Quincy Granite Railway Incline - Quincy, MA - Preserved Architectural Remnants and Ruins on Waymarking.com

In Quincy, on the north edge of the Quincy Quarries section of the Blue Hills Reservation, is this inclined section of track that is a relic of the Quincy Quarries Rail Way.

The location can be accessed from the parking lot off Ricciuti Drive, then walk through the quarry to a path down to the incline (buy/download a map and bring it along). Or, from I-93/Southeast Expressway, take the exit for the Furnace Brook Parkway, then go around the rotary to the exit just before going under the highway, then drive on the road parallel to the highway and bear right (if you go left you reenter the highway), then, at the end of the road, turn right onto Willard Street, then drive a short distance and take a left onto Bates Avenue, then go under the highway, then turn left onto OConnell Avenue, then turn left onto Mullins Avenue, then drive to the sharp turn in the road and the incline on the right.

The location has several items related to the railroad and to quarrying. The main part is the incline. The surviving part is half of the original incline, which extended further up. What you can see on the hill are granite sleepers with iron straps laid into it. Along the incline you can also see brackets and chains. Up beyond the top is an excavated area and another hill of material where the incline would have been. At the base are two obelisks with text about the incline and stating that this has been designated a Civil Engineering Landmark. Around the base are various items, some related to the quarries and some to the railroad itself.

The sign has a quote from Gridley Bryant that described the incline as follows:

"The inclined plane was three hundred and fifteen feet long, at an angle of about fifteen degrees. It had an endless chain, to which the cars were attached in ascending or descending. At the head of this inclined plane I constructed a swing platform to receive the loaded cars as they came from the quarry. The platform was balanced by weights, and had gearing attached to it in such a manner that it would always return (after having dumped) to a horizontal position, being firmly supported on the periphery of an eccentric cam..."

The railway was built in 1926 , designed by Gridley Bryant. In 1930, the new owners of the quarry modernized the railroad by laying modern steel rails and ties over the original incline, allowing standard railcars to enter the quarry. In 1957, the original part of the railway was excavated by Richard Muzzrole when the Southeast Expressway was being constructed. This was also when part of the railway was dismantled for access to the highway construction site.

The incline here is an important remnant of the Quincy Quarries Railway. There is a sign that explains the site - most of the information here is taken from there.

Type: Remnant Fee: No Hours: Daylight Hours Every Day Related URL: [Web Link]

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