Transportation

In 1852 Winthrop was just emerging from its 220 years as a small farming community. The first bridge to East Boston had opened in 1839 and in 1841 the first stage and express line began running between Maverick Square in East Boston and Taft’s Inn at Point Shirley. This stage line exchanged ownership several times until it ceased operation in 1873.


The Winthrop Railroad Company was created in 1861 but it wasn’t until 1872 that the tracks were laid and the horse drawn trolleys were actively put in use. The car barns and stables were located on Revere Street where the Marketplace stands today and the trolleys ran from Taft’s Inn up Shirley Street to Revere Street, to Magee’s corner, down Winthrop Street to the intersection with Pleasant Street and Washington Avenue where they proceeded up Pleasant Street to Main Street and then out of town. In spite of financial problems, this and a few other stage lines managed to provide service, in varying degrees, to our residents through 1888.


The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Narrow Gauge (3 foot wide tracks) Railroad first operated in 1875 with hourly service. In 1877, the Narrow Gauge entered Winthrop and, known as the “Peanut Train” ran only from Winthrop Junction (Orient Heights) to Buchanan Street. In 1878 the line was extended across the marsh where the golf club is today and by 1885 was completed to Point Shirley. In 1880 the route across the links was relocated along what is now Veteran’s Road. A standard gauge railroad track from Lynn through Revere was extended in 1882 through the Highlands to Point Shirley by adding a rail to the narrow gauge track and sharing one of their rails. The operation of this line barely got started when a storm in 1885 washed out some of its tracks and the operation closed down. By 1886 the narrow gauge line took over the operation and the loop around town, with its nine stations, was completed in 1888. This single-track loop was double tracked in 1903 and Winthrop finally had permanent reliable transportation to the East Boston piers and thence the ferryboats to Boston.


Due to the increased use of automobiles, the operational cost of the ferryboats for the reduced number of passengers become difficult to deal with. In 1928 the Railroad was electrified to reduce costs, but on January 27, 1940, the last train made its run to Winthrop. The Narrow Gauge Railroad is nostalgically remembered for its smooth efficient ride and delightful sail across the harbor on the paddle wheel ferry boat. Once the trains ceased operation, the transportation void was immediately filled by the Rapid Transit busses.

It should be noted that briefly from 1910 to 1928 there was a privately owned little electric trolley line that ran from the Winthrop Beach Station at the corner of Washington Avenue and Shirley Street out to Point Shirley.

All these many Stages, Horse Drawn Trolleys, Steam Engines and Electric Trains will live on in the memory of those who rode them. Pictures of a number of the engines and trolleys are shown here.

[Pictures]