The Old Colony and Newport Railroad secured the right of way of the Granite Railway in 1870 which consisted only of the roadbed, not the quarries and other holdings. They started at once building a new roadbed and in so doing dug up practically all that was left of the original roadbed. However, a few sections have been uncovered over the years, one being located near West Squantum Street in East Milton as well as the various locations and areas being uncovered by Richard Muzzrole.

Figure 44 is a copy of a map showing the location of this road. I have divided it into two sections. North of the blue line is from West Quincy to the main line at Atlantic which was the first section opened. Later, the second section was opened, south of the blue line, joining the main at Capen's Bridge in Braintree.

The next three figures are pictures of the railroad stations on the "Granite Branch": Figure 45 is at West Quincy; Figure 46 the East Milton station and Figure 47 the Montclair station, all having been torn down in recent years and all signs of the railroad have been removed. I have marked the location of the stations on Figure 44 for easier identification.

The Old Colony then began building a modern railroad realizing the need for freight as well as passenger service. The roadbed and tracks were laid beginning at Belknap Square in West Quincy, at the junction of Willard and Copeland Streets, and running parallel to Willard Street, northerly through East Milton parallel to Granite Avenue, almost entirely over the original roadbed and branching off in an easterly direction, nearly opposite where it lead towards the old landing wharf at Gulliver's Creek; running through the marshes of what is now known as the Montclair section, and joining the main line south of the Atlantic Depot, marked "X" on Figure 44. Combination freight and passenger stations were built at West Quincy and East Milton, and a passenger station at Montclair. The road was formally opened to the public on October 9, 1872 and has, since that time, been known as the "Granite Branch".

The so-called second section was extended from West Quincy through to Braintree on June 12, 1876, thus affording one a ride over a portion of the oldest railroad in America. Over the years, considerable freight, mostly granite, moved over this branch as well as passenger service. Finally, on September 30, 1940, the last passenger train ran over the old "Granite Branch" and then operations ceased with the exception of some freight being moved from West Quincy to Braintree making stops at the Crushed Stone Plant and the old "Coke Works". When construction of the new Southeast Expressway started, the last of the railroad disappeared, the only exception being a spur track which handles freight going to the Quincy Ledger and Raytheon Manufacturing plans extending from the main line at Capen's Bridge, north a short distance.

Figure 48 shows the first engine, the Gridley Bryant, to run over the newly constructed "Granite Branch" from Boston to West Quincy and return, later making the complete run to Braintree. Figure 49 is a reproduction of an Old Colony Railroad timetable which is self-explanatory.

So much for the main line branch successor of the Granite Railway. We now come to the section of the railway which handled the granite shipments between the various quarries.

The Granite Railway Company ceased operating as a common carrier or toll road handling granite for others shortly after the Bunker Hill Monument Association ceased operations in 1829 at the ledge. They decided to confine their activities to the handling of their own granite shipments. This meant hauling the rough granite from the quarries they had purchased to the various cutting, hammering and dressing sheds, and when they were ready, transporting them over the old roadbed to the wharf, loading the granite sloops and then to their destination. This operation continued with its original equipment, a few minor changes as well as additional equipment, still horse drawn, until the start of the Civil War. It was during this period of operation that Bryant put his inventions in operation which proved so beneficial in later years.

During the war years, the road and its equipment slowly began to fall apart. Thus, the Old Colony and Newport Railroad acquired the road rights, and when they built their new roadbed it more or less forced the Granite Railway to modernize their road and equipment. However, this didn't materialize until 1893.

This modernization brought about the forming of a railroad to handle the granite between the various quarries. Thus, the Quincy Quarry Railroad was formed. It was comprised of most of the granite companies located in West Quincy, west of Willard Street. This railroad was to operate between the various quarries only, hauling the rough granite blocks as well as groat to the various granite sheds where the granite was finished and made ready for shipment. It was then loaded on freight cars and taken to the West Quincy station where it was turned over to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroads for final distribution.

Although I have done considerable research and talked to many of the older residents of West Quincy, I haven't been able to unearth much information in connection with the Quincy Quarry Railroad Company. However, in one of my visits with Mr. Louis Badger, whose forebears at one time included the foreman at the Bunker Hill Ledge as well as owning the well-known "Wigwam" quarry and the company which manufactured granite tools and machinery, called Badger Brothers, he loaned me some valuable notes and pictures of the railroad in operation as well as a copy of a pamphlet published by Badger Brothers called "Granite Chips" which contained much valuable information.

