This is a list of all freight railroad (not streetcar or rapid transit) lines that have been built in Massachusetts, and does not deal with ownership changes from one company to another. The lines are named by the first company to build or consolidate them.
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Boston and Albany Railroad, later part of the New York Central Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston and Worcester Railroad | Boston | Worcester | Brookline Branch, Beacon Street to Brookline Milford Branch, Framingham to Milford Millbury Branch, Millbury Junction to Millbury Newton Highlands Branch, Riverside to Cook Street Junction Newton Lower Falls Branch, Riverside to Newton Lower Falls Saxonville Branch, Natick to Saxonville | Framingham Branch became part of the NYNH&H | |
| Chester and Becket Railroad | Chester | ||||
| Grand Junction Railroad | Allston | ||||
| North Brookfield Railroad | East Brookfield | ||||
| Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad | North Adams Junction | ||||
| Providence, Webster and Springfield Railroad | Webster Junction | Webster | |||
| Spencer Railroad | South Spencer | ||||
| Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad | Athol Junction | ||||
| Ware River Railroad | Palmer | Massachusetts Central Railroad today, operating between Palmer and South Barre | |||
| Western Railroad | Worcester |
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Boston and Maine Railroad.
The Connecticut River Division was the former Connecticut River Railroad.
The Eastern Division was the former Eastern Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asbury Grove Railroad | Wenham | ||||
| Chelsea Beach Railroad | |||||
| Eastern Railroad | East Boston | New Hampshire state line in Salisbury | |||
| Essex Branch Railroad | Salem | North Andover | |||
| Newburyport City Railroad | Newburyport | ||||
| Saugus Branch Railroad | West Lynn | ||||
| South Reading Branch Railroad | Peabody |
The Fitchburg Division was the former Fitchburg Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburnham Railroad | South Ashburnham | ||||
| Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad | Worcester | ||||
| Brookline and Milford Railroad | Squannacook Junction | ||||
| Charlestown Branch Railroad | Charlestown | ||||
| Deerfield River Railroad | Hoosac Tunnel | Vermont state line in Rowe | never owned by the B&M or Fitchburg | ||
| Fitchburg Railroad | Boston | ||||
| Harvard Branch Railroad | Somerville | Harvard Square | never owned by the B&M or Fitchburg | ||
| Lancaster and Sterling Railroad | Hudson | ||||
| Marlborough Branch Railroad | Marlborough | ||||
| Monadnock Railroad | Winchendon | ||||
| Peterborough and Shirley Railroad | Ayer Junction | ||||
| Troy and Greenfield Railroad | Greenfield | ||||
| Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad | Fitchburg | Greenfield | Turners Falls Branch, Turners Falls Junction to Turners Falls | original main line north from Millers Falls became part of the Central Vermont Railroad | |
| Watertown Branch Railroad | Waltham | ||||
| Winchendon Railroad | South Ashburnham |
The Southern Division was the former Boston and Lowell Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover and Haverhill Railroad | Andover | ||||
| Andover and Wilmington Railroad | Wilmington | ||||
| Billerica and Bedford Railroad | North Billerica | ||||
| Boston and Lowell Railroad | Boston | Lowell | Mystic River Branch in Charlestown branch, Somerville Junction to Lake Street | ||
| Central Massachusetts Railroad | North Cambridge Junction | ||||
| Horn Pond Branch Railroad | Horn Pond | ||||
| Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad | West Cambridge | aka: Lexington and Arlington Railroad | |||
| Lowell and Lawrence Railroad | Lowell | ||||
| Lowell and Nashua Railroad | Lowell | ||||
| Middlesex Central Railroad | Lexington | ||||
| Salem and Lowell Railroad | Tewksbury Junction | ||||
| Stoneham Branch Railroad | East Woburn | ||||
| Stony Brook Railroad | Chelmsford | ||||
| Woburn Branch Railroad | Winchester | ||||
| Woburn Branch Extension Railroad | Woburn |
The Western Division was the original Boston and Maine Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston and Maine Extension Railroad | Boston | Wilmington Junction | |||
| Boston and Portland Railroad | Wilmington | New Hampshire state line in Haverhill | |||
| Danvers Railroad | Wakefield | ||||
| Danvers and Georgetown Railroad | Danvers Junction | ||||
| Lowell and Andover Railroad | Lowell Junction | ||||
| Medford branch | Medford Junction | ||||
| Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad | Acton | ||||
| Newburyport Railroad | Bradford | ||||
| West Amesbury Branch Railroad | Merrimac |
The Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division was the former Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad.
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the Central Vermont Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flynt's Granite Branch Railroad | Monson | Flynt and Company Granite Quarries (Flynt Quarry) | not owned by the Central Vermont | ||
| New London Northern Railroad | Connecticut state line in Monson | ||||
| Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad | Millers Falls | Vermont state line in Northfield | The rest of the V&M became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad. |
These railroads were owned by or closely related to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
The Berkshire Division was the former Berkshire Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Railroad | West Stockbridge | ||||
| Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad | Van Deusenville | ||||
| West Stockbridge Railroad | West Stockbridge | New York state line in West Stockbridge (at the Boston and Albany Railroad junction) |
The Central New England Division was the former Central New England Railway.
The Hartford Division was the former Hartford and New Haven Railroad.
The Midland Division was the former New England Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles River Railroad | Cook Street Junction | Rhode Island state line in Blackstone | Ridge Hill Branch, Charles River to Ridge Hill | east from Cook Street Junction to Brookline became part of the B&A | |
| Hopkinton Railway | Ashland | ||||
| Norfolk County Railroad | Dedham | ||||
| Medway Branch Railroad | Norfolk | ||||
| Midland Railroad | Boston | Dedham Junction | |||
| Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad | Bellingham Junction | ||||
| Milford and Woonsocket Railroad | Milford | ||||
| Providence and Springfield Railroad | Rhode Island state line in Douglas | ||||
| Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad | Rhode Island state line in North Attleborough Rhode Island state line in Wrentham | ||||
| Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad | Blackstone Connecticut state line in Webster | ||||
| Worcester and Norwich Railroad | Connecticut state line in Webster |
The Northampton Division was the former New Haven and Northampton Company.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyoke and Westfield Railroad | Holyoke | ||||
| New Haven and Northampton Company | Connecticut state line in Southwick | Shelburne Junction |
The Old Colony Division was the former Old Colony Railroad.
The Providence and Worcester Division was the former Providence and Worcester Railroad.
| Name | From | To | Branches | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad | East Boston | Lynn | Winthrop Branch, Orient Heights to loop through Winthrop | see also Boston, Winthrop and Point Shirley Railroad and Eastern Junction, Broad Sound Pier and Point Shirley Railroad, which built lines and later abandoned them | |
| Cape Ann Granite Railroad | Pigeon Cove Harbor | ||||
| Grafton and Upton Railroad | North Grafton | Milford | |||
| Hampden Railroad | Springfield | Bondsville | never opened, built by the Boston and Maine Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad | ||
| Lancaster Railroad | Lancaster | Hudson | never opened, built by the Boston and Maine Railroad | ||
| Martha's Vineyard Railroad | Oak Bluffs | ||||
| Nantucket Railroad | Nantucket | ||||
| Southern New England Railway | Palmer | Rhode Island state line in Blackstone | never finished, built by the Grand Trunk Railway | ||
| Union Freight Railroad | connecting lines in downtown Boston | ||||