In 1881, the
Old Colony Railroad opened a connection to primarily serve the
Whittenton Mills from Whittenton Junction. The following year, the line was extended to the Dighton and Somerset mainline at
Raynham. It was during this time that through passenger trains between
Boston and the
South Coast cities of
New Bedford and
Fall River were rerouted onto the newly completed Whittenton Branch between Raynham and
Weir Junction, which allowed all service to stop at a new
Taunton Central Station. Two new stations were established on the branch- Whittenton Junction and Whittenton- along with a stop at
Raynham Junction at an existing station on the D&S mainline. In 1893, the
Old Colony Railroad was itself leased to the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The New Haven further consolidated service to Taunton Central; by 1895, the
Fall River Line's
Boat Train was the only passenger service between Raynham and Weir Junction. All passenger services through
Dean Street in Taunton ended in 1897. By 1932, the trackage between Raynham and Dean Street on the D&S mainline was removed; all rail traffic diverted onto the Whittenton Branch. All through passenger services on the Whittenton Branch ceased in 1958; freight services would continue until the full closure of the branch in 1966. The Final Environmental Impact Statement, released in 2013, selected a route further east on the Dighton and Somerset mainline with
Dean Street station as a downtown stop instead. The FEIS included the possibility of using the Whittenton Branch, but a station would have been built at Dana Street several blocks to the north of the Oak Street location, where the straighter track geometry would be more favorable for the construction of full-length high-level platforms. Ultimately, the Dean Street location was preferred and is planned for Phase 2 of South Coast Rail.
Rail trail conversion Roughly half of the Whittenton Branch route between Whittenton Junction and Whittenton Village is planned to be repurposed as a
rail trail. In early 2024, the city of Taunton was awarded a $52,000 grant from
MassDOT for the Whittenton Junction Multi-Use Trail Study. As proposed, the trail will connect with an extension of the
Norton-Mansfield Rail Trail at Whittenton Junction (adjacent to the
Middleboro Secondary). The
shared-use path is intended to coincide with the future redevelopment of the
Whittenton Mills complex. The study was completed in February 2025. == Route ==