ASSABET RIVER RAIL TRAIL LETTERBOX

To start in Marlborough; From I-495, take exit 24A to Route 20 east. After you pass by the lake on your right, bear left at the traffic light. When you enter downtown Marlborough, Route 20 veers right, stay straight on West Main Street. Take your first left onto Rawlins Street and then a right onto Central Street. This brings you to the junction of Prospect Street and Cashman Street. Just up Prospect Street is a municipal parking lot on your right. The trail starts at the junction of Cashman, Lincoln and Highland Streets, so you must bike or hike down Cashman Street to access it.

To start in Hudson; From I-495, take exit 25A to Route 85C, also called the I-495 connector. This will bring you to Route 85. Turn left or north onto Route 85 (Washington Street) and look for where the trail crosses the road. This will be in a retail plaza area. The Route 85 parking lot is on your left, next to the trail. To start from the Hudson end, keep going on Route 85 into Hudson and take a right onto Route 62 (Main Street). After you cross over the Assabet River, stay with Route 62 as it turns left and becomes Wilkins Street, while Main Street continues straight. The Route 62 parking lot will be on your left.

The Assabet River Rail Trail is being built along the former rail bed of the Marlborough Branch Railroad, which ran from 1850 until 1980. It passed through the communities of Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard and Action, where it connected into the former Boston-Fitchburg Railroad, which is still active as the B&M/MBTA Line. The trail sections in Marlborough and Hudson are almost complete and I believe there may be some completed sections in Maynard that I still have to check out. The plan is to have the trail go all the way to Action. For more information visit; ASSABET RIVER RAIL TRAIL .

Starting from Marlborough; This section of the paved rail trail mostly descends until it crosses into Hudson where the trail is relatively flat. A signboard is located at the beginning of the trail and at many other locations along the trail. The trail starts out passing through residential areas, with a few street crossings, until about 3/4 miles when you enter more woodland surroundings. Here you'll pass over a small berm with nice wood fencing. At a mile, you cross over Fairbanks BLVD and the entrance to Boston Scientific. As you pass by an open meadow on your right, you can see the Fort Meadow Reservoir in the distance. The trail has a spur to your left at 1 1/2 miles, but it leads nowhere, so continue straight along the cement retaining wall. Use Caution crossing over Fitchburg Street as there is no cross-light, only a cross walk. After you pass by an open meadow and soccer field, you'll descend into the woods at 2 miles and travel along another berm with wooden fencing on both sides. A tunnel takes you underneath Route 85C as you cross into Hudson at 2 1/4 miles and you enter an area with steep rock outcrops. Keep a lookout for an old Brakeman's Warning pole at 2.7 miles. This consists of a rail in the shape of an upside down L, hanging over the center of the trail. The chains hanging down over the trail would hit the Railroad Brakeman, who was on top of the train and warn him of an upcoming bridge or tunnel. *See below for history. Thus, just ahead is a stone abutment for an old bridge. However, before you go check out the stone abutment, look to your right, just past the rail pole for a large Oak tree. Follow the stone wall next to it to a large boulder. Look on the left underside of this boulder for a single rock covering the entrance to the Assabet River Rail Trail Letterbox. Please replace the flat rock that is on the box, as it helps to protect it. After checking out the stone abutment, the trail passes underneath some power lines and comes to the Route 85 (Washington Street) parking lot at 3.2 miles. The trail crosses over Washington Street and comes to the Assabet River Bridge at 3.6 miles. After crossing over the river, if you look along your right, you'll see the remnants of an old railroad siding with its tracks still in place. Cross the four-way intersection at Broad Street, then Vila Do Porto Blvd, as the trail now travels through town along the median, with Route 62 (Main Street) on your left. You leave the median after crossing Vila Do Porto BLVD and travel alongside Route 62. At 4.3 miles, you pass by a restored "blue" Caboose that has been placed alongside the trail. Next, you'll pass by a parking lot on your right for the trail which is directly across from the Main Street Cemetery. At 4.6 miles, a temporary crosswalk has been added to cross over Main Street to the sidewalk, as the trail currently ends ahead at another crossing of the Assabet River. They are currently replacing the bridge, but as of July 2008, it is not yet completed. You must use the Main Street Bridge to cross the river. As you cross over the river, look to your left to see another old railroad bridge that crosses the river. That old Boston & Maine Line will eventually cross over the trail further ahead. The paved trail starts back up again on the left side of the road just past the bridge. You cross over Makin Street at 5 miles to a medium with benches and a sign board, then Cox Street and head back into woodland. Shortly you'll see two old stone abutments on either side of the trail. This is where that other rail line crossed over the old Marlborough Branch Railroad. The trail currently ends ahead at 5.4 miles at the Route 62 parking lot.

*Brakeman
Prior to 1888 when Westinghouse developed a reliable air brake, stopping a train or a rolling car was very primitive. Iron wheels, located atop cars, were connected to a manual braking system by a long metal rod. The brakemen, usually two to a train, would ride on top of the car. On a whistle signal from the engineer, the brakemen, one at the front of the train and one at the rear of the train, would begin turning the iron wheels to engage the brakes. When one car was completed, the brakeman would jump the thirty inches or so to the next car and repeat the operation to apply the brakes on that car. The brakemen would work towards each other until all cars had their brakes applied. In good weather, the brakemen enjoyed riding on top of the cars and viewing the scenery. However, they had to ride up there in all kinds of weather - in rain, sleet, snow and ice, as well as good weather. Jumping from one car to the next at night or in freezing weather could be very dangerous, not to mention the fact that the cars were rocking from side to side. Today, a train brakeman assists the conductor by throwing switches, hooking the train cars together and ensuring the safety of the train, passengers, and freight.