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Massachusetts Central Rail Trail offers a track through time, place and nature

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Massachusetts Central Rail Trail offers a track through time, place and nature


Editor’s note: This is part of a series on winter walking places in and near Worcester. Let us know your favorite walking places at wmeditor@gatehousemedia.com.

When walking on the Holden and West Boylston stretch of the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail, it’s easy to imagine taking the same route as a train passenger a century earlier.

In 1924, someone would have had the same view from a train on the Central Massachusetts Railroad that hikers have from the trail today, gazing out the window at the sun sparkling off the Quinapoxet River and the snow on the ground.

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The Massachusetts Central Rail Trail is an ongoing effort to turn 104 miles of abandoned railroad track into a green area for hikers and wildlife alike, stretching from Northampton to Boston, and Worcester County is home to some of its most scenic sections.

When Worcester Magazine visited, the trail was covered in a thin layer of snow from a recent storm and the river rushed alongside and underneath. Along the way, tiny streams of snowmelt water bubbled on either side, eventually flowing into the river next to a trail bridge.

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Winter Walks: Nature returns to the Mass. Central Rail Trail in Holden

This week’s Winter Walk took us on a route in Holden that was once a busy railroad and is now home to hikers, runners, dogs, and thriving wildlife.

Making tracks

From the parking area on River Street in Holden, there are two paths to take. One of these paths begins directly at the uphill end of the parking lot and meanders northwest through the forest, and this path was never part of the railroad, but it is as well-maintained as the former tracks.

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The other path is the rail trail itself, a three-mile segment of what was once the Central Massachusetts Railroad that follows the Quinapoxet River from Holden to the western corner of the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston.

The railroad, built during the late 1800s, experienced its heyday at the turn of the 20th century, doing booming business as a way to travel between Northampton and Boston and to any point along the way.

In 1902, construction began on a new route that would take trains around the soon-to-be-filled Wachusett Reservoir, and trains continued bringing passengers and freight between Massachusetts’ western and eastern ends.

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As the decades wore on, cars became the dominant mode of transportation, and the Central Massachusetts Railroad felt the effects. Although the MBTA used the tracks as a commuter route for a period of time, a significant amount of the railroad was abandoned by the 1980s.

New vision, new life

In 1995, the nonprofit conservation organization Wachusett Greenways formed and began buying land that contained old sections of the railroad in Central Massachusetts, starting with the West Boylston section. Wachusett Greenways now maintains 17 miles of trails on and around the old railroad.

Statewide, the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail currently offers hikers more than 60 miles, although those miles are split up by closed sections and protected conservation land.

There is another open section of rail trail in Holden, starting on Quinapoxet Street, and Oakham, Rutland, and Clinton are all home to open sections as well.

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The rail trail is wide and has no steep hills, its surface is made up of densely packed stone dust, so when we visited, there was no need for mud-friendly boots despite the melting snow. Its accessibility makes this Winter Walk more of a laid-back walk than a hike.

Parking for the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail is available on River Street in Holden and Thomas Street in West Boylston. To learn more, visit masscentralrailtrail.org.



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Massachusetts

‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’: Massachusetts couple frightened by huge shark by their boat (WATCH)

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‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’: Massachusetts couple frightened by huge shark by their boat (WATCH)


A Massachusetts couple, out boating, were startled and frightened by a 20-foot shark this week.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

One started videotaping the experience, while the shark came close to the boat.

“Oh, God!, Oh God!” the woman said.

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The main responded, “Wow!”

Because the fish was so big, the woman, at first, thought it was a whale, but the man said, “No, that is a shark.”

“That is a shark like I’ve never seen,” said the woman after realizing it was indeed a shark.

The shark swam toward the boat, before the video ends.



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Gov. Healey’s southern border trip cost taxpayers $6,800, according to new data

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Gov. Healey’s southern border trip cost taxpayers $6,800, according to new data


The Healey administration shelled out more than $6,800 to send a five-person team to the southern border in Texas to “educate” people of a shelter shortage here, according to her office.

The trip was pitched as another attempt to curtail the number of migrants arriving in Massachusetts and make connections with federal immigration officials who were dealing with a surge in border crossings down south.

A spokesperson for the governor said Friday the group spent a total of $6,804 on the four-day trip this week, including $2,028 on hotels, $3,903 on flights, and $872 on ground transportation.

Scott Rice, a retired National Guard general who oversees the state-run shelter system, said the trip was an “important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the U.S. and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts.”

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“It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go,” he said in a statement earlier this week.

The group visited locations in San Antonio, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Brownsville, the most common points of entry for migrant families that later arrive in Massachusetts, according to the Healey administration.

Healey said earlier this week that the trip was “successful” even as conservatives criticized the move as a “publicity stunt.”

“We don’t have housing available right now, and we wanted to be really clear. It’s something I’ve been saying for a long time, but I think it was important that we be able to communicate directly with folks on the ground,” she said. “I think it’s successful. I think it’s important that we be out there with that message.”

Details on how much the trip cost were released only hours after Gov. Maura Healey banned migrants from sleeping at Logan Airport, where large groups have gathered for months to stay overnight.

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The directive takes effect July 9 and the state plans to offer people at the airport transportation to overflow shelter sites, including one that opened this week at a former prison in Norfolk.

Healey did not say if police would arrest those that violate the order.

“We’re going to take it as it comes. My hope is through the work that we’re doing and the extensive communication that we’re doing right now with folks, not just at the border, but folks who are in our service provider community, that we’re going to get people relocated,” she said Friday, “and also be clear to people who might think about coming here that this really is an option.”



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Massachusetts gas prices fell from last week: See how much here

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Massachusetts gas prices fell from last week: See how much here


Massachusetts gas prices fell for the second consecutive week and reached an average of $3.40 per gallon of regular fuel on Monday, down from last week’s price of $3.44 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The average fuel price in the state has fallen about 11 cents since last month. According to the EIA, gas prices across the state in the last year have been as low as $3.07 on Jan. 29 and as high as $3.76 on Aug. 7, 2023.

A year ago, the average gas price in Massachusetts was 3% higher at $3.51 per gallon.

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>> INTERACTIVE: See how your area’s gas prices have changed over the years at data.capecodtimes.com.

The average gas price in the United States last week was $3.44, making prices in the state about 1% lower than the nation’s average. The average national gas price is up from last week’s average of $3.44 per gallon.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu.



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