The Boston and Albany Railroad (reporting mark B&A)[1] was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Passenger service is provided on the line by Amtrak, as part of their Lake Shore Limited service, and by the MBTA Commuter Rail system, which owns the section east of Worcester and operates it as its Framingham/Worcester Line.
Short History of the Boston and Albany Railroad
1831 – The Boston and Worcester Railroad was chartered
1832 – Construction began in August 1832.
1833 – Line open to Wellesley and Ashland
1834 – Line open to Westborough.
1835 – Line completed Boston to Worcester.
1833 – Western RR chartered to connect B&W to Hudson and Berkshire RR at New York state line.
1837 – Construction starts on WRR.
1839 – WRR east end completed to Connecticut River.
1841 – Full route through Berkshires completed.
1834 – Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad incorporated as New York part of WRR.
The Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad Company was incorporated in New York in 1834 as the Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad Company. The name was changed to the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad Company in 1834. The railroad's main line ran thirty-eight miles of track from Greenbush, New York, to the Massachusetts state line at West Stockbridge. It was leased to the Western Rail-Road when it opened in December 1841. In 1855, it acquired the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad, which ran 5 miles from Chatham, New York, to West Stockbridge. It was renamed the Hudson and Boston Railroad. In December 1870, the two lines officially merged with the Boston and Albany Railroad Company. Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad Company records, 1834-1877
1836 – C&WS chartered as Albany and West Stockbridge.
1840 – Construction of A&WS starts.
1841 – WRR leases A&WS.
1842 – A&WS completed to the state line.
1842 – A&WS/WRR replace Hudson & Berkshire east of Chatham.
1860 – H&B abandoned.
1867-70 – B&W, A&WS, and WRR merged with Hudson and Boston Railroad into a company known as Boston and Albany Railroad.
1883-1886 – B&A acquires tracks of the New York and New England Railroad, and builds added lines in metropolitan Boston to provide improved service and excellent commuter service.
1899 – New South Station opens in Boston.
1900 – New York Central and Hudson River Railroad leased the B&A for 99 years.
1914 – B&A lease passes to NYC, but B&A keeps its identity.
1968 – B&A merged into new Penn Central (PRR and NYC).
1971 – Amtrak takes over intercity passenger traffic.
1973 – MBTA acquires lines east of Framingham.
1975 – Service beyond Framingham discontinued.
1976 – Conrail takes over Penn Central.
1999 – Conrail trackage becomes CSX.