Saugus Branch Railroad

Saugus Branch Railroad

Company type	Private
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1848
Founder	Joshua Webster
Defunct	1958
Fate	Operations ceased; line later used for freight and converted into a trail
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Massachusetts (Saugus, Malden, Everett, Revere, Lynn)
Products	Passenger and freight rail service

The Saugus Branch Railroad provided passenger transportation from 1853 until 1958, serving the Massachusetts towns of Saugus, Malden, Everett, Revere, and Lynn.

Origins

A consortium led by businessman George Peabody initially proposed the railroad to link East Boston with Salem by traversing the Saugus marshes. However, local mill proprietors opposed the plan, fearing that a drawbridge over the Saugus River would interfere with maritime traffic. In 1836, the Massachusetts General Court granted a charter to the Eastern Railroad for constructing the Boston-Salem route.

In 1845, rival Boston & Maine Railroad applied for authorization to build a line from Malden to Salem via Saugus but was rejected. The following year, entrepreneur Joshua Webster introduced a proposal for a Saugus-Malden connection linking to Boston & Maine; in response, Eastern Railroad suggested an alternate Lynn-Saugus Center alignment. The legislature approved Webster’s proposal in 1848, issuing a charter for the Saugus Branch Railroad Company.

The planned route was expanded to reach Lynn Common and modified to include stops at Sweetser's Corner (currently Cliftondale) and East Malden (now Linden). Construction commenced in 1850 but encountered setbacks due to insufficient funding.

Eastern Railroad perceived this new line as a potential threat to its earnings because it offered direct access to Boston without relying on ferry services. To counter this risk, Eastern acquired shares in the Saugus Branch at inflated values and ultimately secured full ownership on April 30, 1852, taking over operations. Later that year in October, Gardiner Greene Hubbard succeeded Webster as company president.

Passenger operations

Passenger service on the Saugus Branch began on February 1, 1853, with Andrews Breed appointed as its inaugural superintendent. Initially, four daily trains operated between Lynn Common and Edgeworth in Malden, stopping at major suburban stations along the way. By April 10, 1854, the line was extended to connect with the Grand Junction line in South Malden (present-day Everett) and West Lynn, creating a direct link to Eastern’s main line and providing Eastern Railroad its first direct Boston access. This extension discontinued the connection with Boston & Maine at Malden, although a short industrial siding remained in use. In 1855, the Saugus Branch Railroad Company was merged into Eastern Railroad. Most trains terminated at Lynn thereafter, with limited service continuing to Salem until World War I.

According to historian Francis B. C. Bradlee, the Saugus Branch proved to be a lucrative venture for Eastern Railroad by tapping into Boston’s expanding suburban population and delivering consistent returns until electric trolley cars emerged as competition. By 1869, daily passenger trips had increased to fourteen.

The decade of the 1870s presented operational difficulties including incidents such as the Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871. In 1884, Boston & Maine leased Eastern Railroad and completed full consolidation by 1890. Under B&M management, improvements were made including telegraph dispatching systems and double tracking.

Passenger traffic reached its height during the 1890s with 36 daily trips recorded in 1893. However, ridership began declining after the introduction of the Boston Elevated Railway (the El) in 1901, particularly affecting service in Malden while demand in Lynn and Saugus remained steady. By 1919, passenger trips had fallen to sixteen daily amid concerns over freight operations; B&M resisted El expansion onto this branch due to annual freight volumes amounting to approximately 5,000 cars.

The Great Depression further curtailed service levels to nine trains per day by the mid-1930s. Although World War II temporarily increased ridership due to gasoline rationing measures, patronage declined again after the war ended. In 1948, B&M requested permission to terminate passenger services citing financial losses—expenses totaled $115,145 while revenues were only $48,029—but this petition was initially rejected by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (D.P.U.).

By 1954, service had been reduced to two morning and two evening runs. The transition from steam locomotives to Budd Rail Diesel Cars in 1956 introduced operational problems since these lighter cars failed to activate track signals correctly on this branch.

In September 1957, B&M renewed its application to discontinue passenger operations due to ongoing financial deficits and shrinking ridership of roughly 300 daily commuters. Despite vigorous opposition led by Essex County Commissioner C. F. Nelson Pratt, the D.P.U. approved ending service in April 1958. The last scheduled passenger train operated on May 16 of that year.

