View source for South Reading Branch Railroad

{{inline|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width     = 
| name          = South Reading Branch Railroad
| other_name    = Wakefield Branch
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| image         = Lynnfield station postcard.jpg
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| caption       = [[Lynnfield, Massachusetts|Lynnfield]] station on the South Reading Branch
| type          = Heavy rail
| system        = 
| status        = Defunct
| locale        = [[Massachusetts]]
| start         = [[Peabody, Massachusetts|Peabody]]
| end           = [[Wakefield, Massachusetts|Wakefield]]
| stations      = 
| routes        =

| ridership2    = 
| planopen      =<!--{{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}}-->
| open          = 1850
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| close         = 1925 ''(Peabody to Wakefield)''<ref name="1925 abandonment">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpMlAAAAMAAJ&dq=Wakefield+branch+railroad+massachusetts+1925&pg=PA1002|title=Boston & Maine Allowed to Abandon 58 Miles of Line|work=Railway Age|publisher=Simmons-Boardman|year=1925|volume=79|page=1002}}</ref><br> 1959 ''(Lynnfield to Boston)''<ref name="LastService1959">{{cite web|url=https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.185/87j.33d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/William-Powers-Peabodys-Railroads_20210805_0001.pdf|title=South Reading Branch #55|work=Peabody's Railroads from 1850-1958|author=William Power|year=1998}}</ref>
| owner         = 
| operator      = South Reading Branch Railroad (1850-1851)<br>[[Eastern Railroad (Massachusetts)|Eastern Railroad]] (1851-1884)<br>[[Boston and Maine Railroad]] (1884-1964){{efn|Last passenger train in 1959.<ref name="LastService1959"/><ref name="B&MHistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.nashuacitystation.org/history/boston-and-maine-corporation/|title=Boston and Maine Corporation|author=Matthew D. Cosgro|work=Nashua City Station|accessdate=August 25, 2022}}</ref>}}<br>Boston and Maine Corporation (1964-1983){{efn|name="freight"|Freight service only.<ref name="B&MHistory"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panamrailways.com/maps-and-routing-guide |title=Pan Am Railways System Map |last=Vondrak |first=Otto M. |year=2014 |publisher=Pan Am Railways}}</ref>}}<br>[[Pan Am Railways]] (1983-2023){{efn|name="freight"}}
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| linelength_mi =  8
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| gauge         = {{Track gauge|Standard|allk=on}}
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| map           = {{South Reading Branch Railroad}}
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}}

The '''South Reading Branch Railroad''' or just '''South Reading Railroad''' (later '''Wakefield Branch''') was a short line railroad that ran from [[Wakefield, Massachusetts]] to [[Peabody, Massachusetts]]. Its origins began sometime in 1850 when the railroad was named after the town of ''South Reading'' before its name change to ''Wakefield'' in 1868. By the time [[Boston and Maine Railroad|Boston and Maine]] took over the railroad in 1884, the line had already become obsolete due to competing branches. Boston and Maine eventually halted passenger service in 1925 by abandoning 8 miles of track between Peabody and Lynnfield. The tracks of the former Wakefield branch continued to operate from Lynnfield to Boston until 1959 when passenger service ended. The remaining tracks were then used for freight service from Salem through Peabody Square to South Peabody to serve industrial parks until October 2023.

==History==
{{maplink-road|frame-align=left|plain=no|from=South Reading Branch Railroad.map}}
In 1848, a group of investors from [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] and [[Danvers, Massachusetts|Danvers]] were granted a charter to build a railroad line from South Reading to South Danvers.  The line took two years to build and opened for business in 1850 and opened up another [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to Salem route as it was given trackage rights to Salem on the [[Essex Railroad]].

The Boston to Salem route had long been monopolized by the [[Eastern Railroad (Massachusetts)|Eastern Railroad]] and when the South Reading line was opened, it took quite a bit of the business away with lower fares and the fact that passengers had a direct link to downtown Boston via the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]], the Eastern's most heated rival.  Whereas the Eastern had to ferry their passengers from East Boston across the harbor to get to and from Boston, many passengers preferred to take the B&M to Wakefield and go to Salem via the South Reading.

In 1851, the Eastern Railroad, fearing that the B&M would take over the South Reading, in self-defense took over the line at steep cost. The Massachusetts State Legislature for years forced the Eastern to keep the Boston-to-Salem route open via the South Reading even after the Eastern had leased the [[Grand Junction Railroad]] in order to provide service directly into downtown Boston.

In 1868, South Reading became Wakefield and South Danvers changed to Peabody. The line was then renamed the Wakefield Branch.

When the B&M took over the Eastern RR in December 1884, the South Reading line became obsolete as the B&M had other lines that went to Salem via the [[Newburyport Railroad|Newburyport Branch]] and the former [[Boston and Lowell Railroad]] branch line, the [[Salem and Lowell Railroad]].

In 1925, the B&M received permission to abandon the line and the tracks were removed from Wakefield Center (where the line split from the Newburyport Branch) to Peabody.

== Current status ==

In the 1950s, part of the abandoned right-of-way became part of [[Massachusetts Route 128]]/[[Interstate 95 in Massachusetts|Interstate 95]] in the Montrose section of Wakefield.  In 1965, the first two miles of the line were rebuilt between Peabody and South Peabody to service a new industrial park. Freight service was recently suspended due to closing of factory in Peabody, which was the branch's only customer. [[CSX Transportation]] has freight rights on this line.  Portions of the right-of-way in Lynnfield and Wakefield are still traceable.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Txu-pclmaps-topo-ma-salem-1886.jpg|"Wakefield Branch of Boston and Maine" in 1886 (bottom left of map), 
File:1887 Massachusetts railroads (North Reading Branch).jpg|Wakefield Branch in 1887 (circled),
File:1916 Northshore B&M Map.jpg|Boston and Maine Railroad map from 1916, the "Wakefield Branch" is under the word "PEABODY". 
File:1942 topographic map of Salem USGS.jpg|Topographic map from 1942 showing the remains of the Wakefield Branch, the Salem layover is visible next to "Bridge Street".
File:Pan Am Railways Train in Salem.jpg|2017 picture of a Pan AM freight train in the remains of the Salem layover.
File:Peabody Branch 2022 Freight.jpg|2022 picture of the former layover, the track on the right was used to switch directions.
File:Peabody station 1908 postcard.jpg|Peabody station in 1908.
File:Lynnfield station 1911 postcard.jpg|Lynnfield station in 1911.
File:Wakefield Centre station 1913 postcard.jpg|Wakefield Centre station in 1913.
File:Wakefield Junction station 1913 postcard.jpg|Wakefield Junction station in 1913, the Wakefield branch to Peabody is the track on the right.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Bay State Street Railway]]
*[[Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway]]
*[[Newburyport Railroad]]
*[[Salem and Lowell Railroad]]
*[[Saugus Branch Railroad]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book| title=Lost Railroads New England| publisher=Branch Line Press| author=Karr, Ronald D.| year=1994| isbn=0-942147-04-9| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/lostrailroadsofn00karr}}
* {{cite book| title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England - A Handbook of Railroad History| publisher=Branch Line Press| author=Karr, Ronald D.| year=1995| isbn=0-942147-02-2 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:South Reading Branch  Railroad}}
[[Category:Defunct Massachusetts railroads]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Boston and Maine Railroad]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1848]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1884]]