According to an article published in the Quincy Patriot Ledger, souvenir edition of 1899, it says; "The Quincy Quarries Railroad Company was formed by various granite concerns in 1893 for the purpose of acquiring quarry lands and developing the same by means of a railroad, which now has five miles of tracks, reaching practically all of the quarries in the West Quincy district. The railroad was begun in August 1893 and partially opened for business September 8, 1894, although it was not fully completed until July 1, 1895."

"This railroad, aside from its commercial importance to Quincy, affords some of the finest views in this part of Massachusetts. The summit commands an extensive outlook; both inland and seaward. The fine scenery combined with the novelty of its steep grades and sharp curves, affords a most fascinating trip over its line. The total ascent is about 151 feet, 140 of which occurs in the first mile and a quarter. The maximum grade is four per cent, or 211 feet to the mile, and the greatest curvature is sixteen degrees." Figure 50 shows this curvature.

Figure 51 is a map showing the location of the Quincy Quarry Railroad. This road continued to serve the quarries until about 1918, at which time it closed down and all tracks and other steel articles were sold as scrap during the first World War. Some of the "old ties" are still visible and parts of the road can still be followed.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Joseph Murphy of West Quincy who gave me such valuable information. As a young boy this entire area was his playground and the Quincy Quarry Railroad has always held his interest from his youth until now. By means of a map he drew and also by taking me over some of the area pointing out the route of the railroad, I have a much better idea of its location. He also showed me one section where the steel rails are still intact. Figure 51A shows this section which goes on the edge of the famous "Wigwam" quarry, by parts of the Swingle quarry, over a trestle long since removed, and going around into the Swingle quarries.

Figure 52 shows an engine and cars at the top of the "inclined plane" which was reached by going around the incline rather than ascending as had been the general practice of the Granite Railway Company.

Figures 53 through 64 show this railroad at various quarry locations along its line throughout the district and gives one a general idea of the rugged terrain and the obstacles to be overcome in order to build this railroad. Although I have been unable to find much in the way of facts covering the operation of this railroad, I assume that they owned some rolling stock, the balance probably being leased from the Old Colony Railroad and later the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. This is borne out by the fact the name on the engine picture in Figure 52 is "Quincy Quarries Railroad Co." while the freight cars show "NY, NH & H RR Co."

Another interesting fact relating to the Granite Railway Company is that during the summer of 1959, Mr. Muzzrole learned of some remains believed to have been parts of the old railroad bed consisting of three or four large granite sleepers with parts of the rail still intact. These were located on the property of Mr. Charles Pappas of Common Street, Braintree. Mr. Muzzrole contends that these were used in East Milton at the crossovers in "Railway Village", thus accounting for their large size. Also, there were two large blocks of granite with a hole an inch and one half in diameter, centered in the top. Mr. Muzzrole contends there were four of these, one at each corner, probably holding warning signs. These findings have been turned over to the Forestry Department of Quincy for safekeeping. Figure 65 shows the sleepers and blocks as they looked on the Pappas property.

The finding of these relics prompted me to find out how they got there, by horse and team or by other means. By looking over old deeds at the New Haven Railroad office in Boston, I found that the Old Colony and later the New Haven Railroad owned a great deal of land in this area, being bounded from Common Street north to the Quincy line, east to the present railroad tracks and west to Granite Street. On this land was a large sand pit and also a granite quarry known as the Braintree Red Granite Quarry. This land was acquired by the railroad between 1870 and 1880. They built a number of spur tracks into this land from the Granite Branch. (Refer to Figure 44, spot marked "Y".) These tracks were used for hauling sand and riprap or groat and was used in making railroad beds. Based on these facts, it would appear that the remains of the original roadbed were brought there and dumped by Old Colony Railroad cars.

While this has no connection with the above-mentioned railroads, I nevertheless feel that it is of interest and value. In looking over some old newspaper clipping, I find mention of another railroad which operated in the South Common. This railroad, horse drawn, was used to haul granite from the quarry known as Wendell's also "Razzle-Dazzle", to the water's edge at Hayward's Creek. The location of the roadbed was over part of the section used in later years by the Fore River Railroad. Regarding when the railroad first started operations, type of equipment used, or any other particulars, I have been unable to uncover anything. For years it was known as the Wendell-Mitchell Railroad. Further reference to the above-mentioned quarry will be found in a later chapter.

Additional notes were furnished me in 1954 in a typewritten letter from Mr. W.K. Fitzpatrick of California who, as a boy of fourteen in 1892, was well acquainted with the entire area served by the railroads, giving an excellent description of the operation of the railroads, taking the time to acquaint me with many interesting and little known facts, in a six page letter, although he was over seventy at the time of writing the letter to me.

Thus the vision and ingenuity of one man, Gridley Bryant, started the great American Railroad system as we know it today, getting its humble beginning in Quincy, truly a remarkable contribution to our industry, all because a monument had to be built.