Walpole Tunnel

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Description 

MBTA Historical Property Survey 

"National Register recommendation: Eligible. The tunnel appears to date to the original construction of the railroad in Walpole Center. It is a well-preserved example of stone-arch technology for bridge construction and appears to be among the oldest spans carrying an overhead roadway in the area."

"The portion of the Franklin Line extending from Readville to Franklin was originally conceived of as two, short, branch lines; the Walpole Railroad, linking Walpole with Dedham, and the Norfolk County Railroad that ran from Walpole to Franklin. The Walpole Railroad was chartered but never actually built. It was vigorously contested because the populous wanted a local line independent from the larger rail lines planned to Connect Boston with New York City and the upstate Hudson River region. The Norfolk County Railroad, chartered in July, 1847, was promoted by wealthy Blackstone millowner Welcome Farnum (1796-1874). The line was opened for service from Boston to Blackstone on 16 May 1849. Farnum's plan was to extend the line through to the Hudson River in order to bring coal form Pennsylvania mines into New England. Farnum had the proposed route surveyed as far as the Hudson River at his own expense, and in 1853, the line was extended as far west as Southbridge, Massachusetts. Farnum's failure during the Panic of 1857 spelled the end of his involvement with the railroad, but the line was completed to Fishkill Landing on the Hudson in 1881. The Norfolk County Railroad went through several reorganizations, consolidations, and name changes between 1858 and 1869 when the line became part of the New York and New England Railroad. In 1898 the New York and New England became the last major acquisition to come under direct control of the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The [200 foot]-long, stone arch tunnel with a severe skew appears to date to the original development of the rail line in Walpole Center. Carrying Main Street over the right-of-way in a residential area north of the business center of the town, the tunnel ranks as one of the oldest structures taking a vehicular roadway of the railroad in Eastern Massachusetts. In most instances, grade crossings were not eliminated until beginning in the third quarter of the 19th century when increased rail and vehicular traffic began to become a threat to public safety. While stone arch bridges were not uncommon in the middle of the 19th century, they were usually restricted to water crossings. The only other documented railroad tunnel in Eastern Massachusetts is in 1839 Salem, but it was completely rebuilt in 1957.

The single track tunnel is built of split, rubble-coursed shale, as are the splayed wing walls and abutments, but the ring stones on both ends are dressed ashlar. The joints have been stylistically inappropriately repointed with Portland cement mortar, but otherwise the tunnel appears to be in good condition."

Citations:
- Massachusetts Historical Commission (P.K. Lazrus, MBTA Historic Property Survey, 10/1988)

Facts 

Overview

Stone arch tunnel carrying MBTA Franklin Branch on under Main Street (MA 1A) in Walpole. Administered as a bridge by the State.

Location

Walpole, Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Status

Open to railway traffic below, and to vehicle and pedestrian traffic above

History

Built 1848 by original Norfolk County Railroad

Railroads

- Commuter Rail
- Conrail (CR)
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
- New York & New England Railroad (NYNE)
- New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH)
- Norfolk County Railroad
- Penn Central Railroad (PC)

Design

Shale arch tunnel

Dimensions

Total length: 202.0 ft.
Deck width: 24.5 ft.

Skew angle

45 degrees

Recognition

Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places

Also called

Main Street Bridge

Approximate latitude, longitude

+42.14972, -71.25056   (decimal degrees)
42°08'59" N, 71°15'02" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

19/314047/4668851 (zone/easting/northing)

Quadrangle map:

Medfield

Average daily traffic (as of 2016)

28,060

Inventory numbers

MA W03013 (Massachusetts bridge number)
MHC WLP.924
BH 19425 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Inspection report (as of January 2018)

Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 77.8 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Update Log 

• March 22, 2015: New Street View added by Erich Pfistner

Sources 

• Massachusetts Historical Commission - MBTA Historical Property Survey

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