Newton and Boston Street Railway

The Newton and Boston Street Railway was a streetcar company in the Boston, Massachusetts area, eventually bought by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. Its line is now the 59 Needham Junction – Watertown Square via Newtonville bus.

The Newton and Boston Street Railway was organized in 1891. It soon opened an electric trolley line between Newton Upper Falls and Newtonville, with regular service beginning August 31, 1892.

An 1897 map and an 1899 map show a branch to Newton Centre. The 1899 map also shows a branch of the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway very closely paralleling it.

The Newtonville and Watertown Street Railway was leased October 1, 1897, allowing it to continue northeast to Watertown. An extension southwest to Needham center was built in 1906. On October 9, 1909, the Newton and Boston was merged into the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway.

The line was bustituted in 1926. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began to subsidize the route in September 1964, and assigned it the number 32 Needham–Watertown. When the MBTA took over the M&B on June 30, 1972, it was renumbered to 532. It was again renumbered in September 1982, and is now the 59 Needham Junction – Watertown Square via Newtonville.

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