Wildcat Branch

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The Wildcat Branch is a single track railroad branch line which connects the MBTA Lowell Line in Wilmington, Massachusetts to the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line. The total length of the branch line from the connection with the Lowell Line to the merge with the Haverhill/Reading Line is 2.88 miles.

[edit] History

The line was built by the Andover and Wilmington Railroad, which was incorporated March 15, 1833 to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts north to Andover, Massachusetts, and entered service on August 8, 1836. The line from Boston to Andover was built later, merging onto the Wildcat about half a mile south of the current I-93 overpass. It is currently unknown where the name "Wildcat" came from, but may be associated with the Wilmington High School Football team's mascot, "The Wildcat", since the entire length of the current branch line is within the town of Wilmington.

[edit] Stations

The only station on this line was at Salem Street and was used temporarily by the MBTA during the early days of the Haverhill/Reading Line commuter line. No structures remain at the station site, but the area is still paved and used for storage of railroad maintenance equipment.

[edit] Current uses

The line currently used primarily for passenger service by both the Amtrak Downeaster service from Boston to Portland, Maine, as well as the MBTA commuter rail for certain rush-hour Haverhill trains to avoid the congestion on the single track between Andover and Boston.

The line also carries some freight service by Pan Am Railways, primarily the train "DOBO" (Dover, New Hampshire to Boston), which mainly hauls sand and gravel from the New Hampshire Northcoast railroad, to the Boston Sand and Gravel facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts