Dighton and Somerset Railroad

The Dighton and Somerset Railroad was a railroad that ran between Fall River, Massachusetts and Stoughton, Massachusetts. It opened in 1866; passenger service was in stages with the final regular service in 1958, thought freight service on some segments continued into the 21st century. MBTA Commuter Rail service is proposed to be extended onto the northern part of the line around 2030 as part of the South Coast Rail project.

In 1863, the Dighton and Somerset Railroad was chartered to build a new line from Taunton to Somerset (across the river from Fall River) via Dighton. In 1864, the charter was amended to allow extension north to Randolph or Braintree. This represented a significant threat to the Old Colony and Newport Railroad (OC&N) and its existing route to Fall River; the OC&N acquired the new railroad in 1865. The OC&N was interested in having a route to the growing industrial city of Taunton, which was served by its competitor Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) via the Taunton Branch Railroad. The line was opened in September 1866; it used part of the 1855-built Easton Branch Railroad (acquired from the B&P at that time), which also gave the OC&N a new freight connection to Stoughton. The new railroad passed east of downtown Taunton and then crossed the tracks of the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad near Weir Village. The line then ran along the west bank of the Taunton River through Dighton and Somerset before crossing the river over a man-made causeway and bridge at the north end of Fall River.

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