeway Street between Haverhill Street and Beverly Street; the original Charlestown Branch remained in use for freight. North Union Station replaced that terminal in 1893; it remained extant until

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