In the southeastern outskirts of Boston, the Hanover Branch Rail Trail connects the communities of Abington and Rockland. (Locally, the trail’s east and west halves are sometimes referred to as the Abington Rail Trail and the Rockland Rail Trail.) In the future, trail managers hope to extend the rail-trail west to Hanover.
The rail-trail follows the former corridor of the Hanover Branch Line, built in the 1860s by E. Y. Perry, a Hanover businessman who produced tacks. The railroad originally ran between Hanover Four Corners and North Abington before becoming part of the Old Colony Line in 1887. In the 1940s and '50s self-propelled cars for commuters ran on the tracks.
Much of the trail is forested and wildlife sightings are common.