The Dorchester Railroad and Dorchester Extension Railroad was a horse car line in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 19th century, running from downtown south to Milton

Milton, Massachusetts

Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...

, mostly via Dorchester Avenue

Dorchester Avenue (Boston)

Dorchester Avenue is a street in Boston, Massachusetts, running from downtown south via South Boston and Dorchester to the border with Milton, where it ends...

 (the old Dorchester Turnpike). For several years, it was operated by Gore, Rose and Company, owned by David Gore and George Rose, because the original company could not afford to run it.

The Dorchester Avenue Railroad was chartered April 29, 1854, opened in spring 1857, and bought by the Dorchester Railroad (chartered April 29, 1855) in January 1858. The Dorchester Extension Railroad was chartered February 18, 1855. Both were leased to Gore, Rose and Company, which operated the line from June 1, 1858 to 1862.

An 1871 map shows the downtown end continuing from Dorchester Avenue along Federal Street

Federal Street (Boston)

Federal Street is a street in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to 1788, it was known as Long Lane. The street was re-named after state leaders met there in 1788 to determine Massachusetts' ratification of the United States Constitution...

 to Dewey Square, and then along Broad Street (now partly Atlantic Avenue

Atlantic Avenue (Boston)

Atlantic Avenue is a street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA, partly serving as a frontage road for the underground Central Artery and partly running along the Boston Harbor...

) to a terminus at State Street

State Street (Boston)

State Street is a major street in the financial district in Boston, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest streets in the city. The street is the site of some historic landmarks. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace can also be found nearby...

, with no connections to any other lines.

The railroad later became a surface trolley

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 line of the West End Street Railway and then the Boston Elevated Railway

Boston Elevated Railway

The Boston Elevated Railway was a precursor first to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Massachusetts, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operating rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It was formerly known as the West End Street Railway.The...

. It no longer carries a single service (which would now be bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

) because the Red Line

Red Line (MBTA)

The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...

 subway

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 parallels Dorchester Avenue for its entire length.

The railroad was one of the first street railways in Boston, coming soon after the Cambridge Railroad

Cambridge Railroad

The Cambridge Railroad was the first street railway in the Boston, Massachusetts area, linking Harvard Square in Cambridge to Cambridge Street and Grove Street in Boston's West End, via Massachusetts Avenue, Main Street and the West Boston Bridge....

(opened March 1856).