Wildcat Branch
| Company type | Rail spur |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1836 |
| Defunct | 1848 (initial service) |
| Fate | Reconstructed in 1874 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Rail transportation, freight and passenger service |
The Wildcat Branch is a single-track rail spur that links the MBTA Lowell Line at Wilmington, Massachusetts, with the MBTA Haverhill Line at Wilmington Junction. Entirely situated within Wilmington, this branch has been operational since its reconstruction in 1874, though its initial service period dates back from 1836 to 1848.
The branch derives its name from the mascot of Wilmington High School, the Wildcats.
Initial line
The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) received its charter in 1830 and commenced operations in 1835. Two years prior, in 1833, the Andover and Wilmington Railroad (A&W) was established to construct a branch extending from Wilmington to Andover, which opened in 1836. The A&W was later absorbed by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M), which by 1843 had extended service from Wilmington to Portland, Maine; however, it depended on B&L tracks to access Boston. In 1845, B&M inaugurated the Western Route connecting Wilmington Junction to Boston through Reading, making the original line between Wilmington and Wilmington Junction obsolete. The B&L continued running this segment until it was abandoned in 1848—the earliest recorded railroad abandonment in New England.
Reconstruction
In 1874, the B&L reconstructed the line, partially following the original alignment while shifting some portions slightly westward. This newly designated Wilmington Branch ran parallel to the Western Route up to a newly established Wilmington Junction station at the intersection with the Salem and Lowell Branch, granting B&L access to Lowell via connecting lines. By the late 19th century, B&L had merged into B&M. Passenger operations on the Salem and Lowell Branch ended west of Wilmington Junction in 1924 and eastward in 1932; nonetheless, the Wildcat Branch continued serving certain Haverhill routes by circumventing slow grade crossings in Malden and Wakefield. It remains connected to the Western Route at Wilmington Junction and parallels it for roughly half a mile.
The "Wildcat" designation has been in use since at least 1911.
Service reductions
On June 14, 1959, B&M implemented a series of service reductions that included abandoning the northern segment of the Woburn Loop. The Western Route ceased operations between Reading and Wilmington Junction; as a result, trains bound for Haverhill and beyond were rerouted via the Wilmington Branch. Along this line, North Wilmington station on the Western Route was supplanted by Salem Street station, marking the first stop on the Wilmington Branch. When the newly established MBTA began subsidizing B&M commuter services in January 1965, funding covered only routes up to Reading on the Western Route and up to Wilmington on the Lowell Line; services beyond these points required local government support. Salem Street station was closed on June 30, 1967, as B&M curtailed all but one round-trip service to Haverhill, which itself ended in June 1976.
Contemporary operations
The MBTA took ownership of B&M's commuter rail assets—including the Wildcat Branch—on December 27, 1976. On December 17, 1979, service on the Reading line was extended to Haverhill under what became known as the Haverhill/Reading Line. While most trains operate via the Western Route through Reading, some express services utilize the Wildcat Branch and Lowell Line due to single-track constraints south of Reading caused by Orange Line construction in the 1970s and numerous grade crossings. Since December 14, 2001, Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine has primarily used this branch except during interruptions.
Regular MBTA operations over the Wildcat Branch continued until December 2020 before resuming in April 2021. Between September and November 2023, all outer Haverhill Line trains were diverted onto the Wildcat during signal upgrades. Starting May 20, 2024, midday weekday inbound trains will again use this route during ongoing construction work. As projected for 2025, two daily Haverhill Line trains will traverse the Wildcat—one inbound during morning hours and one outbound in the evening—offering express service between North Station and Ballardvale, bypassing stops on the Lowell Line.
Additionally, freight traffic operates along this line under CSX Transportation (previously Pan Am Railways), chiefly consisting of train "DOBO" transporting sand and gravel from New Hampshire Northcoast railroad facilities to Boston Sand and Gravel located in Somerville.
See also
- Central Branch, a similar connector linking portions of the Long Island Rail Road