Stations

The Saugus Branch featured seventeen stations, with all except Everett Junction remaining in operation until 1958.

• West Lynn, situated in Lynn on Commercial Street at the junction with the Eastern main line.
• Lynn Common, located in Lynn along Western Avenue.
• Raddin's, positioned in Lynn at the intersection of Summer Street and Raddin Grove Avenue.
• East Saugus, found on the border between Lynn and Saugus at Lincoln Avenue.
• Saugus, located in Saugus on Central Street; one of only two stations still extant.
• Pleasant Hills, in Saugus on Adams Avenue.
• Cliftondale, in Saugus at 5 Eustis Street. The name was assigned by Saugus Branch president Joshua Webster, replacing Sweester's Corner as the neighborhood designation. It is one of the two remaining stations.
• Franklin Park, situated in Revere on Salem Street near Saugus.
• Linden, in Malden on Lynn Street close to Beach Street.
• Broadway, located in Malden on Broadway near Eastern Avenue.
• Maplewood, in Malden on Maplewood Street near Waite Street. The name honors maple trees planted by Joshua Webster on railroad grounds.
• Faulkner, positioned in Malden on Faulkner Street.
• Malden Center (also referred to as Malden), located in Malden on Ferry Street. Not to be mistaken for the MBTA’s Malden Center station or the Malden Station restaurant.
• Edgeworth, in Malden off Medford Street near Pearl Street. This station served as the terminus of the Saugus Branch from 1853 to 1854 before being removed following a legislative petition.
• Bell Rock, found in Malden at the base of Converse Avenue.
• West Everett, situated in Everett; originally located on Waters Avenue and relocated to Prescott Street in 1882.
• West Street, located on West Street in Everett.
• Everett Junction, in Everett at the intersection of Revere Beach Parkway and Broadway; previously known as South Malden Junction.

The stations were characterized by their simplicity and functional design rather than architectural distinction. According to a 1933 report by the Malden News, these facilities were described as "the most mousey, dilapidated, antique stations" within the area.

Later use

Following the cessation of passenger operations, semaphore signals were dismantled and station properties sold. The line transitioned into a single-track freight corridor until 1993. Freight operations included hopper cars delivering road salt to Revere and occasional service to Eastern Industrial Oil Products in Saugus. Between 1968 and 1969, the route was heavily utilized for moving 3.5 million cubic yards of gravel from Bow, New Hampshire, to Revere for construction of the Northeast Expressway, with up to four trips daily during peak times. Although construction wrapped up by May 1969, opposition within the region led to cancellation of the expressway project.

On April 27, 1969, the New England division of Railroad Enthusiasts organized the North Shore Rail Ramble—a day excursion traversing former passenger and freight lines including segments of the Saugus Branch.

After the Chelsea fire on October 14, 1973 blocked B&M’s mainline, commuter trains were temporarily diverted via the Saugus Branch to maintain service access to the North Shore.

On December 27, 1976, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) took ownership of remaining B&M commuter assets. This acquisition included rolling stock and four active northside lines along with several branch lines such as the Saugus Branch for preservation and potential future use.

During the 2000s, MBTA’s North Shore Transit Improvements initiative explored reactivating the Saugus Branch to support commuter rail services and introduce rapid transit between Revere and Salem. The plan entailed rerouting commuter trains over this branch while converting the Eastern Route mainline into a Blue Line extension toward Lynn. However, this option was ultimately dismissed due to the branch’s winding alignment adding an estimated 15–20 minutes to travel time, undermining its competitiveness against automobile travel. Furthermore, redirecting up to sixty trains daily would have significant environmental and community consequences. Additionally, development encroachments since 1958 complicated restoration efforts for double tracking or establishing multi-use trails.

Northern Strand Community Trail

The former Saugus Branch corridor is being transformed into the Northern Strand Community Trail, a 9-mile multi-use pathway designed for cyclists and pedestrians, extending through the communities of Everett, Malden, Revere, Saugus, and Lynn. The project reached its concluding construction stage on July 13, 2013.

In literature

The Saugus Branch holds a significant place in Elliot Paul's 1947 memoir Linden on the Saugus Branch and is also referenced in Samuel McChord Crothers' work By the Christmas Fire.

Notes

1. The charter was originally issued to Webster, Edward Pranker, George W. Raddin, William Parker, James Eaton, and Gilbert Haven.