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The Manchester & Lawrence Branch of the Western Division passed through seven towns and cities - two in Massachusetts and five in New Hampshire. They were Lawrence, Methuen, Salem, Windham, Derry, Londonderry, and Manchester. In 1908, eleven train stops were located along this line, as can be seen on this section of timetable.
This branch line began as the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad. It connected to the Methuen Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad (which originated in Lawrence) at the Massachusetts state line and ran up to Manchester, NH. Construction of the route was finished in 1849, and shortly thereafter the railroad leased the Methuen Branch, allowing one company to control the entire line between the two developing mill cities. Just one year later though in 1850, the M&L was leased by the Concord Railroad. This company controlled the line for the majority of the years to follow, until the B&M stepped in and leased the M&L in 1887.
Almost all of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch has been abandoned. This process began in 1983 when the stretch from Salem to Derry was abandoned. A few years later in 1986, the section from Derry to Londonderry was let go. The line travelling from Londonderry to Manchester survived up until the year 2000, at which point it was deemed abandoned. The stretch from Massachusetts up to Salem, NH has also been abandoned, but I am unsure of the date. To my knowledge, a short section of the line in Lawrence is still used today by Pan Am Railways.
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