Bay Colony Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Bay Colony Railroad is a shortline railroad
operating in Massachusetts
.
The BCLR operates in the Millis - Milford - Needham Corridor. In addition to moving freight for its customers, Bay Colony also performs AAR
-certified repairs on rolling stock and contract track construction projects for other railroads. It has a sister railroad, the Seminole Gulf Railway
, which is based out of Fort Myers, Florida
.
The contract for the railroad lines owned by the State of Massachusetts administered by the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), which included the Cape Cod main expired on December 31, 2007. It was awarded to a new company, the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad
, which took over on January 1, 2008. At that time the Bay Colony ceased operation on those lines, but continues in other areas of the state.
Shortline railroad
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada...
operating in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
The BCLR operates in the Millis - Milford - Needham Corridor. In addition to moving freight for its customers, Bay Colony also performs AAR
Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
-certified repairs on rolling stock and contract track construction projects for other railroads. It has a sister railroad, the Seminole Gulf Railway
Seminole Gulf Railway
The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line railroad located in Southwest Florida. It has two separate lines. The one line runs from Oneco south to Sarasota, with branches from Sarasota to Matoka and Fruitville. The other line runs from Arcadia to Vanderbilt Beach/North Naples, with no significant...
, which is based out of Fort Myers, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
History
The Bay Colony railroad was chartered on March 31, 1977, with the intent of taking over freight service on former New Haven lines from Conrail, which was planning to abandon service. The lines were purchased by the state government, and Bay Colony took over all freight operations on the lines on June 12, 1982 with a 25-year contract.The contract for the railroad lines owned by the State of Massachusetts administered by the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), which included the Cape Cod main expired on December 31, 2007. It was awarded to a new company, the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad
The Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is the successor operator of portions of Bay Colony Railroad.-History:On December 31, 2007 the contract to operate the freight railroad lines owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts administered by the Executive Office of Transportation expired. These...
, which took over on January 1, 2008. At that time the Bay Colony ceased operation on those lines, but continues in other areas of the state.
Locomotive fleet
- Bay Colony 1701, an EMD GP8GP8A GP8 is a four-axle diesel locomotive rebuilt by the Illinois Central's Paducah shops using a General Motors Electro-Motive Division GP7, GMD GP7 or GP9 as a start. It is similar to the GP10 and GP11....
, acquired in March 1987 and previously owned by Indiana Midland and Detroit Toledo & Shore Line. Now used on the Millis branch line Bay Colony's last standing line. - Bay Colony 1702, an GP9EMD GP9An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...
R (Sold to Grafton and Upton RailroadGrafton and Upton RailroadThe Grafton and Upton Railroad is a Class III short line railroad in east-central Massachusetts. This 16.5 mile line connects runs from Grafton to Milford and connects to CSX Transportation lines at both ends...
in Spring 2008) - Bay Colony 1703, an EMD GP9EMD GP9An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...
- Bay Colony 1705, an EMD GP9 Low nose
- Bay Colony 1706, an EMD GP9 Low nose
- Bay Colony 1751, an EMD GP9
- Bay Colony 1777, an EMD GP9
- Bay Colony 2443, a CF7CF7A CF7 is an EMD F-unit railroad locomotive that has had its streamlined carbody removed and replaced with a custom-made, "general purpose" body in order to adapt the unit for road switching duty. All of the conversions were performed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in their Cleburne,...
(Sold to Grafton and Upton RailroadGrafton and Upton RailroadThe Grafton and Upton Railroad is a Class III short line railroad in east-central Massachusetts. This 16.5 mile line connects runs from Grafton to Milford and connects to CSX Transportation lines at both ends...
in Spring 2008) - Bay Colony 2501, an ALCO Century 425ALCO Century 425The ALCO Century 425 was a four-axle, 2500 horsepower diesel locomotive of the road switcher type. 91 were built between October 1964 and December 1966....